TV & movies

The latest news and reviews of TV shows and movies.

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The next 'Doom' movie won't play in theaters
Do you remember the original Doom movie from 2005? You'd be forgiven if you didn't -- while it had recognizable stars (most notably Dwayne Johnson), it was a critical and commercial flop that only really found life after it left the big screen. However, that isn't stopping Hollywood from giving it another shot. After years of rumors, NBCUniversal has confirmed to Variety that a new Doom movie is in the works, no doubt meant to capitalize on the game series' revival. Actress Nina Bergman has already revealed that she'll play a role in the movie, which reportedly has a "super cool director."
Amazon Prime lands futuristic love story ‘Zoe’
Sundance film festival darling Drake Doremus' futuristic love story, Zoe, is one of the more anticipated titles of the year. The director of Like Crazy, Douchebag and Breathe In will premier his eighth film on Saturday as the Tribeca Film Festival's headlining title. According to Deadline, Amazon has acquired the exclusive rights to the movie, and will bring it to Prime Video this summer.
CBS All Access lands Muhammad Ali biography '8 Fights'
CBS continues to ramp up its All Access content to compete with the likes of Netflix, with six to seven new shows set to hit the streaming service, like the Will Ferrell-produced No Activity. Now Deadline reports that CBS' service has just landed 8 Fights - The Life of Muhammad Ali for development. It will be produced by Morgan Freeman, Revelations Entertainment and CBS TV Studios.
Hulu adds Cheddar's online-only TV channels to its roster
You might not necessarily be familiar with Cheddar's mix of business and tech news, but it's quickly becoming hard to miss if you're a cord cutter. Hulu is joining YouTube TV by offering Cheddar's live channel and on-demand shows through its subscription services later in April. You'll need the $40 per month Hulu with Live TV package to check out the as-it-happens broadcasts, of course, but any Hulu subscriber will have access to pre-recorded news briefs, highlights and "select" originals.
Idris Elba's Netflix show is 'Charles in Charge' with turntables
Netflix just scored a comedy coup. The service has unveiled Turn Up Charlie, a comedy series starring and partly executive produced by Idris Elba. The half-hour show has Elba playing a "struggling" single DJ (fitting given his extensive DJ background) who gets another chance when he becomes the caretaker for a famous friend's rebellious daughter. Basically, it's Charles in Charge with mixing and scratching. There's no release date yet, but production on the first eight-episode season starts in May.
'GLOW' season two elbow drops on Netflix June 29th
At last, Netflix's comedic ode to women's pro wrestling is getting its promised follow-up. The streaming service has revealed that the second season of GLOW will premiere on June 29th. The teaser clip is really a tribute to all thing '80s (we hope you like Flashdance), but Netflix's press description gives a better clue as to what's coming next. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling have to confront the "realities of their newfound fame," while Ruth and Debbie tackle their problematic friendship and Sam gets used to having his teenage daughter at home.
Amazon is turning William Gibson’s ‘The Peripheral’ into a series
It's about time we got a serious attempt at adapting William Gibson's work to the small screen. With the success of Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon and Philip K Dick's The Man In The High Castle, streaming studios with an eye on originals can only benefit from Gibson's seminal take on the future. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, the creative team behind HBO's Westworld reboot, are taking on The Peripheral, Gibson's 2014 sci-fi thriller, for Amazon Studios.
ESPN+ now streams on Roku devices
ESPN+ launched on seemingly every platform under the Sun except for one: Roku. That's something of a glaring omission, isn't it? Thankfully, ESPN has been quick on the draw. ESPN+ has gone live through a new ESPN channel on Roku devices, giving you the same live sports (though sadly, no eSports) and on-demand shows whether you're using a dedicated player or a Roku-enabled TV.
cPass wants to be the European MoviePass for all entertainment
It might surprise you to learn that MoviePass has been offering unlimited movie tickets as a monthly subscription for over five years now. But the name only really rocketed into the public consciousness last summer, right after the price per month dropped below $10. MoviePass struggled to keep up with the wave of new interest, and its continued rapid growth caught the attention of many. Enter cPass, a new service hoping to fill a MoviePass-shaped hole in Europe. Only it doesn't want to limit itself to movies. Co-founder brothers Puya and Pedram Vahabi hope cPass will become an all-you-can-eat subscription for all kinds of entertainment.
Hulu renews Sarah Silverman's talk show for a second season
Hulu might not be as committed to streaming talk shows as Netflix, but its fledgling efforts are paying off. The company has renewed Sarah Silverman's I Love You, America for a second season, with the 11-episode run beginning on September 6th. While there aren't any clues as to what's on deck, it's safe to presume the show will continue to focus on the cultural and political landscape of the US, using chats with notable figures (such as Roxane Gay and Patton Oswalt) as a hook.
Amazon Studios stops taking amateur scripts on June 30th
For years, Amazon Studios has held an open call for concept and script submissions. You could send an idea to the company and not only make it publicly available, but (if you were lucky) see it developed as an honest-to-goodness Prime Video production. However, you'll now have to scramble for an alternative. Amazon is closing the open call on June 30th, 2018. You'll still have access to the companion Storybuilder and Storywriter tools, but you won't be showing Amazon the fruits of that labor.
'Jessica Jones' gets a third season at Netflix
Netflix was clearly confident Jessica Jones' second season would be a hit, and it appears that belief was well-founded. The streaming giant has renewed Marvel's jaded investigator-slash-superhero show for a third season just a month after the second string of episodes premiered on March 8th. There's no date or casting details, but it could take a while before the saga continues -- remember, the second season arrived more than two years after the series' November 2015 premiere.
Hulu discounts its HBO add-on to $5 per month
In case it wasn't already obvious that HBO really, really wants you to watch the second season of Westworld, Hulu just made it crystal clear. The streaming service has discounted its HBO add-on from $15 per month to just $5 ahead of Westworld's season 2 premiere, with that rate locked in for as long as six months. It's not certain how long the promotional price will remain in place, but a spokesperson told Variety that it's available for a limited time. If you're interested, you might want to act quickly -- this makes a basic Hulu/HBO combo more affordable than HBO Now by itself.
The real star of Vizio's 2018 TV lineup is value
If you're in the market for a 4K TV this year, Vizio's latest lineup is filled with several compelling options. In fact, the only issue is that it might be tough to figure out which model is best for you. First, there's the new P-series Quantum, which is Vizio's brightest and most feature-packed TV ever. But the rest of the company's P- and M-series sets are also cheaper and better equipped than before. An abundance of choices is ultimately a good thing for shoppers, of course -- just be prepared to do your homework.
'Hidden Figures' will be made into a TV series
Hidden Figures did a lot to highlight the unheralded black female mathematicians who played a key role in the early NASA space program, and it proved a commercial success to boot. So much of a success, in fact, that it could soon extend to TV. Variety has learned that National Geographic is developing a series "inspired by" the Hidden Figures movie, which in turn was based on Margot Lee Shetterly's book. The show is still very in development and isn't guaranteed to get a commitment, but it's executive produced by Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping, both of whom handled the movie.
Adam Savage returns to Discovery Channel with 'Mythbusters Jr.'
The original Mythbusters may have gone off air after its 14th season in 2016, but the science-based show hasn't lost any influence since then. A reboot came to the Science channel last November, with new hosts taking on the DIY-ethos and wow factor of the source show. Now, co-creator and original co-host Adam Savage is setting his sights on a younger generation with a new spin-off titled Mythbusters Jr.
Apple snags TV adaptation of Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ sci-fi series
Apple has added yet another TV series to its ever growing lineup. The latest addition, Deadline reports, is an ambitious project headed by David S. Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Avatar 2) that will adapt Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. While adaptations of Foundation have been attempted for both TV and the big screen, they've been abandoned due to the complexity of the novels' storylines. Fox, Warner Bros, Sony and HBO all have scrapped Foundation projects to their name.
Vizio’s new P-series TV is its brightest yet
Today, Vizio announced a new flagship display, the 2018 P-Series Quantum 4K HDR Smart TV. It has up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness and is billed as Vizio's brightest TV so far. The bezel-less display also has an Active Full Array Max backlight with 192 local dimming zones for the company's "purest black levels." Quantum Color Spectrum technology means that this display can produce over one billion colors. A 240Hz refresh rate equals a natural, smoother picture. This 65-inch model is priced at $2,200.
'Star Trek: Discovery' has found its Christopher Pike
Star Trek: Discovery has been framed as a prequel to the original TV series, but there's been at least one conspicuous omission in that story: Christopher Pike, the captain of the USS Enterprise before James Kirk. He won't be missing for much longer, though. CBS has picked veteran actor Anson Mount to play Pike in the second season of the streaming series. Mount is best-known as Cullen from Hell on Wheels, but he has also had roles in shows and movies ranging from Marvel's Inhumans (Black Bolt) to Non-Stop.
Ultra HD group outlines next generation of 4K TV broadcasts
The concept of 4K TV broadcasting is only just getting off the ground, but its overseers are already planning for what comes next. The Ultra HD Forum has published its first "Phase B" guidelines detailing what companies should aim for with future 4K broadcast tech. Not surprisingly, high frame rates should play a major role -- the group is hoping for 100FPS and 120FPS video (depending on the region) with a fallback for 60FPS. It's also pushing for dynamic HDR video through formats like Dolby Vision and SL-HDR, while Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H would provide audio that could adapt from elaborate 3D sound setups to a plain set of headphones.

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