National Geographic released a new three-minute clip from the original dramatic series The Right Stuff which is set to land a spot on the network’s primetime lineup this fall. The new clip features Jake McDorman as Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard and finds him rushing to make a meeting at NASA that involves the potential selection of Mercury astronauts.
The clip premiered during National Geographic and Disney+’s Comic-Con@Home panel which included cast members and executive producers from the network’s first scripted series. Former NASA Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison moderated the virtual version of a San Diego Comic-Con panel.
In addition to Jake McDorman, the season one cast includes Jake McDorman as Lieutenant Commander Alan Shepard Patrick J. Adams (“Major John Glenn”), Colin O’Donoghue (“Captain Gordon Cooper”), Michael Trotter (“Gus Grissom”), Aaron Staton (“Wally Schirra”), and Micah Stock (“Deke Slayton”). James Lafferty (“Scott Carpenter”), Nora Zehetner (“Annie Glenn”), Shannon Lucio (“Louise Shepard”), Eloise Mumford (“Trudy Cooper”), Eric Ladin (“Chris Kraft”), and Patrick Fischler (“Bob Gilruth”) also star in the series based on Thomas Wolfe’s bestselling novel.
Micah Stock as Deke Slayton, Jake McDorman as Alan Shepard, Aaron Staton as Wally Schirra, Michael Trotter as Gus Grissom, Patrick J. Adams as John Glenn, Colin O’Donoghue as Gordon Cooper and James Lafferty as Scott Carpenter in ‘The Right Stuff’ (National Geographic/Gene Page)
The Plot:
The Right Stuff is an inspirational look at the early days of the U.S. Space Program and the incredible story of America’s first astronauts, the Mercury Seven. At the height of the Cold War in 1959, the Soviet Union dominates the space race, and America fears it is a nation in decline.
Newly-formed NASA has the monumental task of sending a man into space, and its engineers estimate they need decades to accomplish the feat. They are given two years. Dubbed Project Mercury, the program recruits and trains just seven astronauts from a handful of the military’s best pilots. Within days of being presented to the world, the Mercury Seven become instant celebrities, forged into heroes before they achieve a single heroic act.
At a time when many wondered if America’s glory days were behind it, The Right Stuff is an aspirational story about how ordinary human beings can achieve the extraordinary. As much about who we are today as it is about historic achievements, the series evokes the wonder of this singular era, when the free world looked towards a new horizon of hope as we first stepped off the bounds of our only home to venture into the vast unknown.
Season 11 of FX Networks’ critically acclaimed adult animated comedy, Archer, will finally premiere on September 16, 2020 at 10pm ET/PT. New episodes of season 11, which was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will air on Wednesdays on FXX and Thursdays on Hulu.
The new season will consist of eight episodes, with episodes one and two arriving back-to-back on September 16th.
The premiere date announcement was made during Archer‘s Comic-Con@Home panel now available via the San Diego Comic-Con’s official YouTube channel. The panel also included the unveiling of the official season 11 trailer.
Returning voice cast members include H. Jon Benjamin as the newly awakened secret agent, “Sterling Archer;” Aisha Tyler as super spy, “Lana Kane;” Jessica Walter as Archer’s mother and spymaster, “Malory Archer;” Judy Greer as the surprisingly well-adjusted assistant, “Cheryl/Carol Tunt;” Chris Parnell as the newly-minted alpha male, “Cyril Figgis;” Amber Nash as the lovable comrade in arms, “Pam Poovey;” Adam Reed as the consummate professional, “Ray Gillette;” and Lucky Yates as the unscrupulous scientist, “Algernop Krieger.”
The popular series was created by Adam Reed. Reed serves as an executive producer with Matt Thompson and Casey Willis.
The Plot, Courtesy of FXX:
Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy that follows Sterling Archer and his return to the spy world after a three-year coma. While many things changed during his absence, Archer is confident it will take just a little time for him to reset things back to the old ways. The problem: does the rest of the team want that? Everyone else has been doing pretty well and may not be ready for his return to throw a wrench in their well-oiled machine.
With Covid-19 raging and not much new content going on television-wise, I’m finally checking out The CW’s supernatural crime drama, Nancy Drew. Season one episode one opens with a young woman in a bloody formal dress standing on top of a cliff above the ocean holding a crown. She hears a sound and then falls to her death.
Main character Nancy Drew (Kennedy McMann) narrates a flashback in which she’s standing in a cemetery, wearing a formal dress one would wear to a prom or pageant, draped in the Miss Sea Queen sash and holding a crown. The opening scene showed the town’s most infamous Sea Queen and now Nancy’s friends encourage her to put the crown on the dead woman’s gravestone. (It appears to be a Horseshoe Bay tradition for the newly crowned Miss Sea Queen to visit Lucy Sable’s grave.) After her then-boyfriend jumps out from behind the grave and scares her, Nancy sees something that appears to be a woman in a dress.
A voiceover by Nancy explains that ever since she was little, she was a curious person. She saw her parents digging something up as a child and when her mother noticed her, she tried to convince Nancy she was just having a dream and to go back to bed. Since that night she’s been chasing the shadows.
When a local girl went missing young Nancy Drew was the one who found her. “Mysteries were everywhere and I loved solving them,” says Nancy. However, flashbacks also reveal her mother died from cancer and she decided not to go searching in the dark anymore.
Now, a grown-up Nancy Drew introduces us to her current fling, Ned “Nick” Nickerson (Tunji Kasim). After a quick rendezvous, she’s off to work at a local diner where she arrives late and is reprimanded by her boss, Georgia “George” Fan (Leah Lewis), who seems to be the same age as her and a feisty one.
As Nancy’s getting ready for her shift, the narration provides details on other characters including Ace (Alex Saxon) the dishwasher. We also learn George has had a problem with Nancy since high school, but we’re told she’ll get into that issue at a later time. Then there’s Bess (Maddison Jaizani) who’s not from there and crashing with her rich aunt. She’s apparently not good in the waitressing department.
While they’re attempting to close early, Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith) shows up with his wealthy associates wanting a quiet table. While George takes Ryan and his posse’s order, he tells her to take care of his wife’s order as well. (She’s outside.) George, whose MO seems to be constant irritation, demands Nancy help her and cater to Ryan’s wife. The ever-curious Nancy finds this off since George is not the type to want or need help.
Nancy delivers food outside to George’s wife, Tiffany (Sinead Curry), who’s talking on the phone in front of her car. Tiffany asks for wine and as Nancy’s getting it while chatting up Ace the power goes out. After looking around the diner she decides to grab her cell, turn on the flashlight, and head outside.
It’s late at night and the fog has set in. (Not creepy at all!) She begins to call out for Mrs. Hudson when the fireworks start to go off at their town’s celebration. She then spots Tiffany lying on the ground dead. Nancy yells out for help and the only people who come running are Ace, George, Bess, and Nick who comes out of nowhere. Strangely, Tiffany’s husband and friends don’t run out and somehow the police are there right away.
The police begin to individually question the five who were standing over the body when they arrived. The cops decide Ace is good (he has an alibi) and take the rest of the group to the station. They want to know why they had to go down to the station and Chief McGinnis (Adam Beach) says, “I’m looking at a decent four-pack. Town screw up, ex-con, city girl, and Nancy Drew.”
Bess, the only outsider, wants to know why he said Nancy’s name like that. He admits Nancy used to complicate his work for him and then George snidely remarks, “You mean used to do it for you.” The chief is clearly not happy with George and brings up that he hasn’t thrown her mom in the drunk tank this month.
When the chief brought up ex-con, he was aiming that label at Nick which takes Nancy by surprise. She accuses him of never telling her he went to jail. He says it was when he was a minor and his records are sealed while pointing out to Nancy she never really seemed interested in getting to know him as anything more than a sexual relationship.
Nancy questions the chief as to why he didn’t bring Ryan Hudson in for questioning, given that the husband is always the first suspect. He lets everyone go except Nancy and instructs her to go to his office. There, she begins to go over different scenarios such as a health condition or a drug problem. She thinks maybe there wasn’t any foul play at all.
In response, the chief plays the 911 call Tiffany Hudson made just before her death. She pleaded, “Help me!” several times before the line went dead. McGinnis begins to ask Nancy again where she was during that time frame. Detective Karen Hart (Alvina August), who seems to know Nancy very well because she states, “You know I love you like family,” asks Nancy for her help by cooperating on the case. Nancy begins to have flashes of Tiffany before and after her death and suddenly she remembers Tiffany had a ring on when she served her. When she was found her ring was missing.
McGinnis, who really seems not to like Nancy, suggests maybe that nice missing ring could help Nancy and her dad out with the money they need to pay medical bills. Clearly, a low blow, with tears in her eyes Nancy says, “Wow, and I thought you wanted my help.”
As she gets up to leave, McGinnis warns her not to go too far as she’s still a suspect.
Her father, Carson (Scott Wolf), shows up and it’s clear they don’t have a good relationship. He’s not happy with whoever called him and says he’s been busy at work. She brings up that he’s neglecting his daughter and storms out. Carson attempts to get her to stop so he can drive her home since she’s still living under his roof.
Nancy’s walking down the deserted streets of Horseshoe Bay when suddenly she hears children sing, “Lucy Sable once was able to look upon the sea. But someone got her in the water and now that’s where she’ll always be.”
She stops when she hears that song and then flickering lights in a closed store catch her eye. She walks over to what appears to be a dress store. When she catches her own reflection looking back at her a crown suddenly appears on her head. But when she goes to touch her head nothing is there.
Finally home and lying on the couch, she apologizes to her deceased mom for not recording the fireworks. She had set up her phone to record them while she was busy and thought she didn’t capture anything. However, it turns out she did. When she plays the video she sees Tiffany Hudson in front of her car in the parking lot right before she died. Before dropping her food, Tiffany appears to be scared by a shadowy figure in what seems to be a long flowing dress coming toward her. The screen then goes to black.
Back at the restaurant, Nancy shows her co-workers Ace and Bess as well as her boss, George, the video. Bess believes a ghost killed Tiffany Hudson and Nancy becomes frustrated, wanting a different opinion other than a ghost committed murder. George gets irritated with Nancy reminding her she was the one who asked for their help in the first place. Ace agrees with Bess, maybe because it seems he has a thing for her.
Bess asks who Lucy Sable is and how they all know her. Ace gives her the CliffsNotes version (definitely no pun intended) that Lucy Sable was crowned Miss Sea Queen in the year 2000 and disappeared after the celebration, never to be seen again. All that was found was blood on the rocks below the cliffs and a scrap of the pink dress.
Nick shows up at the diner and tells George he came by for coffee. He explains usually Nancy brings him coffee in the morning, but she didn’t today. He assumes learning about his past might have scared her off. Nancy informs him she thought he would have stayed at the police station so they could have talked fully and in private. She then looks around and notices everyone staring at them. George takes that particular time to bring up that Nancy didn’t have a problem talking about George’s sex life in high school. Nancy insists she never spread any rumors about her. George counters with, “No. You just listened to your friends and smiled. Right?”
Now that they’re off track Nick wants Nancy to say something. She lets everyone know she and Nick are seeing each other. She realizes she needs to rectify things by telling everyone publicly they’re together. This seems to appease him, and the conversation returns to the topic of them all being murder suspects. Nancy is in disbelief they’re suspects while Tiffany’s husband is not.
Immediately George speaks up and insists there’s no way Ryan did it. Bess follows suit, not believing he’s behind it. Nick asks, “Why? Because he’s rich?” He agrees with Nancy and thinks the husband did it.
Nancy, being a detective at heart, begins to go over their marriage and possibly what they could find in her bedroom. Medications? Drugs? Ace brings up a possible gambling addiction. Bess stops him and asks, “I thought you were Team Ghost?” He quickly changes back to the Team Ghost side for Bess.
Nancy seems to remember she no longer hunts for clues anymore and before walking away states she’s sure the police will figure it out. Nick asks George if she thinks Nancy will change her mind. George admits not only is she not sure, but Nancy has been different since her mom died.
The new Nancy that doesn’t do detective work anymore doesn’t last long and she’s standing in front of a gated house belonging to Ryan Hudson. Getting out her trusted black beanie, she waits for Ryan to leave his home, and then she sneaks in.
She heads to the master bedroom to look around when suddenly she almost knocks something over. She somehow tripped a silent alarm and the security company shows up. Nick also shows up and helps her get out of the house. He asks Nancy what she was doing and she questions why he was there. He claims he came to help her.
Safely back in Nancy’s driveway, Nick starts to assure her he’s there if she ever wants to talk about her mom. She cuts him off and wants to know who told him about her mom. Ignoring her, he explains whenever she’s ready, he’s here for her. This seems to be too much for Nancy and she quickly tells him she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to start anything serious. She seems to upset him and he drives away.
At the diner, Nancy shows George a limited edition necklace. George makes Nancy admit she’s asking her for help before confirming she knows exactly what it is; it’s some sort of good luck charm given to guys who go out to sea from their girlfriends to help them find their way back home. George questions Nancy about where she got it and Nancy confesses she took it from Ryan Hudson’s house. A shocked George says, “You broke into Ryan’s house?!” saying it as more of an accusation than a question.
Bess overhears this and joins in on the conversation. They seem more impressed than mad when Nancy explains it was in a hidden compartment in Tiffany’s nightstand along with a note that read: “For your protection -HG.”
George wants to crack the necklace open.
Instead, they end up at the water and after Nancy holds it under it comes apart. She sees a horseshoe with a jewel in the center. Nancy remembers seeing that before on the Miss Sea Queen crown. George notices an address as well. Nancy looks up the address and it belongs to a medium. Bess thinks Tiffany was being hunted and that’s why she needed a medium.
They decide to go speak with the medium but Nancy stops them, letting them know she normally does these things on her own. George points out she wouldn’t have known about the medium if it wasn’t for her extensive knowledge of the necklace. Bess points out that Nancy doesn’t even believe in ghosts and the medium will pick up on it. George wants her to admit – again – that she needs them. She doesn’t but they join her anyway.
The medium is lighting candles when Nancy asks her to just tell them about Tiffany Hudson. She doesn’t think it’s necessary to have a séance. As Nancy, Bess, and George argue over the necessity of a séance the medium warns them, “Best not to keep the dead waiting.”
They sit in a circle around a table holding hands and the medium instructs them to repeat after her, “Spirit, we welcome you.” The medium asks Tiffany if she has anything to say to them. Just when they think this won’t work the table begins to shake and in an eerie voice, the medium repeatedly says, “Find the dress. Find the dress.”
Bess breaks the bond by withdrawing her hand and everything stops. The medium demands they get out and insists that wasn’t supposed to happen. She claims she heard a voice and George reminds her that’s her job. Nancy asks whose voice she heard. The medium says it wasn’t Tiffany. Bess says, “It was dead Lucy.”
Detective Karen hands Nancy’s dad Nancy’s black beanie which she left behind at the Hudsons’ when she and Nick were running away from the house. Carson points out that it’s just a knitted black hat but Karen corrects him. She explains Nancy’s mother knitted it for her when she went to sixth-grade camp. He questions how it went from Ryan Hudson’s house to his coffee table. He points out she took evidence and could lose her job. Karen explains she did it for Nancy who could lose a lot as well.
Moments later Nancy walks in on Carson and Karen kissing and is clearly shocked. Carson begins to tell her Karen found her hat on the Hudson property. Nancy says, “And as my lawyer, you were willing to do anything to protect me?” referring to the kiss she just witnessed. Carson warns her not to turn it around on him. Karen jumps in and tells Nancy she and her father are worried about her. That’s a bad move because when she says, “as a friend” Nancy cuts her off. “A friend? Is that what you are? Is that what you were to my mom?” snaps Nancy.
Carson admits this is not how he wanted Nancy to find out about their relationship.
Nancy storms out of the house and Carson chases after her wanting to talk. She turns around, visibly upset, and says this whole time she thought he was devastated about her mom and instead he’s hooking up with her mom’s best friend. Nancy says she cannot wait to go to college so she can get out of there and he can go back to his secret life. With that, she turns and leaves.
Nancy shows up at Nick’s shop, crying. He asks if she’s okay and she tries to lie by claiming she is. But then she finally opens up and admits she wanted to believe that this is not her life, that her mother isn’t dead, and that Columbia isn’t just a pipe dream. But, this is her life. Nancy reveals the only good thing in her life right now is Nick and she wants to get to really know him. She tells him she has so many questions but before asking any he kisses her.
Nick takes her home the following morning and she brings up his time in jail. When he pauses, she assures him it’s okay; he doesn’t have to tell her. She claims she can wait until he’s ready.
Walking in she sees her father and the first thing she says is, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
Shockingly, he tells her he has just one question and that is what is she doing with Ned Nickerson. Nancy wasn’t expecting that question at all. She asks what he knows about Nick and he hints he knows more than she does and warns her to stay away from him. She asks if he was Nick’s lawyer and he responds by saying he can’t discuss it. She knows that’s a yes.
After her dad leaves, Nancy breaks into his filing cabinet and finds Nick’s file. It turns out Nick was charged with manslaughter and found guilty. The single witness who helped put him away? None other than Tiffany Hudson.
Nick shows up at her house and says, “Let’s see if we can get this baby running around,” referring to Nancy’s mom’s old car. Putting on a happy face she replies, “Great.”
Later that night Nancy is writing out a list of suspects, means, and motives. After we see Nancy writing those down, we watch all the suspects going through their nights. Bess appears to be lying and not living with her rich aunt but instead is living in a van. George shows up at Ryan’s house and he tells her it is too soon for this. She reminds him she’s not in high school anymore and he’s not married anymore.
Ace is spying on them and taking pictures which he sends to the chief. Nick’s fixing Nancy’s mom’s car when he finds something hidden in it. We can’t see what it is because it’s wrapped up. Back to Bess and she’s in her van looking at Tiffany Hudson’s ring. Apparently, she took it.
Nancy is putting together a diagram of all the suspects and their motives when the power suddenly goes out. When she goes to explore what happened, the attic door suddenly opens. Instead of being freaked out (like most people would be), she heads up to explore the attic.
A hanging piece of wallpaper grabs her attention and as she pulls it away from the wall, she finds words written on it. “Lucy Sable once was able to look upon the sea. But someone got her in the water and now that’s where she’ll always be. Count to five, enjoy the view, hope the killer doesn’t get you.”
After ripping the wallpaper away, she spots a trunk. She has a flashback of the night when she was little and found her parents digging up the trunk. As all this is happening children are singing what’s written on the wall. They end the song with, “One, two, three, four, five, you’ll never get out of here alive.”
When Nancy opens the trunk, we hear faint chanting, “Find the dress.” And Nancy does in fact find it. It’s the same dress Lucy wore the night she died and it’s covered in blood. Narrator Nancy asks, “Why is it always the ones you love most who have the most to hide?”
As the episode ends, a ghost of a woman in the dress appears behind her.
Thoughts on Nancy Drew Season 1 Episode 1:
If you’ve ever read a Nancy Drew book, perhaps late at night by flashlight, you know full well you’ll most likely get scared. Regardless, you just have to know if Nancy solves the crime. The show might scare you but not like the books.
As with most books adapted into television shows or films, The CW’s Nancy Drew takes a lot of creative liberties with the source material. The writers went a different route with the show and opted for a more supernatural tone than the books. In fact, only one of the books I can recall had a supernatural vibe.
It seems this season will have a lot to do with one particular ghost and solving said ghost’s death. And while it’s vastly different from the books, at least Nancy Drew solving crimes – or in this case more like solving mysteries – remains at the heart of the story.
The character introductions were handled well with brief descriptions narrated by Nancy revealing just enough to slightly get to know them while leaving some mystery behind. The ending exposed a few more clues about each character, and viewers were allowed to see they all appear to have something to hide.
While I’m a bit on the fence with this show, I’m intrigued enough to see where the first season goes. I hope the writers do justice to the books.
The delayed season 10 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead isn’t actually going to be the final season 10 finale. AMC’s set an October 4, 2020 premiere date for the season finale (“A Certain Doom”) previously expected to air in April before Covid-19 wiped away plans for finishing up the season. And during the series’ Comic-Con@Home panel, showrunner Angela Kang announced there will be six new additional episodes added to season 10. (So, the October episode is only sort of a finale.)
The just-announced season 10 episodes are expected to air in early 2021. Season 11 of the zombie apocalypse series is also targeting a delayed 2021 premiere.
The panel also included the premiere of a three and a half minute opening scene clip from the “finale” featuring the return of Maggie, played by Lauren Cohan. The video also reveals a masked warrior and includes a creepy clip of Beta leading a massive horde.
Cohan joined her The Walking Dead co-stars Norman Reedus (Daryl), Melissa McBride (Carol), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Seth Gilliam (Gabriel), Ross Marquand (Aaron), Khary Payton (Ezekiel), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), and Paola Lazaro (Princess) for the Comic-Con@Home panel. TWD Universe Chief Creative Officer Scott M. Gimple, showrunner Angela Kang, and executive producer Greg Nicotero also laid out plans for the series and what fans can expect from the October season finale.
Check out the full panel hosted by San Diego Comic-Con’s official YouTube channel:
The Season 10 Second Half Plot, Courtesy of AMC:
The Walking Dead returns to find our group of survivors are trapped. Some in the confines of a cave filled with walkers, while others are caught in a spiral of suspicion and grief. All orchestrated at the hand of Alpha, who continues to prove the Whisperers are always watching, and one step ahead of the communities. Which includes the new and potentially deadly threat of having added Negan to their ranks.
Through this conflict and all they’ve lost, a few still hold onto hope, especially Eugene, who believes the mysterious voice he spoke with on the radio may lead to their world getting bigger once again.
But with the Whisperer War upon them, the collective communities must come together and possibly sacrifice all they have to find a way to silence the Whispers once and for all. Otherwise Alpha will ensure they face a certain doom.
The cast of History’s Vikings came together virtually (while still remaining safe at home) for a look back on six seasons of the Lothbroks. Travis Fimmel, Clive Standen, Katheryn Winnick, Alex Ludwig, and Jordan Patrick Smith joined series creator Michael Hirst for a Comic-Con@Home panel, the safe, virtual alternative to the annual San Diego Comic-Con.
During the panel, History unveiled an official sneak peek clip (see below) from the second half of season six, set to premiere later this year. However, the clip is spoiler-ish so watch at your own risk.
Katheryn Winnick, who Vikings fans have grown to love as badass Lagertha, discussed her character’s fate during the panel. “That last moment you did where Lagertha falls in the water and lands right next to Ragnar. And a little fun fact to the fans that last line ‘In my dreams, we are always together,’ that was actually my audition line when I first tested as Lagertha. So it’s just full circle to see it all come back.”
Travis Fimmel’s Ragnar lost his life a few seasons back, and Fimmel recalled how it felt to shoot the scene where he said goodbye to his daughter. “I don’t know why, but it took me about 3 minutes to memorize that whole thing because it was just written so well. All the best writing, I can memorize like that.”
Ubbe (Jordan Patrick Smith) in HISTORY’s ‘Vikings’ season 6 (Photo by Bernard Walsh Copyright 2020)
On a lighter note, Jordan Patrick Smith remembered stepping onto the set for the first time and becoming a part of the Vikings family. “That was the best part of working on Vikings was it was all one big family, there was no hierarchy from top to bottom. Especially when I came on the show and joined it. It didn’t matter who you were working with, it could be a grip, it could be a producer – someone’s throwing an apple at your head when you are turning around,” said Smith. “It was just one big family with no hierarchy. Everyone’s just locked in together. When you are working out in the cold together in minus five, it does become a family. You know everyone and their personal lives and it is one of the things I miss most about the show.
I do remember my first day on the set because Travis slapped me in the face 45 times. That was my introduction to Vikings. When I first came to set it was big shoes to fill. I remember walking down the hills and someone said, ‘Please don’t mess this up, our jobs depend on you.’ So that was what the four brothers were introduced to walking down the hill.”
During the 45 minute panel Clive Standen talked about the Ragnar and Rollo fight scene and complimented the action series’ first-rate stunt team. “The stunt team who were incredible in our show, they always came up with fantastic fights and they came up with a fantastic fight for Ragnar and Rollo. It was all swords and it was a very beautiful fight and Travis came in, and he was right, he just said, ‘This needs to be the tension between the brothers. It needs to be the brothers and not one of them is going to go down until one of them is dead.’ He showed some examples of fights and we arranged to get rid of the swords as soon as possible and just hit each other.”
Asked about what’s in store, Michael Hirst promised the second half of the sixth and final season will wrap up storylines and reveal fates. “The characters who we all, including me, have grown to love will all have their fates decided. Whether they live or die is of course in the hands of the gods, although I had a hand in it too,” said Hirst. “I think the conclusion of this saga is deeply satisfying. A proper and meaningful ending. And I hope all our fans will feel the same way. I tried to do justice to all my characters and I hope I’ve succeeded.”
A new full trailer’s arrived for Fox’s sci-fi drama neXt set to premiere this fall. The new trailer lays out the plot – without giving too much away – and sets up the key characters.
Fox will be delving further into their new series during a Comic-Con@Home cast Q&A. The panel’s set for Sunday, July 26, 2020 at 10am PT and will feature series stars John Slattery (Mad Men), Fernanda Andrade (Here and Now), Jason Butler Harner (Ozark), Michael Mosley (Criminal Minds), and Eve Harlow (The 100). Series creator/executive producer Manny Coto joins his cast to discuss the sci-fi series.
neXt is a propulsive, fact-based thriller about the emergence of a deadly, rogue Artificial Intelligence, a series that asks us to look closely not only at our relationship to technology but to one another.
Silicon Valley pioneer PAUL LEBLANC (Slattery) built a fortune and legacy on the world-changing innovations he dreamed up, while ignoring and alienating the people around him, including his own daughter, ABBY (Elizabeth Cappucino), and his short-sighted younger brother, TED (Butler Harner), who now runs Paul’s company. After discovering that one of his own creations – a powerful artificial intelligence called neXt – might spell doom for humankind, Paul tried to shutter the project, only to be kicked out of the company by his own brother, leaving him with nothing but mounting dread about the fate of the world.
When a series of unsettling tech mishaps points to a potential worldwide crisis, LeBlanc joins forces with Special Agent SHEA SALAZAR (Andrade). Having escaped crime, poverty and a deadly criminal father to remake herself as a force for good, Salazar’s strict moral code and sense of duty have earned her the respect of her team – a talented but contentious group held together by her faith in their ability to defy expectations and transcend their differences, including GINA (Harlow), a high-strung cybercrime agent; BEN (Aaron Moten), a straight-laced, buttoned-up hard worker, who is boring to the point of being interesting; and CM (Mosley), an ex-con hacker with a genius IQ. But the demands of Shea’s challenging job have taken their toll on her home life, where Salazar’s young son, OWEN (Whitten), has been raised primarily by his father, TY (Gerardo Celasco), a recovering alcoholic.
Now, LeBlanc and Salazar are the only ones standing in the way of a potential global catastrophe, fighting an emergent superintelligence that, instead of launching missiles, will deploy the immense knowledge it has gleaned from the data all around us to recruit allies, turn people against each other and eliminate obstacles to its own survival and growth.
‘Outer Banks’ returns for season 2 (Photo Credit: Netflix)
Netflix wants more of the young adult series, Outer Banks, announcing a renewal of the coming of age story for a second season. The announcement came with a season two teaser poster but without a firm premiere date for the new season.
Season one of the series created by Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke debuted on Netflix on April 15, 2020. The 10 episode first season stars Chase Stokes (Tell Me Your Secrets), Madelyn Cline (Boy Erased), Madison Bailey (Black Lightning), Jonathan Daviss (Age of Summer), and Rudy Pankow (Solve). Austin North (All Night), Drew Starkey (Scream: The TV Series), Deion Smith, and Charles Esten (Tell Me Your Secrets) also star in the dramatic thriller. Netflix confirmed they’ll are on board to reprise their roles in the new season.
Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke will continue in their roles as showrunners and executive producers.
A Look Back at Season 1, Courtesy of Netflix:
Outer Banks is a coming of age story that follows a tight-knit group of local teens (the “Pogues”) in the beach vacation destination of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. When a hurricane kills the power for the summer season, it sets off a chain of illicit events that force the friends to make life-altering decisions.
The search for their ringleader’s missing father, forbidden romances, a high-stakes treasure hunt, and the escalating conflict between the Pogues and their rivals turn their summer into one filled with mystery and adventure they’ll never forget.
The Comic-Con@Home panel for Twentieth Century Studios’ The New Mutants began by scrolling through the many opening dates the film’s had postponed for various reasons. Most recently it was pushed back to August 28, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing theaters to close down. Who wants to bet it won’t open in August?
The panel then got into the nitty-gritty of the characters with a Q&A featuring cast members Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Anya Taylor-Joy (Glass), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Alice Braga (Predators), Blu Hunt (The Originals) and Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why). Writer/director Josh Boone and graphic artist Bill Sienkiewicz also participated in the panel which, among other tidbits, revealed the film’s first few minutes (see below).
The X-Men film is produced by Simon Kinberg, Karen Rosenfelt, and Lauren Shuler Donner, with Stan Lee and Michele Imperato Stabile executive producing. Knate Lee co-wrote the screenplay.
The Plot:
Twentieth Century Studios in association with Marvel Entertainment presents The New Mutants, an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring. When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.
Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys Comic-Con@Home panel debuted one of the craziest, grossiest video clips from the series to date (and that’s saying a lot). The minute-long clip finds The Boys taking on The Deep as he rides a very unlucky whale. If you watched season one, you can probably guess what happens to the poor whale.
Season two will premiere on September 4, 2020 on Amazon Prime. The second season consists of eight episodes and will wrap up on October 9th.
As if showing off a new clip wasn’t enough, Amazon announced the series has already been renewed for a third season during the Comic-Con@Home panel.
“Amazon, in a bold and historic push to expand their ‘weirdo’ demographic, has greenlit Season 3 of The Boys! The writers and I are hard at work in the (virtual) writer’s room and we’re sad to say, the world has given us way too much material. We hope to be shooting in early 2021, but that’s up to a microscopic virus,” said showrunner and executive producer Eric Kripke. “As if that wasn’t enough, we’re bringing you a Season 2 after show, Prime Rewind: Inside The Boys. Double entendre intended. Hosted by the incomparable Aisha Tyler and guest starring the cast and crew, it’s a deep dive into how we make this insane thing. Seriously, thanks to Sony, Amazon and the fans. We love making this show so much, and we’re thrilled we get to make more.”
Returning season one cast members include Antony Starr as Homelander, Karl Urban as Butcher, Jack Quaid as Hughie, Erin Moriarty as Starlight, and Laz Alonso as Mother’s Milk. Karen Fukuhara is Kimiko, Dominique McElligott is Queen Maeve, Jessie T. Usher is A-Train, Chace Crawford is The Deep, Nathan Mitchell is Black Noir, and Tomer Capon returns as Frenchie.
Aya Cash joins the cast for season two as a new Supe named Stormfront. Recurring stars in season two include Claudia Doumit, Goran Visnijc, Malcolm Barrett, Colby Minifie, Shantel VanSanten, Cameron Crovetti, PJ Byrne, Laila Robbins, and Giancarlo Esposito returning as Vought boss Stan Edgar.
The Boys Plot, Courtesy of Amazon:
The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven”, and their formidable Vought backing.
In a more intense, more desperate Season 2, Butcher, Hughie and the team reel from their losses in Season 1. On the run from the law, they struggle to fight back against the Superheroes. As Vought, the company that manages the heroes, cashes in on the panic over the threat of Supervillains, and a new hero, Stormfront, shakes up the company and challenges an already unstable Homelander.
Bestselling author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) guides Amazon Prime Video’s new conspiracy thriller series, Utopia. Flynn (virtually) joined the cast for a Comic-Con@Home panel to promote the series and showed off the gripping teaser trailer.
Utopia‘s based on the British series of the same name and will debut its eight episode season this fall on Amazon Prime.
John Cusack (High Fidelity), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Sasha Lane (American Honey) lead a cast that includes Ashleigh LaThrop (Fifty Shades Freed), Dan Byrd (Cougar Town), Desmin Borges (You’re The Worst), Javon “Wanna” Walton (Euphoria), Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), and Cory Michael Smith (Gotham).
Gillian Flynn, Jessica Rhoades, Sharon Hall, Karen Wilson, and Dennis Kelly serve as executive producers.
The Plot, Courtesy of Amazon:
Utopia centers on a group of comic fans who meet online and bond over their obsession of a seemingly fictional comic called, “Utopia.” Together, Ian (Byrd), Becky (LaThrop), Samantha (Rothe), Wilson Wilson (Borges) and Grant (Walton) unearth hidden meanings cloaked within the pages of “Utopia,” predicting threats to humanity. They realize these are not just the makings of a conspiracy; they are very real dangers coming alive right now in their world.
The high-stakes adventure brings the group face-to-face with the comic’s famed central character, Jessica Hyde (Lane), who joins them on their mission to save the world while harboring secrets of her own.
