Next Exit‘s released a 40 second trailer ahead of its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. The first-look introduces Rahul Kohli (iZombie, Midnight Mass) as a man who clings to the hope a breakthrough study on the afterlife is the real deal.
The cast also includes Katie Parker (The Haunting of Hill House), Rose McIver (iZombie, Ghosts), Tongayi Chirisa (Another Life), Tim Griffin (Night Sky), Diva Zappa, Nico Evers-Swindell (On My Black), and Karen Gillan (Jumanji: The Next Level).
Mali Elfman makes her feature film directorial and writing debut with Next Exit.
Katie Parker as Rose and Rahul Kohli as Teddy in the fantasy horror dramedy ‘Next Exit’ (Photo Courtesy of No Traffic For Ghosts LLC)
The Plot:
“When a research scientist makes national news proving she can track people into the afterlife, Rose sees a way out and Teddy sees his chance to finally make it. These two strangers, both harboring dark secrets, race to join the doctor’s contentious study and leave this life behind. While Rose is haunted by a ghostly presence that she can’t outrun, Teddy is forced to confront his past. As these two misfits humorously quarrel their way across the country, they meet people along the way who force them to reckon with what is really driving them.”
The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico season four episode one picks up six months after the season three finale. Max (Nathan Dean) has a fresh haircut and is attempting to adjust to Liz (Jeanine Mason) rearranging his life – and his furniture. After all the hardships the Scooby gang suffered last season, it’s wonderful to find out Max and Liz are still totally in love and have been living together for five months.
Liz is spending her days teaching GED science courses, Max is the interim Sheriff, and Kyle (Michael Trevino) apparently spends 24 hours a day at Deep Sky’s labs doing all sorts of research. In fact, he spends so much time there that Eduardo Valenti (David DeSantos) jokes the janitors have taken to dusting him.
Kyle and Liz team up to administer the final dose of a serum designed to stop Maria’s mental deterioration associated with her alien powers. They celebrate the moment with a group hug. Awww.
Max stops by the café to pick up Liz’s abuela’s wedding ring. What?! Yes, Max is definitely going to pop the question. However, Liz’s protective papa warns him he owns a machete and isn’t afraid to use it if Max doesn’t do right by his daughter.
As for #Malex, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) are also still going strong and are taking a huge step forward in their relationship when we catch up with the fan-favorite couple. Alex has cleared out his closet to make room for Michael moving in! Michael…being Michael…is worried about ruining everything and in fact when left alone he accidentally destroys a treasured model of the Roswell gazebo that Alex put together with his mom when he was a kid. Michael is nothing if not an eternal pessimist and destroying the miniature gazebo is basically part of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Isobel (Lily Cowles) has found her niche and now runs Women as Warrior, a company dedicated to female empowerment. Isobel appears to be content with her life however when her girlfriend, Anatsa, reveals she’s in love it sends Isobel spiraling. She shows up at Liz’s “Happy Hatch Day” party and gets rid of any alien evidence before Anatsa (Sibongile Mlambo), a last-minute party guest, arrives with the potato salad and questions all of the out-of-this-world references.
Before Isobel destroyed the decorations, Michael and Max were discussing Max’s plans to propose to Liz. Michael advises Max to not put Liz on the spot in front of all their friends, and Max – wisely – decides his brother’s probably right.
Max is pulled away from the Hatch Day celebration, which no longer goes by that name now that Anatsa’s around, when FBI Agent Jenna Cameron (welcome back Riley Voelkel!) rings him up for help solving a bank robbery. She’s leaning toward the perps being aliens while Max is leery of rushing to judgment. A second robbery a short while later proves Jenna’s 100% correct.
The alien robbers make themselves known during their escape, lifting a heavy truck in order to get away from Jenna and Max. It’s confirmed Max is still weak as he’s unable to keep the truck afloat with his powers.
Roswell’s annual Bar-Mageddon (a rocket launch/food & drink festival) finds Maria (Heather Hemmens) busy repping The Wild Pony and Isobel bending Kyle’s ear, asking for advice. She doesn’t come out and say why she needs his opinion on how to approach a difficult subject, but once he dispenses a little wisdom, she admits the question has to do with Anatsa.
Kyle’s obviously still into Isobel but she’s blind to his interest in being anything more than just a friend.
Liz has a heart-to-heart with her dad who’s serving up churros during the celebration. He recognizes the worried look on her face and she finally admits she’s still a little confused about her relationship with Max. However, she loves him more than anything.
“Then stop running from the truth. Take the time to figure out what you want – what Liz wants,” says Arturo. “I’ll support you. I know Max loves you and he will, too.”
Dallas (Quentin Plair) is now an integral part of the Scooby squad, has taken over Michael’s trailer, and is a worthy chess adversary of Maria’s. She confesses her powers are a little off right now, and Dallas thinks it’s probably just an aftereffect of her final dose.
Dallas hands Maria an umbrella although rain isn’t in the forecast. He admits he’s been feeling a weird shift in atmospheric pressure. (He’s been honing his connection to water.) Maria isn’t experiencing the same feeling and she’s had a connection to the weather since she was a child.
Later that evening Michael returns to Alex’s place and Alex is already home. Alex points out Michael left his key, and Michael admits he was only there for 12 minutes and had broken not only the disposal but also the miniature gazebo which he’s managed to put back together, good as new.
Alex continues to solidify he’s worthy of that special place in our hearts by assuring Michael he doesn’t need a pretend world now that he has a chance to build a real life with him. Damn, I love Alex so much!
Michael’s worried they’re wrong about moving forward together. “I can live without that gazebo. What I can’t live without is you,” says Alex.
Max finds alone time with Liz on the roof of the café but things don’t go as he planned. She figured out he has her abuela’s ring and isn’t sure now is the right time. Disappointed, he puts the ring back in his pocket. She admits she’s been waiting for something terrible to catch up with them again, since that’s what always happens. “How do we just drive off into the sunset, happy, when I feel like the next thing is around the corner?” asks Liz.
Max agrees and reveals he’s been holding back because he’s desperate to hold onto this moment. They realize they can figure things out together and take things one day at a time. Liz makes Max promise to ask her again and then brings a smile to his face by promising she will say yes.
“Our love will find a way – that I’m sure of. Nothing is bigger than us,” declares Liz.
At just that moment lightning lights up the night sky and thunder roars. It begins pouring down rain.
Anatsa assures Isobel she doesn’t have to say I love you back but Isobel does because she feels it. Isobel pulls away from a kiss and is about to reveal she’s an alien when Anatsa’s attention is drawn to the sky. It’s gorgeous and pulsating purple, and Anatsa whips out her camera and starts snapping photos.
Meanwhile, Kyle’s about to conduct an autopsy on Jones at Deep Sky when Eduardo shows up. Kyle was supposed to be relaxing at Bar-Mageddon but he admits he’s finding it easier to be an alien doctor right now. Suddenly, the lights go out. They look out the windows to see what appears to be meteors streaking toward earth. One crashes through the café’s sign as Max and Liz try and figure out what’s going on.
That terrible thing around the corner waiting to rip Max and Liz apart yet again turns out to be a new triad of aliens (the two bank robbers and another female who stole a Roswell Oil & Gas truck) waiting to unleash the Alighting.
New episodes of the fourth – and final – season air on Mondays at 8pm ET/PT.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow joins Oscar-nominated producers/directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp) to shine the spotlight on journalists in the new documentary film Endangered, which just released an official trailer. Debuting on HBO on June 28, 2022, Endangered focuses on four journalists over the course of a year as they struggle to report the truth in a hostile environment.
“When I started working with HBO, one of the first and most urgent ideas I talked about with the documentary team there was chronicling the minefield of misinformation, anti-press authoritarian politics, and faltering media business models that reporters around the world navigate to bring us the truth. In following a remarkable group of journalists into chaos and back, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady have brought that story to electric life and given us an important record of this moment in history,” explained Farrow.
“Many of us living in democratic nations take freedom of the press for granted,” said directors Grady and Ewing. “In the course of making this film, though, we realized that in order to survive, this ‘right’ has to be fought for in perpetuity. As governments and the public become increasingly hostile to ‘The Media,’ it was a privilege to observe a few of the unassuming beat reporters who hit the streets every day to bring us the facts.”
The featured journalists are reporter Patrícia Campos Mello (Folha de São Paulo), reporter Oliver Laughland (The Guardian), photojournalist Carl Juste (Miami Herald), and photojournalist Sáshenka Gutiérrez (EFE News Agency).
Poster for the HBO documentary ‘Endangered’
HBO’s official Endangered synopsis:
“Endangered chronicles a year in the life of four journalists living and working in democratic countries where freedom of the press has historically been considered a ‘given.’ Yet, as online misinformation proliferates and world leaders brazenly denigrate the press, distrust of traditional media is on the rise, and journalists are increasingly facing situations more typically encountered in war zones or autocratic states.
Cutting back and forth between unfolding stories in Mexico City, São Paulo, Brazil, and the United States, Endangered introduces us to Sáshenka, Patrícia, Oliver, and Carl whose safety and professions are under threat as they cover political rallies, police brutality, BLM protests and the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, while confronting slander, hostility, and violence from their own governments. As newsrooms across the world face economic hardships and layoffs, conventional checks and balances against corrupt institutions of power are weakening; journalists are at the forefront of a dangerous culture war with the very right to free speech at the crux of it.
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is normally tasked with helping journalists in peril abroad, is for the first time inundated with pleas for help and safety training here in the United States. Endangered is an urgent and dynamic chronicle of the fourth estate whose traditions and standards are under immediate and deliberate attack.”
HBO Max just released the official trailer for Gordita Chronicles, a coming-of-age comedy set in the ’80s and featuring a family of immigrants who settle in Miami. Eva Longoria (Grand Hotel) directed the series’ pilot and is involved as an executive producer along with Zoe Saldana (soon to be seen in Avatar: The Way of Water), Mariel Saldana, and Cisely Saldana.
HBO Max has set a June 23, 2022 launch of the entire 10-episode first season.
The cast includes Olivia Goncalves, Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas, Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Noah Rico, Cosette Hauer, and Dascha Polanco. Patrick Fabian and Loni Love guest star.
Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz guides the series as showrunner and executive produces along with the pilot’s writer Claudia Forestieri. Additional executive producers include Josh Berman, Jennifer Robinson, and Chris King.
HBO Max provided the following synopsis:
“The year is 1985 and Cucu ‘Gordita’ Castelli (Goncalves) has just said goodbye to all of her friends and family in Santo Domingo and moved to Miami with her marketing executive father Víctor (JCardenas), bold and vivacious mother Adela (Riva), and status-obsessed older sister Emilia (Ruiz). While life in America is far from what they imagined, the Castellis are determined to take charge of their strange new world.
A uniquely funny coming-of-age series, Gordita Chronicles is about family, opportunity, love, resilience, and boldly defying the status quo in pursuit of the ‘American Dream.'”
Kayvan Novak as Nandor and Harvey Guillén as Guillermo in ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (Photo by Russ Martin / FX)
FX’s critically acclaimed, incredibly entertaining vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows has earned early seasons five and six renewals. FX’s confirmation that the comedy’s sticking around for at least two additional seasons arrived a month prior to the show’s season four premiere.
“There’s a lot of life left in our favorite vampires from Staten Island and FX couldn’t be more thrilled to commit to two additional seasons of this phenomenal series,” stated Nick Grad, President, Original Programming, FX Entertainment. “What We Do in the Shadows excels on every level, from the brilliant cast and surprising guest stars to the producers, writers, directors and crew. We can’t wait for everyone to enjoy season four, knowing that the next two are on the way.”
The popular comedy is based on the feature film of the same name written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi. The film earned the San Diego Film Critics Society’s Best Original Screenplay and Best Ensemble awards (pretty proud of that since I’m part of the SDFCS) as well as multiple New Zealand Film and TV Awards honors and was named Best Comedy Film by the Denver Film Critics Society, which just proves sometimes critics are way ahead of the curve.
The series’ cast includes Kayvan Novak as Nandor, Matt Berry as Laszlo, Natasia Demetriou as Nadja, Mark Proksch as Colin Robinson, and Harvey Guillén as Guillermo. Paul Simms, Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Stefani Robinson, Sam Johnson, Garrett Basch, and Eli Bush executive produce.
Season four will premiere on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 10pm ET/PT on FX, followed by a release on Hulu the following day.
FX released the following description of the fourth season:
“In the shocking season three finale, Nandor, Guillermo and Nadja left Staten Island to go their separate ways while Laszlo stayed home to care for the creature that clawed its way out of the chest cavity of the deceased Colin Robinson — aka Baby Colin. This season, the vampires return to Staten Island to find their mansion on the verge of total structural collapse — and with no money to repair it.
While Nandor’s eternal search for love finally yields results, Nadja finally realizes her dream of opening the hottest vampire nightclub in the Tri-State Area. Laszlo struggles with the question of nature versus nurture as he tries raising Baby Colin to be anything other than an energy vampire. And even Guillermo finds himself on a powerful emotional track that touches on his love for his family, and for others.
With such terrifying locations as the secret supernatural Night Market, the Jersey Pine Barrens and a wedding altar, and with more strange beasts, surprising guest stars and tap dancing than ever, season four of What We Do in the Shadows continues to make the case for blood and comedy. And this time with just a touch of home renovation.”
Fox’s 2022-2023 fall primetime lineup will include just one new drama, the Country music-driven series Monarch starring Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise), multi-Platinum Country music artist Trace Adkins, and Golden Globe nominee Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies). The remainder of their fall primetime schedule consists of returning dramas 9-1-1, The Cleaning Lady, and The Resident along with returning comedies Welcome to Flatch and Call Me Kat.
In addition, Fox’s fall lineup includes new seasons of Hell’s Kitchen, The Masked Singer, and Lego Masters, as well with their Sunday night animation block.
9-1-1: Lone Star, Accused, Alert, Fantasy Island, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, Next Level Chef, Masterchef, Beat Shazam, Crime Scene Kitchen, and Don’t Forget the Lyrics! are among the shows joining Fox’s primetime schedule later in the broadcast year.
FOX FALL 2022 PREMIERE DATES
Sunday, Sept. 11, Immediately Following FOX NFL Doubleheader
8:00-9:00 PM – MONARCH (Series Premiere, Part One)
Monday, Sept. 19
8:00-9:00 PM – 9-1-1 (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM – THE CLEANING LADY (Season Premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 20:
8:00-9:00 PM – THE RESIDENT (Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM – MONARCH (Series Premiere, Part Two)
Fridays (ONGOING)
8:00-10:00 PM – FOX’s WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
Sunday, Sept. 25
8:00-8:30 PM – THE SIMPSONS (Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM – THE GREAT NORTH (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM – BOB’S BURGERS (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM – FAMILY GUY (Season Premiere)
Thursday, Sept. 29:
8:00-9:00 PM – HELL’S KITCHEN (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM – WELCOME TO FLATCH (Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM – CALL ME KAT (Season Premiere)
Monarch Details:
Monarch is a Texas-sized, multi-generational musical drama about the Romans, a powerful family that rules the country music industry.
In Monarch, the Romans are headed by the insanely talented, but tough-as-nails Queen of Country Music DOTTIE CANTRELL ROMAN (Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, ALBIE (Adkins), Dottie has created a country music dynasty. But even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie. And when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown NICOLETTE “NICKY” ROMAN (Friel) will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom.
Netflix’s Geeked Week panel for The Sandman included the release of the gorgeous teaser trailer for the much-anticipated series. The streaming service also unveiled new photos from throughout the season and made Mark Hamill fans cheer by announcing he’ll be providing the voice of Merv Pumpkinhead.
The 10-episode season launches on Netflix on August 5, 2022.
The Sandman is based on the DC comics created by Neil Gaiman, with Gaiman involved in developing the show along with showrunner Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer. Gaiman and Goyer are the writers and executive produce with Heinberg.
The Sandman Plot, Cast, and Character Descriptions, Courtesy of Netflix:
When the Sandman, aka Dream (Tom Sturridge) — the powerful cosmic being who controls all our dreams — is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for over a century, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused.
Based on the beloved award-winning DC comic series written by Neil Gaiman, The Sandman is a rich, character-driven blend of myth and dark fantasy woven together over the course of ten epic chapters following Dream’s many adventures.
• TOM STURRIDGE (Sweetbitter) is DREAM, Lord of the Dreaming.
• GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE (Game of Thrones) is LUCIFER, Ruler of Hell.
• VIVIENNE ACHEAMPONG (The Witches) is LUCIENNE, chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm.
• BOYD HOLBROOK (Narcos) is THE CORINTHIAN, an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store.
• CHARLES DANCE (Game of Thrones) is RODERICK BURGESS, Charlatan, blackmailer and magician.
• ASIM CHAUDHRY (Hitmen) is ABEL and SANJEEV BHASKAR (Yesterday) is CAIN, the first victim and the first predator, residents and loyal subjects of the Dream Realm.
• KIRBY HOWELL-BAPTISTE is DEATH, Dream’s wiser sister.
• MASON ALEXANDER PARK is DESIRE, Dream’s sibling, and desire personified.
• DONNA PRESTON is DESPAIR, Dream’s sister, and the twin of Desire.
• JENNA COLEMAN is JOHANNA CONSTANTINE, haunted exorcist and Occult Adventuress for Hire.
• NIAMH WALSH is YOUNG ETHEL CRIPPS, a betrayed and determined young woman seeking to survive.
• JOELY RICHARDSON is ETHEL CRIPPS, Master thief and woman of a thousand identities.
• DAVID THEWLIS is JOHN DEE, Ethel’s son. Dangerous, insane and on a quest for truth.
• KYO RA is ROSE WALKER, A young woman on a desperate search for her missing brother. She discovers a connection to Dream that neither of them can escape.
• STEPHEN FRY is GILBERT, Debonair protector of Rose Walker.
• RAZANE JAMMAL is LYTA HALL, Rose’s best friend and travel companion.
• SANDRA JAMES YOUNG is UNITY KINCAID, Heiress and mysterious benefactor.
• PATTON OSWALT to voice MATTHEW THE RAVEN, Dream’s trusted emissary. A Raven.
The teaser trailer for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Strange World has a real retro vibe. The minute and a half teaser begins with a ’50s sci-fi-style intro that warns viewers to prepare themselves for a journey beyond what is possible.
Thus far, Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) is the only voice cast member confirmed for the sci-fi adventure. Big Hero 6 and Raya and the Last Dragon‘s Don Hall directed, with Qui Nguyen co-directing and writing.
Disney’s targeting a November 23, 2022 release.
The plot, courtesy of Disney:
Jake Gyllenhaal (The Guilty, Spider-Man: Far from Home) lends his voice to Searcher Clade, the son of a steadfast explorer. The original action-adventure journeys deep into an uncharted and treacherous land where fantastical creatures await the legendary Clades, a family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest—and by far — most crucial mission.
Poster for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ ‘Strange World’
Freeform’s third and final season of Motherland: Fort Salem will premiere on June 21, 2022 with episode one, “Homo Cantus.” New episodes of the series’ final season will be released on Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT, with the story picking up with Tally, Raelle, Scylla, and Abigail on the run.
Returning cast members include Taylor Hickson as Raelle Collar, Jessica Sutton as Tally Craven, Ashley Nicole Williams as Abigail Bellweather, Amalia Holm as Scylla, Demetria McKinney as Anacostia Quartermain, and Lyne Renée as General Sarah Alder. Recurring cast members include Sheryl Lee Ralph as President Wade, Victor Webster as Blanton, Tony Giroux as Adil, and Catherine Lough Haggquist as Petra Bellweather.
Eliot Laurence, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Amanda Tapping, Brian Studler, and Tracey Jeffrey executive produce.
“Homo Cantus” Plot: After being blamed for the death of the vice president’s daughter, the witches leave the army behind and become fugitives — but staying out of trouble is never easy. While Raelle and Scylla enjoy their reunion, Nicte tempts Tally with a new power.
Amalia Holm and Taylor Hickson in ‘Motherland: Fort Salem’ season 3 episode 1 (Freeform/Jeff Petry)Amalia Holm and Taylor Hickson in season 3 episode 1 (Freeform/Jeff Petry)Amalia Holm, Taylor Hickson, Tony Giroux, Ashley Nicole Williams and Jessica Sutton in season 3 episode 1 (Freeform/Jeff Petry)Tony Giroux in the final season premiere (Freeform/Jeff Petry)Tony Giroux and Ashley Nicole Williams in season 3 episode 1 (Freeform/Jeff Petry)Jessica Sutton in the “Homo Cantus” episode (Freeform/Jeff Petry)
The minute and a half first teaser for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes shows a stunning golden snake hunting a golden mockingjay after they’ve both shed their frozen exteriors. Text appears that states: “You’re invited to return to the Games. In 2023, the world will discover who is a songbird and who is a snake.”
The cast will be led by Tom Blyth (Billy the Kid) as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as Lucy Gray Baird. The Hunger Games veteran Francis Lawrence returns to direct this prequel after having helmed Catching Fire (2013), Mockingjay Part 1 (2014), and Mockingjay Part 2 (2015).
The Hunger Games films are adapted from Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian novels, and Collins is on board to executive produce The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes based on her novel of the same name.
Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie wrote the screenplay. Director Lawrence, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson are producing.
Lionsgate is targeting a November 17, 2023 theatrical release.
The Plot:
“Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor.
Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.”
