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Tag: HBO

  • Like It or Not, the Aaron Rodgers Era Gets the Hard Knocks Treatment

    Like It or Not, the Aaron Rodgers Era Gets the Hard Knocks Treatment

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    “People will talk to me on Tuesday nights and say, ‘That was a great show. What’s going to be on next week?’” Rodgers said. “And I say, I have no idea, it hasn’t happened yet.”

    Sabol used to say that making the show was akin to building an airplane in flight, but there is a rhythm to Hard Knocks that has made it less daunting than other docuseries of its ilk. Rodgers said each edition of the series has a “clear beginning, middle, and end” that dovetails with the NFL’s preseason schedule: Players report to camp, suit up for a few meaningless games, and wait for the final 53-man roster to be announced. Hard Knocks has also developed a routine that can, at times, veer into sameness.

    Rodgers said that he and his team “fight to make sure that familiarity doesn’t turn into staleness.” He compares Hard Knocks to Survivor, a reality-TV contemporary that premiered in 2000 and remains a fixture on CBS’s lineup. Both shows, Rodgers said, are “familiar and fresh,” combining a familiar template with new characters. (Survivor has had many seasons featuring past contestants, but the point is taken.)

    But like an actual NFL team, the success of any Hard Knocks season generally comes down to the players and coaches who are on it. The 2010 edition of the show also featured the Jets, and stands out as one of the best in the series, not least because of then head coach Rex Ryan’s indelible sound bite: “Let’s go eat a goddamn snack!” Last summer’s Hard Knocks with the Detroit Lions was mostly well-received, particularly for the appearances of its swashbuckling head coach, Dan Campbell.

    But even with colorful personalities like Ryan or Campbell involved, the show doesn’t get too spicy. Hard Knocks is a property of the NFL, after all, and the league is militant when it comes to protecting its brand. To some, that has made the show into “infomercial fluff,” as a writer for the Detroit Free-Press put it in a review of Hard Knocks last year.

    Rodgers said participating teams are able to screen each episode before it airs, but that is mostly to ensure that it includes no revealing details about play calls. “We don’t try to spin things to make people look worse, and we don’t even spin things to make people look better,” Rodgers said. “We didn’t say last year how great of a coach Dan Campbell is or how great of a leader [he is]. We just showed him for who he was and people decided, by watching him, how great he was.”

    Head coach Brian Billick of the Baltimore Ravens talks to his team during a game against the the New York Giants, December 12, 2004.Doug Pensinger/Getty Images.

    Traditional TV ratings for Hard Knocks have dropped in recent years. But Rodgers said those numbers don’t capture how much of the show’s audience has migrated to the streaming-verse. According to Rodgers, a much higher percentage of viewers watch Hard Knocks on Max than on linear HBO. “Our audience is just as strong as it was [during] the boom years,” he told me.

    Billick, for his part, said he hasn’t kept up with the series. “I think we did set the template and they seem to be just a repeat of what we did,” he said. Billick stopped coaching in the NFL following the 2007 regular season, almost six years before the league approved the Hard Knocks mandate. Back when he was leading the Ravens, Billick had a go-to response when the NFL tried to force teams to do certain things: “Well, does Bill have to do it?”

    By “Bill,” he means Bill Belichick, the immortal (and imposing) coach of the New England Patriots.

    “They can say, ‘Well, the league can mandate it,’ but until they make New England and Bill Belichick do it, then no, they’re not making anybody do it,” Billick said.

    The Patriots have been exempt from Hard Knocks thanks to the team’s consistent postseason appearances in the Belichick and Tom Brady era. But Belichick has opened his doors to a film crew before. He was mic’d up for the 2009 season, which was documented by NFL Films for the first two episodes of its long-running series, A Football Life.

    “When people say it’ll never happen, I say, well, it’s already happened,” Rodgers said of Belichick.

    We may find out sooner rather than later. If Belichick were to fall short of the playoffs for the second season in a row, the Patriots would be out of exemptions and, potentially, on the short list for the show next summer.

    Hard Knocks: New England? I’d watch.

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    Tom Kludt

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  • Angus Cloud, Star of ‘Euphoria,’ Dies at 25

    Angus Cloud, Star of ‘Euphoria,’ Dies at 25

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    Angus Cloud, the actor best known for playing soft-hearted drug dealer Fezco O’Neill on HBO’s Euphoria, has died at age 25, TMZ and Variety report. 

    “It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today,” Cloud’s family said in a statement to the outlets. “As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways. Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence.”

    The statement continued, “We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.”

    For two seasons on HBO’s Emmy-winning teen drama series, Cloud brought Fezco—a trusted confidant to Zendaya’s Rue and promising love interest for Maude Apatow’s Lexi—to life. Production on a third season of the show had yet to begin at the time of Cloud’s death. “We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family,” the network and show said in a joint statement on Instagram. “We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.”

    Euphoria was Cloud’s very first acting credit. He was discovered walking down the street in Manhattan by a casting director for the show. Despite attending Oakland School of the Arts, he had no professional experience and was working at a restaurant in Brooklyn at the time.“Apparently, he was supposed to die in the first couple of episodes,” Cloud told The Hollywood Reporter of his character. Not only did creator Sam Levinson expand the role of Fezco, but also had him narrowly survive a shootout in the season two finale, which premiered last February.

    Cloud had several projects on the horizon, including The Line alongside Alex Wolff, Austin Abrams, John Malkovich, and Scott McNairy; Freaky Tales opposite Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn; and an untitled Universal Pictures horror film from the directors of Scream 6.

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • How Do You Dress The Righteous Gemstones? “The Keyword Is ‘Stunted’”

    How Do You Dress The Righteous Gemstones? “The Keyword Is ‘Stunted’”

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    Praise be to he, we have been graced with another season of The Righteous Gemstones. (And now a fourth is coming, too.) From “no-sex cheating” to doomsday preppers, season three brought us even deeper into the lives of the Gemstone megachurch and the family at the heart of it. It also brought the genius costume design of Christina Flannery, who joined the show after costume designer Sarah Trost bedazzled the cast for seasons one and two.

    An über-rich family of megachurch leaders doesn’t exactly sound like the most likable gang, but thanks to the marvelous mind of Danny McBride we somehow find ourselves endeared to, even rooting for these deeply flawed people. And that’s also to Flannery’s credit. A Southerner herself, she immersed herself in the culture of megachurches to get the world of Gemstones right. But she never lost the human beings behind the juvenile bravado of Gemstone kid (McBride as Jesse, Edi Patterson as Judy, and Adam Devine as Kelvin) or their gentle, complex father, Eli (John Goodman.) Flannery’s clothes helped to communicate everything from Judy’s struggle to be taken seriously (and the frayed gender dynamics in her family and the church) to Eli’s slightly uneasy transition out of a church leadership role and into the leisure of retirement. She does it all while striking a delicate balance between the absurdism and the hyperrealism that is quintessential to the show.

    “The keyword for this show is ‘stunted’,” says Flannery of costuming the larger-than-life Gemstone kids and the world around them. And whether she’s dressing Judy in a figure-skating-inspired outfit or John Goodman in some shiny new retirement digs, the lifeblood of the South runs deep, onscreen and off.

    Vanity Fair: What was it like coming in for season three? Were you already a fan?

    Christina Flannery: I’m a huge Danny McBride fan. I mean, who isn’t? It was a match made in heaven. Before I did this, everyone would always say, you should be working on a Danny McBride show; that kind of high stylistic, hyperrealism, comedy—stuff like that.

    And I was a fan of the show. I’m from the South, and I’ve had some weird religious upbringing myself. So I loved season one and two, and I know Sarah [Trost], who designed season one and two. What I also love about Righteous Gemstones is that every season has some kind of storyline that doesn’t necessarily tie to the season before, or we’ll get new characters that need to be heavily costumed. So it was so fun for me to work with a reality-based megachurch, but then when we have characters like Keefe or BJ or Kelvin—any of them, really—all of them have these unique takes on who they are, and you see it in their clothing. It was just so fun.

    Danny is such a collaborative showrunner. He’s an incredible person to work with—very involved, and he really likes to push things, and give you the creative range to do what you want.

    Conceptually—in the script, acting, direction, and visually, like in the costumes—the show strikes a balance between absurdity and realism.

    Totally. And when you’re doing these illustrations and coming up with these ideas, it’s like you’re pitching them. And I love Danny, I’m such a huge fan. I was really like, “Oh, my God is he going to hate me?” Coming in after two seasons, you have to prove yourself a little bit. The actors need to trust you; the directors need to trust you. I’m sure you can tell from my costumes that I really like to push it. I think that is a nod to Danny, in the way that he wants it to be based in reality, and where they would find this stuff and why they’re wearing it.

    Like with Kelvin, we could really pivot and change his wardrobe. We go from Christian rock youth minister and you think, what comes next? Hype priest.

    Smut busters.

    Exactly, Smut Busters. Richard Wright, our production designer, and I were throwing around ideas. Initially in the script it was a more simplistic look, the T-shirts and all that. But I was like, “Fuck it, man.” I wanted to do Zubaz and socks and velcro shoes and doodles all over the velcro. It was really a nod to Double Dare.

    It reminded me so much of the programming I grew up with in the ’90s on Nickelodeon, and then also some of the stuff we were being fed at school—say no to drug campaigns and things like that. It felt like he was returning to the aesthetic he might have grown up with.

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    Caroline Reilly

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  • Unfortunately, I Finished Watching The Idol

    Unfortunately, I Finished Watching The Idol

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    I mentioned in my last article about
    The Idol that I felt this sick curiosity as a writer to watch the show. If you didn’t gather from my review of episodes 1-3, I was quickly reminded why sometimes you need to listen to the general public. Sam Levinson and The Weeknd’s Max original is something of a car wreck, and (SPOILER ALERT!) episodes 4 and 5 are much worse, for different reasons.

    Sure the final two episodes of what should’ve been a 6-episode series had much less focus on sex and nudity…but I quickly learned –
    at what cost? I took two full pages of notes while watching, so I’ll include some of my candid, raw reactions. But, the show turned sickeningly unbearable. I’m borderline offended by it?

    I mean, with cast members like Jane Adams telling the feminists (I guess me in this circumstance) to
    “go f*** yourself,” I can imagine the feeling is quite mutual at this rate. Poor, misunderstood Sam Levinson created a show so artistically advanced that the entire world didn’t understand it! Ever wonder if it was just bad and that’s why people don’t get it?

    Whatever. Back by popular demand, here are all my thoughts while watching the final two episodes of The Idol. Pray for me, and you’re welcome.

    The Idol, Episode 4 Recap

    We see that Tedros (The Weeknd, Abel Tesfaye, I don’t know anymore) has completely taken over Jocelyn’s estate. However, good news! The team is
    officially convinced that he’s up to no good. Hallelujah, surely they’ll do nothing.

    They even approach Joss and say his real name is Mauricio Jackson and he was charged for kidnapping his ex, holding her hostage, and beating her. I know, pretend you’re shocked that the guy with the rat tail did this. Anyways, Joss ignores feminism entirely and says he’s simply misunderstood. Aren’t we all?

    Seriously, the most infuriating part about the show is that no one has a backbone. More on that later.

    So one of Joss’ team goes to one of Tedros’ minions, Chloe, who has a wonderful singing voice. The catch? Tedros found her while she was addicted to heroin and she claims she’s 18, but we all know the truth there.

    They’re all at Joss’ mansion to record music together, but
    naturally Joss’ track is missing something. So, in front of an entire crowd of record executives and this cult, Tedros starts to — I can’t bring myself to write it but just know he performs a sexual act on her. To which her agent says on the phone, “Jocelyn is on some weird S&M shit with this dude,” the only honest musing in the show.

    So let’s get to the point, what everyone’s talking about: Troye Sivan’s torture scene. Troye is obviously a great singer, so The Weeknd hides in his room while he showers and sings to himself and asks why he claims he tore his vocal chords. Dumb Troye’s character, Xander, decides to
    tell the truth (???) and say Jocelyn was basically jealous and her mom outed him and he never sang again.

    What’s the only viable option that happens here? The Weeknd tells Jocelyn and they start shocking him despite his pleas for help. But the main point of the episode is only to tell you that everyone is spiraling.

    The Idol, Episode 5 Recap

    At the end of episode 4, JENNIE from BLACKPINK shows up to Jocelyn’s and Chloe, on molly, spills that Tedros and JENNIE, who just stole “World Class Sinner” from Joss, were an item. Essentially, this is us learning Tedros was trying to infringe on Joss’ fame the whole time.

    Big whoop, if that weren’t clear from episode one then I don’t know what to say. Literally
    he has a rat tail and you’re supposed to be shocked that he was using her?!! So episode 5 starts with Jocelyn trying to kick Tedros out of the house and keep his artists.

    This was like the one moment of the show where I ever felt proud or anything other than immense, overwhelming hatred for every character. But I knew, deep down in the depths of my soul, they were going to let me down.

    If you strip down the bad acting, this show is pure comedy. It’s like The Office but what’s funnier is that Sam Levinson and The Weeknd meant for this show to be serious.

    But what’s even better is that it takes five minutes for Tedros to insert his ugly tail back in the picture. At the party the night before, Jocelyn proceeds to invite her ex over to make Tedros jealous and obviously the natural reaction is for Tedros to frame him for sexual assault.

    Of course this is handled in an offensive, not even funny or ironic matter. No one tells Jocelyn this, but the assistant goes to Xander and asks if she knows what’s happening. To which newly brainwashed Xander said
    of course Joss knows. Because evil, evil Joss loves covering up sexual assault?

    So this begins the downfall of Tedros. The agents get him, something about the IRS, there’s a speech about hunting the Big Bad Wolf, Josselyn saves her tour, and the final scene is at So-Fi Stadium, where Tedros’ people are her opening act alongside Xander and Tedro’s minions. Joss’ team is cackling about how they ended him.

    Mauricio Jackson is then let into the stadium with an artist pass for Jocelyn, which makes no sense considering she’s the technical reason he was exposed. Tedros goes backstage and picks up the hair brush her mother beat her with and realizes it’s brand new.

    What they want you to think is that Josselyn was the manipulator all along- stealing Tedros’ people and making him think he’s all that just to whittle him back down to broke ass Mauricio Jackson. JENNIE also couldn’t record “World Class Sinner”, so Joss keeps that, too. She’s the evil of the show, not Tedros, he was just a victim.

    @drophiltv2023#selenagomez#theweeknd#theidol#parati#paratii#paratiii#paratitiktok#fyp#foryou♬ original sound – Culture

    I have to laugh. Truly. Because of the flippant ways they throw sexual assault and victim’s stories around, and because of the way they treat consent, and also because the writing was so awful that the show was doomed from the beginning. And to think these pompous actors are defending this train wreck and calling for a season two?

    Gaslighting is when people make you think The Idol is good and you just “didn’t understand it.” Honesty is realizing this show is vile down to its core.

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    Jai Phillips

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  • 2023 Emmy Awards:

    2023 Emmy Awards:

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    “Succession,” “Ted Lasso” lead Emmy noms


    “Succession” gets 27 Emmy nominations, “Ted Lasso” leads comedies with 21

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    Nominations for the 75th annual Emmy Awards were unveiled on Wednesday morning, and HBO tied a record set by NBC in 1992, with four series — critically acclaimed fan-favorites “Succession” and “The White Lotus,” along with the video game adaptation “The Last Of Us”  and “House of the Dragon,” the “Game of Thrones” prequel — in the running for outstanding drama.

    “Succession,” which also led the pack of nominees in 2022, dominated the roster again this year, with 27 nominations in total for its final season.

    The announcement — hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, of “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “Community,” and Frank Scherma, who chairs the Television Academy — came at a tense time for Hollywood. Much of the industry is shut down as a deadline looms for more than 160,000 members of the SAG/AFTRA union, in addition to television and film writers, who have been on strike since May. Opening Wednesday’s presentation, Scherma said, “We hope the ongoing guild negotiations can come to an equitable and swift resolution.”

    Here are the contenders in the Emmy Award’s top categories:

    Outstanding variety talk series

    • “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”
    • “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
    • “Late Night with Seth Meyers”
    • “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
    • “The Problem with Jon Stewart”

    Outstanding reality competition program

    • “The Amazing Race”
    • “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
    • “Survivor”
    • “Top Chef”
    • “The Voice”

    Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

    • Lizzie Caplan, “Fleishman Is In Trouble”
    • Jessica Chastain, “George & Tammy”
    • Dominique Fishback, “Swarm”
    • Katherine Hahn, “Tiny Beautiful Things”
    • Riley Keogh, “Daisy Jones & the Six”
    • Ali Wong, “Beef”

    Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

    • Taron Egerton, “Black Bird”
    • Kumail Nanjiani, “Welcome To Chippendales”
    • Evan Peters, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”
    • Daniel Radcliffe “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”
    • Michael Shannon, “George & Tammy”
    • Steven Yeun, “Beef”

    Outstanding limited or anthology series

    • “Beef”
    • “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”
    • “Daisy Jones & the Six”
    • “Fleishman Is in Trouble”
    • “Obi-Wan Kenobi”

    Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

    • Jeff Bridges, “The Old Man”
    • Brian Cox, “Succession”
    • Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
    • Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
    • Pedro Pascal, “The Last Of Us”
    • Jeremy Strong, “Succession”

    Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

    • Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters”
    • Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
    • Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
    • Bella Ramsey, “The Last Of Us”
    • Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
    • Sarah Snook, “Succession”

    Outstanding drama series

    • “Andor”
    • “Better Call Saul”
    • “The Crown”
    • “House of the Dragon”
    • “The Last Of Us”
    • “Succession”
    • “The White Lotus”
    • “Yellowjackets”

    Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

    • Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”
    • Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
    • Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
    • Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face”
    • Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”

    Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

    • Bill Hader “Barry”
    • Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
    • Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
    • Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
    • Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

    Outstanding comedy series

    • “Abbott Elementary”
    • “Barry”
    • “The Bear”
    • “Jury Duty”
    • “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
    • “Only Murders in the Building”
    • “Ted Lasso”
    • “Wednesday”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

    • Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”
    • Phil Dunster, “Ted Lasso”
    • Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
    • James Marsden, “Jury Duty”
    • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
    • Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”
    • Henry Winkler, “Barry”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

    • F. Murray Abraham, “The White Lotus”
    • Nicholas Braun, “Succession”
    • Michael Imperioli, “The White Lotus”
    • Theo James, “The White Lotus”
    • Matthew Macfayden, “Succession”
    • Alan Ruck, “Succession”
    • Will Sharpe, “The White Lotus”
    • Alexander Skarsgård, “Succession”

    Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

    • Murray Bartlett, “Welcome To Chippendales”
    • Paul Walter, “Black Bird”
    • Richard Jenkins, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”
    • Joseph Lee, “Beef”
    • Ray Liotta, “Black Bird”
    • Young Mazino, “Beef”
    • Jesse Plemons, “Love & Death”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

    • Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
    • Ayo Edibiri, “The Bear”
    • Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
    • Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
    • Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
    • Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
    • Jessica Williams, “Shrinking”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

    • Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
    • Elizabeth Debicki, “The Crown”
    • Meghann Fahy, “The White Lotus”
    • Sabrina Impacciatore, “The White Lotus”
    • Aubrey Plaza, “The White Lotus”
    • Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”
    • J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”
    • Simona Tabasco, “The White Lotus”

    Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

    • Annaleigh Ashford, “Welcome To Chippendales”
    • Maria Bello, “Beef”
    • Claire Danes, “Fleishman Is In Trouble”
    • Juliette Lewis, “Welcome To Chippendales”
    • Camila Morrone, “Daisy Jones & The Six”
    • Niecy Nash-Betts, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”

    Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series

    • Jon Bernthal, “The Bear”
    • Luke Kirby, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
    • Nathan Lane, “Only Murders In The Building”
    • Pedro Pascal, “Saturday Night Live”
    • OIiver Platt, “The Bear”
    • Sam Richardson, “Ted Lasso”

    Outstanding guest actor in a drama series

    • Murray Bartlett, “The Last Of Us”
    • James Cromwell, “Succession”
    • Lamar Johnson, “The Last Of Us”
    • Arian Moayed, “Succession”
    • Nick Offerman, “The Last Of Us”
    • Keivonn Montreal Woodard, “The Last Of Us”

    Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series

    • Becky Ann Baker, “Ted Lasso”
    • Quina Brunson, “Saturday Night Live”
    • Taraji P. Henson, “Abbott Elementary”
    • Judith Light, “Poker Face”
    • Sarah Niles, “Ted Lasso”
    • Harriet Walter, “Ted Lasso”

    Outstanding guest actress in a drama series 

    • Hiam Abbass, “Succession”
    • Cherry Jones, “Succession”
    • Melanie Lynskey, “The Last Of Us”
    • Storm Reid, “The Last Of Us”
    • Anna Torv, “The Last Of Us”
    • Harriet Walter, “Succession”

    Outstanding actor in a short form comedy or drama series

    • Kevin Hart, “Die Hart 2: Die Harter”
    • Tim Robinson, “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson”
    • Ben Schwartz, “Die Hart 2: Die Harter”

    Outstanding actress in a short form comedy or drama series

    • Nathalie Emmanuel, “Die Hart 2: Die Harter”
    • Jasmine Guy, “Chronicles Of Jessica Wu”
    • Paula Pell, “Die Hart 2: Die Harter”

    Outstanding character voice-over performance

    • Julie Andrews, “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story”
    • Alex Borstein, “Family Guy”
    • Mel Brooks, “History Of The World, Part II”
    • Maya Rudolph, “Big Mouth”
    • Wanda Sykes, “Crank Yankers”
    • Ali Wong, “Tuca & Bertie”

    Outstanding narrator

    • Mahershala Ali, “Chimp Empire”
    • Angela Bassett, “Good Night Oppy”
    • Morgan Freeman, “Our Universe”
    • Barack Obama, “Working: What We Do All Day”
    • Pedro Pascal, “Patagonia: Life On The Edge Of The World”

    Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that HBO tied the network record, but did not break it.

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  • ‘Last Call’ Is About a Murderer—and, More Importantly, His Gay Victims

    ‘Last Call’ Is About a Murderer—and, More Importantly, His Gay Victims

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    “Oftentimes, in true crime, we let the police and the perpetrators run the show,” Caronna says. “It was important to Howard and me to let queer people tell this story,” especially since systemic homophobia and the antipathy between the LGBTQ+ community and the police apparently helped Rogers commit his crimes without fear of consequence.

    That said, police officers and case investigators also appear prominently in Last Call, though the series pulls few punches when it comes to depicting what Gertler delicately refers to as “awareness gaps in the cultural competency of law enforcement.”

    One such moment comes later in the series, when an investigating officer verbally stumbles and falls silent when describing what a collection of Golden Girls video tapes might say about its owner. “I feel like every time we sat down with an investigator, I didn’t have the intent to make them look bad, or have a gotcha moment,” Caronna says. “But I am looking to just understand, even just for myself, where the cultural blind spots lie in this investigation.”

    From Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for HBO.

    Using a vast amount of archival footage—including 1950s-era stranger-danger films from local police departments, 1990s talk show interviews with anti-gay figures, and political speeches from the times—Last Call illustrates how homophobia wasn’t only responsible for the investigation’s failings. According to Caronna, Rogers himself was motivated by anti-gay sentiments, even though it’s widely believed that Rogers was gay.

    “There’s no question that this was that this is absolutely anti-gay violence,” Caronna says. “Richard grew up hearing all of those things that the gay basher in episode one heard, that Anita Bryant heard, that we’ve all heard growing up in America.”

    It’s a tricky thing, in 2023, to tell a story about a reportedly gay serial killer without inadvertently validating the increasingly homophobic far right. That challenge isn’t lost on Caronna, who says the portion of the series that discusses Rogers’s sexual orientation “went through probably more iterations and any other section in the show,” as they knew how it might be received by those looking for even more reasons to marginalize the LGBTQ+ community. “I knew this was a very difficult story to tell, which is why I was afraid to tell it in the first place,” he says.

    Those fears went away, Caronna says, as he started researching the case, and visualizing how a series might look. “Yeah, it is messy. But still, I think it’s way more important to tell this story than to be afraid that we’re gonna ruffle some feathers.”

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    Eve Batey

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  • Is ‘The Idol’ Season 2 Even Possible? And Does Anyone Want It?

    Is ‘The Idol’ Season 2 Even Possible? And Does Anyone Want It?

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    This post contains spoilers for The Idol.

    The first trailer for HBO’s The Idol landed nearly a year ago, promising a warped fairy tale of a mainstream pop star entrapped in a sex cult. In telling “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” from “the sick & twisted minds” of The Weeknd and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, the teaser promised provocation, titillation, and an examination of the machinery behind it all. During the protracted lead-up to the show’s debut, HBO released edgy promotional footage, and Rolling Stone published a report detailing alleged behind-the-scenes issues, reportedly stemming from a creative overhaul and the exit of the series’ original director, Amy Seimetz, who was replaced by Levinson. In statements to Vanity Fair, HBO and star Lily-Rose Depp denied allegations of tensions on set. For his part, The Weeknd shared what appeared to be a clip from the show featuring himself, Depp, and costar Dan Levy, in which his character, Tedros, said, “Yeah, nobody cares about Rolling Stone,” with the singer captioning his post, “@RollingStone did we upset you?”

    Alas, that scene never made it into the final cut of the show, one of many red herrings and unresolved plot points that seem less an incentive for a second season and more a result of misguided storytelling. Instead, viewers were treated to an abrupt role reversal that saw Depp’s Jocelyn reclaim the reins to her life from the ultimately powerless Tedros, despite what all conventional and studied wisdom about cult deprogramming suggests. Also missing from the finale were the promised backstory of Tedros’s now infamous rattail haircut and the resolution regarding that sexually explicit photo of Depp’s Jocelyn that seemed so vital in the premiere episode.

    Despite The Idol’s prerelease noise, its first episode held some potential, particularly in its commentary on show business via Jocelyn’s inner circle, played by Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Rachel Sennott, and Hank Azaria. Viewed in its best light, the series felt as if it could be a warped cousin to Max’s The Other Two, which lambasted the entertainment industry for three seasons. In The Idol’s debut, an intimacy coordinator gets locked in a closet so that Jocelyn can strip in peace; in The Other Two, it’s a COVID-safety official who gets trapped so that the show can go on.

    The series inherited the HBO Sunday night slot recently occupied by the likes of The Last of Us and Succession. That high profile, and a healthy dose of curiosity, lured more than 3.6 million viewers across HBO and Max in the show’s first week, but the ratings dropped precipitously over the course of the season; the penultimate episode reportedly hooked only 133,000 viewers on HBO.

    Numbers for the unsatisfying season finale have yet to be released (Vanity Fair has reached out to HBO for information), but is there any metric—ratings or otherwise—by which The Idol ever truly succeeded?

    Given The Idol’s reported $54 million–$75 million price tag, the show’s makers have understandably been on the defensive since its debut.

    Supporting cast members were deployed to address lingering questions. In a Today appearance, Azaria said claims about the alleged “chaotic nature of the set and how it was really haphazard…[are] ridiculous.” Randolph even kept the dream of a second season alive, telling Variety: “I think that everyone’s intention is to have a second season. This was never intended to be a limited series. HBO has been very happy with it.” And Adams expressed outrage over the outrage, telling VF, “What is amazing to me is no one’s listening—I’ve not seen that before in all my days, such a dogged ‘We refuse to change the narrative,’” she said. “I especially want to say to all the feminists, ‘Go fuck yourself.’ All these women that I’m working with are talking about their experience and you’re not listening. You’re not listening!”

    After an intimate moment between Tedros and Jocelyn was deemed “the worst sex scene in history” by British GQ, The Weeknd granted an interview to American GQ, insisting that there was “nothing sexy” about the scene and that any secondhand cringe was intentional. “However you’re feeling watching that scene, whether it’s discomfort, or you feel gross, or you feel embarrassed for the characters, it’s all those emotions adding up to: This guy is in way over his head, this situation is one where he is not supposed to be here,” the actor said.

    The Weeknd has also been active on social media throughout the season—often posting memes, retweeting fan accounts, and clapping back at haters. And there has been a lot of online chatter. Search interest for The Idol soared by 1,134% after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, according to a report of Google Search data by JeffBet. Research conducted by Parrot Analytics and reported by the Los Angeles Times found that audience demand for the show was more than 20 times higher than the demand for the average series. “Traditional ratings have been dismal, which suggests that people are more interested in posting about how bad The Idol is than they are in actually watching it,” wrote the LA Times. Anecdotally speaking, a post-episode search on Twitter will find engagement, yes, but mostly of the negative variety, save for the ardent stan support of Blackpink’s Jennie Ruby Jane, who plays the largely thankless role of wannabe pop star Dyanne.

    Eddy Chen

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • How ‘Succession’ Director Mark Mylod Captured the Most Important Scene of the Series

    How ‘Succession’ Director Mark Mylod Captured the Most Important Scene of the Series

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    It was the boardroom scene to end all boardroom scenes. In the series finale of HBO’s Succession, Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Kendall (Jeremy Strong) chew each other to pieces in a literal knock-down, drag-out fight which spells the end of the Roy family empire as well as the Roy siblings.

    “The whole structure of the series is the cruelty of hope, isn’t it?” says frequent Succession director Mark Mylod, who helmed the finale and three other episodes this season. “When I’m reading it, even though I know where it’s going, I’m still thinking, Oh, actually, they could be happy. There is a life where they can escape the gravitational pull of Waystar and actually live free and independent lives and have healthy relationships. Of course, all of which is totally futile.”

    To capture this futility, Mylod and Succession cinematographer Patrick Capone leaned into the voyeurism of the Roy siblings’ final showdown, captured through the glass walls of a boardroom. After Shiv hurriedly exits the boardroom with the final vote for control of Waystar Royco still hanging in the balance, the three siblings convene to hash out whether she should vote for Kendall to take over as CEO or sell the company to Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). Their conversation quickly devolves into a wrestling match between Roman and “eldest boy” Kendall, as Shiv ultimately decides to sell the company to Matsson rather than let Kendall take over as CEO.

    “We wanted to use the reflections and the glass bowl within the glass bowl within the glass building,” says Capone. The result is the Roy children on full display, putting on a show of their worst qualities and deepest insecurities in front of both board members and their employees. “With camera placement and the actors blocking, we were able to make their fight kind of on a little bit of a stage where the board members can see it and yet they can’t hear it,” continues Capone. “Only we can hear it until it really gets vocal toward the end.”

    “It was probably the most important scene of the entire series,” says Mylod. “It’s hard [for the actors] to wake up in the morning and think, This is what we’re going to explore today. There’s a dread that goes with that and a fear, but also, coming home from work after those days, a sense of almost elation when one has a feeling that we’ve captured the essence and the intention of the writing and the intensity of it and done it justice, hopefully.”

    Both Mylod and Capone tried not to get in the way of the action that unspools, letting it unfold as naturally as possible. “That’s the beauty of our style,” says Capone, “It’s just so subjective and the camera has the ability to really point the audience where we feel they should go to get what’s being told, like a fly on the wall.”

    THE SCRIPT

    Mylod reacted with “wonder and awe” when he finally received the script for the series finale which lays waste to the Roy siblings. “The actual final scripts come in very late and then there’s a number of drafts that come in,” Mylod says. “So it’s not like, bam, there’s your script and go.”

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    Chris Murphy

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  • Are Carrie and Aidan Heading for Happily Ever After on ‘And Just Like That’?

    Are Carrie and Aidan Heading for Happily Ever After on ‘And Just Like That’?

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    Will Carrie Bradshaw become Carrie Shaw by the end of the new season of And Just like That? In an interview with the New York Times, John Corbett suggests as much. It seems that Carrie’s wood-working paramour Aidan may be here to stay: Corbett “didn’t bring Aidan back to fail,” he tells the Times.

    Sex and the City fans went nuts when it was first announced that Corbett’s Aidan Shaw—onetime fiancé and ex-lover of Sarah Jessica Parker‘s Carrie—would be returning for the second season of And Just Like That.  “Every [expletive] person I meet is just, ‘I was Team Aidan!,’” Corbett told the Times.

    But while many were excited for the return of Aidan, Corbett is well aware that there are plenty of Aidan detractors—and for good reason. While warmer and more giving than his rival for Carrie’s affection, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Aidan was also controlling and manipulative. He pushed Carrie to stop smoking; he forced her to spend time in the woods away from her beloved New York City. He also intentionally toyed with her emotions after they reconciled the first time. (They’d broken up in the first place because she was cheating on him—but still!)

    Corbett claims that on And Just Like That, however, Aidan has softened and changed to some degree. “Those fans that didn’t like Aidan — and I know exactly why they didn’t, he was wrong for her — there’s going to be no [expletive] help for those people,” Corbett told the Times. “He’s really, really listening to her now.”

    Parker also suggests that And Just Like That showcases a more mature relationship between Carrie and Aidan. “It’s not fevered; it’s not demanding,” Parker said of Carrie and Aidan’s romance. “There’s so much heat between them, but there isn’t that urgency from him.”

    The new season of Max’s And Just Like That will be chock full of familiar Sex and the City faces, from the return of Aidan to a cameo appearance from Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones in the season finale. Will Carrie reunite with her estranged best friend and find forever love with Aidan? You can see for yourself when season two of And Just Like That premieres on Max Thursday, June 22.

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    Chris Murphy

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  • What’s the Best ‘Sex and the City’ Episode of All Time?

    What’s the Best ‘Sex and the City’ Episode of All Time?

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    Is it possible to determine the best Sex and the City episode of all time? Ahead of season two of Max’s And Just Like That…, VF’s Still Watching podcast strapped on our favorite pair of Manolo Blahniks and strutted down memory lane, ranking the original show’s greatest half hours—and determining which deserves to be named the best of all.

    In part one, Still Watching hosts Chris Murphy and Hillary Busis are joined by VF executive editor Claire Howorth to discuss the first three episodes vying for the top slot: season two’s “They Shoot Single People, Don’t They?,” season three’s “Hot Child in the City,” and season four’s “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.” The first finds Carrie looking bedraggled on the cover of New York magazine, accompanied by a classic headline: “Single and Fabulous?”

    “The central question of the episode is, Are we happy being single women, or do we hate ourselves?” notes Busis—a question that gets asked over and over throughout the course of the series. It may be the clearest distillation of Sex and the City’s mission—but “Hot Child in the City” made the list because, at least in Busis’s opinion, it’s “the funniest episode of the series.” That one follows Carrie as she dates a comic book artist who still lives with his mom, Samantha as she works for an incredibly demanding 13-year-old client, Charlotte struggling with intimacy issues with Trey, and Miranda getting a pair of adult braces.

    “Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda” takes a decidedly more serious tone, focusing on Miranda as she considers whether or not to get an abortion—and sending each woman to reckon with their own history with abortion and pregnancy. Murphy names it among the most impactful episodes of the series, in its handling of a sensitive issue rarely discussed on television in that period of time. “You can appreciate that for Samantha and Carrie, abortions were just matter of fact,” says Howorth. “I appreciate the fact that Carrie was not the one to go through the ‘will she or won’t she?’”

    Part two adds another pair of episodes to the pile: “The Post-it Always Sticks Twice” and “Splat!” They contain two of Sex and the City’s most iconic moments: Carrie getting dumped via Post-it note, and Lexi Featherston falling out a window. That Post-it, Murphy notes, has transcended the series to become a part of popular culture writ large: “Everyone knows the Post-it breakup.” 

    Likewise, everyone knows Kristen Johnston’s Lexi, the messy party girl who proclaims “New York is so over” before falling to her untimely demise. Johnston’s turn is so compelling that it “makes you yearn to go back in time through the rest of the show and sprinkle Lexi into the entire series,” says Busis. And after some deliberation, Lexi Featherston and her fall from grace ultimately prove hard to beat; all three agree that “Splat!” deserves to take the top spot. “‘Splat!’ has it all,” says Murphy. “It’s series-defining. It’s funny, but it’s heartbreaking.”

    Listen below to hear Busis, Howorth, and Murphy go deep on Sex and the City ahead of Still Watching: And Just Like That… Disagree with their final ranking? Email stillwatchingpod@gmail.com with your own questions, comments, and favorite Sex and the City episodes ahead of And Just Like That’s premiere on June 22. 

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    Chris Murphy

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  • 8 Perfect TV Episodes: Death on ‘Succession,’ Romance in the Ruins on ‘The Last of Us,’ and More

    8 Perfect TV Episodes: Death on ‘Succession,’ Romance in the Ruins on ‘The Last of Us,’ and More

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    THE BEAR

    Episode 7, “Review” FX

    There’s ample salt, acid, and heat—but little fat—to be found in The Bear’s frenetic seventh episode, directed by creator Christopher Storer. Executive producer Joanna Calo describes it as a “resting place” for the season’s character arcs, including Sydney and Richie’s fractious dynamic and Carmy’s increasingly “rageful, deep, dark feelings hidden inside,” all exacerbated by a rave review that brings a flood of customers their kitchen can’t handle. But in writing the script, Calo says, it became “this place where everyone exploded.” The propulsive, almost 20-minute one-take result created “this massive feeling of anxiety, which sort of encapsulates the energy that all people working in restaurants feel.”

    The Bear: Courtesy of FX.

    SUCCESSION

    Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding” HBO

    Best not to get married on HBO. In “Connor’s Wedding,” the third episode of Succession’s final season, the eldest Roy’s nuptials on a boat quickly get overshadowed by an event of truly epic proportion: Logan Roy’s unexpected, ultimately unceremonious death. Rather than capture the fall of the king, director Mark Mylod focuses what he called his “sadistically voyeuristic” camera on the Roy siblings as they find themselves literally and emotionally at sea in a world without their father. “It had to stay really close without taking its eye off of them,” he said. “Because every time we cut away from the siblings, it seemed to let them off the hook.” With “Connor’s Wedding,” Succession simultaneously upended every expectation for the series while fulfilling its titular premise. What a way for L to the OG to go.

    RESERVATION DOGS

    Episode 8, “This Is Where the Plot Thickens” FX

    Director Blackhorse Lowe took inspiration from 1970s cinema for this surprisingly poignant episode, which swerves away from its central characters to follow tribal cop Big (Zahn McClarnon) after he mistakenly chugs a bottle of soda laced with psychedelic drugs. Walking through the pulsating, spinning forest, Big winds up on an introspective journey to the past, confronting his feelings of guilt over the death of his friend Cookie. “In this seemingly fun, trippy episode, we actually really get deep into character,” says series cocreator Sterlin Harjo. “There’s a pain that drives Big.” There’s also a heavy dose of Native humor, like when Big stumbles upon a mysterious group of Secret Society members in the woods chanting things like “The earth is a whore, and it is our will to take her!” The punch line? The cult ends up not being a hallucination at all.

    Reservation Dogs: Courtesy of FX.

    FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE

    Episode 7, “Me-Time” FX

    Jesse Eisenberg’s Toby and his woes dominate much of the first six episodes, but by the penultimate “Me-Time,” it becomes clear he is not the Fleishman in real trouble. His missing ex-wife, Rachel (Claire Danes), reappears in this episode, which serves as both an explanation of where she’s been and a showcase of what Danes does best—raw, messy emotion. “Before the pandemic, I’d written my book out of a sort of primal scream,” says Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who adapted her book for the series, and a primal scream defines this episode too. Growing apart from her married boyfriend, Rachel lets loose in a therapy session so loud it shakes the trees outside. It’s a taut, cathartic reflection on what happens when your heart feels overstuffed and empty all at once.

    ANDOR

    Episode 12, “Rix Road” Disney+

    It all builds to a brick. The first season’s extraordinary climax takes place at the funeral march for Maarva (Fiona Shaw), the adoptive mother of Diego Luna’s title rebel leader, whose remains have been forged into a hexagonal funerary stone. When Maarva delivers her own fiery eulogy by way of prerecorded hologram, a riot breaks out—and Maarva’s brick becomes a weapon used to clobber Imperial soldiers. “That is when the moviemaking takes off past the script,” says series creator Tony Gilroy. “I remember being really surprised when I saw it and going, ‘Holy…look what they did!’ ”

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    Savannah Walsh, Chris Murphy, Christian Allaire, Kase Wickman, Anthony Breznican, Rebecca Ford, David Canfield, Hillary Busis

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  • ‘And Just Like That…’ More Details About Kim Cattrall’s Return as Samantha Emerge

    ‘And Just Like That…’ More Details About Kim Cattrall’s Return as Samantha Emerge

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    As the world awaits Kim Cattrall’s return as Samantha Jones in the upcoming And Just Like That… season two, the last of the fabulous foursome’s husbands (sorry, Steve) is sharing details on what to expect from the top secret cameo.

    The source of new info was none other than Evan Handler, who plays Charlotte York’s (Kristin Davis) beloved husband, Harry. Speaking to People at a recent event, the actor said he thinks Cattrall’s reprisal is “great” and that he learned of it “the same day you did”: when it was reported by Variety in late May. The outlet revealed that Cattrall will appear in a single scene in the season two finale, which she filmed in New York City on March 22 without seeing or speaking with series star Sarah Jessica Parker or showrunner Michael Patrick King. 

    Handler appeared to confirm the isolated nature of the scene while painting a picture of where Cattrall filmed it. “Apparently, [her cameo] was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television,” he said of the appearance. The cameo was subsequently confirmed by Max and Cattrall herself, who shared Variety’s post on her own social media with the caption, “Happy Pride.”

    Cattrall, who has yet to be featured in any of the trailers for the Sex and the City revival’s sophomore season, was reportedly persuaded to return by Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content. After being approached by Bloys, Cattrall was apparently able to lure back SATC costume designer Patricia Field, who has not been involved with And Just Like That…, to outfit her for the scene, according to Variety. 

    The absence of Samantha from the latest series is partially owed to a rumored long-standing feud between Cattrall and Parker. “It’s very hard to talk about the situation with Kim,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast last June, before saying that a third Sex and the City movie “fell apart” because of Cattrall’s contractual requirements. Further explaining Cattrall’s absence, Parker said: “We did not ask her to be part of this because she made it clear that that wasn’t something she wanted to pursue, and it no longer felt comfortable for us, and so it didn’t occur to us.” A month prior, Cattrall shared her side of the story, telling Variety, “I was never asked to be part of the reboot. I made my feelings clear after the possible third movie, so I found out about it like everyone else did—on social media.”

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • The Ultimate Pride Month Streaming Guide: Best Queer Titles to Watch This June

    The Ultimate Pride Month Streaming Guide: Best Queer Titles to Watch This June

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    It’s Pride Month, so companies will trick out their websites with rainbow flags and conjure extravagant floats for Pride parades across the country. Then come July . . . they’ll return to the dull old days. The commercialization of Pride month was inevitable, but it’s still disheartening.

    Pride is fundamentally about celebrating people – fun people – bright people – colorful people – all people. Pride started with a spontaneous protest during the early hours of June 28, 1969. NYC’s Stonewall Inn – a popular Greenwich Village gay bar – was raided by the police, and patrons fought back.

    The Stonewall was a safe home to people who felt like outcasts even in the queer community. Tired of being harassed by the cops, they stood up for themselves in a now-infamous riot. Bricks were thrown, a parking meter was fashioned into a battering ram, and cop cars were turned over.

    Following this now-iconic night, activist groups rose up from the community to advocate for queer rights. It was the start of a movement. One year later, the first gay pride marches started around the country to commemorate it.

    This is the spirit of Pride. It’s about community, it’s about standing up and upsetting the status quo, and it’s now an ongoing global revolution. Yet, this month’s commercialized capitalist parade distracts from the origins of this powerful, unstoppable movement.

    Above all, Pride is about celebrating the diversity within the queer community. Whether you’re attending Pride parades, supporting queer businesses, or starting a police riot, do it with that same celebratory spirit in mind.

    A fabulous way to fully appreciate the diversity of queer stories is through film. From documentaries to movies, to television shows, queer cinema demonstrates the richness and multiplicity of the queer experience.

    Some LGBTQ+ titles have become classics, others are contemporary and more whimsical, proving not all queer stories have to be tragic tales of unrequited love.

    Here are some of the LGBTQ+ titles we’ll be streaming this June:

    ​Moonlight (2016)

    The greatest movie of all time, arguably. To get in your cinematic feels, it’s always a good time for a rewatch. Haven’t seen it? Where have you been? Here’s a synopsis that doesn’t do it justice: “A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.” Buckle up, you’re in for a hearty cry.

    Rafiki (2018)

    This touching Kenyan drama follows two young women, Kena and Ziki, as they navigate their love for one another in a country where being LGBTQI+ is illegal. Rafiki was initially banned in Kenya, despite the international critical acclaim.

    Paris Is Burning (1990)

    This documentary focuses on drag queens living in New York City and their “house” culture, which provides a sense of community and support for the flamboyant and often socially shunned performers.

    The Other Two (2019 – Present)

    via HBO

    This HBO comedy has been hailed as one of the most real portraits of queer life right now. Cary (Drew Tarver) and his journey as a queer actor and gay man living in New York may not be the central plotline, but the show is full of biting commentaries on the media’s portrayal of queerness.

    ​Heartstopper (2022 – Present)

    This Netflix series is based on the graphic novel series that took the internet by storm. It’s probably the most wholesome thing you’ll ever see. That’s all there is to say.

    Young Royals (2021 – Present)

    This Swedish Netflix show has amassed a global audience for a reason. Set in a prestigious Swedish boarding school, it portrays the trials and tensions that ensue when the Prince falls in love with another boy. The show is a surprisingly poignant portrayal of teenagers battling with tradition and external pressures. Season 3, the final season, is in production so catch up now!

    ​Happy Together (1997)

    Lai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and his boyfriend, Ho (Leslie Cheung), arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong, seeking a better life. Their highly contentious relationship turns abusive and results in numerous break-ups and reconciliations. When Lai befriends another man, Chang (Chen Chang), he sees the futility of continuing with the promiscuous Ho.

    And The Band Played On (1993)

    In 1981, epidemiologist Don Francis (Matthew Modine) learns of an increased death rate among gay men in urban areas. The startling information leads him to begin investigating the outbreak, which is ultimately identified as AIDS. His journey mostly finds opposition from politicians and doctors, but several join him in his cause.

    ​Torch Song Trilogy (1987)

    Arnold Beckoff (Harvey Fierstein) is looking for love and acceptance, but as a gay man working as a female impersonator in 1970s Manhattan, neither come easily. After a series of heartaches, Arnold believes he’s found the love of his life in Alan (Matthew Broderick), and the couple makes plans to adopt. But when tragedy strikes, Arnold’s life is shaken to its very core, leading to a confrontation with his overbearing mother (Anne Bancroft), who has never approved of her son’s lifestyle.

    ​Go Fish (1994)​

    After leaving behind her girlfriend to attend college in Chicago, young lesbian Max West (Guinevere Turner) is introduced to Ely (V.S. Brodie), a slightly older woman with quirky habits. While Max and Ely quickly develop an attraction to each other, a poorly timed phone call from Max’s long-distance girlfriend, Kate, brings things to an abrupt halt.”

    ​Philadelphia (1993)

    Fearing it would compromise his career, lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) hides his homosexuality and HIV status at a powerful Philadelphia law firm. But his secret is exposed when a colleague spots the illness’s telltale lesions.

    ​Boys On The Side (1995)

    After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane (Whoopi Goldberg), answers a personal ad from Robin (Mary-Louise Parker), a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from NYC to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Robin’s friend Holly (Drew Barrymore), who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.

    ​North Sea Texas (2011)

    This Belgian romantic drama was Bavo Defurne’s feature directorial debut. Defurne also co-wrote the script with Yves Verbraeken, based on André Sollie’s Nooit gaat dit over. It’s a beautifully shot coming-of-age story that will get right at your childhood nostalgia and your experiences of yearning.

    Pariah (2011)

    Alike (Adepero Oduye) lives in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood with her parents (Charles Parnell, Kim Wayans) and younger sister (Sahra Mellesse). A lesbian, Alike quietly embraces her identity and is looking for her first lover. She wonders how much she can truly confide in her family, especially with her parents’ marriage already strained.

    Sex Education (2019 – Present)

    The show’s new non-binary character, Cal, goes through the struggle of having to wear a uniform for girls even though they don’t identify as female. Cal shows their binders and teaches others how to wear one safely.

    The Boys In the Band (1970) and (2020)

    Based on a play of the same name, the storyline follows a queer friend group over the course of a dinner, exploring their friendship, the social structures around them, and their personal anxieties. The 1970 version is a classic and the recent 2020 Ryan Murphy Netflix adaptation is some of the director’s best work, including incredible performances by Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, and Zachary Quinto.

    ​The Half of It (2020)

    This Netflix adaptation of a YA novel is one of the best high school romance films out there right now. A modern-day Cyrano – a football player asks loner student Ellie Chu to write love letters to a girl he likes. Neither of them expects to end up caught in a love triangle.

    Crush (2022)

    This fast-paced high school comedy is a whimsical reminder of all the best parts of high school — the friends, the parties, the crushes. After a tortured artist (Rowan Blanchard) joins the track team to impress a girl she has a crush on, she ends up falling in love with someone else. It’s an optimistic and charming portrait of Gen Z’s more normalized queer dynamics.

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    LKC

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  • Kim Cattrall set to reprise role as Samantha Jones in

    Kim Cattrall set to reprise role as Samantha Jones in

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    Actress Kim Cattrall is heading back to set to briefly reprise her iconic role as Samantha Jones on the “Sex and the City” spinoff series, “Entertainment Tonight” has learned. 

    According to ET, Cattrall will appear in the finale of the second season of “And Just Like That…” 

    Both the show’s official Twitter account and the streaming service Max, formerly HBO Max, also appeared to confirm the news Wednesday, tweeting “Secret’s out.”

    Cattrall starred in six seasons and two movie spinoffs of “Sex and the City” as Jones, a glamorous publicist. The second season of “And Just Like That…” will premiere June 22.

    According to Variety, however, Cattrall will only appear in one scene of the season finale.  

    Kim Cattrall
    Kim Cattrall on June 3, 2022 in Los Angeles.

    Emma McIntyre/WireImage


    Cattrall disappointed fans and her castmates in 2016 when she declined to participate in a third “Sex and the City” movie, telling ET at the time: “I hate to be a spoilsport, but what would the next story be?”

    In response, her co-stars — Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and the late Willie Garson — said they were saddened by her decision.

    “It’s not just disappointing that we don’t get to tell the story and have that experience, but more so for that audience that has been so vocal in wanting another movie,” Parker told Extra. 

    In a 2017 interview, Cattrall said she would never play Samantha again, adding that she has never been friends with Parker, Davis, or actress Cynthia Nixon, and said that the show prevented her from having children.

    The 66-year-old told Variety in 2022 that she was “never asked” to be part of the spinoff, and found out about it “like everyone else did — on social media.”

    CBS News has reached out to Cattrall’s publicist, but did not immediately get a response.

    Simrin Singh

    Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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  • Roman Roy’s “Succession” finale look is a $13 kid’s shirt from Walmart – and it’s already sold out

    Roman Roy’s “Succession” finale look is a $13 kid’s shirt from Walmart – and it’s already sold out

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    The series finale of HBO’s “Succession” had an unexpected impact in the real world. One of the show’s main characters wears a T-shirt that the show’s viewers quickly realized is sold at Walmart, prompting fans to flock to the store’s site to get one of their own. 

    In the show’s final season four episode, Roman Roy, played by Kieran Culkin, wears the T-shirt, which has color-blocked stripes on the sleeves. And it turns out that Walmart sells the exact same shirt online for kids for $13.96. 

    screen-shot-2023-05-31-at-8-09-14-am.png
    Walmart sold out of this T-shirt after the “Succession” series finale, in which one of the characters wears the item. 

    Walmart.com


    On its website, the retailer lists the Wonder Nation brand children’s shirt for sale as part of a two-pack. 

    “If it’s good enough for Roman Roy, it’s good enough for me,” said one reviewer. 

    kieran-culkin-5.jpg
    Kieran Culkin’s character of Roman Roy in the “Succession” series finale. 

    Sarah Shatz/HBO


    WARNING: Spoilers ahead

    Culkin’s character is one of the four children of the patriarch of the Waystar family, which owns fictional media company Waystar RoyCo. The show centers on the power struggle within the family as its long-held company edges closer to being sold. Culkin’s Walmart shirt makes its debut when the show reveals his character to be in Barbados after a post-election riot in New York. 

    Theories have started to circulate about the deeper meaning of the shirt, with GQ saying that it could be symbolic of the character “confronting his childhood and becoming at peace with it.”

    “Whoever put roman in that t-shirt that looks made for a little boy in 2008 for most of the final was a genius,” one viewer tweeted. 

    Fashion has been a major talking point among fans throughout the series’ run, and particularly in its final weeks. Earlier this week, the show’s costume designer Michelle Matland spoke with The New York Times about the depth of the characters’ clothing choices. 

    “It’s clothing, but also costumes that create veneer for the characters. I’m only one tiny little piece of the storytelling, but the job is to help emphasize characteristics these characters have,” Matland said. “…We help authenticate the actors and that makes them real to an audience.” 

    For Roman Roy specifically, Matland told the Motion Picture Association earlier this month that his role “is the most casual uniformed guy on the planet.” 

    “He is just moving through the room,” she said of Culkin’s character. “He has no agenda at all with anyone; he’s simply his own beast.”

    And Matland’s choices have worked. The show has been seen as the push for the style of “quiet luxury” – minimalist-style pieces without flashy logos but that come with a high price tag meant to ensure their long-lasting quality. 

    A series-high 2.9 million people tuned in to watch the last episode of “Succession,” entitled “With Open Eyes,” Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday. The season four ending marked the final chapter for the Emmy award-winning HBO series, which Warner Bros. said had an average of 8.7 million viewers for every episode. 

    Li Cohen


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    Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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  • Exclusive: Jeremy Strong on Succession’s Brutal Finale and Kendall’s Ending

    Exclusive: Jeremy Strong on Succession’s Brutal Finale and Kendall’s Ending

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    When you’re doing it, the whole world turns on it, and it matters more than anything in the world to me. But then when it’s over, it’s, it’s like vapor. So I feel very detached from it. As an audience member, it feels like I’m watching somebody else.

    In the months since you wrapped, have you stayed in touch with the cast? 

    I haven’t, really. We’ll always have, uh, having shared this experience. But the truth is, when you work on movies, you become very close to people and you share something very intimate, and then when it’s done, you know, the circus kind of folds up its tents and leaves town, and you’re kind of back to your life. I feel connected to everyone, but in a way, my involvement and my work finished on March 1st in Barbados. 

    The kitchen scene seems like a fun way to have ended.  

    It was, it was! I loved doing that scene, and it’s rare that I didn’t feel an obligation as an actor to carry a tremendous weight with me into any scene. The characters were at ease, and [Kendall was] enjoying the company of his brother and sister. And my God, they put the nastiest shit you can possibly imagine into that blender! So every take, I had to go outside and retch and then jump in the ocean to reset. But it was fun. 

    You actually drank what they put in that blender?

    I guess my feeling is, I would not be committed enough to what that character wants in that moment if I didn’t drink that thing. She’s saying, “we’ll give this to you if you drink this thing.” So —yeah, that’s just me. Mark [Mylod] knew at a certain point he had to call cut, because if he didn’t call cut, I’m gonna do it, you know?

    Brian Cox said he gets people on the street coming up to him and saying, “Fuck off.” Do you have people come up to you who are sort of worried about Ken? 

    This character invites all kind of responses from people. Some people think he’s cringeworthy, and despicable or pitiable because he’s quite vulnerable. And then there’s other people who I think embrace that vulnerability and fallibility, and care for him. It’s a bit of a litmus test, actually—it tells you a lot about how people respond.  I get: “Is he okay? Are you okay?”

    Are you okay?

    I am okay. This is just a character. 

    There’s a thread in the show about masculinity and will to power. Kendall is always trying to find his own version of how to be a man. 

    I remember going to the writers’ room in Brixton six years ago or something, and seeing all the note cards on the wall. And at the very top was this question of: can you escape legacy? Does it define you? And by escaping it, are you still defined by it? So I think he is trying to attain a version of manhood or personhood. He’s trying to individuate, I think, in a certain way, but he has never been able to escape the tractor beam of his father. I wanted for him so badly to get on that boat with Naomi Pierce and just leave it all. But he couldn’t do that.

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    Joy Press

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  • ‘Succession’ Ends With Roy Family Saving Christmas

    ‘Succession’ Ends With Roy Family Saving Christmas

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    NEW YORK—With the beloved characters joyously sharing the warmth of Yuletide cheer as snow fell gently upon Manhattan, HBO’s hit drama Succession concluded Sunday with the Roy family saving Christmas. “After years of sibling squabbles over who would take the throne at Waystar Royco, the hit series has elegantly stuck the landing with an episode that follows Kendall, Shiv, and Roman after they discover that recently deceased family patriarch Logan Roy was not only their father, but Father Christmas himself—and that his passing meant there would be no Christmas unless they could set aside their differences to deliver presents to the world’s children,” wrote New York Times TV critic Miranda Lawrence, praising the way the Roys finally accepted the spirit of the season and gave up their riches to make sure the Christmas wishes of all little boys and girls came true. “My heart melted when Roman put his arms around Rudolph, begging him to believe in himself so his nose would glow again. Each family member learned their own special lesson from the three Christmas ghosts, even Tom, who finally felt secure enough to let Greg turn back into a snowman and go live in the Magical Winter Woods. This finale is sure to go down as one of the greatest of all time, especially after that final shot where the three Roy siblings flew Santa’s sleigh through the night sky in their matching footy pajamas as the voice of Logan Roy could be heard saying, ‘Merry Christmas to all, and to all a fuck off!’” The review also praised Peter Friedman and David Rasche, who played Frank and Karl respectively, for their beautiful rendition of “O Holy Night.”

    Ho, Ho, Ho! I Saw You Masturbating!

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  • ‘Succession’ Creator Reveals Why Wild Finale Was The ‘Right Way’ To End Show [SPOILERS]

    ‘Succession’ Creator Reveals Why Wild Finale Was The ‘Right Way’ To End Show [SPOILERS]

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    “Succession” spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned!

    It’s a wrap on “Succession” and the wild final episode of the Emmy-winning series gave fans a look at who is set to run Waystar Royco in the time ahead.

    Series creator Jesse Armstrong, in a Max (formerly HBO Max) “Controlling the Narrative” featurette, opened up about why he believes the “right ending” was to name Tom Wambsgans (played by Matthew Macfadyen) as Waystar Royco’s American CEO.

    “The idea of Tom being the eventual successor, that had been something that I thought was the right ending for quite a while now,” Armstrong said of the series finale, “With Open Eyes.”

    “Even though he’s not exactly the most powerful monarch you’ll ever meet – his power comes from Matsson. Those figures that drift upwards and make themselves amenable to powerful people are around.”

    Photograph by David Russell/HBO

    Armstrong, whose show debuted nearly five years ago, called it “very perverse” to end his series before explaining that the show’s final sequence would be the death of Logan Roy (played by Brian Cox) in season four, episode three; the debate over “whether to sell or not”; and Logan Roy’s funeral.

    “And once that became clear, I didn’t really have any doubts. I had lots of emotional sadness but it felt like ‘This is how the show goes,’” Armstrong explained.

    He added: “I don’t feel like I’ll be able to write anything as good as this again.”

    GoJo goes on to acquire Waystar Royco in the finale, too, after Shiv Roy (played by Sarah Snook) changes her mind and breaks a tie vote on the company’s sale in the boardroom, going against her brothers’ wishes.

    At the end of the episode, Kendall Roy (played by Jeremy Strong) is left shocked by the decision as he stares out at the water while the sun sets in front of him in New York City while Shiv Roy is seen holding hands with Tom in the back of a car and Roman Roy sits alone at a bar.

    Photograph by Courtesy of HBO

    Armstrong, in the featurette, explained that there isn’t an end to the Roy siblings’ stories.

    “They don’t end, they will carry on,” Armstrong said.

    “But it’s sort of where this show loses interest in them because they’ve lost what they wanted, which was to succeed — which, you know, was this prize that their father held out.”

    He added that Roman Roy “ends up exactly where he started,” Shiv Roy is “still in play “in a rather terrifying, frozen emotionally barren place” before spilling on what the finale means for Kendall Roy.

    “This will never stop being the central event of his life, the central days of his life, central couple of years of his life,” he said.

    “Maybe he could go on and start a company or do a thing. But the chances of him achieving the sort of corporate status that his dad achieved are very low and I think that will mark his whole life.”

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  • The ‘Barry’ Finale Left Henry Winkler Speechless

    The ‘Barry’ Finale Left Henry Winkler Speechless

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    This post contains spoilers about the series finale of Barry.

    From the moment he stepped into Gene Cousineau’s acting class for the first time, Bill Hader’s Barry Berkman looked up to Henry Winkler’s self-involved teacher as a kind of father figure—a man with a method, helping him get in touch with his emotions, or maybe just find a safer place to put them. But that dynamic was never quite reciprocated. Over Barry’s four seasons, our deeply damaged hitman turned performer steadily, somewhat inadvertently ruined his mentor’s life: killing Gene’s girlfriend, effectively ending his class, and eventually sending him into exile. Following an audacious time jump and another plot to frame Gene for the death of his lover, it’s no wonder that when put in the same room with Barry again, Gene decided to shoot his former student dead, then and there. 

    In the scene, Barry only has time for two short words as he realizes what’s about to happen: “Oh, wow.” That’s more than Winkler could muster when Hader, who also cocreated the show and directed the final season, rather matter-of-factly pitched the idea to his costar. “I was speechless,” Winkler tells Vanity Fair. “I just made sounds.” Gene goes on to serve a lifetime prison sentence—not that we see this fate play out for ourselves. It’s revealed in the parodic film that fills Barry’s final scenes, recreating the events of Barry through a bizarro Hollywood lens. As to how Winkler is feeling about it all? We get into it. 

    Vanity Fair: Barry is officially finished. How are you feeling?

    Henry Winkler: I’m now just sad. We finished in early December; we had some re-shoots. We’ve had the premiere party. Then I don’t see anybody anymore. Sarah is in England. Stephen is off shooting something. Everybody is everywhere. And I am sad.

    Let’s get into this finale. What was your initial reaction, particularly to Gene’s ending?

    Oh my God. So, halfway through the season, Bill said, “I think we finally broke the eighth episode, the end. You want to know how it ends?” And I went, “Sure.” And he said, “You shoot me.” [Pause] I’m a pretty verbal guy. I was speechless. I just made sounds. I didn’t even know how to react to that. I shoot you. Wow. Okay, that’s—okay. I went and had a burrito. And then we got there and we did it.

    What did you make of Gene killing him? How did you play it?

    That was scary. The moment really started when I was lured into the hotel room at the end of [episode] seven, and then they’re blaming me for everything. How did that happen? Then I had nowhere to turn, and I think at that moment I went insane. I literally—the switch flipped and led me to the point of no return.

    Compare that to season one. Is there some reflection for you in the performance and just in the experience of making the show, of what Gene has been through? Of how this relationship between him and Barry led to this incredibly violent end?

    You think about that first year, the teaching and buffoonery and charlatan, and how that led to this ending of the entire show—I never in my wildest actor’s imagination would have come up to this, would have figured that this was going to happen, no matter what this man put me through.

    What was it like to actually film it? How did you block it out with Bill? How many takes did you do? 

    We did two takes. The first take I remember, I shot him in the shoulder. He sat down in the chair, he flopped down in the chair, and he said, “You don’t have to do this, Mr. Cousineau.” And I shot him twice. But then in the final, he just went, “Oh, wow.” It was like he was in disbelief. You could hear a pin drop [on set]. Our armorer and our prop people were extraordinary in how careful they were when we handled a gun on that set. That was my experience. And it still was so scary to think of holding a gun on this human being—my character who hates this character who loves me, who looks at me as his father figure. It is so complicated that I had no idea what I was doing.

    You’ve had quite a long, distinguished career. Have you ever had to do something like that before on camera?

    Do you know? Not that I can think of. I’ve handled a gun before, when I did a show called Numb3rs. I had to go to a shooting range. I had an FBI tech telling me how to hold the gun. But I never was in a situation that was so fraught that I literally took a human being’s life.

    Did the transformation that came with the time jump help you get into that space?

    The physicality for Gene was a costume. We stopped filming Gene [for awhile]. I grew a beard. I took a picture of the beard every week. I sent it to [production manager] Aida Rodgers and Bill. They said, “Keep growing. Nope, keep growing.” And then finally, it was long enough, they called me and we started filming again. And I had been on a kibbutz where I was helping people build their homes. I was learning to be a better human being. The only thing is, what they didn’t show you was that the homes fell down.

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    David Canfield

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  • ‘Succession’ fans gear up for series finale of award-winning drama – National | Globalnews.ca

    ‘Succession’ fans gear up for series finale of award-winning drama – National | Globalnews.ca

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    Jennifer Gould, an Oregon-based trusts and estates lawyer, thinks the premise of Succession – HBO’s hit series chronicling a billionaire media mogul and his children’s struggles to take over the family company — is a little flawed.

    “The idea that they wouldn’t have a firm succession plan in place is ridiculous,” Gould said.

    Still, she has set aside Monday for “crying and grieving” after watching the hotly anticipated series finale airing Sunday evening.

    With the critically acclaimed drama’s fourth and final season ending, dedicated fans of Succession are locking in plans to watch the whopping 88-minute finale while turning online for emotional support, memes and endless theories about how the show could end and who will prevail.

    “No one I know in real life watches the show,” Gould said, adding that the emotional toll of season four made her look for support online, which is how she landed on the social news website Reddit, where a chat dedicated to all things Succession has more than 456,000 members.

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    In preparation for Sunday, Gould also is rereading King Lear, among Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedies, about a declining monarch and his children’s battle for the crown. Gould thinks the play could offer clues to how the series will end.


    Click to play video: '‘The Last of Us’ season 2 to film in B.C.'


    ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 to film in B.C.


    “It’s fairly obvious that it’s a loose retelling of King Lear,” Gould said of Succession. “I watch it obsessively. I don’t think there’s another way to watch it.”

    Succession always has been about the membership of its audience, not its size, and its popularity among the coastal media and agenda-setting groups that the show depicts and attracts means the finale should leave a cultural mark.

    More recent prestige TV finales are a better analogue for Succession than those of the network behemoths of decades past. For example, The Sopranos suddenly cutting to black to the song Don’t Stop Believin in 2007 set the standard for both talkability and inscrutability.

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    Pamela Soin, a management consultant in New York City, said the end of the monumental New Jersey mob saga was the only finale generating more excitement than Succession for her “because that was after seven years of investment.”

    Soin and a group of friends have watched every Succession episode this season with a serious ritual.

    “We turn off all the lights, cinema style, put on the surround sound and watch in complete silence,” Soin said. “Then we have a debrief.”

    But Soin said she’ll be alone for the final episode because of the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S.

    On social media platforms including Twitter, Reddit and the chatting app Discord, popular among gamers, Succession fans share countless memes and swirling theories about which of the Murdoch-esque Roy family members, corporate executives and hangers-on will prevail in the finale. Fans have searched for clues in past episodes, characters’ names, the show’s opening sequence and elsewhere.


    Click to play video: 'Game Over: ‘Game of Thrones’ reaches its epic conclusion'


    Game Over: ‘Game of Thrones’ reaches its epic conclusion


    Show creator Jesse Armstrong told The New Yorker earlier this year “there’s a promise in the title of ‘Succession,’” which some have taken as a sign that the show’s central question will be answered.

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    Soin thinks the finale will leave many unresolved plot lines and questions open to interpretation.

    “I love how they handle a lot of things off-camera,” Soin said of the show’s writers, who throughout the series have peppered pivotal backstories of the main characters in later scenes and passing conversations.

    “Just like in real life, you find out about things that happened when you weren’t there,” Soin said.

    Conclusions to hit TV series can be hit-or-miss. The bloody 2013 ending of Walter White’s story on Breaking Bad, and Don Draper’s more zen ending on Mad Men in 2015, generally satisfied their finicky fans. The 2019 conclusion of Game of Thrones — the last big finish for an HBO show — generally did not. Endings are hard to pull off and disappointment tends to be the norm, to which the makers of Seinfeld and Lost can attest.

    HBO has been able to ratchet up suspense ahead of Sunday’s Succession finale in part by airing only one episode per week, a decision that fans who grew up in the streaming age may be too young to remember was once the norm for TV series.


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    Why the TV show ‘Friends’ is still popular


    Suraj Nandy, a 20-year-old college student from Bengaluru, India, said he was counting down the hours until Sunday’s finale, which airs at 6:30 a.m. local time.

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    “I’m going to huddle, get a blanket and snacks and sit there in awe,” Nandy said.

    An economics student at Canada’s University of Western Ontario, Nandy said he was disappointed by the Game of Thrones conclusion and had watched all of Breaking Bad, too, but considers Succession “easily, by far, my favorite show of the bunch.”

    As for his finale plans, Nandy said he’ll join some friends online for a virtual watch party. But it won’t end there.

    “I’ll probably cry for a couple of days and then watch it again,” Nandy said. “I’d like to reexperience the whole thing in one sitting.”

    &copy 2023 The Canadian Press

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