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Tag: TV News

  • ‘Interview with the Vampire’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ Boost AMC+’s Viewership and Subscriber Growth

    ‘Interview with the Vampire’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ Boost AMC+’s Viewership and Subscriber Growth

    It looks like AMC’s decision to invest in Anne Rice-focused projects was the right decision. According to Variety, the first release, Interview with the Vampire, has been a major boost for their AMC streaming service. It and The Walking Dead’s final season kick-off played a big part in giving the service its highest two days of viewership and subscriber growth since its initial launch back in 2020. AMC+ has shared the following statement:

    The premiere of ‘Interview’ and the return of The Walking Dead’ drove AMC+ to the most successful two days in its history on Sunday and Monday and highest levels of series viewership and new subscriber acquisition ever.

    The service pulled in 10.8M subscribers across all platforms including AMC+ with the premiere of Interview with the Vampire being the biggest launch for the service. It seemingly beat out the freshman drama Dark Winds that previously held that record and managed to triple that series numbers. So, AMC is going to continue to bank on the newly won popularity of these projects.

    According to some data that Variety could acquire, it seems that 75% of the first streams were from new customers, which is quite a substantial showcase of just how big the draw was. The timing of a massive new series based on a highly popular book released around the same time as AMC’s biggest series ever seemed like the perfect recipe for success.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Werewolf by Night’ Star Shares the Challenges of Bringing the Werewolf to Life

    ‘Werewolf by Night’ Star Shares the Challenges of Bringing the Werewolf to Life

    Werewolf by Night has finally been released on Disney+ and many got to enjoy the horror-inspired story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first werewolf. Not just that, but we also got to enjoy the captivating performance by Gael Garcia Bernal in the role of Jack Russel and his lycanthrope counterpart. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bernal reveals what it was like becoming the character and also the awkward beginnings to realize his performance.

    Yes, that’s the idea. It starts from there. Before I started to work on this, I was like, “What am I going to do?” But once you get your feet dirty and put your hands in the clay and start to play around, you gain a little bit of the character. There’s a little bit of appropriation that happens, and once you put the mask on, the whole world is built. That’s when the howling becomes a natural part of what one is doing, and then the embarrassment goes away. At the same time, as actors, we’re used to that. It’s not that we don’t get embarrassed or shy about what we’re about to do, but you have to go through it. It’s like jumping into cold water. Once you’re in the cold water, it’s even colder outside of it, so it’s better to stay in.

    Gael Garcia Bernal

    He also got a chance to highlight the makeup process to bring the character to life. He highlights how it took around four hours early on but the process sped up as production went along.

    Yeah, [Old] was nothing compared to this. The mask by itself was incredible. It took a while. The first time we did it, it took close to four hours, and then it started to take less and less. By the end, it was actually quite fast. Fortunately, there were many aspects of the costume that were practical. Everything was in camera. We didn’t have to put tracking dots on me [for performance capture]. The whole costume was weirdly scary and odd as well. 

    Gael Garcia Bernal

    It’s definitely interesting how they approached the costume, especially with the more practical take on the character. A recently revealed BTS image from the production even showcased that Man-Thing had a practical suit on set as well. If Giacchino decides to return to direct more Marvel monster features, perhaps we’ll get even more fun and scary designs exploring this new corner of the MCU.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Werewolf by Night’s Gael Garcia Bernal Never Auditioned for the Disney+ Special

    ‘Werewolf by Night’s Gael Garcia Bernal Never Auditioned for the Disney+ Special

    It’s no denying that Gael Garcia Bernal is a major get for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and many wondered just how he ended up getting a role in a Universal/Hammer-inspired monster flick for Disney. As it turns out, he was actually offered the role directly by long-time Marvel composer and now director, Michael Giacchino. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Werewolf by Night actor reveals how he got the role for the series and what it was like joining the Marvel family.

    It was a direct invitation from [director-composer] Michael Giacchino, and I immediately said yes. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to interpret this character. There are a lot of tangents and a lot of places that this character or this world can lead to. So as soon as Michael told me what he wanted to do and the way he wanted to approach it, I said, “Yeah, let’s do this!” So it’s been great, and I feel really lucky to be in this world of Marvel because of their know-how and infrastructure. We also got to try things out and experiment. So we were taken care of, and I can’t wait to do more with this great opportunity.

    Gael Garcia Bernal

    The actor also highlighted how having his friend, fellow Disney actor Diego Luna, join him on this journey. He highlighted how he was a great support during his time at D23 when they announced the Werewolf by Night Special Presentation.

    When we were at the D23 conference, he was the one who explained to me what was happening because it was my first time. It was quite crazy. But it was fascinating to be around all these other projects and people, and doing a press conference and press junket, in a sense, with all these different films and TV series was incredible. I wish all premieres were like that where the films and series are combined. So it’s been great to have a good friend who’s also living something similar as well.

    Diego Luna

    Perhaps this might open the doors to Luna also crossing into a new franchise as he’s set to wrap his work on Andor‘s second and final season next year. With more monsters making the rounds within the MCU, perhaps he could join the horror side of the franchise and have these two actors reunite on screen. Of course, we don’t know yet what the future has in store for Bernal in the MCU and hopefully, it won’t be too long before we find out.

    Source: THR

  • New ‘Werewolf by Night’ BTS Image Surfaces Online Revealing Practical Man-Thing Suit

    New ‘Werewolf by Night’ BTS Image Surfaces Online Revealing Practical Man-Thing Suit

    Werewolf by Night has finally found its way to Disney+. Marvel Studios has long kept mum on the project until D23 when they announced the project and the first teaser confirmed that a long-time Marvel character is finally making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. No, not the titular Werewolf but rather the quite popular Man-Thing. He also quickly became a fan favorite after the series’ release and a new behind-the-scenes image from the production has found its way online hinting that the character was practical.

    In the BTS image shared by @halldehqs on Twitter, we get a look at the crew including director Michael Giacchino. What sticks out is the giant Man-Thing that is towering behind the crew with glowing red eyes. While there definitely was some CG use in the series, it looks like they had an actual practical suit on the set to bring the character to life. It definitely is a surprise given how Marvel makes use of CG for larger-than-life characters.

    Giacchino did hint that they tried to take as many practical directions as they can. So, the fact that the character everyone assumed would be mostly CG had an actual suit is impressive. It’ll be interesting to see if perhaps the productions start integrating more practical elements moving forward, as Marvel Studios has always had the tendency to learn from each project they’ve worked on. We’ll have to see if we might see more of it in other Special Presentations moving forward as well.

    Source: Twitter

  • Justin Long Joins Disney+’s ‘Goosebumps’ Series

    Justin Long Joins Disney+’s ‘Goosebumps’ Series

    Disney+ may have kicked off its streaming service with Star Wars and Marvel, but they have been quite busy expanding their available IPs. They purchased 20th Century Fox for a reason and aren’t wasting any time to also add a few other recognizable franchises to their list. Now, they are actively working on a new series based on the iconic Goosebumps franchise by R.L. Stine and it seems they already have their casting locked, as Justin Long is set to join the series.

    The series will reportedly be inspired by five fo the popular Goosebumps books, and Disney has provided the following logline for the series.

    The series follows a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together — thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries and pasts with each other — in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.

    Long is taking on the role of a school teacher, who ends up connected with a “decades-old supernatural murder” named Nathan Bratt. The series will seemingly adopt an overarching narrative rather than having each entry act as its own retelling of the iconic books. There have been quite a few adaptations throughout the years with Jack Black as a fictionalized version of Stine back in 2015. It even got a sequel that would release in 2018.

    Source: Variety

  • HBO Max Announces ‘Harley Quinn’ Valentine’s Day Special

    HBO Max Announces ‘Harley Quinn’ Valentine’s Day Special

    Even with HBO Max’s purge of its many animation offerings, it seems that one series remains strong. DC’s quicky and heavily R-rated Harley Quinn got a new season release but also has a spinoff series in some form of development. Now, it seems they have one more special to surprise us with, as HBO Max has announced that they have a new Valentine’s Day Special set for next year’s February.

    https://twitter.com/dcharleyquinn/status/1578399758535696384

    The special will be titled Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special and has released the following logline to tease what we can expect from the project.

    The special will feature Harley and Ivy celebrating their very first Valentine’s Day together, while also revealing how the rest of the ragtag crew spends the gushiest, mushiest, most romantic day of the year

    The third season of Harley Quinn has seen quite a successful run with an early fourth season renewal in August. As many DC projects got scrapped left and right, it’s a showcase of just how popular the R-rated project is. There’s still no word though where the Kite Man-focused project currently stands as we haven’t heard if it survived the HBO Max purge. Given the character’s popularity, it does seem safe to say he’ll likely still be chasing his dreams.

    Source: Variety, Twitter

  • NYCC: Hulu Renews ‘Solar Opposites’ for Season 5

    NYCC: Hulu Renews ‘Solar Opposites’ for Season 5

    New York Comic Con officially kicked off on Thursday and with it came news that Solar Opposites would be returning for another season. Hulu confirmed the series would return for Season 5 during the show’s panel. The show’s renewal comes after it aired a Halloween special on Hulu and well before the show’s fourth season, which will hit the streamer sometime next year.

    Solar Opposites, which was co-created by Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty) and Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty), focuses on a “family” of four aliens who are forced to adapt to life on Earth. Korvo (Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) are eager to fix their ship and leave Earth behind, noting the pollution and consumerism, while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) have fully embraced life on Earth, including television and junk food. The third season of the hit Hulu series premiered on July 13th and the Halloween Special debuted on October 3rd.

    The fourth season of Solar Opposites will consist of 12-episodes. As of right now, no release date has been announced outside of 2023.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘Outer Range’ Gets Season 2 Renewal and New Showrunner

    ‘Outer Range’ Gets Season 2 Renewal and New Showrunner

    The neo-western series Outer Range has just received a second season renewal from Prime Video. Josh Brolin will return as the Wyoming rancher, whose life is thrown into turmoil when he uncovers something quite unnatural on his farm. The series was created by Brian Watkins, but it looks like he isn’t going to return for the second season.

    Luke Cage‘s Charles Murray is taking over as showrunner, which is part of his deal with Amazon Studios and will join the production to further explore the Abbotts’ struggle with some supernatural and local troubles. It’s unclear who from the original cast will return, which included Lili Taylor, Lewis Pullman, Tamara Podemski, Tom Pelphrey, Shaun Sipos, Noah Reid, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercombie, Will Patton, and Imogen Poots.

    Watkins is still involved with the production, as he’ll remain as executive producer on these series. There’s no word on why exactly they decided to move forward with a new showrunner in its second season but it’ll be interesting to see what Charles Murray will bring to the table with his talented work on shows like Luke Cage, Sons of Anarchy, and more.

    Source: Deadline

  • UPDATED: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Have Found its Director

    UPDATED: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Have Found its Director

    UPDATED: Craig Zobel has been confirmed as the director for the still-untitled The Batman spinoff focused on Penguin. It seems the director has a deal with HBO after his acclaimed work on The Mare of Easttown. He won#t be filming the entire series but rather is responsible for the first two episodes. So, we might get more director confirmations in the coming months.

    Source: THR

    We’ve long waited for an update for the upcoming The Batman spinoff series focused on Colin Farrell‘s Penguin. The HBO Max series is reportedly in discussions with Mare of Easttown‘s Craig Zobel to not only direct but also executive produce the series. His work on the HBO series has put him in the spotlight and makes him a perfect choice for this further exploration of Gotham.

    Supposedly the series is also eyeing to start production in early 2023, but no exact date or time window is given at the moment. The director is set to join the production, which is currently being showrun by Lauren LeFranc, best known for her work as a writer and producer on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Chuck.

    Zobel has also worked on The Hunt, which was surrounded by quite a bit of controversy. It’s been a long journey for the director to make a name and leave the shadow behind from the controversies but with quite a few awards under his belt, it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the upcoming The Batman spinoff.

    Source: Discussing Film

  • NYCC: Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy Tease their HBO Max ‘Scooby-Doo’ Prequel ‘Velma’

    NYCC: Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy Tease their HBO Max ‘Scooby-Doo’ Prequel ‘Velma’

    One of New York Comic-Con’s most exciting panels is for Velma, a new animated series from executive producer Mindy Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy. The former The Office breakout, a multifaceted talent in her own right, will voice Velma Dinkley in a reimagining of the character that sees her come from South Asian descent. Velma, who is billed as “the mystery before the Inc.”, will explore the origins of the title character and the rest of the iconic Scooby-Doo gang from an adult-oriented viewpoint. Kaling and Grandy were on hand at NYCC to discuss the series in-depth for the press, and Murphy’s Multiverse was in attendance to make note of it all.

    Kaling began the panel by explaining that Velma was chosen as the protagonist because she offered the most unique perspective for storytelling. She also mentioned that she was happy to play the character because Dinkley was always the one she related to the most. Projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Riverdale were mentioned as inspirations for telling diverse stories about teenagers in the modern world, with a change to adult-oriented comedy giving fans of the franchise a new way of looking at the Scooby-Doo universe. Kaling clarified the series will not be for children and will cover topics like “teenage urges“. Grandy mentioned he wanted to take a look at why a group of kids would commit their lives to hunting criminals and solving murders, which Kaling ensured the press would be actually sort of terrifying.

    Finally, the creative team confirmed Velma would take cues from the original 1960s series but would mostly have its own voice. Fans can expect to see origins for Velma’s famous “JINKIES!” catchphrase, and Shaggy’s well-known nickname. He’ll be called by his birth name otherwise. Velma’s relationship with her father will also be a major part of the series, something Kaling was especially excited about. More will be revealed when the cast and crew take the Main Stage later today, but for now, fans can feast their minds on more Velma information than ever before.