Harrison Ford, a man I would argue is one of the all-time top five movie stars, has been announced as the lead for a new TV series based on the documentary series The Staircase. This is his first TV appearance since a cameo in a 1993 episode of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Source: Deadline
Chatter of its possible demise were for nought: Days of Our Lives is on the verge of a renewal for its 56th season, delivering the high quality, fast-paced drama we’ve come to expect from the show.
(It’s on the verge, but if the renewal has reached the trade press, it’s as good as assuming that the deal is done).
The daytime drama has run for over 13,000 episodes since first debuting in 1965. The show will go on hiatus at the end of November, though it has shot enough episodes to last through the end of the current broadcast season. “Days of Our Lives” is one of the few daytime soaps still on the air, with the others being “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” on CBS as well as “General Hospital” on ABC. “Days” is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem and follows lives of the Brady, Horton and DiMera families. The show was renewed for its current 55th season back in January.
Source: Variety
Hunters is an upcoming Amazon Prime Video series starring Al Pacino and produced by Jordan Peele. It is about Nazi hunters in NYC in 1977 doing what they do best: hunting Nazis.
Today, there is a trailer:
DC Universe is a streaming service dedicated to streaming TV shows based on DC Comics characters. The new model for the service is to produce originals for DCU that are also available pretty much everywhere else. The latest show, Stargirl, will debut on the DCU streamer, but the next day will air on the WarnerMedia-owned The CW.
Source: TV Guide
A sequel to the History series Vikings is in pre-production. The twist is that the new show won’t air on History, but rather is being produced for Netflix.
Source: Variety
New Norwegian Netflix drama Ragnarok will blend together norse mythology and climate change concerns.
A same-sex dancing pair on Strictly Come Dancing has attracted 189 complaints to the BBC.
In a statement the BBC said: “Strictly Come Dancing is an inclusive show and is proud to have been able to facilitate the dance between Johannes and Graziano during the Professionals’ dance.
“They are dancers first and foremost, and their sex had no bearing on their routine.”
Source: Radio Times
Former SNL star Julia Sweeney asks:
My God, what did I do? Was I the Al Jolson of androgyny?
Sweeney and her SNL recurring sketch (and movie) It’s Pat are explored in an NYT article that considers comedy through the lens of progressive evolution:
The problem of Pat represents an increasingly persistent debate in comedy: What happens when a joke, character or routine is re-examined outside of the era in which it was made and is deemed insensitive by contemporary standards? Should its creator still be held accountable for that material, and what if anything is owed to audiences who may have been offended or hurt by it?
It’s a great read - take the time to give it a look.
Source: NYT
And finally…
Undone is probably one of the best series this year that you didn’t watch (but if you did… good on you, you tastemaker). The absorbing human rotoscope animated drama has just been commissioned for a second series. It’s not confirmed whether the series will continue the story of Rosa.
Source: Deadline
