TV & movies

The latest news and reviews of TV shows and movies.

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Apple TV+ scores its first award nomination with 'The Morning Show'
Apple TV+ has bagged its first award nomination less than two months after launch, although Apple might not want to flaunt its critical acclaim just yet. The Critics' Choice Association has nominated The Morning Show's Billy Crudup (pictured at left) for a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award, pitting him against the likes of Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage and This Is Us' Asante Blackk. This is no mean feat given that it took rivals like Netflix years to get their first big award nominations, but it's also clear that Apple has a long way to go before it's raking in trophies.
'Free Guy' trailer shows a video game NPC without chains
Fox has posted the first trailer for the video game action-comedy Free Guy, and it appears ready to answer a lingering question: what if the trivial non-player characters in your favorite shooter realized they were in a game? The clip shows actor, producer and new wireless magnate Ryan Reynolds as a blissfully oblivious NPC who fulfills his background role in a Grand Theft Auto-style game until he questions his purpose and, naturally, becomes a hero that saves his virtual world.
'The Boys' season 2 teaser hints at more blood-soaked mayhem
Amazon is ready to show a glimpse of The Boys' second season mere months after greenlighting more episodes... and this most definitely won't be family-friendly. The company has posted a teaser for the season that steers clear of revealing the plot, but makes patently clear that Billy, Hughie and their growing crew will take care of rogue superheroes in the bloodiest way possible -- don't watch if you're squeamish. It's also clear that the new episodes will pick up where the first season left off, including that ending (we don't dare spoil a thing) and Homelander's psychotic brand of patriotism.
'Fortnite' will premiere a 'Star Wars' scene with J.J. Abrams' help
Fortnite's tie-in with Star Wars is about to extend beyond a stormtrooper skin. Gamers have discovered that Disney is premiering a scene from The Rise of Skywalker at the game's Risky Reels drive-in theater on December 14th at 2PM Eastern, with 'doors' (such as they are) opening at 1:30PM Eastern. This isn't just playing a clip, either -- director J.J. Abrams will also be present in some capacity. If you don't mind spoiling some of the movie, it might be a good respite from the usual battle royale brawl.
‘Reno 911!’ is coming back as a Quibi exclusive
It looks like Punk'd isn't the only mid-aughts TV series that's coming back thanks to Quibi. Comedy Central says it's making a seventh season of Reno 911!, 10 years after the series came to an abrupt end, for the mobile-first streaming platform.
Plex launches its free movie and TV streaming service
We've known for a while that Plex, a company best known for helping people organize their own media collection, is getting into streaming. In September, it announced that it had teamed up with Warner Bros. to deliver ad-supported content by the end of 2019, with the promise of more partnerships to come. That has now come to pass, as from today, thousands of "free movies, TV shows, extreme sports films, music documentaries, Bollywood musicals" have been unlocked inside the Plex app.
Sony brings AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to more high-end TVs
Earlier this year, Sony announced that some of its higher-end TVs would add support for Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit protocols. Now, Sony is bringing that support to more TVs.
TCL's 65-inch 6 Series 4K TV drops to $700 at Best Buy
TV deals are everywhere during the Cyber Monday period, but this is one you might want to consider. Best Buy is selling a 65-inch version of TCL's latest 6 Series TV (the R625) for $700 during the Cyber Monday period, or about $200 less than the usual sticker. That gets you a 4K set with very good picture quality for the money, a Roku smart interface and, of course, a giant screen that should do justice to your high-res content. Just be aware of the quirks -- it might not be suitable for everyone.
Target Cyber Monday deals include a $230 iPad and a $50 Instant Pot
It used to be that Cyber Monday deals were the consolation prizes for those that missed Black Friday, but that doesn't appear to be the case at Target. It's already running a Cyber Monday sale that includes some steep discounts, including one that's even steeper than on Black Friday. Most notably, the 10.2-inch iPad is selling for $230, or $20 less than the already hefty sale price from Friday -- this may be your best shot at getting Apple's no-frills tablet.
Comcast revives 'E.T.' to hawk cable and internet service
Tech companies often like to mine nostalgia for a few quick bucks, but Comcast is probably pushing that emotional exploitation a little too far. The telecom has posted a short film that reunites E.T.'s namesake alien with human pal Elliott to pitch Xfinity internet and TV service. Yes, it's exactly as cheesy and manipulative as it sounds -- it shows E.T.'s comic struggle to adapt to tablets, voice remotes and VR (complete with that music), and basically rehashes major themes of the 1982 movie in the space of four minutes.
Disney cashes in on baby Yoda with crude online merch
It's not surprising that Disney went without merch for The Child (aka baby Yoda) when The Mandalorian premiered, since it would have spoiled one of the streaming show's most adorable surprises. However, the first offerings are... rushed, to put it mildly. The media megacorp has listed its first products themed around the sweet green toddler, and they look like they were produced at a make-your-own-shirt website -- you might have whipped up some yourself with a few minutes in Photoshop.
Disney+ makes it easier to pick up shows where you left off
Disney+ had a bumpy start, with many users reporting frequent crashes and even difficulty logging into their accounts. One of the company's first moves to address the issues was to remove certain features, with one of those being the "continue watching" list. Disney has now added the list back to its platform, allowing viewers to pick up a movie or show where they left off.
Adorable 'Baby Yoda' GIFs return after Giphy mix-up
One of the most relentlessly adorable characters in Star Wars history just got caught up in some copyright confusion. Giphy has restored GIFs of Disney+ series The Mandalorian's stand-out character The Child (nicknamed "baby Yoda" because... well, look at him) after "confusion" over whether or not the animations were allowed. Vulture claimed in a spoiler-laden piece that the GIFs of the cute-as-hell character were taken down for "copyright reasons," but Giphy has stressed that Disney wasn't responsible. Giphy only pulled the snippets temporarily while it "reviewed the situation," the company said in a statement to the BBC.
Hisense's new ULED 4K TVs will come with Roku built in
Roku dominates TV streaming in the US, and TV manufacturers have taken notice. The latest series of 4K TVs from Chinese brand Hisense, the R8F 4K, will come with Roku features built in and the company promises they'll offer a convenient user experience as well as a high-quality image.
Apple renews Shyamalan's 'Servant' before it premieres
Add another Apple TV+ show to the list of those already slated to get second seasons. M. Night Shyamalan and the Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon have confirmed that Apple has renewed Servant for a second season ahead of its November 28th premiere. That isn't completely surprising when the slow-burn story practically needs the extra room, but it's nonetheless a vote of confidence in the psychological thriller.
Google Assistant uses ‘Duplex on the Web’ to buy your movie tickets
Since last year, you've been able to purchase movie tickets using your voice with Google Assistant and Fandango. Today, Google is enhancing that capability to make it more versatile.
History's hit series 'Vikings' will live on through a sequel on Netflix
Netflix is once again rescuing a TV series that's winding down on conventional networks -- albeit not in the way you might expect. The service has unveiled Vikings: Valhalla, a spiritual sequel to Vikings that will come from series mastermind Michael Hirst. Don't expect to see any of the familiar characters -- it's set 100 years after the end of the History series and focuses on legends from the tail end of the Viking era, including Leif Erikson, Harald of Norway and even William the Conqueror. It'll focus on an "ever changing and evolving Europe," presumably including the rise of Christendom.
Vizio is updating SmartCast TVs to stream Disney+ via Chromecast
Vizio is promising Android users that they'll be able to beam Disney+ to their SmartCast TVs by the end of the year. Currently, iOS users can cast the Disney+ app to the TV using AirPlay 2. But Android users were left in the dark. Now, Vizio says it will roll out a Chromecast update beginning in early December. That will allow Android users to cast the Disney+ app to their Vizio SmartCast TVs via the built-in Chromecast.
‘The Crown’ gets a companion podcast featuring creator Peter Morgan
Just one day after season three of The Crown premiered on Netflix, the streaming company announced a companion podcast that will let fans take a deeper dive into the show's production and background. Having insight straight from the brains behind the show may be of interest to fans: The series is hosted by Scottish DJ and presenter Edith Bowman, and features showrunner and creator of The Crown, Peter Morgan, as well as some of the show's crewmembers. The podcast will serve as a weekly behind-the-scenes look at each episode of the third season. Since Netflix dumped the entire seasons at once, some viewers may have already binged all of season three and will have to wait a while for the podcast to catch up.
Samsung made a 'Star Wars' Galaxy Note 10+ for Kylo Ren fans
How big a Star Wars fan are you? Big enough that you'd replace your smartphone just to flaunt it? Samsung thinks you might be. It's releasing a Galaxy Note 10+ Star Wars Special Edition to mark the release of The Rise of Skywalker. The phone itself touts a black-and-red color scheme (plus custom graphics and sounds) to match Kylo Ren's embrace of the dark side, but you'll also get a matching Kylo Ren case, Galaxy Buds and a metal collector's badge. It'll be patently clear where your allegiances lay.

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