Sitcom great Penny Marshall has died at the age of 75 as a result of complications relating to diabetes. In addition to starring in the classic Happy Days spin-off Laverne & Shirley, Marshall had a great career as a director with films like Big, A League of Their Own, and Awakenings.
“I like something that tells a story or that tells me something I didn’t know,” she told The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1992 when asked about her taste in films. “It should have humor in it — or it should have heart.”
“And if it doesn’t,” she added, with what the reporter described as a sly grin, “I’ll make it have heart.”
David Schwimmer is set to co-star in a new UK comedy for Sky1, Intelligence.
The former Friends actor will star as a power-hungry NSA agent who rocks the boat when he comes over to join a new team set up to tackle cybercrime
Dirty dog Les Moonves is going to leave CBS without his expected $120 million payout.
Australia’s Freeview platform has established a web-based portal to watch Australian broadcast channels.
Might I suggest you listen to the latest episode of podcast I Think You’re Interesting, in which TV critic Todd VanDerWerff speaks to Good Place creator Michael Schur. Schur is incredibly fascinating with his insights into what makes a TV comedy work. For example, he’ll let you know why a sitcom will work in a bar, but not in a restaurant.
It’s the best thing you’ll listen to this week.
The radically revamped Conan show will return on January 22.
Hands-up those who realised they were still making new episodes of Elementary? The show will come to a close at the end of its 7th season.
All thirteen episodes of the seventh season have been shot, the show wrapping last week, and the network and producers reportedly came to the conclusion to end the show after it was renewed for this seventh season back in May.
As a result series creator Rob Doherty was able to wrap the series how he wanted.
Rolling Stone has a much longer than you’d expect feature article looking at the legacy of 80s cartoon classic (?) Jem & The Holograms.
Get set for two more seasons of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 16 more episodes have been commissioned ahead of the debut of season 2 in 2019.
Frankie Shaw has been cleared through an investigation into reported misconduct on the set of SMILF.
And finally…
The Akira Kurosawa classic Rashomon will be adapted into a 10-episode series from Amblin Entertainment.
Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television has optioned the rights to the 1950 psychological thriller from the famed director and screenwriter for television. The company, which is investinganother $50 million to fund (and own) select TV content, plans to adapt Rashomon as a 10-episode dramatic thriller. A network/outlet is not yet attached.
Each season of the potential series will focus on a singular event told from multiple points of view where each of the main characters provides a unique and different perspective of the event based on their specific and subjective point of view. Only by watching each of the episodes and seeing the differing POVs will the audience come away with the truth behind the mystery.
With people now watching via streaming, it feels like audiences might be ready for this in a way that they weren’t there for the more-episodic Boomtown. But, a question comes to mind…
How much of this will be encouraging audiences to go back and re-watch the season for a new perspective? In this age of peak TV, do audiences go back and re-watch seasons of shows made for streaming in the same way that there are episodes of Seinfeld that I have watched, conservatively, 30 times before?
