Trailer

The Crown

Netflix released the full trailer for its upcoming royal drama The Crown. Written by Peter Morgan (The Queen), the series details the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy). Most importantly, it features a near-certain star turn by John Lithgow as Winston Churchill. The $130 million series will reportedly run six seasons as it chronicles Queen Elizabeth’s life as Queen of England through present day.

This series could provide Netflix that elusive Drama Series Emmy that House of Cards, Bloodline, and Orange Is the New Black have yet to provide. Or it could just be costume porn. We’re OK either way.

The Crown drops November 4, 2016.

Mascots

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.

Full Westworld Trailer

HBO unveiled two versions of the full Westworld trailer today: one “Mature” and one fit for general audiences. Honestly, I don’t see much difference in the two, so I’m only including the “Mature” one below. Personally, I could not be more excited for this newest HBO series. The visuals on display here are fascinating, and, as I’ve mentioned before, the cast is outstanding. Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Thandi Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and Evan Rachel Wood star in this latest big-budget and hopefully high quality series.

Westworld drops October 2 at 9pm ET on HBO.

Scream Queens Season 2 trailer

Well, great. Now I can’t even go to a hospital without escaping Scream Queens. The Scream Queens Season 2 trailer dropped for Ryan Murphy’s inexplicable comedy/horror spoof/comedy. It starts with John Stamos and Taylor Lautner strutting down a hospital hallway. Jamie Lee Curtis (always welcome) joins them and then re-introduces us to the Chanels who are dressed as nurses in fluorescent couture. They look like a trio of Nurse Ratcheds with a fierce Instagram following.

Can Scream Queens Season 2 surprise us all with some genuine laughs and scares? Will they go for some Halloween II hospital nostalgia with Jamie Lee? I guess we have to watch to find out. Dammit.

Scream Queens returns to FOX on Tuesday, September 20th.

Transparent, Season 3

The Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning series TRANSPARENT returns for a third season. The Pfefferman family splinters into disparate journeys on their continued path of self-discovery. After a jarring reality check, Maura seeks to become the woman she envisions through gender confirmation surgery. All paths converge on a family cruise to Mexico, affirming that though their family history is murky, each Pfefferman is their truest self when they come together. Stream with Prime 9/23/16.

 

Luke Cage

In this Marvel live action series, a street-fighting ex-con battles crime on the streets of New York as the Super Hero, Luke Cage. Stream on Netflix 9/30/16.

Drag Race All Stars

Tighten those tucks, ladies and gays. The full-size trailer for the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars dropped on Tuesday, and it gave us a glimpse of our favorite queens in the Werk Room and runway. Instead of airing on Mondays (they are a drag, after all), the show will switch to Thursday nights.

It feels like the last few seasons were slightly criticized for a lack of spontaneity in the challenges, but RuPaul has a voting trick up her sleeve. Instead of eliminating the queens herself, she will let the returning contestants vote each other off a la Survivor. Or Queen of the Flies? The ad (which mixes in random, colorful shots of the queens fighting over a crown from a photo shoot) also features a great tagline: Queens are Wild.

Here are your contestants:

  • Adore Delano
  • Alaska
  • Alyssa Edwards
  • Coco Montrese
  • Detox
  • Ginger Minj
  • Katya
  • Phi Phi O’Hara
  • Roxxxy Andrews
  • Tatianna

Todrick Hall will replace Ross Matthews at the judges’ table. He will be joined by RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Carson Kressley.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 2 premieres on Thursday, August 25th, on Logo and VH1. The Season 2 premiere will be a super-sized 90 minutes.

TV Trailers

San Diego’s Comic-Con is a reliable hot bed of new information and TV trailers

The costumed masses swarmed on San Diego’s Comic-Con last weekend. Assuming they weren’t playing Pokemon Go, many attended for panels on their favorite television shows. It’s been a thing for several years now that Comic-Con is much less about comic books and much more about generating buzz for new product. Geek-friendly films and TV shows hope to make a splash and generate positive internet buzz as a result. As with each year, studios host panel discussions about current and upcoming shows, often premiering TV trailers never before seen. This year was no exception.

The Walking Dead Season 7 (AMC)

American Gods (Starz)

Luke Cage (Netflix)

Iron Fist (Netflix)

The Defenders (Netflix)

Narcos Season 2 (Netflix)

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America)

Legion (FX)

The Flash Season 3 (The CW)

Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)

Westworld teaser

The Westworld teaser excites with eerie imagery and moody atmosphere.

HBO finally dropped the Westworld teaser trailer we’ve all been waiting for just before last night’s Game of Thrones. After months of speculation about the troubled production, this official glimpse gives us a good idea of what to expect. Naturally, the trailer offers intriguing visuals vaguely reminiscent of 2015’s Ex Machina. Similar storylines don’t hurt as Westworld apparently deals with sentient robots as well.

Westworld teaser
Photo courtesy of HBO.

The Westworld teaser also offers a look at the performances from stars Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and Thandie Newton. James Marsden, Miranda Otto, Rodrigo Santoro, and Ed Harris also star, among others, but they are only either glimpsed or not seen at all in the teaser.

Sidelined during production for rewrites on the final episodes of the first season, Westworld hails from the 1973 film written by Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton. The general story deals with an Western-themed amusement park populated by robots that malfunction and kill park-goers. Kind of like that “Itchy and Scratchy Land” episode of The Simpsons which is, itself, a parody of Jurassic Park. Who says there are no more new ideas?

However, based on this new Westworld teaser, the HBO series may have more on its mind than simply killing visitors. Granted, I haven’t seen the original film, but the trailer features similar theming to Ex Machina. Sir Anthony Hopkins asks a robot, “What are your drives?” The robot replies, “To meet my maker.” He then breaks out into a sadistic laugh.

Check out this “dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin” when Westworld drops this October.

UnReal season two trailer

Lifetime’s UnReal was one of last summer’s buzziest hits. Starring a fantastic Constance Zimmer, the reality satire looks at the troubled production of “Everlasting,” a fictitious dating show. Naturally, Zimmer and her co-star Shiri Appleby go to great lengths to create drama for ratings. It even got a little dark. The UnReal season two trailer hints at things getting much darker.

We killed somebody, didn’t we?

Additionally, UnReal was recently renewed for season three. The third season will consist of 10 episodes and will air in 2017. The early renewal was no doubt ushered forward by a recent Peabody award, a Critics’ Choice award for Zimmer, and placement on AFI’s Television Programs of the Year.

UnReal season two premieres on Lifetime June 6 at 10pm.

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