We start today’s Always Be Watching with the movie event of the year:
Between Two Ferns: The Movie
It debuts September 20.
Amazon has this morning announced 10 stand-up comedy specials that will feature some of Australia's most talented comedians:
- Tom Gleeson
- Celia Pacquola
- Tommy Little
- Judith Lucy
- Anne Edmonds
- Zoe Coombs Marr
- Dilruk Jayasinha
- Tom Walker
- Alice Fraser
- Lano and Woodley
The special featuring Woodley and Lano is particularly noteworthy as it is the show they have been touring the past 18 months which is their first in 12 years (they had a conscious uncoupling). The synopsis for their special sounds fun:
After 12 years apart, Colin Lane and Frank Woodley have reunited to realise Col’s dream of making some important theatre, telling the epic story of the pioneers of flight, the Wright brothers. The only thing that could possibly get in the way is... well... Frank.
Yesterday I ran a few words about the upcoming Brady Bunch renovation show. There’s a good article from James Poniewozik at the New York Times today about A Very Brady Renovation that links it, in spirit, to the BH 90210 revival. As he says: You can go home again. But it’s weird.
Each of these shows have a bleed between real life and fiction. One is more successful at it than the other. BH 90210 layers its premise with a not-very-good scripted storyline about the actors of the show returning to make a 90210 revival. It is more complicated than it should be and simply isn’t much fun. Whereas The Brady Bunch has already been through several bad* reinterpretations of the Brady Bunch (there was a variety show, The Brady Brides, an animated show, the night-time soap The Bradys…). With A Very Brady Renovation the show is a pure love letter to the original TV show. This is the cast of the original show (minus Cousin Oliver) quite literally building and creating the house from the original show so it can actually exist in the real world. How glorious an idea!
*’Bad’ is in the eye of the beholder. I loved them all.
Apple has chosen not to proceed with a TV series set to star Richard Gere (who had said he would never do TV again just a few months ago). When you hear the synopsis, I think you’ll understand why:
Gere was set to star as one of two elderly Vietnam vets and best friends who find their monotonous lives upended when a woman they both loved 50 years ago is killed by a car. Their lifelong regrets and secrets collide with their resentment of today’s self-absorbed millennials and the duo then go on a shooting spree.
Source: The AV Club
Polygon has this helpful list of everything that will be on Disney+ on Day One. Whether this is reflective of what will be on there in every territory remains yet to be seen.
That’s it for today. Yes, it’s been a pretty slow week for TV news.
