A Blade Runner TV show is happening

The new show will be called Blade Runner 2099 and will be set 50 years after the recent sequel film Blade Runner 2049.

Not much is known beyond that, but we do know that Ridley Scott who directed the original film is on board as an executive producer. Also, the series will be written by Silka Luisa who recently penned the very good Apple TV+ show Shining Girls.

This all sounds pretty good so far, but here's the thing: It is going to want to look visually incredible if it is going to follow up the Denis Villeneuve 2049 film. That film was dynamic as heck on screen. It certainly can't be done on a TV budget, even with Amazon money. So, uh, good luck.

CNN sets its breakfast show

One of the main priorities for the overhaul of CNN was to establish a new breakfast show to replace its barely noticed by viewers New Day.

New CNN chief Chris Licht built his name producing MSNBC's Morning Joe and then working at CBS on establishing the rather good CBS This Morning. So there is an assumption that a lot of his energy will be focused on making the new show work. CNN has been a bit of a black hole as far as breakfast goes, so Licht will throw the weight of every resource imaginable at it.

Today the hosts have been revealed: Evening presenter Don Lemon will move to the breakfast show, joined by fellow CNN talent Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Some news outlets are reporting this as a demotion for Don Lemon, but I'm not sure that is right. As far as management is concerned, breakfast is being shaped as the crown jewel in the CNN schedule. As the rest of the CNN format is retooled to be more news-focused and less driven by partisan opinion, it positions Lemon as one of, if not the biggest, talents on air.

Not lost on me or other media commentators is how much this feels like CBS This Morning in approach talent-wise. Licht is referring to the show as “a mass appeal play.”

It’s meant to be an evolved version of the network morning shows
-Chris Licht

Moving Lemon opens up the 10-11pm night time CNN slot throughout the week. 9-10pm also remains vacant following the recent ousting of Chris Cuomo from CNN. It is expected that an announcement on what Licht plans to do with the night schedule will happen soon.

Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid show incoming @ Amazon

It is my contention that the kids today don't know Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid. It is one of those titles still beloved by film enthusiasts, but along the way it lost cultural resonance with younger viewers. Something that may change that is this new series from Amazon.

Regé-Jean Page from Bridgerton and Glen Powell from Top Gun: Maverick will star in the new show as Cassidy and the Kid, respectively. A showrunner hasn't yet been named, but the Russo Brothers are producing.

Interestingly, the show is being billed as being set in an America with an alternate timeline (a la Man In The High Castle and For All Mankind), so this new version may not be entirely all that reflective of the film.

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