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ericdeggans · 4 months

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My List of the Best TV in 2023: An Abundance of Quality Even in Adversity

What’s the surest proof that there truly is too much television available these days?

The fact that, even though 2023 featured historic performers and writers strikes in Hollywood which crippled film and TV production for months, there was still enough great series and projects to fill an entire notebook page.

Way too many, in fact, for me to cover in my small part of NPR’s awesome annual listing of the best TV and film of the year, compiled among six different critics. It’s one reason the strikes went on so long in the first place – for fans of great TV, it didn’t really seem like much changed, as streaming services kept dropping cool stuff, thanks to their long production lead times.

Ironically, viewers may notice the strikes’ impact more next year – in part, because a lot of cool TV shows left us in 2023 (pour one out for Barry, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Crown, Reservation Dogs, Succession, and, possibly, Ted Lasso) and also because the streamers will spend some time rebuilding lineups which got depleted.

Here, where I have a lot more room is my highly subjective and surprisingly long list of the Best TV of 2024:

TOP PICK - Succession – A show which perfectly captured how the dysfunctions of wealthy families can impact the world delivered a note-perfect finale that surprised – though I did predict Tom would win out – and yet felt completely inevitable. All while the world was second-guessing and writing their own endings. Masterful.

The Last of Us – Who knew reinventing the zombie apocalypse story was simple as coming up with a new cause – fungus, eww! – and the willingness to hand big chunks of the story over to compelling, fully drawn supporting characters. Doesn’t hurt to have ultimate zaddy Pedro Pascal and precocious acting genius Bella Ramsey on the case, either.

The Bear - Speaking of compelling supporting characters…this show’s second season sparkled by giving the other employees in Carmy’s greasy spoon-becoming-a-great-restaurant lots of narrative room. But it took flight with unexpected, brilliant cameos from Jon Bernthal, Olivia Colman, Oliver Platt, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, and the legendary Jamie Lee Curtis.

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Reservation Dogs – Proof of the amazing, authentic, original stories which come from letting indigenous people tells their own stories, smashing together a crushing realism with the sense that a jarring visit from the spirit world is always around the next corner.

Fargo – Not sure I love the ultimate message on the healing power of suburban, white, upper middle class Midwestern family life (or what happens to the one major Black character). But crackling performances from Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Jason leigh and Dave Foley make this year’s installment the best version in many years.

Shrinking – An emotional and truly funny comedy that reminds us how hilarious Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams can be while not making us spend too much time on Jason Segel’s angsty privileged white guy shtick.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The TV series which scored the most by taking the boldest swings, leaning into Trek’s original heritage as an adventure-of-the-week which told the most ambitious stories on the small screen.

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(The dancing, dubstepping, boy band-style Klingons on Strange New Worlds powered my favorite TV scene of the year.)

Star Trek: Picard – Yeah, I put TWO Trek series here, because everyone else in critic-land seems to be sleeping on the fact that they made more than one excellent season of a new Trek series filled with nods to what came before, including this show, which reunited the Next Generation cast in a storyline basically about old people saving the universe from young, clueless, mind-controlled pawns.

Barry – Wasn’t thrilled about how grim this series’ finale eventually became. But respected the fact that co-creator/star Bill Hader never shied away from the fact that the show was going to be his laboratory for all the directing and storytelling tricks he ever wanted to try, and a dark comedy about a hitman-turned-actor has to be seriously dark to mean something.

Beef – A road rage incident becomes a crackling, entertaining look at everything from Asian family culture to Elon Musk-level mogul dysfunction while also proving my girl Ali Wong can act her ass off.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Story – While other celebrities are executive producing documentaries to show how legendarily cool they are, Fox helped create an up close look at his struggle with Parkinson’s disease which show how hard it is to put on socks and take a walk on a new York street without crashing to the ground right in front of a concerned fan.

Only Murders in the Building – A comedy about over-privileged crime podcasters in an Upper West side apartment building should not stay entertaining over three seasons. But this show pulls it off, tossing in against-the-grain cameos by Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep that provide the best icing on a very fine cake.

Slow Horses – This show about a department filled with failed British intelligence agents not only subverts the spy genre, it subverts the satires which originally subverted classic spy dramas, like Get Smart. Topped by mesmerizing performances from Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas, I would have subtitled this one, Get Smarter.

Happy Valley - This series about an experienced, ball-busting divorced single mom of a police sergeant in a mid-size town in Britain notched an underappreciated series finale featuring the amazing Sarah Lancashire as Catharine Cawood, finally confronting the man she blamed for her daughter’s suicide and her grandson’s emotional turmoil.

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BS High – A great documentary often tells a story which keeps going deeper and better, like a descent into a spellbinding madness. This film achieved that by giving center stage to master manipulator/football coach Roy Johnson, who got ESPN to air a game featuring his Bishop Sycamore High School team; the film contends their crushing loss eventually exposed that the school didn’t really exist.

I’m a Virgo – Creator and activist Boots Riley made an urban parable where Black excellence became superpowers and the world’s exploitive class came for a 13-foot-tall Black teen played by the always compelling Jharrel Jerome. Always inspiring to see how Boots turns mainstream media’s tropes and expectations against itself.

#tv #youtube #npr #best tv of 2023 #succession #succession hbo #the last of us #the bear #beef #reservation dogs #Youtube

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aidenwaites · 1 year

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Dont forget that this is not a boycott and that as of right now, "not crossing the picket line" mainly refers to those within the industry not writing for, going into talks, or making deals with the companies that fall under the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing pretty much every large production company under the sun). As of right now there is no official boycott or call to cancel subscriptions. Boycotts on a large scale, unless officially called for, could do damage to the strike, whether through harming potential negotiations or preventing pay for striking workers through residuals and the like from projects that they've already worked on.

The best support for the strike right now will mainly come from social pressure on the AMPTP, and the official website (wgacontract2023.org) has a social media toolkit that includes info graphics, icons, and other material that can be posted online. There is also potential good to be done with monetary/mutual aid support in cities with a strong entertainment industry. The wga website has links to funds to help with financial aid for union members. Another post mentioned looking out for suggestions or news from local chapters of IATSE and Teamsters, which is a pretty great suggestion.

That said, I also think that as the strike goes on, this is a great time to seek out more indie entertainment. Tubi seems like sort of a haven for indie films right now, and my suggestion is always to look for titles you've never heard of just to give them a go. I promise you'll have fun!

Remember to support the strike, but also that the goal is to not have to strike! This is going to be a hard time for industry workers, but they're doing it for the good of the industry as a whole.

(Dating this on 5/3/2023. Look to the wga website for the most current news on the strike).

Edit: I originally wrote the MPAA instead of the AMPTP, whoops.

#wga strike #also should be noted: if you are not a union member but thats something thats like. potentially in your future #do not work for struck companies during this time. the wga has a policy against accepting new members who took scab contracts during #a strike

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onlydylanobrien · 6 months

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Dylan O’Brien Was in the Audience of ‘Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen’ — and Us Has Questions

By Yana Grebenyuk October 18, 2023

Dylan O’Brien has all of Us wondering what his favorite Bravo shows are after his surprise audience appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

Host Andy Cohen kicked off the show on Tuesday, October 17, by introducing guests Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Monica Garcia and comedian Heather McMahan. He then pointed out that O’Brien, 32, and producer Tommy Alter were both in the audience. Cameras switched to O’Brien who did a thumbs up for viewers while sipping a drink.

“I want to welcome our friends Dylan O’Brien and Tommy Alter to the Clubhouse. Great to see you! Dylan being a huge Vanderpump Rules fan, I found out tonight. I love it,” Cohen, 55, said as the audience cheered.

O’Brien was not mentioned again, but he did get fans talking about the unexpected cameo. “This feels random. Dylan O’Brien is in the #WWHL audience tonight!” a social media commentator wrote via X.

Meanwhile, another viewer poked fun at O’Brien enjoying himself in New York City, writing, “Just dylan o’brien in his natural state (sipping on his drink) in the audience of wwhl tonight.”

O’Brien was photographed hours prior showing his support for the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike on the picket line. He wore a hoodie that referenced the actors’ union, which he paired with green sweatpants and a red baseball hat.

The actor rose to stardom after playing fan-favorite character Stiles Stilinski on MTV’s hit series Teen Wolf from 2011 to 2017. O’Brien went on to score the role of Thomas in the Maze Runner film franchise. He has since also appeared in movies including Deepwater Horizon, American Assassin, Bumblebee, Love and Monsters and Not Okay.

O’Brien’s collaborations with Taylor Swift, however, have been our favorite part of his filmography so far. In 2021, O’Brien starred opposite Sadie Sink in Swift’s short film All Too Well. He was also credited as a drummer on Swift’s song “Snow on the Beach,” which was featured on her 2022 album Midnights.

After All Too Well scored five nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, O’Brien praised Swift, 33, as an artist.

“She sent us the news first thing in the morning,” he told Entertainment Tonight in July 2022. “She’s genuinely just someone who’s so involved and just proud of her work and is so grateful for any accomplishment or recognition for something that she just poured herself into. Talk about a special human.”

According to O’Brien, he has been in a “group chat” with Swift and Sink, 21, since working on the music video together. “[Taylor] would make a really, really good director. If it’s something that her heart’s in, Taylor can do whatever she wants,” he added. “She could easily direct a feature and it’d be something I’d sign up for, for sure.”

Source: usmagazine.com

#dylan o'brien #wwhl with andy cohen #news

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nflstreetsanimereviews · 10 months

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Anime Review: Oshi no Ko

To say that Oshi no Ko was the anime to watch for Spring 2023 would have been an understatement. The first episode, which was feature-length at 82 minutes, was quite possibly one of the best first episodes of an anime I’ve ever seen. Of course, with around four times the time to air–Oshi no Ko had to justify its length. If it was just average, then what was the point of the grand entry? Thankfully, Oshi no Ko more than justifies the dramatic entrance.

At the time, the sky-high average rating (90/100), while a good omen, seemed like a bit much considering the show had only just started. I know most people aren’t as pricks about rating anime as I am, but I was a bit skeptical. I’ve seen anime start strong only for opinion on it to change up after time has passed. After completing Oshi no Ko, I can comfortably say that it deserves the high marks it got then, and now.

The long run time of the first episode was only part of why Oshi no Ko was so well received initially. The stylistic choices (a part brought over by the manga) set it apart from the onset. It really captures the vibe of what an ‘idol’ idealistically is. Considering that Hoshino Ai is shown as the ideal idol, it’s a perfect match. While style can carry an anime (and manga) far, eventually even the biggest sucker will notice the lack of substance–fortunately for us, Oshi no Ko has both in plentiful amounts. The story contained within the first episode is a whirlwind. It’s astounding that Oshi no Ko can contain so many various themes and time skips and still maintain to be gripping. It’s not easy for a show to be compelling while essentially being Rugrats at the same time. While the story does slow down a bit starting with episode two, it still keeps up the quality while not betraying what drew people in the first place.

The synopsis for Oshi no Ko did it no favors–I had no idea what the show was going to be about from reading it. Maybe I’m just a moron, but tell me if you can dissect whatever the hell this means:

When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely (and secretly) deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes?

At first, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Thinking back, that was a good thing. I knew what was going to happen, while not knowing how it would happen. A good tell if a story is great is if it still is emotionally compelling even if you know what’s going to happen.

While she is only a side character when it comes to air-time, Ai Hoshino is without a doubt the star of Oshi no Ko. Her origins are mysterious–we know nothing about her mother and father, or any of her family for that matter. At first, she may seem like your bog-standard idol that sings and dances for you, but Ai has something that almost no other idol has. That something is the power to enthrall viewers with her eyes. Well, not actually, but her star-shaped pupils represent her commitment to the bit. While she’s on a mission to give love to her fans, she hasn’t ever felt anything close to that in her life. That’s perhaps how she was lured into a relationship and got impregnated. Not wanting to ruin her reputation, she goes into hiatus during that time and afterward resumes as if nothing happened. Little does she know that she gave birth to two people that have already lived a life–a life admiring their now mother.

Aquamarine and Ruby Hoshino, who are both reborn as Ai’s child, were admirers of Ai in their past lives. Aquamarine (he goes by Aqua) was a doctor in his past life, who became a fan of Ai via one of his patients. That patient, Sarina Tendouji, happens to be the person reborn as his twin sister, Ruby. Ruby had a condition that kept her bedridden and in need of constant care. I do wonder how they’ve made it this far without realizing that they’ve already known each other in a past life–it would make sense considering they both had the ability to walk and talk, among other things, as soon as they were born. I have a birds-eye view of their story, which makes it unfair to assume they would know that. Anyways, being reincarnated as Ai’s children gives them both the ability to live with their favorite idol–something only that would happen in their wildest dreams previously…that is, until the ‘unthinkable disaster strikes’. I won’t spoil what the ‘unthinkable disaster’ is, but if you’ve interacted with anyone that’s watched or read Oshi no Ko, you probably know what it is. That ‘unthinkable disaster’ gives them both motivation to shine in showbiz. For Aqua, that means becoming a teen heartthrob actor for the purpose of finding and getting revenge on those who caused the ‘unthinkable disaster’. He also works behind the scenes as a protege of director Taishi Gotanda, so he can establish further connections. For Ruby, it means becoming an idol that shines as bright as her mother. Their connections and the fact that they kept their intelligence and memories of their past life gives them a huge advantage in achieving their goals. Aqua, who was a doctor that was pushing thirty before being killed in his past life, is intelligent and mature to the degree that he can communicate with adults without any sense of childish insecurity. This is because internally, Aqua IS an adult. Around 45 if my math is correct. Ruby on the other hand, still has that childlike immaturity since she passed away as a teen in her life. She does have immense knowledge of idol culture, and of B-Komachi (the group Ai was in), which makes her a repository of most things idol-related.

Kana Arima is listed as the third main character, but I would classify her more as a ‘super-supporting character’. A former child actor that is in her own words ‘past her prime’, she becomes acquainted with Aqua as toddlers when they both star in a movie. Known as the ‘genius child actor who can cry in 10 seconds’ and the ‘Bell Pepper Girl’, she has trouble finding industry gigs now due to her behavior as a child. Becoming acquainted with both Aqua and Ruby, she finds herself working with them often, even joining the same production company they’re in. Her mission in Oshi no Ko is to regain her footing within the entertainment industry. Being a 17-year-old ‘has been’ is a lot for someone to handle. All she wants is to be adored by fans again and to regain her confidence. Kana’s story, while nowhere near as important as the main story, also runs parallel to Aqua and Ruby’s.

Akane Kurokawa, the actress that is extremely thorough when it comes to researching her roles, and MEM-cho, a YouTuber that stars alongside Aqua in a dating show, also deserve an honorable mention. Akane plays a crucial role in Oshi no Ko–one that I can’t get into without spoiling more than I want to. MEM-cho is the closest thing we have to a gag character. She serves as a casual observer of what’s going on around her.

Oshi no Ko is from the same mangaka that wrote Kaguya-sama: Love is War. While Oshi no Ko had me drawn in within the first twenty minutes, I was really never into Kaguya-sama. Does that mean that Oshi no Ko is better than Kaguya-sama? Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but it's certainly true that I enjoyed it more. If you’re a fan of one, you’re likely to be a fan of the other. ‘Non-Battle Battle Anime’ is generally something that’s better as an idea than in practice. Death Note has its moments, but overall is mediocre. Shokugeki no Souma (Food Wars) started out alright, but devolved into some of the worst anime I’ve ever watched by the fourth season (Third season part two? I don’t know. Doesn’t matter). The first volume of Classroom of the Elite (which got an anime adaptation with multiple sequels) only made me think of WHY would I, along with anyone else at the academy, would want to be part of the ‘elite’ of a country that’s been on the decline for thirty years straight? Most ‘Non-Battle Battle Anime’ is nothing more than making a mountain out of a molehill, or pseudo-intellectual garbage in Classroom of the Elite’s case. What makes Oshi no Ko better than anything else listed here is the ability to not get too involved in trying to make events seem important, and instead lets them play out. Not everything is the most important thing ever. Especially with series like Oshi no Ko where multiple side-plots are going parallel with the main plot. The exaggerated cynicism that often plagues other ‘Non-Battle Battle Anime’ isn’t a problem in Oshi no Ko as well. Sure, being an idol isn’t all sunshine and roses. Anyone who has half a brain knows that. Oshi no Ko doesn’t pretend like it’s a grand revelation that the idol industry is seedy and contains people of questionable morals. It doesn’t treat you like a dunce that needs to be spoon-fed everything. However, it does often tell you things that you actually didn’t know–like how the reason many YouTubers show off every new gadget they buy is for it to be a tax write-off. Maybe that’s just me not putting two and two together, but it makes sense considering that there’s no other reason why an idol or a podcast host would want to show off their new Hoover vacuum cleaner.

Speaking of the manga–I find the anime the more enjoyable version of Oshi no Ko. This is partly because I tend to prefer anime over manga in the first place, but also I feel like a series that’s centered around idols needs a voice for it to show its ‘true form’. The manga is good, don’t get me wrong, but there’s only so much you can do with only drawings. It’s like the difference between reading about a fight that goes on and being able to view it in visual form. There’s a reason why Dragon Ball doesn’t have any light novels (that I know of). Both the manga and anime are great. The user ratings for both will back that up. Your preference will depend on what you prefer in the first place most likely. The anime is the more appropriate medium for a series like Oshi no Ko in my opinion. That being said, it takes a manga to fully relay your idea for a story–one of idolization and revenge. Can’t have the cart without the horse.

A burning question you may have about Oshi no Ko is “What does it have to say about the idol industry?” Is it a ‘deconstruction’? Does it paint a positive view? Well, you know the latter isn’t true if you’ve made it this far. However, Oshi no Ko isn’t hyper-critical of the idol industry as it may seem. Sure, it would be easy to paint a cynical picture of the idol industry since it can be really nasty at times. Obsessive fans, very questionable use of underage girls, and the fact that idols are more than often forced to be ‘married’ to the fanbase. Having to forgo any relationship sans a business one with men and having to hide them if they do have one. Idol series like Love Live! forgo any mention of relationships with the other sex. Other than Miki Hoshii’s attachment to Producer-san, The Idolm@ster doesn’t show anything of the like either. Of course, that doesn’t stop either series from having yuri-fanatics ship characters together, or from doujin artists from drawing them getting railed, but in official media, these things are persona non grata. That’s because those series show an idealistic view of idols. They aren’t real people, so they can dance and sing all they want without worrying about reality. Reality often does shine its ugly light in those series, but it never defines it. The other end of this spectrum would be the film Perfect Blue. Perfect Blue is about a former idol, which technically isn’t the same as a ‘current idol’, but it still shows how one obsessive fan can give an otherwise normal woman chronic paranoia. Perfect Blue isn’t by any means over-cynical. It’s a great psychological thriller that still holds up to this day. Not exactly a shining endorsement of the idol industry, but that wasn’t the point. At least I think.

The point is that it’s easy to be hyper-cynical about everything idol related. However, that wouldn’t be a real representation of the idol industry either. While it may come off as ‘smart’, after a while it would just be lazy. Many people conflate pessimism with intelligence and optimism and dullness. Anime isn’t immune to that tendency. Too much cynicism only reveals that you have no idea what you’re talking about and are either too inept or apathetic to give an actual realistic view of what you’re trying to portray. Oshi no Ko thankfully doesn’t fall into this trap. I mean, for every obsessive fan there is, there are more fans like Ruby, who becomes an idol because she ‘idolizes’ them. The power of idols to brighten someone’s day is the reason why they still exist, even if you recognize that they’re ‘lies’ at the end of the day. Ruby isn’t the only one that decides to become an idol due to inspiration from former idols–many idols of today harbor fond memories of idols of yesterday. Like how many racers are inspired by the greats like Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt, those that are taken from us too soon tend to be extra special to our hearts. Oshi no Ko is quick to point out that being an idol isn’t all fun and games–but that’s because being an entertainer, in general, isn’t as fun as it seems. Again, anyone with a brain knows that.

Aqua, who fully commits to being an actor so he can exact his revenge against those who caused the ‘unthinkable disaster’, has to work hard to keep climbing up the ranks. Having connections will only get you so far. He has the smarts that almost no 16-year-old boy has–mostly because he was book-smart enough to become an obstetrician in his past life. Thankfully for him, Aqua also has common sense, which makes it easier for him to use social manipulation in order to get closer to finding out the truth behind the ‘unthinkable disaster’. Being a handsome young man probably helps with that as well. The point is that to get his revenge, he needs to curry favor with industry higher-ups. Do a favor for them in exchange for information that’ll lead him closer to the answer. His journey, like Ruby’s, also shows the good, the bad, and the ugly about the entertainment industry. One of the arcs in the anime was inspired by real-life events from a dating show that’s similar to the one that Aqua participates in, so it isn’t like this isn’t made up out of whole cloth.

To answer the question, Oshi no Ko has a lot to say. Not only about the idol industry, but the entertainment industry as a whole. While it’s only a small part of the story, managing to strike a balance between blind idealism and realism enhances Oshi no Ko’s overall plot by a lot. It would be less powerful if it had Love Live’s interpretation of the entertainment industry or went the other way and everyone was a back-stabbing two-timing son-of-a-bitch ready to end your career to elevate theirs. The reality is that while there are a lot of social climbers, there are also earnest people. Aqua and Ruby meet people from both categories–and perhaps Aqua may be considered the former once you understand his true motives.

There isn’t much to rag about when it comes to Oshi no Ko. My main question as far as I know has gone unanswered is “What year is it?”. From the time that Aqua and Ruby are reborn to the current time, it seems that technology and society have not evolved whatsoever. One could say that the ‘current day’ is around now, which means they were reincarnated in the early 2000s, but that wouldn’t make sense because Ruby was already doom-scrolling and responding to hate directed towards her mother on an iPhone as a baby. That lead me to believe that the Oshi no Ko timeline was somewhere in the late 2030s, with technology not progressing any from the 2020s. Oshi no Ko doesn’t show Aqua or Ruby living in a techno-futurist utopia or dystopia. Society around them is ‘stuck’ in a sense. In order to find an answer to my question, I went to the Oshi no Ko subreddit. According to them, the answer is ‘whatever the mangaka (Akasaka) wants’. The evidence, however, suggests that Oshi no Ko takes place around the late-2010s, with Aqua and Ruby being born in 2004. This relies on the notion that Oshi no Ko and Kaguya-sama take place in the same universe. A Kaguya-sama character does make a cameo, so it’s not false to suggest that they are in the same universe. This wouldn’t explain how Aqua and Ruby were able to go viral on Twitter as babies when Twitter didn’t exist until a few years later. Ultimately, the conclusion is that it doesn’t matter, since it doesn’t interfere with the main plot at hand. It’s trivial to wonder why Twitter looks the same 15 years later, or why the technology in Oshi no Ko hasn’t progressed since Aqua and Ruby were born. It’s an afterthought that only pedants like me care about. It’s not the first series that had a fluid timeline, and it wouldn’t be the last.

As you can probably tell, there’s not much fault I can find with Oshi no Ko. Sure, I could be more nit-picky about certain details, but that has little to do with the story at hand. It checks off all of the boxes that make a great anime. The animation quality is superb. I don’t care for anime openings and endings, but most other watchers love the music–especially the opening theme. Aqua and Ruby both have separate missions in the entertainment industry, but both do it for their mother Ai–both storylines have a lot to offer. Neither storyline outshines the other, something that most anime that attempt the same fail to deliver. The supporting characters (super-supporting character in Kana’s case) also have compelling stories that feed into the main plot. It has the right balance between idealism and realism. Some more skeptical watchers may accuse Oshi no Ko of handing the dark side of ‘the industry’ with kid gloves. I disagree with that view since the industry isn’t as bad as some may like to think it is. The reason why stories like this are so compelling is because of how rare it is. If idols were getting jumped by obsessive fans every day, this wouldn’t be a story worth telling. No one would give a shit. If you dive too deep into the cynicism, you’ll end up looking as stupid as those who trick themselves into thinking that idols are for them, and them only.

With a second season coming ‘soon’, there’s no risk of diving into Oshi no Ko only to be left at a cliffhanger. This season ends at the beginning of the arc that I think does get too “Non-Battle Battle” with it. The anime adaptation of it should flow better–it’s hard to read multiple chapters that are just monologues. Way easier to shove that into one or two episodes. Then again, I’m more than likely in the minority when it comes to being bearish on the 2.5 Stage Play arc. I hate to admit it, but it kinda got too much for me at a point. Luckily, that’s the only arc where that happens. Either way, I’ll be watching it, and I recommend that you do too.

Is Oshi no Ko the anime of the year? Well, I wouldn’t go that far since we still have two seasons' worth of anime yet to be aired. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was voted AOTY at whatever award show Crunchyroll hosts. I wouldn’t complain either. It’s genuinely a very good show that deserves the praise it gets.

90/100

#anime review #anime #oshi no ko #onk #review

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agentnico · 4 months

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Top 10 BEST Movies of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all partied hard and are now surviving a dreadful hangover by sitting with your family or friends and enjoying a well deserved marathon of Lord of the Rings. 2023 - what a year! In the movie biz alone there were those little minor events known as the strikes of the actors and writers. Just when we thought COVID was over and stopped affecting releases, these strikes were like “errr no, actually..!”. To be fair, the way the streaming services were underpaying their actors and the studios enforcing AI so much into the media, it was good that these artists stood up for themselves and showed it to the man so to speak! Anyway, we’re not here to talk Hollywood politics, but to celebrate all the quality filmmaking that was exhibited this past year. I’d say in all honesty this year felt weaker compared to 2022. To be fair last year gave us Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and of course the legendary RRR, so the bar was high for 2023. That being said, I still enjoyed some solid films, so let’s rank my Top 10 favourite movies of 2023, but first some honourable mentions…

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Evil Dead Rise - one heck of a gore fest, and the best opening title card of the year hands down!

Past Lives - a simple yet brutally honest love story.

The Boy and the Heron - Wanna hear Robert Pattinson sound like not Robert Pattinson?!

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.

Barbie - I’m Just Ken…need I say more??

Wonka - Timmy makes for a good Willy.

Right, with that, let’s get into the actual fun stuff - The Top 10 Best Movies of 2023!…

10) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT - The least Guy Ritchie film Guy Ritchie has ever directed and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Away with the rough East End and grizzly jokes, and instead what we have is a very reserved and straight-faced war thriller. Honestly I was so surprised with how much I was engaged and invested in The Covenant - it is a thrilling pulse-racing story of survival that adds to the dread that elements of it are true to many people’s reality. Truly, this is a well-made movie!

9) TETRIS - You hear of a movie titled Tetris and one has to wonder if we have another Emoji Movie on our hands, where we get little tetra shaped characters goofing about in some animated mathematics world trying to force an unfunny joke upon our poor heads. Luckily that’s not the case, as instead this is a behind-the-scenes look at the legal drama behind the ownership of the game rights, and though that may not sound that fun, the movie is surprisingly very entertaining with some visual pixel tricks, a great soundtrack, delightful nostalgia, a fast-paced ante-upping narrative set in the backdrop of the Soviet Union and an adorable Taron Egerton in the middle of it all. Honestly, I’m shocked at how much I digged the Tetris movie!

8) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 - Marvel is evidently in a rut, but a rare bright spark in recent memory was the final instalment of James Gunn’s take on the fun dysfunctional space family. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a wonderful ride, bringing lots of great humour, character dynamics and emotion, and gets you hooked on a feeling…one last time. Oh, and Gunn finally managed to properly show Nathan Fillion’s face in a Marvel movie, and that in itself is a win!

7) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE - Tom Cruise - what a guy! I mean yes he’s a Scientologist, has a constant death wish by breaking his ankles on film sets and also guilty of jumping on Oprah’s sofa like a monkey, but my my is he a charmer! You guys know the drill with these Mission Impossible movies - Tom Cruise throws his body around like a potato fearing not for his life nor broken limbs, but you have to respect the man for wanting to give the audience their tickets’ worth of entertainment, and Dead Reckoning not disappoint! There’s never a dull moment, the action is constantly inventive and exciting, and honestly with how consistent the quality of these films are, I say keep ‘em coming, Cruise-man!

6) DREAM SCENARIO - Anyone who knows me knows how much I love me some Nicolas Cage! The guy’s an acting legend, and he’s had it rough a decade ago when he got stuck paying off hi tax money and starring in crappy B-movies, but recently he’s been on a hot streak of great original content, and Dream Scenario adds to that. I love this idea of a random dude suddenly appearing in people’s dreams for absolutely no reason. It’s so rare to have a new original conception in a film in our day and age, and the execution here is great. As a bonus, the movie features possibly the best fart joke in the history of the cinema.

5) OPPENHEIMER - On one had this is probably the most “well-made” movie of 2023 cinematically speaking. Christopher Nolan does not hold back in using his typical non-linear way of storytelling, with the film weaving narratives and different time periods seamlessly as it explores the profound depths of a man who’s actions altered the world’s trajectory forever, for better or worse. It’s an incredible historical piece of cinema, and the movie gets extra points for the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but the reason this film is not higher on the list is due to the fact that I believe it is overrated. Cause every single person raved about how bloody amazing this thing was, I became tired of the positivity. Yeah, I know, I’m being a Scrooge but what you gonna do about it?? Oppenheimer is stuck at No. 5!

4) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - When a movie forces you to stay in the cinema for over 3 hours, it better be one epic film, as your man here was straining his bladder to health threatening levels. However this is a Martin Scorsese picture, as such this is event cinema! And this one may be up there with one of his best. Killers of the Flower Moon is a major saga of greed, murder, corruption and despair, told through the eyes of a filmmaker who somehow is still managing to mature more as a director even though he’s already over 80 years of age.

3) THE HOLDOVERS - The Holdovers is very much a vibes movie. It has that old-timey retro feel to it from how it is shot to make it look like it’s from the 70s (reminiscent of John Hughes films and Dead Poets Society). You also have the constant snow falling and the Christmas music just really delivers that cozy winter feel. It’s a wholesome Christmas movie through and through. Paul Giamatti gives a career-best performance and the writing is absolutely stellar, as such The Holdovers is destined to become a holiday classic.

2) BEAU IS AFRAID - A. 3-hour long anxiety attack that A24 spent $30 million to produce. For a movie studio to spill out such a massive amount of cash on a completely original IP that is divisively out-there and wild is such a unique thing to happen in Hollywood in this day and age, that like the film or not this act needs to be applauded. It just so happens that Beau Is Afraid is batshit bonkers and truly an act of madness, yet one that I will forever cherish. I bet David Lynch had the biggest hard-on when he watched this movie - you betcha!

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, put simply, brilliant! It’s everything that made Into the Spider-Verse great dialled up to 1000%, and the result is honestly fantastic. Look, I watch a lot of movies. And yeah, movies are great and I love them deeply. But in watching so many films I have in a way lost that magic of being in awe every time I go to the cinema. Cliches and repetitiveness in films stick out like sore thumbs. However with Across the Spider-Verse I felt like a kid again, purely stunned in amazement at every single frame, engaged with the characters and story-line, not knowing where it will go next. Like I cannot reiterate how much fun I had watching this movie! The animation is phenomenal, the narrative so rich, a pulse-throbbing music score (I even have Pemberton’s score on vinyl now just cause I love it so much!) superb character development and so many fun and unexpected twists and turns. Across the Spider-Verse is THE movie of 2023 for me and I believe this is the first time ever an animation took a top spot on my list. Here’s hoping Part 3 of the Spider-Verse saga will play out like The Return of the King!

There you have it - my favourite films of 2023. Naturally I don’t expect my list to be the same as yours, so don’t go throwing a tantrum if I missed out a movie you loved. Or do throw a tantrum, see if I care. But also don’t, cause like we’re all friends here, right? Right??!

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skelemilk · 8 months

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I keep forgetting to post these so here are 3 of my @d20zinejam pieces! The other 2 are super secret and you'll have to find them out yourself(D20 rarepair, D20 Met Sleepover zine)

Go support the bundle if you can as all the proceeds go to the entertainment community fund in solidarity with the sag/wga strikes!

Commentary/Ramble about each piece under the cut

Spider verse Piece:

Bob is frankly one of my favorite characters from any season. She's tough, but also canonically is not the book smartest of ladies and honestly? Great. Give me more Bobs dimension 20. Canonically literally perfect at most things and a charmer so I'd think that Bob wouldn't, really make any effort to hide her identity. Like everyone knows it's her. Everyone does but like she thinks she's hiding it so well and frankly she kicks so much ass they can't really find the energy to care. Her design was based off a bolas spider and golden orb weavers!

Met gala:

Not much to say except I think the entirety of the dream team would be feral if Kingston showed up in another suit. The flowers are meant to represent community and some of the patterning on the robe is meant to fourth of July fire work stuff because that's the holiday I personally associate the most (in it's ideal form) as a community holiday. Sneaking out or peering out through your balcony to watch people set off fireworks because no way in hell are you going to DC to watch a light show at this time of year.

Faerie fashion

Okay now this one I genuinely don't have much to say about. Mostly modeled them off stuff I saw on Pinterest and 1980s type fashion. I wish I knew how to draw feral expressions better however I don't soooooo. I think the funnest part of this piece was doing fables design as I imagine is only two expressions are big smile and bigger frown

#fable acofaf #acofaf #viscountess grabalba #kingston brown #the unsleeping city #barbarella sasparilla gainglynn #pirates of leviathan #d20 zine jam #d20

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rockanroller · 7 months

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WGA / SAG-AFTRA Strikes Masterpost

[ !! this post will be edited if there are any updates to info or if i discover i made any errors in my research, so i don’t recommend reblogging it !! ]

✤ TL;DR:

viv has now said in an interview posted October 26th, 2023 that the delay was due to Hazbin Hotel not having a streaming platform, and making arrangements with Prime.

prior to that, viv said on July 13th, 2023, that she felt it was "safe to say" the actor's strike "effects both (helluva boss and hazbin hotel)" even though she could only speak for helluva. [ link to post detailing her tweets & replies that mentioned the strikes ]

what i think is the strikes weren't the main cause but they caused minor delays due to their effect on the industry, and the main cause was Hazbin Hotel not having a distribution partner.

the timeline of WGA strikes and Hazbin Hotel's delay coincidentally line up with each other

✤ basic info about a24 and the unions:

A24 handles producing (funding, organizing) and distributing (marketing, release strategizing, platform seeking) of their products.

Bento Box is the studio that handled animation for Hazbin Hotel.

WGA is the union for WRITERS in film, TV, radio, and online media.

SAG-AFTRA is the union for ACTORS and RADIO ARTISTS.

SAG-AFTRA allowed A24 to continue filming MOVIES with SAG-AFTRA actors around late July 2023 due to A24 not being affiliated with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that SAG-AFTRA & WGA were/are striking against.

the only thing i've found about A24 and the WGA was a Redditor saying that in relation to SAG-AFTRA's decision to allow A24 to use their actors, WGA hadn't made a decision about A24.

The WGA contract does not cover writing for general advertising, however the development of branded television/entertainment shows/projects that are using WGA writers most likely would've been put on hold. Non-WGA writers would also hesitate to work during a strike for fear of ruining rep/scabbing/ruining their own chances to eventually join the union themselves. (pic below)

Regarding the above; "development" usually means earlier pre-production work, so this may not be applicable to HH at all.

✤ timeline of strike updates, hazbin releases, and vivziepop tweets:

A24 picked up Hazbin Hotel in August 2020.

The Hazbin Hotel Twitter posted that it would be coming in Summer 2023 on October 27th, 2022.

Hazbin Hotel's Twitter continued to make general promotional posts with images & GIFs of the characters throughout 2023 starting with... January 31st - "it's going to be one hell of a year!" February 28th - "lovers in hell"

Hazbin Hotel's wrap-party was posted about on socials in late March 2023. [ As far as I've found wrap-parties generally are held once everything is completed & ready for post-production, but can still take months or years to come out afterwards, although the industry tends to want things out the door fast these days. ]

Hazbin Hotel's Twitter continued to post promo tweets... April 1st - Angel Dust's "birthday" April 30th - "Charlie is excited! Are you?"

The WGA strike began in early May 2023

Viv says in a reply tweet that the WGA (writer's) strike wouldn't effect a Helluva Boss episode that had already been written. (this is true.)

Hazbin Hotel's Twitter continued to post promo tweets... May 31st - "What's Alastor so happy about? We'll see!" June 30th - "Someone had a great month! #happypride"

SAG-AFTRA votes in approval of a strike on July 13th, 2023.

Viv tweets on July 13th, 2023 in support of the SAG-AFTRA (actor's) strike and explains the strike "will effect show marketing and promo so things might take longer" but doesn't specify if she meant for Helluva Boss or Hazbin Hotel.

The same day, in reply to someone asking if the strike would effect both shows or just Hazbin Hotel, Viv says she can only speak for Helluva Boss, but that she thinks it's "safe to say it effects both."

The SAG-AFTRA strike officially starts at midnight on July 14th, 2023.

Hazbin Hotel's Twitter doesn't make any further promotional posts or announcements for months

There were many developments and meetings on the WGA strike during September 2023.

The AMPTP met with the WGA to officially restart negotiations on September 14th, 2023

The WGA resumed negotiations on September 20th, 2023, with Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, and Universal Pictures.

The meeting on the 20th was followed by meetings on September 21st, September 22nd, and September 23rd, 2023.

VivziePop posted a tweet September 23rd, 2023, that an update would be “coming very soon”

On September 24th, 2023, the “writers and studios reached a tentative agreement”

On September 26th, 2023, the WGA leaders announced the strike would officially end.

The strike for WGA ended on September 27th, 2023 at 12:01am PDT.

The Hazbin Hotel trailer that announced its new release in January 2024 was released the very next day, September 28th, 2023.

Hazbin Hotel's Twitter resumes posting on September 28th, 2023 when they share the new trailer as well.

VivziePop posted that she had watched “through the whole season of hh” on October 4th, 2023.

On October 9th, 2023 the WGA successfully agreed to a new contract with AMPTP.

The Hazbin Hotel "Happy Day in Hell" preview was released on October 14th, 2023.

The SAG-AFTRA strike is still on-going as of October 13th, 2023.

✤ !! UPDATE !!

Viv has now said in an interview posted October 16th, 2023, that the delay was due to Hazbin Hotel not having a distribution partner (streaming platform), and once they made a deal with Prime they then had to make arrangements. (pic below)

✤ final thoughts

it would seem that they’ve been working the entire time/on and off since March 2023, and the delay was due to difficulty finding a streaming platform/making arrangements with Prime, like Vivzie claimed in this interview, and just happened to fall into a similar timeline with the WGA strike.

since she has said in reference to the actor’s strike she felt it was “safe to say it effects both (helluva boss AND hazbin hotel) then it’s possible that both caused a delay.

i.e. they were delayed while trying to find a platform, but there were ripples from the "drama" of the strikes throughout the industry that could've caused some other minor delays along the way while they were trying to find a platform, and/or as they were settling arrangements with Prime.

alright that's all the data and speculations i have, enjoy, and as always remember to take speculations with a grain of salt!

[ also feel free to send me any receipts you have regarding all this, you can always share your thoughts or feelings or theories in my ask box if you want to, but pls do not come to insist what is or isn’t true without including receipts/links pls and thank you! ]

#hazbin hotel critical #vivziepop critical #thoughts #speculation #research #wga strike #sag aftra strike

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ncisfranchise-source · 1 month

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The NCIS franchise will be airing its 1,000th episode on April 15, and CBS Studios President David Stapf has been involved in every single one of them. Because he was head of CBS current programming at the time, he even participated in the development of the mothership series from Day 1 because it originated as two back-door pilot episodes of an existing show, JAG, that aired in April 2003. He was in on all casting sessions and still remembers Pauley Perrette’s audition that won her the role of Abby in the room.

Scheduled against then-Fox juggernaut American Idol, NCIS, about a little known branch of the U.S. military, got off to an inauspicious start, finishing its first season ranked #26. By Season 7, it was the most watched TV drama, holding its own against Idol, and became the most watched program overall three seasons later while also ruling syndication.

CBS’ Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach has been with the show since Season 8 when she was assigned as the day-to-day current executive on the drama and quickly became a fan. At the time NCIS had already spawned one spinoff, NCIS: LA. It was followed by NCIS: New Orleans in 2014; the franchise’s first female-led offshoot NCIS: Hawai’i in 2021; the first international installment, NCIS: Sydney, last year; as well as the upcoming prequel NCIS: Origins for CBS, executive produced and narrated by Mark Harmon and starring Austin Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the 1990s; and an Europe-set Tony & Ziva spinoff for Paramount+, starring NCIS alums Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo.

The latest pickups make NCIS the largest procedural franchise ever with five current series. They also will help grow the franchise’s global audience, estimated to be more than 300 million viewers in 2023 by producer CBS Studios, which has licensed it in over 200 markets, and the franchise’s staggering current U.S. tally of 4.37 trillion minutes viewed.

In an interview with Deadline, Stapf and Reisenbach, who was promoted to the CBS Entertainment president post in November 2022, discuss expanding the NCIS universe, how the latest additions came about and potential crossovers. They provide an update on the Tony & Ziva spinoff’s title, production start date and possible cast additions, and on the renewal status for NCIS and NCIS: Hawai’i. The duo also address the prospects for Mark Harmon to appear on NCIS or Origins and for a potential Perrette and Scott Bakula return to the franchise, share plans for further NCIS installments, and how big the franchise can get.

DEADLINE: NCIS: Sydney just got picked up yesterday for a second season. What about NCIS and NCIS Hawai’i? Are you already working on their renewals?

REISENBACH: Like we talked about it a couple months ago, NCIS is a cornerstone of our schedule. The actors love doing it, and the writers continue to fire on all cylinders. As far as the future, we’re thrilled to have them on the air and they want to keep doing it, so we’re going to keep doing it.

DEADLINE: So it’s looking good for NCIS and Hawai’i to come back next season?

REISENBACH: It’s still only March, and we haven’t made all of our deals and decision-making so it’s a little early to officially confirm anything.

DEADLINE: Sydney was used as strike contingency last fall. What was the impetus to bring it back to CBS with the strike over? Are you going to use it as a summer series?

REISENBACH: I can’t tell you where it’s going to air yet because we haven’t figured that out to be honest. Again, that’s sort of the too soon to tell category. But the show resonated, it was the number one show until we brought back the rest of the schedule. It came on and did really well without much of our launch platform.

We had a great launch campaign for it, if you remember, we did these amazing upside-down promos during football that got a lot of attention. So I think just the fact that it launched with very little original programming surrounding it and did so well, it has earned a spot back on the schedule at some point for sure.

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DEADLINE: In expanding the NCIS franchise, you originally took the traditional route, replicating the general formula in a new location with LA and New Orleans. Then in close succession, you ordered Hawai’i and Australia-set Sydney, which have a similar setup, followed by the pickups of prequel Origins and the Tony and Ziva spinoff this year. When did that accelerated expansion master plan start and where are we in it right now?

STAPF: The master plan started a long time ago. We had NCIS. It certainly worked well enough to spawn a spinoff, LA, which also worked really well, that was on for 13 years, I think that show doesn’t get the credit it deserves as expanding the franchise but also deepening the love of the franchise for viewers.

We knew and always wanted to expand it, but when you’re dealing with a franchise, you don’t want to oversaturate the market, you don’t want to dilute the value of each individual show. So it really comes down to somebody coming in with an idea for a show that could stand on its own and could be part of the franchise but is wholly unique from any of the others. Hawai’i certainly did that in the way that it was unique, a female lead, set in Hawaii. We were just coming off Hawaii Five-0, a very successful show. People love that setting, it plays well over the globe.

REISENBACH: There is a big military presence too in Hawaii that makes sense.

STAPF: Sydney certainly was not intended for the States. The strike afforded the network the ability to utilize it but that was going to be P+ Australia and Network 10. I would love to say we didn’t get lucky, that it was planned, we knew it was going to be as great as it is. But we got lucky, that show is really well done. It very much has the DNA of what makes NCIS work, humor, family, etc.

In the case of Origins, Mark and Sean Harman had this idea with [writers] David North and Gina Monreal, and they brought it to us. I was like, oh my gosh, this idea is great. Commissioned a script, the script was even better. So it’s like, okay, can this show exist within the framework of the franchise we have? And we do believe it can, particularly because it’s a prequel. And because NCIS has been on for so long and Mark’s been gone for a while, there’s genuine interest in, how did Gibbs become Gibbs, who was that guy? So again, there was an organic reason to do it vs. us just saying, let’s just throw on another NCIS.

Tony and Ziva, it’s one of the most unrequited love stories for the audience, the audience loved Tony and Ziva. And in the audience’s mind, and in our mind, they left too soon. So, reuniting them with a global audience is the intent on that show. And because it’s going to be on Paramount+, it can exist within the universe without, in our minds, cannibalizing anything else.

REISENBACH: I would also add just two things to that. One, I think that [CBS President and CEO] George Cheeks arriving [in 2020], he really embraced the show and saw the potential and immediately identified that as an area to be looking at when opportunities arise. And I think the [NCIS-LA-Hawai’i] three-way crossover we did, the fact that it was so successful for us. The fans loved it so much and the actors and the writers loved doing it, and it showed that they love the opportunity to see these worlds and these characters collide.

DEADLINE: You mentioned how Origins came about but not the Tony and Ziva spinoff. How did it originate?

STAPF: Michael and Cote have been talking about this show for years and years and years. So they were the ones that cooked up the rough edges of the idea, went to [writer] John McNamara, along with us, saying, we’d love to do this show. And the timing was right.

DEADLINE: Did that happen after the end of Michael’s other CBS show, Bull?

STAPF: They had started talking about it before, somewhere after they had both left NCIS. Put yourself in their shoes. They’re constantly getting hit up by fans as to, oh my god, I miss you. When are you going to be back together, what happened to your child and all that stuff. And so, again, I keep saying it but there was an organic reason for this show to exist, it was almost like a fan demand for it.

DEADLINE: You mentioned that they may have left too soon. Why did they leave so soon?

STAPF: In the fans’ minds. They would want them on for a 100 years.

REISENBACH: Well, both of them were on the show a long time.

STAPF: A really, really long time.

DEADLINE: Do we have a title for the Tony and Ziva spinoff yet?

STAPF: Not yet.

DEADLINE: Amy, are you jealous that the spinoff didn’t come to CBS?

REISENBACH: Hm, jealous? Yeah, a little bit, I’m not going to lie, sure. I’m a Tiva fan like everyone else. BTW, the phrase Tiva was one of the original couple names that ever existed, I don’t think we get enough credit for that.

But we all work together. We are all one ecosystem, and I have no doubt that Origins and the shows that live on the network will drive viewers over at P+ and likewise their show will send them back our way, and that’s what matters most, that people are watching it and I think, it’s such a treat for the fans no matter wherever it airs.

DEADLINE: Was there even a conversation for the spinoff to air on CBS or was it always supposed to be a Paramount+ show?

STAPF: No, it was always designed to be a streaming show.

DEADLINE: Would the premiere at least air on CBS in the tradition of P+ shows with CBS history such as Star Trek: Discovery or SEAL Team?

STAPF: It’s a good question. We haven’t dealt with it yet. We don’t start shooting until summer so I’ll start annoying Amy with that sometime this summer.

DEADLINE: Is there a possibility for other former NCIS cast members to join Michael Weatherly and Code de Pablo in the new series?

STAPF: In all honesty, as it’s designed now, no, but never say never.

DEADLINE: This is your second internationally-based NCIS spinoff after Sydney, which is interesting since NCIS is a unit of the U.S. military that does not exist abroad. You found two different ways to extend the franchise beyond the U.S. Do you have ideas for more offshoots in other areas of the world and how are you going to pull that off?

STAPF: There could be but we don’t look at the setting or the geographical location determining what the story should be. It’s more about what’s a good story to tell, where would this organically happen? We’re constantly fielding pitches and coming up with ideas of our own. But you don’t want to rush anything, you want to get it right. You certainly don’t want to, like I said before, dilute the shows that are on by having too much on or having any that are on that aren’t of the quality of the rest of them.

DEADLINE: Do you have anything currently in development in the NCIS universe?

STAPF: Nothing that’s close enough to talk about.

DEADLINE: But in the plan, is there a timetable about maybe adding a new series to the universe every couple of years? You’ve announced four in the past three years.

STAPF: If it organically comes about, and there’s a reason for that show to exist, then yes. But we’re not looking at it as a math problem of, we want two every four years…

REISENBACH: It’s not like when they announced Star Wars and they said, there’ll be a new Star Wars movie every year. We don’t have a plan like that.

STAPF: We don’t want a plan like that.

DEADLINE: Amy mentioned the success of the three-way crossover. What are the possibilities, particularly for the Tony and Ziva show, to be part of NCIS crossovers? Can they appear on NCIS? Michael recently did a cameo in the David McCallum tribute episode. Was it tied to his work on the spinoff?

REISENBACH: I can speak to the cameo. That was just Michael wanting to honor David McCallum, and we thought it was important as well to make sure that we tied in iconic characters like that. He just wanted to show up and was game to do it because of his love of the show.

STAPF: And his love for David. it was such a nice moment for the fans too.

DEADLINE: And in terms of potential crossovers?

STAPF: There could be. We’re not there yet, writers room just started on Tony and Ziva.

REISENBACH: With Origins, I don’t see a possibility because it takes place in the past but we’re always looking for opportunities. It was obviously a shortened season, so it was tough to do that [with NCIS and Hawai’i] this year. Otherwise we would have. We’ll keep looking for those opportunities for sure.

DEADLINE: On Origins, Mark Harmon is an executive producer and a narrator. He could appear in flash-forwards. Is this something that’s you’re considering? And is there a possibility for Mark to return to NCIS one day?

REISENBACH: The door for Mark is always open, It’s really up to him. In terms of flash-forwards, I don’t think it’s something we’ve talked about, that doesn’t feel like the DNA of that show to me, at least right now. But you never know, when we’re in Season 10, we’re taking creative risks and having fun. So if that’s something Gina and David wanted to tackle down the road, we’d be open to it.

DEADLINE: You have brought back a few actors from other NCIS shows, LA‘s LL Cool J is now on Hawai’i. Is this something that you’re planning to continue, keeping the universe going? Can we see New Orleans‘ Scott Bakula pop up somewhere; we haven’t seen him in a couple of years.

STAPF: It’s really writer-driven. As Amy said, we’re open to anything and everything. So if any of the writers have a good idea, and it feels organic, and more on story and make sense versus just doing it to do a stunt, sure, we are open to it.

REISENBACH: [LA‘s] Daniela [Ruah] has been directing, she started directing on LA, she’s directing on Hawai’i and NCIS mothership this year as well. I think when you get into this universe and become a part of the family, we’re always happy to have you back in any capacity.

DEADLINE: What about Pauley? Is there a possibility for her either returning to NCIS or you doing a new show around her character Abby the way you treated Tony and Ziva?

STAPF: Not a bad idea. We haven’t talked about it or thought about it. We love Pauley, and she’s always welcome in any of the NCIS franchise, but it hasn’t come to us from the writers and/or from her. I kind of was kidding when I said, it’s not a bad idea but it’s genuinely not a bad idea, she was a beloved character.

DEADLINE: NCIS was a late bloomer, rising to the top of the rankings later in its run. It seems like it was one of those shows that just stuck around, something that maybe wouldn’t have happened in today’s environment when shows get canceled much faster.

STAPF: Except it was around its second or third season, Armando Nuñez, our head of distribution, called me and said, are you noticing what’s going on with NCIS internationally? I was like, no, that’s your job. And he said, it’s exploding. Every market it was in, it was doing extraordinarily well. It was selling really well, which was always a surprise to me because it’s about a unit of the military that nobody had ever really heard of. And it was a very American military [show] so I figured it’s not going to work over there, but it did.

So it was a bigger hit globally than it was in the U.S., and the U.S. sort of trailed it. It really started to take off — maybe it wasn’t number one — but it climbed in the ratings precipitously. I think in year four or five, it became hey, this show is doing something.

DEADLINE: Over the years, NCIS has dealt with major cast departures, including Mark Harmon, the deaths of showrunner Gary Glasberg and David McCallum, behind-the-scene changes. To what do you attribute the longevity of show which continues to be at the top of the ratings?

REISENBACH: For me, I attribute it to the fact that there’s always been a core feeling that the people who write the show, the people who produce it, the crew and the actors, no matter whether they were there from the beginning or not, they understand the DNA of the show, and they’ve always stayed true to that.

Nobody who’s come in has ever been like, oh, well now I need to fix it. Everyone understood it’s a concept that works, it’s characters that work. And it’s not about those specific characters, but the type of characters and the specificity of the characters and the love that these characters show each other so openly that I think has transcended, no matter who’s running the show, or who’s been on the show at any given time.

STAPF: It’s sort of wish fulfillment TV. You want to know that there are people like this in the world that have your back from a law enforcement agency angle, but it’s also a fun workplace show, and the bond that they have and the sh*t that they give each other and the way that they interact, is comforting.

The show has a ton of heart, humor, always has a good mystery. And I think there’s something comforting to, the bad guys are always identified and put down by the good guys or our guys. And that happens on an episodic basis. I think that the comfort of that has hit the right chord with the audiences for 21 years and will continue on for another 20 years or something. I honestly believe this franchise will never get stale.

REISENBACH: I think being in Season 21 doesn’t lower the degree of difficulty. If anything, it makes it harder. They’ve got 400-plus episodes behind them of quality shows, and the fact that they continue to hold themselves up to such a high standard. As long as they’re shooting for the stars — and all the shows really are — we want to keep doing them.

DEADLINE: Do you have a dream NCIS spinoff? What do you want to see from the universe going forward?

STAPF: Just that it continues to resonate like it is. There’s a stat like 300 million people watched an NCIS last year. Clearly, globally, it’s resonating with viewers. So to continue that, the level of quality on the shows, along with pleasing and garnering the audience that we’re getting. And it’s kind of fun. It’s wild to think that there’s five NCIS series.

REISENBACH: But also unique.

STAPF: Exactly.

DEADLINE: Is five as big as it gets in terms of how many NCISs you can sustain at the same time?

STAPF: Not necessarily. It will come down to the individual shows that we develop. I think if there’s the right timing and fit within the universe, then it doesn’t have to be limited to five.

REISENBACH: We are always asking and challenging not only the writers who are pitching to us but ourselves, why now? Why does it need to exist, what feels fresh?

DEADLINE: So what is the goal? The NCIS franchise is hitting 1,000 episodes. Do you think you can get to 2,000?

STAPF: For me the goal is that in 10 years, there’s other people sitting in our seats that are watching over NCIS.

REISENBACH: Where am I going? I just got this job.

STAPF: OK, in 20 years.

#interview #cbs #ncis #ncis la #ncis hawaii #ncis sydney #ncis new orleans #Youtube

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fans4wga · 8 months

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Netflix seems to release much more feoreign and mire unknown movies (atleast here for me in germany) do you think thats strike related or is it to early to assume streaming services are trying to release non american movies due to big budget american production having been brought to a halt?

It's been a long time coming that Netflix (and other streaming services such as Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV, Paramount, etc.) are making more and more in non-US markets, though the stuff coming out right now was largely written & filmed pre-strike. Still, Netflix and other studios definitely saw the strike coming and invested more in non-US content to help themselves weather the strike, so you're absolutely right on that count! (source).

It's worth noting as well that many other countries do not have strong unions like the USA's WGA and SAG-AFTRA to protect the rights of writers and actors. See the example of Netflix's South Korean breakout hit Squid Game: "In his contract, [Squid Game creator & writer Hwang Dong-hyuk] had forfeited all intellectual property rights and received no residuals — royalty payments that writers, directors and actors normally receive when their work is reused after an initial broadcast. He said in an interview that “Squid Game” had earned him “enough to put food on the table.”'

For a show that won awards and boasted millions of views, it's absurd that Hwang didn't get some kind of success-based residual payment—but Netflix essentially cheated it out of him and made all the profits without paying Hwang commensurate to his value.

On the other hand, Netflix must pay viewership-based residuals to writers in Germany and Sweden (news story from 2020) because of differing legal requirements, which is great—it proves that it's very possible for Netflix to afford this and make it happen. And the success-based residual is one thing the WGA is fighting for in its current negotiations: if a show does well, the residuals ought to reflect that success. (There's currently just a flat rate paid to writers—imagine the writers of Stranger Things getting paid the exact same as a show that got only a few thousand views. It's just nonsensical.)

At the same time as all this is true, we want to caution strongly against placing any blame on writers/actors in non-US territories for continuing to work right now. There's no contract that protects non-WGA/SAG-AFTRA creatives legally if they walk out in solidarity, or a strike fund that supports them if they stop working. We do hope to see other countries' entertainment industries following suit and unionizing soon as a direct result of the 2023 strikes (and the way the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are effectively communicating their value and demands!)

(As a brief tangent, even countries with preexisting industry unions, such as the British actors' equity union and Writers' Guild of Great Britain, simply don't have the institutional strength to combat some of the exploitative practices that are so common. We want to see these unions get stronger as a result of this hot labor summer & everything that's happening so visibly with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA—but we also don't blame their members for continuing to work right now because there's no promised guild protection if they walk out.)

Thanks for your question, and please let us know if you'd like clarification on anything here!

#writers guild strike #sag-aftra strike #sag strike #actors guild strike #wga strike #writers strike

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merriblu · 4 months

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Last little book-haul of the year!

I categorize my books into two categories — popcorn books or adult beverage books. My popcorn books are those that are purely entertainment, a great story, some characters that leave you excited… a great cinematic time.

My adult-beverage books are usually the ones I have to read slower (the prose is more complicated or a paragraph really strikes me to a point where I have to sit back and ponder). These are the books that stick with me for a while.

So this haul includes:

🥃 The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

🍿 Babel - R.F. Kuang

🍿 Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

🍿 Red Rising - Pierce Brown

THAT BEING SAID… I‘m a little up in the air with Babel and Ninth House on what category of read I should put this in. The way I decide what to read is by recommendations from trusted people (I really can’t remember the last time I read the back of a book) and often times, when I get ready to read the book, I can no longer remember what the book shall be about haha. Essentially, I go in pretty blind, sometimes not paying attention to the author or genre unless it’s easily noticed.

Anyways, I‘m very pleased with this haul and excited to make my (small) list of completed 2023 reads and my (hopefully larger!!) lineup of 2024 reads!

#tartt is clearly going to be a beverage read #I mean c‘mon… it’s tartt #bookblr #book haul #feel free to drop me suggestions!!

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liugeaux · 7 months

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Thoughts on Strike Force Five

I've always had a respect for late-night talk shows. They're a staple of American culture and are synonymous with classic television. Almost vaudevillian, they're a manicured window into the world of entertainment that for generations has reflected the pulse of the nation.

With the writers' strike lasting all summer, the 5 big late-night hosts, Fallon, Colbert, Kimmel, Meyers, and Oliver jumped on Zoom and made a podcast to support their unemployed staff. It was a noble gesture, whose only flaw was arriving 3 months too late.

They took turns hosting an hour-long podcast where they chatted about their experiences as talk show hosts, how their shows are similar yet differ both in front and behind the cameras, their respective career routes that led them to late night, and even some fun personal life anecdotes.

The stories and convos were fun, hilarious, and often fascinating, but the real meat of the cast was getting to hear their banter. 5 professional funny dudes, gently ribbing each other while clearly maintaining a healthy friendship. The show revealed a lot about each host. Everything from their ability to tell an unscripted story to how quick they are on their feet. Each host has their own strengths and as morbid as this sounds, getting them on a cast together was a unique venue in which to size them up.

Here's what I learned about each host after listening to all 12 episodes of Strike Force Five (insert thunderclap). We'll sort these by Late Night tenure.

Jimmy Kimmel (2003-present: Jimmy Kimmel Live!)

Oddly enough, Kimmel has been on the air longer than any of his peers and despite being the least naturally funny of the group, seems like the most driven. Not to say that Kimmel isn't funny, he's just not comedian-funny. He is great at long-form jokes, and situational pranks, and some of his more absurd stunts border on artistic brilliance. Kimmel is undoubtedly a good hang. He comes from a more awkwardly offensive time, and in this unscripted show you could, at times, hear him wanting to drift towards Man Show style humor. To his credit, he never strayed too far from his Disney-approved late-night persona, which at this point might actually just be his natural self. He's an idea man, and the bigger the idea, the more he wants to do it. He was apparently the brains and engine behind Strike Force Five and those traits track through his surprisingly long and often bizarre career.

Stephen Colbert (2004-2014: The Colbert Report, 2015-present: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert)

As the oldest host on the cast, Colbert emerged from the Second City Chicago improv scene and found a home in the John Stewart stable of comedy writers. His journey to network television was weird, primarily because before taking his job at CBS he was famous for reporting news as a fictionalized version of himself on the Colbert Report. On Strike Force Five, Colbert was very much the elder statesman. His storytelling style was a noticeably slower template, leading to his tales being a bit long-winded and meander-y. In another setting that would be fine, but alongside his late-night peers, the difference was much more obvious. Part of this might also be a by-product of his Southern upbringing, but for what it's worth, as of 2023, I think The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is the best "traditional" late-night show on TV. Colbert feels like a writer's comedian, he has a brilliant delivery when given a script and, if needed, he can seamlessly fall back on his improv training.

Jimmy Fallon (2009-2014: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 2014-present, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon)

The most aloof member of the Strive Force is easily Jimmy Fallon. I've long thought of Fallon as the accidental lottery winner of the Leno vs. Conan late-night war of 2010. He was a no-brainer to replace Conan on Late Night, but once Leno's original successor was out of the picture, the big-boy-job of the coveted Tonight Show fell into his lap in 2014. He's turned it into the most modern late-night show with his higher-concept, Youtube-friendly, celebrity bits. Jimmy's energy is what the Tonight Show needs, but when placed among his peers, Fallon seems outclassed. He's inherently more charming than the rest of the Strike Force, and pretty fast on his feet, but for long stretches of the podcast, it almost seemed like he was either on-mute or not paying attention. Maybe he was waiting for his opening and just more polite than the others, but his soft-spoken demeanor got bulldozed through much of the series. With that being said, his willingness to play the buffoon might have turned him into the star of Strike Force Five. The infamous episode 5, in which Fallon created a match-game style quiz for the hosts and their spouses quickly devolved into a confusing train wreck that only got funnier as it spiraled into chaos. The potential for antics like this became one of the reasons to check out the show. Fallon leaning into his sheep-ish oaf routine had him emerging as the comedic battery of many of the episodes. He seems like the kind of comic that can show up half-prepared and still crush a room, just because his quick wit and charm do most of the heavy lifting. The most disappointing thing about Fallon's presence on the podcast was a complete lack of acknowledgment of the Rolling Stone article scandal, which was published a mere week after Strike Force Five's debut.

Seth Meyers (2014-present: Late Night with Seth Meyers)

Meyers is secretly the funniest member of the Strike Force Five. While his career may not be as prestigious as his podcast-mates, (this was hilariously made clear as the crew discussed the sad t-shirt rack of Late Night shirts in the NBC studio store at 30 Rock), Meyers is the most accomplished stand-up comedian of the bunch and that can't be ignored. He's the fastest with a joke, the funniest with that joke, and can craft a long-form story from his life with a careful-comedic-nuance I've never heard from any of the others. His version of Late Night strays from what Letterman, Conan, and Fallon did by being more of a Weekend Update or The Daily Show-style news desk show, but he's comfortable with that format and it works for his humor. A lot of Strike Force Five was 5 funny dudes fighting for air time, and while Kimmel and Colbert did the most talking, Meyer's joke-per-minute rate was off the charts compared to the two more talkative hosts. Like one of his predecessors, Conan, Seth Meyers does not get enough credit for the quality of his work and like Conan, he will likely get screwed out of The Tonight Show job. Conan's was a true screw job, but Seth's will more-than-likely be an age hurdle. Meyers is the same age as Fallon and both of them got their current shows around the age of 40. If Fallon hosts The Tonight Show for 25 years (which is reasonable, Leno finally left the show when he was 64) both him and Meyers will be 65. I don't see NBC giving their premiere late-night franchise to a 65-year-old Meyers. Note: Watch Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby on Netflix and you will understand my love for his stand-up.

John Oliver (2014-present: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver)

Like Colbert, John Oliver comes from Jon Stewert's stable of Daily Show correspondents. He's carved out a unique place in the Sunday night landscape, where his often outlandish and troll-like dark humor has thrived. He's my personal favorite of the bunch, and his show is the most likely to teach you something genuinely valuable. He's the only non-American-born host on Strike Force Five and the only host without a nightly show. His inclusion is curious, yet welcomed. Juxtaposed with his Strike Force peers, Oliver's bitingly dark wit and chaos-favoring humor stands out. No one enjoyed Fallon's Match-Game going up in flames as much as John Oliver and he seems to genuinely gain his life force from getting under the skin of the subjects on his show. On the podcast, Oliver was one of the more quiet hosts, and that led to his presence feeling more like a courtesy than an obligation. In my mind, I can hear him saying in his most polite British voice, "Oh, I'm aware that I don't exactly belong here, but I'm appreciative of the opportunity." Like Colbert's Southern roots, maybe John's just too British to dominate time on a podcast with so many white American hosts. Oliver is a great stand-up comic too. Like Meyers, if his TV career ended tomorrow, he could easily fall back on his remarkable stand-up talents and find excellent work for the rest of his life. John Oliver is a gem that I think would be dullened by a nightly show, and as a huge fan of both him and his show, I'm super grateful he was asked to be a part of the podcast. Hearing him hold his own with the more mainstream late-night stars was wonderful.

As a whole, the show was really fun. It's a snapshot of a moment in time that will never be captured again. Imagine if, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Tom Snyder, Jay Leno, and Dennis Miller had a radio show in 1997. What would that have sounded like? What would we have learned from it? It's just fascinating. I guess I need to mention the John Stewart and David Letterman episodes of Strike Force Five. It was great getting two legends of the format in on the conversation, but I don't know if it was necessary. Note: Letterman is super old now, but he's still sharp as a tack and maybe the best to ever do the late-night job.

One of the elephants in the room on Strike Force Five is the distinctive lack of any representation of people of color. As it stands, I'm not aware of any current major shows hosted by people of color. Both the Late Late Show and Daily Show's desks are currently vacant with the former likely to not be filled at all. The all-white Strike Force Five panel might just be a by-product of who is still watching these shows. It's probably middle-aged white people who are irreversibly accustomed to watching late-night television, and as the format dies, they will go down with the ship. In turn, the risk-averse networks stick with the white male hosts to not scare their tiny remaining audience away. It's not just, but sadly it's probably true.

Network talk shows might be a dying genre, but while they cling to relevance, Strike Force Five could go down as an important moment in the history of late-night television and I'm thrilled to have been here to experience it in real-time.

#striveforcefive #jimmyfallon #jimmykimmel #stephencolbert #john oliver #seth meyers #jimmy kimmel #jimmy fallon

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blysse-and-blunder · 9 months

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in lieu of a bachelorette party

10pm, sunday, aug 6, 2023

we're officially in the period of the summer that has been planned out since months and months ago, in the lead up to some dear friends' wedding; time is telescoping in a very odd way! after traveling the past two weeks, my re-entry was good but hard; i came back from my trip thinking i'd be all revitalized and looking around me with new eyes, which in a way i did, but then i was also pretty wiped. i didn't really want to spend all week hibernating, but i guess it was good to recharge my batteries since i also had five different party/gathering-type things (three this weekend, including the aforementioned bachelorette).

reading can't forget to mention finishing carmen maria machado's in the dreamhouse, which was gripping and devastating and still beautiful somehow. the experience of reading it was so...i couldn't stop once i got started, you know? short fragmented chapters, some funny, some incredibly sad. every once in a while there would be a detail or an allusion to something i could relate to, punctuating the intense surreality / unreality used to talk about the abuse with a sudden concrete reality that was. striking. loved the device of the footnotes, pointing out where certain things are matching up with folklore tropes? as a form of foreshadowing and ironic, devastating commentary? inspired. that's just one detail, but it's one i can sum up.

abrupt tonal shift and getting back to fantasy / adventure, a.k. larkwood's the unspoken name has been very engaging this week too. part one was...fresh but in a comforting sort of vein, with a young protag escaping a bad fate under the protection of a new mysterious mentor, who then helps her get an education, martial arts training, before he sends her out on a mission--reminded me of half a dozen beloved fantasy novels, with the addition of some fun details! for example, neither is actually described in much detail, but our main character and her mentor are clearly not Human; she has grey skin and tusks (my mind went right to a dnd-style orc?) and he has mobile, elongated ears, which seem to telegraph his emotions much like those in the goblin emperor and was an *immediate* delight to envision. just about a third of the way through this one now; it feels like a locked tomb book with a slightly different magic system, and i'm really enjoying it.

watching plane movies while returning home:

the battle of the sexes (2017) -- entertaining more because i didn't know the history and always enjoy the depiction of historical women's sports and sports teams; emma stone is great but has virtually no chemistry with either of her romantic counterparts, painfully straight energy overall. i was too entertained by watching steve carell and sarah silverman in their respective period hair and makeup . kudos to whoever was the tennis stunt doubles, it was legitimately fun to try and follow the games.

banshees of inisherin (2022) -- people who talk about the overdone stereotyped blarney-filled hollywood depiction of ireland in this one are missing the fact that it's an intentional (ironic?) depiction; see, the imprecision when it comes to year/time passing / calendars and whatnot. sort of waiting for godot-y in its heightened reality / absurdity. my lukewarm take is that it was definitely meant to be a play, and would have worked a lot better that way. not sure i'll watch it again, not sure i *got* it, but it will certainly live in my brain rent-free.

finished strange world (2022) as a palate cleanser-- i wanted to support it, the box office and overall reception to this was pretty disappointing but it's fine! like it's a cute kids' movie! you know, disney's first gay character, thinly veiled climate analogy lesson, absolutely gorgeous animation and colors, what's not to love.

the first three episodes of season 1 of the white lotus . hypnotizing like a train wreck, but i'll wait until i've seen more of it to give a real write-up.

listening you ever watch a viral video and then realize you're captivated by both the cute videos of people dancing and the soundtrack? (and recognizing the background scenery, and it turns out i was right!!) anyway i went and found these two tracks courtesy of just this experience, so thanks to youtuber thoraya i guess?

youtube

UPDATE: saw hadestown live today!!! the original broadway recording didn't prepare me for how much i would love it, how dynamic and captivating the live band and incredible ensemble would be-- and of course i was crying almost immediately, and was clutching my chest during 'wait for me' both times. but then again, the performance i saw didn't include this one instrumental track i love and had on my semester playlist all spring, so here:

playing finally got the cut-scene celebrating my community center completion in stardew, hell yeah. had two great dnd sessions; one campaign successfully defeated a monstrously-oversized jaguar and decided which faction we're going to attempt to win over first, while the other group went shopping and spent some downtime at base and gathering info on some individual plots! napoleon did exist in this world and was a gnome, and our organization assassinated him apparently??, also this just feels like a good time to mention that their resume also includes '1841 – Controlled controversy riots when “Dinosaurs” suggested as a creature alongside and separate from “Dragons” ', which sent us into absolute hysterics when the DM shared that.

making it's summer, so i crowdsourced a ratatouille recipe and could not have been happier with the outcome. saving it here for posterity!

working on i was very diligent with RA work this week, since it feels like i always neglect it over the summer for absolutely no reason, especially since it like. pays me. but i also have been using it as productive procrastination since i'm actively dragging my heels in sending the last few students their essay feedback and grade breakdowns from the summer course. it means confronting my judgments and math and possible mistakes from earlier in july, and trying to either defend or amend them as necessary, and i just have been. napping rather than actually do it. which is silly, and also stupid since i have actual work to be doing! just get this over with, and you can be free!

#ilcb #in lieu of a commonplace book #weekly roundup

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 10 months

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Taylor Swift ‘snubbed invite’ to appear on Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes podcast

Reports claim Meghan wrote a personal letter asking her to appear on the Archetypes show but the singer declined through a representative

Victoria Ward 24 June 2023

Taylor Swift snubbed an invitation to appear on the Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes podcast and the couple left Netflix and Spotify executives “underwhelmed” by their lack of productivity and ideas, it has been claimed.

The production of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast was fraught with difficulties over securing the right guests and the Duchess often asking for late changes, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a wide-ranging analysis of the couple’s careers since settling in California, the newspaper suggested that their big dream of wowing Hollywood with their star power and royal connections had been undermined by a lack of substance.

It revealed that Archewell employees and associates had admitted the company often lacked direction, and that the royal couple “at times seem surprised by the work required to finish entertainment projects.”

It added: “Most potential initiatives, they said, follow a similar route: Big idea, subpar execution.”

It is alleged that Meghan wrote a personal letter to Taylor Swift, asking her to appear on Archetypes, but that the singer declined, through a representative.

The production of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, which has now been dropped by Spotify was fraught with difficulties

“Harry, in particular, struggled to land on an idea,” the newspaper added of their Spotify deal.

The couple have had multiple ideas rejected by Netflix, which is said to be unlikely to renew its deal when it expires in 2025.

They were also hampered by a recent, post-pandemic downturn in the industry that has led to widespread cost-cutting and restructuring.

Spotify recently laid off 200 people, including many audio engineers, and is said to be revamping its approach to podcasting.

Other proposed projects by the Duke and Duchess are said to have included a sitcom likened to the hit show Emily in Paris, “but about a man”, and a family-friendly show about gay characters that felt similar to the popular coming-of-age drama Heartstopper. Netflix is said to have turned down both.

The couple are reportedly developing a show for Netflix called Bad Manners, based on the Miss Havisham character in Great Expectations.

The Duke and Duchess also had multiple ideas rejected by Netflix CREDIT: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

It is described as a prequel to the Charles Dickens novel that recasts the lonely spinster as a strong woman living in a patriarchal society. It is not known whether it has been commissioned by Netflix.

Despite following a path forged by Barack and Michelle Obama, who have been hugely productive and successful, the Sussexes appear to have failed to live up to the mark.

Netflix executives are said to have grumbled about Archewell’s output, fearing that their six-part Harry & Meghan documentary released in December was all they had to offer.

The couple announced earlier this month that their $20 million Spotify deal had come to a premature end, having produced just one series of Meghan’s 12-part Archetypes podcast and a short “holiday special.”

A joint statement said: “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

A source close to the couple told the Telegraph that it was proving “tough” for the couple to move forwards with Netflix projects in development due to a Hollywood writers’ strike, which has brought much of US film and TV production to a crashing halt.

Their multi-year Netflix deal, rumoured to be worth $100 million, was announced with much fanfare in September 2020, with the streaming service predicting that the couple’s programmes would provide its “most exciting and most viewed” content the following year.

But the only show the couple have so far produced was their six-part eponymous docuseries.

Heart of Invictus, a behind-the-scenes documentary following competitors as they prepared for the 2022 Invictus Games, was announced in April 2021 and slated for release the following spring.

But that too has not yet seen the light of day, although Netflix insists it will be launched this summer.

An Archewell spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal: “New companies often make changes in their start-up phase, both with people and strategy, and we are no exception. We’re more equipped, focused and energised than ever before.”

She said the company recently hired a new head of scripted content, actress and producer Tracy Ryerson.

A Netflix spokeswoman said Harry & Meghan was its biggest documentary debut. “We’ll continue to work together on a number of projects,” she added.

#megxit #taylor swift

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