Series Orders

Castle Rock

Hulu teams with J.J. Abrams, Stephen King and for new Hulu Original Series Castle Rock, set in the Stephen King universe

SANTA MONICA and BURBANK, Calif. (February 21, 2017) — Hulu plans to take viewers into the chilling world of acclaimed, best-selling author Stephen King in the new Hulu Original drama series Castle Rock, from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, Warner Bros. Television and executive producers/writers Sam Shaw & Dustin Thomason. Hulu ordered a 10-episode first season of the on-going series with production set to begin this year. A teaser trailer for Castle Rock has been viewed more than one million times since it was released on Friday, February 17.

A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock figured prominently in King’s literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind reimagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories.

Castle Rock reunites Hulu, King, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television, which previously collaborated on event series 11.22.63, based on King’s novel. The series will stream exclusively in the U.S. on Hulu and Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution will distribute globally.

Castle Rock focuses on characters and situations created by Stephen King. Sam Shaw & Dustin Thomason developed the project for television and will serve as executive producers along with J.J. Abrams, Ben Stephenson and Liz Glotzer. The series hails from Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

More Stranger Things on the horizon at Netflix

Netflix officially announced a Stranger Things Season 2 today, according to multiple news outlets. The news comes as a special gift to fans of the smash streaming hit as Stranger Things reportedly ranks as one of Netflix’s highest rated series. Season 2 will see the return of leads Winona Ryder as well as the lovable, rag-tag bunch of kids from the freshman season. Eleven’s return is less certain, of course, but we will return to the Upside Down. For more information on Stranger Things Season 2, head on over to Entertainment Weekly who interviewed the Duffer Brothers after the renewal announcement.

Here’s a first look at Scream Queens Season 2

Fox’s Scream Queens remains an AwardsDaily TV obsession. Season 1 enthralled us for about six episodes until the season completely collapsed. Plus, we’d always hoped for a now-patent Scream Queens anthology series, but, against our wishes, Mr. Murphy continues the series. Scream Queens Season 2 apparently takes place in a hospital a la Halloween 2. Here’s a look at the season straight from the mouths of its tortured cast. They tease a “funnier, scarier” Season 2. Which is it, folks?

 

Game of Thrones casting news

Multiple outlets report today that HBO’s Game of Thrones offered a “major” Season 7 role to Jim Broadbent (IrisMoulin Rouge!). Of course, since the show now surpasses the novels’ timeline, there are no clues as to Broadbent’s identity. The casting feels right as Broadbent often plays left-of-center characters. HBO’s Game of Thrones currently holds 23 Emmy nominations going into September’s Emmy fiesta. Season 7 returns next summer outside of the 2017 Emmy eligibility window, and Season 8 will serve as the last regular season of the series.

AHS

Today’s biggest TV news saw Gilmore Girls and AHS Season 6 start their publicity rollouts

There’s a little flurry of television news today. First and foremost (at least in this corner) is the gradual leak of American Horror Story Season 6 information. We still don’t have a name or a theme, but AHS Season 6 revealed a series of brief teasers via Snapchat and Lady Gaga’s Twitter account (see below). While we don’t have a specific theme identified, we do have a good sense based on the released publicity material. There’s an isolated farmhouse and billowing smoke that forms some sort of symbol / “6” combination. Then, we’ve got a Rosemary’s Baby homage followed by a nod to The People Under the Stairs.

It’s not much to go on, granted, but we’ve always loved AHS‘s expert marketing campaigns. Maybe even more than the series itself, which drops early this year – September 14 on FX. Take a look at AHS Season 6’s promo material, courtesy of Lady Gaga.

Update:  FX has release three more sneaks.



Gilmore Girls

Also dropping today was Netflix’s date announcement for the Gilmore Girls reboot. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, branded a 4-part event, will premiere on the streaming service November 25, just in time for fans to cuddle up to it over Thanksgiving weekend. Here’s the date announcement trailer and a first look at the tone of the series.

 

The Last Tycoon

And last (and kind of least), Amazon picked up it’s 2016 pilot entry The Last Tycoon to series. The drama stars Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer, and Lily Collins’s eyebrows in a 1920s-era Hollywood setting. Written and directed by Billy Ray (Shattered Glass), The Last Tycoon is loosely based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald unfinished novel. We reviewed the pilot on a recent Water Cooler Podcast and preferred it to The Interestings, but that’s not saying much. The pilot is well produced and looks fantastic, but Bomer never really settles into the lead role. Given Amazon’s enthusiasm behind it, perhaps it gets better.

The Interestings is, according to Deadline, D.O.A. Check out the trailer for The Last Tycoon.

‘Tis the season for the network axeman to come a callin’…

While there haven’t seen any significant flame-outs this season, the crop of new Fall television has been exceedingly lackluster. This week, the three big networks – ABC, NBC, and CBS – made some moves toward series orders and cancellations that will potentially foretell what shows, if any, will be around this time next year.

But first, the good news.

CBS’s Limitless, based on the Bradley Cooper film, was picked up for a full-season order, making the network’s first major move of the Fall season. It was joined by Code Black‘s six additional script order to show a sign of longevity for the freshmen series. Limitless is the second highest-rated freshman show, averaging 11.4 million viewers.

Joining those positive notes is ABC’s additional episode orders for Quantico and, surprisingly, Dr. Ken. ABC did hand a certain death notice to its Sunday night drama Blood & Oil, which was seen as too sudsy for its own good by ADTV’s Megan McLachlan. The series’ order was reduced from 13 to 10 episodes after it underwent a showrunner change shortly before the publicity machine kicked off. Ratings for the series have never been strong. It premiered to 6.3 million viewers and dropped to 3.5 million in its latest outing.

I hear a scythe swinging in the distance.

Blood & Oil joins Fox’s Minority Report and NBC’s The Player as freshman series whose initial 13-episode seasons have been cut by their networks. Report will finish with 10 episodes, and The Player will quit playing with only 9 games. That’s hardly the stuff of television cancellation legend, but it still smarts for these high-profile series.

Wrapping up the series orders are Fox’s Rosewood and NBC’s Blindspot both of which received full-season pick ups.

The Gilmore Girls is coming back, thanks to the almighty Netflix, who brings dead shows back to life like a mad scientist (not that we’re complaining about this latest Frankenstein). The project will apparently be four 90-minute movies rather than the typical hour-long episode.

Gilmore Girls went off the air in 2007 with Luke and Lorelei reuniting and Rory going off to work on the Obama campaign (yes, really).

There are so many expectations with this series. Here are 9 things we’re hoping to see.

 

1. Luke and Lorelei have twins.

In Episode 1 of Season 3 titled “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days,” Lorelei has a dream that she and Luke are having twins. Let’s see that dream come into fruition! Imagine the hijinks of Luke, Lorelei, and Sid and Nancy (or Leopold and Loeb).

1

2. Jess. Mariano.

Maybe he’s written another book, only this one is about life in Stars Hollow. He has to do a book tour. Anything. Give him anything to do! *Sigh*

2

3. Taylor comes out of the closet.

Finally! Gay marriage is legalized and Taylor finally finds a mate and puts all of his energy into planning the perfect nuptials at the Firefly Inn.

3

4. An explanation for the lack of beloved Edward Herrmann.

The Gilmore patriarch passed away in real life in December 2014.

4

5. An inside joke about Sookie’s career blowing up.

If anyone from Gilmore Girls has become hugely popular following the finale, then it’s Melissa McCarthy who played chef Sookie St. James, Lorelei’s best friend. Since GG, she’s become more than a just supporting player and even earned an Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids.

5

6. No April.

Nuff said.

6

Plus, Vanessa Marano (who played April) has other things to do now anyway. Like ABC Family/Freeform’s Switched at Birth.  

7. Kirk becomes mayor of Stars Hollow.

You know he’s never gonna leave.

7

8. Rory doing a walk-and-talk in the White House like an Aaron Sorkin character.

She’s working for Obama, but maybe she’s unsure of what her plans are post-oval office. Maybe… she has to head back home.

8

9. Lane becomes a YouTube star as a Mommy Rocker with hubby Zach.

Give the girl the fame and fortune she deserved! And something beyond that series ending (Zach got to go off on tour while she stayed behind with twin babies).

9

Despite mixed results for its second season, Showtime’s Penny Dreadful will return for a slightly abbreviated third season in the spring of 2016, the network announced today. Starring Eva Green and Timothy Dalton, the gothic-horror series premiered late in Emmy season 2014 but, due to Emmy rules, was able to defer its eligibility to the current Emmy season while Season Two is still on the air. Season Three will contain nine episodes, down from Season Two’s ten but up from Season One’s eight.

Season Two saw a better critical response than its freshman season largely thanks due to a more focused villain (Helen McCrory) over Season One’s vampire demon. However, Season One averaged around 750k live viewers while Season Two has, thus far, only seen around an average of 600k live viewers.

Penny Dreadful received multiple BAFTA awards earlier this year. It is expected to feature heavily in the craft awards in the upcoming Emmy nominations. Its best chance at a higher profile nomination is Eva Green for her eerie portrayal of possessed psychic Vanessa Ives.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, hit series Daredevil has been picked up for a second season by Netflix after only 11 days of streaming availability. The second season of the Charlie Cox-starrer is something of a surprise given Netflix’s previously publicized Marvel release strategy of first seasons of DaredevilJessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage to be followed by a mash-up of the series’ main characters in The Defenders.

Marvel certainly seems to be on a roll with its television properties with ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. queuing up for a third season, a spin-off starring characters introduced during Agents, a second season of Agent Carter, and a kept-under-wraps series to be developed by American Crime‘s John Ridley.

Daredevil Season Two will return in 2016 with Doug Petrie (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy) taking over as showrunner from Drew Goddard and Steven DeKnight.

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Fox is moving forward with a revival of the landmark sci-fi television show The X-Files. With a premiere date yet to be announced, the 6-episode series will film this summer with original stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Series creator and executive producer Chris Carter is also on-board with the project.

Originally premiering in 1993, The X-Files ran for nine seasons and spawned two feature films. The series was nominated for 20 Emmy awards during its TV run, winning three times including an Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role for a Drama Series trophy for Anderson. At its highest peak, the show received an average of 20 million viewers across the full season.

This revival is similar in fashion to Showtime’s continuation of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, which is still set to premiere in 2016 despite recent Internet rumors. There is no confirmation if the X-Files team will expand their effort beyond this 6-episode limited run.

The viewers have spoken and Amazon has responded by picking up five new shows from its most recent batch of Amazon Pilot Season offerings. At the same time, the fledgling online network renewed Mozart in the Jungle.

For the adults, we’ve got the adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle executive produced by Ridley Scott, Alex Gibney’s The New Yorker Presents, and Mad Dogs starring Billy Zane, Michael Imperioli and Steve Zahn. There are also a couple of pickups just for kids. See below.

The Civil War Drama Point of Honor was not one of the pickups.

(Descriptions via Amazon Studios)

The Man in the High CastleBased on Philip K. Dick’s award-winning novel, and executive produced by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner), The Man in the High Castle explores what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States. Starring Rufus Sewell (John Adams), Luke Kleintank (Pretty Little Liars) and Alexa Davalos (Mob City).

The New Yorker Presents – America’s most award-winning magazine comes to life in this new docu-series. Produced by Oscar & Emmy winner Alex Gibney, the pilot features a doc from Oscar winner Jonathan Demme based on Rachel Aviv’s article “A Very Valuable Reputation,” writer Ariel Levy interviewing artist Marina Abramovic, a sketch from Simon Rich and Alan Cumming, poetry read by Andrew Garfield, and cartoons by Emily Flake.

Mad Dogs – When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild, comedic events unfold, exposing dark secrets and a web of lies, deception and murder. Starring Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Billy Zane (Twin Peaks), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Romany Malco (Weeds). Executive produced by Shawn Ryan (The Shield).

The Stinky & Dirty Show (For preschool-aged children) – The adventures of best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty the backhoe loader, a dynamic and hilarious duo of resourcefulness that learn that when things don’t go as expected, asking “what if” can lead to success. Based on the books by Jim and Kate McMullan. Written and developed by Guy Toubes.

Just Add Magic (For children ages 6-11) – Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover some far from ordinary recipes. When the Shut’em Up Shortcake silences Kelly’s pesky little brother and the Healing Hazelnut Tart heals Darbie’s ankle, the girls discover they have the power of magic. A single-camera live-action pilot based on the popular book.

Comic book writer and executive producer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) has struck again with another pilot based on another one of his comics. This time, it’s the supernatural horror Outcast based on Kirkman’s ongoing comic of the same name. It tells the story of Kyle Barnes, a young man who grew up in a family cursed by demonic possession and who now works to find out the reasons behind it. What he learns could have consequences for all of humanity.

Cinemax won a bidding war for the rights to the show even before the comic book hit the street and they’ve now ordered 10 episodes from the pilot written by Kirkman himself. Everybody wants some of the that Walking Dead money.

via: Deadline

Sign In

Reset Your Password

Email Newsletter