Wow. HBO has announced yet another TV show is coming to an end this year!
22.02.2023 - 10:41 / variety.com
Marta Balaga HBO Max’s period drama “Spy/Master” is more John le Carré than Ian Fleming, state its creators. Following Victor Godeanu, a high-ranking officer in Romania’s secret service, advisor to president Nicolae Ceaușescu – and a spy – who decides to defect in 1978. “As a child, I used to watch James Bond, which is a very cartoony version of espionage. It was something we really wanted to avoid. We wanted it to feel real,” says Kirsten Peters. Adina Sădeanu adds: “John le Carré’s novels, for example ‘A Perfect Spy,’ are so complex. These characters run away from their own humanity. I have always wondered: How do they live? How do they wake up in the morning, after saying so many lies?”
For Sădeanu, her journalistic background – as well as Romanian roots – came in handy as well. “Over the years, I met many people working in intelligence. They weren’t these ‘James Bond’ types, with an exception of maybe one guy. It helped me understand the way they hide.” Their stoic hero is played by Alec Secăreanu. In 2017, he starred alongside Josh O’Connor in Francis Lee’s “God’s Own Country,” later adding “The Bike Thief” and “Happy Valley” to his resume. Parker Sawyers and Svenja Jung also act in the show. “You are not able to read him – that’s his job. He is an unreliable narrator to his own story. But he does break in the end, in his own way,” says Peters, with her collaborator adding: “He is ambivalent. As Kirsten has said, he has been doing it for his entire life. We wanted to give him a weakness and have him deal with that, too. He has to confront himself. He has no choice.” Mostly because Victor is a family man: Husband, father. Which makes things even more complicated. “At that time, during communism, you had to
Wow. HBO has announced yet another TV show is coming to an end this year!
Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max’s “The Batman” spinoff series “The Penguin” has cast Clancy Brown in a recurring role, Variety has learned. Brown joins a cast that includes series lead Colin Farrell, who will reprise the role of Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot from “The Batman, as well as Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O’Connell. Brown will appear as Salvatore Maroni, a notorious Gotham City crime boss. The character was referenced repeatedly in “The Batman,” as his arrest by corrupt Gotham officials and the collapse of his criminal empire allowed for Carmine Falcone’s organization to rise. Maroni has previously been portrayed onscreen by actors like David Zayas in “Gotham” at Fox and by Eric Roberts in “The Dark Knight.”
“Succession” kicks off on March 26, so mark your calendars. Meanwhile, the long-awaited second season of “Perry Mason” is upon us with a debut on March 6, while “The Last of Us” wraps up its acclaimed first season on March 12.
The Weeknd continues to break records.
Ellise Shafer HBO Max will host its own coffeehouse at SXSW this year, featuring events centered around the streamer’s popular titles like “The Last of Us” and “The White Lotus.” The two-day activation is presented by HBO Max’s Human by Orientation and Pa’lante initiatives, which are designed to “elevate and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ and Latinx communities,” according to a press release. The coffeehouse will be open to the public on March 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on March 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The coffeehouse will host both invite-only and public events, including a HBO documentary filmmaker roundtable, “The Last of Us” fireside chat with Gabriel Luna and Variety‘s Selome Hailu, an acoustic performance by Ambar Lucid, a queer cocktail party and “The White Lotus” discussion with writer Evan Ross Katz and Variety‘s Adam B. Vary.
HBO Max at the end of March, so it’s time to prioritize these titles in your queue. Filmmaker James Gunn’s sequel/soft reboot “The Suicide Squad” will depart the streaming service on March 22 after first hitting HBO Max the same day it was released in theaters back in 2021.
The forthcoming HBO show The Idol is said to be “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” according to its very own promo push from late last summer. And considering its creators — Euphori
Ellise Shafer HBO Max’s “Dune” prequel spinoff “The Sisterhood” is going through some changes. Both director Johan Renck and star Shirley Henderson have exited the HBO Max series, Variety has confirmed. The news comes as the production takes a “pre-scheduled hiatus,” according to the streamer. “There are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” a HBO Max representative said in a statement. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen.”
EXCLUSIVE: HBO Max‘s Dune prequel TV series’ long journey to the screen is taking another turn.Dune: The Sisterhood (wt), which started production in late November, is undergoing a creative shift, a director change and a recasting.
is expanding, with a prequel series coming to HBO Max. Set in the world of Stephen King's universe, is based on the author's novel as well as filmmaker Andy Muschietti's successful feature film adaptations, and . The series is being developed by Andy Muschietti as well as sister Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, both of whom were involved in the films.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ added 1.1 million subscribers in Q4 to end 2022 with a total of 96.1 million worldwide. That’s up from the 95 million combined global streaming customers Warner Bros. Discovery hit from July 1-Sept. 30, the quarter during which the highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” debuted. During the Oct. 1-Dec. 31 quarter, “House of the Dragon” concluded its first season the second season of HBO’s hot Mike White drama “White Lotus” premiered. Details about the upcoming combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streamer — which does not yet have a name, launch date or pricing details — will be revealed at an April 12 press day.
HBO Max is expanding the world of Stephen King‘s IT with the drama series Welcome To Derry (wt) from Warner Bros. Television and developed for TV by filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (IT, IT Chapter Two) and Jason Fuchs (IT Chapter Two, Wonder Woman).
Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max is officially moving forward with the “It” prequel series currently titled “Welcome to Derry,” Variety has learned. The show was first reported as being in development in March 2022, while Variety exclusively reported that the project had attached its co-showrunners in November. As previously reported, the series was developed for television by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs. “As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen King’s ‘It’ until the thick paperback fell to pieces,” said the Muschiettis. “‘It’ is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our ‘It’ movies. We can’t wait to share the depths of Steve’s novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity and horror.”
Andy Muschietti‘s two “IT” films from 2017 and 2019 brought Stephen King‘s 1986 epic horror novel to the big screen for the first time. Now Muschietti will develop the franchise even further.
HBO Max. The streamer announced on Thursday that “Welcome to Derry” has been ordered to series, with “It” and “It: Chapter Two” director Andy Muschietti onboard to executive produce and direct multiple episodes.
More and more HBO and HBO Max content is being canceled.
Casey Bloys was about four years into his tenure as a programming executive at HBO when he was driven to champion a project that was disliked by others at the network. At first blush, the brilliantly raunchy Danny McBride comedy “Eastbound & Down” might have seemed out of place among the erudite offerings on HBO. When the series premiered in February 2009, HBO was still known for its New York-centric (“Sex and the City”) and Hollywood-set (“Entourage”) comedies. “Eastbound” revolved around Kenny Powers, a washed-up, foulmouthed, amoral former professional baseball player who heads home to North Carolina. HBO brass weren’t sure “Eastbound” fit their high-end brand. But Bloys, then the network’s young head of comedy, knew McBride had something with the show. “I truly thought and continue to think the show is funny,” Bloys says. “And it was at a point in my career where I was learning how to be an advocate for a show. How to explain to people why something is good, why we should put our name and our money behind something.”
HBO Max declined to pick up a fourth season of South Side, the comedy from Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle and Sultan Salahuddin.
Selome Hailu “South Side” has been canceled after three seasons at HBO Max. The comedy series followed Simon (Sultan Salahuddin) and Kareme (Kareme Young), best friends who just graduated from community college and are ready to take over the world, but are stuck working at a rent-to-own furniture store until they do. MTV Entertainment Studios produced the series. Executive producers included Bashir Salahuddin, Riddle, Michael Blieden, Jax Media’s Tony Hernandez and MTV’s Ari Pearce, Kristyn Deignan and Tara Power. “While HBO Max will not be moving forward with a fourth season of South Side, we are so proud of the rich world Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle and Sultan Salahuddin created,” an HBO Max spokesperson said, confirming that the series would not be moving forward. “We thank them and Michael Blieden, Tony Hernandez, the supremely talented cast and crew and our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios.”
The HBO comedy “South Side” will not move forward after three seasons.The HBO Max Original series starred best friends Simon (Sultan Salahuddin) and Kareme (Kareme Young), who work at a rent-to-own furniture store while planning for bigger things.“While HBO Max will not be moving forward with a fourth season of South Side, we are so proud of the rich world Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle and Sultan Salahuddin created,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to media. “We thank them and Michael Blieden, Tony Hernandez, the supremely talented cast and crew and our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios.”The show was shot on location in Englewood, a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.