TV Bits: ‘Hanna’ Is Happening, Jon Stewart’s HBO Show Isn’t, ‘Veep’ Renewed, And More
In this edition of TV Bits:
Earlier this year,we wrote abouthowThe Night Manager’sDavid Farrwas hoping to create a TV show based on the 2011 teenage assassin filmHanna, which he co-wrote. NowDeadlinereports that Amazon Studios has given the show a straight-to-series order.
“I am delighted to be able to return to the Hanna story. Joe Wright’s movie was dazzling but inevitably there were certain elements that a feature length film wasn’t able fully to explore,” said Farr. “It’s a pleasure therefore to be able to revisit the material in a longer format and take Hanna into whole new physical and emotional worlds. Amazon have shown such passion for the project and is the perfect home forHanna.”
I remember liking the movie when it came out and especially digging its fairy tale overtones, so hopefully this series keeps that thematic connection alive.
Here’s a piece of strange casting:Dennis Quaid(Dragonheart, Any Given Sunday)has been castto play former U.S. president George W. Bush in the upcoming second season ofRyan Murphy’sAmerican Crime Story. Weirdly, Quaid also portrayed Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, in a 2010 TV movie calledThe Special Relationship. The new season will focus on the effects and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. No word yet who will be playingMike Myers and Kanye West.
EWhas the first look at Penelope Cruz playing Donatella Versace inThe Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Yep, the third season of this show is already far enough along for images to be released, even though another season is supposedly coming out first. Bizarre times. Anyway, Cruz certainly has the look down and this may end up being just as stylish asAmerican Horror Story– albeit with a totally different vibe. This installment in the miniseries arrives on FX in 2018.
Another anthology series, Channel 4’sPhilip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, is taking more ofBlack Mirrorapproach with their series, in that every episode features a different cast and storyline. Each episode is based on a short story from the acclaimed sci-fi author (whose work inspired movies likeBlade Runner, Minority Report,andTotal Recall), andVarietyreports thatBates MotelstarVera Farmigahas been cast to star in an episode alongsideThe Last Man on Earth’sMel Rodriguez.
Farmiga plays a politician who makes a shocking statement encouraging violence. Rodriguez plays the one man who dares to question the situation and finds himself an instant target.
Count me in.
FormerDaily Showhost Jon Stewart’sambitious animated news projectat HBO has, sadly, fallen through. Ajoint statementfrom Stewart and the premium channel was released:
“HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with a short form digital animated project. We all thought the project had great potential, but there were technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult given the quick turnaround and topical nature of the material. We’re excited to report that we have some future projects together which you will be hearing about in the near future.”
That’s a bummer, but understandable when you remember that Stewart wanted to get multiple animations out per day commenting on news in real time. Considering the pace of the news cycle these days, his animators would have had to work at the speed of light to stand a chance at staying relevant.
Did you knowCarl Weatherswas starring on a major network television show this year? Emphasis on the “was,” becauseChicago Justice– the show in question –has been given the axby NBC and it won’t return for season 2. With as many shows as they have right now in their interconnectedChicagoTV universe (Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med), how poorly mustJusticehave performed in order for it to get the boot? Yikes.
NBC has pushed its planned live incarnation ofBye Bye Birdieback to 2018, though starJennifer Lopezis still attached in the lead role. The Peacock has also delayedits live version ofA Few Good Men, which was originally supposed to air this year. There have apparently been some casting struggles on that one, andAaron Sorkin– who wrote the original play and subsequent film script and is also writing and producing this live show – has a busy schedule that also necessitated a delay.
At least Donald Trump’s presidency is keepingsomebodyemployed. Comedy Centralhas ordered seven more episodesofThe President Show, the series that starsAnthony Atamanuikas a version of Trump that’s truly not that far from reality. This brings its first season episode count up to 15, with the potential for even more to be added after that.
“Whether we’re witnessing the end of democracy or merely the end of the world, it’s a privilege seeing it from the inside,” Comedy Central presidentKent Altermansaid in a statement. I’m glad someone can joke about this, because the real world seems pretty damn bleak at the moment.
Speaking of television in the age of Trump, HBO hasrenewedtheJulia Louis-DreyfusseriesVeepfor a seventh season. How they’re possibly going to be able to mine scripted comedy out of a real-world scenario that gets more ludicrous by the day remains a mystery. Godspeed to those writers.
And let’s wrap up this edition of TV Bits with a little fake news. Well,thisnews isn’t fake, it’s about…oh, you’ll see what I mean.
Deadlinereports thatThe OfficestarEd Helmswill star inThe Fake News with Ted Nelms, a Comedy Central special “featuring absurd, made-up news that closely resembles real news, delivered by an absurd, made-up guy who closely resembles Ed Helms. With the sound off,TFNwill look exactly like CNN or Fox News, but with the sound on, it will live in the great deadpan comedy tradition of Peter Sellers, Monty Python and Leslie Nielsen.”
A clearly marked fake news special will probably go over a hell of a lot better than the time Fox spread fake news online as advertising forA Cure For Wellness, but I still wish the term “fake news” would die a horrible death. Still, Helms' days as a field reporter onThe Daily Showshould serve him well here.
