Who is the new Batwoman?

With Ruby Rose departing Batwoman, that show is going to need a new Batwoman. The show won’t just recast the role, but rather it seemingly has plans to introduce an entirely new character to replace the titular Batwoman. It’ll still be a Batwoman, but a different character under the mask.

The new character is expected to be named Ryan Wilder, a (bat)woman who is “likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her."

But take all of this with a grain of salt. It begins with a leaked casting call posted to Reddit.

So:

It may not be real. But outlets like The Hollywood Reporter are reporting on it, so they may have a second source who has verified its authenticity.
A casting call description may not accurately reflect the character we’ll see on screen.

My two-cents. The name of the character is a red herring. Ryan Wilder doesn’t come from the comics. While not every character in the current crop of DC shows on The CW is based on a comic character, all the lead characters are. It would be a huge departure from the fan-service that these shows have traded in for years to not have her based on a comic character.

My lead suspicion is that the character will be Stephanie Brown - the daughter of one of Batman’s lesser-villains who took on the identity of ‘Spoiler’, but also was Batgirl for a couple of years.

Another possible option is that it’ll be the best-known Batgirl - Police Commissioner Gordon’s daughter Barbara Gordon. As seen on TV already in the 1966 Batman show.

Source: Reddit

A report suggests that the most popular shows on HBO Max aren’t originals like Love Life or library titles like Game of Thrones. Instead it is suggesting the most popular titles are Looney Tunes Cartoons (a revival of the animated shorts) and the new The Not-Too Late Show with Elmo.

I’ve watched both - Looney Tunes has a great gag in a Temple of Doom-inspired short and I actually really liked Elmo’s talk show. It’s incredibly charming - which says a lot considering how Elmo pretty much Single White Female’d the far superior Grover.

I’m sure both are widely viewed on the platform. But, I’m also somewhat dubious. The report is from Parrot Analytics which measures popularity based on social media, fan ratings and piracy. The key word here is popularity - is popularity considered just to be online buzz, or is popularity actual viewership? If it is the former, than sure - those shows are more popular. But if it’s the latter, there are endless examples of shows that have high viewership without also having online viewership. A very vocal fan base doesn’t necessarily translate into strong viewership either.

Interesting figures, but caveats apply.

Source: Bloomberg

There’s the comical excuse given to children by parents when their dogs die that their beloved pet has gone to live on a farm.

It seems like there’s a new take on this to explain where Aunt Becky (jailbird Lori Loughlin) is during the final season of Fuller House:

As per Entertainment Weekly:

In the episode titled "Be Yourself, Free Yourself," Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) is seen in a pickle of his own when he tries to turn a playdate into an investigation as to who bit his daughter Pamela.

"You don't think you should run this by Aunt Becky first?" D.J. (Candace Cameron Buree) asked.

"Becky is in Nebraska helping out her mother," Jesse said. "I don't want to bother her with a tiny little thing like this."

Right. Nebraska.

Part of the plan to re-start Hollywood productions: go paperless.

To cut down on physical objects that are routinely touched by many hands on a set (such as scripts, call sheets, etc), the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have suggested the elimination of all paper on set as part of a 22-page white paper it has developed. I’ll avoid the obvious joke here.

The document also says that “Physical contact should be avoided, including shaking hands, ‘high fives,’ fist or elbow bumps, or hugging.” No high fives on set? I guess that rules out any passionate sex scenes.

Source: Vanity Fair

Netflix has cancelled its comedy show Astronomy Club after one season. Source: Variety

Netflix in Australia last night advised viewers via its Twitter account to watch The Point on NITV at 8:30pm.

Quietly, I’m not convinced that the ratings will see an uptick from this recommendation. But it was still nice to see.

Trailer Park

We have a new teaser for Lovecraft Country, the new HBO that combines stories about the racist terror of America and Lovecraftian supernatural monsters. It debuts in August.

The movie Becky is going straight to VOD this coming weekend and it’s an interesting-sounding one - if only for one very specific cast member in a very unexpected role. It stars Lulu Wilson and Joel McHale as a daughter and father who take a holiday to a lake house to reconnect. There they are terrorised by a group of escaped convicts who are using the house to hide. The leader of this gang of convicts? A very different-looking Kevin James.

Don’t watch this trailer with the kids…