Netflix’s new series XO, Kitty delves into the life of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before‘s Lara Jean’s younger sister. The streaming service just unveiled the first clip from the upcoming young adult romantic comedy spinoff, along with a batch of photos featuring Kitty Song Covey, played by Anna Cathcart.
“We all fell so deeply in love with Lara Jean and her story. So it felt like the greatest gift to give to Kitty was to let her as a character kind of set off on her own two feet and not put her in the shadow of either of her sisters,” explained series creator and co-showrunner Jenny Han.
Although the series is a spinoff, co-showrunners Han and Sascha Rothchild say you don’t have to watch To All the Boys to understand XO, Kitty.
“XO, Kitty takes place in the same universe as To All the Boys, but it’s very much its own world. So fresh audiences can love it and then go back and watch the movies and read the books if they want,” said Rothchild in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum.
In addition Cathcart, the spinoff stars Minyeong Choi as Dae, Gia Kim as Yuri, Sang Heon Lee as Min Ho, Anthony Keyvan as Q, and Peter Thurnwald as Alex. Yunjin Kim plays Jina, Sarayu Blue is Trina, John Corbett is Dan Covey, Michael K Lee is Professor Lee, Jocelyn Shelfo is Madison, and Regan Aliyah is Juliana.
Han, Rothchild, and ACE Entertainment’s Matt Kaplan executive produce. Directors include Jennifer Arnold, Jeff Chan, Pamela Romanowsky, and Katina Medina Mora.
The 10-episode series premieres on Netflix on May 18, 2023.
The Plot: Teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey thinks she knows everything there is to know about love. But when she moves halfway across the world to reunite with her long-distance boyfriend, she’ll soon realize that relationships are a lot more complicated when it’s your own heart on the line.
Universal Pictures’ final trailer for the horror comedy Renfield shows the titular character meeting his new boss, and then offers a look at what life’s like nearly 100 years after being in Dracula’s service. Needless to say, it sucks.
Nicholas Hoult (The Menu) stars as Renfield and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) is Dracula. The cast also includes Awkwafina (Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings), Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty), Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Brandon Scott Jones (Ghosts), and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog).
Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) directs from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley (Rick & Morty), based on an original idea by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. McKay, Kirkman, David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst serve as producers, with Samantha Nisenboim executive producing.
In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.
Will works with a young boy to find a murderer on ABC’s Will Trent season one episode 10. “Pterodactyls Can Fly” will air on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
The series stars Ramón Rodríguez (The Affair) in the title role, Erika Christensen (Ten Days in the Valley) as Angie Polaski, Iantha Richardson (This Is Us) as Faith Mitchell, Jake McLaughlin (Quantico) as Michael Ormewood, and Sonja Sohn (The Chi) as Amanda Wagner.
“Pterodactyls Can Fly” Plot: A trailer park massacre leaves a young boy without his family; and Will, strongly opposed to leaving him, becomes his temporary guardian. Meanwhile, Faith receives a visit from her mother, and Angie spirals from incidents of her past.
Betty in ‘Will Trent’ season 1 episode 10 (ABC/Danny Delgado)
Will Trent Synopsis:
Special Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. But now, determined to use his unique point of view to make sure no one is abandoned like he was, Will Trent has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.
Ramon Rodriguez and Sonja Sohn in episode 10 (ABC/Wilford Harewood)French Stewart in episode 10 (ABC/Wilford Harewood)
The death of a federal informant catches Simone interest on ABC’s The Rookie: Feds season one episode 19. “Burn Run” will air on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT.
Niecy Nash-Betts stars as Simone Clark, Frankie R. Faison (White Chicks) is Christopher “Cutty” Clark, James Lesure (Las Vegas) is Carter Hope, Britt Robertson (Big Sky) is Laura Stensen, Felix Solis (The International) is Matthew Garza, and Kevin Zegers (Transamerica) is Brendon Acres.
“Burn Run” Plot: As Simone is doing office inventory, she uncovers a trail of bodies that leads her to investigate a case involving a reclusive business tycoon. Meanwhile, Laura and Brendon track down an evidence thief and Carter works to prove Fortune’s innocence.
Niecy Nash-Betts and Steven Culp in ‘The Rookie: Feds’ episode 19 (ABC/Scott Everett White)
The Rookie: Feds Description:
From the executive producers of flagship series The Rookie comes The Rookie: Feds starring Niecy Nash-Betts as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy. The spinoff was introduced as a two-part event during the fourth season of The Rookie, where Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and the L.A. division of the FBI enlisted the help of Simone Clark when one of her former students was a suspect in a terror attack.
Britt Robertson and Kevin Zegers in episode 19 (ABC)James Lesure and Britt Adams in episode 19 (ABC)Niecy Nash-Betts and Steven Culp in episode 19 (ABC/Scott Everett White)James Lesure and Britt Adams in episode 19 (ABC)
Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars in Fox’s Accused season one episode 10, “Esme’s Story.” Episode 10, directed by Michael Offer from a script by Chip Johannessen, will air on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT.
“Esme’s Story” Plot: After a white nationalist plows his car into a peaceful demonstration and gets away, a survivor takes justice into her own hands.
In addition to Abigail Breslin as Esme Brewer, the cast includes Aisha Dee as Aaliyah Harris, Kyle Schmid as Shaggy, Blaine Kern III as Ancel, Darrin Baker as Judge Morse, Josh Cruddas as Bragg, Kristin Fairlie as Lucy, and Patrice Goodman as Maya Thompson.
Accused is a collection of 15 intense, topical, and exquisitely 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.
During a recent press conference in support of FX’s riveting six-part Great Expectations limited series, Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite) admitted she’s never read Charles Dickens’ classic novel. Despite that, Colman found being offered the opportunity to play the mysterious and manipulative Miss Havisham too enticing to pass up.
“I’d seen adaptations on the telly before, so I knew roughly who she was and everything,” explained Colman. “I thought ‘Oh, she sounds great. I’d love to get my teeth into her.’”
Colman’s been keeping incredibly busy with starring roles in Joyride, The Lost Daughter, and Empire of Light. The latter film earned the Oscar winner her third Oscar nomination. Colman was ready to take some time off until she read the Great Expectations script by showrunner and executive producer Steven Knight (See, Peaky Blinders, Taboo).
“I was quite late on board, I think. It came on the back of quite a long run of work, so I was a bit, ‘Uh, I really need a break.’ But I couldn’t say no,” revealed Colman. “I don’t really think about things terribly deeply. […] I just really saw the script, really liked it, wanted to play her, and wanted to work with all these people, so that was it, really.”
Olivia Colman as “Miss Havisham” and Fionn Whitehead as “Pip” in ‘Great Expectations’ (Photo Credit: Miya Mizuno/FX)
Olivia Colman has played Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, Madame Thénardier in the Les Miserables miniseries, and Queen Anne in The Favourite. Colman knows the importance of the right costume, but in the case of Miss Havisham, the costume is a character of its own.
“I’ve always said good hair, makeup and costume, that’s three quarters of your job already done before you leave the van,” explained Colman. “Verity (Hawkes), the costume (designer), I think she was my big help because she said, ‘I don’t see her as dusty. I see her as rotting from the inside.’
And so I thought, ‘Oh my god, that’s it. That’s great.’ So the costume…it’s a shame you never get to see it really clearly in broad daylight. It literally looks like her. Mold is growing up it and you can see her heart is rotting, and I love that. Rather than dusty, she was dark and rotten. And so that from Verity, that’s where I got my main sort of character, whatever it would be called, work.”
Unfortunately, many of the issues Dickens addressed in Great Expectations, published in 1860, remain relevant including social injustice, poverty, and prejudice. Asked about the continuing timeliness of Dickens’ writing, Colman said, “I’m still struggling with the fact that, you know, it depends on where you’re born very much as to how people will see you. And I think that’s rubbish.”
Colman added: “They didn’t have the opportunities that other people who were born with those different, that were born in a different place, have. That still resonates for me, and it’s still frustrating. And that’s why I think I enjoyed watching it and sort of found it frustrating. You know, this is talked about so long ago and it’s still happening.”
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Great Expectations is the coming-of-age story of Pip (Fionn Whitehead), an orphan who yearns for a greater lot in life until a twist of fate and the evil imaginations of the mysterious Ms. Havisham shows him a dark world of possibilities. Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will make him the man he wishes to be.
The first two episodes will premiere in the US on March 26, 2023, exclusively on Hulu.
CBS’s FBI: International season two episode 16 serves as the first part of the three-part FBI epic crossover event. Directed by Wade McIntyre, “Imminent Threat – Part One” airs on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 8pm ET/PT.
Season two stars Luke Kleintank as Special Agent Scott Forrester, Heida Reed as Special Agent Jamie Kellett, Carter Redwood as Special Agent Andre Raines, Vinessa Vidotto as Special Agent Cameron Vo, and Eva-Jane Willis as Europol Agent Megan “Smitty” Garretson.
“Imminent Threat – Part One” Plot: When the abduction of an American architect in Rome appears to be connected to a brewing terror threat in New York City, FBI’s Jubal (star Jeremy Sisto) and Nina (recurring star Shantel VanSanten) join Forrester and his Fly Team in Italy as they work together to find the missing American and shed light on the terrorists’ U.S. target.
FBI stars Alana De La Garza and John Boyd also guest star in the episode.
FBI: International Series Description, Courtesy of CBS:
FBI: International is the third iteration of the successful FBI brand that follows the elite operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s International Fly Team. Headquartered in Budapest, they travel throughout Europe with the mission of tracking and neutralizing threats against American citizens wherever they may be, putting their lives on the line to protect the U.S. and its people. The Fly Team’s Special Agent Scott Forrester, their accomplished and dedicated leader, puts his missions ahead of his personal life and is often accompanied by his trusty Schutzhund dog, Tank.
Second in command is Special Agent Jamie Kellett, a heroic and fearless investigator – and her extensive network of informants is a powerful resource. Special Agent Andre Raines shines in the field and makes good use of his accounting background in tracking criminal enterprises’ moving money; and Special Agent Cameron Vo, a competitive West Point grad who excels at interrogation and strategy. Newly embedded with the Fly Team is Megan “Smitty” Garretson, a streetwise Europol agent with an extensive undercover background who liaises with each host country they inhabit.
Director Lana Wilson’s Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, a two-part documentary examining the life and career of the model/actor, has released a riveting new trailer. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will debut on Hulu on April 3, 2023.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields currently sits at 91% fresh of Rotten Tomatoes, with Candice Frederick of HuffPost saying, “Come for the candid and increasingly shifting reflections on what it was like to be an ogled preteen and teen beauty. Stay for the ultimately affirming story of a woman who took back her life.”
Lana Wilson, Ali Wentworth, Alyssa Mastromonaco, George Stephanopoulos, Jay Peterson, Todd Lubin, Jacqueline Glover, and Jennifer Joseph served as executive producers. The documentary is a Matador Content and BedBy8 for ABC News Studios production.
Hulu released the following synopsis:
“Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields is a galvanizing look at actor, model, and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from a sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power. Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.
The film follows Shields through her extraordinary childhood and complex relationship with her mother and manager, Teri Shields. Shields’ professional career began at only 11 months old, working as a child model before starring in Louis Malle’s controversial film Pretty Baby at the age of 12. She became the face of the eighties with Calvin Klein jeans ads, and leading roles in The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, navigating the unrelenting scrutiny of the press and a culture that wanted to commodify her.
After defying stereotypes by going to college, Shields re-enters the entertainment industry as an adult, but it isn’t until she begins to trust herself and her instincts that she’s able to find her identity and voice.”
Netflix just released a teaser trailer for the second season of the popular fantasy series Sweet Tooth. The minute-and-a-half teaser shows Gus is being held captive. But all hope isn’t lost as the trailer ends with Gus declaring he’s no longer going to hide from humans – he’s ready to fight back.
The eight-episode first season debuted in June 2021. Season two is set to premiere on April 27, 2023.
Christian Convery returns to star as Gus, Nonso Anozie is back as Jepperd, Adeel Akhtar plays Dr. Singh, Stefania LaVie Owen is Bear, and Dania Ramirez reprises her role as Aimee Eden. Season two also stars Aliza Vellani as Rani Singh, Naledi Murray as Wendy, Neil Sandilands as General Abbot, Marlon Williams as Johnny Abbot, Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. as Teddy, and Yonas Kibreab as Finn.
James Brolin is the voice of the narrator.
The Emmy-winning series is based on the DC comics by Jeff Lemire. Jim Mickle guides the series as writer, director, executive producer, and showrunner. Additional executive producers include Linda Moran and Team Downey’s Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell.
As a deadly new wave of the Sick bears down, Gus and a band of fellow hybrids are held prisoner by General Abbot and the Last Men. Looking to consolidate power by finding a cure, Abbot uses the children as fodder for the experiments of captive Dr. Aditya Singh, who’s racing to save his infected wife Rani.
To protect his friends, Gus agrees to help Dr. Singh, beginning a dark journey into his origins and his mother Birdie’s (Amy Seimetz) role in the events leading up to The Great Crumble.
Outside the Preserve, Tommy Jepperd and Aimee Eden team up to break the hybrids free, a partnership that will be tested as Jepperd’s secrets come to light. As the revelations of the past threaten the possibility of redemption in the present, Gus and his found family find themselves on a collision course with Abbot and the evil forces that look to wipe them out once and for all.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (Photo Credit: Murray Close)
Popcorn’s just fine but skip the purchase of a beverage. John Wick: Chapter 4 is nearly three hours long and you absolutely don’t want to miss a single minute of the second-best film of the action franchise. Once you settle in (and turn off your phone!), don’t get up unless there’s a legitimate emergency.
It all started with the killing of an adorable puppy. Daisy’s murder pulled retired hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) out of retirement and sent him on a quest for revenge. Now, looking back on that first film, it seems sort of tame compared to the three sequels it’s spawned. Yet it remains the best of the lot, if for no other reason than that it established the world in which John Wick and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of assassins exist. Each of these highly skilled killers swears an oath of fealty to the High Table – “I have served. I will be of service.” – and adheres to strict rules of conduct.
But John Wick remains a wild card the High Table would like taken out of the game. He’s the unstoppable force to the High Table’s immovable object; the one entity in the world who can have an impact on the hierarchy. Fueled by righteous anger, John is aware he can’t topple the High Table but he can alter its makeup. And that’s exactly what he sets out to do in John Wick: Chapter 4.
His target: the vicious and merciless Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard).
The Marquis wants John Wick, and anyone who assists him, dead. The millions the Marquis is willing to pay results in wave after wave after wave of assassins vying to cash in on the bounty.
The Marquis’ need to extinguish Wick forces an old friend of John’s out of retirement. Caine (the legendary Donnie Yen) is coerced into accepting the contract to kill John only after his daughter’s life is placed at stake. Now blind, Caine’s such a lethal force that even without his eyesight he has the ability to match John blow for blow.
Despite the bounty on his head, John has a few friends who remain by his side, including Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) whose brief offer of hospitality places targets on his Osaka Continental Hotel (a consecrated hotel), its staff, and his daughter.
It wouldn’t be a John Wick film without Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) helping our favorite canine-loving assassin. And speaking of dogs, this fourth film introduces an intriguing new character who also has a four-legged sidekick. Shamier Anderson joins the fray as Tracker, a methodical, calculated hired gun who has an almost preternatural ability to locate John Wick.
With characters established, rules in place, and John Wick on the run, Chapter 4 wastes no time in putting the thorn in the High Table’s side in harm’s way. While most action films are satisfied with a few crazy bits followed by a frenzied, over-the-top action spectacle, the John Wick franchise has always taken a different approach. Anything can be a weapon in Wick’s hands and no opportunity for a fight sequence is left on the table.
Each of the John Wick movies featured numerous memorable action sequences, but what Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski have achieved with Chapter 4 takes not just the franchise but the genre to the next level.
Chapter 4 one-ups every previous John Wick fight scene. The fourth film incorporates astonishingly brutal sequences that pay homage to the previous chapters while at the same time taking the bar they’ve established and catapulting it into the stratosphere.
This fourth outing has everything you could ever want from a John Wick film and much, much more. Chapter 4 is loaded with one spectacular balls-to-the-wall fight scene after another, and all manner of weapons are used – swords, guns, knives, fists, nun-chucks, cars, stairs, and even a dog. But it’s not just the wide assortment of lethal weapons that makes Chapter 4 the new standard bearer for non-CGI, non-superhero action films, it’s the intricate choreography combined with incredible sets and superb cinematography. And the cherry on top – Keanu Reeves performing as many of his own stunts as humanly possible.
Reeves said Chapter 4 was the most physically demanding role of his career. It’s obvious he put his body through hell for the film, but the result is worth it. John Wick: Chapter 4 is action nirvana, a cinematic tour-de-force of unparalleled, adrenaline-charged ass-kicking.
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Sadly, Lance Reddick, a scene-stealing fixture in the franchise, passed away before the fourth film hit theaters. Reddick’s smooth delivery and impenetrable calmness as Charon made the supporting character into a beloved – and key – figure in the John Wick world. An incredibly talented actor and decent human being, Reddick will be sorely missed, and my thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.
GRADE: A
MPAA Rating: R for some language and pervasive strong violence
