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Tag: tv news

  • ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 9: Every Easter Egg and Secret

    ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 9: Every Easter Egg and Secret

    House of the Dragon has an amazing opening credits sequence, but it’s not static. Each episode, the opening changes to reflect the events of that episode, which characters will be spotlighted, what alliances have been formed or broken, and who has recently perished.

    That’s just one of the little details, Easter eggs, and Game of Thrones references you might have missed in the latest episode of House of the Dragon. In our latest HOTD video, we break down all the changes in the opening credits in recent weeks, and we also run through a slew of other Easter eggs, like the differences between Alicent and Rhaenyra in George R.R. Martin’s books and in this television series, the meaning of each character’s red or green clothing, the unrequited love that becomes hugely important this week, and the meaning of all the twin imagery in House of the Dragon. Check out all the Easter eggs we found below:

    If you liked our video on the Easter eggs in House of the Dragon Episode 9, check out more of our videos below, including one on the Easter eggs in House of the Dragon Episode 8, all of the Game of Thrones Easter eggs in House of the Dragon Episode 7, and all the Easter eggs in House of the Dragon Episode 6. (You want House of the Dragon Easter eggs, we’ve got them.) Plus, there’s tons more over at ScreenCrush’s YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to catch all our future episodes. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

    10 TV Finale Cliffhangers That Were Left Unresolved

    ScreenCrush Staff

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  • Is Alex Jones verdict the death of disinformation? Unlikely

    Is Alex Jones verdict the death of disinformation? Unlikely

    NEW YORK — A Connecticut jury’s ruling this week ordering Alex Jones to pay $965 million to parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims he maligned was heartening for people disgusted by the muck of disinformation.

    Just don’t expect it to make conspiracy theories go away.

    The appetite for such hokum and narrowness of the judgments against Jones, who falsely claimed that the 2012 elementary school shootings were a hoax and that grieving parents were actors, virtually ensure a ready supply, experts say.

    “It’s easy to revel in Alex Jones being punished,” said Rebecca Adelman, a communications professor at the University of Maryland. “But there’s a certain shortsightedness in that celebration.”

    There’s a deep tradition of conspiracy theories across American history, from people not believing the official explanation of John F. Kennedy’s assassination to various accusations of extraterrestrial-visit coverups to unfounded allegations of the 2020 presidential election being rigged. With the Salem witch trials in 1692, they even predated the country’s formation.

    What’s different today? The internet allows such stories to spread rapidly and widely — and helps adherents find communities of the likeminded. That in turn can push such untrue theories into mainstream politics. Now the will to spread false narratives skillfully online has spread to governments, and the technology to doctor photos and videos enables purveyors to make disinformation more believable.

    In today’s media world, Jones found that there’s a lot of money to be made — and quickly — in creating a community willing to believe lies, no matter how outlandish.

    In a Texas defamation trial last month, a forensic economist testified that Jones’ Infowars operation made $53.2 million in annual revenue between 2015 and 2018. He has supplemented his media business by selling products like survivalist gear. His company Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July.

    To some, disinformation is the price America pays for the right to free speech. And in a society that popularized the term “alternative facts,” one person’s effort to curb disinformation is another person’s attempt to squash the truth.

    Will the Connecticut ruling have a chilling effect on those willing to spread disinformation? “It doesn’t even seem to be chilling him,” said Mark Fenster, a University of Florida law professor. Jones, he noted, reacted in real time on Infowars on the day of the verdict.

    “This will not impact the flow of stories that are filled with bad faith and extreme opinion,” said Howard Polskin, who publishes The Righting, a newsletter that monitors the content of right-wing websites. He says false stories about the 2020 election and COVID-19 vaccines remain particularly popular.

    “It seems to me that the people who peddle this information for profit may look upon this as the cost of doing business,” Adelman said. “If there’s an audience for it, someone is going to meet the demand if there’s money to be made.”

    Certainly, the people who believe that Jones and those like him are voices of truth being suppressed by society aren’t going to be deterred by the jury verdict, she said. In fact, the opposite is likely to be true.

    The plaintiffs awarded damages in the Sandy Hook case were all private citizens, an important distinction in considering its impact beyond this case, said Nicole Hemmer, a Vanderbilt University professor and author of “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.”

    The case is reminiscent of Seth Rich, a young Democratic Party aide killed in a Washington robbery in 2016, she said. Rich’s name was dragged — posthumously — into political conspiracy theories, and his parents later sued and reached a settlement with Fox News Channel.

    The message, in other words: Be wary of dragging private citizens into outlandish theories.

    “Spreading conspiracy theories about the Biden administration is not going to get Fox News Channel sued,” Hemmer said. “It is not going to get Tucker Carlson sued.”

    Tracing the history of outlandish theories that sprout and thrive in the web’s murky corners is also difficult. Much of it is anonymous. It’s still not clear who is responsible for what is spread on QAnon or who makes money off it, Fenster says.

    If he was a lawyer, he said, “Who would I go after?”

    Despite any pessimism about what the nearly $1 billion Sandy Hook judgment might ultimately mean for disinformation, the dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania says it still sends an important message.

    “What this says is we can’t just make up truths to fit our own ideological predilections,” John Jackson said. “There is a hard and fast ground to facts that we can’t stray too far from as storytellers.”

    Consider the lawsuit filed against Fox News Channel by Dominion Voting Systems, a company that makes election systems. It claims Fox knowingly spread false stories about Dominion as part of former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election had been taken from him. Dominion has sought a staggering $1.6 billion from Fox, and the case has moved through the deposition phase.

    Fox has defended itself vigorously. It says that rather than spreading falsehoods, it was reporting on newsworthy claims being made by the president of the United States.

    A loss in a trial, or a significant settlement, could impose a real financial hardship on Fox, Hemmer said. Yet as it progresses, there’s been no indication that any of its commentators are pulling punches, particularly concerning the Biden administration.

    Distrust of mainstream news sources also fuels the taste among many conservatives for theories that fit their world view — and a vulnerability to disinformation.

    “I don’t think there’s any incentive to move toward well-grounded reporting or to move in the direction of news and information instead of commenting,” Hemmer said. “That’s what they want. They want the wild conspiracy theories.”

    Even if the crushing verdict in Connecticut this week — coupled with the $49 million judgement against him in August by the Texas court — muzzles or minimizes Jones, Adelman says others are likely to take over for him: “It would be wrong to misinterpret this as the death knell of disinformation.”

    ———

    David Bauder is the media writer for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder

    Source link

  • Is Alex Jones verdict the death of disinformation? Unlikely

    Is Alex Jones verdict the death of disinformation? Unlikely

    NEW YORK — A Connecticut jury’s ruling this week ordering Alex Jones to pay $965 million to parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims he maligned was heartening for people disgusted by the muck of disinformation.

    Just don’t expect it to make conspiracy theories go away.

    The appetite for such hokum and narrowness of the judgments against Jones, who falsely claimed that the 2012 elementary school shootings were a hoax and that grieving parents were actors, virtually ensure a ready supply, experts say.

    “It’s easy to revel in Alex Jones being punished,” said Rebecca Adelman, a communications professor at the University of Maryland. “But there’s a certain shortsightedness in that celebration.”

    There’s a deep tradition of conspiracy theories across American history, from people not believing the official explanation of John F. Kennedy’s assassination to various accusations of extraterrestrial-visit coverups to unfounded allegations of the 2020 presidential election being rigged. With the Salem witch trials in 1692, they even predated the country’s formation.

    What’s different today? The internet allows such stories to spread rapidly and widely — and helps adherents find communities of the likeminded. That in turn can push such untrue theories into mainstream politics. Now the will to spread false narratives skillfully online has spread to governments, and the technology to doctor photos and videos enables purveyors to make disinformation more believable.

    In today’s media world, Jones found that there’s a lot of money to be made — and quickly — in creating a community willing to believe lies, no matter how outlandish.

    In a Texas defamation trial last month, a forensic economist testified that Jones’ Infowars operation made $53.2 million in annual revenue between 2015 and 2018. He has supplemented his media business by selling products like survivalist gear. His company Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July.

    To some, disinformation is the price America pays for the right to free speech. And in a society that popularized the term “alternative facts,” one person’s effort to curb disinformation is another person’s attempt to squash the truth.

    Will the Connecticut ruling have a chilling effect on those willing to spread disinformation? “It doesn’t even seem to be chilling him,” said Mark Fenster, a University of Florida law professor. Jones, he noted, reacted in real time on Infowars on the day of the verdict.

    “This will not impact the flow of stories that are filled with bad faith and extreme opinion,” said Howard Polskin, who publishes The Righting, a newsletter that monitors the content of right-wing websites. He says false stories about the 2020 election and COVID-19 vaccines remain particularly popular.

    “It seems to me that the people who peddle this information for profit may look upon this as the cost of doing business,” Adelman said. “If there’s an audience for it, someone is going to meet the demand if there’s money to be made.”

    Certainly, the people who believe that Jones and those like him are voices of truth being suppressed by society aren’t going to be deterred by the jury verdict, she said. In fact, the opposite is likely to be true.

    The plaintiffs awarded damages in the Sandy Hook case were all private citizens, an important distinction in considering its impact beyond this case, said Nicole Hemmer, a Vanderbilt University professor and author of “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.”

    The case is reminiscent of Seth Rich, a young Democratic Party aide killed in a Washington robbery in 2016, she said. Rich’s name was dragged — posthumously — into political conspiracy theories, and his parents later sued and reached a settlement with Fox News Channel.

    The message, in other words: Be wary of dragging private citizens into outlandish theories.

    “Spreading conspiracy theories about the Biden administration is not going to get Fox News Channel sued,” Hemmer said. “It is not going to get Tucker Carlson sued.”

    Tracing the history of outlandish theories that sprout and thrive in the web’s murky corners is also difficult. Much of it is anonymous. It’s still not clear who is responsible for what is spread on QAnon or who makes money off it, Fenster says.

    If he was a lawyer, he said, “Who would I go after?”

    Despite any pessimism about what the nearly $1 billion Sandy Hook judgment might ultimately mean for disinformation, the dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania says it still sends an important message.

    “What this says is we can’t just make up truths to fit our own ideological predilections,” John Jackson said. “There is a hard and fast ground to facts that we can’t stray too far from as storytellers.”

    Consider the lawsuit filed against Fox News Channel by Dominion Voting Systems, a company that makes election systems. It claims Fox knowingly spread false stories about Dominion as part of former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election had been taken from him. Dominion has sought a staggering $1.6 billion from Fox, and the case has moved through the deposition phase.

    Fox has defended itself vigorously. It says that rather than spreading falsehoods, it was reporting on newsworthy claims being made by the president of the United States.

    A loss in a trial, or a significant settlement, could impose a real financial hardship on Fox, Hemmer said. Yet as it progresses, there’s been no indication that any of its commentators are pulling punches, particularly concerning the Biden administration.

    Distrust of mainstream news sources also fuels the taste among many conservatives for theories that fit their world view — and a vulnerability to disinformation.

    “I don’t think there’s any incentive to move toward well-grounded reporting or to move in the direction of news and information instead of commenting,” Hemmer said. “That’s what they want. They want the wild conspiracy theories.”

    Even if the crushing verdict in Connecticut this week — coupled with the $49 million judgement against him in August by the Texas court — muzzles or minimizes Jones, Adelman says others are likely to take over for him: “It would be wrong to misinterpret this as the death knell of disinformation.”

    ———

    David Bauder is the media writer for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dbauder

    Source link

  • Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

    Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

    WASHINGTON — ABC’s “This Week” — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

    ——

    NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla.; Evan McMullin, independent candidate for Senate in Utah.

    ——

    CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Buttigieg; Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; Betsey Stevenson, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan.

    ———

    CNN’s “State of the Union” — National security adviser Jake Sullivan; White House economic adviser Cecilia Rouse; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; the nominees for Arizona governor, Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs; Joe O’Dea, Republican nominee for Senate in Colorado.

    ———

    “Fox News Sunday” — Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.; White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein.

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  • Apparently Cookie Monster Has A Real Name?

    Apparently Cookie Monster Has A Real Name?

    I grew up watching Sesame Street. The show helped teach me to read. Then I had kids of my own and watched hours and hours of the show with them. My oldest daughter’s favorite was Elmo, but she also really loved Cookie Monster. So we had multiple Cookie Monster toys and stuffed animals in the house for years. We’d read Cookie Monster books, and I’d read them in a Cookie Monster voice.

    But despite all of that, I never knew that Cookie Monster’s name is not Cookie Monster. Did you know Cookie Monster has a “real” name? He does.

    The Cookie Monster himself tweeted about it earlier this week. “Did you know me name is Sid?” he wrote. “But. me still like to be called Cookie Monster.

    Yes, the Cookie Monster’s real name is Sid.

    This isn’t some idle tweet by a Sesame Street social media manager, either. This is canonical stuff. Hardcore Sesame Street fans know that the show established Cookie’s real name in a musical number about his earliest days. When Cookie was a baby, he’d never eaten a cookie before. So of course he wasn’t actually named Cookie Monster. You wouldn’t name someone after a food they’ve never eaten before!

    But then, while he was still a wee little baby, his mother baked him some cookies. That was all she wrote for Sid. On that day, a Cookie Monster was born.

    So there you have it and now you know: The Cookie Monster is really named Sid. Also: Did you know that Oscar the Grouch’s real name is not Oscar? It’s true. His real name is Bippy the Grouch, but he was obsessed with the Academy Awards as a kid, and so his parents started calling him Oscar.

    Okay I made that last part up. But the Cookie Monster stuff is true!

    10 Famous Actors Who Got Their Start On Reality TV

    Matt Singer

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  • Martin Scorsese to Direct ‘Gangs of New York’ Series

    Martin Scorsese to Direct ‘Gangs of New York’ Series

    There are a few instances of directors remaking their own work, like Alfred Hitchcock redoing The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1956, some 22 years after his initial version. But how about a director adapting his own movie as a TV show? That’s a really unusual twist.

    That’s what Martin Scorsese has lined up for one of his next projects. Scorsese will direct a TV version of The Gangs of New York, based on Herbert Asbury’s non-fiction account of New York City’s rough-and-tumble early days. Scorsese previously directed a feature film version of the material, which was released in 2002 and starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Daniel Day-Lewis as the unforgettable Bill the Butcher.

    According to Deadline, the TV series shares a title and a basic premise with the movie but is “a new take on the story with new characters that were not featured in the movie.”  They also note that Scorsese “responded to [Brett] Leonard’s script” for the pilot, and decided to join the series as executive producer and director.

    Although best known as a feature filmmaker, Scorsese has worked more and more in television in the last 15 years. He directed the pilots for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl, and he also made the documentary series Pretend It’s a City for Netflix.

    The Gangs of New York film was a passion project of Scorsese’s; he worked on the material for years and years before it was finally produced and released. At the time, Gangs was noted for its massive production, which was amongst the biggest and most expensive ever mounted by Miramax, then still under the auspices of Harvey Weinstein. (He and Scorsese supposedly clashed over the budget and creative control of the movie.) In the end, the film was a box-office hit, but it wound up totally shut out of the Academy Awards, where it was nominated for ten prizes but took home nothing.

    I’m not the biggest Gangs of New York fan, but I’m always intrigued any time Scorsese wants to make anything about New York City history. Few are better than that sort of project than him.

    Every Martin Scorsese Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

    Matt Singer

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  • Netflix With Ads Launches Next Month

    Netflix With Ads Launches Next Month

    As promised a few months ago, Netflix is readying a new option for subscribers: A tier of its service that is ad-supported. You pay less per month, but you have to watch your movies and shows with commercial interruptions.

    Today, Netflix announced that the plan — which is officially called “Baisic With Ads” — will become available to subscribers on November 3. At launch, it will cost $6.99 a month, which is less than half of a standard Netflix subscription with no ads. (That will cost you $15.49 a month.)

    According to the company’s press release, those who subscribe to Basic With Ads will still get “a wide variety of great TV shows and movies; personalized viewing experience; available on a wide range of TV and mobile devices; change or cancel your plan at any time.” Here is what is different about the ad-supported plan:

    Video quality up to 720p/HD (now for both our Basic with Ads and Basic plans); average of 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour; a limited number of movies and TV shows won’t be available due to licensing restrictions, which we’re working on; no ability to download titles.

    That last one might be a deal breaker for those who travel a lot and like to take their favorite content to go on a tablet or phone.

    Netflix also said that ads will run “15 or 30 seconds in length, which will play before and during shows and films.” Some companies do a good job of integrating ads into their streams. Others… do not. We’ll have to see how well Netflix’s ads are interwoven into their content. Still, I would think this will be a popular option for a lot of people. Some people don’t care about ads, and they do care about all the money they are paying for streaming services. Switching to an ad-supported Netflix account would basically allow you to pay for a whole other streaming service every single month with the cash you save.

    Old Movies That Are Surprising Hits on Netflix

    These movies didn’t make much of an impression in theaters, but they’re now huge favorites all over the world on Netflix.

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Actress Angela Lansbury Dead at 96

    ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Actress Angela Lansbury Dead at 96

    Legendary star of film, TV and the stage, Angela Lansbury, has died at the age of 96.

    The news was confirmed by the actress’ family, who issued the following statement to Broadway World:

    The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday. In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury. She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined.

    Lansbury was born in London on Oct. 16, 1925, and her ascent into the entertainment world started at a young age. At the age of 15, her family moved to the U.S. so that she could study acting and by the age of 17 she signed to MGM where she would pursue her first film roles. Her first film credit came with 1944’s Gaslight, starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. For her efforts, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

    She would soon follow with National Velvet, alongside Elizabeth Taylor, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, with the latter earning her her first Golden Globe nomination along with another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Other film roles of note came in 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate, 1971’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks and in 1991’s Beauty and the Beast.

    But while she had a solid career on the big screen, she’s primarily known to audiences today for her run as Jessica Fletcher on the long-running CBS crime drama Murder, She Wrote for CBS. The series ran for 12 seasons, starting in 1984 and wrapping in 1996. But even after the series concluded, Lansbury returned four more television films. Lansbury won four Golden Globes for Actress in a TV Series and was nominated 12 times for the same category at the Emmy Awards.

    In addition to both TV and Film, Lansbury had a long association with Broadway as well. She took on the lead role in the popular musical Mame, played Mama Rose in Gypsy and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd among her many stage roles.

    Lansbury was married twice and had two children. As stated, her family will hold a private ceremony to mark her passing at a date to still be determined.

    The Best Movies of 2022 So Far

    Of all the titles released so far this year, here are the ones you have to see.

    Chad Childers

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  • This Week’s ‘Andor’ Has a Hidden ‘Indiana Jones’ Easter Egg

    This Week’s ‘Andor’ Has a Hidden ‘Indiana Jones’ Easter Egg

    Did you spot it? It’s there in the image above. Can you see it?

    This week’s Andor ends with a scene in the showroom of Stellan Skarsgard’s Luthen Rael. Rael is an antiques dealer, or at least that’s his cover. In truth, Rael is secretly one of the early members of the Rebel Alliance. And he has recruited Cassian Andor to assist in an all-important heist on the planet of Aldhani.

    Episode 5, “The Axe Forgets,” chronicles the final preparations for the mission. Just before the closing credits, we see Rael back in his shop, fretting over the outcome. He keeps checking his radio to see if there’s any word from the Rebels, but the mission hasn’t even taken place yet. When the scene cuts to close-up, look over Skarsgard’s left shoulder, in the top right of the frame. There, you’ll see the Sankara Stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

    If you haven’t seen the movie, the Stones are Temple of Doom’s MacGuffin. Indy winds up at a village in India that has fallen into chaos after their sacred stone (and their children) were stolen by a cult of Kali worshipers. Indy and his allies venture to the nearby Pankot Palace to retrieve the stone, along with assorted fortune and glory.

    In close-ups, the key Temple of Doom Stone prop had three horizontal lines across it just like the ones on the two stones on Rael’s shelf. If those aren’t meant to be the Sankara Stones (or at least an homage to them) it is a wild coincidence.

    Of course Lucasfilm owns both Star Wars and the Indiana Jones movies, and the two franchises have referenced one another in the past — in fact in Temple of Doom itself, Indy visits a Shanghai nightclub named Club Obi Wan. So this wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened.

    New episodes of Andor premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+.

    Sign up for Disney+ here.

    10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Wars Roles

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Violent Night’ Trailer Gives Us a ‘Die Hard’ With Santa Claus

    ‘Violent Night’ Trailer Gives Us a ‘Die Hard’ With Santa Claus

    I thought I had seen every single possible permutation of the Die Hard formula — or at least I had exhausted my desire to see any further permutations. But then came Violent Night. Which is basically Die Hard on Christmas — well, okay Die Hard was Die Hard on Christmas, that is true. But this Die Hard on Christmas actually features Santa Claus in the John McClane role.

    And we’re not talking, like, a mall Santa who has to save the mall where he works after it gets overrun by terrorists. Now, this is the legit, lives-in-the-North-Pole, hangs-with-flying-reindeer Santa. He’s played by David Harbour and he is ready to kick some butt — and because the movie is produced by the same company that gave us John Wick, Atomic Blonde, and Nobody, he’s going to do it in inventively violent and bloody fashion. (The gag with the sharpened candy cane … ouch.)

    I cannot imagine anyone not wanting to see this movie from the description alone but if you need more convincing here is the trailer:

    Here is the film’s official synopsis:

    From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a coal-dark holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red. When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

    The opportunities for bad Christmas action hero puns are literally endless. Violent Night will open in theaters on December 2. Ho ho ho.

    12 Nostalgic ’90s Classics That Are Great Movies

    These fantastic films from the 1990s still hold up decades later.

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Frasier’ Sequel Series Officially Coming to Paramount+

    ‘Frasier’ Sequel Series Officially Coming to Paramount+

    Despite starting as a spin-off of Cheers, Frasier is one of the most critically-acclaimed sitcoms of all time… And now, he’s getting a sequel. The show saw Dr. psychotherapist Frasier Crane running his own radio show, on which he would offer advice to various callers. It’s easy to think that the premise wouldn’t translate to TV very well, but Frasier was seen as a classy, high-brow endeavor, and also very funny.

    Dr. Frasier Crane has been absent from TV for a long time, outside of some commercials and cameos. Talks about a Frasier reboot have been going on since around 2018, but nothing official has come out of the discussion until now. NBC passed up on it, despite the fact that Kelsey Grammer was on board. That being said, he didn’t just want to throw out a short, undercooked version of the show. In 2021, more serious discussion began around the idea between Grammer and Paramount+.

    Some were hesitant to consider that the show could work since Frasier Crane would be living in a new city and wouldn’t have his old pals around… But where else have we heard this before? Frasier itself was a spin-off, which means that much of the main cast from Cheers wasn’t around. Despite going without classic characters from the original, the show became a hit on its own.

    Deadline now reports that the show has officially gotten the green light. Back in July, Kelsey Grammer spoke a little bit about where the show was at. He said:

    In the final stages of the final script for the first episode of the Frasier reboot and it looks pretty good, I’ve had a couple of runs through it, and I cried, so you know, I’m happy. The key ingredient for the Frasier reboot is actually Frasier, honestly. It was always called Frasier so it’s me, the key is me.

    The show is expected to be about 10 episodes long, and as of now, there’s no release date. Be on the lookout for more news!

    12 Nostalgic ’90s Classics That Are Great Movies

    These fantastic films from the 1990s still hold up decades later.

    Cody Mcintosh

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  • Velma Officially Confirmed as Gay in New ‘Scooby-Doo’

    Velma Officially Confirmed as Gay in New ‘Scooby-Doo’

    Velma Dinkley is finally depicted as a lesbian in the upcoming film Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo!. It’s something that other writers have attempted to show in a more direct way, but for one reason or another, has never panned out. In the case of the James Gunn Scooby-Doo movies from the early 2000s, it came down to studio interference.

    Tony Cervone, a supervising producer on Mystery Incorporated, also spoke a little bit about his own attempts at depicting the character as a lesbian (via Variety). While it might not necessarily be incredibly obvious if the viewer isn’t looking for it, the intention behind her characterization was to imply heavily that she was a lesbian. He said:

    I’ve said this before, but Velma in ‘Mystery Incorporated’ is not bi. She’s gay. We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character when she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her and she had unspoken difficulty with the why. There are hints about the why in that episode with the mermaid, and if you follow the entire Marcie arc it seems as clear as we could make it 10 years ago. I don’t think Marcie and Velma had time to act on their feelings during the main timeline, but post reset, they are a couple. You can not like it, but this was our intention.

    James Gunn’s Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed were initially meant to feature an explicitly lesbian Velma but through a series of orders from the higher-ups at the studio, we ended up with a Velma who was pretty ambiguous, even having a boyfriend in the sequel.

    In Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo, Velma has a number of interactions with a famous fashion designer by the name of Coco Diablo. Upon first seeing her, Velma’s cheeks turn red, her glasses fog up, and she says her catchphrase, “Jinkies!” In a later scene, Diablo calls her “the cute one” and Velma’s face gets a little twisted up at the compliment.

    Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo! was released digitally on October 4.

    13 Spooky-But-Not Scary Halloween Movies

    These films are perfect for people who love Halloween but don’t love super scary movies.

    Cody Mcintosh

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  • Viewers flock to Weather Channel for Hurricane Ian coverage

    Viewers flock to Weather Channel for Hurricane Ian coverage

    NEW YORK — The Weather Channel reached its biggest audience in five years last week when Hurricane Ian made its destructive landfall in western Florida.

    The average audience of 3.4 million people last Wednesday was more than any other day for the network since Hurricane Harvey deluged Texas with record amounts of rainfall in 2017, the Nielsen company said.

    The network’s peak day came despite other cable news and broadcast networks also devoting resources to the storm, and a myriad of streaming options that gave people many different ways to follow Ian and its aftermath.

    For example, the free streaming service Local Now, which is owned alongside The Weather Channel by the Allen Media Group, had a record-setting day for usage last Wednesday, the company said. Through the service, people could watch local news coverage of Ian from markets in Tampa, Fort Myers and Orlando in Florida.

    Allen would not give precise figures on how many people used the service.

    Another new wrinkle from the Weather Channel app were screen views that allowed users to watch the storm’s progress through fixed cameras placed in Ian’s path, in Fort Myers Beach, Punta Gorda and Venice, Florida, for example.

    The average consumer who used the app spent a staggering four hours there on the day the storm hit, the Weather Channel said.

    Fox Weather, a streaming service that debuted a year ago, easily had its most-used day ever last Wednesday, although Fox also wouldn’t provide specific details. During three overnight hours after the storm hit, Fox News Channel simulcast the coverage on the Fox Weather stream.

    NBC was the winner again during the second week of the new television season, averaging 6.1 million viewers in prime time, Nielsen said. CBS averaged 5.7 million, ABC had 4 million, Fox had 2.2 million, Univision had 1.3 million, Ion Television had 900,000 and Telemundo had 820,000.

    ESPN was the most-watched cable network, averaging 2.15 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 2.12 million, MSNBC had 1.15 million, HGTV had 796,00 and CNN had 756,000.

    ABC’s “World News Tonight” won the evening news ratings race, averaging 8.4 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.1 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5 million.

    For the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2, the 20 most-watched programs in prime time, their networks and viewerships:

    1. NFL Football: Kansas City at Tampa Bay, NBC, 20.85 million.

    2. “NFL Pregame Show” (Sunday), NBC, 15.74 million.

    3. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 11.04 million.

    4. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.27 million.

    5. NFL Football: Dallas at N.Y. Giants, ABC, 10.18 million.

    6. NFL Football: Dallas at N.Y. Giants, ESPN, 7.73 million.

    7. “The Equalizer,” CBS, 7.09 million.

    8. “FBI,” CBS, 7.08 million.

    9. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 6.88 million.

    10. “Chicago Fire,” NBC, 6.73 million.

    11. “Chicago Med,” NBC, 6.6 million.

    12. “Ghosts,” CBS, 6.46 million.

    13. “NFL Pregame Show” (Monday), ABC, 6.28 million.

    14. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 6.111 million.

    15. “NCIS,” CBS, 6.107 million.

    16. “FBI: International,” CBS, 5.88 million.

    17. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 5.87 million.

    18. “Chicago PD,” NBC, 5.41 million.

    19. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 5.4 million.

    20. “East New York,” CBS, 5.27 million.

    ———

    This story corrects the name of Fox Weather and Local New. A previous version of this story referred to the streaming services as Fox News Weather and Local News Now.

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  • ‘Dune’ TV Series Casts Lead Roles

    ‘Dune’ TV Series Casts Lead Roles

    Well before Dune every premiered in theaters (which it ultimately did in the fall of 2021), Warner Bros. and HBO announced development on a prequel television series for the project. It’s been a long time since we heard much about the project — most of the news about the Dune-iverse has been focused on the upcoming sequel and rumors of Warner Bros. attempting to turn it into a long-running film franchise — but we’re now hearing that the prequel show has found its lead stars.

    Variety reports that Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson will play the two key roles in what’s called Dune: The Sisterhood, which is set 10 millennia before the events of the Dune movie. Here’s how they describe their roles:

    Watson will play Valya Harkonnen and Henderson will play Tula Harkonnen. The character descriptions say the two sisters ‘have risen to power in the Sisterhood, a secret organization of women who will go on to become the Bene Gesserit.’

    Originally, we heard that Jon Spaihts, who co-wrote the Dune film, was working on this spinoff show, but he later said he’d been pulled off the project to work on a potential sequel to Dune: Part Two based on Frank Herbert’s sequel novel Dune Messiah and to “investigate other cinematic prospects in the Dune universe.” Now the show is being supervised by producer Diane Ademu-John. Chernobyl’s Johan Renck is directing the first episode.

    Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two, which adapts the second half of Herbert’s original Dune novel, is in production now, and scheduled to open in theaters on November 17, 2023.

    10 Movie Titles That Became Common Phrases

    How many of these terms do you use in conversation?

    Matt Singer

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  • Every Photo of Tatiana Maslany And Her She-Hulk Double Is Great

    Every Photo of Tatiana Maslany And Her She-Hulk Double Is Great

    Google is not always the most reliable source on these matters, but it claims that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Tatiana Maslany is 5’4”. And so is her human character on She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters. But when Jen transforms into She-Hulk, she grows way taller. On the show, the She-Hulk characters is a CGI creation — but obviously those effects are added to the show in post-production.

    For the actors, directors, and various staff members who have to make sure they’re shooting everything with She-Hulk correctly, Maslany has a double for her She-Hulk scenes; actress Malia Nahinu. According to her Instagram page, Nahinu is 6’5” — meaning she stands a full foot (and one inch) taller than Maslany. And as the photos from the set of She-Hulk show, it’s kind of hilarious when they are together. They wear the same costumes (because, after all, when Jen transformers into She-Hulk her clothes don’t change too) but one is just way taller than the other.

    Here is a set photo from a recent episode. I love how normal pants on Maslany become capris on Nahinu.

    And here are some images from this week’s wedding episode. Guess which of the three women is She-Hulk’s stand-in!

    This is great. Let’s hope the eventual Assembled special on Disney+ on the making of She-Hulk includes lots of footage of the behind-the-scenes process of filming She-Hulk on set, and features plenty of shots of Maslany and Nahinu together. The GIF potential alone is off the charts.

    New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiere on Thursdays on Disney+.

    Sign up for Disney+ here.

    Actors Who Turned Down Major Marvel Roles

    Not everyone wants to be a part of the Marvel universe. These actors all got offered high-profile gigs in Marvel movies and turned them down.

    Matt Singer

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  • ‘Community’ Will Finally Get Its Movie

    ‘Community’ Will Finally Get Its Movie

    They always promised the show would have six seasons and a movie. And darn it, they are going to do it.

    Peacock announced today that Community is finally getting the movie that it always vowed to fans was going to happen. The press release confirms “original stars Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong will reunite” for the project, and that “the movie will come from original series creator Dan Harmon, executive producer Andrew Guest, and from studios Sony Pictures Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.”

    Here was NBCUniversal’s Susan Rovner’’ statement on the news:

    Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool (cool, cool) NBC comedy. We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.

    While most of the show’s core cast of lovable misfits at a Colorado community college are back for the film, several Community cast members are not mentioned in the press release. Neither Donald Glover nor Yvette Nicole Brown were announced as part of the ensemble; both were regular cast members on the series’ first five seasons on NBC, although neither returned (at least as full-time characters) during Community’s final episodes, which debuted on the short-lived streaming service Yahoo! Screen. (Chevy Chase appeared on the show’s first four season, but his character was killed off after Chase used a racial slur on set, upsetting members of the crew and cast.)

     

    Although never a top draw in the ratings, Community was a perennial critical favorite during its run on NBC from 2009 to 2014, and it proved to be a major breakthrough for several members of the cast, who went on to even bigger film and TV projects. It was also a launching pad for some of its behind the scenes talent as well. (Supposedly, the Russo brothers got the job directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier on the strength of their work on Community.)

    No release date for the movie has been announced so far, but as part of the deal, Peacock will also get the rights to stream the six seasons of Community. That’s going to make one heck of a marathon some day.

    10 TV Finale Cliffhangers That Were Left Unresolved

    ScreenCrush Staff

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  • Trailer: Guillermo del Toro Gets His Own Horror Series, ‘Cabinet Of Curiosities’

    Trailer: Guillermo del Toro Gets His Own Horror Series, ‘Cabinet Of Curiosities’

    Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities got a new trailer, just in time to kick off October. The series debuts on Netflix on October 25. From then on, two new episodes will be released every day until October 28 for a total of eight episodes. The show is an anthology horror series, featuring original stories and adaptations. One episode in specific is an adaptation of two H.P. Lovecraft stories, Pickman’s Model and Dreams In The Witch House. 

    The series also managed to bring on some serious directorial talent. We have Jennifer Kent, the director of The Babadook, Ana Lily Amirpou, who directed A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and Panos Cosmatos, the director of Mandy. Actors include new and old talents, from Peter Weller to Eric André … and that’s just in one of the eight episodes.

    The trailer itself shows a good variety of different types of horror. Some segments seem to be rooted in classic gothic horror, some of them are cosmic horror, and some are just sheer body horror. One thing that’s on full display in the trailer is Guillermo del Toro’s penchant for gothic imagery. It definitely has that signature vibe. Beautiful, old houses with secrets, mysterious tomes, gnarled forests and snowy graveyards; pretty much anything you could want out of a Guillermo del Toro horror project.

    Here is the show’s official synopsis:

    In CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, acclaimed Academy Award-winning filmmaker and creator, executive producer and co-showrunner Guillermo del Toro has curated a collection of unprecedented and genre-defining stories meant to challenge our traditional notions of horror. From macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque or classically creepy, these eight equally sophisticated and sinister tales (including two original stories by del Toro) are brought to life by a team of writers and directors personally chosen by del Toro.

    You can watch the trailer below:

    The Best Horror Movies On Netflix

    Cody Mcintosh

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  • Halloween Costume Ideas From 2022 TV Shows

    Halloween Costume Ideas From 2022 TV Shows

    Halloween is fast-approaching, and it’s just the right time to start thinking about what you’re going to dress up as. And when you’re tired of going as the usual suspects — witches, werewolves, and ghosts — you have to think outside of the box. When looking for inspiration, there’s no better place to start than TV. Whether it’s a buzzy new Netflix show or an established series that released a new season this year, there are plenty of options for finding a costume.

    Quite a few popular shows this year chronicled the lives of real people, including Inventing Anna and Pam and Tommy. While it might have been kind of random to dress up as the subjects of these shows before, their popularity has created a cultural conversation around their lives. If you wear large, black-rimmed glasses and speak in a vague European accent, people are most likely going to make the Anna Delvey connection.

    Below, we’ve rounded up the best Halloween costumes from TV series that were released in 2022. There are options for those who are single, those who are coupled up, and even those who are looking for a clever group costume idea. Some are easy to assemble, while some require you to go all out. Either way, you’ll have a cool costume that is neither cliché nor obscure. Since these looks are pulled from acclaimed, popular series, people will definitely recognize who you’re dressed up as — and they’ll appreciate that you didn’t just grab a cape and call it a day.

    The Best Halloween Costume Ideas From 2022 TV Shows

    Need inspiration for your trick or treat ensemble? Here are some fun ideas from recent TV hits that will make you a stand out at a Halloween party.

    Claire Epting

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  • Trevor Noah Leaving ‘The Daily Show’ After Seven Years

    Trevor Noah Leaving ‘The Daily Show’ After Seven Years

    For just the third time in its 26 year history, The Daily Show is looking for a new host.

    That’s because its host for the last seven years, Trevor Noah, announced last night that he is leaving the series. Noah actually announced the news on The Daily Show on Thursday, which also happened to be his seventh anniversary episode. Noah replaced Jon Stewart on the Comedy Central series in 2015. He did not give a precise date when he would tape his final episode.

    During the show, Noah said “I realized after the seven years, my time is up, but in the most beautiful way … I’ve loved hosting this show. It’s been one of my greatest challenges. It’s been one of my greatest joys. I’ve loved trying to figure out how to make people laugh even when the stories are particularly s—y on the worst days.”

    Here was his announcement speech, as posted by The Daily Show on Twitter:

    The Daily Show debuted on July 22, 1996, when it was hosted by Craig Kilborn, then a popular ESPN SportsCenter anchor moving into the world of talk shows. Kilborn left The Daily Show just two years later to become the host of The Late Late Show on CBS. He was succeeded by Jon Stewart who turned The Daily Show into appointment television, particularly during election cycles and amidst political scandals. Stewart remained at the show for over 15 years, until the South African comedian took over.

    While ratings for the series declined with Noah as the host, The Daily Show remains one of Comedy Central’s key franchises. It’s launched multiple spinoffs, including The Colbert Report and numerous books. The network has yet to announce its plans for the show after Noah’s departure.

    10 VHS Tapes You Totally Owned As A ’90s Kid

    These movies were part of every ’90s kid’s VHS collection.

    ScreenCrush Staff

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  • ‘She-Hulk’ Every Episode 7 Easter Egg

    ‘She-Hulk’ Every Episode 7 Easter Egg

    This week’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was practically a super-villain team-up, but not in the way you might expect from a Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show. When Emil Blonsky’s monitoring braclet malfunctions, Jen Walters winds up stuck at his upstate retreat for a whole day, where she winds up sitting in on a group therapy session with a bunch of B-level (okay C-level [okay Z-level]) Marvel baddies including Porcupine, Saracen, and Wrecker. As goofy as they seem, they are all real Marvel baddies from the comics.

    That’s just one of the many Easter eggs, hidden Marvel references, and little details you might have missed in Episode 7 (“The Retreat”) of She-Hulk. We also look at where that Muppets scene came from, we run down all the members of Blonsky’s retreat support group, and why the towing truck that helps Jen with her car comes from Slott Towing. (One of the best She-Hulk comics was written by Dan Slott.) Watch them all below:

    If you liked that video on all of the Easter eggs in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 7, check out more of our videos below, including all the Easter eggs in She-Hulk Episode 6, all the Easter eggs in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 5, and whether Wong remembers Peter Parker in the MCU. Plus, there’s tons more videos over at ScreenCrush’s YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to catch all our future episodes. New episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premiere weekly on Thursdays on Disney+.

    Sign up for Disney+ here.

    The Coolest Eternals Easter Eggs

    ScreenCrush Staff

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