Welcome to Clearing Out Our Queue, where we share TV news and recommendations to keep you filled in between episodes of our podcast. Every Friday, Adina and Kara will keep you in the loop about what’s going on in the entertainment world, and what you should be watching.
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WILL TV EVER SETTLE DOWN AGAIN?
Just in case anyone thought the TV industry was trending back towards stability, the business seems on the brink of several more radical shifts. Disney CEO Bob Iger is facing challenges to his power from within, while Paramount continues to struggle financially, with an open question of when and if it may merge with a larger company - and if so, which.
Additionally, a situation involving some of the AI concerns brought up in the recent strikes hit headlines this week: actor Sara Poyzer shared that she was set to offer voice work for an upcoming BBC documentary until she was informed she was no longer needed as approval had been granted to use an AI recreation of a performer who is “near the end of their life”. BBC clarified in a statement that the section will be clearly labeled as being created with help from AI and full approval has been given by the relevant performer’s family, citing “specific circumstances” that merit it here. Even putting this specific case aside, it begs the question of how common it may become for actors to be hired and then let go when it becomes possible to replace them with AI tools… or to not even be offered jobs in the first place.
Premieres this past week include Season 5 of grown-ish on Freeform/Hulu, The Baxters and Season 2 of American Rust: Broken Justice on Prime Video, A Gentleman in Moscow on Showtime/Paramount, and Renegade Nell on Disney+. This weekend will also bring Parish on AMC.
TV NEWS
Production for Euphoria Season 3 has been delayed, likely due to the cast members being busy with other projects. Reportedly, the HBO drama is still hoping to release the season in 2025, but one has to wonder if they really think Zendaya is going to get less busy anytime soon. Apparently the idea of doing a movie to tie up the story was floated, but dismissed - the plan is still for a full season of TV, though the order might be reduced from eight episodes to six.
On the other hand, the much-delayed second season of Severance Season 2 has made some progress, says executive producer Ben Stiller. He confirmed that filming is underway and will continue “until probably like the end of April and it will be coming out sometime after that soon." Rather vague, but it’s the first update on the acclaimed Apple TV+ series in a long time, so hopefully it’s reassuring for fans.
David Nicholls, the author of 2009 novel One Day discussed some of the upsides to adaptation at Storyhouse, a screenwriting festival in Dublin. One Day was first adapted to a feature film (with a screenplay written by Nicholls) in 2011, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Earlier this year, it was adapted again, this time as a limited series for Netflix starring Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall (and Kara’s favorite thing she’s watched this year!). Nicholls credited the new creative team for the series with putting a fresh spin on the material, while still keeping faithful to the story he’d created.
As the television landscape evolves post-strike, it seems streamers are trying to get into the procedural game. Max recently ordered fifteen episodes of The Pitt, a medical procedural to be helmed by a team that all worked together on ER. There’s also a good chance these episodes will be aired week to week. It will be interesting to see how maybe taking a page out of network TV’s book could change what we’re seeing on our screens in the coming years.
CLEARING OUT OUR QUEUE
Or, what we’re watching this week.
Kara: I started watching X-Men ‘97 on Disney+ and I’m really enjoying it! I’ve been a big fan of X-Men for many years, so I’m excited to have this to watch week to week now.
Adina: I tried out the Netflix adaptation of 3 Body Problem but after two hour-long episodes (and I mean an hour), it failed to grab me, so I feel like I’m better off reading the book one day. I also checked out all the episodes that are released of Quiet on Set, the docuseries about inappropriate behavior that ran unchecked on sets of Nickelodeon shows… it’s… upsetting, as expected, but good that it’s coming to light.
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