A sequel to Thirtysomething is in the works with the new series focused on the thirtysomething lives of some of the kids from the original series. Personally, I’d be more interested in seeing original cast members returning in Sixtysomething - the idea of a drama about the personal lives of people in their 30s isn’t exactly novel anymore.
The plan is for actors from the original to reprise their roles as well, though nothing is set at the moment. MGM is currently shopping the project to potential buyers.
Thirtysomething starred Ken Olin, Mel Harris, Melanie Mayron, Peter Horton, Patricia Kalember, Timothy Busfield, Patricia Wettig and Polly Draper. It premiered in September 1987 and ran for four seasons. Though never a big hit — it finished no higher than 40th in the Nielsen rankings over its four years — the show had an outsize pop-cultural footprint thanks to its focus on the day-to-day lives of Baby Boomers.
Source: THR
Emily VanDerWerff writes about Succession for Vox, suggesting the shows central theme is about trauma. If you’re not yet watching Succession, you probably should be.
Succession arguably has the most work cut out for it in this regard. At its heart is an old-fashioned family soap opera, in the style of Dallas or Dynasty. Like those shows, Succession is about the unchecked mega-rich, the offshoots of capitalism run amok. Like those shows, it is a lot of fun to watch, frequently as funny and audacious as anything TV has cooked up.
But unlike those shows, Succession’s plot twists rarely involve sexy complications. It has yet to reveal a whole season as having all been a dream. Instead, the show finds its pleasure in endless business machinations, in the ways that members of the Roy family compete with each other for dominance and the ways their competition has scarred them irreparably. (In real-world terms, the family is a rough mashup of the Fox News-owning Murdochs and the Paramount-owning Redstones.)
Source: Vox
Andrew Scott, known in some circles as the hot priest from Fleabag, will soon be known as Tom Ripley in the upcoming Showtime series Ripley.
The first season is using The Talented Mr Ripley as its source material.
Scott will star as the titular character, Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York. In the series, Ripley is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom's acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.
Oscar winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List, The Night Of) will write and direct the entire eight-episode first season.
Source: TV Guide
Does Netflix need to rethink its growth trajectory? Analysts are insistent that Netflix needs to increase its spending.
In a stunning reversal of fortune, shares of Netflix are now down in 2019 after rising more than 40 percent through the first four months of the year, and on Tuesday the hits kept coming, this time in the form of a Wall Street analyst who reduced his target price "substantially" to $350 while it had been set at $515.
Source: THR
If you’re anything like me, you spend a lot of the day thinking about how it would be great to see an anthology TV series based on the lyrics of Billy Joel songs. Well, you can put that idea to rest finally because it is happening thanks to MGM.
The studio is teaming with Universal Music Publishing Group to bring the New York singer-songwriter's music to life as a scripted "arc-thology" called Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.
The show, which takes its title from Joel's favorite song from his sizable catalog, will see each episode based on lyrics of his hits and populated by characters from his songs, including the Stranger, the Piano Man, Mamma Leone and Sgt. O'Leary. The tracks will be reimagined and rearranged by Joel's music team — with his input — and take his tunes in new directions.
Source: THR
And finally…
The new Always Be Watching podcast is waiting to be listened to. Dan and Chris this week discuss new animated dramedy Undone (Amazon Prime Video), hip hop documentary series Hip Hop Evolution (Netflix), A Very Brady Renovation (HGTV), and discuss the new streaming offerings - Disney+ and Apple TV+.
You can listen to the podcast on your favourite podcast apps, or listen to it via the web HERE.
