Category Archives: Television

‘Boyhood’ & ‘The Affair’ big winners at the Globes

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Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Affair, and Transparent came out as the big winners of the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Boyhood, the unique coming-of-age film shot over an 11-year period, came out on top crowned Best Motion Picture Drama. Director Richard Linklater and supporting actress Patricia Arquette took home statues for Boyhood, too. Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel took home only one award but it’s one that counts: Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Though they didn’t win the crown, Birdman and The Theory of Everything grabbed two trophies apiece: Birdman star Michael Keaton was named Best Lead Actor and the film also won Best Screenplay. Actor Eddie Redmayne also won the Lead Actor award for his turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and the film was also recognized for its Original Score.

In TV, Showtime’s breakout freshman series The Affair won Best TV Drama, and its lead actress Ruth Wilson walked away with a globe. Amazon original series Transparent won Best TV Comedy or Musical and its star Jeffrey Tambor was named Best Lead Actor. FX hit Fargo also won twice being crowned Best TV Miniseries or Movie, and Billy Bob Thornton was recognized for his memorable performance in it.

For the full list of winners, including surprise winner Gina Rodriguez of The CW series Jane the Virgin, click here.

Early series renewals at CBS, FOX, The CW, and more

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A smattering of networks are showing extreme confidence in some of their series by renewing them for another season. In brief:

CBS has renewed three freshman dramas Scorpion, Madam Secretary and NCIS: New Orleans.

“These freshman dramas have each made a big impact on key nights of the week,” said CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler. “Creatively distinctive, the series are backed by strong showrunners with amazingly talented casts, and have resonated with a big, broad audience.”

FOX is bringing back cult animated series Bob’s Burgers for a sixth season.

“This gem of a series is a rare feel-good blend of sharp wit and genuine heart that fans and critics alike have continued to love throughout its five seasons on Fox,” said network heads Dana Walden and Gary Newman. “We are proud of Loren and Jim and the extremely talented voice cast who bring these unique characters to life with both humor and charm each week.”

The CW is renewing a whopping eight series to return next fall and they include breakout rookies The Flash and Jane the Virgin and returning series The Originals (for a season 3), Reign (season 3), The 100 (Season 3), Arrow (season 4), The Vampire Diaries (season 7), and Supernatural (season 11).

“Each of these series have helped define what The CW is today, a network that is home to smart, provocative, quality programming, targeting a savvy adult audience,” said CW president Mark Pedowitz said. “By picking up these shows now, our executive producers can start planning next season’s storylines, and rolling these shows out throughout next season guarantees. The CW will have more proven original series for our fall, midseason and summer 2016 line-ups.”

Elsewhere, HBO renewed Girls for a fifth season prior to its season four debut which aired this past Sunday and Netflix is bringing back original series Marco Polo for a 10-episode second season.

‘Game of Thrones’ comes to IMAX theatres this month [Update: New release date & more participating theatres)

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It’s not Game of Thrones The Movie, but it’s as close as we’ll ever get to that. HBO has partnered up with IMAX to bring a couple episodes of the critically acclaimed fantasy series to the enhanced silver screen. This marks the first time ever that a TV series is being formatted for and screened in IMAX. From January 23 through the 29th, upwards of 150 IMAX theatres across the nation will showcase the final two episodes from season 4. As a refresher, those are “The Watchers on the Wall” (featuring the epic battle in which the Night’s Watch defend Castle Black from the wildlings) and “The Children” (the memorable season finale with deaths galore). In addition to showing these digitally re-mastered episodes, the event will also screen an exclusive trailer including never-before-scene looks at the highly anticipated upcoming fifth season of the series. Stick it here to find out if a theatre near you will host Game of Thrones in IMAX.

“The cinematic brilliance and grand scope of the series is perfect for the IMAX format,” said Pamela Levine, HBO’s Chief Marketing Officer. “We are always looking to provide fans with new and exciting ways to experience the show, and viewing two key episodes, along with the new trailer, on such an impressive platform makes for a great event.”

“IMAX always seeks innovative ways to provide moviegoers a unique and differentiated experience and today’s partnership with HBO and Game of Thrones achieves just that,” added IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond. “This deal also furthers our efforts to offer exhibitors the opportunity to participate in alternative forms of content in a new and exciting way.”

Update (1/14): Switch-up! IMAX has shifted the Game of Thrones limited-time screening event by one week. The two episodes plus the trailer will now hit big-screen theatres on Thursday, Jan. 29 and will extend through Feb. 5. The move was “prompted by extraordinary consumer response that drove online mentions for IMAX to record heights,” says IMAX, and the shift allows for a more expansive rollout; the event will now reach upwards of 200 theatres (that’s up from the previous count of 150). IMAX is also offering up the list of participating theatres now. Preorder tickets starting tomorrow, Jan. 16. And, if you’re one of the first 300 ticket holders you will be gifted a limited edition GoT poster at participating venues; eye them at that link.

TV reminder: 10 premieres to look out for in January

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New year, new TV. It’s time for the latest installment of what to watch this month! There are a total of 10 new and returning shows to look out for in January so let’s get right to it, after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: 10 premieres to look out for in January →

iTunes shares 2014’s top-selling music, movies, TV shows, apps & more

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Apple returns to reveal its best-selling media across the major entertainment industries including music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. Consumers flock to the iTunes Store for the latest and greatest, and so it’s always fun to look back and discover which products made the biggest dent in their respective categories.

The top-selling album of 2014 is actually a soundtrack: it’s Disney’s Frozen! Included in the top 20 are T-Swift’s 1989, Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour, Beyonce’s self-titled surprise album, and Lorde’s magnificent debut Pure Heroine. The top-selling song of the year is Pharrell Williams’ addictive “Happy,” a song that made waves in the animated feature Despicable Me 2. Also in the top 20 are John Legend’s “All of Me,” Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” A Great Big World’s “Say Something,” and OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars.” In addition to these top-selling lists, Apple likes to share hand-picked Editor Choice awards and they include: Best Artist (Beyonce), Best Album (Taylor Swift’s 1989), Best Song (Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”), and Best New Artist (Sam Smith).

Top-selling movies include Frozen, The LEGO Movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, Catching Fire, and Neighbors. Apple named Guardians of the Galaxy Best Blockbuster, The LEGO Movie Best Family Movie, Boyhood‘s Richard Linklater is crowned Best Director, and Obvious Child is Best Discovery. Moving over to TV, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Breaking Bad, and Scandal are amongst the year’s best-selling series. Apple named Fargo TV Show of the Year, The Honorable Woman is Best Discovery, Key & Peele is Best Breakthrough, and Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s performances in True Detective are commended.

Apple’s App Store truly houses the best app ecosystem–there are just so many to choose from. In 2014 people gravitated toward trivia game Heads Up!, which receives my personal Best App To Help Pass The Time Award. Other best-selling paid apps include Minecraft–Pocket Edition, Afterlight, Plague Inc., Sleep Cycle alarm clock, and Facetune. And I bet you can easily guess the top 5 best-selling free ones: Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. 5 for 5? Thought so.

Are you a reader? John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Veronica Roth’s Insurgent, Allegiant, and Divergent are among the best-selling fictional tales. Top-selling non-fiction novels include Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson, Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, and Duty by Robert M. Gates.

We cannot forget about podcasts! I will share with you my favorite podcast this year. It’s Serial, from This American Life. It’s being called the most popular podcast of all-time and for good reason. It tells a highly serialized and incredibly addicting true crime story across 12 episodes. It’s like a riveting TV drama, except you get to imagine all of the characters and settings in your head. In addition to Serial, which Apple calls the Best New Podcast, other top-selling podcasts include works from NPR, HowStuffWorks.com, Joe Rogen, Carolla Digital.

Open iTunes to view all of the best-selling media across Apple’s digital storefronts.

Surprise: It’s a ‘BoJack Horseman’ Christmas special!

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BoJack Horseman is an anthropomorphic horse voiced naturally by Will Arnett who stars in a wickedly smart and funny Netflix original series. If you’ve haven’t binged the 12 episode animated show yet, drop everything you’re doing and get going! Without getting too in-depth so as not to spoil the fun, BJH is about a dude (who happens to be a horse) navigating his life after being in the spotlight starring in a children’s TV show. When he’s tasked to help pen his tell-all biography with a ghost writer, his world slowly begins to get turned upside-down as he is forced to face his past. He contemplates love and so many other things, and it reaches some unexpectedly dark and cynical places, too. All in all, it’s very entertaining and it features slick animation with a stellar voice cast.

Now, onto the good news! It was previously reported that Netflix is already underway with a second season of BoJack Horseman, but seemingly out of the blue today the streaming service dropped a full-length Christmas special for fans of the series. Huzzah! In “Sabrina’s Christmas Wish:

It’s Christmas, and BoJack Horseman wants nothing to do with it, especially when Todd (Aaron Paul) shows up with a giant candy cane and one of BoJack’s “Horsin’ Around” Christmas episodes from his TV star days. But BoJack agrees to watch it with Todd, if only for the residual check. One heart-warming orphan story and lots of cans of beer later, BoJack might be willing to re-think his attitude — unless Todd gets too enthusiastic about the whole holiday thing.

Stream the special at Netflix today. And if you’re new to the show, start with episode 1 right here. BJH season 2 is expected to arrive sometime in 2015.

‘Bates Motel’ teaser turns Norman into the Peeping Tom we’ve all been waiting for

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Now that Norman Bates–played exquisitely by Freddy Highmore–is truly reaching his Psycho potential, it’s high time for the buzzy drama to start embracing its rich source material. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic has found its way into Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin’s prequel series in various forms: Highmore’s Norman has been fascinated with taxidermy for awhile now, and we’ve even seen his mother’s dark (yet still living) silhouette from afar in a window peering out of Bates Manor. Plus, at the very end of last season, Norman realized he could compartmentalize his multiple personalities: Norman and Norma can reason independently inside his mind. There’s no doubt we’re inching closer to the completely psychotic Norman Bates as seen in Hitchcock’s film.

Where does Norman go from here, then? To the peep-hole, of course! In this creep-tastic teaser for the upcoming third season of A&E’s Bates Motel, we spy on new motel tenant Annika Johnson (played by the beautiful Tracy Spiridakos from the recently cancelled NBC series Revolution) as she begins to undress. Cue heavy breathing as the camera pulls out of the hole to reveal Norman as our Peeping Tom. Chilling! As a massive fan of Psycho, watching this teaser is majorly satisfying.

Bates Motel checks in again this March.

‘Orphan Black’ teaser stars so many clones

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The latest teaser for the upcoming third season of BBC America’s addicting sci-fi series Orphan Black packs a punch. Series star Tatiana Maslany reprises clones Cosima, Sarah, Helena, and Alison here and they warn of an impending war. The teaser also touts the surprising revelations made at the end of last season: that little girl there is Charlotte, the youngest Project Leda clone; the hooded male figure is Mark and the scarred one is Rudy, the two new male clones (played by Ari Millen) who stem from Project Castor.

For more insight into the new season, head over to EW where you’ll learn more directly from the source–series co-creator Graeme Manson.

Orphan Black returns April 18, 2015.

‘Birdman’ & ‘Fargo’ lead this year’s Golden Globe nominations

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On Thursday the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced this year’s Golden Globe nominations. The hybrid award show that celebrates both film and television granted Michael Keaton vehicle Birdman and the breakout FX drama Fargo the most nominations with seven and five, respectively.

Best Motion Picture (Drama) nominees include Richard Linklater’s excellent Boyhood, Foxcatcher (Steve Carrell received a nod for Best Performance), The Imitation Game (so did Benedict Cumberbatch), Selma (and David Oyelowo), and The Theory of Everything (and Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones). And the Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) nominees: Birdman (Keaton received a nod for Best Performance), The Grand Budapest Hotel (so did Ralph Fiennes), Into the Woods (and Emily Blunt), Pride, and St. Vincent (and Bill Murray). And the five movies going after Best Animated Film are Big Hero 6, The Book of Life, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and The LEGO Movie.

Moving over to the TV side of things, Best Television Series (Drama) nominees include Showtime’s The Affair (well deserved!, plus, Dominic West and Ruth Wilson received nods for Best Performance), Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, and Netflix original series House of Cards (so did Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright). And the Best Television Series (Comedy or Musical) nominees: Girls (Lena Dunham received a nod for Best Performance), The CW’s Jane the Virgin (s0 did Gina Rodriguez), Netflix’s Orange is the New Black (and Taylor Schilling), Silicon Valley, and Amazon’s Transparent (and Jeffrey Tambor). And the five series going after Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television are Fargo (Martin Freeman,Billy Bob Thornton, and Allison Tolman received nods for Best Performance), The Missing (so did Frances O’Connor), The Normal Heart (and Mark Ruffalo), Olive Kitteridge (and Frances McDormand), and True Detective (and Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson).

With so many great nominees also comes the snubbed. Per usual there are too many to count, but here are a few that come to mind. Interstellar was nominated for Hans Zimmer’s original score and nothing else. In TV, Homeland, Masters of Sex, The Leftovers, The Americans, Bates Motel, Hannibal, The Walking Dead, Orphan Black (poor Tatiana Maslany, again!), Mad Men, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation: all nada.

The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards airs live Sunday, January 11 at 8PM ET on NBC hosted once again by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Click here to view the full list of nominees.

FX renews ‘The League’ for a seventh and final season

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It’s the beginning of the end for The League.  The fantasy football comedy that’s really not about fantasy football at all has been renewed for a seventh and final season by FX. The upcoming batch of 13 episodes, set to premiere in fall 2015 on FXX, will see Pete, Kevin, Ruxin, Andre, Taco, and Jenny vie for the Shiva one last time. Even after six seasons, The League is still a great go-to comedy for consistent laughs and total absurdity (is a Rafi/Dirty Randy spinoff on anyone else’s mind?). Though it’ll be sad to see the show conclude, I’d say they’re certainly going out on top and not overstaying their welcome. Read quotes from the husband-and-wife team behind the series below:

“We are incredibly excited to work with our amazing cast for another season, especially because I can now announce that I finally won the fantasy football league that we play in with them,” said Jeff Schaffer.

“Whatever, I’ve won it twice,” Jackie Schaffer said. “Most players in the NFL don’t make it seven seasons, and most TV shows even less so. We want to thank FX Networks and all our Eskimo Brothers and Sisters – NFL teams would be lucky to have fans as diehard as ours.”

“Spoiler alert – We already know how it will all end – with credits and the theme song,” added Jeff Schaffer.

Click here to learn about how the series got started.

‘Toy Story’ special & new Netflix original ‘Marco Polo’ premiere this month [Update: ‘Black Mirror’ Christmas special]

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Now here’s something to tide you over until Disney and Pixar unleash Toy Story 4: it’s another Toy Story TV special, a follow-up to 2013’s Toy Story of Terror! Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear (alongside other fan favorite characters) in a half-hour tale titled Toy Story That Time Forgot.

During a post-Christmas play date, the Toy Story gang find themselves in uncharted territory when the coolest set of action figures ever turn out to be dangerously delusional. It’s all up to Trixie, the triceratops, if the gang hopes to return to Bonnie’s room in this Toy Story That Time Forgot.

Watch the trailer here. The special premieres Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 8pm on ABC.

Jump after the break to preview Netflix’s latest drama. Continue reading ‘Toy Story’ special & new Netflix original ‘Marco Polo’ premiere this month [Update: ‘Black Mirror’ Christmas special] →

Saul Goodman meets Mike Ehrmantraut in ‘Better Call Saul’ pilot preview

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Better Call Saul is coming soon, and to celebrate its anticipated premiere, AMC aired an actual scene pulled directly from the pilot episode during Sunday night’s tragic midseason finale of The Walking Dead. In it, Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman prototype Jimmy McGill meets a familiar face for the first time: it’s Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut who’s reprising his character from Breaking Bad. As you’d probably guess, things don’t get off to such a great start for these two.

BCS premieres Feb. 8 at 10pm on AMC.