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Tag: TV

  • Kirsten Dunst Loved Packing on the Pounds for Fargo Role

    Kirsten Dunst pretty much got to live out everyone’s dream, as her job required her to sit around eating all day.

    Living. The. Dream.

    Dunst stars on the new season of FX’s critically-acclaimed drama Fargo and the role, a Midwestern hairdresser named Peggy Blomquist, required her to gain some weight.

    And apparently, she loved doing it.

    “Is it a nightmare or is it a fun thing to gain weight for a role?” Jimmy Kimmel asked Dunst on his show this week.

    “Well listen,” said Dunst with a smile. “I was in Calgary and it was cold, so I ordered in a lot of pizza, lot of Thai – I just had different stuff, grilled cheese, different cheeses and breads together.”

    “Now I’m like I gained weight for this role but really I just sat in my bed and watched Friday Night Lights and like, ate.”

    Check out the interview below:

    Dunst, a movie star, hasn’t spent a ton of time on the small screen. But she did recently reveal what drew her to her new role on Fargo:

    “When I heard about the role, I watched the first season, which I hadn’t watched before. I was so impressed by the way it looked, the writing; it was such high-quality television. Then I read the first two episodes and I thought, “Wow, Peggy is gonna be a special role. Whatever trajectory she’s going on is going to be fun for me to play.” Then I met Noah (Hawley) and expressed how much I wanted to play the role. On the way home, he gave me the job. That was a pretty quick response on his end,” Dunst told Variety.

  • Malcolm Jamal Warner: Bill Cosby Rape Allegation Ruined Cosby Show Legacy

    Malcolm-Jamal Warner says that Bill Cosby’s actions have tarnished one of America’s most-beloved sitcoms, The Cosby Show.

    Warner, who played son Theo Huxtable on the long-running show, thinks that it’s bad for “images of people of color on TV and film” to have a stereotype-killing show like The Cosby Show ruined by the dozens upon dozens of rape allegations leveled against its star, Bill Cosby.

    “My biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of color on television and film, no matter what … negative stereotypes of people of color, we’ve always had The Cosby Show to hold up against that. And the fact that we no longer have that, that’s the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale,” he told the NY Post.

    Malcolm Jamal Warner has spoken to Cosby since the stuff started hitting the fan, he said.

    “I think the things that we discussed really have to stay private between us. But it’s just a bad situation all around — for him, for his family, the women, their families, the legacy of the show,” said Warner.

    Another star of the show has a different opinion, however.

    Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played youngest daughter Rudy Huxtable, think Cosby’s rape allegations can’t take away what many felt for the show.

    “You can’t take back the impact that it’s had on generations of kids, and it’s continuing to have such a positive impact on them,” the actress said. “So I feel like the place that it has in people’s hearts is such a nostalgic part of childhood and beyond, it’s going to be difficult to take back those memories.”

    The number of women accusing Cosby of sexual assault has topped 50. The comic is testifying on Friday in the latest lawsuit to stem from the allegations.

  • Rumer Willis Had an “Awful” Gossip Girl Audition

    Rumer Willis could’ve starred in Gossip Girl, in an alternate universe.

    She certainly auditioned, but apparently it didn’t go so well.

    In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, the show’s casting director David Rapaport talked about how things could’ve been a lot different.

    “I feel like you go back and think, There is nobody else that could have played these characters. I think the network initially pitched us Ashley Olsen and Rumer Willis for Blair and Serena.”

    “I love Rumer, she’s grown into quite an amazing actress and person, but that, to me, was based on protecting the investment of a television show where creatively, these lesser-known girls really captured the essence of the show and carried it for six years,” he continued.

    “You know, it was actually totally news to me,” Willis told People. “I felt like I did an awful audition back then. I was so young and it was, like, one of the first things I’d ever auditioned for … My sisters and I were huge fans of the books – huge, huge fans so I remember we were just so excited when they said they were doing a TV show.”

    In the end, Willis says Blake Lively and Leighton Meester did “an incredible job.”

    In other Rumer Willis news, she was recently spotted at a Knicks game with Bachelor star Chris Soules.

    And the two snapped some selfies, so it’s clear they have a good time together.

    This is our douchey face #teamtroubleforever

    A photo posted by Rumer Willis (@ruelarue) on

    So, are they dating? ET’s sources say they’re just friends.

  • Blake Lively: Gossip Girl Role Could’ve Gone to Olsen Twin?

    Blake Lively rose to stardom thanks in large part to her role as Serena van der Woodsen on the hit show Gossip Girl.

    But Lively wasn’t the first actress the network pitched.

    In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, the show’s casting director David Rapaport talked about how things could’ve been a lot different.

    “I feel like you go back and think, There is nobody else that could have played these characters. I think the network initially pitched us Ashley Olsen and Rumer Willis…”

    Now that would’ve been different.

    Ultimately, Rapaport knew that Blake Lively was the only one for the role.

    “Blake Lively was literally the only person I could think of for Serena. I had seen her in Accepted and at that time, there were no Lena Dunhams or Zooey Deschanels — it was all about beauty and glamour, but being approachable and Blake was the ultimate It Girl. I was terrified we wouldn’t get her or they wouldn’t like her because, honestly, they show lived and died on her and I had absolutely no other ideas. And I read so many people. I think at the end of the day, we tested Blake, Katie Cassidy, who is now on Arrow, and this girl who was [Serena] on the Gossip Girl books. Not even her face, just her legs. But it made sense.

    Any doubts? Check out Blake Lively’s Gossip Girl audition tape:

    Lively is currently filming her next movie, an untitled Wood Allen project, with Kirsten Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg.

    A couple of weeks ago, Lively shut down her lifestyle website Preserve.

    “We have an incredible team of people who do beautiful work, but we launched the site before it was ready, and it never caught up to its original mission: it’s not making a difference in people’s lives, whether superficially or in a meaningful way. And that’s the whole reason I started this company, not just to fluff myself, like, ‘I’m a celebrity! People will care what I have to say!’ It was so never meant to be that, and that kind of became the crutch because it was already up and already running, and it’s hard to build a brand when you’re running full steam ahead — how do you catch up?” said Lively of the decision to shutter it after just a few months.

    Balls selfie. …you know what I mean!! #behindthescenes

    A photo posted by Blake Lively (@blakelively) on

  • Britney Spears Has ‘Comedy Chops,’ Says Jane the Virgin Star

    Britney Spears can hold her own, comedically.

    That’s what Gina Rodriguez, star of the hit CW show Jane the Virgin, had to say about her co-star.

    Yes, Britney Spears will guest star on season two of the Golden Globe-winning show.

    “She definitely got comedy chops like nobody’s business, and to go head-to-head with Jaime [Camil] is like, the ultimate challenge for a comedic actress because he’s so incredible. She held her own and more. She was very, very good!” said Rodriguez.

    Jamie Camil plays Jane’s father.

    Rodriguez is clearly a big fan of Britney Spears, having grown up on her music.

    “Britney Spears was my pop star. You know what I’m saying? She’s my era, she’s a few years older than me. I remember just being 16 and wishing I was Britney.”

    Here’s what she had to say about a particular dance scene:

    “I won’t even tell you why or in what capacity … I’m just a better person because of it … There’s a lot of my childhood that was complete yesterday.”

    Jane the Virgin isn’t the only hit TV show that Britney Spears (may) be stopping by. Recently, rumors suggested that Britney Spears would have a spot on season four of Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black – but those are sketchy at best. The rumors seem to stem from one of the show’s stars, Taryn Manning, saying she would love it if Spears signed on.

    Hiii from me and Lexie! ??

    A photo posted by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on

  • Mr. Robot Heads to Amazon Prime in Exclusive Deal

    Mr. Robot Heads to Amazon Prime in Exclusive Deal

    One of the most popular and well-reviewed shows of the past year is coming to Amazon, exclusively.

    Amazon Prime members will soon be able to stream USA’s hit Mr. Robot, as the company has just announced a multi-regional deal with NBCUniversal.

    “Mr. Robot is one the most compelling new dramas on television,” said Brad Beale, Amazon Vice President of Digital Video Content Acquisition. “Rami Malek delivers a mesmerizing performance and leads a great cast with an intriguing story full of dark twists. Prime members are going to love binging on this awesome show.”

    The deal will give viewers in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan the chance to watch all ten episodes of the series’ first season.

    But not all countries will get Mr. Robot at the same time. Folks in the UK get it soon – October 16th. On November 20th, it lands in Germany and Austria.

    But us in the State have to wait until spring 2016.

    “Mr. Robot is a tremendous success and Amazon Prime has provided a great opportunity to make the show even more accessible to audiences,” said Frances Manfredi, President, NBCUniversal Television and New Media Distribution. “We are pleased that Amazon recognizes the high quality of NBCUniversal’s content and is partnering with us in a network friendly way that allows viewers to watch the show when and where they want it.”

    The show currently holds a 98% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been one of the most-buzzed about new series since its debut in June.

    Mr. Robot will be one of the shows for which Amazon allows offline playback.

    Oh, and by the way, Amazon Prime is only $67 today (regularly $99).

    Image via Mr. Robot, Facebook

  • Black Mirror Is Headed to Netflix for 12 New Episodes

    Black Mirror Is Headed to Netflix for 12 New Episodes

    Black Mirror, the British sci-fi anthology that was popular when it aired overseas but gained super popularity when the episodes hit Netflix, is now going to be a Netflix original series.

    The show, a sci-fi anthology that explores some of the dark possibilities of our increasingly tech-obsessed culture, originally aired on Britain’s Channel 4. Netflix bought the exclusive online streaming rights last year. There’s only been seven episodes – two three-episode series and a Christmas special. But it’s gained quite the following.

    Enough so that Netflix wants to produce its next run.

    Netflix has picked up Black Mirror for 12 new episodes.

    “It’s all very exciting — a whole new bunch of ‘Black Mirror’ episodes on the most fitting platform imaginable,” said show creator Charlie Brooker. “Netflix connects us with a global audience so that we can create bigger, stranger, more international and diverse stories than before, whilst maintaining that ‘Black Mirror’ feel. I just hope none of these new story ideas come true.”

    No word on when the episodes will premiere. Hopefully soon. We surely need more Black Mirror, if for nothing other than to predict the future.

    It’s also just a damn fine show. This is a big get for Netflix, which has been eyeing the series for a while now.

  • Netflix Confirms Pilots Aren’t All That Great (at Hooking People)

    Netflix Confirms Pilots Aren’t All That Great (at Hooking People)

    With some notable exceptions (looking at you, The Shield, Breaking Bad, LOST), pilot episodes often fall flat. Viewers don’t always love exposition, and even great shows sometimes take a few episodes (or even seasons) to hit their stride.

    Netflix recently looked at its streaming data in an attempt to pinpoint when viewers get hooked on certain shows – and the company pretty much confirmed that nobody is really “hooked” after just the pilot episode.

    “Given the precious nature of primetime slots on traditional TV, a series pilot is arguably the most important point in the life of the show,” said Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer for Netflix. “However, in our research of more than 20 shows across 16 markets, we found that no one was ever hooked on the pilot. This gives us confidence that giving our members all episodes at once is more aligned with how fans are made.”

    Oh, so it’s all about proving the Netflix business model of binge-watching. Ok, fine. But it did produce some interesting results.

    Here are some popular shows and their corresponding “hook” episodes:

    – Arrow: Episode 8
    – Bates Motel: Episode 2
    – Better Call Saul: Episode 4
    – Bloodline: Episode 4
    – BoJack Horseman: Episode 5
    – Breaking Bad: Episode 2
    – Dexter: Episode 3
    – Gossip Girl: Episode 3
    – Grace & Frankie: Episode 4
    – House of Cards: Episode 3
    – How I Met Your Mother: Episode 8
    – Mad Men: Episode 6
    – Marco Polo: Episode 3
    – Marvel’s Daredevil: Episode 5
    – Once Upon a Time: Episode 6
    – Orange is the New Black: Episode 3
    – Pretty Little Liars: Episode 4
    – Scandal: Episode 2
    – Sense8: Episode 3
    – Sons of Anarchy: Episode 2
    – Suits: Episode 2
    – The Blacklist: Episode 6
    – The Killing: Episode 2
    – The Walking Dead: Episode 2
    – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Episode 4

    What does “hooked” mean to Netflix? “70% of viewers who watched the hooked episode went on to complete season one or more poetically, when members were hooked and there was no turning back,” says the company.

    Wait, it took people two episodes to fall in love with Breaking Bad? Wtf?

  • Amazon’s New Fall Shows Come From Louis CK, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tig Notaro

    It’s time for another round of original pilots from Amazon.

    This year’s fall lineup includes shows from Louis CK, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tig Notaro, and Diablo Cody, starring the likes of Flea, Ryan Kwanten, Shaquille O’Neal, Terry O’Quinn, Chris Parnell, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Christina Ricci, and David Strathairn.

    As always, there’s no guarantee these pilots will turn into series. User feedback plays a role in which get chosen for full runs.

    “Our latest pilot season brings together a diverse group of shows that we think customers will really enjoy,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “We have something for everyone in this season and I am excited to see which shows spark conversation amongst our customers and what they want to be made into series.”

    Without further ado, here are the six pilots coming to Amazon video this fall:

    Edge

    Based on George G. Gilman’s best-selling book series of the same name, which has been described as “the most violent western in print,” Edge showcases the sly, raw power of the western genre. Set in 1868, Max Martini (Pacific Rim, Captain Phillips) stars as Josiah ‘Edge’ Hedges—a Union officer turned cowboy, who prowls the post-Civil War American West doling out his own peculiar (and savage) brand of justice. When we meet Edge in the pilot, his mission is personal and his vengeance hath no fury. Edge also stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) as Merritt Harknett, and Yvonne Strahovski (The Astronaut Wives Club, Chuck) as Beth. Edge was developed by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3) and Fred Dekker (Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: Enterprise), teleplay by Dekker and Black, is directed by Black, and executive produced by Black, Dekker, Barry Josephson (Bones, Turn: Washington Spies), and David Greenblatt (Battle Los Angeles).

    Good Girls Revolt

    In 1969, while a cultural revolution with a soundtrack to match swept through the free world, there was still one place that refused to change with the times: newsrooms. Good Girls Revolt follows a group of young female researchers at “News of the Week,” who simply ask to be treated fairly. Their revolutionary request will spark convulsive changes and upend marriages, careers, sex lives, love lives, and friendships. Good Girls Revolt stars Genevieve Angelson (Backstrom) as Patti, Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) as Jane, Erin Darke (We Need to Talk About Kevin) as Cindy, Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley) as Finn, Hunter Parrish (Weeds) as Doug, Jim Belushi (Show Me a Hero) as Wick McFadden, Joy Bryant (Parenthood) as Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Grace Gummer as Nora Ephron. A co-production with TriStar Television, Good Girls Revolt is written and created by Dana Calvo (Made in Jersey), directed by Liza Johnson (Return), and executive produced by Calvo, Lynda Obst (Interstellar), Darlene Hunt (The Big C), Don Kurt (Justified) and Jeff Okin (Dark Skies, Stanley Park). The pilot is inspired by the landmark sexual discrimination cases chronicled in Lynn Povich’s book, The Good Girls Revolt.

    Highston

    Highston Liggetts (newcomer Lewis Pullman) is a 19-year-old with a wide circle of celebrity friends—that only he can see. His parents, Jean (Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24), and Wilbur (Chris Parnell, Saturday Night Live) force him to get psychiatric help, but his Uncle Billy (Curtis Armstrong, American Dad!) thinks he’s just fine. Highston is a comedy about what it means to be normal in a world that’s anything but. The pilot guest stars Shaquille O’Neal (Thunderstruck) and Flea (The Big Lewbowski), and is written by Oscar-nominee Bob Nelson (Nebraska), directed by Independent Spirit Award winners Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine), and executive produced by Sacha Baron Cohen (The Dictator), Todd Hoffman (Love Stinks), Nelson, and Todd Schulman (Bruno).

    One Mississippi

    A dark comedy, loosely inspired by Tig Notaro’s (Boyish Girl Interrupted) life, One Mississippi follows Tig as she deals with the complex reentry into her childhood hometown of Bay Saint Lucille, Mississippi, to deal with the unexpected death of her mother, the interminable life of the party, Caroline. Reeling from her own recently declining health, Tig struggles to find her footing with the loss of the one person who actually understood her, with help from her older but not always wiser brother, Remy, played by Noah Harpster (Transparent), and her emotionally distant stepfather, Bill, played by John Rothman (The Devil Wears Prada). A surprise visit from Tig’s girlfriend, Brooke, played by Casey Wilson (Gone Girl) only compounds the reality of how out of place Tig is in a world without her mother. A co-production with FX Productions, One Mississippi is written and executive produced by Notaro and Diablo Cody (Juno), executive produced by Louis CK (Louie), Blair Breard (Louie), and Dave Becky (Everybody Hates Chris), with pilot directed and executive produced by Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said).

    Patriot

    The political thriller Patriot follows the complicated life of intelligence officer John Tavner (Australian newcomer Michael Dorman, Wonderland). His latest assignment is to prevent Iran from going nuclear, requiring him to forgo all safety nets and assume a perilous “non-official cover” — that of a mid-level employee at a Midwestern industrial piping firm. A bout with PTSD, the Federal government’s incompetence, and the intricacies of keeping a day job in the “front” industrial piping company, cause a barrage of ever-escalating fiascos that jeopardize Tavner’s mission. The pilot also stars Terry O’Quinn (Lost) as Tom Tavner, John’s State Department Director of Intelligence father, Michael Chernus (Manhattan Project), as John’s older brother Edward Tavner, a young Texas congressman, Kathleen Munroe (Call Me Fitz), as John’s wife Alice, Aliette Opheim (Sandor slash Ida) as Agathe, a brilliant young homicide detective from Luxembourg hot on John’s trail, and Kurtwood Smith (That 70s Show) as Mr. Claret, John’s stickler of a new “boss” at the piping firm. Patriot is written and directed by Steven Conrad (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Weather Man), and executive produced by Conrad, Gil Bellows (Temple Grandin), Glen Ficarra (Crazy Stupid Love, Focus), Charlie Gogolak (Focus), and John Requa (Crazy Stupid Love, Focus).

    Z

    Z is a bio-series pilot based on the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the brilliant, beautiful and talented Southern Belle who becomes the original flapper and icon of the wild, flamboyant Jazz Age in the 20s. Starring Christina Ricci (Monster) as Zelda Sayre, Z starts before she meets the unpublished writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (Gavin Stenhouse, Allegiance), and moves through their passionate, turbulent love affair and their marriage—made in heaven, lived out in hell as the celebrity couple of their time. The series travels through the wild parties, the wicked jazz, the dissolute artists of the era, as well as the alcoholism, adultery and struggle with dashed dreams and mental illness that characterizes their later years. Z dives into the fascinating life of a woman ahead of her time, an artist determined to establish her own identity in the tempestuous wake of a world-famous husband. The show pulls back the curtain on her triumphs and dark secrets. It’s a modern take on one of the most notorious love stories of all time, played out in salons and speak-easies from Montgomery, Alabama to the Cote D’Azur. Z is written by Dawn Prestwich (The Killing) and Nicole Yorkin (The Killing), directed by Tim Blake Nelson (Anesthesia), and executive produced by Pamela Koffler (Still Alice) and Christine Vachon (One Hour Photo) of Killer Films, as well as Ricci. The show also guest stars David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck) as Judge Anthony Dickerson Sayre, Kristine Nielsen (Savages) as Minnie Sayre, Maya Kazan (The Knick) as Livye Hart, Sarah Schenkkan (30 Rock) as Eleanor Browder, Jamie Anne Allman (The Killing) as Tootsie Sayre, and Holly Curran (Alpha House) as Tilde Sayre.

    And if you’re thinking about ponying up and subscribing to Amazon Prime, this Friday is certainly the day to do it.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jill Soloway: ‘We Have a Trans Civil Rights Problem’

    Jill Soloway won her first Emmy on Sunday, for Outstanding Directing on a Comedy Series for the hit Amazon original show Transparent. And she used her acceptance speech to call for action on transgender rights.

    “We don’t have a trans tipping point yet,” she said. “We have a trans civil rights problem, so go to transequality.org and vote to pass the trans equality bill. Thank you,” said Soloway.

    The bill, which was introduced this summer, would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in employment, housing, education, credit, public accommodations, jury service, and federally funded programs.

    Watch Soloway’s speech below:

    It was a big night for Transparent as Jeffrey Tambor took the Best Lead Actor Emmy for his work on the series.

    Transparent‘s second season will land on Amazon Prime Video in December. It’s been a big success for Amazon – both critically and in terms of popularity. The studio has already greenlit a third season – months before the second season even premieres.

  • Looks Like The Chromecast App Is About To Get A Lot Better For Content Discovery

    Google appears to be preparing a significant update to its Chromecast app, which should make it a lot easier for users of the device to find content they might want to check out – across apps.

    Right now, the Chromecast app itself doesn’t do a whole lot beyond connecting your phone or tablet to the device, enabling you to watch content from apps on TV. It lets you cast your phone’s screen and discover apps through the Play Store, but most of the time, there’s not a ton of reason for users to open it up.

    It looks like that’s about to change according to a report from 9to5Google, which has obtained screenshots of a new version of the app Google has yet to push out. There’s an event scheduled for later this month where the company is expected to make some Chromecast-related announcements, so the update will likely go live then.

    Based on the report, the Chromecast app is about to offer something a TV guide-like feature.

    9to5Google reports:

    Based on the documents we’ve obtained, the app has at least a few notable additions over the current version (which is definitely very bare-bones in terms of features). First, there appears to be a section referred to as “What’s On,” which allows you to browse content offered through various Chromecast-supported apps. At least based on the screenshots and documents we’ve seen, the app will show you different movies, videos, and other content from within the apps you have installed on your device.

    UntitledOn top of suggesting actual content, the app also seems to have a screen that shows you which Chromecast apps you have installed and suggests Chromecast-supported apps available on the Play Store. The current version of the app also has a “Discover apps,” tab, but it redirects to a page within the Play Store app. The new app seems to serve as more of an intelligent hub to all the Chromecast-castable content found within your apps.

    At the upcoming event, according to Google is expected to announce a new Chromecast device as well as Spotify support. Users could already use the device to cast the Spotify web player, but it will be nice to have the support directly from the app.

    Image via Google

  • Here’s A Preview Of What’s Coming To (And Going Away From) Netflix In September

    Here’s A Preview Of What’s Coming To (And Going Away From) Netflix In September

    As you know, content comes and goes on Netflix. Each week, we’re bringing you a list of titles that you’ll be able to stream in the U.S. in the coming days. As always, dates are subject to change.

    09/01:

    Puffin Rock: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
    The League: Season 6
    Da Jammies: Season 1
    Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Volume 1
    The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
    Zathura
    72 Dangerous Animals: Australia: Season 1
    Giggle and Hoot’s Best Ever!
    Person of Interest: Seasons 1 – 3
    Up in the Air
    Combustion
    Los Hombres Tambien Lloran: Season 1

    09/02:

    Back or White

    09/04:

    Bad Night
    Madam Secretary: Season 1

    09/08:

    6 Years (Netflix Exclusive)

    09/09:

    Teen Beach Movie 2

    09/10:

    Longmire: Season 4
    Fugitivos: Season 1

    09/11:

    Madame Bovary

    09/12:

    Portlandia: Season 5
    Why Did I Get Married?

    09/13:

    Comedy Bang! Bang!: Season 4, Part 2

    09/14:

    Call the Midwife: Series 4

    09/15:

    Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (Netflix Exclusive)

    09/16:

    The Blacklist: Season 2
    Moonrise Kingdom

    09/17:

    The Mysteries of Laura: Season 1

    09/18:

    Keith Richards: Under the Influence

    09/21:

    Gotham: Season 1
    The Following: Season 3

    09/22:

    Smosh: The Movie
    Person of Interest: Season 4
    Philomena

    09/25:

    VeggieTales in the House: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
    Blue Bloods: Season 5
    Hawaii Five-O: Season 5
    Parenthood: Season 6

    09/27:

    The Walking Dead: Season 5

    09/29:

    Bones: Season 10
    R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls

    Here are some titles that are set to expire:

    09/01:

    The It Crowd
    Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
    Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
    Ink Master
    Mortal Kombat
    Sleepless in Seattle
    Troll
    Troll 2
    The Panic in Needle Park
    Electrick Children
    WarGames
    An Animal #$*% My Vacation!

    09/02:

    Apollo 18
    Constantine’s Sword

    09/03:

    Dinosaurs
    Resolution

    09/15:

    Coach
    Apocalypse Now

    09/30:

    Hercules

    09/30:

    The Expendables 3
    The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
    The Wolf of Wall Street
    Transformers: Age of Extinction
    World War Z

    See more recently added titles here.

    Image via Netflix

  • Narcos, Netflix’s New Pablo Escobar Show, Is Now Available and Getting Good Reviews

    Narcos, Netflix’s New Pablo Escobar Show, Is Now Available and Getting Good Reviews

    Netflix wants you to get addicted to Narcos, its new drama about the life of cocaine aficionado and rather violent man Pablo Escobar.

    All 10 episodes of the first season are now streaming.

    NARCOS is the true story of the U.S. and Colombian efforts to battle the Medellin cartel during the cocaine-fueled drug wars of the 1980’s. Multi-layered and multi-faceted, NARCOS depicts a brutal world where lines are blurred and little is black and white.

    The show stars Wagner Moura, a well-known star in Brazil, as Pablo Escobar. Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal plays a a Mexican DEO agent sent to Colombia on a U.S. mission to capture and ultimately kill him.

    The early reviews are mostly positive. The Boston Globe calls it “electrifying” saying “as entertaining as it is to watch Narcos, a period drama with artfully filmed cat-and-mouse games between the cartel and law enforcement, there is a relevant — and very Wire-like — truth at its core.”

    The A.V. Club says it “gives summer television a generous bump (hah),” saying “Narcos is a far more compelling—and, yes, addictive—show than Marco Polo. And miraculously, the show is fun to watch not because it bucks the clichés of a war-on-drugs drama, but because it embraces them. It’s the woefully rare example of by-the-numbers storytelling that serves as a reminder of how those numbers got their sequence in the first place.”

    Variety calls it “the kind of binge-worthy TV addiction that Netflix was born to import.”

  • Amazon Prime Instant Video Hits Japan Next Month

    Amazon Prime Instant Video Hits Japan Next Month

    Not to be outdone, Amazon is also expanding its streaming video services to Japan.

    Netflix recently confirmed that it will officially launch in Japan – its first Asian country – on September 2nd. Now, Amazon has announced that it will also launch its Prime Instant Video offering in Japan in September.

    This will be only the fourth country in which Amazon offers free Prime Video streaming to Prime subscribers (the US, UK, and Germany).

    “As we’ve shown with the launch of Prime Video in the U.S. and around the world, we are investing significantly to bring high-quality, local and popular programming to Prime members, and our customers in Japan should expect the same investment,” Jasper Cheung, president of Amazon Japan, said in a statement. “We’ve been offering videos and DVDs in Japan for 15 years — we know the entertainment customers want — and we plan to deliver it with Prime Video, all at no additional cost.”

    Amazon has offered Prime services in Japan for a decade, but this is the first time it’s adding Prime Instant Video to the package.

    “We are passionate about making distinct, exclusive entertainment that will become Prime member’s next favorite TV show or movie, and we know Prime members in Japan will love what we introduce just for them,” said Amazon Studios VP Roy Price.

  • Orange Is The New Black Has Been Watched by Over Half of Netflix Users, Says Survey

    Orange Is The New Black Has Been Watched by Over Half of Netflix Users, Says Survey

    Netflix has never, and at least according to its higher ups, will never, release ratings. In other words, Netflix doesn’t want to tell you how many of its subscribers are watching its original programming. Since it doesn’t sell advertising, it doesn’t need to. Also, in the past, Netflix has acted as though it’s not even a metric they really care about around the office. Whatever Netflix.

    So, in lieu of knowing actual figures, we have surveys. The newest one comes from RBC analyst Mark Mahaney (via Re/code).

    As of August, Orange Is The New Black is the most-watched Netflix original with 57% reporting some viewing. House of Cards comes in a semi-close second at 45%.

    New shows Daredevil and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt have 23% and 22% viewership, respectively.

    Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 4.36.13 PM

    OITNB being cream of the Netflix original crop isn’t that much of a shocker. In the past, Netflix has said it was the most-popular original.

    Of course, one huge flaw – or at least limitation – of this survey is the only metric is “have watched”. Not word on whether they finished the whole series, or only watch an episode or two. Also no word on how they felt about the shows, but the semi-consistent figures over the past few quarters proves these shows aren’t plunging in popularity.

    Last fall, a massive survey of over 30,000 people found that 61% of Netflix subscribers have watched at least some of the company’s original programming.

    Maybe, someday, Netflix will let us know who’s watching its shows. Probably not. But until then, we have surveys.

  • Stephen Colbert’s First Guests Include Elon Musk, Uber’s Travis Kalanick

    Stephen Colbert’s First Guests Include Elon Musk, Uber’s Travis Kalanick

    Stephen Colbert’s highly-anticipated debut in David Letterman’s old spot is fast approaching, and The Late Show has just revealed the guests Colbert will welcome in his first week.

    The list includes Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, as well as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

    That’s a lot of tech for a first week, and for a network late night program. Musk is pretty well known and always interesting, but Kalanick is probably not on many people’s radar. Uber is, of course, so it’ll be interesting to see what Colbert has up his sleeve in that regard.

    The first week will only include four new episodes (Labor Day), and here’s the full lineup:

    September 8:
    George Clooney, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush
    Musical performance: Jon Batiste and Stay Human

    September 9:
    Scarlett Johansson, SpaceX and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk
    Musical performance: Kendrick Lamar

    September 10:
    Uber CEO Travis Kalanick
    Musical performance: Toby Keith

    September 11:
    Amy Schumer, Stephen King
    Musical performance: Troubled Waters

    Kalanick appears to be the only non-musical guest of the night. Musk has to share his time with ScarJo – a tough act to follow for sure.

  • Netflix’s Queen Elizabeth Series ‘The Crown’ Is Its Most Expensive Yet

    Netflix’s Queen Elizabeth Series ‘The Crown’ Is Its Most Expensive Yet

    The Crown, Netflix’s upcoming series about the life of Queen Elizabeth II, is going to be huge – in terms of scope and cost.

    The Telegraph reports that the show is Netflix’s most expensive to date – £100 million, or about $157 million.

    The streaming company ordered a 10-episode season of The Crown last November.

    According to the Telegraph, the show will span six seasons – 60 total episodes.

    The show will follow the Queen from her wedding in 1947 to present day. It will focus on not just her, but her interactions with Britain’s heads of state over the years.

    “The Crown is storytelling that lives somewhere between television and cinema from Britain’s foremost chroniclers of modern politics, class and society,” says Cindy Holland, vp original content at Netflix.

    “The Crown is not only about the royal family but about an empire in decline, a world in disarray and the dawn of a new era,” says writer Peter Morgan, who penned the Oscar-winning film The Queen.

    The series stars Wolf Hall‘s Claire Foy as the Queen, Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith as Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, and John Lithgow as Winston Churchill. It is billed as “the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.”

    It will hit Netflix next year.

    Image via Cecil Beaton, Library and Archive Canada, Wikimedia Commons

  • Sesame Street Heads to HBO in Five-Year Deal

    Sesame Street Heads to HBO in Five-Year Deal

    The iconic Sesame Street, which has aired on PBS for 45 years, is moving to HBO.

    Don’t worry – you won’t have to subscribe to HBO to watch Sesame Street. But HBO will be the first place it airs, and the broadcasting company gets a nine-month window.

    HBO and Sesame Workshop have just announced a five-year deal that will give HBO first-run rights to Sesame Street – meaning the show will appear on HBO and its streaming platforms (HBO GO and HBO NOW) well before it hits PBS.

    “We are absolutely thrilled to help secure the future of Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop’s mission for the nation’s kids and families,” said Richard Plepler, Chairman and CEO of HBO, and Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. “Home Box Office is committed to bringing the most groundbreaking and creative shows to its audience. Sesame Street is the most important preschool education program in the history of television. We are delighted to be a home for this extraordinary show, helping Sesame Street expand and build its franchise.”

    The new episodes will hit HBO as early at late fall of this year, says the company.

    The deal also gives HBO over 150 library episodes of Sesame Street, as well as past episodes of other Sesame Workshop shows like Pinky Dinky Doo and The Electric Company.

    For Sesame Workshop, the deal allows for a giant boost in production. The partnership lets it produce 35 new episodes of Sesame Street a year – up from 18. And “for the first time ever, make the show available free of charge to PBS and its member stations.”

    “Our new partnership with HBO represents a true winning public-private partnership model,” said Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop’s CEO. “It provides Sesame Workshop with the critical funding it needs to be able to continue production of Sesame Street and secure its nonprofit mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder; it gives HBO exclusive pay cable and SVOD access to the nation’s most important and historic educational programming; and it allows Sesame Street to continue to air on PBS and reach all children, as it has for the past 45 years.”

  • AT&T / DirecTV Deal Gets Thumbs Up from FCC, with Conditions

    AT&T / DirecTV Deal Gets Thumbs Up from FCC, with Conditions

    After “careful, thorough review,” the Federal Communications Commission has given AT&T and green light to acquire DirecTV. The combined entity will boast about 26 million customers. Say hello to the new largest pay TV company in the US.

    The approval didn’t come without conditions, however.

    Here are all of the conditions the FCC placed on AT&T. They involve the expansions of AT&T’s broadband service –especially in underserved areas, as well as bits about interconnection disclosure and discriminatory usage-based practices. These are the parts that likely satisfied Netflix, which put its backing behind the merger earlier this month.

    – Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) Deployment. Recognizing that the merger reduces AT&T-DIRECTV’s incentive to deploy FTTP service, the Commission adopts as a condition of this merger the expansion of FTTP service to 12.5 million customer locations. This condition also responds to the harm of the loss of a video competitor in areas where AT&T and DIRECTV had directly competed before the merger by providing a pathway for increased competition from services that rely on broadband Internet to deliver video.

     

    – Gigabit Service to E-rate Eligible Schools and Libraries. In addition, to ensure that schools and libraries also benefit from expanded fiber deployment to consumers and institutions, the Commission is also requiring AT&T-DIRECTV to offer gigabit service to any E-rate eligible school or library where AT&T-DIRECTV deploys FTTP service.

     

    – Non-Discriminatory Usage-Based Practices. Recognizing that AT&T is the only major ISP that applies “data caps” across the board to all of its fixed broadband customers and that this merger increases the incentive of AT&T-DIRECTV to use strategies that limit consumers’ access to online video distribution services in order to favor its own video services, the Commission requires AT&T-DIRECTV, as a condition of this merger, to refrain from imposing discriminatory usage-based allowances or other discriminatory retail terms and conditions on its broadband Internet service.

     

    – Internet Interconnection Disclosure Requirements. Recognizing the importance of interconnection to the operation of online video services, the Commission also requires as a condition of this merger that AT&T-DIRECTV submit its Internet interconnection agreements so that the Commission may monitor the terms of such agreements to determine whether AT&T-DIRECTV is denying or impeding access to its networks in anticompetitive ways through the terms of these agreements.

     

    – Discounted Broadband Services for Low-Income Subscribers. While finding that the availability of better and lower priced bundles of video and broadband service is a potential benefit of the merger, the Commission also concludes that the public interest requires us to ensure that a bundle of video and broadband services is not the only competitive choice for low-income subscribers who may not be able to afford bundled services. The Commission accordingly requires as a condition of the merger that AT&T-DIRECTV make available an affordable, low-price standalone broadband service to low-income consumers in its broadband service area.

     

    – Compliance Program and Reporting. Given the important role that these conditions serve in securing the public interest benefits of the merger, the Commission requires that AT&T-DIRECTV retain both an internal company compliance officer and an independent, external compliance officer that will report and monitor, respectively, the combined entity’s compliance with all conditions of the merger.

    Now that the FCC has given the green light, the nearly $49 billion merger is a go. The US Justice Department recently concluded that the deal was not anti-competitive.

    “After an extensive investigation, we concluded that the combination of AT&T’s land-based internet and video business with DirecTV’s satellite-based video business does not pose a significant risk to competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division. “Our investigation benefitted from the Division’s close and constructive working relationship with the FCC. The commitments that the proposed FCC order includes, if adopted, will provide significant benefits to millions of subscribers.”

  • Narcos: Here’s the Trailer for Netflix’s Pablo Escobar Series

    Narcos: Here’s the Trailer for Netflix’s Pablo Escobar Series

    Netflix has just released the official trailer for its upcoming series Narcos.

    The show stars Wagner Moura, a well-known star in Brazil, as Pablo Escobar. Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal plays a a Mexican DEO agent sent to Colombia on a U.S. mission to capture and ultimately kill him.

    Here’s Netflix’s official description:

    NARCOS is the true story of U.S. and Colombian efforts in the 1980s to battle the infamous Pablo Escobar and the Medellin drug cartel, one of the richest, most ruthless criminal organizations in the history of modern crime.

    All 10 episodes of Narcos hits Netflix on August 28th.

  • Gerard Depardieu To Star in Netflix’s First French Series

    Renowned character actor and Academy Award nominee Gerard Depardieu is heading to Netflix.

    The French actor will star in Marseille, “tale of power, corruption and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the French port city.”

    Marseille is Netflix’s first French production. It’s shot entirely in France and will be entirely in French.

    Depardieu will play Robert Taro, mayor of the city for 25 years. The coming elections have him face the man he chose as his heir, an ambitious youngster aiming high. Both candidates will fight mercilessly. Marseille stages a fight around revenge, animated by drug lords, politicians, unions and the political players of the city.

    “Marseille is an ambitious, diabolically smart fictitious exploration of local politics in one of the world’s most vibrant and fascinating cities.,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “”We are delighted to be working with some of the best storytellers in France to deliver a series that erases the line between film and television.””

    It comes to you from Carlos screenwriter Dan Franck.

    “Creating a series for an enormous audience and without any constraints will let us push to its limits a story about the Shakespearean theater of politics in a city where Alexandre Dumas and Jean-Claude Izzo, among others, have planted many spears,” said Dan Franck when the series was announced. “Netflix has given us a blank page to create a “House of Cards” in French that breaks through unspoken hypocrisy. This is a writer’s dream and a great opportunity for French producers and creators to enter a new world.”

    Marseille is an eight episode series and will hit Netflix next year (it was pushed back from a late 2015 original release date).