Verizon is adding another entertainment service to its wireless bundles, giving some customers a free year of AMC+.
Wireless carriers have increasingly been bundling various streaming and entertainment services in an effort to reduce churn. Verizon already offers Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, discovery+, Apple Arcade, Apple Music and Google Play Pass on its high-end unlimited plans.
The company now includes AMC+ to that roster, giving customers access to programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV, in addition to the content libraries of Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited.
“Enhancing the way that fans enjoy their beloved content is at the center of what we do at Verizon,” says Erin McPherson, Head of Content Partnerships at Verizon. “Adding up to 12 months of AMC+ on us to our robust set of content offerings is just one more way we’re able to give our customers unique experiences, like getting to see the new season of the iconic AMC show, The Walking Dead, and the wealth of other acclaimed content that AMC+ offers, all on us.”
“Verizon has been a great and valued partner over the years, and we are pleased to now extend that partnership to our new premium streaming bundle, AMC+,” said Josh Reader, president of distribution and development for AMC Networks (Nasdaq: AMCX). “Over the last year, we have seen tremendous interest in AMC+ from consumers and our distribution partners, and the launch of this new partnership with Verizon couldn’t be better timed, with the premiere of the 11th and final season of The Walking Dead later this month and a truly spectacular lineup of original programming coming later this year and in 2022.”
Tatiana Maslany is one of the quickest rising, yet most unheard of stars in television currently. The 28-year-old Saskatchewan, Canada native has been in the acting business since 1997, yet most of her roles over the course of those 17 years have been relatively minor. In 2013, Maslany appeared on the hit NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. Unknown to her at the time, though, Maslany was also currently working as the lead actress on a television series which would launch her into stardom – Orphan Black.
While Orphan Black received less than one million viewers in its first season run on BBC America, that does not delegitimize the show’s potential for success.
After the first season of Orphan Black ended, some 5.2 million viewers tuned in to the show through other mediums, mostly on-demand and DVDs. Since the show ended last summer, it has obtained a cult following, with #TheCloneClub pushing the show to prominence.
The show would be nowhere, however, without the outstanding acting by Tatiana Maslany. Maslany’s role on Orphan Black forces her to not only play her single identity on the show, but also the identities of 11 different clones. The labor and intensity of such an act earned Maslany a Golden Globe nomination in 2013 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Television Series.
Going into Season 2, Maslany feels more confident in being able to portray all 11 clones in their own unique ways. She credits that confidence to understanding the characters better now that she has one season under her belt.
“I know these women now, so it was about going deeper with it and challenging them and not getting stuck in just going to do the Alison thing. It’s like what happens when Alison is thrown into this situation. And we left them all at very tense places, kind of high-stakes places, so there was so much to work with,” Maslany explained.
While Maslany is more familiar with the diverse cast of characters she has to portray in each episode, it doesn’t mean that the preparation to achieve such a task is any easier. When asked how she handles the difficulty in portraying multiple characters on the same set in one day, Maslany responded:
“I kind of have to think about all of them. As much as I can I try to block them out, but I do block the scene as all of them first off, so I have to think about what maybe the impulse might be on that side or who I want to have move into the space at that time or how something is gonna play out. I kind of have to direct it ahead of time in a way and have it all in my head. I try to sort of forget it, forget, forget, forget. And then just be there. Simplifying it in my head as much as possible is the way to do it. Just breathing and being there as that character, and letting that come out, with an awareness that I do have to move on from that person at the end of it.”
Maslany’s co-star Jordan Gavaris understands and appreciates the daunting nature of Maslany’s performances: “I don’t think there’s another actor right now, especially in her age range, who could have tackled something like this. The value of getting to work with an actor of her caliber is not lost on me.”
Orphan Black‘s co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett feel the same way. “She’s a total natural, a working prodigy… Everyone wants to do their best work because she’s working harder than everyone here, and everyone knows she’s doing something special.”
If one is intrigued by the concept of a sci-fi show centered around a cloning project gone wrong, one can view the episodes on Amazon Prime Instant Video, which has locked down an exclusive online streaming deal for the show.
If you do decide to tune in, however, expediency must be a priority. Season 2 of Orphan Black airs on BBC America starting this Saturday, April 19.
This year’s Christmas means time with family and friends to share in the joy of Christ’s birth. For Doctor Who fans, this year’s Christmas marks a new milestone in the show’s history, because it was Matt Smith’s final Doctor Who episode and introduced Peter Capaldi as the twelfth generation of the TARDIS-flying Doctor.
The 2013 Doctor Who Christmas special “Time of the Doctor” aired all around the world on December 25th, 2013. In the United Kingdom, “Time of the Doctor” aired on the BBC and in America on BBC America. A brief synopsis of this Christmas special by IMDb has been provided below.
“The Doctor’s worst enemies, The Daleks, The Cybermen, The Angels and The Silence, return, as the doctor’s eleventh life comes to a close, and his twelfth life begins.”
After “Time of the Doctor” aired here in the United States on BBC America, a message displayed during the closing credits stating that if you follow the channel’s twitter account (@BBCAmerica), a tweet with a link to the deleted scene appeared shortly afterwards.
The deleted scene (provided below) takes place toward the start of “Time of the Doctor” when Clara (Jenna Louise-Coleman) invites the Doctor over for Christmas with her parents. In order not to spoil the story for you, this scene does make a reference to subject matter that happens later in the episode.
Various “Whovians” in the Twitterverse have expressed their feelings regarding the deleted scene, and I have provided their responses below.
With the famed British science-fiction drama “Doctor Who” quickly approaching it’s 50th anniversary, it makes sense that the long-running series will be doing something a bit special to celebrate the occasion. A feature-length special, entitled “The Day of the Doctor,” will see both Matt Smith and David Tennant combine forces in the inter-dimensional special.
Fans of the show are really looking forward to the special, as Billie Piper will reprise her role of Rose Tyler. On another interesting note, we will see John Hurt play the “forgotten” doctor. If you’d like a little more information on the special, you can check out the special’s official synopsis below:
“The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th Anniversary Special: in 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor’s own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.”
“The Day of the Doctor” will air globally on Saturday, November 23rd, but on a rather interesting note it will also make its way to the American cinema, in 3D format, in approximately 300 locations on November 23rd and 25th. You can get more details about the limited theatrical release here.
Copper, the new, “gritty,” drama from the BBC premiered on BBC America last night. Reviews for the show are mostly good, though not spectacular. While reviewers generally enjoyed the themes, setting, and backstory in the premiere episodes, the characters and tropes used in the show were considered old hat.
Copper is the story of Detective Kevin Corcoran, an officer for the 1864 New York City Metropolitan Police. While investigating the murder of a child prostitute that reminds him of his own daughter, he and his partners move from the brothels and slums of Five Points to classy Uptown residences.
Robert Lloyd of LA Times had a fairly positive review for Copper, calling it “rather good.” He declared the straightforward morality of Copper to be “refreshing,” though he thought its depiction of Five Points looked a little too “clean.” IGN’s Matt Fowler couldn’t get into the show’s characters, but thought the show’s premiere “has some good seeds planted down.”
Most reviewers seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach, which is understandable for a slow-building drama. Though many TV series, such as Mad Men or Deadwood, can be judged by their first episode, some take time to settle in and propel characters on interesting trajectories.
One word of advice: if you are planning on watching Copper but haven’t seen Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, go ahead and avoid the movie. Set in the same time period as Copper, Gangs of New York is a masterpiece starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. Certainly see it eventually, but I suspect more enjoyment will come from Copper if you avoid seeing the movie, which can’t help but overshadow the series.
