Netflix finally has its US version of The Crown
This seemed inevitable, but Netflix has just commissioned a series which feels very much like an effort to launch a US version of a show like The Crown. And there’s only one family that could anchor a project like that…
The Kennedys.
Michael Fassbender has been hired to lead the first season of Kennedy, starring as Joseph Kennedy Sr. As per The Hollywood Reporter, season one will be set in the 1930s and follow the “improbable ascent of Joe and Rose Kennedy and their nine children, including rebellious second son Jack, who struggles to escape the shadow of his golden boy older brother.”
It is based on the book JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall.
Producing the show is Chernin Entertainment with Manhattan’s Sam Shaw on as showrunner. Attached as a director is Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round). It is ticking all the boxes as a quality prestige drama and there’s no shortage of stories surrounding this family.
And with all of this, I am reminded that I still haven’t watched the last couple of episodes of The Crown.
Kids TV is too driven by teachable moments and moral clarity
There’s an interesting essay on Slate by Elissa Strauss who recounts being fascinated by her own sons lack of interest in modern kids TV shows, but instead was drawn to older kids/family movies and shows. She recognised that older kids stuff dealt more in notions of light and shade, which is more reflective of kids actual experiences than most modern shows do:
What bothers me is that this kind of instrumental content is so ubiquitous—and often insipid. Kids are inundated with visions of moral clarity, while recognition of life’s psychological messiness is in short supply.
News Desk
Hulu has ordered Prison Break spin-off Elgin James to series. Read: Deadline
Ryan Coogler is very serious about his reboot of The X-Files and says he wants to do right by his mother, who is a huge fan of the show. Read: Variety
Jesse Hassenger looks back at Mallrats, which is somehow 30 years old. Read: Polygon
The era of the polished social media account is over as influencers move towards more chaotic content that better works with the algorithms. Read: THR
According to a report from Antenna, around three million Americans canceled Disney+ in September, up from a three-month average of 1.2 million. It feels like forever ago already, but that was the month of the Jimmy Kimmel suspension. Read: NYT
The Sims Mobile, a mobile game that debuted in 2018, will be turned off for good in January. All in-game purchases will continue to work until that date. Read: EA
Trailer Park
The Crystal Cuckoo debuts Nov 14 on Netflix.
Hoping to learn more about her heart donor, a young doctor arrives in a mountain town where decades of mysterious tragedies plague the small community.
The Son of a Thousand Men debuts on Netflix Nov 19.
In a small village, a lonely fisherman yearning for a son is drawn to an ethereal light that links him to others and their long-buried secrets.
The Big Fake debuts on Netflix at a date TBA.
A master of forgery. A criminal of art. Toni Chichiarelli arrives in Rome with the dream of becoming a painter, but his talent leads him elsewhere - from art galleries to state secrets.
That’s the newsletter for today. It was a very quiet weekend.
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