TV
HBO Cancels Westworld After Four Seasons
Westworld has been canceled by HBO after recently concluding its fourth season in August. Besides being a blow to loyal fans, co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have both said in interviews that they had always planned on wrapping up the sci-fi drama’s story after five seasons. “We had always planned on ending the series next season,” Joy told The Wrap. “You know, we always thought that Westworld should kind of come full circle and back to the West. But with Dolores, who was just a player in other people’s games, finally getting to write her own.” Indeed, Season 4 set the stage for Westworld to return to its titular futuristic theme park after expanding the story to the outside world in season three. “There’s time for one last game, a dangerous game with the highest of stakes,” s...
Aubrey Plaza Cast in WandaVision Spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Aubrey Plaza will join Kathryn Hahn in the upcoming WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos, reports Variety. In the Marvel series, Hahn will reprise her career-defining role as Agatha Harkness, but details about the show are scarce. What we do know, however, is Emma Caulfield Ford will also return from WandaVision as Dottie along with head writer and executive producer Jac Schaefer. Heartstopper actor Joe Locke will also star in Coven of Chaos. We named WandaVision our best TV show of 2021 in no small part due to the performance of Hahn, who nailed a transformation from Wanda’s chipper next-door neighbor Agnes to Salem Witch Trial survivor Agatha Harkness. During the finale of WandaVision, Wanda neutralizes Agatha’s formidable powers. Advertiseme...
Netflix’s Ad-Supported Plan Launches Without Popular TV Shows and Movies
Prior to the launch of the Netflix Basic with Ads plan, the company revealed between 5% to 10% of its TV shows and movies would be unavailable due to licensing restrictions. As it turns out, some of the most popular shows and movies on the streamer are locked out from the cheaper subscription tier. As Variety points out, some of the shows currently unavailable in the US on the $6.99 per month plan are Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, The Crown, Cobra Kai, and House of Cards. Also not included are Peaky Blinders, New Girl, The Magicians, The Last Kingdom, The Sinner, Good Girls, The Good Place, and Friday Night Lights. As for movies, subscribers to the ad-supported plan won’t be able to watch Skyfall, 28 Days, The Imitation Game, and The ...
I’m a Former Video Store Clerk and I Think Netflix’s Blockbuster Deserves to Go Bankrupt
It’s not a good sign that Blockbuster, a workplace sitcom set inside a literal metaphor for late-stage capitalism, feels the need to call out the problem with its premise seven minutes into the pilot episode. “Isn’t it ironic that the small business taking a stand against the big corporation in this scenario is actually a franchise of a once-huge corporation, named after the exact type of big corporate movies that killed off smaller movies?” Blockbuster employee Eliza (Melissa Fumero) says, as her boss Tim (Randall Park) tries to rally his underdog staff. I’m admittedly coming to the show with a bias, as a former video store clerk who spent about two and a half years behind the counter of independent stores — stores that always struggled to compete with the Walmart of the industry. But des...
ABC Announces The Prank Panel with Johnny Knoxville, Eric André, and Gabourey Sidibe
ABC has announced The Prank Panel, a new candid camera series anchored by the “Pranxperts” Johnny Knoxville, Eric André, and Gabourey Sidibe. The Prank Panel is expected in 2023, and will see the Pranxperts fielding pitches from everyday people and then acting as mentors for these practical jokes. “Every year, millions of pranks go un-pulled because wannabe pranksters don’t have the know-how — or the resources — to pull them off,” André says in a trailer. Knoxville adds, “Eric, Gabby, and I will serve as an esteemed panel of experts and we’ll listen to pitches from prank dreamers across the globe.” Advertisement Related Video According to Deadline, the show will feature a mix of real people and celebrity guests, and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how practi...
Ryan Murphy: Glee’s Mr. Schue Was a Meth Addict in Original Script
What if Glee was a little more Breaking Bad? It turns out that the creators of the musical teen drama series originally conceived of the show with some darker undertones: As Ryan Murphy recalls, Mr. Schue was first written as a meth addict in the “NC-17” version of the script. Murphy spoke candidly about the early stages of making Glee on the new Glee-themed iHeart Radio podcast And That’s What You REALLY Missed (via Insider): “Mr. Schue, I believe, was a crystal meth addict in Ian [Brennan]’s script,” Murphy said of the character, a high school Spanish teacher who also directs the school’s show choir. “The NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling.” But as if Mr. Schue being a meth addict wasn’t surprising enough, Murphy also revealed the unlikely s...
A24 Announces Friday the 13th Prequel Series Crystal Lake
Bryan Fuller, the TV powerhouse behind Hannibal, American Gods, and Star Trek: Discovery, is developing Crystal Lake, a new Friday the 13th prequel series from A24. As Crystal Lake is cursed by Jason Vorhees so that few survive, Crystal Lake is cursed to appear on Peacock where few watch. “I discovered Friday the 13th in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 years old and I have been thinking about this story ever since,” Fuller shared in a statement. “When it comes to horror, A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I’m thrilled to be exploring the camp grounds of Crystal Lake under their banner. And Susan Rovner is simply the best at what she does. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be working with her again.” Rovner, Chairman, Ent...
Saturday Night Live Mocks Kanye West With Skechers Sketch: Watch
Kanye West’s latest public meltdown added a depressing new chapter when he was escorted out of Skechers’ corporate office this week — an incident Saturday Night Live lampooned on its latest episode. The comedy show addressed West’s antisemitism-fueled downfall with a sketch from the point of view of Skechers, a company that finally earned some clout when it refused to work with the rapper. If you’ve forgotten, Kanye approached Skechers about a business partnership after both adidas and Gap ended their respective relationships with him following a slew of antisemitic comments. Skechers, of course, didn’t want to be associated with West either, and he was escorted out of the company’s corporate headquarters. In the new sketch, SNL made a fake Skechers commercial in which the c...
This Year’s Treehouse of Horror Proves There’s Still Life Left in The Simpsons
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons, Season 34 Episode 6, “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII.”] The popular attitude for decades now is that The Simpsons, Fox’s beloved, iconic, and seemingly undying animated tentpole, is past its prime — despite regular renewals year after year, as a critic there very rarely feels like much urgency in checking in on the show. However, “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII,” arriving in the show’s 34th season, is full of genuine surprises, the least of which being that the annual anthology of horror tales seems like the show has found a spark of new creative energy. Okay, it’s primarily the second two parts of the episode which inspire that statement — not that the initial story, “The Pookadook” is bad, but it’s a pretty straightforward riff on...
Evan Peters Stayed in Character as Jeffrey Dahmer for Months While Shooting Netflix Show
Hollywood’s constant deluge of serial killer content stems from fascination: How could anyone drug, strangle, dismember, and cannibalize a fellow human being? That’s why when Evan Peters finally wrapped his head around it as he prepared to portray Jeffrey Dahmer in Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, he stayed in that place, remaining in character during the Netflix show’s six-month shoot. Peters and Murphy discussed the process of making the Milwaukee Monster biopic at a recent panel, Variety reports. After Murphy proclaimed that Peters “basically stayed in this character, as difficult as it was, for months,” the actor explained that he wore lead weights around his arms and lifts in his shoes to get Dahmer’s strangely proper physicality down. “He has a very straight ...
Tom Hanks Returns As David S. Pumpkins on SNL: Watch
Just in time for Halloween, David S. Pumpkins made his long-awaited return to Saturday Night Live. Tom Hanks made a surprise appearance on last night’s episode of SNL (Oct. 29th) to reprise the beloved character alongside his skeletal comrades played by Mikey Day and Bobby Moynihan. (SNL alum Moynihan also appeared earlier in the episode to reprise his Drunk Uncle character). Hanks previously portrayed David S. Pumpkins twice during SNL’s 42nd season in 2016. The success of the character led SNL to create an animated Halloween special that aired in 2017. However, because of Moynihan’s departure from the show following Season 43, there had not been another opportunity for Hanks to reprise the character — until last night. Related Video Below, you can watch SNL’s new David S. Pumpkins sketch...
Henry Cavill Leaving The Witcher, Liam Hemsworth Signs On As Replacement
With the return of Superman on the horizon, Henry Cavill is abdicating his lead role on Netflix’s The Witcher after three seasons. In his place, producers have tapped Liam Hemsworth to play Geralt of Rivia. “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,” Cavill said in a statement on Saturday. “In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam’s take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men. Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving in and seeing what you can find....
