Queen Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) from History’s ‘Vikings’ season 5 (Photo by Jonathan Hession / Copyright 2017)
History’s Vikings has earned an early sixth season renewal, with the network announcing the new season pick-up months before season five is set to air. The just-announced season six will consist of 20 episodes, one of which will mark the directorial debut of series star Katheryn Winnick. Filming will begin in Ireland later this year.
Season four of Vikings averaged 7.8 million viewers and was in the top five among ad-supported cable dramas. Season five will premiere on November 29, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT, airing 10 episodes before taking a break. The season’s final 10 episodes will air sometime in 2018.
“Vikings has creatively sailed to monumental lengths. The series has evolved from early raids in England, to the heart-stopping death of Ragnar Lothbrok, to the fierce battles of the Great Heathen Army, and now we’ll see the sons of Ragnar exploring and conquering the known world,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President of Programming, HISTORY. “Michael Hirst has only scratched the surface of his epic saga. We look forward to continuing our partnership with one of the greatest writers in this era of Peak TV and entertaining our viewers with 40 new episodes over the next two seasons.”
“It has been my pleasure and my privilege to work with HISTORY and our partner MGM over five seasons and 69 episodes of Vikings. Now we are ready to begin production of a 20 episode season six that will deliver a huge and unexpected revelation to our audience,” stated Michael Hirst, creator and executive producer. “There are many reasons why I love this show, not least for the commitment and creativity of everyone involved in making it, but perhaps even more important is the spirit that drives this production – one of the happiest, most collaborative and most authentic productions I have ever been involved with. And so we sail on.”
Season five will star Katheryn Winnick (“Lagertha”), Gustaf Skarsgard (“Floki”), Alexander Ludwig (“Bjorn”), Alex Hogh Andersen (“Ivar the Boneless”), Jordan Smith (“Ubbe”), Marco Ilso (“Hvitserk”), and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“Bishop Heahmund”). Morgan O’Sullivan, Sheila Hockin, John Weber, Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, and James Flynn serve as executive producers.
‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ season 3 (Photo: Eric Liebowitz/HBO)
HBO has wisely renewed the outstanding news series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver for three additional seasons. According to HBO’s official announcement, the half-hour series will continue at least through 2020. Each new season will consist of 30 episodes.
“We are thrilled to have John Oliver as an integral part of the HBO family and to continue to share his comedic brilliance with the world,” said Casey Bloys, president, HBO Programming. “His extraordinary genius for rich and intelligent commentary is second to none.”
“First: I firmly disagree with everything Casey just said. Second: We’re very grateful to Richard Plepler, Casey and everyone at HBO for letting us continue to do whatever it is we actually do. And finally: We’d also like to thank our staff for all their hard work. We’re incredibly proud of all of you, and rather than tell you that to your face, we’d like to do it in the cold, dispassionate form of a press release,” added Oliver.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs on Sunday nights at 11pm ET/PT. The news series films in New York, with host John Oliver tackling the week’s most important topics. The HBO series was nominated for eight 2017 Emmys and recently won two Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Interactive Program and Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming. It had previously earned four Emmys and won the Critics’ Choice Awards Best Talk Show award as well as a Peabody Award and a Writers Guild Award.
John Oliver, Tim Carvell, Liz Stanton, Jon Thoday, and James Taylor executive produce and Paul Pennolino directs the critically acclaimed series.
The official trailer’s arrived along with a new poster for A24’s The Disaster Artist. James Franco directs and stars in The Disaster Artist, inspired by the true story of director Tommy Wiseau’s horrendously bad film, The Room. Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, and Josh Hutcherson co-star.
A24’s set to release The Disaster Artist in theaters on December 1, 2017.
The Plot: With The Disaster Artist, James Franco transforms the tragicomic true-story of aspiring filmmaker and infamous Hollywood outsider Tommy Wiseau — an artist whose passion was as sincere as his methods were questionable — into a celebration of friendship, artistic expression, and dreams pursued against insurmountable odds. Based on Greg Sestero’s best-selling tell-all about the making of Tommy’s cult-classic disasterpiece The Room (“The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”), The Disaster Artist is a hilarious and welcome reminder that there is more than one way to become a legend—and no limit to what you can achieve when you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing.
Lucasfilm and Disney have found a replacement for Star Wars: Episode IX‘s recently dismissed director Colin Trevorrow. J.J. Abrams has been confirmed to handle both writing and directing Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams previously directed 2005’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the film which launched the rebirth of the movie franchise.
Rian Johnson, director of the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi, had been asked to take on the directing job following Trevorrow’s exit. However, he apparently passed on the opportunity and J.J. Abrams said yes when offered Episode IX.
Abrams will be completing the sequel trilogy by directing and co-writing the film with Chris Terrio. He’ll also produce Star Wars: Episode IX with Bad Robot, Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, and Lucasfilm.
“With The Force Awakens, J.J. delivered everything we could have possibly hoped for, and I am so excited that he is coming back to close out this trilogy,” stated Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
Star Wars: Episode IX is targeting a December 20, 2019 theatrical release.
The gang attempts a daring rescue in CBS’s season three episode 12 of Zoo airing on Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 10pm ET/PT. The episode titled “West Side Story” was directed by Gary Fleder from a script by Gregory Weidman and Geoff Tock. Season three episode 12 guest stars include Athena Karkanis, Hilary Jardine, Michael Hogan, Delon De Metz, Jessie Fraser, and Ben Cotton.
James Wolk (‘Jackson Oz’), Kristen Connolly (‘Jamie Campbell’), Billy Burke (‘Mitch Morgan’), Nonso Anozie (‘Abraham Kenyatta’), Alyssa Diaz (‘Dariela Marzan’), Josh Salatin (‘Logan’), and Gracie Dzienny (‘Clementine’) star in season three. The series is executive produced by Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Michael Katleman, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout, and Steve Bowen. Zoo is loosely based on the book by James Patterson.
The “West Side Story” Plot: After the team’s plane suffers a catastrophic accident in the hybrid zone, Dariela and Tessa (Hilary Jardine) set out on a rescue mission to save them on Zoo.
In director Alexander Payne’s first trailer for Downsizing, we learn the cure to the world’s overpopulation problem is shrinking willing humans down to just a few inches tall. Payne (Election, The Descendants) co-wrote the script with his frequent collaborator, Jim Taylor. Payne, Taylor, and Mark Johnson executive produce. Paramount Pictures is targeting a December 22, 2017 theatrical release following its short festival run.
The comedy/drama/sci-fi film stars Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis, Hong Chau and Kristen Wiig. The ensemble also includes Neil Patrick Harris, Niecy Nash, Laura Dern, Margo Martindale, Kerri Kenney, Maribeth Monroe, Mary Kay Place, and James Van Der Beek.
The Plot:Downsizing imagines what might happen if, as a solution to over-population, Norwegian scientists discover how to shrink humans to five inches tall and propose a 200-year global transition from big to small. People soon realize how much further money goes in a miniaturized world, and with the promise of a better life, everyman Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) and wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig) decide to abandon their stressed lives in Omaha in order to get small and move to a new downsized community — a choice that triggers life-changing adventures.
Fox dips into the X-Men mythology with its new dramatic series, The Gifted. The new series is produced with Marvel Television and has X-Men veterans Bryan Singer (director of X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men 2, and X-Men), Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg on board as executive producers. Executive producer Matt Nix (Burn Notice) is the showrunner and wrote the pilot which Singer directed.
Season one of the family adventure series stars Stephen Moyer (‘Reed Strucker’), Amy Acker (‘Caitlin Strucker’), Sean Teale (‘Eclipse’/’Marcos Diaz’), Jamie Chung (‘Blink’/’Clarice Fong’), Coby Bell (‘Jace Turner’), Emma Dumont (‘Polaris’/’Lorna Dane’), Blair Redford (‘Thunderbird’/’John Proudstar’), Natalie Alyn Lind (‘Lauren Strucker’), and Percy Hynes White (‘Andy Strucker’). Fox has set a Monday, October 2, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT premiere date for The Gifted.
The Plot:The Gifted tells the emotional story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their teenage children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family seeks help from an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.
Logan Marshall-Green as Creeley Turner in ‘Damnation’ (Photo by Chris Large / USA Network)
USA Network’s revealed the premiere dates for its fall primetime series including the return of Mr. Robot and Chrisley Knows Best. The network’s schedule also includes the debut of Damnation, starring Logan Marshall-Green (Quarry) and Killian Scott (Ripper Street), and the reality series, The Cromarties. The Cromarties centers on former NFL player Antonio Cromartie, father of 14, as he transitions into full-time parent. Damnation comes from Longmire‘s Tony Tost, with Hell or High Water‘s David MacKenzie directing the drama set in the 1930s.
Chrisley Knows Best‘s return will be accompanied by the series premiere of According to Chrisley featuring Todd Chrisley, family members, and special celebrity guests.
USA Network 2017 Primetime Premieres:
MR. ROBOT – Season 3 Premieres Wednesday, October 11 at 10/9c
The critically acclaimed and Golden Globe-winning Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cyber-security engineer who, along with Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) and fsociety, starts a revolution to change the world. Picking up immediately following the Season 2 cliffhanger, Season 3 will explore each character’s motivations and the disintegration between Elliot and Mr. Robot. The series also stars Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Stephanie Corneliussen, Martin Wallstrom, Grace Gummer, Michael Cristofer, Bobby Cannavale, and BD Wong.
DAMNATION – Series Premiere Tuesday, November 7 at 10/9c
An epic saga about the secret history of the 1930s American heartland, Damnation centers on the mythic conflict and bloody struggle between big money and the downtrodden, God and greed, charlatans and prophets. The pilot introduces Seth Davenport (Killian Scott), a man masquerading as a small town Iowa preacher in the hopes of starting a full-blown insurrection against the status quo. Focused on his mission, he is unaware that an industrialist tycoon has hired a professional strikebreaker named Creeley Turner (Logan Marshall-Green) to stop the uprising by any means necessary. But unbeknownst to those around them, these two men already share a secret bloody past.
The series also stars Sarah Jones, Chasten Harmon, Melinda Page Hamilton, Christopher Heyerdahl and Joe Adler. From executive producers Tony Tost (Longmire), Adam Kane (American Gods), James Mangold (Logan) Guymon Casady (Game of Thrones) and Daniel Rappaport (Office Space) on behalf of Entertainment 360, the pilot was written and created by Tost and directed by and executive produced by David MacKenzie (Hell or High Water). Universal Cable Productions co-produces the series with Netflix, who will have first-run rights to the series outside of the U.S.
USA Network’s hit reality series Chrisley Knows Best follows the entertaining lives of outspoken patriarch Todd Chrisley and his over-the-top Southern family, which includes his loving wife Julie, their charming, strong-willed children Chase, Savannah and Grayson, and Todd’s beloved mother Nanny Faye. When the show returns for the back-half of Season 5 this fall, Chase celebrates his 21st birthday, Nanny Faye pulls an epic prank on Todd, Savannah hosts a fashion show and the family comes together as Julie awaits word on an all-too-familiar health diagnosis.
ACCORDING TO CHRISLEY – Series Premiere Tuesday, September 12 at 10:30/9:30c
Serving as the perfect nightcap for Chrisley fans, the new half-hour after-show According to Chrisley will feature Todd tackling the truth about marriage, parenting, sex and relationships. With his tough love, sharp tongue and always humorous approach, Todd will interact with an audience, serving up quick-witted advice on a multitude of topics. Additionally, every episode will feature a member of the Chrisley family, as well as a celebrity guest. Confirmed guests include Ali Landry, Chris Jericho, Nicole Sullivan, Erika Girardi, Metta World Peace, Jason George, Christina Milian, Heather and Terry Dubrow and Carmen Electra. According to Chrisley is produced by Maverick TV and All3Media America, with Adam Greener, Simon Knight, Greg Lipstone, Corin Nelson and Todd Chrisley serving as executive producers.
THE CROMARTIES – Series Premiere Thursday, November 9 at 10:30/9:30c
For the first time in 11 years since being drafted into the NFL, Antonio Cromartie is a full-time dad. Terricka, his wife, loves having Antonio home to help raise their five, soon to be six, kids, but Antonio’s OCD, intense competitiveness and his raising their kids the same way he would coach a football team may prove to be too much for the whole house! There’s not exactly a playbook for parenting, but as a team, Antonio and Terricka are making their own rules. A Wilshire Studios production, The Cromarties is executive produced by Justin Tucker and Art Lyons.
Jim Carrey stars in ‘Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond’
Netflix has picked up the worldwide rights to Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, directed by Chris Smith. The documentary features footage from behind the scenes of director Milos Forman’s Man on the Moon, the 1990 dramatic movie which starred Jim Carrey as actor/comedian Andy Kaufman. Smith had access to 100 hours of footage from the set, most of which was shot by Kaufman’s girlfriend, Lynne Margulies, and Kaufman’s former writing partner, Bob Zmuda. The footage shows how Carrey transformed into Andy Kaufman and what that transformation was like to witness behind the scenes.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, is a VICE Documentary Films production. Spike Jonze, Danny Gabai, and Brendan Fitzgerald produced the documentary, with Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Tony Clifton, Michael Kronish, Jim Czarnecki, and Nicole Montez executive producing.
“For almost two decades this brilliant performance from Jim Carrey has resonated with audiences and fans of Kaufman’s, but the story behind the film – a true piece of entertainment history has remained largely unknown,” stated Lisa Nishimura, VP of Original Documentaries for Netflix. “Chris Smith and Spike Jonze have masterfully unearthed and explored Jim’s complex and artful creative process, hurling audiences right into the mind of a genius.”
“VICE is always focused on telling stories you can’t see anywhere else, and Chris’ film is an incredibly humanistic deep-dive into the mind of a brilliant artist. Chris, Spike and Jim have made a film that makes us question what we really want in the world, and we couldn’t be more excited that Netflix is bringing it to the world,” said Danny Gabai, Executive Creative Director, VICE.
The Plot: In 1999 Milos Forman cast Jim Carrey to play cult comedian Andy Kaufman in his biopic Man on the Moon. What followed was an intensely bizarre and emotional film production. Surrounded by Kaufman’s friends and family on set, Carrey thoroughly ‘became’ Andy and, alternately, Tony Clifton, Kaufman’s obnoxious lounge singer alter ego. Much like Kaufman’s comedy, Carrey’s acting took on a performance art quality during the film. He never broke character on set, the cast and the crew referred to him as either ‘Andy’ or ‘Tony’ depending on who he was embodying (he had created complete and separate identities for each).
In Jim & Andy, Carrey looks back at the resulting footage 18 years later, reflecting on how he and Andy came up in oddly parallel universes, his experience channeling Andy and Tony and more broadly the spiritual journey of his career. The film brings viewers into the oddly unique experience and emotional journey of the making of Man on the Moon leaving them to determine where Andy Kaufman ends and Jim Carrey begins.
Alexander Siddig poses in Fox’s ‘Gotham’ press room at Comic Con 2017 (Photo by Richard Chavez / Showbiz Junkies)
During our San Diego Comic Con 2017 roundtable interview for season four of Fox’s Gotham, Alexander Siddig admitted he had been reading up on Ra’s al Ghul on the internet but then gave up. “After about 45 minutes I went, ‘This is so contradictory. Everybody has something else to say about something. I’m stopping right there.’” Siddig decided it was best to stick with the Gotham writers’ interpretations and figure out from there the best way to play Ra’s al Ghul. Alexander Siddig knows how important Ra’s al Ghul is to fans, describing the character as a “holy cow sacred thing” that he cannot afford to mess up.
Gotham will premiere on September 21, 2017.
What can you tease about the upcoming season?
Alexander Siddig: “What I can tell you is from my point of view I am on a mission that has taken me over a 1,000 years to make Batman my own, to carve him in my own image, to make him my heir. I know that Alfred is a fine, upstanding citizen, but Bruce needs more than the ability to make an exquisite napkin or a centerpiece for a table, which is pretty much all Alfred can teach him. Now, he needs to learn how to fight and look after himself. It’s not just a playground, this is Gotham so everything is existential which is what I like about it. Every moment is life or death, which is hectic but real – not – but real enough. So, I’m going to teach him how to fight and look after himself.
That relationship’s going to be really interesting because it’s not going to be just the bad guy. I don’t think Ra’s al Ghul will be just…well, he will be just a bad guy, but I’m hoping to layer him up with a few interesting levels.”
Will there be a serious conflict between Ra’s al Ghul and Alfred, given that Ra’s is stepping on Alfred’s toes?
Alexander Siddig: “I so hope so and I would be very disappointed if there wasn’t some serious rivalry for Bruce’s affection, which may tip over into physical contact – which may end in Arthur’s ending his story if I have anything to do with it. Arthur will exist no more. I suspect I can’t do that, because this story has already been written. However, I’m going to do my damnedest to try and make it happen.”
Were you a fan of the series before landing the role?
Alexander Siddig: “I wasn’t. I wasn’t, not because I didn’t like Gotham but because I’d never seen Gotham. TV has become a candy store that is bigger than any candy store that has ever existed in my lifetime. There is so much candy now that I don’t know what to pick, and I need my friends to tell me what candy the good stuff is. And as I’d never been told that Gotham was a good thing, I didn’t know it existed. So, now I’m looking at it and I’m loving it.
I saw the second season – most of the second season. I saw the first three episodes of the first season; this is how I knit together my research. Very deep, very complex. Now, I really love it.”
Does Ra’s feel like a full season four villain?
Alexander Siddig: “I think he’s a full season four villain. He may be missing for a little while but that will be because they’ve got to do some other stuff with other people – even though the audience won’t be liking any of the other characters by the time we’re halfway through the season. That is what I’m told. I have no idea. (Laughing) Arrogant? Moi?”
Does he care about Bruce Wayne or only want to use him?
Alexander Siddig: “It’s a question of DNA. Did you ever read The Selfish Gene? It’s a book which basically explains that genes have to survive come what may. Now, they can be nasty in order to do it. They can be nice in order to do it. The whole point is to keep that gene alive. Whatever gene courses through Ra’s al Ghul, Bruce is the perfect host of that gene. I’m not sure that love in that sense comes into it. But I reckon that with three or four hours with Bruce, Bruce will get to Ra’s. I don’t think it will be a one-way street and I’m really looking forward to seeing how that relationship evolves. I already know it’s going to be pretty hectic. That’s a word we use a lot in England; I don’t know if we use it a lot here. Hectic is like hectic.”
When you started did they give you an idea of where the character’s headed?
Alexander Siddig: “Up until today I didn’t know anything about it except for what I’ve gotten in the scripts that I’ve got. Today John Stephens took me aside and said, ‘This is what’s going to happen.’ I had no idea! It’s hectic. I hope he is a super-villain and will earn that title. I hope that the sheer sophistication of his villainy will be… Nothing’s going to compete with Penguin, okay? They live in our hearts and we love them. I don’t think you’re going to love Ra’s al Ghul. It’s not going to be like that. It’s not going to be sentimental, if I have anything to do with it.”
How did you prepare?
Alexander Siddig: “Pretty much the same way I prepare for every role. I read what I can until I get bored because it’s just people talking. I know the gist. I understand from the scripts that I get from the writers. I know, ‘That’s my goal.’ And then I usually spend…this is a really weird anecdotal story, I’m sorry. (Laughing) I used to go to bed every night and I used to think to myself, ‘What could I have done better today with my friends, with my relationships? Where was I nasty to someone?’ And I really didn’t like being unpleasant. As I grew up, it got more complicated. So, I still go to bed thinking about how I could have had a better day. And when I get a role, I use that time because I’m in the habit of using that time for me. So, I will spend three-quarters of an hour instead of reading a book or listening to the radio, thinking about what I’m going to do with the character.”
