| | | | What's news: Former SNL star Chris Redd was attacked near a New York comedy club. Fox's Call Me Kat paid tribute to late star Leslie Jordan. Showtime has canceled City on the Hill. Joe Alwyn has been cast in Yorgos Lanthimos' And. Starz has renewed The Serpent Queen. — Abid Rahman |
'Dahmer': Ryan Murphy Says Show Contacted Victims' Family, Friends ►"Not a single person responded to us." Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story creator Ryan Murphy said he and his team reached out to 20 victims’ families and friends during the three and a half years it took to research and prepare for the Netflix series about the serial killer. However, the show has been criticized for the heavy focus on Dahmer's horrifying behavior and framing of the victims' stories and has received backlash from some victims' families. Talking at an event for the show on Thursday, Murphy added that Dahmer's victims deserve a memorial, and he would be "happy to pay" for it. The story.
—"The bird is freed." Elon Musk has officially taken control of Twitter. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has finally closed the $44b deal, and immediately began overhauling the platform that he says will be built around free speech. Musk's first order of business was relieving the company’s senior leadership, firing CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal. The story.
—"I’m a big believer in celebrating every moment." Fox aired a video tribute to late television star Leslie Jordan during Thursday’s new airing of his series Call Me Kat. Jordan was honored during the broadcast of “Call Me Uncle Dad,” the fifth episode of Call Me Kat’s third season. Jordan played baker Phil as part of the comedy’s main cast, alongside Mayim Bialik, Swoosie Kurtz and Cheyenne Jackson. The story.
—Unprovoked attack. Former Saturday Night Live star Chris Redd was assaulted near a New York comedy club Wednesday night. The 37-year-old comedian and actor was punched by an unknown assailant outside the Comedy Cellar after arriving at the venue. Redd was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and then released. The story.
—Returning to the stage. Katie Holmes is set to star in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of The Wanderers. The play is written by The Last Match's Anna Ziegler and directed by Barry Edelstein. Holmes is set to play movie star Julia Cheever, who sends an unexpected email to a secular Jew named Abe, a famous novelist who believes he can write his own future. The limited engagement will open on Feb. 16 at the Laura Pels Theater in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in New York. The story. |
'Girls5eva' Renewed At Netflix ►Moving on. Peacock's music comedy Girls5eva has been renewed for a third season — on Netflix. Sources tell THR's Lesley Goldberg that the show didn’t find an audience on Peacock and has been picked up by Netflix in the hope the latter streamer's global platform could help the series find an audience as it did with Pop’s Schitt’s Creek and Lifetime’s You. The deal for the series also includes rights to Girls5eva’s first two seasons, which will stream on both Peacock and Netflix. The story.
—The Americans in Berlin. FX has handed out a pilot order for drama The Bends, from writer Paul Attanasio (House, Quiz Show, Donnie Brasco) and The Handmaid’s Tale exec producer Warren Littlefield. The drama follows a seemingly perfect American family in Berlin whose secrets come to light when they hire a new nanny, unaware that she is trying to expose the parents’ corrupt financial and familial ties. The Bends is based on Gerald Seymour’s book, Killing Ground. The story.
—Coming back. Starz has handed out a second-season renewal for The Serpent Queen. The news comes ahead of this weekend’s season one finale of the drama that stars Samantha Morton as ruthless ruler Catherine de Medici. Based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, the show was ordered straight to series in early 2021. The story.
—Alternate stream. LeBron James is partnering up with Amazon's Prime Video to bring a special version of his show Uninterrupted The Shop to Thursday Night Football. James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera and special guests will join TNF live from The Shop as an alternate stream offering, starting with the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers game Nov. 17. The story. |
Aldis Hodge to Star in Amazon's Alex Cross Series ►Getting closer. A long-gestating series based on James Patterson’s Alex Cross novels is officially moving forward at Amazon’s Prime Video. The streamer has given a series order to Cross, with Aldis Hodge (Black Adam, Showtime’s City on a Hill) playing the title role. Ben Watkins (Apple’s Truth Be Told, Amazon’s Hand of God) will serve as showrunner on the series from Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television. The story.
—Closing the case. It's lucky that Aldis Hodge has found new TV work, because Showtime has canceled drama series City on a Hill after three seasons. Sources tell THR's Rick Porter that the decision to bring the show to an end was quietly made some time ago, prior to an executive shakeup earlier this month that saw long-time Showtime head David Nevins exit. The story.
—🎭 Casting news 🎭 King Richard star, and Oscar nominee, Aunjanue L. Ellis is set to star in The Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name. Directed by RaMell Ross, the story is set in Jim Crow-era Florida and focuses on two boys unjustly sentenced to a brutal reform school. MGM’s Orion Pictures, Plan B Entertainment and Anonymous Content will produce the movie adaptation, which will also star Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater and Fred Hechinger. The story.
—🎭 More casting news 🎭 THR's Etan Vlessing has the scoop on Joe Alwyn joining Emma Stone in Yorgos Lanthimos’ next movie, And. Alwyn, who had a breakout role in Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, also starred in Lanthimos’ The Favourite alongside Stone. And begins production in New Orleans this month. The story.
—Oscar Isaac presents. THR's Seth Abramovitch spoke to Oscar Isaac about his latest creative endeavor, penning a graphic novel about a cop who walks around with a bullet hole in his head. The Moon Knight star released his debut graphic novel, Head Wounds: Sparrow, through Legendary Comics, the publishing arm of the company producing Dune. The interview. |
Film Review: 'Enola Holmes 2' ►"One too many loose threads." THR critic Lovia Gyarkye reviews Harry Bradbeer's Enola Holmes 2. Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill reprise their roles as Enola and Sherlock in this Netflix follow-up to the popular detective spinoff. The review.
—Royal pedigree. BAFTA is looking to give its film and TV awards ceremonies a shot in the arm and has hired a new production company to “reimagine and significantly expand” the production and format of both events. Spun Gold TV, the company that produced ITV's coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday and Platinum Jubilee celebrations, has been brought on board as co-producer for the BAFTA Film and BAFTA TV ceremonies in 2023 and 2024. The story.
—Pilot ordered. Onyx Collective, the Disney studio focused on underrepresented communities, has handed out a pilot order for Deli Boys. The comedy stars Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh, and comes from writer and creator Abdullah Saeed (High Maintenance). The comedy revolves around a pair of pampered Pakistani-American brothers who, after their convenience store magnate father suddenly dies, lose everything and are forced to reckon with their father’s secret life of crime. The story.
—Still on top. The big streaming numbers for Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer series continued in the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2. The streamer’s users watched 4.37b minutes’ worth of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story for the week, according to Nielsen, a 19 percent increase over its already huge premiere week. The tally is the seventh largest for any streaming series since Nielsen began measuring streaming. The streaming rankings. |
Thank Pod It's Friday ► All the latest content from THR's podcast studio.
—TV's Top 5. THR's Lesley Goldberg and Dan Fienberg break down the latest TV news. The duo begin by running through the week's headlines, including James Gunn's new job as co-head of DC Studios, The CW's Nancy Drew coming to an end, Amazon canceling As We See It. There's a segment on shows switching streamers, including Girls5eva moving from Peacock to Netflix and Chad shifting from TBS to Roku. Josh Wigler returns to the podcast to look back at the first season of House of the Dragon. Wednesday showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar drop by for a chat. And Dan reviews HBO’s The White Lotus S2, Netflix’s Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities and Big Mouth. Listen here.
—It Happened in Hollywood. THR senior writer Seth Abramovitch goes behind the scenes of the pop culture moments that shaped Hollywood history. In this episode Seth spoke to director Randal Kleiser. The Grease filmmaker spills on the classic musical, revealing that Deep Throat star Harry Reems was originally hired to play Coach Calhoun in the 1978 blockbuster before Paramount execs forced producer Alan Carr to fire the adult film star. Listen here.
—Behind the Screen. THR's tech editor Carolyn Giardina's podcast focuses on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode, film editor, and THR's second-nicest man, Aaron Couch subs in and speaks to cinematographer Lawrence Sher. The Black Adam lenser reveals how that much talked about superhero cameo was filmed in secret and also shares an update for Joker 2. Listen here.
—Awards Chatter. Awards analyst Scott Feinberg talks to the great and the good of Hollywood. In this episode, Scott spoke to Eddie Redmayne. The Oscar winner reflects on his collaborations with Tom Hooper, the movie on which Harvey Weinstein bullied him and the roles for which he has received the most acclaim, from Dr. Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything to a nurse with a dark secret in Netflix's The Good Nurse. Listen here.
In other news...
—The Pale Blue Eye trailer sees Christian Bale investigate a chilly murder mystery
—Tim Allen’s mistakes jeopardize Christmas in The Santa Clauses trailer
—Harrison Ford’s Yellowstone prequel, 1923, gets premiere date
—In Search of Darkness: Part III conjures up a 5-hour feast for horror fans
—Lewis Capaldi and Muse among performers at 2022 MTV EMAs
—Prince Harry sets title, release date for memoir
—Alan Jackson to receive Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at 2022 CMA Awards
—CNN taps NowThis president Athan Stephanopoulos as chief digital officer
—Jenna Riley promoted to senior vp drama at 20th TV
—Jenny Ramirez joins Corie Henson’s Alternative Team at NBCUniversal
—Lionsgate names JP Richards as president of worldwide theatrical marketing
—Fantastic Four scribes Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer sign with CAA
What else we're reading...
—John Herrman writes that with its metaverse bets spectacularly not paying off, Meta is officially a disaster [Intelligencer]
—Charlie Warzel looks at the ways Elon Musk could actually kill Twitter [Atlantic]
—Melanie McFarland argues that Red Table Talk is the closest inheritor to Oprah's talk show [Salon]
—Henry Mance considers FX's The Bear and the cliché of the talented, but dickish, chef [FT]
—Here's your Friday list: "Every Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Segment, ranked" [Vulture]
Today...
...in 1994, MGM unveiled sci-fi actioner Stargate in theaters, where it would go on to gross $196m globally and later launch a TV franchise. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Julia Roberts (55), Joaquin Phoenix (48), Matt Smith (40), Gwendoline Christie (44), May Calamawy (36), Finn Wittrock (38), Annie Potts (70), Jami Gertz (57), Lauren Holly (59), Daphne Zuniga (60), Troian Bellisario (37), Nolan Gould (24), Jason Watkins (60), Michael Dougherty (48), Dennis Franz (78), Jane Alexander (83), Jake Kasdan (48), Andy Richter (56), Jermaine Crawford (30), Wes Ball (42), Kevin Macdonald (55), Ben Harper (53), Sheryl Underwood (59), Frank Ocean (35) |
| Ian Whittaker, the British actor turned Oscar-winning set decorator known for his work on such films as Alien, Howards End, Tommy and Anna and the King, died Oct. 16 of prostate cancer. He was 94. The obituary. |
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