TV
Murky Truths and Murky Waters Collide in the Compelling 1899: Review
The Pitch: Several years ago, German creative/romantic partners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar made their mark with Netflix’s sci-fi/thriller series Dark. Centered around “A missing child [who] sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations,” it was heavily praised by critics and audiences. Thus, the roughly two-and-a-half-year wait to see what the duo would do next has been tough, to put it mildly. That brings us to their second succinctly-yet-enigmatically-titled show for the streaming service, 1899. This time, “multinational immigrants traveling from the old continent to the new encounter a nightmarish riddle aboard a second ship adrift on the open sea.” Along the way, various truths and connections are discovered ab...
MGM+ and Prime Video Announce Silk: Spider Society, Other Spider-Man Series to Follow
MGM+ and Prime Video have inked a new deal to produce a new suite of television shows based on Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The first series, Silk: Spider Society, comes from showrunner Angela Kang and centers on the superhero Silk. Silk is the alias of Cindy Moon, a Korean American woman who was bit by the same spider that bit Peter Parker. The character was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramo and first appeared in a 2014 Marvel comic. Silk: Spider Society serves as a bit of the superhero’s origin story, following Moon as she escapes imprisonment and searches for her missing family before she officially becomes Silk. Kang, who currently serves as showrunner of The Walking Dead, signed a multi-year deal to create television for Amazon Studios. On Silk: Spider Society, ...
Welcome to Chippendales Is True Crime at Its Most Compelling and Unexpected: Review
The Pitch: If you don’t live under a rock, chances are you’ve heard of Chippendales: the elegant, trailblazing first-ever all-male strip-tease troupe that has been bringing delightfully scandalous thrills to audiences since the 1970s. What you may not know, however, is that the burlesque’s history is brimming with conspiracy, racketeering, arson, and murder. Over the course of 10 episodes, Welcome to Chippendales, Robert Siegel’s limited series based on K. Scot Macdonald and Patrick MontesDeOca’s 2014 literary exposée Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders, shrewdly examines and unravels the club’s shocking, harrowing history. The show rigorously dissects the troupe’s inception, rise to fame, and subsequent descent into the deepest, most gruesome bowels of corruption. A Killer Strip Tease:...
Emily Blunt on the Tragic Epic Romance of The English: “You’ll Have Hearts Pounding”
[Editor’s note: The following contains mild spoilers for The English.] The new Prime Video series The English is an unconventional Western for a number of reasons, but the most central one might be the romance at its center. “It was the most tender love story and surprising love story,” star Emily Blunt tells Consequence. “I loved their chemistry.” Set in the late 1800s, largely on the wild plains of Kansas and Wyoming, The English focuses on a vengeful Englishwoman (Blunt) and the Pawnee ex-soldier (Chaske Spencer) who becomes an essential part of her quest for revenge. As they work together to fight and survive, a bond develops that was very much by design, according to writer/director Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman). Related Video “The cowboy picture, at least the ones I respond to, t...
Lily-Rose Depp Calls Out Sexism in “Nepotism Baby” Label: “I Just Hear It a Lot More About Women”
Lily-Rose Depp’s got some pretty famous parents, but don’t blame them for her success. The model and actress aired out her issues with the “nepotism baby” label she’s faced in recent years in a new interview with Elle, pointing to the fact that more famous women are accused of benefiting from nepotism than famous men. Memes abound on social media about the deflating feeling of discovering that one’s favorite celebrity has famous parents, with the insinuation that their talent disappears after realizing that they probably had a helping hand in achieving success. However, Lily-Rose — daughter of Johnny Depp and French singer Vanessa Paradis — argues that said interest in one’s famous parents really only exists online. “The internet seems to care a lot about that kind of stuff. People ar...
Donald Glover Will Be in Community Movie, Dan Harmon Says
Earlier this year, the exciting news that Community was coming back with a movie was somewhat dampened when it appeared that Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) wasn’t included in the returning cast. Now, however, Community co-creator Dan Harmon says that omission was simply a mistake, and that Glover will actually be in the movie after all. It seemed understandable that Glover wouldn’t return to Community, which originally ran from 2009 to 2015, since the multi-hyphenate has grown increasingly busy with Atlanta and his music career as Childish Gambino in the years since the sitcom’s end. But according to Harmon, who addressed the reboot at a recent Variety Business Managers Breakfast, “For lack of a better word, there was a ball fumbled… [Glover] is down to...
Dave Chappelle and Black Star to Appear on Next Episode of SNL
Dave Chappelle will host Saturday Night Live’s November 12th episode alongside musical guest Black Star, the hip-hop duo of Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey, a.k.a. Mos Def. In what has become something of a tradition, Chappelle is once again tasked with hosting the first SNL episode following a major US election. He previously hosted shows following presidential elections in 2016 and 2020; now, he’ll return to Studio 8H for the first episode in the wake of the 2022 midterms. Chappelle will be joined by Black Star, making their SNL debut. The duo recently released their sophomore album, No Fear of Time, through Luminary, the podcast network which counts Chappelle as among its main investors. Advertisement Related Video Saturday Night Live is currently in its 49th season. The season premiere was ...
Everything You Need To Know About One Piece, Including What Order the Movies Are In
Japan’s box office has been dominated recently by an anime film, which has held the number one spot for eleven consecutive weeks — only the third film ever to achieve such a feat. However, considering that the film is a One Piece property, it’s not at all surprising. In its 25-year-long run, the One Piece franchise has spawned an anime adaptation, books, theme park attractions, video games, plays, live-action series, and 15 theatrical films — including the upcoming One Piece Film: Red. Like popular series Dragon Ball and Naruto, One Piece has become a cultural icon not just in its home country but across the world, similar to the MCU. Here’s everything you need to know about it, including the order of the films. What Is One Piece? One Piece began as a Japanese shonen manga series by mangak...
The Crown Season 5 Review: Tragedies to Come Hang Heavily Over the Penultimate Installment
The Pitch: In Season 5 of The Crown, one unifying theme stands out — being royalty is not a good time. The stately Netflix drama’s penultimate run of episodes has now clearly reached the beginning of the end, as Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton, succeeding Olivia Colman) faces her age, Prince Charles (Dominic West, succeeding Josh O’Connor) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki, succeeding Emma Corrin) face their infamous divorce, and Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce, succeeding Tobias Menzies) faces… getting really into carriage racing. As grey and somber as ever, the fifth season continues the show’s march towards the one seismic event that will shake Britain to its core. But it takes its time, while continuing to explore both the symbolic power of the royal family — as well as the diffi...
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 ...
