TV Bits: 'Watchmen' Wraps, 'Wheel Of Time' And 'Brave New World' Find Cast Members, 'I Think You Should Leave' Renewed, And More
In this edition of TV Bits:
Watchmen, the highly-anticipated series from Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, has finished shooting its first season. The show's costume designer and make-up artist revealed on Instagram that production has ended, so now the wait begins to see just what Lindelof and his team have cooked up for fans in this original story that's set decades after the events of the seminal graphic novel.
Netflix's Dear White People is one of the best shows you're probably not watching. But season three is coming soon, and the official premiere date of August 2, 2019 was announced in this Juneteenth video in which the cast debates what type of grits are the best.
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) has been cast as Moiraine in Wheel of Time, a TV version of the best-selling fantasy novels. This show has been a long time coming, and casting one of its major leads seems like a strong indication that we could finally see this story brought to the small screen very soon. Here's a description of the plot from ComingSoon:
The story follows Moiraine (Pike), a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the 'Aes Sedai' as she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women. Moiraine believes one of them might be the reincarnation of an incredibly powerful individual, whom prophecies say will either save humanity or destroy it. The series draws on numerous elements of European and Asian culture and philosophy, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism.
The series premiere of Zendaya's controversial new HBO series Euphoria is available to watch online for free. But you'll have to subscribe to HBO Now (or borrow your parents' password) to watch the second episode – that's the one with thirty penises in it.
Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is still going strong, and a brand new season is cruising onto Netflix on July 19, 2019. The guest lineup has been revealed, and it's an impressive group of people: in addition to Eddie Murphy and Seth Rogen, Jerry will be hanging out with Ricky Gervais, Matthew Broderick, Jamie Foxx, Sebastian Maniscalco, Martin Short, Mario Joyner, Melissa Villaseñor, Bridget Everett, and Barry Marder. I wonder if Seinfeld and Broderick will drive around in a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California...
Demi Moore (A Few Good Men) has joined Alden Eherenreich, Harry Lloyd, and Jessica Brown Findlay in the cast of Brave New World, the USA Network drama that's based on Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel that's a staple of high school English classes. Moore will play a recurring role, while Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp), Sen Mitsuji (Origins), Joseph Morgan (The Originals), Nina Sosanya (Killing Eve), and Kylie Bunbury (who is excellent in When You See Us) have been added as series regulars.
L.A.'s Finest, the Bad Boys spin-off and Spectrum Original cop show whose showrunner was injured so terribly that he had to have his leg partially amputated, has been renewed for a second season.
FX's Ryan Murphy-produced series Pose has been renewed for a third season.
Tracee Ellis Ross (blackish) is set to star in and executive produce an animated spin-off of the 1990s MTV show Daria. The new show is called Jodie, and it will follow Daria's friend as she takes her first post-college job in the tech world. The show is described as "satire of the post college workplace and personal adventures of Gen Z," and is said to be the first of several Daria spin-offs that are percolating at MTV.
Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo made waves recently with the announcement that he'll be hosting a prank show called Prank Encounters, which plays pranks on "two complete strangers who each think they're starting their first day at a new job." There was a wave of backlash against the notion of punking people who were simply looking for work, but Netflix has peeled back the curtain to give some insight into how the show was made and try to make people feel OK about watching this:
"The pranks in Prank Encounters are spooky, supernatural, and over the top, and everyone had a great time. All participants came in with the expectation this was a one-day, hourly gig and everyone got paid for their time."
And finally, my favorite news in this article: Tim Robinson's brilliant, absurd sketch comedy show I Think You Should Leave has officially been renewed for a second season at Netflix, which will debut sometime in 2020. I wonder if the show will bring back any of the characters from the first season – the world desperately needs to see more of that focus group guy.