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Dave wrote:

I think it’s symptomatic of a big corporate machine that moves slowly, moreso even than broadcast TV (which typically managed to get series out on a roughly annual schedule) – which is ironic given that Netflix has always tried to position itself as the slicker alternative.

And weird because they apparently are very fast and slick when it comes to putting together a new show. Talking about Unorthodox, Maria Schrader talked about how long and painstaking the process of getting anything off the ground usually is, and how Netflix just said, “Okay let’s go” and they were off.

Bit paradoxical, their approach.

I think part of it has probably been that they produce such a massive amount of stuff that the new projects have to join a long queue. Even a massive operation like Netflix doesn’t have infinite resources.

But I do see this changing over the next few years, as the economics of streaming services finally catch up on them (and others) and they can’t rely on endless subscriber growth any more.

I can foresee a period where they rein in their (ridiculously high) spending and focus on making fewer better-quality shows rather than churning out the endless mostly-mediocre product that Netflix has become synonymous with.

Which would be better for viewers as the quality shows would get prioritised, and better for Netflix as they’d build a higher-quality content library, rather than viewers having to wade through a lot of crap to find the gems.

The only question is whether Netflix has the right talent in place to ensure that quality. I think a lot of the recent turnover of creative talent within Netflix might be geared towards trying to ensure that.

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Christian

I’m not sure that while it may be better for me as a viewer that a smaller number of quality shows is a better business model.

Netflix has a level of user retention based on covering all quadrants with a constant flow of new material, be it anime, true crime docs, Korean soaps, it keeps coming. Apple has a model of a very few very high quality scripted shows but doesn’t have the subscriber base and most of what they do have don’t pay but get if free from hardware purchases.

I can actually see them keeping the quantity but just doing it cheaper.

I think they have so many shows, and so much of it filler, that they could cut down production considerably and still maintain a healthy presence in all those segments. The slew of new releases, combined with the dump model, means their stuff usually gets lost in the mix almost as soon as it comes out. I think they could be making a lot more out of a lot less.

One thing that’s important to Netflix, I think, is that they have a lot of regional productions. Mostly those are only important to the domestic markets of Germany, France, Denmark, Turkey or whatever, but sometimes you suddenly have a Dark or a Squid Game on your hands. I don’t think we’ve seen anything comparable to that with any of the other streaming services, or with TV, and I quite like that Netflix’s algorithm will just show me stuff like this and it’ll take me a bit to figure out where it’s from:

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Todd

There is a rather eccentric way to how they do stuff. I don’t know if it’s all by being data led but they do drop a lot of material with no publicity at all, they put red carpet premieres for stuff like Sandman and then Squid Game just randomly goes viral.

I think this is a big period of adjustment for streaming TV, we’ve passed the initial phase of just chucking money at it. HBO Max are dropping relatively obscure shows from their catalogue to presumably save on residual payments but I don’t know if that will be a great strategy. Disney+ are still in a heavy subsidy mode on their prices which won’t last. I think the pandemic idea of ditching the cinema is being hammered by the money Top Gun and Avatar 2 have made and are making. There’s many directions this can go.

Christian wrote:

One thing that’s important to Netflix, I think, is that they have a lot of regional productions. Mostly those are only important to the domestic markets of Germany, France, Denmark, Turkey or whatever, but sometimes you suddenly have a Dark or a Squid Game on your hands. I don’t think we’ve seen anything comparable to that with any of the other streaming services, or with TV, and I quite like that Netflix’s algorithm will just show me stuff like this and it’ll take me a bit to figure out where it’s from:

All of the big streamers have to do them, part of the deal for operating in the EU and elsewhere is that they need to make some content in those areas. Apple TV+ have Bad Sisters and The Essex Serpent. Disney+ have a bunch of European shows in development, Paramount+ too (The Flat Share is a recent UK show from them). https://deadline.com/2021/02/disney-european-originals-star-1234693868/

To be honest though Paul, a co-production with the UK/Ireland is bare minimum on that requirement.

If you had to review genuine effort beyond the Anglosphere you’d have Netflix as making a decent effort, Disney+ and Prime as bare minimum and Apple as next to fuck all.

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Christian

Yeah, I’m not really talking about UK and anglophone shows, there have always been some globally popular ones where that is concerned.

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garjones

Netflix are ahead of the pack in foreign content. I’ve shared before but if you saw the homepage my wife gets it would be unrecognisable from yours, almost exclusively Asian shows, from endless Korean drama to Bollywood and local fare. A lot of it bought in but a certain amount commissioned.

Disney + actually does okay there because they bought an Indian streaming service called Hotstar which they package together here but I don’t see the equivalent of a Dark or Money Heist for non English European content.

Even something like adapting American Jesus to be a Mexican set and Spanish language show is something I’m not sure other streamers would be of a mind to do. It makes sense logically, ‘America’ is not just the USA and a story written by a Catholic moved to a primarily Catholic country suits the material better in many ways.

Netflix have a lot of flaws but are also ahead of the other streamers globally by some margin, they are hitting growth challenges faster because of that. Disney claim they have more subscribers but there is a lot of sleight of hand in those numbers, they are including ESPN and Hotstar which had 65m subs in India primarily for the IPL cricket, the rights of which they recently lost. Take the live sports content out for a like for like comparison and their numbers are way behind.

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Ben

Enjoyed a couple of Korean series via Netflix – Taxi Driver and The Fiery Priest.

There does seem to be a weird anti-subs mindset out in the world.  I can’t say I understand it but it’s there.

Plus been watching Hong Kong movies for years – sure, you can have dubbing sometimes but it never looks right to me.

Speaking of foreign shows… I watched a danish show called Copenhagen Cowboy… that was REALLY weird and artsy, but damn, it looked gorgeous, just worth it for that alone.

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Ben, Todd

While it is not soley done by Netflix, they seem to reverse renewals a lot. Take for instance: Inside Job Cancelled at Netflix, Reversing Season 2 Renewal — Read Creator’s ‘Heartbroken’ Statement

It adds to the frustration of and reluctance of committing to a show, as it could get renewed only for it to be undone.

‘Night Court’ is not guilty of comedy, just retro sitcom mediocrity

JRCarter wrote:

‘Night Court’ is not guilty of comedy, just retro sitcom mediocrity

I’m still going to give it a try. Usually the first episode is the roughest as it’s mostly setup.

Looks like The Last Of Us TV series is getting rave reviews all over. Hoping this could turn out to be something special.

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Uncle Retrospective, Sean Robinson, njerry

Jon wrote:

Speaking of foreign shows… I watched a danish show called Copenhagen Cowboy… that was REALLY weird and artsy, but damn, it looked gorgeous, just worth it for that alone.

Yeah, that’s the new Nicholas Windig Refn show. You know, the guy who made Drive and Valhalla. I love his movies, but I still haven’t made it through his last show (Too Old to Die Young). I may try Copenhagen Cowboy before I get back to that one.

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Ben

Christian wrote:

Yeah, that’s the new Nicholas Windig Refn show. You know, the guy who made Drive and Valhalla. I love his movies, but I still haven’t made it through his last show (Too Old to Die Young).

I tried that last one due to the Brubaker connection, and sat through the (long and ponderous) opening episode, then couldn’t motivate myself to watch any further. A shame as I was really looking forward to it.

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Hadn’t picked up on the Refn aspect of that show, makes it more interesting.

6 ’90s TV Shows That Would Never Be Made Today

Ben wrote:

There does seem to be a weird anti-subs mindset out in the world.  I can’t say I understand it but it’s there.

It’s changing. There was a big issue, or at least a perceived one, in the past that nobody wants subtitles. Young people now switch subs on, ever for English shows.

There are strong elements of presumption in TV and cinema. For years and years Hollywood defended not having black leads in films because people in Asia were racist and wouldn’t watch it. Black Panther came out, did massive numbers in Asia.

It was what we term scientifically as ‘bullshit’ all along.

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Uncle Retrospective, njerry, Todd, Ben

I was not at all interested in the Frasier reboot that is looming but now I hear that Nicholas F’n Lyndhurst has been cast in it. Intriguing development.

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Dave

Lyndhurst will play Alan Cornwall, described as “Frasier’s old college buddy turned university professor. British, boozy and larger than life, Alan has an intellect on par with Frasier’s—if only he ever felt like using it. Alan’s mischievous streak might be just what Frasier could use to shake up his routine, while Frasier’s thoughtful guidance might help Alan find some of the direction he’s been missing in his own life.”

Sounds like it could be a fairly major role. I always found Lyndhurst likeable but he feels like an unusual pick for something like this.

Dave wrote:

I always found Lyndhurst likeable but he feels like an unusual pick for something like this.

It’s unusual to see a British sitcom actor cross over to a US show. In some ways it’s kind of weird though that they don’t in the same way we see in drama. Lyndhurst has been hugely popular in one massive show, as big as Frasier in the UK, he’s a very accomplished sitcom veteran.

In our heads they are completely different worlds, like Boycie off Only Fools and Horses being friends with Ice-T, however they are just doing the same job they’ve done all their careers in a different place.

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Dave

I meant the specific role based on the description really, more so than the principle.

But I guess it’s true that you don’t see that many UK sitcom actors taking up similar jobs in the US, although I’d never really thought about it.

I remember hearing the Red Dwarf guys talk about the US remake (where Robert Llewellyn’s Kryten was the only casting preserved for the new version of the show) – and the commitment required, in terms of signing up for years-long contracts (in case the show becomes a hit) sounded pretty daunting, and obviously would also necessitate moving your life to the US pretty much entirely.

Maybe UK actors tend to prefer the flexibility that shorter UK seasons give you in terms of being able to do other work alongside it, and not committing years of your life to something in that way.

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Todd

garjones wrote:

Lyndhurst has been hugely popular in one massive show, as big as Frasier in the UK, he’s a very accomplished sitcom veteran.

Oh definitely. And as well as OFAH he obviously also spent years doing Goodnight Sweetheart as well as other projects, so I’m sure he’s up to the job.

I was listening to Rich Hall chatting on RHLSTP this week and he said the amounts you get paid in the US for even one episode in a syndicated show from reruns is astronomical in comparison to the UK. He was saying it in reference to the fact that he was offered a part in a Seinfeld episode but was double booked. The 7 year contract really is not a great risk, it gets written off if the show is a flop and you can do what you want, if it is a massive hit 7 years means syndication and a lot of money for nothing because it endlessly gets repeated.

Which makes me suspect that it is less the actors not choosing to go but more not being asked.  Llewellyn is an exception but he was playing the same character that already had an American accent. Maybe the mindset was ‘Rodney wouldn’t work in the US’ rather than looking at whether the actor could.

US TV is awash with British dramatic actors but maybe the sitcom thing has had the needle moved by the streamers. I was listening to a US media review the other day and all 3 US hosts had watched and praised Derry Girls, which is on Netflix, go back 25 years and none of them would have seen a similar joint production like Father Ted.

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Todd

garjones wrote:

US TV is awash with British dramatic actors but maybe the sitcom thing has had the needle moved by the streamers. I was listening to a US media review the other day and all 3 US hosts had watched and praised Derry Girls, which is on Netflix, go back 25 years and none of them would have seen a similar joint production like Father Ted.

I think a lot of it is just accessibility. Until the last decade or so, those British shows usually only aired on BBC America or PBS, and if they had swearing in them probably in censored form or not at all, as well as being cut down to make room for more adverts.

Which is basically the point. Doctor Who ending up on Disney+ in a year’s time is massively more exposure than Al and Dan Slott watching it on PBS in the early 80s. It immediately appears day and date in 200 countries.

The idea of Americans watching British/Irish sitcoms, unfiltered and in large numbers, 20 years ago was not possible.

garjones wrote:

The 7 year contract really is not a great risk, it gets written off if the show is a flop and you can do what you want, if it is a massive hit 7 years means syndication and a lot of money for nothing because it endlessly gets repeated. Which makes me suspect that it is less the actors not choosing to go but more not being asked.

I don’t know, I can see it being off-putting to potentially having to uproot your life for that long if a show is a hit – especially if you have a family and kids or other ties to the UK.

But maybe there is simply an element of there not being the demand for it, I doubt the US is short on performers vying for positions in sitcoms and I guess you’d only actively bring in a UK actor if you had a good reason. Whereas with dramas there may be a different balance and it may be more favourable for UK talent.

Dave wrote:

I can see it being off-putting to potentially having to uproot your life for that long if a show is a hit

Me too. However there’s  no obvious answer here in that regard because the 7 year contract stuff applies regardless of the genre of show. Yet there’s a massive difference between drama and comedy crossing over.

There is no contractual difference between Hugh Laurie signing for a drama like House or fronting a sitcom and 99% of his output in the UK before taking that job was comedy.

garjones wrote:

Dave wrote:

I can see it being off-putting to potentially having to uproot your life for that long if a show is a hit

Me too. However there’s  no obvious answer here in that regard because the 7 year contract stuff applies regardless of the genre of show. Yet there’s a massive difference between drama and comedy crossing over.

There is no contractual difference between Hugh Laurie signing for a drama like House or fronting a sitcom and 99% of his output in the UK before taking that job was comedy.

Laurie’s probably not a great example as he specifically moved to the US because nobody in the UK would cast him in dramatic roles.

paul f wrote:

Laurie’s probably not a great example as he specifically moved to the US because nobody in the UK would cast him in dramatic roles.

Maybe but he’s one of dozens (to downplay it, maybe hundreds) compared to like 3.

I think drama (especially the kind of prestige dramas that might attract UK talent) is slightly less of a constant grind than sitcoms, the seasons tend to be shorter and even when they’re making a full season a year actors can usually find other projects to work on during breaks. Whereas a 22-episode (or whatever) sitcom takes up an awful lot of your time.

Having said that, something like House was a network drama that also had a large number of episodes per year and from what I gather Laurie didn’t have much room in his life for anything else.

I mean network TV before the streaming change was basically the same either genre. They did somewhere between 22 and 26 episodes. Sitcom by virtue of being typically 30 min rather than 60 (excluding ads which take them closer to 22m and 44m) is actually easier. Not sure what the logic is in this argument.

I’d be surprised if you could find any live action sitcom running close to Grey’s Anatomy.

It’s going back quite a way that that was typical though. You look at big prestigious TV shows of the last 20 years or so, the kind that are most likely to attract big UK talent, and most of them are around half that number of episodes per season.

Anyway, I’m not really making any particular argument, just talking it through and wondering why things are like they are. My initial point was only really that Nicholas Lyndhurst was slightly surprising casting for a boozy and mischievous but also highly intelligent professor.

It’s still not as odd as Raquel off Coronation Street being the lead in a prestige HBO bio-drama series.

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garjones

I think an exception may be What We Do in the Shadows. A primarily British cast for an American series. Matt Berry is a sitcom veteran (and a comedy god). The fact that it has only 10-episode seasons may be an incentive for the actors.

It is also incredibly funny!

Take it from one with American in-laws, there tends to be a notable difference between British and American senses of humour. Generalising here, and obviously there are exceptions to this, but a lot of British sitcoms in the past have been based on class issues and a sense of “everything is shit but we’re laughing anyway”, whereas the American versions are more glamorous and idealised. Seems like it would be harder to bridge that difference in comedy than it would be in drama or sci-fi.

saga wrote:

Take it from one with American in-laws, there tends to be a notable difference between British and American senses of humour. Generalising here, and obviously there are exceptions to this, but a lot of British sitcoms in the past have been based on class issues and a sense of “everything is shit but we’re laughing anyway”, whereas the American versions are more glamorous and idealised. Seems like it would be harder to bridge that difference in comedy than it would be in drama or sci-fi.

You see the same thing with soap operas, where the quintessential American ones are about glamourous people living lavish lives, corporate raiders and their dealings; while British ones tend to be kitchen sink dramas about working-class people and low-level criminals.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

saga wrote:

Take it from one with American in-laws, there tends to be a notable difference between British and American senses of humour.

There is 100%. A major running theme in British sitcom is the pompous character having his ego popped, there from Captain Peacock to David Brent. It’s also a lot more visual, a lot of the classic moments of British sitcom are physical gags, Basil attacking his own car with a branch, the chandelier in OFAH, David Brent’s dancing. US live action sitcom is very heavily based on the dialogue, it is about wisecracks (I say live action because animated US comedy often isn’t, it’s a lot closer to the British style). Also yes in all US TV it is a lot more aspirational, however unrealistic you’ll have unemployed people in New York living in 2000 square foot apartments. Married With Children often confused me because it was centred around Al being a failure in life but he had a big house and a hot wife and a daughter with model good looks.

Saying that, what we don’t have here is John Sullivan writing Frasier (yeah I know he’s dead now anyway but as a theoretical idea), it’s a comedic actor being hired to act in a comedy show.

On reflection I think I wasn’t really disagreeing with Dave on his view of the specific casting but more the general social media reaction that it is weird seeing a British sitcom star in a US sitcom. It is unusual because we’ve rarely seen it before but from another angle it is weird we haven’t more on the basis of person good at job takes very similar job abroad.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, lorcan_nagle, Dave

In other Frasier: The Next Generation news, it seems that the premise will indeed mirror the original show – Frasier is the pompous old father who has to contend with his working class adult son (Frasier’s son, Frederick, having dropped out of college to become a firefighter). That was the most obvious way to go with it, after all.

Rather a shame that they’ve cast Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frederick rather than Trevor Einhorn, who played him for the bulk of the original show and is still acting. It would have been a kick to see him reprise the role as an adult. Thought he did pretty well with his turn in Mad Men. Admittedly, him as a firefighter might be a bit of stretch.

Hopefully Frasier insists on bringing his antique designer armchair to nestle among Frederick’s beat-up old sofas.

And Frasier has an anti-social cat that insists on scratching Frederick as much as possible.

Plus, he has a live-in healthcare worker who is a grumpy, fat old Scotsman that hates Frasier’s non-existent brother.

Also, nobody says anything clever or funny.

Just invert everything about the original and call it a day.

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Dave

Maris appears in every scene.

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Todd

CNN Reportedly Trying To Hire Comedian As Host, Here Are The Names Being Mentioned

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Todd

38 years ago today, THUNDERCATS first premiered. pic.twitter.com/WDP3jgYNLq

— CCN (@thecartoonnews) January 23, 2023

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Todd, Martin Smith

JRCarter wrote:

CNN Reportedly Trying To Hire Comedian As Host, Here Are The Names Being Mentioned

Fox News struck gold with Greg Gutfield and they are trying to compete with that. If they do it, I think it will fail miserably.

Ratings are down on network talk shows as younger people are not watching them and conservatives finally have someone they consider funny to watch who matches their beliefs and values and speaks to them. Gutberg hit at the time when network talk shows are showing decline. I don’t think Millennials and Gen Z care about network talk shows like previous generations have.

CNN has been struggling for some time now. With WBD as their corporate master, things have probable gotten worse. Hiring a comedian to host a talk show is not the answer they are looking for.

JRCarter wrote:

38 years ago today, THUNDERCATS first premiered. pic.twitter.com/WDP3jgYNLq

— CCN (@thecartoonnews) January 23, 2023

Still waiting on the inevitable Paw Patrol crossover.

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Todd

Adult Swim Severs Ties With ‘Rick And Morty’ Co-Creator Justin Roiland After Domestic Violence Charges; Voice Roles Will Be Recast

https://deadline.com/2023/01/adult-swim-severs-ties-rick-and-morty-co-creator-justin-roiland-domestic-violence-charges-1235239868/

Feels like this was inevitable since all the shady shit about Roiland came out. I don’t see recasting the two making characters really working that well. It’ll probably limp on for another season, but it feels like the show is done, which is a shame imo.

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Todd

Ian Smith wrote:

https://deadline.com/2023/01/adult-swim-severs-ties-rick-and-morty-co-creator-justin-roiland-domestic-violence-charges-1235239868/

Feels like this was inevitable since all the shady shit about Roiland came out. I don’t see recasting the two making characters really working that well. It’ll probably limp on for another season, but it feels like the show is done, which is a shame imo.

They ordered 70 episodes of the show a few years ago. I’m not sure if it’s 20 or 30 or those that have aired, but they have a lot more in the works. I’d imagine the next two seasons are already written.

Roiland doesn’t seem to have written for the show in almost 4 years, and there are enough talented voice actors that someone will be able to do a decent impression of his voices. I’d say the big problem would be a boycott from reactionary fans yelling about the show going Woke, but that group are historically terrible at maintaining a boycott.

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lorcan_nagle wrote:

I’d say the big problem would be a boycott from reactionary fans yelling about the show going Woke, but that group are historically terrible at maintaining a boycott.

I suspect not because they are bad at it but they are a very loud but very small group.

I heard a guy from DC the other day saying they surveyed their readers via comic shops and only 5% even had Twitter accounts, we see the crowd funders for these right wing creators that while often the sums are pretty high the number of people pledging is just a couple of hundred. Chances are that is the entirety of Comicsgate – 300 odd guys.

Just scale that up for a TV show and you can very likely happily ignore them.

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DavidM, Todd, lorcan_nagle

‘Extraordinary’ Is a Superhero Show for People Tired of Superheroes

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/extraordinary-review-hulus-superhero-show-for-people-tired-of-superheroes?source=articles&via=rss

[lorcan_nagle]

garjones wrote:

lorcan_nagle wrote:

I’d say the big problem would be a boycott from reactionary fans yelling about the show going Woke, but that group are historically terrible at maintaining a boycott.

I suspect not because they are bad at it but they are a very loud but very small group.

I heard a guy from DC the other day saying they surveyed their readers via comic shops and only 5% even had Twitter accounts, we see the crowd funders for these right wing creators that while often the sums are pretty high the number of people pledging is just a couple of hundred. Chances are that is the entirety of Comicsgate – 300 odd guys.

Just scale that up for a TV show and you can very likely happily ignore them.

It’s a mix of both things. A lot of these reactionary groups are far smaller than they make it seem between use of sockpuppets and bots, people being so loud that they drown out all dissenting voices, and as you note, Twitter not being at all representative of the real world on account of it actually being a very small social media site. But even inside that group they’re shit at boycotting. This image is often trotted out, it’s a Steam group of people who claimed they were going to boycott Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Note that of the 36 accounts visible in the screenshot, just over half of them are playing Modern Warfare 2…

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by lorcan_nagle.

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DavidM, Todd, garjones

So it may not have been the domestic violence charges that got Roiland fired but texting underage girls.

Who is Allie Goertz? Justin Roiland underage girls DM screenshots surface in wake of musician’s accusations

No surprise here:

Hulu Cuts Ties With Justin Roiland; Solar Opposites and Koala Man to Continue Without His Involvement

spoiler free

‘The Last Of Us’ Lands HBO’s Biggest Episode 1 To 2 Viewership Jump Ever – Forbes

In case you needed any more evidence that HBO’s The Last of Us is the storied channel’s latest breakout megahit, here’s a fun new bit of data to join its rave reviews and high premiere numbers.

WB Discovery is now reporting that The Last of Us had the largest episode 1 to episode 2 viewership gain in HBO history. It was up 22% to 5.7 million viewers Sunday night.

In part, it’s easy to see why this happened. The Last of Us now has 18 million people that have watched its premiere, which is 4x more than its premiere night alone. So what clearly happened is that some percent of those who watched over the following week were hooked enough to want to tune in when the episode aired live the following Sunday rather than waiting.

But it’s a larger percentage than ever before. The most common thing you see from shows is a big premiere, followed by a few weeks of drop-off. A good show will build up that audience and usually surpass the premiere for a big finale. A great show has such positive word of mouth (“you must watch this”) that the numbers go up week to week. That’s where The Last of Us landed, and it went up more than…any other show.

Naturally, the first thing I thought of was Game of Thrones, to see how it compared. Guess what? Game of Thrones live viewership went down in week 2, from 2.22 million to 2.20 million. However, by the end of the season, everyone was hooked, and the finale had 3.04 million viewers. Then, of course, it became a global sensation, and the show ended with 13.61 million viewers for the series finale.

House of the Dragon is a really curious case. Not only did viewership go up between episodes 1 and 2, 2.17 million to 2.26 million, the second episode was actually the peak of the show’s first season. The finale drew 1.85 million viewers. Of course, all of this is heavily skewed by how many people are watching on HBO Max and in the days and week that follow each episode airing.

But the bottom line is… The Last of Us is a blockbuster for HBO. A second season is guaranteed at this point, and I would expect that announcement any minute now. While season 1 is meant to cover the entire first game, season 2 will cover only part of the second game, given its size. And I do wonder how audiences will handle one…particular development that opens the second game, but more on that later.

For now, HBO and everyone involved in making The Last of Us should be basking in its success. And supposedly its best episode is airing this upcoming Sunday, according to reviewers who have seen them all…

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Sean Robinson

‘The Last Of Us’ renewed for season two at HBO – Variety

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Dave

Sean Robinson wrote:

‘The Last Of Us’ renewed for season two at HBO – Variety

This is genuinely the least expected news all week.

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Dave, Todd, Sean Robinson

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Sean Robinson wrote:

‘The Last Of Us’ renewed for season two at HBO – Variety

This is genuinely the least expected news all week.

I think it caught us all by surprise.

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lorcan_nagle

TLoU season two, hmm?

Ok, for those engaging in online discourse, prepare your hazmat suits for it will not be merely toxic, but radioactive.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle, Dave

I really need to play part 2. For as much as a loved the first one, it’s odd that I never got around to it.

I liked TLoU2, despite its detractors – it makes some bold creative and gameplay choices when they could have easily taken the lazy road and rehashed the first game.

I get why some people didn’t like it but I enjoyed it a lot.

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Ian Smith

The Justin Roiland thing sucks. Why can’t we have good things?!

It’s hard to imagine R&M being voiced by someone else. Hope they can make it work.

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Todd

The Ark starts tonight. – click for Wiki link

The Ark is a Modest Adventure of Clever Pseudo-Science – Roger Ebert

‘The Ark’ Review: A Rude Awakening in Space – Wall Street Journal

‘The Ark’ Review: Syfy’s Space-Disaster Series Stumbles Before Reaching Warp Speed as an Engaging Adventure – Hollywood Reporter

The Ark Review: A Welcome Space Sci-Fi Throwback – Den of Geek

The Ark Review: Syfy Spaceship Drama Navigates an Enticing Mystery – Movie Web

Sean Robinson wrote:

The Ark starts tonight. – click for Wiki link

The Ark is a Modest Adventure of Clever Pseudo-Science – Roger Ebert

‘The Ark’ Review: A Rude Awakening in Space – Wall Street Journal

‘The Ark’ Review: Syfy’s Space-Disaster Series Stumbles Before Reaching Warp Speed as an Engaging Adventure – Hollywood Reporter

The Ark Review: A Welcome Space Sci-Fi Throwback – Den of Geek

The Ark Review: Syfy Spaceship Drama Navigates an Enticing Mystery – Movie Web

Cancelled before the season finishes.

‘Dr. Phil’ Talk Show to End in Spring After 21 Seasons

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Todd, njerry

JRCarter wrote:

‘Dr. Phil’ Talk Show to End in Spring After 21 Seasons

Then where will Mrs. Phil sell her beauty products?!

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Todd, JRCarter

Channel 4: Inside The Doomed Sale Of A Crown Jewel Of British Television

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Ben, Martin Smith

‘The Last of Us’ episode 5 available early due to Superbowl – Hollywood Reporter

Episode five will be available on HBO Max and HBO On Demand starting this Friday, Feb. 10, at 9 a.m. ET. The linear telecast on the HBO cable network will still air on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 9 p.m. ET. This gets the latest adventure of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) to viewers well ahead of the big game Sunday

JRCarter wrote:

I would rather have a third season of Black Dynamite.

Hasbro have started putting full* episodes of Beast Wars on Youtube!

 

*no idea if they’ve made any sneaky edits.

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JRCarter, Uncle Retrospective

So long as they put the Dirk Dinobot poster in, we’re all good.

This sounds like a really bad idea:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/07/fawlty-towers-john-cleese-reboot

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Todd

Ben wrote:

This sounds like a really bad idea: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/07/fawlty-towers-john-cleese-reboot%5B/quote%5D

Seeing as Cleese is going to start working for GB News, this is probably going to be an anti woke tirade.

And it will be fucking terrible.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle, Ben

Interesting article about Justin Roiland.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/justin-roiland-animation-empire-implosion-rick-and-morty-1235319366/

 

More recently, multiple sources say that Roiland, other than voice work, has not had any meaningful creative presence on any of the series that bear his name. In fact, many of his former colleagues say they haven’t heard from him in years, and when they have, it’s been unpleasant. They note, too, that he hasn’t been on speaking terms with his Rick and Morty co-creator, Dan Harmon, for multiple seasons, and a substantial number of staffers on that show as well as Solar Opposites and Koala Man have never actually met Roiland, even over Zoom.

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Chris D, Sean Robinson, Todd

Yeah, Roiland doesn’t have a writing credit on Rick and Morty since series 2

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Todd

Super Bowl Commercials 2023: Watch Ads With Melissa McCarthy, Adam Driver, Bryan Cranston, Natasha Lyonne, John Travolta And More – Update – Deadline

UPDATED with more commercials. Super Sunday is upon us — and with it, Madison Avenue’s annual spending spree, which has seen the Big Game’s Hollywood quotient rise noticeably in recent years.

Celebrity product pitches date back to the days of leather helmets, of course, but in the increasingly rare air of the Super Bowl they have started to overtake the left-field breakouts of the past by the likes of Puppy Monkey Baby or beer-loving frogs. With Fox’s telecast commanding a peak level of more than $7 million for 30-second spots, producers and brands again are banking on stars in a big way. Super Bowl LVII, a contest in Arizona between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, will feature commercials starring Adam Driver, Melissa McCarthy and Miles and Keleigh Teller. Streaming services — a burgeoning category — will feature plugs by Will Ferrell, Natasha Lyonne and Sylvester Stallone.

You want reboots? There will be reboots. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reteam as their Breaking Bad characters to plug Popcorners. Brian Cox joins a roster of A-list athletes for a riff on Caddyshack, and Alicia Silverstone leads a full-blown mini-remake of Clueless. In the quasi-reboot category is a Grease medley featuring T-Mobile pitchmen Zach Braff and Donald Faison, who harmonize on the suburban set for the telco’s usual ads — only this time with the original Danny Zuko, John Travolta.

Watch the commercials below, with many online spots running longer than those airing during the game.

As the nachos and guacamole were being prepped for this year’s game, Kantar’s Vivvix released some eye-catching stats from last year’s Super Bowl. Ad rates for in-game spots, the research firm said, were $6.5 million for 30 seconds, up from $4.5 million in 2017. Total revenue, accordingly, shot up 33% in 2022 compared with 2021, reaching $578.36 million for NBCUniversal. (NBCU, Paramount and Fox have been in a three-way rotation for the Big Game.)

With all of those dollars on the line, brands have been looking to Hollywood as a way to hopefully stand out on a noisy evening.

Bryan Buckley, a leading director of Super Bowl commercials with dozens of game-day credits since 1999, recently weighed in on the changing use of famous figures during an interview on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. “When I first got into it, there were some high-end celebrities but a lot of washed-up celebrities looking to reinvent themselves on the Super Bowl,” he said. “Now, it’s pretty much A-listers across the board.” As to the effectiveness of mobilizing big names, he added: “It’s proven to work. You just need those celebrities that people want to talk about.”

Here are the advertisers and names hoping to inspire conversation on Sunday and beyond: (Click the link for more…)

Sean Robinson wrote:

Watch Ads

No.

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Ben, Dave, Todd

So strange how there’s a prevailing sense of anti-ads most of the year and then for this one broadcast the pro-ads brigade get themselves all riled up.

Perhaps this is something else Americans could yell at each other about.

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Todd, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

saga wrote:

So strange how there’s a prevailing sense of anti-ads most of the year and then for this one broadcast the pro-ads brigade get themselves all riled up.

Perhaps this is something else Americans could yell at each other about.

Wasn’t the “don’t be an asshole” Gilette ad the pissbabies got upset about a couple of years ago related to the Superbowl?

Avenue 5 has been cancelled

https://www.avclub.com/hbo-suddenly-remembers-it-hadnt-canceled-avenue-5-yet-1850102366

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Todd

Oh that’s a shame. I did wonder whether it was the kind of thing that might struggle to build a wider audience, but still sad to see it go.

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Ben, Todd, Sean Robinson

Dave wrote:

Oh that’s a shame. I did wonder whether it was the kind of thing that might struggle to build a wider audience, but still sad to see it go.

I’m not surprised. I think the gap between seasons hurt any potential momentum it may have built. Then HBO then dropped Season 2 with practically no notice.

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lorcan_nagle

I didn’t know Netflix was making this. Loved the series so hopefully this is a good adaption🤞.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

That news actually made me realise there is already an animated adaptation of Urasawa’s Monster up on Netflix. That’s added to the watch list.

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lorcan_nagle

March 19. Note sure where and when this will air outside of Canada but ITV Studios are co-producing so likely that’s where it’ll end up in the UK.

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Christian, Sean Robinson, Dave

Oh wow, very cool that they used the comics cover for this! Looks great.

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garjones

‘Judge Mathis’ and ‘The Peoples’ Court’ to end after more than 20 seasons on air

18 years ago today, ‘AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ premiered on Nickelodeon. pic.twitter.com/k8TobmtE4y

— Cartoon Crave (@CartoonCrave_) February 21, 2023

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Uncle Retrospective

Hot Comic ‘Something Is Killing the Children’ Getting Series Treatment From ‘1899’ Showrunners, Netflix – Hollywood Reporter

The comic adaptation is the first project to come from Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s freshly renewed overall deal with the streamer.

Something Is Killing the Children, the popular comic by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera published by Boom! Studios, is getting another shot at an adaptation from Netflix.

Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, the German creators of buzzy cult series Dark and 1899, have been tapped to develop a series adaptation of the comic, one of the biggest titles not published by DC or Marvel.

The project is the first to come out of the duo’s freshly renewed first-look overall deal with the streaming giant that is said to be in the eight figures.

Bo Odar and Friese will write, showrun and executive produce should the project get the green light. They will also direct the pilot. Boom!’s Stephen Christy and Ross Richie will executive produce the adaptation. Tynion and Dell’Edera will co-executive produce.

Bo Odar and Friese gained a following for their series, sci-fi- and horror-tinged mystery shows praised for their craftsmanship and storytelling. Dark, in particular, may find some thematic overlap with Children as it was an ensemble that focused on missing children and multiple timelines.

Children’s first story arc told of a town plagued by monsters that feast on children, with one teen survivor telling tales that no adult believes. Into this setting enters a mysterious young woman named Erica Slaughter. The woman, who occasionally converses with her stuffed animal, isn’t there to mince words but rather to mince monsters. The comic then opened up its world, focusing on the monster-killing cabal and its sinister politics.

Debuting in September 2019, Children was a hit that kept growing. The first issue has sold over 175,000 copies over the course of multiple printings while the comic has sold over 2 million since launch, a rare feat in modern publishing — not just in the indie comics world but even for Marvel and DC books. A spinoff, House of Slaughter, also written by Tynion, is also a top seller.

Children has also seen numerous plaudits thrown its way, earning an Eisner for best new series in 2020, a Harvey Award for book of the year, and a Ringo Award for best series.

The comic was previously being developed by Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan, the team behind The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep, who came on board in 2021. Creative differences sunk the project. The duo had a first-look at Netflix at the time, but after series The Midnight Club failed to connect in fall of 2022, they decamped to Amazon in December.

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Christian

I can’t express how much I don’t want Netflix anywhere near something is killing the children.

At this point I think even a BBC adaptation would be better. It’d look slightly cheaper but would last more than one season.

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Todd, garjones

Whereas I am very happy about this being adapted, and I’m fine with it being at Netflix. They’ve been pretty good with comics properties – I love The Umbrella Academy, Sandman got a second season, Locke and Key was alright and was given 3 seasons.

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Rocket, garjones, Sean Robinson