HBO
Michaela Coel Turned Down $1M Netflix Deal Over Attempted Copyright Jig
Source: Karwai Tang / Getty Chewing Gum star Michaela Coel may have gained her cross over success thanks to Netflix, but after the deal surrounding her new series, I May Destroy You, left her at a disadvantage the British star is explaining why both BBC and HBO are now the series’ new home. During an interview with Vulture, Michaela Coel details why the partnership with Netflix ended after the launch of her new show due to the negotiation for placement leaving her with no rights to the show. Recalling a conversation she had asking Netflix if she could keep at least five percent, Michaela said: “There was just silence on the phone. And [the senior development executive at Netflix] said, ‘It’s not how we do things here. Nobody does that, it’s not a big deal.’ I said,...
Mahershala Ali Lands “Dream Role”, To Play Legendary Boxer Jack Johnson In HBO Series ‘Unruly’
Source: Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Get the awards ready, Mahershala Ali is coming for all of them. Marvel Studio’s new Blade, Marhershala Ali, will be hopping in the boxing ring and playing the legendary boxer Jack Johnson who was the world’s first Black heavyweight champion. Vulture reports that Ali has signed on to play Johnson in an upcoming HBO limited series called Unruly. Per Vulture: “Based on the Ken Burns documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson and its accompanying book by Geoffrey C. Ward, the series will be written by playwright Dominique Morisseau and produced by Tom Hanks’ production company, Playtone.” This will be the second time Ali will portray Johnson. The actor first played Johnson in the 2000 stage revival of the play The Gr...
Top 10 TV Shows of 2020 (So Far)
Our Mid-Year Report comes to a captivating conclusion today as we reveal the Top 10 TV Shows of 2020 (So Far). In case you missed it, be sure to revisit our previous mid-year lists for top albums, songs, metal albums, and films. Television’s always been there. There’s a reliability to the boob tube that gives us solace day in and day out. It’s the reliable notion that no matter how awful things get in real life, you can always eject, curl up on the couch, and escape into a story. Well, rest assured, television has been working overtime in 2020. As billions of people across the world stay locked inside — we can only hope — the small screen has become less of a life line and more of a permanent member of the family. Fortunately for all of us, we’ve been living in a time of Too Much Televisio...
Issa Rae & Bette Midler Team Up For HBO Special ‘Coastal Elites’
Source: HBO / HBO Issa Rae stays getting those checks. On Monday (Jun 22), HBO announced that Issa Rae and Bette Midler will be starring in the new series, Coastal Elites, a series that will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals. The series, which was produced entirely under quarantine, “tells stories of breaking down and breaking through in the summer of 2020 that are funny, searing, poignant and now,” HBO said in a statement. The series written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals from five characters played by Issa Rae, Bette Midler, Sar...
Issa Rae & Bette Midler Team Up For HBO Special ‘Coastal Elites’
Source: HBO / HBO Issa Rae stays getting those checks. On Monday (Jun 22), HBO announced that Issa Rae and Bette Midler will be starring in the new series, Coastal Elites, a series that will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals. The series, which was produced entirely under quarantine, “tells stories of breaking down and breaking through in the summer of 2020 that are funny, searing, poignant and now,” HBO said in a statement. The series written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach will explore the deeply divided politics and the universal pursuit of human connection during the pandemic through a series of confessionals from five characters played by Issa Rae, Bette Midler, Sar...
HBO’s Perry Mason Tweaks the Past to Build a More Exciting Future: Review
The Pitch. When I heard that Perry Mason was soon to be gracing HBO, I will have to admit, I laughed. Forgive me, Perry Mason obsessives, but my chief memory of the reruns of the Perry Mason TV show of the 1950s and 1960s (to which this series bears no resemblance) from adolescence is that my father used it on Sunday nights as a sleep aid. Usually, he conked out somewhere during the opening theme. When I stayed up to watch the show, what I saw was a collage of grays, whites, and blacks, a moving gallery of future character actors and movie stars swirling around imperious and determined courtroom lawyer Mason, played by Raymond Burr. Ultimately, there wasn’t anything terribly dramatic about any of it except for Mason’s eyebrows and the occasional blast of wobbly soundtrack. And ye...
Adele Is Binge-Watching This New British TV Series
Adele has found a new obsession. She’s stanning I May Destroy You. Like the rest of us, the “Hello” singer has been killing time in lockdown by binge-watching TV. With HBO’s new series, she’s discovered a total gem. It’s “the best thing I’ve seen on British TV for yeaaaarssss!!,” the superstar singer enthuses about I May Destroy You. “Go watch it on iplayer right now. It’s wholesome, uncomfortable, hilarious but terribly sad and then awkward…and then it makes you cough a bit for no reason and also makes you go put the kettle on, for no reason.” Directed by and starring Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You spans 12 half-hour episodes. According to its blurb on the IMDB, the series explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, “in the new landsc...
The Sopranos Creator David Chase Accidentally Reveals Tony’s Fate
The Sopranos has been off the air for over a decade. Yet ever since Steve Perry’s pipes cut off by that now-iconic fade to black, fans have wondered, “What the hell happened to Tony Soprano?” Now, exactly 13 years to the day, we have our answer. In a recent roundtable discussion promoting his new book, The Sopranos Sessions, creator David Chase slipped up and confirmed the fate of his legendary character, putting an end to the exhausting debate that has left fans twisting and turning forever. But first, some context: If you recall, the series finale, “Made In America”, culminates at the real-life New Jersey diner Holsten’s, where the entire Sopranos family gathers around for a basket of onion rings. It’s a charming portrait that suggests an alternative, almost Rockwellian existence for the...
HBO Max Has Arrived, Find Out If You’re One of The Millions Who Can Use It For Free
Source: Presley Ann / Getty Another contender in the streaming wars has arrived. HBO Max officially launched today, and you could be one of the millions who could use the service for free 99. HBO’s new streaming service couldn’t have come at a better time as the country is currently binging and consuming movies at television shows at an alarming pace. Dubbed Netflix’s biggest competitor, the service hit the ground running thanks in large part to it having every show and movie from HBO’s current lineup. You can also throw in exclusive content from DC Comics and WarnerMedia as well as favorite shows like the Living Single ripoff, Friends, Big Bang Theory, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Boondocks, and Rick and Morty. Oh, and we can’t forget the recently announce “Snyder Cut” of that super wack ...
The Safdie Brothers Ink Deal with HBO
Benny and Josh Safdie, the brothers behind the instant cult favorite Uncut Gems, have signed a two-year, first-look deal with HBO. As THR reports, they’ll create new projects under their own banner of Elara Pictures. Two longtime Safdie collaborators, producer Sebastian Bear-McClard and writer Ronald Bronstein, are also along for the anxiety-inducing ride. All of their HBO efforts will be executive produced by A24, which had previously worked with the Safdie’s on Uncut Gems and Good Time. A24 has lately developed a robust relationship with Home Box Office, including producing the new hit Euphoria. Interestingly, THR notes that the deal allows for A24 and Elara to partner up for “select projects outside of the HBO first look.” For now it’s unclear wh...
HBO Max’s Love Life Feels Late to a Party That’s Already Ending: Review
The Pitch: HBO Max is arriving at the end of May with a slew of beloved classic films and TV shows, but like all streaming services, they have original content of their own. One of their first titles is the romantic dramedy Love Life, following a young woman in New York City trying to find The One, through plenty of unexpected twists, turns, and pitfalls. The Power of Kendrick: If the last six months have taught us anything about the world of streaming services, it should be this: Anna Kendrick’s presence is apparently a legal requirement. When Disney+ went live in November, one of its premiere original films was Noelle, a Christmas movie in which Kendrick played the daughter of Santa Claus. When Quibi went live in April (Remember Quibi? Trick question, no one does), one of its first strea...
If It Bleeds and the Future of Holly Gibney
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Radio Public | Stitcher | RSS “If it bleeds, it leads.” The Losers head to Finders Keepers to meet Holly Gibney. There’s a problem with the elevator, though, and the stairwell is blocked. Locked inside, the four discuss Stephen King’s trusty private investigator and her first solo mystery, If It Bleeds. Join Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Jenn Adams as they parse through King’s true crime era and what the future of Holly Gibney might bring, be it on the page or in another season of HBO’s The Outsider. This episode is sponsored by — you guessed it — If It Bleeds, which is currently on sale. As you’ll learn from the Losers, King’s latest collects four separate...
