Jon Stewart is coming back to television
Jon Stewart will host a new series for Apple TV+. Every episode will be an hour-long with episodes exploring topics that are part of the national conversation and his advocacy work. So, expect something similar to Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas, hosted by the former Daily Show performer whose name is in the title.
I’d rather see Stewart hosting a format like Real Time, but this will do.
Source: Deadline
Good News / Bad News on this Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne TV show
Good news: Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne who had great chemistry in the Neighbors films (or Bad Neighbours as we saw the film retitled here in Australia, lest it be confused with the beloved and barely-watched evening soap), will star in a new Apple TV+ comedy series. Platonic has a 10-episode order.
“Platonic” explores the inner workings of platonic friendship. A pair of former best friends who met in their youth (Byrne and Rogen) reconnect as adults and try to mend the rift that led to their falling out. As their friendship becomes more consuming, it destabilizes their lives and causes them to reevaluate their choices.
Bad news: The series is being written and showrun by Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco. They worked together on Netflix series Friends from College, which I say, without exaggeration, was the shittest TV show that streamed in whatever year it came out in.
No… I didn’t like it much.
Source: Variety
Another Nine News Melbourne bird attack
What is it with this show and unexpected bird michief?
Netflix testing audio-only
Some code in Netflix’s Android app suggests that the company is experimenting with offering Netflix programs without audio. Obviously, Netflix is television which, as the name implies, requires some form of vision. But with a lot of spoken word content like stand-up comedy, there’s obviously some types of Netflix content that lends itself well to putting on your headphones, pressing play on the app, and taking the dogs for a walk.
XDA Developers was first to report about the new test after spotting related code lines in Netflix's latest Android app. "Save your data by turning off the video and listening to your favorite shows," one of the snippets found in the app explains. "The video is off, but you can continue listening to your show while you are busy doing other things," another text string notes.
Source: Protocol
TeeVee Snacks
- Think about your favourite TV shows that got cancelled after one season despite the fact there seemed to be a big enough audience watching it. Now know that European big budget series Das Boot has just been commissioned for a third season. Source: C21
- When In Treatment returns to HBO in 2021 it will be with Uzo Aduba playing the thearapist. Source: thefutoncritic
- Aussie series Doctor Blake was the most finished show on BBC One. Source: TV Tonight
- Deleting your Facebook profile also disables any Oculus VR games you may have bought. FYI. Source: Polygon
- Game Assassins Creed is being developed for Netflix. Source: TV Insider
- I don’t buy into the argument that the Peanuts animated specials moving exclusively to Apple TV+ creates any greater scarcity that they once did when they aired once a year on a broadcast TV network. Emily VanDerWerff says different. Source: Vox
- South Africa now has a version of Ugly Betty to call its own. Source: C21
Trailer Park
Former Chicago Resident Barack Obama will appear on a special edition of the really great HBO chat program The Shop: Uninterrupted. It debuts Oct 30.
Saved By The Bell debuts/returns Nov 25 on Peacock. It’ll stream here in Australia on Stan.
The Midnight Sky is a George Clooney film debuting on Netflix Dec 23.
Rose Island is coming soon to Netflix.
An idealistic engineer builds his own island off the Italian coast and declares it a nation, drawing the world's attention. Values are tested when the Italian Government declares him an enemy, but to change the world risks must be taken.
