20th Century Studios’ final trailer for Alien: Romulus pays homage to the original film in an unexpected way. While the new crew is being terrorized by xenomorphs, “You Are My Lucky Star” plays in the background.
“Alien: Romulus takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe,” reads 20th Century Studios’ synopsis.
The seventh film of the sci-fi franchise stars Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) and Rodo Sayagues co-wrote the screenplay, with Alvarez directing. Ripley Scott, director of Alien, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant, served as a producer. Additional producers include Michael Pruss and Walter Hill. Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon, Brent O’Connor, and Tom Moran executive produced.
It’s up to Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence to guide the process for selecting a new Pope in Conclave, directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front). The trailer opens with the news the Pope has died, and Cardinal Lawrence quickly learns that everyone, including the higher-ups in the church, has secrets.
In addition to Ralph Fiennes, Conclave stars Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Brían F. O’Byrne, and Carlos Diehz. The cast also includes Merab Ninidze, Thomas Loibl, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.
“Conclave follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – selecting a new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope,” reads Focus Features’ synopsis. “Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of The Church.”
Based on Robert Harris’ bestseller and adapted by Peter Straughan, Conclave will open in select theaters on November 1, 2024. The drama expands on November 8th.
Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan and Christian Slater as Harry Morgan in ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ (Photo Credit: Patrick Wymore/Paramount+ with Showtime)
Paramount with Showtime+’s Dexter prequel, Dexter: Original Sin, just unveiled the first batch of photos. The new photos provide the first look at the prequel’s younger versions of Dexter Morgan, Debra Morgan, and Harry Morgan.
Patrick Gibson stars as the young serial killer, Molly Brown plays his sister, and Christian Slater plays their father. The 10-episode season also stars Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Spencer, James Martinez as Angel Batista, Christina Milian as Maria LaGuerta, Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka, and Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt. Emmy winner Sarah Michelle Gellar guest stars as Tanya Martin.
Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan and Roberto Sanchez as Tony Ferrer (Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez/Paramount+ with Showtime)
“Set in 1991 Miami, Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter (Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness,” reads Paramount+ with Showtime’s synopsis. “With the guidance of his father, Harry (Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcements’ radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.”
Dexter‘s Clyde Phillips serves as showrunner and executive producer. Additional executive producers include Scott Reynolds, Michael C. Hall, Mary Leah Sutton, Tony Hernandez, and Lilly Burns. Robert Lloyd Lewis serves as a producer, and Michael Lehmann is on board as a directing executive producer.
Dexter: Original Sin is produced by SHOWTIME Studios and Counterpart Studios.
Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan (Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez/Paramount+ with Showtime)Molly Brown as Debra Morgan (Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez/Paramount+ with Showtime)Christian Slater as Harry Morgan in ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ (Photo Credit: Patrick Wymore/Paramount+ with Showtime)
Dan Stevens to star in ‘The Terror: Devil in Silver’ (Photo Credit: AMC)
AMC Networks’ horror anthology The Terror continues with The Terror: Devil in Silver. Dan Stevens (Abigail) is confirmed to star and will executive produce the third season which will be set in a psychiatric hospital.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of The Terror: Devil in Silver. This series is a dark symphony of psychological horror and gripping drama, set to rock the audience,” stated Dan Stevens. “Victor LaValle, Christopher Cantwell, and this incredible team have crafted a unique and twisted dance of devils and shadows. I look forward to delivering something epic that will echo through the halls like an iron bell.”
Season three is based on Victor LaValle’s novel, with LaValle and Chris Cantwell writing and executive producing. Emmy nominee Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets) is set to direct episodes one and two and will also executive produce.
“Stevens will play Pepper, a working-class moving man who, through a combination of bad luck and a bad temper, finds himself wrongfully committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital – an institution filled with the people society would rather forget. There, he must contend with patients who work against him, doctors who harbor grim secrets, and perhaps even the very Devil himself,” reads AMC’s synopsis. “As Pepper navigates a hellscape where nothing is as it seems, he finds that the only path to freedom is to face down the entity which thrives on the suffering within New Hyde’s walls – but doing so may prove that the worst demons of all live inside him.”
Additional executive producers include Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker for Scott Free Productions; Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert for Emjag Productions; Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady, and Brooke Kennedy.
The six-episode season is targeting a 2025 premiere on AMC and AMC+.
Dan Stevens’ credits include Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The Boy and the Heron, Cuckoo, Solar Opposites, and Gaslit. Stevens recently finished work on Netflix’s Zero Day, a limited series with Jesse Plemons, Robert De Niro, and Lizzy Caplan.
Fox just announced premiere dates for their fall 2024 lineup which includes season two of Accused, season five of 9-1-1: Lone Star, season 12 of The Masked Singer, and season 23 of Hell’s Kitchen. The network’s fall lineup will also include the return of the Animation Domination block anchored by season 36 of The Simpsons.
Fox’s animated Sunday night schedule features Bob’s Burgers season 15, Krapopolis season two, and season two of Universal Basic Guys.
“This year, we created a terrific collection of originals that deepens our network’s legacy of delivering unexpected, unforgettable characters and stories. We’re bullish about the future and optimistic about the fun and engaging entertainment in store for our viewers everywhere,” stated FOX Television Network President Michael Thorn.
New lifeguard drama Rescue: HI-Surf joins Fox’s primetime schedule on Sunday, Sept. 22nd. And season one of the murder mystery series Murder in a Small Town debuts on Tuesday, September 24th with a special 90-minute premiere.
FOX FALL 2024 PREMIERE DATES
Sunday, Sept. 8 (Immediately Following FOX NFL Doubleheader):
8:00-8:30 PM Universal Basic Guys (Series Premiere, Live in all time zones)
8:30-9:00 PM Bob’s Burgers (All-New Episode, Live in all time zones)
9:00-10:00 PM The Great North (All New Episodes)
Sunday, Sept. 15
8:00-8:30 PM Universal Basic Guys (All-New Episode)
8:30-9:00 PM Bob’s Burgers (All-New Episode)
9:00-10:00 PM The Great North (All New Episodes)
Sunday, Sept. 22 (Immediately Following FOX NFL Doubleheader):
8:00-9:00 PM Rescue: HI-Surf (Series Premiere, live in all time zones)
9:00-9:30 PM Universal Basic Guys (All-New Episode)
9:30-10:00 PM Bob’s Burgers (All-New Episode)
Monday, Sept. 23
8:00-9:00 PM 9-1-1: Lone Star (Season 5 Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Rescue: HI-Surf (Time Period Premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 24
8:00-9:30 PM Murder in a Small Town (Special 90-minute Series Premiere)
Wednesday, Sept. 25
8:00-9:00 PM The Masked Singer (Season 12 Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM The Floor (Season 2 Premiere)
Tuesday, Oct.1
8:00-9:00 PM Accused (Season 2 Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Murder in a Small Town (Time Period Premiere)
THE SIMPSONS: In The Simpsons Season 36 premiere, Bart celebrates the most shocking birthday party of his entire life – one that might just change everyone in Springfield forever. Season 36 also brings two terrifying Halloween episodes! In “Treehouse of Horror XXXV,” giant monsters created by political rage threaten to tear the town apart, a Victorian Mr. Burns is jump-scared on Thanksgiving by the ghosts of his abused workers, and Homer bonds with a pair of extra-terrestrial jeans in an unforgettable stop-motion adventure that can only be called… Denim.
In the bonus fright-fest, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” a tattooed man at a mysterious night circus transports Lisa into three strange stories from the innocent 1950s, the chilling retro-present, and a brutalist future where prestige TV rules the world. The Simpsons Season 36 is exploding with amazing stories! Grampa reveals his secret past as a 1980s-era private detective, The Simpsons encounter death on vacation at a high-end resort in “Yellow Lotus,” and Lisa has a blazing misadventure in the dark world of Capital City’s downtown art scene.
A scene from ‘Universal Basic Guys’ (Photo Credit: 2024 by FOX Media Inc)
UNIVERSAL BASIC GUYS:Universal Basic Guys centers on brothers, Mark and Hank Hoagies, who, after losing their jobs at the hot dog factory to robots, are given $3,000 a month in a new basic income program. Now, they’re using their free time and free money to find purpose in a world where they’re no longer needed.
BOB’S BURGERS: Emmy Award-winning Bob’s Burgers returns for its 15th season. The series centers on the working-class Belcher family — parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise — who run a seaside New Jersey hamburger restaurant and their adventures interacting with the eccentric members of their community. This season, Bob must face his fears and join Louise in a father-daughter boogie boarding competition; Tina becomes the columnist for the anonymous “Ask an Eighth Grader” advice column; and when the Belchers’ landlord, Mr. Fischoeder, offers them two months free rent in exchange for catering an important reception at his house, the family must do everything they can to ensure the event goes perfectly.
KRAPOPOLIS:Krapopolis, the animated comedy from Emmy Award-winner, creator, and executive producer Dan Harmon, is set in mythical ancient Greece, and tells the story of a dysfunctional family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities, while also trying their best to not kill each other in the process. In the upcoming season, the city is overrun with debauchery as the annual Ice Week festival comes to Krapopolis; Deliria and Shlub want to prove to Tytannis that they understand the value of human life but keep accidentally killing the servants; and in order to get Krapopolis on the newly-invented map, Tyrannis enlists Hippocampus to open the city’s first restaurant.
RESCUE: HI-SURF:Rescue: HI-Surf follows the personal and professional lives of the heavy-water lifeguards who patrol and protect the North Shore of O’ahu – the most famous and dangerous stretch of coastline in the world. Each episode will feature these dedicated, heroic and adrenaline-seeking first-responders saving lives in the difficult and often life-threatening conditions of Hawaii’s Seven Mile Miracle.
9-1-1: LONE STAR: Starring Emmy Award nominee Rob Lowe, 9-1-1: Lone Star follows members of Austin’s 126 Fire Department led by Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) who, along with his adult son, T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein), moved to Texas to help rebuild the firehouse which had experienced a tragedy of its own. His team of diverse and qualified first responders include widowed Paramedic Captain Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack), who was the sole survivor of Austin’s original 126 house after a rescue call ended in tragedy; Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), an adrenaline junkie and badass firefighter who also is a devout Muslim; Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith), a transgender male firefighter, who bravely decided to transition on the job in Chicago and has a gift for observation worthy of Sherlock Holmes; and rookie firefighter Mateo Chavez (Julian Works).
Settling into his new home, T.K. caught the eye of police officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva) and the two began a romantic relationship eventually marrying in the Season Four finale. T.K hung up his firefighter helmet to become a full-time paramedic under Tommy’s guidance and works closely with fellow paramedic Nancy Gillian (Brianna Baker). In the upcoming fifth season, Captains Strand and Vega, along with the 126 team, race into action when in a multi-episodic opening storyline, a catastrophic train derailment endangers several lives including some of their own.
With Judd resigning from the 126 to take care of his recently handicapped son Wyatt (Jackson Pace), Owen must find a new lieutenant to replace Judd and has a difficult decision ahead of him when both Marjan and Paul apply for the promotion. Tommy is ready to take the next step in her relationship, but she finds the road to happiness is filled with obstacles. On his 30th birthday, T.K. gets a surprise visit from someone from his past that could change his and Carlos’ lives forever. Now officially husband and husband, T.K. and Carlos’ marriage is put to the test when Carlos becomes obsessed with solving his father’s murder.
MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN:Murder in a Small Town follows Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland), who moves to a quiet, coastal town to soothe a psyche that has been battered by big-city police work. He’ll quickly learn that this gentle paradise has more than its share of secrets and will need to call upon all the skills that made him a world-class detective in solving the murders that, even in this seemingly idyllic setting, continue to wash up on his shore.
ACCUSED:Accused is a collection of intense and topical human stories of crime and punishment. Each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city, with an entirely original cast. Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology, each episode opens in a courtroom on the defendant, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.
Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, the show holds a mirror up to current times with evocative and emotional stories. In the end, audiences will discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in extraordinary circumstances, and how one impulsive decision can impact the course of that life – and the lives of others — forever. Season Two will feature cinematic auspices and production values anchored by acclaimed actors, including Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Michael Chiklis, Taylor Schilling, Justin Chambers, Danny Pino, and Nick Cannon.
THE MASKED SINGER:The Masked Singer reaches new heights in its twelfth season with all-new special theme nights celebrating huge blockbuster IP and music from iconic superstars. Additionally, new this season, clues will be hidden everywhere – embedded in costumes, in song choices, packages and on-stage moments. See if you can spot them!
THE FLOOR: The upcoming second season of The Floor will be bigger than ever as now 100 contestants (up from 81 in Season One) will stand their ground on a massive, interactive LED game floor featuring 100 squares, each representing a different trivia category. The first challenger, selected at random, must choose one of his or her neighboring opponents to go head-to-head in an epic quiz duel in the opponent’s category. The winner takes over the loser’s square, gaining valuable ground as they expand their territory, while the loser exits the game. The winner must then choose – do they go on the offensive to dominate more of the board? Or do they let The Floor choose a new challenger? The contestant who gains full control over The Floor takes home a life-changing grand prize
HELL’S KITCHEN: Gordon Ramsay returns in an all-new season of Hell’s Kitchen, themed “Head Chefs Only!” Thanks to the culinary boom of the last 30 years, good chefs have more skills in their arsenal than ever before. But Chef Ramsay knows one critical skill for a great chef remains elusive and rare: leadership. And Chef Ramsay is looking for the ultimate leader to fill a very special position in his empire. So, for this historic season, filmed for the first time on the East Coast at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, where one of Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurants is located, Chef Ramsay is focusing his search on one specific group: Head Chefs Only!
This talented crop of chefs will come from all ages, backgrounds, culinary specialties, and restaurant types. But whether that restaurant is a tiny mom-and-pop shop or sports a large fine-dining brigade, these chefs are used to calling the shots. Line cooks need not apply. And with such proven leaders in his kitchen, Chef Ramsay is setting the bar higher than ever before. The challenges… tougher. The opinions… stronger. The drama… louder. These alpha head chefs will battle it out in the ultimate ego blender to prove they have the culinary skills and leadership mettle to command Chef Ramsay’s kitchen.
CRIME SCENE KITCHEN: This season, six pairs of family members and six pairs of friends go head-to-head to see who works better together in the kitchen. In this culinary guessing game, these baking duos must decode and decipher what was made in their kitchen with only crumbs, food trails and humorous hints as clues, and then they must recreate the tasty treat, attempting to best capture its original form and flavor in order to win a $100,000 grand prize.
Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet and Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio in ‘Apartment 7A’ (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)
Paramount+’s Apartment 7A tells the story of the Bramford and its devil worshiping satanists before Mia Farrow’s Rosemary had an encounter with the devil in Rosemary’s Baby. The first photos from the 2024 horror film show Ozark‘s Julia Garner moving into the Bramford and being taken under the wing of a seemingly kindly elderly couple.
The photos also feature Dianne Wiest (Mayor of Kingstown), Kevin McNally (the Pirates of the Caribbean films), and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe). In addition, the cast includes Marli Siu (Everything I Know About Love), Andrew Buchan (All the Money in the World), Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean), and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Wonka).
Jim Sturgess as Alan Marchand and Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio in ‘Apartment 7A’ (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+.)
“An ambitious young dancer Terry Gionoffrio (Garner) dreams of fame and fortune in New York City, but after suffering a devastating injury, an older, wealthy couple (Wiest and McNally) welcomes her into their home in the luxury apartment building the Bramford. When fellow resident and influential Broadway producer (Sturgess) offers her another chance at fame, it seems that all her dreams are finally coming true,” reads Paramount+’s synopsis. “However, after an evening she can’t fully remember, disturbing circumstances soon have her second-guessing the sacrifices she’s willing to make for her career as she realizes that something evil is living not only in Apartment 7A, but in the Bramford itself.”
Natalie Erika James, Christian White, and Skylar James wrote the screenplay, with James (Relic) directing. John Krasinski, Allyson Seeger, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller serve as producers. Vicki Dee Rock and Alexa Ginsburg executive produce.
Apartment 7A premieres on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio and Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet, Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio and Kevin McNally as Roman Castavet (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet and Julia Garner as Terry Gionoffrio (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)Dianne Wiest as Minnie Castavet and Kevin McNally as Roman Castavet in ‘Apartment 7A’ (Photo Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Paramount+)
Track list for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (Photo Credit: Hollywood Records)
18 songs ranging from The Platters and Aretha Franklin to Green Day and Avril Lavigne made it onto the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack. Dropping on July 24, 2024, the soundtrack also includes tracks by The Goo Goo Dolls, Huey Lewis & The News, Fergie, and The Greatest Showman ensemble with Zac Efron, Zendaya, Keala Settle, and Hugh Jackman.
Hollywood Records is releasing a CD and a 12″ 2-LP vinyl on July 26th.
The cast of the much-anticipated (and hyped) Deadpool and Wolverine reunion is led by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and includes Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, and Rob Delaney. Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen also star. Shawn Levy directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells.
Reynolds, Levy, Kevin Feige, and Lauren Shuler Donner serve as producers. Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, George Dewey, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Simon Kinberg executive produce.
Deadpool & Wolverine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Tracklist
1. “Only You (And You Alone)” – Performed by The Platters
2. “Bye Bye Bye” – Performed by *NSYNC
3. “Angel of The Morning” – Performed by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts
4. “SLASH” – Performed by Stray Kids
5. “Glamorous” – Performed by Fergie
6. “Iris” – Performed by The Goo Goo Dolls
7. “The Power Of Love” – Performed by Huey Lewis & The News
8. “I’m a Ramblin’ Man” – Performed by Waylon Jennings
9. “You Belong To Me” – Performed by Patsy Cline (Featuring – The Jordanaires)
10. “The Lady In Red” – Performed by Chris de Burgh
11. “I’m with You” – Performed by Avril Lavigne
12. “The Greatest Show” (From “The Greatest Showman”/Soundtrack Version) – Performed by Zac Efron and Zendaya and Hugh Jackman and Keala Settle and The Greatest Showman Ensemble
13. “You’re The One That I Want” – Performed by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
14. “I’ll Be Seeing You” – Performed by Jimmy Durante
15. “Make Me Lose Control” – Performed by Eric Carmen
16. “You’re All I Need to Get By” (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) – Performed by Aretha Franklin
17. “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” – Performed by Green Day
18. “LFG” (Theme from “Deadpool & Wolverine”) – Performed by Rob Simonsen
Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith in ‘Starve Acre’ (Photo Credit: Brainstorm Media)
Matt Smith is best known as the Eleventh Doctor on the BBC’s Doctor Who, but he’s also done some spooky work in Last Night in Soho and Morbius. Morfydd Clark burst onto the scene in 2019 with the religious horror film Saint Maud and the creature feature Crawl. The two actors briefly worked together in 2016’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now, they’re together again in the folk horror tale Starve Acre.
Starve Acre is about a man named Richard (Smith, House of the Dragon) who moves into his childhood home along with his wife, Juliette (Clark, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), and their son, Owen (Arthur Shaw), to raise his own family. Owen unexpectedly dies, but before he does, he exhibits strange and confusing behavior, including hearing voices from an unseen being named Jack Grey.
Both Juliette and Richard process their grief in different ways; Juliette becomes obsessed with the feeling that Owen may still be in the house, while Richard researches the land around the estate itself and learns some peculiar things. The parents’ independent methods of mourning collide in creepy and terrifying ways.
Starve Acre is the second feature film from writer/director Daniel Kokotajlo (Apostasy). He adapted his screenplay from the 2019 novel by The Loney author Andrew Michael Hurley. The story is a treatise on grief and coping, but the circumstances of the situation are not at all typical. The woman’s desperate clinging to the departed’s memory and the man’s stoic search for distraction seem to embrace (or reinforce) stereotypes, but the secrets that both dig up during their journeys are essential to the story.
Kokotajlo has managed to make a movie that captures the vibe of a classic folk horror film while still feeling modern. Starve Acre feels like it could be taking place in the past without having been made in the past. The Northern England location and the rural farmhouse setting not only help with the retro vibe, but they also make the movie feel cold and gloomy. It’s a great setting for a ghost story.
Unfortunately, Starve Acre isn’t really a ghost story. There are figurative ghosts of Richard’s family and property that are dug up, and Juliette does make contact with…something in the house. Starve Acre is more of a psychological horror movie than it is a haunted house movie. And that is to its detriment. Just when the ghostly elements get interesting, they vanish into thin air, leaving the movie with nowhere to go.
Starve Acre is the very definition of slow-burn horror. While there are creepy moments, the time between them passes glacially, and not in a tense way, either. Instead of building suspense and anticipation for the next creepy moment, the long stretches of nothing just have the audience wondering why the movie is so long.
It should be mentioned that the place that Starve Acre winds up is ultimately worthwhile. It takes a long, grueling path to get there, but the destination is its own reward. And where it ends up is not where the viewer expects it to go.
As for Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark, well, they deserve better. They deserve a better script, better direction, better pacing. Just a better movie. They try, and in the end, the performances are the strongest aspect of the film, but really, Starve Acre as a whole just feels a bit flat.
The final season of Cobra Kai begins but does not end on July 18, 2024. Netflix is dividing season six into three parts, so Part 1 is only five episodes. Two more sets of five are coming, but creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald are here to talk about the first five.
Season five of the Karate Kid series concluded with Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) defeating Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) in front of all the Cobra Kai students. John Kreese (Martin Kove) escaped from prison. As season six begins, many of Daniel and Johnny’s students are applying to college. There’s still the international Sekai Taikai Karate tournament to train for.
The end of Cobra Kai won’t be the end of The Karate Kid. Sony has announced a movie to co-star Macchio and Jackie Chan. Plus, Hurwitz, Schlossberg, and Heald have discussed spinoff possibilities, so we talked about all of that too.
Behind the Scenes of Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1
Was it fun to explore new forms of bullying from college fraternities to realtors?
Josh Heald: “We’re always looking for new ways to spark a karate fight on this show. You know, with 50 episodes behind us and 15 in front of us, you need to find that new way into people kicking somebody in the face. So, the first five episodes certainly have a variety of those things happening.”
I won’t give away where the Sekai Taikai takes place, but does Georgia look like the international location you chose?
Jon Hurwitz: “Georgia at times looks like the location we’ve chosen because there’s plenty of interior Sekai Taikai fighting. But we did travel overseas to the real location as well. So, it’s a hybrid as we tend to always do on our show.”
Is Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Tory (Peyton List) trying to get along the real magic to write for?
Hayden Schlossberg: “This is the fun of the later seasons, and getting to the end is seeing these rivalries come together, to put those new friendships to the test. This season we do it both internally with a competition to see who gets to go to the Sekai Taikai and also who gets to be the captain of the team, to ultimately, once they get there, they’re going to have to face the best fighters in the world. All that competition and pressure is going to put the friendships to the test, and we love these characters and are rooting for them. We want to see all these rivalries come to a happy ending, but we also need the roller coaster.
The key, like I said before, is just making it where it’s a different roller coaster. You’re not exactly recognizing this pattern. You don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. But you have something to root for. When you get those glimpses of Tory and Sam actually hugging it out, because going into season six, they’re not enemies anymore but they’re not really friends. That’s kind of what the first five episodes are for them. Okay, are we friends? Can this work out? So yeah, it’s fun playing that out.”
Tory does a flip in one scene. That has to be VFX, right?
Josh Heald: “Peyton did a lot of her own work this season. Peyton’s come a long way with her martial arts. We do use doubles for all of our actors for things that the stunt team deems unsafe. So, I can’t remember for sure if that’s completely Tory or not in that moment, but I will say Peyton is doing way more karate this season for real than she’s ever done before. It’s powerful and some of her kicks and twists are really impressive and are 100% Peyton.”
I also noticed even the rest of Miyagi-Do in the background is still doing real drills and katas.
Jon Hurwitz: “We try to make sure that at all times there’s karate action going on in the background, that everyone’s fully engaged throughout the frame.”
Did you design the three-part season with two midseason finales?
Jon Hurwitz: “100%. When we were entering season six, the big question was will this be the final season or not? We felt like we needed more than 10 episodes to tell this story, but not necessarily 20. So, when we were talking with Sony and Netflix, the idea of 15 episodes and doing a super-sized final season came up, and with that was the desire to split it up in some kind of way.
For us, the logical splitting of the season was five, five, and five. We always write our season in five-part chunks. Usually, the season is 10 episodes. With two five-part chunks, there’s a midseason finale and then there’s the real finale. This time, we view it as sort of a three-act final season with three distinct chapters, each one telling its own story that’s part of the bigger story. It was really fun to structure the season that way.”
You’ve been clear you consider the Jackie Chan Karate Kid a different universe, so do you consider the upcoming Ralph and Jackie movie a multiverse thing?
Josh Heald: “For our circumstances, insomuch as Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso is in it, we are not involved in the production of that movie, but we are curious as everybody is to see what that vision looks like. We know it takes place after the events of our series concludes and is coming out after we’ve concluded the story that we’re telling, so we look forward to seeing what somebody else does with this character and how it continues this story.”
Is it flattering that the success of the show made another movie viable?
Jon Hurwitz: “Sure, yeah. When we approached Sony about Karate Kid all those years ago, nothing was really going on in the feature space. At the time, we were just like okay, maybe something’s going on in the feature space but we’re going to say no, but there could be something in the TV world. You guys do something in features. Didn’t seem like they were going to do anything with Johnny and Daniel, so let’s do our story. And it’s been amazing to see the fan reaction to the series.
I think you know that we approach the series with love of the franchise from the beginning. It’s been a blessing to make this, to make 65 episodes of the show and for the fans to respond to it the way they did and for Sony to feel like this was the time to do more Karate Kid movies, it’s exciting.”
Josh Heald: “We always felt like there would be another Jackie Chan Karate Kid movie from the beginning when we walked in and said, ‘Can we please play with this universe on television?’ So, it’s a little bit surprising to us that that movie is happening right now as opposed to seven years ago, I guess, but things take time to work themselves out.”
What is the status of the spinoffs of your own characters?
Hayden Schlossberg: “It’s funny. We’ve been so focused on landing the mothership that now that we’re back in LA, we’ve done most of the production, that’s something that comes into focus for us. We, without giving spoilers away, conclude our show in a way that hopefully people find as fitting for a variety of characters. We’ve been talking about delving into the past with Mr. Miyagi which we also get at in this final season a little bit.
So, we’re champing at the bit to do more. We just came up for air, and I think the question is exactly what those things are that we’re going to be working on, but it’s in our minds. It’s on our to-do list for sure. Just nothing official to say at this point in time.”
Did you become parents while making Cobra Kai, and did that change your idea of what kids go through or what you want to show them in entertainment?
Josh Heald: “Jon and I were already parents when we embarked upon this series. My wife and I had two out of our three kids. My daughter was born just after we completed production on the first season. So, we had a lot of ideas of what we wanted to say about parenting, but at the time we didn’t have teenagers. We had younger children seven years ago when we were starting the show. So, we were writing inasmuch from the timelessness of what we know from that really visceral time in your life when you’re 14, 15, 16, 17 years old and the universe, every moment feels like the most important thing in the world.
As our kids have grown up and we’ve continued to write this series, we take from life as much as we can in terms of making sure that our characters, our moments, our dialogue is honest and is consistent with teens today.”
Did you fit everything you wanted to in this final season? Was there anything you had to let go of?
Jon Hurwitz: “The final season, I think, ended perfectly for us. All the different stories and the balls that we were juggling, we felt like we needed 15 episodes to land everything. There are twists and turns in production. There are certain things where you’re not able to do a little thing here or a storyline there that maybe you had in your head, but in the absence of those are new opportunities and new exciting things that you come up with.
When we think about entering this series seven years ago and the Johnny and Daniel story, it was amazing being on set some of those final days with scenes that we’ve been talking about since before we started a writers room way back when. To finally be making those kinds of scenes and to take all these characters, the teenage characters that have grown over the course of these years where we had no idea the exact paths that they’d all be going to be finding fulfilling and fun ways to land their characters as well.”
You’ve also talked about beginning thinking about a movie and that became more viable as a series. When you first conceived it as a movie, did you have characters like Robby, Samantha, and Miguel in it?
Hayden Schlossberg: “It did not get that far because we’re talking back when we were making Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. 20 years ago, we were thinking in terms of a Johnny Lawrence story, but we were thinking about it in terms of a movie. We knew that the likelihood of it happening because of how movies get made, you have to be not just a certain level of recognizable star but you have to have recently been in something in the last one year or two years or be the most up and coming thing of all time. It’s such a challenge to get a movie made and we knew that okay, there’s nostalgia for stuff but it just seemed unrealistic to do the kind of William Zabka/Ralph Macchio big-budget movie that we would want to do in our minds.
It wasn’t until Netflix started churning out TV series with a billboard with Kimmy Gibbler [from Fuller House] on it that we realized, ‘You know what? Maybe we could do this as a series’. Cut to six years later, I’m driving down Sunset Blvd and I see Thomas Ian Griffith as Terry Silver on a billboard and I’m like the dream came true. That was how to get this movie made. So, once it became a practical thing, that’s when we delved into new characters.”
Ricky Staffieri as Ted Fak, Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carly” Berzatto, and Matty Matheson as Neil Fak in ‘The Bear’ season 3 (Photo CR: Chuck Hodes/FX)
Emmy winners Tony Hale (Veep) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary) had the honor of announcing the nominees for the 76th Emmy Awards, set to air live on ABC on September 15, 2024 at 8pm ET/PT. Critically acclaimed The Bear broke the record for the most nominations in a single year in the Comedy category with 23. 30 Rock had held the record since earning 22 nominations back in 2009. On the Drama side, Shogun led all nominees with 25 nominations.
“Television delivers stories that connect us, uplift us, challenge us, and always entertain us. Today, I am honored to celebrate the outstanding work of our extraordinarily talented and hardworking creative community,” stated Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego. “This morning’s Emmy nominations are a testament to their contributions and highlight the incredible programming that has risen to the top of an exceptional year in TV.”
Among the nominees are 36 actors earning their first Emmy nominations. Richard Gadd, Paul Rudd, Quinta Brunson, Jodie Foster, Donald Glover, Jon Hamm, Brie Larson, Jonathan Pryce, Maya Rudolph, Andrew Scott, and Kristen Wiig earned multiple nominations.
Television Academy members, numbering almost 22,000, vote on the nominees and winners. The 76th Emmy Awards represent the best in television from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024.
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko in ‘Shogun’ (Photo CR: Katie Yu / FX)
2024 Emmy Nominees – Key Categories
DRAMA SERIES
The Crown
Fallout
The Gilded Age
The Morning Show
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Shōgun
Slow Horses
3 Body Problem
COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Hacks
Only Murders In The Building
Palm Royale
Reservation Dogs What We Do In The Shadows
LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Baby Reindeer
Fargo
Lessons In Chemistry
Ripley
True Detective: Night Country
TELEVISION MOVIE
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie
Quiz Lady
Red, White & Royal Blue
Scoop
Unfrosted
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show
Carrie Coon – The Gilded Age
Maya Erskine – Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Anna Sawai – Shōgun
Imelda Staunton – The Crown
Reese Witherspoon – The Morning Show
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Idris Elba – Hijack
Donald Glover – Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Walton Goggins – Fallout
Gary Oldman – Slow Horses
Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun
Dominic West – The Crown
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear
Selena Gomez – Only Murders In The Building
Maya Rudolph – Loot
Jean Smart – Hacks
Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Matt Berry – What We Do In The Shadows
Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Steve Martin – Only Murders In The Building
Martin Short – Only Murders In The Building
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – Reservation Dogs
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country
Brie Larson – Lessons In Chemistry
Juno Temple – Fargo
Sofia Vergara – Griselda
Naomi Watts – Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers
Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer
Jon Hamm – Fargo
Tom Hollander – Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
Andrew Scott – Ripley
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski – The Gilded Age
Nicole Beharie – The Morning Show
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
Greta Lee – The Morning Show
Lesley Manville – The Crown
Karen Pittman – The Morning Show
Holland Taylor – The Morning Show
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
Mark Duplass – The Morning Show
Jon Hamm – The Morning Show
Takehiro Hira – Shōgun
Jack Lowden – Slow Horses
Jonathan Pryce – The Crown
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Carol Burnett – Palm Royale
Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear
Hannah Einbinder – Hacks
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary
Meryl Streep – Only Murders In The Building
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Lionel Boyce – The Bear
Paul W. Downs – Hacks Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear
Paul Rudd – Only Murders In The Building
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary
Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Dakota Fanning – Ripley
Lily Gladstone – Under The Bridge
Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer
Aja Naomi King – Lessons In Chemistry
Diane Lane – Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
Nava Mau – aby Reindeer
Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Jonathan Bailey – Fellow Travelers
Robert Downey Jr.- The Sympathizer
Tom Goodman-Hill – Baby Reindeer
John Hawkes – True Detective: Night Country
Lamorne Morris – Fargo
Lewis Pullman – Lessons In Chemistry
Treat Williams – Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
TALK SERIES
The Daily Show Comedy Central
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night With Seth Meyers
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
SCRIPTED VARIETY SERIES
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Saturday Night Live
VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Starring Usher
66th Grammy Awards
The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady
The Oscars
76th Annual Tony Awards
VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED)
Billy Joel: The 100th Live
At Madison Square Garden
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
Dick Van Dyke 98 Years Of Magic
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die
Trevor Noah: Where Was I
REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Traitors
The Voice
GAME SHOW
Celebrity Family Feud
Jeopardy!
Password
The Price Is Right At Night
Wheel Of Fortune
For a complete list of the 2024 Emmy nominees, visit Emmys.com.
