Apple TV+ has set a November 28, 2019 premiere date for the new series, Servant. Described as a psychological thriller, Servant was created by BAFTA-nominated executive producer and writer Tony Basgallop (To the Ends of the Earth) and is executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan, and Jason Blumenthal.
Shyamalan (Glass, Split) directed the series. The cast includes Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Toby Kebbell (Kong: Skull Island, War for the Planet of the Apes), Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones), and Rupert Grint (best known for the Harry Potter film franchise).
Apple TV+ will premiere on November 1, 2019 in 100+ countries/regions. Its content will be accessible via the Apple TV app available on iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, iPod Touch, and Macs. The monthly fee is $4.99, with Apple TV+ offering a seven day free trial.
The Servant Plot:
“Apple’s Servant follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.”
‘Servant’ Executive Producer Jason Blumenthal, Executive Producer M. Night Shyamalan, Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint, Nell Tiger Free, Toby Kebbell, Executive Producer Tony Basgallop, and Executive Producer Ashwin Rajan (Photo Courtesy of Apple)
Fox’s medical drama The Resident season three continues with episode three airing on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 8pm ET/PT. Paul McCrane directed the episode titled “Saints & Sinners.”
The cast of season three includes Matt Czuchry as Dr. Conrad Hawkins, Emily VanCamp as Nicolette “Nic” Nevin, Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Randolph Bell, and Manish Dayal as Dr. Devon Pravesh. Shaunette Renee Wilson plays Dr. Mina Okafor, Malcolm-Jamal Warner is Dr. AJ Austin, Jane Leeves is Dr. Kitt Voss, and Glenn Morshower is Marshall Winthrop. Morris Chestnut joins the cast as Dr. Barrett Cain.
The Saints & Sinners Plot: When a police officer shows up to the ER with an injured criminal that he caught in the act, it’s up to the Chastain staff to keep him alive in order to save an innocent life. Nic gets roped into a surgical rotation with Cain that leaves her questioning the way he operates, and Conrad makes a shocking discovery about the hospital.
Meanwhile, Bell pursues a new fiscal venture that may bring him into a whole new market.
The Season 3 Plot, Courtesy of Fox:
Entering its third season, The Resident continues to rip back the curtain and reveal the truth of what really happens, both good and bad, in hospitals across the country. The provocative medical drama follows a group of doctors at Chastain Memorial Hospital, as they face personal and professional challenges on a daily basis while fighting for their patients.
In season three, Red Rock Mountain Medical has taken over, inserting its own doctors – including new neurosurgeon Dr. Barrett Cain – and nurses into the well-oiled machine that was once Chastain Memorial Hospital, and causing the doctors to fight harder than ever against the corrupting influence of money in healthcare. The hospital is being run like a profit-hungry corporation – reaping huge financial gains, while risking the lives of its patients.
Dr. Randolph Bell is well-aware of the dangerous deal he has made with Red Rock in order to get Chastain out of its financial crisis and, as a result, initially turns a blind eye to the new corporate mantra of profits over patients. It’s not long before Dr. Conrad Hawkins incurs Red Rock’s fury when he confronts the problems head-on, becoming a whistleblower. The good fight he leads could ultimately threaten everything he holds dear, including his ability to practice medicine.
The Justice League of young healthcare providers must unite to fight for and with him, with Nicolette “Nic” Nevins in the lead. Nic attempts to recover from a devastating personal loss by throwing herself into patient care and her work for the uninsured through her clinic.
Dr. Devon Pravesh will find himself rotating out of the ER and gaining experience and power of his own in new positions within the hospital, eventually moving up to a first year resident. Dr. AJ Austin will continue to bond with his mentee, the exceptionally talented surgeon, Dr. Mina Okafor. She’ll be his support as he navigates a relationship with his complicated biological family, while striving to maintain one with the parents who raised him. Okafor will be faced with a potential new family dynamic of her own, when her best friend, Adaku, who carries the BRCA breast cancer gene, returns pregnant with no father in the picture.
Meanwhile, the power and ruthlessness of new neurosurgeon Dr. Cain takes the hospital by storm. He embodies all the evil that can result when doctors care more for the bottom line than for their patients. Dr. Kitt Voss is the first to realize that his charm hides a medical demon, but standing against him could have serious consequences for her future. Cain’s ability to generate millions for Chastain leaves him free to exact swift revenge on those who oppose him – and no one is off limits.
Two episodes into ABC’s Emergence and we know there’s something very weird about Piper. She has strange abilities and is the target of a lot of unwanted attention. In season one episode three, it appears Jo – Piper’s chief protector – is determined to get to the truth of the young girl’s story.
Season one episode three titled “2 MG CU BID” was directed by Peter Leto from a script by David H. Goodman. Episode three will air on October 8, 2019 at 10pm ET/PT.
Lost star Terry O’Quinn guest stars as Richard Kindred. Maria Dizzia plays Emily and Ptolemy Slocum guest stars as Ken in episode three.
The new drama stars Allison Tolman, best known for her starring role in Fargo, as Jo Evans. Alexa Swinton (Billions) plays Piper, Owain Yeoman (The Mentalist) is Benny Gallagher, and Ashley Aufderheide (The Slap) is Mia Evans. Robert Bailey Jr. (The Night Shift) is Officer Chris Minetto, Zabryna Guevara (New Amsterdam) is Abby Frasier, Donald Faison (Ray Donovan) is Alex Evans, and Clancy Brown (Billions) plays Ed in season one.
The “2 MG CU BID” Plot – A mysterious illness takes hold of Piper, while Jo and Benny investigate a powerful tech mogul, Richard Kindred. As Piper’s health deteriorates, Jo weighs accepting help from an unknown source. Meanwhile, Alex works to decipher a radio frequency code from Piper’s plane crash, and Ed has a follow-up oncology appointment.
The Season 1 Plot:
“Beyond explanation … beyond understanding … lies the truth. This character-driven genre thriller follows a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident who has no memory of what has happened. The investigation draws her into a conspiracy larger than she ever imagined, and the child’s identity is at the center of it all.”
Allison Tolman, Ashley Aufderheide, Alexa Swinton and Clancy Brown in ‘Emergence’ season 1 episode 3 (ABC/Giovanni Rufino)Donald Faison and Allison Tolman in season 1 episode 3 (ABC/Giovanni Rufino)Alexa Swinton in season 1 episode 3 (ABC/Giovanni Rufino)Allison Tolman and Zabryna Guevara in season 1 episode 3 (ABC/Giovanni Rufino)Ashley Aufderheide and Alexa Swinton in season 1 episode 3 (ABC/Giovanni Rufino)
“For my whole life I didn’t know if I even really existed. But I do…and people are starting to notice,” says Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) to his case worker in the comic book-inspired psychological crime drama, Joker.
Arthur Fleck’s a struggling hire-by-the-day clown who aspires to be a stand-up comedian. His life’s goal is to make people smile and laugh. Arthur does the best he can to take care of his sickly mother (Frances Conroy) and to just get through the day without being bullied or picked on. The socially inept wannabe funnyman lives in Gotham City which is going through tough times. Crime’s on the rise as is the unemployment rate. (Similar to New York in the late 1970s and early ’80s).
Experiencing failure after failure, a nearly constantly bullied Arthur feels abused and beaten. Making matters worse is the fact he doesn’t have anyone to turn to for help. Thus begins his slow descent into madness and murder as he starts to evolve into who he was always meant to be…the criminal who causes chaos and anarchy in Gotham City known as The Joker.
Gritty, violent, and disturbing, Joker is a twisted psychological drama featuring an amazing performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It’s an origin story of perhaps the most popular villain in DC Comics but make no mistake, this is not a “comic-book” movie. It’s a film that shows how an odd loner who has trouble connecting to people is pushed aside and abused by a society that has become cruel and unforgiving.
Phoenix delivers a powerful performance as Arthur, a sad, awkward soul who’s never been able to catch a break and has experienced only abuse and hard times his whole life. His slow metamorphosis from a struggling, well-meaning, and eager to work entertainer into the killing clown named Joker is intriguing and highly disturbing. His performance is one of the best this year and is sure to nab him an Oscar nomination.
Director Todd Phillips (best known for The Hangover films) and production designer Mark Friedberg create a believable Gotham City that is dirty, crime-riddled, and on the verge of bankruptcy. The set design evokes a time in America when violent crime was rampant and ordinary citizens turned their backs on those in pain and struggling to survive.
Phillips’ script seems to borrow ideas and scenes from the classic Martin Scorsese films, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. The film imitates their vibe so often that it begins to lose its originality and its focus on Joker’s origin story. There’s a scene set late at night showing Arthur playing with a gun and moving around his apartment. It mimics Scorsese to the point you’d reasonably expect Phoenix as Fleck to utter the “You talking to me?” line, à la Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver.
Joker‘s score is eerie and it effectively helps to show Arthur’s journey into madness. Unfortunately, it’s also also overused in the film and becomes monotonous. Also overused to the point of annoying and even headache-inducing is Arthur’s uncontrollable creepy laugh. By using these elements repeatedly, they lose the emotional impact they had when first introduced in the film.
Brooding, dark, and controversially brutal, Joker is an effective and troubling crime drama lifted by an Oscar-worthy performance delivered by Phoenix.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images
The Amazing Race‘s Phil Keoghan is adding to his hosting duties with the new competition series, Tough as Nails. Phil and Louise Keoghan are producing the new series set up at CBS and greenlit for a 10 episode first season.
“Tough as Nails was inspired by my proud working class family of farmers, gold miners, builders and coalminers,” said host and executive producer Phil Keoghan. “I was lucky enough to spend my school holidays working alongside my grandfather, an A-grade mechanic, World War II aero mechanic, gunsmith and inventor. I’m excited to celebrate the skills of those who sweat on factory floors instead of gym floors, and those who wear work boots instead of workout shoes.”
Keoghan has earned 10 Emmy Awards as a producer of the globe-trotting reality competition series, The Amazing Race, which he’s hosted for 31 seasons. Keoghan also serves as the host of National Geographic Explorer.
CBS has not set a season one premiere date yet for Tough as Nails. The series, which will be produced by Raquel Productions Inc and Tough House Productions, will host a nationwide casting search this November.
Details on Tough as Nails, Courtesy of CBS:
“Tough as Nails is about competitors who consider the calluses on their hands a badge of honor. They will be tested for their strength, endurance, agility and mental toughness in challenges that take place in the real world. One by one, they will be eliminated until the Tough as Nails winner is named. The series will redefine what it means to be tough, proving that it comes in all shapes and sizes, and will celebrate Americans who roll up their sleeves 24/7 and don’t think twice about working long hard hours and getting their hands dirty, in order to keep their country running.”
Alexa Mansour as Hope and Hal Cumpston as Silas in the third ‘The Walking Dead’ series (Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC)
AMC is showing off the first batch of official photos from the ever-expanding world of The Walking Dead. The new photos are from the still untitled third series of the zombie apocalypse franchise which is expected to premiere sometime in the spring of 2020.
The photos arrived just days before The Walking Dead‘s third series will host its first panel at the New York Comic Con taking place at Javits Center in New York City. Series stars Aliyah Royale (The Red Line), Alexa Mansour (Unfriended: Dark Web), Annet Mahendru (The Americans), Nicolas Cantu (The Amazing World of Gumball), Hal Cumpston (Bilched), and Nico Tortorella (Younger) are expected to take part in the panel along with series co-creators Scott M. Gimple and showrunnter Matt Negrete.
Per AMC: “The third installment of the franchise will feature two young female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the apocalypse as we know it. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Grown-up and cemented in their identities, both good and bad.”
Alexa Mansour as Hope and Aliyah Royale as Iris in season 1 (Photo Credit: Sarah Shatz/AMC)Zombies in season 1 (Photo Credit: Sarah Shatz/AMC)Alexa Mansour as Hope, Aliyah Royale as Iris, and Nicolas Cantu as Elton in season 1 (Photo Credit: Sarah Shatz/AMC)Alexa Mansour as Hope, Aliyah Royale as Iris, Hal Cumpston as Silas, and Nicolas Cantu as Elton in season 1 (Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC)Nico Tortorella as Felix and Annet Mahendru as Huck in season 1 (Photo Credit: Jojo Whilden/AMC)
With season three episode two, Fox’s 9-1-1 delivered on the promise of an action-packed episode that focused on the destruction caused when a tsunami hits the shore in a heavily populated area. The natural disaster brought out the best in the show’s first responders, with Buck in particular stepping up during the tsunami’s horrific aftermath.
Season three episode three, “The Searchers,” continues the tsunami storyline. Episode three will air on Monday, October 7, 2019 at 8pm ET/PT. Ronda Rousey returns to guest star.
The cast of season three includes Angela Bassett as Athena Grant, Peter Krause as Bobby Nash, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Kendall, and Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley. Aisha Hinds plays Henrietta “Hen” Wilson, Kenneth Choi is Howie “Chimney” Han, Rockmond Dunbar is Michael Grant, and Ryan Guzman is Eddie Diaz.
“The Searchers” Plot – Athena, Maddie, Bobby and the 118 races to save lives after a massive tsunami hits the Santa Monica Pier and Buck fears the worst when Christopher goes missing.
9-1-1 Series Description, Courtesy of Fox:
Creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear reimagine the procedural drama with 9-1-1, exploring the high-pressure experiences of police officers, firefighters and dispatchers who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.
Kaylee Bryant and Jenny Boyd play twins in The CW’s Legacies and when the show returns for season two, their onscreen relationship will have matured somewhat. Teamed up to discuss the new season, Kaylee Bryant (“Josie Saltzman”) and Jenny Boyd (“Lizzie Saltzman”) said fans of The Originals spin-off can expect relationships to have been altered now that Hope Mikaelson doesn’t exist.
Legacies season two will premiere on Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT.
How are we going to see your characters evolving in season two and maybe switching roles up as far as who’s good and who’s bad?
Kaylee Bryant: “It’s interesting. You know, Josie went through a lot because of her co-dependence or habits last season and she’s finally conscious of that. She’s really working towards becoming her own person. It’s not as easy of a switch as she maybe hopes it is, but it really changes the way that we communicate with each other. It’s much more of a back and forth.”
Jenny Boyd: “Yeah. A lot of things have changed at the Salvatore School. Hope isn’t there and we don’t remember her. That’s really changed Lizzie’s dynamic within the school. Also, Alaric may or may not have as sort of intense part in being there because of the end of last season. So, it’s a really different dynamic. There’s more maturity in our relationship and the way that we speak to each other.”
Will we see more old school The Vampire Diaries lore with the Gemini coven mythology starting to take the forefront?
Kaylee Bryant: “Definitely.”
Jenny Boyd: “So, if you remember we found the Ascendant at the end of last season. There are definitely some references and some moments where it comes back.”
Kaylee Bryant: “Josie is very good at digging into things. So, when she is presented something, she wants to get down to the answer. As I think Lizzie does too, maybe not as intensely as Josie does. But we’re definitely going to dig into that.”
Speaking of digging in, is there an aspect of your character you really want to dig into more in the second season?
Jenny Boyd: “Yeah, I would love to see Lizzie in a romantic relationship and situation and to see how that would develop her mental health, and see if she would make the right choices, basically in who she would choose and the way that would go – the dynamic of that.”
Kaylee Bryant: “I really want to see Dark Josie. I feel like we got a taste of Mean Girl Josie last season and some people thought that that was her inner darkness, maybe. There’s a lot more to discover with that. I really hope that I get the chance to do Dark Josie because that would be fun.”
Will they become more distant or closer over season two?
Kaylee Bryant: “We spent the summer apart from each other and so we definitely have a little bit less together, I would say, but in like a healthy way. Just in the fact that when we’re communicating with each other it’s like a healthy conversation as opposed to her talking at Josie.”
Jenny Boyd: “Yeah, exactly. I think that Josie has more power in herself and maturity. Josie’s like, ‘Okay, well, I’ve got to get my own independence too.’ And is that going to work?”
Kaylee Bryant: “It’s always going to be a push and pull with them, but you’re opening up.”
What can you tease about the first episode? What will we see when Legacies returns for season two?
Jenny Boyd: “So, it’s summer vacation.”
Kaylee Bryant: “Basically picking up where we left off.”
Jenny Boyd: “Essentially. Hope Mikaelson doesn’t exist, basically, for us. That changes a lot. That changes my dynamic with my dad, and I think my dynamic within the school as well.”
Kaylee Bryant: “Basically, we open episode one and everybody that was interacting with each other throughout season one is shifted. So, if you noticed that some characters didn’t have as much interactions together, you might find them interacting a bit more. And the other way around as well. So, you’ll see some different dynamics and changes within everybody in their way of talking to each other.”
Which characters are you most excited to get more screen time with in season two?
Jenny Boyd: “Let’s see… We’ve got some new people coming in which is really exciting. We’ve got three or four who are really sort of big players. That’s awesome.”
Kaylee Bryant: “The one that I‘m the most excited about we haven’t talked about in the press yet. It’s a new character coming in that I’m excited to see how that works out.”
Jenny, you took acting classes with Candice King before, but Kaylee is this your first time meeting your onscreen mom?
Kaylee Bryant: “No. Actually, Candice is one of the most kind people ever. Since she knew Jenny, they both kind of got in touch with me before we left for season one. She sat down with us over a breakfast. She’s just like, ‘What questions do you have about Atlanta? Anything, ask me.’ She’s just lovely.”
Jenny Boyd: “And we’ve been to parties at her house and stuff.”
Any hope that she’ll come back on screen and play your mom?
Kaylee Bryant: (Laughing) “We always hope so.”
How will Josie move on from Penelope, knowing that everything Penelope did she ultimately did to save Josie’s life?
Kaylee Bryant: “That’s a good question. You know, Penelope and Josie had such an interesting dynamic last season. And Josie had no idea what was going on behind everything that Penelope was doing. So, I think Josie is now trying her best to be herself and figure out these answers that have been hidden from her so long.
Since Penelope has moved, the only person she has to really dive into these questions is her father because her father basically kept all these secrets from her for her whole life. So, you’ll see Josie just really wanting to take initiative and find the answers that have been hidden from her for so long.”
One of the many changes we’ll see when The CW’s The Flash returns for season six is a Vibe-less Cisco. Cisco, played by Carlos Valdes, took the cure to rid himself of his metahuman powers, and in season six he’ll be dealing with the repercussions of that life-altering decision.
During our roundtable interview at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Carlos Valdes also discussed Cisco’s relationship with Caitlin and Killer Frost as well as what’s in store for Team Flash. Season six will premiere on October 8, 2019 at 8pm ET/PT.
How’s life post-Vibe?
Carlos Valdes: “Life post-Vibe is good, you know? There’s a weird sort of almost afterlife-y element to it. I feel like I’ve died and went to Heaven and transcended my body and become this completely other resurrected person. You know what I mean? And I think Cisco kind of feels that way too, so yeah it’s kind of weird.”
Now that he’s given up his powers is it going to affect how he feels about other metahumans?
Carlos Valdes: “Damn. That’s a good question. I hadn’t even thought about that. Probably, yeah.”
How does a Vibe-less Cisco’s relationship change with Killer Frost?
Carlos Valdes: “Well, Danielle and I have shot a scene that I really loved which is… I don’t know if I’m at liberty to talk about it. Probably not. But I think Killer Frost gets sidelined a lot. She lives in the back layers of Caitlin’s consciousness, so I think she has an interest in coming out and exploring her life a little bit more. It’s just been really interesting recently exploring the difference between Cisco’s relationship with Caitlin and Cisco’s relationship with Killer Frost.
Long story short, we shot this scene recently and it’s definitely an exploration of that kind of relationship. I liked it. I liked it a lot.”
Even though you’re not Vibe, do you still get to come out and play for “Crisis on Infinite Earths?”
Carlos Valdes: “Yes. There will definitely be some Cisco play time in ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ pending contractual negotiations.” (laughing)
Speaking of contractual negotiations, is Cisco still working at S.T.A.R. Labs or is that over and done with?
Carlos Valdes: “Yeah, I’m there.”
Superpowers are not required to work there.
Carlos Valdes: “No. And that’s a big part of our message is you don’t have to have superpowers to be a valuable member of the team. You can have human superpowers.”
Will there be new gadgets and weapons made by Cisco in season six?
Carlos Valdes: “We have two new suits for Flash and Killer Frost. It’s going to be great.”
Any chance of Ramon Industries happening?
Carlos Valdes: “Maybe. Maybe, yeah. That would be kind of cool.”
Will there be moments when Cisco wants to use his powers and then remembers he no longer has them?
Carlos Valdes: “All I can say is that Cisco’s really happy not having his powers. As to whether that attitude will stick around, I don’t know.”
How’s Cisco’s romantic relationship going in season six?
Carlos Valdes: “It’s going great. One thing that I’ve loved about Cisco’s romantic trajectory is that every love interest that he’s had has been kind of different. It’s an interesting chance to explore different colors of relationships. Like, depending on the person you’re with you have a different relationship – a different energy. You complement each other in a different way based on who the other person is. I think Kamila has a different energy than Gypsy had then Peyton List’s character Lisa Snart/Golden Glider.”
Cisco’s banter with the other characters is always something to look forward to each season. Do you have any particular lines from the new season you can share that you particularly liked doing?
Carlos Valdes: “That’s a good one. Okay, so something that I really like doing lately is doing the airhorn sound. So, I tried to incorporate it in one of the scenes in the first episode of season six. Whether it will make it in, I can’t say.”
Charlie Hunnam reunites with his King Arthur: Legend of the Sword director Guy Ritchie for the action comedy, The Gentlemen. STXfilms just launched a new trailer for the 2020 release and also unveiled a batch of new photos from the film.
In addition to Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), the cast includes Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Jeremy Strong (Succession), Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan), Golden Globe winner Colin Farrell (In Bruges) and Emmy nominee Hugh Grant (A Very English Scandal).
Guy Ritchie wrote, directed, and produced The Gentlemen (story by Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies). Atkinson and Bill Block also served as producers.
Ritchie’s recently films include the live-action musical Aladdin, the feature film adaptation of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the two Sherlock Holmes films (released in 2011 and 2009.)
STXfilms will launch The Gentlemen in theaters on January 24, 2020.
The Plot:
“From writer/director Guy Ritchie comes The Gentlemen, a star-studded sophisticated action comedy. The Gentlemen follows American expat Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) who built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.”
Colin Farrell and Charlie Hunnam in ‘The Gentleman’ (Photo Credit: STXfilms)Charlie Hunnam and Hugh Grant (Photo Credit: STXfilms)Michelle Dockery and Matthew McConaughey (Photo Credit: STXfilms)Guy Ritchie, Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam on the set of ‘The Gentlemen’ (Photo Credit: STXfilms)Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Hunnam in ‘The Gentlemen’ (Photo Credit: STXfilms)
