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With streaming costs rising, Plex offers a free way to access movies, TV shows, live channels, and even your personal media - saving you both time and money.

With the price of streaming services going up everywhere you look (along with the price of everything else!), there comes a point where a free streamer that offers enough of what you need starts to make sense. If you’ve hit that point, it’s time to check out Plex. Plex lets you streamline your entertainment options without spending a dime, and offers a surprisingly rich mix of movies, TV shows, and live channels. Plex’s universal watchlist pulls together content from all your other streaming subscriptions into one easy-to-navigate hub. Plus, there’s the added bonus of letting you organize and stream your own media files from any device. So, whether you’re in the mood for something new or revisiting old favorites,...

Five top showrunners will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with TV awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, November 12, at 6:00 p.m. Pt; 9:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Daniel Montgomery and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire

Synopsis: Based on Anne Rice’s iconic novel, follow Louis de Pointe’s epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to the journalist Daniel Molloy.

Bio: Rolin Jones was an Emmy nominee for “Weeds” and “Friday Night Lights.

Breaking Bad is still one of the most acclaimed series to grace our screens, it’s a story of grit, depth, and transformation, crafted by Vince Gilligan. However, during the pitching phase of Walter White’s dark tale, Gilligan came across some unexpected challenges, that nearly stopped him in his tracks.

Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad | AMC

No creator wants to be accused of copying other shows, but in one meeting, Gilligan had to face the unfortunate circumstance. We already know this setback was not nearly enough to stop the show’s creation. However, fans of the series would appreciate such little anecdotes, that give them a glimpse of what led to the making of Breaking Bad.

Vince Gilligan Panicked Over Breaking Bad’s Comparison To Weeds Vince Gilligan | The Rich Eisen Show/YouTube

When Vince Gilligan began pitching Breaking Bad, he was deeply invested in the concept of an ordinary,...

Hunter Parrish is the latest star to join the cast of Prime Video‘s upcoming mystery thriller series.

The 37-year-old actor – best known for his roles in Weeds, 17 Again, and It’s Complicated – has been cast in the new thriller series Scarpetta, which stars Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Keep reading to find out more…The upcoming series is being based on the series of novels by Patricia Cornwell, and centers on Kay Scarpetta, who is “a chief medical examiner who returns to her former position in Virginia and deals with both gruesome cases and complicated relationships in her work and personal lives.”

Nicole will star as the titular character and Jamie will portray her sister Dorothy.

In addition to Nicole and Jamie Lee, also cast in the series are Bobby Cannavale as Detective Pete Marino; Ariana DeBose as Dorothy’s daughter Lucy Farinelli-Watson; Simon Baker as FBI profiler...

Hunter Parrish has joined Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis in “Scarpetta,” an upcoming mystery thriller series from Blumhouse Television that has already been greenlit for two seasons by Amazon Prime Video.

The “Weeds” alum joins an ensemble that also includes Ariana DeBose, Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker, Rosy McEwen and Jake Cannavale.

The series, an adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels, hails from Blumhouse and Amazon MGM Studios. Liz Sarnoff will serve as writer, executive producer, and showrunner.

According to the logline, the show “follows Kay Scarpetta (Kidman), the chief medical examiner, as she returns to Virginia and resumes her former position with complex relationships, both personal and professional – including her sister Dorothy (Curtis), with plenty of grudges and secrets to uncover.”

Parrish will recur as the younger version of Benton Wesley, presumably in flashbacks. Benton is an FBI profiler who strikes up a romance with Kay in the books.

The “Big Bang Theory” spinoff series in the works at Max has found its first three cast members.

Variety has learned from sources that Brian Posehn, Lauren Lapkus, and Kevin Sussman will all star in the potential show, which was originally announced as being in development at Max back in April 2023. Exact plot details remain under wraps but all three actors would reprise their roles from the original series.

The show remains in development and has not been greenlit to series at this time, with Posehn, Sussman, and Lapkus currently under talent holding deals. “Big Bang Theory” co-creator Chuck Lorre is executive producing the new project via Chuck Lorre Productions, with Lorre currently under an overall deal with series studio Warner Bros. Television.

Reps for Wbtv and Max declined to comment.

Sussman famously played comic book store owner Stuart Bloom on “The Big Bang Theory” beginning in the show’s second season,...

Full Metal Jacket to Oppenheimer; West Wing to Stranger Things, Modine is a showbiz hard worker whose latest role is as a cycling coach. Ask your questions in the comments

Matthew Modine has worked with lots of the greats: Stanley Kubrick, as wise-cracking marine Jt “Joker” Davis in Full Metal Jacket; Jonathan Demme, as a goofy FBI agent in Married to the Mob; John Schlesinger, as a hapless landlord in nightmare-tenant thriller Pacific Heights; Alan Parker, as the avian-obsessed kid in Birdy; and Robert Altman (twice) in Streamers and Short Cuts. More recently he’s had a couple of turns for Christopher Nolan: the Batman-wary deputy commissioner of Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises and American engineer Vannevar Bush in Oppenheimer.

On the small screen, he has played a womanising real estate developer in Weeds, a billionaire inventor in Proof and the evil – no, wait! – saviour doctor who tries...

If the universe has plans to bring two people together, Ash and Gordon could have never predicted those plans would involve public flashing, a car accident, and an injured dog. Described as “a romantic comedy about flawed, funny people choosing each other and embracing the all-too-relatable chaos of modern life,” the hit Australian series “Colin From Accounts” returns this Thursday, Sept. 26 on Paramount+ for its second season. All eight episodes will be available at launch, and you can watch both full seasons with 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus.

How to Watch “Colin From Accounts” Season 2 When: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 Where: Paramount+ Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount Plus. 7-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month ParamountPlus.com About “Colin From Accounts”

Real-life married couple and series creators/writers Patrick Brammer and Harriet Dyer star as Gordon and Ashley, two single(ish) humans whose individually complex lives are brought together in...

Stephen King‘s novel The Institute (which can be purchased Here) reached store shelves on September 10, 2019 – and that same day, it was announced that David Kelley and Jack Bender, the duo behind the King series adaptation Mr. Mercedes, were working on a limited series adaptation of The Institute. Nearly five years have gone since then and Kelley has dropped off the project along the way, but The Institute is moving forward at MGM+ – and Deadline has learned the names of eleven more cast members who have signed on as series regulars. They are: Julian Richings (Supernatural, pictured above), Fionn Laird (Under the Banner of Heaven), Hannah Galway (Sex/Life), Robert Joy (Land of the Dead), Viggo Hanvelt (Our Christmas Mural), Arlen So (Something Rotten), Birva Pandya (The Umbrella Academy), Dan Beirne (Ginny & Georgia), Martin Roach (Suits), Jane Luk (Streams Flow from a River), and – in the lead role of Luke Ellis – Joe Freeman.

The movies do not deserve Mary Louise Parker. Her work in the New York theater scene since the 1990s has been rightfully praised from Broadway to the Battery, and the serialized nature of television has allowed her to flex character-developing muscles and play the emotional scales several times over; say what you will about those later seasons of Weeds, the Showtime dramedy that cast Parker as a pot-selling suburbanite, but she always managed to throw in a look, an offbeat line reading or a bit of business that provided a nice second-hand high.

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo goes back in time over and over again to discuss the sci-fi indie “Omni Loop.” The film follows a woman who lives the same week over and over in order to try to save her own life. The Bernardo Britto-directed (known for “Los Espookys”) film stars Mary-Louise Parker, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Pearl Utt, Chris Witaske, and more.

Read More: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

The film’s stars, Mary-Louise Parker and Ayo Edebiri, join the podcast to discuss their roles in the existential time travel film.

Continue reading ‘Omni Loop’: Ayo Edebiri & Mary-Louise Parker On Their Time Loop Drama, ‘The Bear’ Season 4, A Failed ‘Weeds’ Revival & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Prolific screenwriter and producer Jenji Kohan is not on board with Paramount+ With Showtime’s long-rumored Weeds sequel, calling the idea a “money grab.” Kohan served as the creator and showrunner of the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds, which aired from August 8, 2005, to September 16, 2012. The series centers on Mary-Louise Parker‘s Nancy Botwin, a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family. Speaking at the Seriesly Berlin TV conference in Germany, the Emmy-winning writer questioned the relevancy of Weeds now that marijuana has been legalized in almost 40 states. “I don’t really know if there’s more story to tell,” she said, per Deadline. “I think Weeds was done, and I think [a sequel] be a money grab.” She continued, “They can do what they want, but this wouldn’t be associated with the team that made [the original series]. And I think there are many other stories to be told.

The creator of Weeds is not enthused by the idea of a sequel series that is in development at Showtime.

The original series premiered in 2005 and came to a close in 2012. A few years later, it was announced that Starz was developing a sequel with franchise star Mary-Louise Parker returning to star and executive produce. In 2023, the project moved networks.

While at the Seriesly Berlin TV conference, Weeds creator Jenji Kohan explained that she didn’t think a spinoff series made sense at the time, going as far as to call it a “money grab.”

Keep reading to find out more…

“I feel like now that pot is legal [in many places] that I don’t really know if there’s more story to tell,” she explained, via Deadline. “I think Weeds was done, and I think it’d be a money grab a little bit, and I’m not involved with it.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is headed to unscripted to host NBC’s “Destination X.”

The “Walking Dead” star will embark on his first unscripted project as he hosts and executive produces the reality adventure competition series, which marks the second collaboration between NBCUniversal and the BBC following “The Traitors.”

Originating from a format in Belgium, “Destination X” drops contestants in an unknown location and challenges them to figure out their mystery location via clues on their blacked-out Destination X bus. The game also throws a couple misdirects in there to keep contestants guessing.

“At the end of each episode, contestants must guess where they are and the furthest from the actual location is sent packing,” according to the official logline. The first participant to reach Destination X is crowned the winner.

“‘Destination X’ captivated me with its blend of travel, mystery and gaming,” Morgan said in a Thursday statement. “I can...

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has been tapped to host NBC’s upcoming adventure reality competition series Destination X.

The show, based on a format created by Belgian company Geronimo and distributed by Be-Entertainment, asks contestants to figure out where they are in the world, with “tweaks” to the real world designed to throw them off. The hosting gig marks The Walking Dead and The Boys actor’s first foray into unscripted TV.

Morgan’s scripted TV credits also include Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Weeds, The Good Wife, Magic City and Texas Rising, while his film credits include P.S. I Love You, Watchmen and the upcoming movie Nowhere Men.

“Jeffrey Dean Morgan embodies the mischievous international man of mystery, making him the perfect host and puppet master for this new travel adventure series,” Corie Henson, executive vp of unscripted content, competition and game shows at NBCUniversal Entertainment, said in a statement. NBC is...

So this is pretty gross: Lionsgate, the film and television studio behind franchises like John Wick, and The Hunger Games, films like The Fabelmans and La La Land, and shows like Yellowjackets, Mad Men, Weeds, and more, has entered into a "first-of-its-kind" partnership with artificial intelligence research firm Runway. The...

Weeds creator Jenji Kohan is here to harsh your sequel series buzz.

Speaking at the Seriesly Berlin TV conference in Germany, the Emmy Award-winning scribe sounded less than enthusiastic about Paramount+ With Showtime’s long-gestating follow-up to the pot dramedy. Now that weed has been legalized in nearly 40 states, “I don’t really know if there’s more story to tell,” she said, according to Deadline. “I think Weeds was done, and I think it’d be a money grab.

More from TVLine<em>Nurse Jackie</em> Sequel Series Starring Edie Falco in the Works at Prime Video<em>Dexter</em> Prequel <em>Original Sin...

Jenji Kohan wants TV writers to ditch dystopian stories in favor of ones that lean into a ‘protopia’ and serve up a more positive vision of the world and where we’re headed. The writer was also quizzed about whether she liked the notion of sequel to her show Weeds. It’s safe to say she does not want to light up a follow-up to her pot-dealing drama, which ran for eight seasons on Showtime.

Kohan gave a wide-ranging masterclass to a room of writers and drama execs at Seriesly, and duly delivered one of the highlights of the newbie TV event in Berlin. She wrote on shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Gilmore Girls, Sex and the City and the first season of Friends. She talked about her own shows during the masterclass including Orange Is The New Black and Weeds. Deadline’s scoop last year said a sequel to the latter was,...

Die Showrunnerin und Drehbuchautorin Jenji Kohan feierte große Erfolge mit „Weeds“ und „Orange Is the New Black“. Jetzt hat sie in Berlin beim Serienfestival Seriesly eine Masterclass gegeben und wetterte unter anderem gegen den Trend von Dystopien.

Jenji Kohan (Credit: Seriesly Berlin)

Die nun schon seit Jahrzehnten erfolgreiche Showrunnerin Jenji Kohan, deren größten Hits bisher „Orange Is the New Black“ und „Weeds“ waren und deren neueste Netflix-Serie „The Decameron” vor Kurzem beim Streamer startete, hat am Dienstag das Serienfestival Seriesly in Berlin mit einer Masterclass in der Fotografika beehrt. Der Head of Programming Matija Dragojevic stellte höchstpersönlich die Fragen.

Die gut aufgelegte US-Drehbuchautorin hatte unterschiedliche unterhaltsame Wutreden anzubieten. Ihre witzige Kritik an der Emmy-prämierten FX-Serie „The Bear“ sei hier aus Pietätsgründen ausgespart. Aber sie sparte auch nicht bei der sich im Serienbereich ausbreitenden Untergangsstimmung. „Dystopien sind schlecht für uns. Hört mit den Dystopien auf! Es ist eine selbsterfüllende Prophezeiung.

Exclusive: Prime Video has unveiled plans for a trio of docs from German producer Beetz Brothers Film Productions.

Here in Berlin at the inaugural Seriesly Berlin event, a November 10 launch was set for German Cocaine Cowboy on Prime Video Germany. A second doc, Billions Mike (aka Milliarden Mike), will debut a week later (November) before Killy My Doppelgänger debuts in 2025.

Prime Video has licensed the three docs, which from Leonine Studios-owned Beetz Brothers Productions.

German Cocaine Cowboys, a four-part documentary series about rise of Hamburg gangster Joe Marx to the top of the notorious Cali cartel in the 1990s and his subsequent return to Germany after years off jail time, was teased last month and footage is being shown to delegates her in Berlin today.

The producers are Christian Beetz and Georg Tschurtschenthaler for Beetz Brothers, and the director is Peter Dörfler. Production is supported by German Motion Picture Fund and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

Exclusive: After world premiering his Angelina Jolie-helmed war drama Without Blood at the Toronto Film Festival, Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir has come aboard for a role in The Black Phone 2, Universal’s sequel to its 2022 horror hit from director Scott Derrickson.

Details as to Bichir’s role are being kept under wraps, as is the follow-up’s plot. As we were first to report, original cast members Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies and Miguel Mora are all set to return, along with Derrickson, who again co-wrote the script with partner C. Robert Cargill. Slated for release in theaters on October 17, 2025, the sequel will be produced by Derrickson, Cargill, and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum. Joe Hill, writer of the short story on which the first film was based, serves as executive producer.

Set in 1978 Colorado, The Black Phone watches as the shy 13-year-old Finney Shaw...

Exclusive: Orange is the New Black and Weeds showrunner Jenji Kohan is to deliver a masterclass at Seriesly Berlin, the new TV festival launching in the German capital next week.

The storied creator-showrunner will “share insights into her writing process, developing and pitching shows, handling feedback, and maintaining a strong creative voice,” according to the fest. The first-come-first-served talk is encouraging screenwriters in particular to register and will take place Tuesday at 1 p.m. Cet (4 a.m. Pt).

Kohan is the creator and showrunner of Showtime smash Weeds and Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, one of the streamer’s biggest early hits. Other credits include Tough Trade, Glow and, more recently, Netflix’s The Decameron, which is an adaptation of the famous Italian novel.

Kohan will speak from the panoramic view of Berlin at Fotografiska’s rooftop bar.

She joins a growing linuep that includes Amazon Germany Country Director Christoph Schneider,...

Stephen King‘s novel The Institute (which can be purchased Here) reached store shelves on September 10, 2019 – and that same day, it was announced that David Kelley and Jack Bender, the duo behind the King series adaptation Mr. Mercedes, were working on a limited series adaptation of The Institute. Nearly five years have gone since then and Kelley has dropped off the project along the way, but The Institute is moving forward at MGM+ – and it has just been revealed that Simone Miller (Detention Adventure) and Jason Diaz (The 100) have been added to the cast.

Miller and Diaz join previously announced cast members Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds (and Mr. Mercedes) and Ben Barnes of Shadow and Bone.

Set to run for eight episodes, The Institute will tell the following story: When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did,...

“Groundhog Day,” but make it about an inescapable terminal illness. In writer/director Bernardo Britto’s “Omni Loop,” Mary-Louise Parker plays a quantum physicist who learns she has only a week to live. Except she learns that many times over, and as she says in the trailer, “This has happened before. Many times.” IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for “Omni Loop,” which premiered at SXSW and will hit theaters from Magnolia this fall, below.

Here’s the official synopsis: “A quantum physicist (Mary-Louise Parker) finds herself stuck in a time loop, with a black hole growing in her chest and only a week to live. When she meets a gifted student (Ayo Edebiri), they team up to save her life — and to unlock the mysteries of time travel.”

The cast also includes Hannah Pearl Utt, Chris Witaske, Carlos Jacott, Harris Yulin, Steven Maier, and Eddie Cahill.

At SXSW, Mary-Louise Parker...

Plex offers hundreds of free, ad-supported television content streams through its app for smart TVs, phones, tablets and other devices. (Courtesy image)

(The following is a press release; its contents were not editorially vetted by The Desk.)

Global streaming media company Plex, the largest independent streaming media platform, announced today that it launched 92 more free ad-supported streaming television (Fast) channels worldwide in July. The new channels were launched in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, France, and Germany.

In the first seven months of 2024, Plex has launched more than 300 channels, focused on its goal to be the first place people go to find any show or movie, as well as to watch it, rate it, and talk about it with friends and family.

An emerging leader in Fast and AVOD, the company recently announced it has the most extensive Fast channel lineup worldwide,...

Have you ever wondered what “Love Island” would be like if it were set in the 1300s? Netflix’s new dark-comedy series “The Decameron” will answer all of your questions.

The series, created by Kathleen Jordan and executive produced by “Orange Is the New Black” and “Weeds” alum Jenji Kohan, is loosely based on Italian Author Giovanni Boccacio’s short story collection from the mid-14th century. The plot begins after “The Black Death strikes hard in the Italian countryside in 1348, and a handful of nobles retreat to a grand villa with their servants. But what starts as a wine-soaked sex romp descends into a race for survival in this soapy dark comedy,” according to the official description.

Keep reading to find out what stars are traveling back in time to the 1340s in our complete “The Decameron” cast and character guide. The show is now streaming on Netflix.

Zosia Mamet...

Created by Kathleen Jordan, and executive produced by Jenji Kohan, this absurdist Netflix comedy series is very loosely inspired by the 14-century story collection titled The Decameron. 

The Decameron examines the all-too-timely theme of class struggles in the season of a pandemic. In the year 1348, the Black Death strikes hard in the city of Florence, and a handful of nobles retreat with their servants to a grand villa to wait out the plague with a lavish holiday. But as social rules wear thin, a scramble for survival ensues, brought to life by a cast of characters both cunning and outrageous.

HeyUGuys spoke to creator Kathleen Jordan and cast members Tony Hale, Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education),  Zosia Mamet (Girls), Jessica Plummer, and Saoirse-Monica Jackson about their experience working on such an innovative comedy.

The 8-episode series hits the streamer on July 25th.

The post HeyUGuys meets the creator & cast member of...

George A. Romero and Stephen King: a match made in horror movie heaven. It was probably inevitable that Stephen King would break into the movies, and the master of horror finally had his first screenplay produced in the form of Romero's "Creepshow," one of the best horror anthology movies ever made. King had penned scripts before (for instance: he wrote a draft of the screenplay for "The Shining" that Stanley Kubrick rejected), but "Creepshow" was the first original King script to make it to the screen. King and Romero originally met when Romero was being courted to direct the TV adaptation of King's vampire novel "Salem's Lot," and while Romero ultimately didn't direct the miniseries (those duties ultimately fell to "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" filmmaker Tobe Hooper), he and King became friends. Eventually, the two decided to make a movie together, with King penning the script and Romero directing.

Exclusive: Audra McDonald (The Gilded Age), K. Todd Freeman (The Horror of Dolores Roach), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Richard Kind (Only Murders in the Building) and Ben Vereen (All That Jazz) have been set to topline The Auction, a new indie from writer-director William Atticus Parker.

Described by the filmmaker as “a workplace drama with elements of fantasy and horror,” the film is a loose adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Further plot details are being kept under wraps.

The son of Mary-Louise Parker, William will also make his feature acting debut in The Auction and produce alongside Sabina Friedman-Seitz (Atrabilious) and Cory Asinofsky. William’s sister, Ash Parker, will write and compose an original song for the pic, with production to kick off in New York this summer.

Currently starring on HBO’s The Gilded Age, which has been renewed for a third season, McDonald is...

The San Quentin Film Festival — the first-ever film festival held inside a prison — has named its inaugural industry jury, which includes Jeffrey Wright, Billy Crudup, Mary-Louise Parker and more.

The festival, taking place Oct. 10 and 11 at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in northern California, will highlight short films and pitches from current and formerly incarcerated filmmakers in front of a jury made up of entertainment industry artists and executives. Separately, an “inside jury” made up of currently incarcerated people will judge narrative and documentary feature films about the prison experience made by filmmakers who have never served prison time.

Actors on the industry jury include Wright, Crudup, Parker and Kathy Najimy.

Directors on the jury include Elegance Bratton, Taylor Hackford, Lynn Novick, Greg Kwedar, Jeff Stanzler and Joe Talbot.

Writer-producers on the jury include Sam Catlin, Lawrence O’Donnell, Piper Kerman (“Orange Is the New Black”) and J.T. Rogers.

The jury also includes Len Amato,...

Exclusive: Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to the indie sci-film Omni Loop, starring Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), slating it for a day-and-date release on September 20.

World premiering at this year’s SXSW film festival, the film directed by Bernardo Britto (Jacqueline Argentine) follows Zoya Lowe (Parker), a quantum physicist who finds herself in a time loop, with a black hole growing in her chest and only a week to live. But what the doctors and her family don’t know is that she has already lived this week before; so many times, in fact, that she doesn’t even know how long it’s been. Until one day, Zoya meets a gifted student named Paula (Edebiri). Together, they team up to save her life — and to unlock the mysteries of time travel.

A 2Am and Lou Filmproduction production, Omni Loop also stars Cora Bora helmer Hannah Pearl Utt,...

“The Gray House” actors Mary-Louise Parker and Ben Vereen want people to wake up. Especially before the November election.

“I think they aren’t as horrified as they should be. We could potentially have a convicted felon as our President! There is a real lack of alarm,” Parker tells Variety at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival after the premiere of the Civil War series.

“Such ugliness was unleashed in our country by our previous President. It just spread, like some kind of virus. It gave people a sense of agency about their ignorance, their racism. It’s hard.”

“It’s frightening! People are not upset. There is a whole generation of ‘I don’t care,’” adds Vereen.

“There are scenes in this series that look just like the Jan. 6 [Capitol attack], don’t they. All of a sudden, it comes back into focus. You go: ‘Wow. It is happening again, now.’”

Distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution,...

Prince Albert II of Monaco opened the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival Friday, accompanied by a panoply of stars led by Morgan Freeman, “Seal Team’s” David Boreanaz and “Bridgerton’s” Simone Ashley.

The opening ceremony took place under stormy skies at the Grimaldi Forum, where the world premiere of limited series “The Gray House” opened the event. Many of the show’s stars were in attendance, including Mary-Louise Parker, Daisy Head (“Harlots”), Amethyst Davis (“Kindred”) and Ben Vereen (“Roots”), along with executive producers Leslie Greif (“Hatfields & McCoys”), Lori McCreary (“Madam Secretary”) and Freeman.

“The Gray House” is distributed by Republic Pictures, and produced by Kevin Costner’s Territory Pictures, Freeman and McCreary’s Revelations Entertainment and Greif’s Big Dreams Entertainment.

Boreanaz, star of “Bones,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Seal Team,” serves as president of the festival’s fiction jury. He is joined by jury members Piv Bernth,...

Exclusive: Rolin Jones, developer, executive producer and showrunner of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, has signed a new multi-year overall with AMC Studios, which is behind the gothic horror drama. This is an encouraging sign for the future of the series, which is currently airing its second season on AMC and AMC+.

As the anchor of AMC’s Anne Rice Immortal Universe with 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating for each of its two seasons to date and the biggest non-Walking Dead universe series in viewership and acquisition on AMC+ in the last year, Interview with the Vampire probably doesn’t need to worry too much about a Season 3 renewal.

Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios, AMC Networks; and Ben Davis, EVP of scripted programming, AMC Networks and AMC Studios, gave Season 2 high marks in confirming Jones’ new pact.

“We’re thrilled to extend our exclusive multi-year overall deal with Rolin Jones,...

Good news: a new Stephen King adaptation is on the way! Not-so-goood news: it's headed to a streaming service I'm pretty sure no one uses. That streaming service is MGM+, and, c'mon, let's get real here: do you subscribe to MGM+? Do you know anyone who does? I sure don't! But hey, maybe this will be a sea change for the streaming service. Maybe this will be the thing that finally gets me, and others, to subscribe. Who knows!

Anyway, the adaptation in question is "The Institute," based on the King novel from 2019. It features one of King's favorite go-to elements: kids with powers! Speaking with Rolling Stone when the book first came out, King said: "Like a pitcher that has a great fastball or slider, you go back to what worked for you before ... I do think that kids are sort of magic. When I was a young man,...

Stephen King‘s novel The Institute (which can be purchased Here) reached store shelves on September 10, 2019 – and that same day, it was announced that David Kelley and Jack Bender, the duo behind the King series adaptation Mr. Mercedes, were working on a limited series adaptation of The Institute. Nearly five years have gone since then and Kelley has dropped off the project along the way, but The Institute is moving forward at MGM+ – and Deadline reports that Mary-Louise Parker of Weeds (and Mr. Mercedes) and Ben Barnes of Shadow and Bone have signed on to star on the show.

Set to run for eight episodes, The Institute will tell the following story: When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town,...

Mary-Louise Parker never shied away from a challenging part. It’s this fearlessness that has translated into success in movies, television, and the Broadway stage. The actress, known for everything from Fried Green Tomatoes and Angels in America to The West Wing, and Weeds, continues to find work she is passionate about. The latest is the upcoming limited series The Gray House. Told across eight episodes, it’s a historical true story centering on unsung women who turned the tide of the American Civil War in favor of the North. A Virginia socialite, her mother, and formerly enslaved sister-in-arms are among those who come together and risk their lives building an underground spy network for the greater good. They ultimately helped turn the tide against the Confederacy. Amethyst Davis, Daisy Head, and Ben Vereen are also part of the ensemble cast. The project comes with several heavy hitters including Kevin Costner...

On Wednesday, June 12, After Midnight and Taylor Tomlinson welcome actor and comedian Kevin Nealon, actress Jessica Lowe, and actor Dave Holmes as guests. Kevin Nealon, known for his roles in “Saturday Night Live,” “Weeds,” and “Man with a Plan,” joins the show for a fun and engaging conversation. Nealon has also appeared in numerous […]

After Midnight: Kevin Nealon, Jessica Lowe, Dave Holmes...

Nurse Jackie is rearing to return following its original run at Showtime from 2009 to 2015, and fans can’t get enough of the good news. Here’s everything we know so far about the Prime Video revival.

Nurse Jackie Spoilers – Plot And Returning Characters Revealed For the ‘Nurse Jackie’ Revival

A nurse’s shift is never done. Almost a decade after the original series concluded its seven season run, Edie Falco has signed on to reprise her role in a ‘Nurse Jackie’ sequel series.

Variety reported that the project, which is being produced by Lionsgate and currently in development at Amazon MGM Studio, is set for a streaming release at Prime Video.

The series will continue to follow Falco’s character, an emergency room nurse who struggles with addiction to drugs. Last we saw her, she had snorted more heroin than her body could carry and ended up passing out at the hospital.

Page Kennedy has joined the cast of “The Breed,” an upcoming reimagining of the cult favorite. He joins a cast that also includes Grace Caroline Currey. The film will be directed by brothers Nathan and Griff Furst, who will also produce together through their Curmudgeon Films shingle.

Kennedy, a Shakespearean-trained performer, was recently seen in “The Meg 2: The Trench,” appearing opposite Jason Statham in the mega-shark movie, which opened last summer. He reprised his role from the first film, 2018’s “The Meg,” which grossed more than $530 million. He also starred on the Netflix series “The Upshaws” alongside Wanda Sykes and Mike Epps. He will next be seen in the upcoming action-comedy “Code 3,” which co-stars Rainn Wilson and Yvette Nicole Brown. In addition to his film work, Kennedy has been a series regular on numerous shows such as “Rush Hour,” “Weeds,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Backstroke” and “Blue Mountain State.” In addition to his acting work,...

“Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know…” from Chidananda S Naik, a student from Ftii, Pune, India, has received La Cinef Award for best short, sparking thunderous applause, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The film, the director told Variety, was “challenging to shoot.”

“We had only four days. I was basically told not to make this film. It’s based on folklore from Karnataka [in India]. These are the stories we grew up with, so I was carrying this idea since my childhood.

In the film, an elderly woman steals a rooster and deprives a village of sunlight.

Jurors Lubna Azabal, who was the president, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Claudine Nougaret, Paolo Moretti and Vladimir Perišić, also decided to award joint second prize to “The Chaos She Left Behind” by Nikos Kolioukos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – Greece) and “Out the Window Through the Wall” by Asya Segalovich (Columbia University – U.S).

Claudine...

The “Nurse Jackie” sequel series is now in development at Amazon Prime Video with original star Edie Falco set to return, Variety has learned exclusively.

It was first reported in 2023 that a “Nurse Jackie” followup was in the works at Showtime from Lionsgate Television, but the project has now moved to Amazon.

The official logline states, “10 years after we left Jackie Peyton (Falco) clinging to life in the series finale, we find her back on her feet in spite of having lost her nursing license. The continuation of her story will find her facing new dilemmas in trying to be good in a world where being bad is often not only easier, but a lot more fun.”

Liz Flahive and Abe Sylvia serve as writers and executive producers on the sequel series, with both having worked as producers and writers on the original series. Sylvia is also attached to direct.

When it debuted in 2006, Showtime's "Dexter" was a pay cable exclusive. The darkly comic show about a Florida blood spatter analyst who doubled as a serial killer was part of Showtime's push towards HBO-level original programming, a wave of great (or at least initially great) content that also included Jenji Kohen's suburban drug dealer dramedy "Weeds," the smutty historical drama "The Tudors," and controversial lesbian soap "The L Word."

Fast forward nearly two decades, and Showtime looks a lot different. The streamer is now bundled in with Paramount+, and has been awkwardly retitled Paramount+ with Showtime. The last great Showtime hit bearing the premium channel's original name was "Yellowjackets," the great cannibal high schooler series that will be back for its third season. Showtime may have gone through tons of changes in recent years, but if you're just now getting on board with "Dexter," there's no better time: the show...

Return to the Windy City when new episodes of Showtime’s dramatic series “The Chi” return to TV and streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime this week. The show follows residents of Chicago’s South Side as they try to make a better live for themselves, no matter what obstacles stand in their way. Season 6, Part 2 of “The Chi” premieres on-demand exclusively on the Paramount+ with Showtime plan on Friday, May 10, ahead of its linear debut on the Paramount+ with Showtime channel on Sunday, May 12 at 9 p.m. Et. You can watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount+ with Showtime.

How to Watch 'The Chi' Season 6, Part 2 Premiere When: Friday, May 10, 2024 Where: Paramount+ with Showtime Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of Paramount+ with Showtime. 7-Day Free Trial$11.99+ / month via amazon.com About 'The Chi' Season 6, Part 2 Premiere

As “The Chi” closes its sixth season Emmett...

Showtime has a tendency, even more so than most networks, to drag its shows on for way too long. From "Dexter" to "Weeds" to "Californication," their shows just can't quite seem to learn how to end on a high note. Whereas HBO tends to leave its audience wanting more, Showtime series stick around until the audience begs them to go away.

Such is the case with "Shameless," a show that could've gone down as one of the greats of the 2010s if only it hadn't tried to drag things out a solid four or five seasons past its natural expiration date. By season 11 it was in full zombie mode, with one of its leads gone with the wind and the others acting like shells of their former selves. Of course, not all of the latter seasons were terrible, just as not all of the early seasons were perfect. Here's our...

Lionsgate TV’s Gary Goodman has signed a new multi-year deal to continue in his role as exec VP of worldwide production. He’ll continue to oversee production on the studio’s slate of scripted series as well as East Coast television production facilities in Yonkers, N.Y., Atlanta and a new site opening soon in Newark, N.J.

In his 17 years at Lionsgate, Goodman has worked on series including “Mad Men,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Weeds,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Nashville” and “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” among others. He has also led production for multiple installments of the “Power” franchise and “Bmf” for Starz, along with “Ghosts” for CBS, “Mythic Quest,” “Acapulco” and “Manhunt” for Apple TV+ and the recent John Wick prequel “The Continental” for Peacock and Amazon Prime.

“Gary’s production leadership has been a vital part of our success for nearly 20 years, successfully guiding us through the pandemic...

Lionsgate Television has signed Gary Goodman to a new multi-year deal to continue as EVP of Worldwide Production, heading up production of the studio’s slate of premium scripted series as well as its East Coast television production facilities in Yonkers, NY, Atlanta, Georgia and opening soon in Newark, New Jersey.

Goodman is a 17-year Lionsgate veteran, serving as head of TV production on shows including AMC’s Mad Men, Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, Weeds and Nurse Jackie for Showtime, ABC/CMT’s Nashville and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist for NBC, to name a few. Current projects include: Bmf, P-Valley and The Serpent Queen for Starz, Mythic Quest, Acapulco and Manhunt for Apple TV+ and the recent John Wick prequel The Continental for Peacock and Amazon Prime.

Goodman has overseen multiple installments of the Power franchise and up next will steer production on the recently announced prequel Origins,...

Kevin Costner’s ‘The Gray House’ To Open Monte-Carlo TV Festival

The 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival, which takes place 14-18 June, has added a touch of star power. The Kevin Costner-produced civil war spy drama The Gray House will be this year’s World Premiere Screening. The limited series, which Costner’s Territory Pictures and Morgan Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment are making alongside Republic Pictures and Big Dreams Entertainment, will open the fest following a red carpet arrival and opening ceremony. The show, based on a true story, stars Mary-Louise Parker, Daisy Head (Harlots), Amethyst Davis (Kindred) and Ben Vereen (Roots) as the unsung women who turned the tide of the American Civil War in favor of the North. Paramount Global Content Distribution has international sales rights. Previous Monte-Carlo openers have included Harlan Coben’s Shelter, Last Light, Empire, Absentia, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and L.A’s Finest.

Floating Weeds Sitting inside his Tokyo home, surrounded by stacks of books and photos of John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard pinned to the wall, the venerated film and literary critic, writer, and scholar Shiguéhiko Hasumi admitted with a wry smile that he was not really in the mood to talk about Ozu. We were gathered for an interview about a new English translation of his book Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, but he had old Hollywood on his mind. As he spoke, he switched between Japanese and French-accented English. “This book was written 40 years ago,” he said. “My last monograph is about John Ford. And this is my latest book. I greatly admire the films of Don Siegel.” He pointed to What is a Shot?. “So, I am so far from Ozu.” Indeed, Hasumi, who turns 88 this month, remains prolific. Spread out on the coffee table in front of him by...

A promotional tile for the show “Yellowjackets” appears on the Paramount Plus with Showtime app. (Graphic by The Desk)

Paramount Global is pulling the plug on the standalone streaming version of its multiplex movie network Showtime.

The Showtime app will stop functioning on April 30, several months after Paramount integrated Showtime’s film and television content into the premium tier of Paramount Plus. The two flagship Showtime linear channels — Showtime East and Showtime West — were also rebranded to Paramount Plus with Showtime in January.

“Now that subscribers can access their favorite Showtime programs on Paramount Plus by subscribing to the Paramount Plus with Showtime plan, the Showtime streaming service will shut down on April 30, 2024,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a note to customers published earlier this month.

Paramount has allowed current monthly and annual Showtime subscribers to continue paying for an accessing the service for weeks after Showtime content was integrated into Paramount Plus.