Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures along with the stars and filmmakers of The Legend of Tarzan are working to help raise funds for and awareness of the important work done by Stop Ivory, a non-governmental non-profit organization. Stop Ivory is dedicated to helping to save Africa’s forest elephants who could become extinct within the next 10 years if action is taken to protect the rare animals who live in Gabon. Conservationist and documentary filmmaker Josh Ponte was the film’s African technical advisor and has dedicated the past 15 years to helping to preserve Africa’s wildlife, with a focus on the forest elephants. Ponte assisted the actors, director David Yates, and the art and costume departments in capturing the history and culture of Africa, and is a director of the Stop Ivory organization.
Per Warner Bros Pictures, here’s the details on The Legend of Tarzan‘s partnership with Stop Ivory:
Now, the cast, filmmakers and Studios behind The Legend of Tarzan are joining forces with Stop Ivory in support of the Elephant Protection Initiative to help save this endangered animal. The partnership was forged in the spirit of creating entertaining, informative and meaningful ways to engage the global community of moviegoers to join the effort to end the poaching of Gabon’s surviving forest elephants while reinforcing the film’s central themes of humanity’s deep connections with wildlife and nature.
The campaign began in earnest with a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for the Elephant Protection Initiative, featuring the film’s star Alexander Skarsgård and appearing on Regal Cinemas screens across the United States as part of their “Stars of Hope” program. More information is available at www.regmovies.com. Skarsgård and Margot Robbie will also be featured in an international Stop Ivory PSA, which will be seen in theaters, as well as broadcast and a variety of digital and social platforms.
On Twitter, Warner Bros. and Stop Ivory are participating in a “ReTweet for Good” campaign, with the studio making a donation to the organization for retweets of select Stop Ivory PSAs at designated times. Details will be available on Twitter and on the organization’s website.
Additionally, the Studio has created a featurette, entitled “From Gabon to the Big Screen,” which chronicles director David Yates’ journey with Ponte to capture the landscapes of Gabon for the film. It will bring viewers face-to-face with the beautiful animals they’ve joined forces to save. This video piece will open up the lush rainforests of Gabon and highlight the integral role forest elephants play in the ecological backbone of the region.
Finally, a limited number of movie-goers who see the film in international markets will receive a special plush elephant, signifying an additional donation has been made by Warner Bros. to the Stop Ivory campaign.
The Plot: It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton III, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Margot Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Captain Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.
Annaleigh Ashford as Betty, Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson and Michael Sheen as Dr. William Masters in ‘Masters of Sex’ (Photo: Michael Desmond / SHOWTIME)
Showtime has set their 2016 fall schedule and announced the return dates of Shameless, Masters of Sex, and The Affair. Masters of Sex is the first to return to the Showtime lineup, with season four kicking off on September 11th at 10pm ET/PT. Shameless will rejoin the schedule for its seventh season beginning on October 2nd at 9pm ET/PT. And The Affair‘s third season will premiere on November 20th at 10pm ET/PT.
Masters of Sex is based on Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love by Thomas Maier and stars Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as William Masters and Virginia Johnson. The upcoming season will begin in 1968 and “will take viewers into the ‘swinging ’70s’ during which time our characters will take on new partners both professionally, personally and sexually.” Michelle Ashford developed and executive produces the critically acclaimed series, with Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Amy Lippman and Judith Verno also executive producing.
Shameless season seven will pick up with the Gallagher clan after they tossed Frank (William H. Macy) into the Chicago River after destroying Fiona’s wedding. Returning cast members include Macy, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan and Isidora Goreshter. John Wells executive produces along with Christopher Chulack, Nancy M. Pimental, Krista Vernoff, Etan Frankel and Sheila Callaghan.
Showtime also released details on what viewers can expect in season three of The Affair. “Over its first two seasons, told from distinctly different perspectives, The Affair has explored the emotional and psychological effects of an affair that destroyed two marriages, and the crime that bound these individuals together. The Affair features Ruth Wilson in her Golden Globe-winning role as Alison, a young woman attempting to move on from tragedy and build a lasting relationship while contending with the judgment of others and her own self-doubt. Her lover Noah (Golden Globe nominee Dominic West) is a burgeoning writer trying to balance the temptations of success, the family he left behind, and the woman he loves. Noah’s former wife Helen (Emmy Award nominee Maura Tierney) is attempting to piece her life together while navigating divorce proceedings, care for her children, and her parents’ noxious influence. Screen Actors Guild(R) nominee Joshua Jackson plays Cole, Alison’s former husband struggling to overcome past heartbreak and start a promising new life. At the conclusion of season two, the mystery of who killed Scotty Lockhart was finally solved when it was revealed that Helen (Maura Tierney) was at the wheel of the hit-and-run that killed him on the night of Cole’s (Joshua Jackson) wedding. To save Helen, his ex-wife and the mother of his children, Noah (Dominic West) confesses to the crime. Meanwhile, his new wife Alison (Ruth Wilson) is left to raise her daughter, whose father turns out to be Cole, Alison’s ex-husband.”
Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson, Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn and Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in ‘Homeland’ Season 5 (Photo: Jim Fiscus / SHOWTIME)
Showtime’s shifting their schedule around and, unfortunately, viewers won’t be able to catch up with Homeland until January 2017. The series has been moved from its fall spot to a winter premiere, but the network didn’t provide details behind the decision to delay the show’s sixth season. However, Showtime did confirm that season six will begin shooting this summer and that the story will be set in the U.S., with filming taking place in New York. Seasons four and five were shot in South Africa and Berlin.
Confirmed returning cast members include Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal, and Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson. Showtime also lists Emmy nominee Rupert Friend as on board for season six, reprising his role as Peter Quinn who you’ll remember was left near dead at the end of season five.
“We are proud that Homeland has been so consistently recognized for its excellence with awards and critical acclaim, but we are in awe of how the series fearlessly mines the geopolitics of our complicated world and translates that into compelling human drama,” said David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. “Under Alex Gansa’s brilliant leadership, Homeland has shown an uncanny ability to reinvent itself which makes us supremely confident that this show will remain as distinctive, relevant and cutting edge as anything on television for as long as these producers want to continue.”
The Homeland Season Six Plot: After she thwarted a terrorist attack in Berlin, season six picks up several months later and finds Carrie Mathison (Danes) back on American soil, living in Brooklyn, NY. She has begun working at a foundation whose efforts are to provide aid to Muslims living in the United States. Season six will tackle the after effects of the U.S. presidential election, with the entire season taking place between election day and the inauguration. It’s a strange, transitional time in the halls of government filled with anxiety and different competing interests, where a very fragile and complex transfer of power takes place between the outgoing president and the incoming president-elect.
Daniel Craig (James Bond in Spectre, Skyfall, and Quantum of Solace) has signed on to star and executive produce Purity, a limited series set up with Showtime. The series will be based on Jonathan Franzen’s bestselling novel and has Todd Field (Little Children) on board to write, direct, and executive produce. Author Franzen will also be involved as a writer and executive producer. Writer David Hare, Scott Rudin, and Eli Bush are also executive producing.
According to Showtime’s official announcement, the limited series will consist of 20 episodes airing over two years. Filming’s expected to get underway in 2017.
“Jonathan Franzen’s Purity is an epic American novel that pulses with the energy of a psychological thriller. I whipped through it in a week,” said David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. “His gripping and timely story has attracted a powerhouse team – Todd Field, Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, David Hare, along with Franzen himself, and the brilliant Daniel Craig who is perfectly cast as the charismatic, mysterious ‘Andreas Wolf.’ Put it all together and Purity promises to be the kind of taut, long-form, serialized storytelling that is the best of premium television, and is precisely what we at Showtime aspire to deliver.”
The Plot:Purity is a morally complex story of youthful idealism, extreme loyalty and cold-blooded murder. Jonathan Franzen’s intricately plotted novel is populated by characters both hungry for the truth and desperate to hide it. From STASI offspring to Oakland anarchists, Franzen tracks his characters’ landscapes as varied as East Berlin, the Bolivian jungle, East Harlem walk-ups, and the California Redwoods. Purity is at once supremely ambitious in scope and intensely intimate in its treatment of character – a decades-spanning tragicomedy that builds to a contemporary climax.
What better way to celebrate World Outlander Day than with the news that Starz has renewed the series for a third and fourth season. Outlander season two is currently airing on Saturdays, with the second season earning higher ratings than season one. According to Starz, the third and fourth seasons will cover the material in Diana Gabaldon’s third and fourth novels of the Outlander series, Voyager and Drums of Autumn. However, Starz has not announced the number of episodes fans can expect from seasons three and four.
“Outlander is like nothing seen before on television,” stated Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. “From its depiction of a truly powerful female lead character, to the devastating decimation of the Highlander way of life, to what is a rarely seen genuine and timeless love story, it is a show that not only transports the viewer, but inspires the passion and admiration of its fans. On this 25th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the U.S., we are thrilled and honored to be able to continue the story that began with author Diana Gabaldon, and is brought to life by the incredibly talented Ronald D. Moore. There are no better storytellers for Outlander than this team, both in front and behind the camera.”
Created by Ronald D. Moore, Outlander stars Sam Heughan as Jamie, Caitriona Balfe as Claire, Tobias Menzies as Frank Randall/Black Jack Randall, Duncan Lacroix as Murtagh, Claire Sermonne as Louise De Rohan, Rosie Day as Mary Hawkins, Andrew Gower as Prince Charles Stuart, Romann Berrux as Fergus, Frances de la Tour as Mother Hildegarde, and Dominique Pinon as Master Raymond.
Details on Season 2: Book Two of Outlander begins as Claire and Jamie arrive in France, hell-bent on infiltrating the Jacobite rebellion led by Prince Charles Stuart, and stopping the battle of Culloden. With the help of his cousin Jared, a local wine merchant, Jamie and Claire are thrown into the lavish world of French society, where intrigue and parties are abundant, but political gain proves far less fruitful. Altering the course of history presents challenges that begin to weigh on the very fabric of their relationship. However, armed with the knowledge of what lies ahead, Claire and Jamie must race to prevent a doomed Highland uprising, and the extinction of Scottish life as they know it.
“I’m just protecting a number, Harold. It’s what you hired me to do,” says Reese (Jim Caviezel) to his employer and friend Harold Finch whose number has been given to Team Machine in the 100th episode of CBS’ crime thriller series, Person of Interest.
As the episode begins, Finch (Michael Emerson) is sitting at a café talking to the Machine and asking if there is any scenario where any of his friends make it out alive. A waitress brings him his order, commenting on how nice it is to see him again. Finch tells her she must have him mistaken for someone else. Finch quickly leaves the café realizing he’s just made a mistake.
Back at the subway headquarters, Root (Amy Acker) tries once again to talk to Harold about his decision to close the Machine. Root still believes they have a small chance of beating Samaritan but only if Harold gives the Machine the tools to fight back. She accuses Harold of never giving the Machine her own voice because he knew deep down he might kill it again. Finch responds to this by telling Root, “I imagined one day that it might wish to choose one for itself.” Finch then sits at the computer and locks the system.
The Machine gets a new number and it’s Reese and Fusco (Kevin Chapman) who receive it. It turns out the number is Harold’s so Team Machine immediately attempts to protect Finch and minutes later a couple of Samaritan thugs show up to grab him. It seems Finch was once at the café before and Samaritan picked up on it so his cover is blown. The group takes Finch to a safe house and decide to split up, with Elias (Enrico Colantoni) going with Finch to keep him off the grid, Reese and Fusco following the one lead they got off the thugs they took down, and Root and Shaw (Sarah Shahi) staying behind and holding off the other Samaritan agents headed to the safe house. Before they split up Root tells Harold that before he closed the Machine she armed it with the tools to fight back but it will only work if Finch activates it.
Elias takes Finch to the old high-rise where he first met Reese and Harold to keep him out of sight. It’s now an area where two rival gangs fight, but Elias is still king of the underworld so he calls in a favor to make the gangs stop fighting for a day. This actually is a mistake because Samaritan notices the change and realizes the high-rise is where Finch is hiding. Elias and Finch begin to make their way down to the street with Elias taking on more of Samaritan’s agents. Just as Finch and Elias are about to get in their getaway car, two Samaritan agents quickly come up and shoot Elias in the head. The king of the underworld is dead. In shock, Finch can’t seem to move as a Samaritan agent puts him into a car and drives off.
Meanwhile, Reese and Fusco go check out the info gathered from the Samaritan thugs which leads them to a fake business in a building Samaritan is using. Reese and Fusco end up having to fight their way out, which is not a problem since they came heavily armed.
Back at the safe house, Root and Shaw have effectively knocked out the Samaritan thugs and Root tells Shaw that for the first time in her life since joining Team Machine she feels like she belongs.
Reese and Fusco show up on the scene and get help from a neighborhood kid who tells them that everyone respected Elias. Fortunately, the kid was smart enough to snap a photo of the car that drove off with Finch inside. The very next scene is the car pulling into a parking garage where Greer (John Nolan) is waiting. He tells Harold that Samaritan wants him to work for it and that it knows he won’t do that now but in time will of his own accord. Greer has another thug take Finch out to yet another car…and who should pull up but Root and Shaw.
The two very tough ladies engage in a firefight with the Samaritan agents, and Root decides this is the right time to flirt with Shaw and try to make her feel better. Since her escape and reconnecting with Team Machine Shaw has been wondering if it is all real or just another simulation. Root tells Shaw, “The real world is essentially a simulation anyway, even if we’re not real we represent a dynamic, a tiny finger tracing a line in the infinite.” Shaw doesn’t find her theory very comforting, but Root manages to get a smile out of her.
The two ladies manage to get the better of the agents and begin to leave the area with Finch when a Samaritan vehicle with a turret gun pulls up. Shaw stays behind to cover Finch and Root’s escape, with Root saying she won’t lose Shaw again and Shaw telling her that she will shoot her if she doesn’t get Harold out of danger. Root and Finch speed away in a bullet-ridden car. As Root speeds down the highway, she tries once again to convince Finch to let the Machine fight back and to work with her to beat Samaritan. Harold keeps insisting that the war is already over and they are just delaying the inevitable. The turret gun car catches up to them and Root tells Finch to give her the 338 gun. Finch asks which one is that and she replies, “The really big one.” With the big gun and using one of her feet to partly steer, with Finch’s help Root goes up and out the sunroof and fires her weapon, hitting the Samaritan car in the hood causing it to crash and explode.
Samaritan hasn’t given up and sends operative Jeff Blackwell to a sniper position on a roof to take out Root and Finch. As the car approaches and Blackwell gets ready to shoot, Root sees him and swerves the car quickly so Blackwell misses hitting Finch but the bullet hits Root instead. Harold asks Root if she’s hit and she lies and says she’s fine. The two come upon a police roadblock and Finch tells Root they’ll have to take their chances with the NYPD. Finch is taken into a police car and sees Root not responding as the cops try to get her out of the car. (NO! C’mon! Not Root!)
Once at the police station, the FBI is called in when Finch’s fingerprints lead the authorities to discover that he might be wanted for treason. While he sits in the interrogation room Finch says, “I’m going to kill you, but I need to decide how far I’m willing to go, how many of my own rules I’m willing to break.” The FBI agent tells Harold he can add threatening a federal agent to the list of charges and Finch looks at him disgustingly and says, “I wasn’t talking to you,” and looks up at the surveillance camera. Yes, he was talking to Samaritan.
The FBI begin to escort Finch back to the holding cell when one agent gets distracted by another and steps a few feet away from Finch. It’s then that a payphone rings and Finch, realizing it’s most likely his Machine, answers. It is the Machine and it has found its voice…Root. It’s using Root’s voice to talk to Harold who realizes that Root must be dead. Finch asks if the Machine can get him out of the police station and it answers, “Of course,” shutting off the power to the prison and allowing Finch to escape along with hundreds of other prisoners.
Outside the jail, Reese and Shaw get brought up to speed about what’s happening. Fusco calls from the hospital where the ambulance took Root and tells Reese that Root is dead. Reese looks at Shaw and just by the look on his face she knows Root is gone. Always attempting to be strong, Shaw quickly moves on by telling Reese they need to find Harold. She wonders why the Machine gave them Finch’s number and not Root’s, and Reese realizes that the computer is worried what Finch might do. He’s now the perpetrator.
Person of Interest Season 5 Episode 10 review:
Suspenseful, action-packed, and tragic, the 100th episode of CBS’ crime thriller series titled “The Day the World Went Away” said goodbye to a major cast member and a recurring guest star. It also gave new strength and determination to Finch who it seems is finally ready to do what is necessary to beat Samaritan.
The stand-out performances in this episode were delivered by Amy Acker for her final portrayal of Root and Michael Emerson who experiences the loss of two close friends who knew Finch perhaps better than he knew himself.
Acker is nothing less than superb in showing how far Root has come to love her friends more than herself and the Machine. She once again is willing to sacrifice herself to protect Finch from certain death but this time it costs Root her life. It’s that continuing theme of courage and self-sacrifice that has always made Person of Interest a show that’s a cut above the others and what makes the main characters so likable. Emerson is wonderful as Finch who, to be honest, has been just a tad annoying with his doom and gloom outlook. His transformation in the interrogation room is mesmerizing when he tells the evil AI he’s going to kill it. Now that’s a Finch worth cheering on!
The episode is also jam-packed with shoot-outs and a very impressive action scene where Root takes on Samaritan’s turret gun vehicle while also driving with her foot. It’s as exciting and explosive as any big-screen action scene to date.
With the loss of Root and Finch seeming to be more determined than ever to stop Samaritan, it will be interesting to see what Team Machine’s next move is.
Lucas Till in ‘Monster Trucks’ (Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures)
Paramount Pictures unveiled the official trailer for Monster Trucks, a family fantasy adventure/action comedy that’s about trucks and monsters and…well, you just have to watch the trailer for yourself. Directed by Chris Wedge (Robots, Ice Age), the cast of the 2017 release includes Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Holt McCallany, Barry Pepper, Tucker Albrizzi, Danny Glover, Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe, Frank Whaley, and Thomas Lennon. Monster Trucks will open in theaters on January 13, 2017.
The Plot: Looking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school senior, builds a Monster Truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed, Tripp may have just found the key to getting out of town and a most unlikely friend. Melding cutting edge visual effects and state-of-the-art CGI, Monster Trucks is an action filled adventure for the whole family that will keep you on the edge of your seat and ultimately touch your heart.
Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe in ‘Swiss Army Man’ (Photo by Joyce Kim / A24)
A24’s released the official lyric video for ‘Montage’ from the trippy fantasy adventure comedy Swiss Army Man. The song was written and performed by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell of Manchester Orchestra, with the film’s stars Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano also lending their voices to the single. ‘Montage’ is featured on the film’s soundtrack and will be released as a single on June 3, 2016. Co-written and co-directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, Swiss Army Man will open in limited release on June 24th followed by a wide release on July 1st.
Discussing the song, Andy Hull stated, “Last January, I received an email from our good friends, the directing duo Daniels. We had met and fallen in love while working together on our music video for ‘Simple Math’ (the one where they throw me out of a car). They asked if I was interested in writing some songs for a full-length feature they had been working on. I was obviously thrilled at the opportunity and so they sent me the script. It was the craziest story I had ever read and I knew that only these two insanely talented individuals could pull off something this ambitious. I immediately wrote and recorded a song with Robert and sent it to them. I guess we did something right because that was when this 13-month process of scoring our first movie began. There was also one other thing we had to keep in mind. The Daniels didn’t want any real instruments in the movie. Only voices. The idea was that Paul and Daniel’s character would create their own score in their minds. Duh!”
Hull continued, “Anyways, we had to write a lot of the material before the movie was shot so that the actors could sing along while filming. After the movie was shot, we did traditional scoring at our studio, where we watched the footage and added music (voices). Nearly a year after we began working on the movie, we flew to LA to record the final vocals from the actors to really make it sound like this score is taking place inside of a crazy dudes mind. It was and is surreal. The end result is at times really trippy and lonely. There are also songs that have over 100 voices singing and sound outside of anything I thought we would be able to create. What we aimed for was something really beautiful that can evoke emotions without having to always use lyrics or any traditional instrumentation. It’s an up and down journey that parallels the travels and conversations of these two characters. It was easily one of the greatest experiences of our lives. It really pushed and stretched us to think outside of the box and outside of our comfort zone. I’m thrilled that we finally get to share it.”
The Plot: Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on a deserted island, having given up all hope of ever making it home again. But one day everything changes when a corpse named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on shore; the two become fast friends, and ultimately go on an epic adventure that will bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.
BBC America’s released details on their slate of new and returning scripted series as well as info on the special David Beckham: For the Love of the Game. Programs new to the network’s lineup for the summer and fall seasons include The Hunt debuting on July 3rd and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency which is set for an October 22, 2016 premiere. Ripper Street returns on July 28th, Undercover will air on November 17th, and The Living and the Dead premieres this fall.
“Our brand and shows stand out despite the huge volume of TV content right now,” said Sarah Barnett, BBC AMERICA President. “BBCA shows are a little different from the mainstream, even if they sometimes end up shaping it. From Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency to Planet Earth II to Top Gear to our new work in development, this is television that US audiences become fanatical about because of its unabashed commitment to an entertaining vision and strong point of view.”
BBCA Series Details:
The Hunt – Narrated by famed naturalist Sir David Attenborough, the new series comes from multi-Emmy®-winning executive producer Alastair Fothergill (The Blue Planet, Frozen Planet) and series producer Huw Cordey (South Pacific, Frozen Planet) – the makers of the landmark series Planet Earth, which captivated audiences around the world in over 130 countries. Through character driven stories, The Hunt illustrates in dramatic detail the strategies predators use to catch their prey (and those that the prey use to escape), with each episode centering on one of our planet’s key habitats. From open grasslands and dense forests to the arctic and the open ocean, the cutting-edge seven-part series features rarely seen wildlife and animal behavior – revealing like never before the challenges predators and prey face in these very different worlds.
Ripper Street – BBC AMERICA’s critically-acclaimed drama is a vivid, sensual descent into the often-violent lives of the men and women of Whitechapel in late Victorian London. Matthew Macfadyen stars as Detective Inspector Reid, Jerome Flynn as Detective Inspector Bennet Drake, Adam Rothenberg as Captain Homer Jackson and MyAnna Buring as Long Susan. In this shadowy world, police and criminals are the closest of enemies, and sometimes the strangest of allies.
The Living and the Dead – In 1894, a newlywed couple inherits a farm in the English countryside, and begins their new life there together. But their arrival in the isolated community unleashes strange supernatural phenomena that threaten their marriage and their survival. The Living and the Dead is an uncanny, intriguing and disturbing drama, steeped in the eeriness of the rural world, just as the industrial revolution is poised to crash in and disrupt old certainties. This original six-part series, created by Ashley Pharoah (Life On Mars, Ashes To Ashes), will star Colin Morgan (Humans, Merlin) and Charlotte Spencer (Line Of Duty).
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – From the producers of The Walking Dead and penned by Max Landis – the mind behind cult classic Chronicle – BBCA’s new original series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is a comedic thriller that follows the bizarre adventures of eccentric “holistic” detective Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) and his reluctant assistant Todd (Elijah Wood), as they wend their way through one big, seemingly insane mystery a season, crossing unlikely paths with a bevy of wild and sometimes dangerous characters, each episode landing them a few random steps closer to uncovering the truth. The series is an adaptation of Douglas Adams’ (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who) wildly successful comic novels, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and is set in the unexpected world of the hyper, absurd, eponymous detective Dirk Gently.
Undercover – A six part limited series, Undercover features lead character Maya, who is about to become the first black woman to hold the highest ranking public prosecutor role in England. Just as her life comes under intense public scrutiny she discovers her husband Nick, and the father of her children, has been lying to her for years. Is he concealing an affair, or is it something altogether more sinister? If she digs up his real past will she jeopardize her own future? What price do you pay for uncovering lies? And who wants her in the top job, and why? From BAFTA-winner Peter Moffat (Criminal Justice) and directed by James Hawes (Penny Dreadful), the series stars Academy Award-nominee Sophie Okonedo (The Secret Life of Bees) as Maya, Adrian Lester (Red Band Society) as Nick and Golden Globe®-nominee Dennis Haysbert (24) as Rudy Jones.
David Beckham: For the Love of the Game – In BBCA’s new 90 minute special David Beckham: For the Love of the Game, soccer legend David Beckham sets himself the challenge of a lifetime: to play seven soccer matches on all seven continents of the globe and get back to the UK in time for his own star-studded UNICEF fundraising match. Playing the beautiful game in some of the most challenging and remote locations of the world, Beckham discovers how important soccer is to the many different people he meets and plays with. In this up close and personal portrait, David visits locations ranging from the icy landscapes of Antarctica to the jungles of Papua New Guinea while reflecting on soccer’s unique ability to inspire and unite people across the world.
Projects in Development:
Zero Motivation – Executive Produced by Amy Poehler and Brooke Posch through Paper Kite Productions along with Natasha Lyonne, Eilon Ratzkovsky (July August Productions), Israeli filmmaker Talya Lavie and Tami Sagher who is executive producing and writing. Zero Motivation is based on the award-winning feature film from Lavie. It is a comedic and dramatic glimpse into the Israeli army through the eyes of an eclectic cast of young women, who quickly learn they will be stationed at a remote human resources office pushing paper in the middle of the Negev desert.
Memoria – Adam Barken (Killjoys, Flashpoint) is set to write Memoria, an emotionally driven sci-fi drama about a man who begins to unravel after his memories conflict with technology. Temple Street, the company behind BBCA’s Orphan Black, is producing.
Quatermass – Nicola Shindler’s RED Production Company (Happy Valley) and Simon Oakes’ Hammer Films (The Woman in Black) are set to produce Quatermass – a modern remake of the British series that follows Professor Bernard Quatermass and his daughter, Sarah, as they investigate an alien invasion. Jeremy Dyson (League of Gentlemen, Ghost Story) is attached to write. STUDIOCANAL will handle the worldwide distribution and be the Studio for Quatermass.
Junk – Junk is a satirical look inside the world of the soda and junk food industry. Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral) is set to write, and Neal Baer (Law & Order: SVU) will executive produce.
Foreign Babes in Beijing – Rachel DeWoskin and Zayd Dohrn are developing a series set in Beijing based on DeWoskin’s memoir of the same name, which chronicles her personal experiences as a soap opera actress on Chinese television. Manage-ment’s Dan Halsted is producing along with Andre and Maria Jacquemetton (Mad Men).
Trip – Australian writer Louise Fox (creator of Australian Broadcasting Corp’s Glitch) is set to write Trip, a thrilling reimagining of the classic Chinese novel, Monkey: Journey to the West, which explores the journey of reincarnation. See-Saw Films (Top of the Lake) is set to produce.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale in ‘Veep’ (Photo: Lacey Terrell / Courtesy of HBO)
Veep finishes up its fifth season with four brand new episodes airing in June 2016. Created by Armando Iannucci, the cast is led by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and includes Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole, and Sam Richardson. John Slattery, Sarah Sutherland, and Hugh Laurie are back on season five as guest stars.
The Season 5 Plot: President Selina Meyer is in the midst of a virtually unprecedented Electoral College tie, with her future as commander in chief coming down to just a few hundred votes. While Amy and Dan work on a long shot to victory, Selina finds herself spinning her wheels in D.C., as her staff strives to make her seem presidential (even though she actually is President), at the same time fending off the ambitions of Tom James, her charismatic running mate, who in a twist of obscure constitutional procedure could end up becoming president.
Veep June 2016 Episodes:
Episode #45 (season 5, episode 7): “Congressional Ball”
Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 5 (10:30-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: June 5 (12:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m.), 7 (4:55 a.m.), 8 (8:30 p.m.), 9 (10:45 p.m., 5:30 a.m.) and 10 (4:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: June 6 (8:00 p.m.), 10 (5:00 p.m.) and 11 (12:45 p.m., 2:00 a.m.)
At the White House Christmas party, Selina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) bargains for votes in hopes of breaking the election tie. Meanwhile, the staff is preoccupied with the annual “50 Hottest D.C. Staffers” list; Mike (Matt Walsh) eyes a job outside politics; and Dan (Reid Scott) helps Jonah (Timothy Simons) with debate prep in New Hampshire.
Written by Billy Kimball; directed by Maurice Marable.
Episode #46 (season 5, episode 8): “Camp David”
Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 12 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: June 12 (12:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m.), 14 (2:55 a.m.), 15 (8:30 p.m.), 16 (10:00 p.m., 4:40 a.m.) and 17 (5:05 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: June 13 (8:00 p.m.), 17 (5:45 p.m.) and 18 (11:45 a.m., 2:45 a.m.)
Selina takes Catherine (Sarah Sutherland) to a family pre-Christmas celebration at Camp David, where her team also plans to conduct secret negotiations. After a disastrous debate in New Hampshire, Amy (Anna Chlumsky) and Dan try to make Jonah seem more human.
Written by Rachel Axler; directed by Becky Martin.
Episode #47 (season 5, episode 9): “Kissing Your Sister”
Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 19 (10:30-11:00 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: June 19 (12:30 a.m., 3:30 a.m.), 21 (5:25 a.m.), 22 (7:00 p.m.), 23 (10:00 p.m., 5:10 a.m.) and 24 (3:35 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: June 20 (8:00 p.m.), 24 (4:30 p.m.) and 25 (2:35 a.m.)
Catherine and Marjorie (Clea DuVall) have a fight. Mike prepares for his babies. Selina is interviewed.
Written by Erik Kenward; directed by David Mandel.
Episode #48 (season 5, episode 10): “Inauguration” (season finale)
Debut: SUNDAY, JUNE 26 (10:45-11:15 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: June 26 (1:00 a.m., 4:15 a.m.), 28 (4:50 a.m.), 29 (7:30 p.m.) and 30 (11:15 p.m., 4:50 a.m.), and July 1 (4:15 a.m.)
HBO2 playdate: June 27 (8:00 p.m.)
Selina and her staff get ready for inauguration day. Mike suffers exhaustion; Catherine gets a makeover.
Written by Jim Margolis; directed by Becky Martin.
