Larry David coming back to TV is pretty, pretty... yadda yadda
It was great to find news this morning of a new Larry David HBO series announced today. It’ll be a 6-part sketch comedy series, produced through the Obama’s production company Higher Ground.
The show is still yet to be titled, but the sketches will focus on American history as a celebration of America's 250th anniversary (which is a matter of perspective).
Larry David has a history with sketch comedy, having starred in the 1980 SNL rip-off show Fridays. That show had him writing and starring in an ensemble that also included future Seinfeld co-star Michael Richards. As an aside, future Seinfeld writer Larry Charles was also on the writing team of Fridays and covers his experience on it in his new autobiography Comedy Samurai, which is rather good.
In 2022, David starred in a sketch-fuelled Super Bowl ad for bitcoin trading company FTX. I do wonder if doing that ad gave him the sketch comedy bug, prompting his decision to do this.
I found his media release quote funny:
"Once 'Curb' ended, I celebrated with a three-day foam party. After a violent allergic reaction to the suds, I yearned to return to my simple life as a beekeeper, harvesting organic honey from the wildflowers in my meadow. Alas, one day my bees mysteriously vanished. And so, it is with a heavy heart that I return to television, hoping to ease the loss of my beloved hive."
Anyway, it’s cool that this is happening and that David isn’t planning on a quiet post-Curb Your Enthusiasm fade away.
Read more: The Guardian
The great content key party
I’ve been struggling to find the right analogy for this. It feels almost like one of those contrived TV show plots in a pilot episode where two sports teams swap players for a season to liven things up. Prime Video’s ballet dramedy Étoile did this with ballet companies a few months ago.
ITVX in the UK is going to start swapping content with Disney+ in the US. From July 16, under the banners Taste of ITVX and Taste of Disney+, ITVX viewers will see Disney+ shows The Bear, Andor, and Only Murders In The Building streamed, while Disney+ viewers will get to see Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Spy Among Friends, and library titles including Endeavour, Vera, and series one of Karen Pirie.
There is a financial agreement in place for this, which Disney+ EMEA’s general manager Karl Holmes says is “mutually beneficial and mutually supportive.”
Here’s to hoping the deal is more of a success for them than Étoile was for Prime Video.
Read more: Screen Daily
News Desk
Tracy Ifeachor isn’t returning to The Pitt for season 2. A shame - I liked her a lot. Read: TV Line
Virgin River has received a pickup for season 8, making it Netflix’s longest-running scripted series. (To save you looking it up, Grace & Frankie ran seven seasons with more episodes per season, but in terms of hours produced, Virgin River has it pipped). Read: Deadline
The Scrubs reboot has gotten a series order at ABC, which felt mostly inevitable. Officially joining are OG series leads Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke. Read: Variety
The final episode of the exceptionally long-running Aussie soap Neighbours is in production, with filming coming to an end later today. A huge day in Australian TV production news. Read: TV Tonight
TV mainstay Annie Potts (Designing Women, Love & War, Young Sheldon, Any Day Now) has joined the cast of Fox‘s Best Medicine. That’s the US remake of Doc Martin, set to star Josh Charles.
Murderbot has been picked up for a second season at Apple TV+. Read: thefutoncritic
YouTube is dumping its Trending section. Read: The Verge
Pokemon voice actor James Carter Cathcart has passed away at age 71. Read: Variety
The US The Office sequel The Paper will debut with four episodes on Sept 4, followed by two new episodes every Thursday through Sept 25. Read: Variety
The video game voice actor strike has reportedly come to an end after 11 months, even if it has been suggested that the princess is in another castle. Read: NYT
My beloved Upload will return to Prime Video for its truncated season 4 (just four episodes) on August 25. Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
King of The Hill returns for (a rebooted) season 14 on August 4.
The Jason Momoa-led Apple TV+ drama Chief of War debuts August 1.
The nine-episode series, based on true events, follows warrior Ka'iana, portrayed by Momoa, as he tries to unify the islands before Western colonization in the late 18th century.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood debuts on Starz in the US August 8 and on Stan in Australia August 9 (So, the same time because of datelines and the sun and stuff).
Marc Maron: Panicked debuts August 1 on HBO Max.
Season 2 of Sausage Party: Foodtopia debuts on Prime Video August 13.
Superstar debuts on Netflix July 18.
Set deep in the chaos of the early 2000s, this series reimagines the life of pop icon Tamara - and her metamorphosis into Yurena - as never seen before.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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