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At some point within the Jeremy Bearimy, I eventually lost count of how many people I told about The Good Place after the first season aired. I caught it over the hiatus before season two and couldn’t stop telling people about it. That season one twist and (subsequent) cliffhanger were my bread and butter. Just […]
The Television Critics Association winter press tour is officially in full swing, meaning all our favorite networks and streaming platforms are unveiling their exciting rosters of spring shows. As always, it’s an eventful time of year, where critics and fans alike learn the fates of their favorite shows from network executives themselves and have the opportunity to get a first glance at exciting new and returning series. On Friday, Hulu teased its upcoming programming, releasing trailers for several new series, announcing the premiere dates for beloved returning shows, and revealing a hilarious new project from comedic icons Steve Martin and Martin Short.
The Three Amigos co-stars and longtime friends will star in a comedic spin on true crime from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman. John Hoffman and Martin co-created the series. Meanwhile, Hulu also announced the return date for its Golden Globe-winning comedy Ramy, as well as the premiere dates for new series The Great and Solar Opposites. Ramy will return for season two on May 29, with all 10 episodes of the season dropping on the same day. Solar Opposites, which follows a family of aliens forced to seek refuge in middle America—and have widely differing opinions on the country–will release its entire eight-episode first season on May 8th. The animated series stars Justin Roiland, Thomas Middleditch, Sean Giambrone and Mary Mack.
Hulu
The Great (more info on that series below), a historical comedy series from The Favourite writer Tony McNamara, will premiere on May 15. Lastly, Hulu announced that Wu-Tang: An American Saga, a series following the rise of the game-changing hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan during the early ’90s, and the Kat Dennings-starred Dollface were each picked up for second seasons.
But, of course, the most exciting part of Hulu’s presentation is the trailer release. The streaming platform unveiled official teasers and trailers for its most high-profile series, including High Fidelity, Little Fires Everywhere, and Normal People:
High Fidelity
A twist on Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel of the same name—and he 2000 film—High Fidelity stars Zoë Kravitz (who is also executive producing he series) and the perennially broken-hearted Rob, “a female record store owner in the rapidly gentrified neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn who revisits past relationships through music and pop culture, while trying to get over her one true love.” The series also stars Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David H. Holmes, Jake Lacy, and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
High Fidelity premieres on February 14.
Little Fires Everywhere
Based on the acclaimed novel by Celeste Ng, the miniseries’ “follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. The story explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster.” An all-star cast includes Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington—who are executive producing the series—Joshua Jackson and Rosemarie DeWitt.
Little Fires Everywhere premieres on March 18.
Normal People
Based on the novel by Sally Rooney, “Normal People is an exquisite, modern love story about how one person can unexpectedly change another person’s life and about how complicated intimacy can be. It follows Marianne and Connell over several years, as they embark on an on-again/off-again romance that starts at school and continues through college, both testing their relationship as they explore different versions of themselves.” The series stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal.
Normal People will premiere in the spring.
The Great
From The Favourite writer Tony McNamara, Elle Fanning stars as Catherine the Great, in the “satirical comedic drama that follows the unlikely rise and spectacular reign of feminist trailblazer Catherine the Great, the longest running female leader in Russian history.” Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge and Sacha Shawan also star.
The Great premieres on May 15.
Hillary
A documentary about former Secretary of State and presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hillary “interweaves revealing moments from never-before-seen 2016 campaign footage with biographical chapters of her life. Featuring exclusive interviews with Hillary Rodham Clinton herself, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, friends and journalists, the series examines how she became at once one of the most admired and vilified women in the world.”
Hillary premieres March 6.
Header Image: Hulu
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After going back and forth with Netflix, Mo’Nique has finally gotten her own comedy special with another network. Even though she is still in court with thestreaming giant, the Academy-award winning actress will be starring in her special, Mo’Nique & Friends: Live From Atlanta on Showtime. The hour-long special, which will premiere on Febraury 7th at 10 p.m, will feature other comedians as well as Donnell Rawlings, Prince T-Dub, Just Nesh, Tone-X and Correy Bell.
The Baltimore native gushed about the news on her Instagram page.
“HEY MY LOVES!!!INTRODUCING MO’NIQUE & FRIENDS ON SHOWTIME FEBRUARY 7TH AT 10PM. I LOVE US 4 REAL!!!”
This will be Mo’Nique’s first stand-up special in 10 years.
This news comes a few days after Netflix asked that the lawsuit she filed against them back in November be dismissed.
“Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts showing that the compensation offered her was the product of discrimination,” read the legal documents obtained by The Blast. “To the contrary, her Complaint contradicts its core premise by noting that other persons of color, other women, and another African- American woman (like Plaintiff) have been paid substantially more money to create comedy specials for Netflix’s streaming service than what was offered to Plaintiff. And Plaintiff fails to explain why she was entitled to be offered what the stars to whom she compares herself were offered for creating such comedy specials.”
Mo had accused them of lowballing her when they offered her $500,000 to film a comedy special knowing that they had offered white and male comedians millions for their specials in the past. Her lawsuit noted that Dave Chapelle was offered $60 million for his comedy special, Chris Rock was offered $40 million and Jerry Seinfeld was offered $100 million for two comedy specials. The Precious star filed the lawsuit alleging that they discriminated against her due to her race and gender when trying to negotiate the deal with her.
It appears that Apu has said his final “thank you, come again” on The Simpsons. After thirty years, actor Hank Azaria is saying goodbye to his long running character of Apu. The actor recently told Slashfilm (via TVLine) Azaria at the Television Critics Association winter press tour “All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something. We all made the decision together… We all agreed on it.”
Twentieth Century Fox
“We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.” He added “What they’re going to do with the character is their call. It’s up to them, and they haven’t sorted it out yet. All we’ve agreed on is I won’t do the voice anymore”. Now, this doesn’t mean we won’t see Apu again. I suppose it could mean that an ethnically appropriate actor could replace him. But, in all probability, the longtime owner of the Springfield Kwik-E-Mart will ride off into the sunset in some form. And it seems like it’s probably long past time for that to happen.
The fact that the characterization of Apu is racially offensive isn’t something people are just arriving at now. But it all came to a head in recent years with the 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu. That doc from comedian Hari Kondabolu showed how the character of Apu resulted in years of insulting stereotypes of Indian-Americans like himself. And to add insult to injury, the voice behind Apu was a white actor.
Twentieth Century Fox
When the controversy started to get national attention, the producers of The Simpsons decided to give their response…in an an offhand way. And it seemed to most to come across as fairly glib and dismissive. And disappointing, given the supposed progressive values of everyone involved with the show behind-the-scenes. In the 2018 episode “No Good Read Goes Unpunished,” Marge reads to Lisa an overly-edited children’s book, one which was chock full of antiquated stereotypes.
After Marge reads it, the camera turns to Lisa, and she says “Something that started out decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect”. And then they had her turn to her framed picture of Apu on her nightstand and utter “What can you do?” Marge then says “some things will be dealt with at a later date,” to which Lisa adds “if at all”. This suggests the producers might just do nothing about the whole Apu situation. Luckily, whether Azaria himself, or the production team, made the decision, something has been done about it now it seems.
And although this marks the end of Azaria’s thirty years playing the character, it’s hardly the end of his employment on the show. Let’s not forget, he also plays Moe, Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, the Sea Captain, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, Duffman, and the Wiseguy. And tons of other one-time characters. He’ll be fine, The Simpsons will be fine, and life will go on. And for those of you who really miss Apu, there’s always the endless reruns.
Featured Image: CBS
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