EXCLUSIVE: Dan Ahdoot, who has starred in series such as Cobrai Kai, and Vali Chandrasekaran, an exec producer on Modern Family are behind a new Muslim-American comedy that is in development at ABC.
19.08.2022 - 22:31 / theplaylist.net
The stakes are high for shows like “Mo,” Netflix’s new comedy series. For decades, TV and film in the West have followed mainstream political narratives, offering Muslims and Arabs of all faiths and none a narrow screen binary: you’re either a villain or a victim.
In recent years, shows like A24’s “Ramy,” “Man Like Mobeen,” and “We Are Lady Parts” have been making great strides in changing that, offering much-maligned audiences the chance to see some of their own nuances reflected back at them (not to mention allowing often-typecast performers to play characters with more depth than Terrorist #7 or Woman with Headscarf). Continue reading ‘Mo’ Review: Palestinian-American Comedy Led By ‘Ramy’s Mohammed Amer Finds Its Own Step at The Playlist.
.EXCLUSIVE: Dan Ahdoot, who has starred in series such as Cobrai Kai, and Vali Chandrasekaran, an exec producer on Modern Family are behind a new Muslim-American comedy that is in development at ABC.
EXCLUSIVE: Electric Panda Entertainment and The Donaldson Company announced the cast for the dramatic thriller Civil.
Kelly Clarkson is living for a moment like this. The 40-year-old superstar recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of her historic win while gearing up for the fourth season of her eponymous talk show. On Sept.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Amazon Freevee has given the greenlight to “Clean Slate,” a new comedy from Norman Lear’s Act III Productions, starring Laverne Cox and comedian George Wallace. The original comedy has been in development at Freevee since February 2021, back when the ad-supported streamer was known as IMDb TV. “Clean Slate,” which comes from Cox, Wallace and Dan Ewen, centers on car wash owner Henry (Wallace), whose estranged child comes home to Alabama after 17 years. But he must do some soul searching as he comes to terms with the fact that his adult child is a trans woman, Desiree (Cox). There’s no word yet on an episodic order, when the series might shoot or an estimated premiere date.
Steve Lacy's Bad Habit has officially become the Official Number 1 Trending Song in the UK.
“It’s a no from me, dawg.”A resurfaced video from the first season of “American Idol” in 2002 has Twitter users doing a double take at a blonde, energetic hopeful who very much resembles Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.However, the woman in the video — which has 1.2 million views and over 37,900 likes since it was posted on Sunday — claims her name is Stefanie Sugarman, 23, and says she is from Alta Loma, California, despite Greene hailing from the Peach State.“My biggest worry right now is telling work how I’m going to miss Monday. Calling in sick.
As a child growing up in the United States, you’re taught that betraying the country is a terrible act, punishable by death. Every morning, in most public schools, you’re forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which overtly puts your patriotism at the forefront of the day’s events.
Given the fragile state of world peace at the moment, it seems like a good time for the latest film from Hoop Dreams director Steve James, a piece of little-known history from the cold war that could potentially have devastating consequences today. Sadly, James’ Venice Film Festival out of competition title A Compassionate Spy just doesn’t deliver the drama and tension you might expect from the high-stakes story of a mild-mannered American scientist who passed sensitive nuclear secrets to the Russians out of a mixture of idealism and naivety.
Manori Ravindran International Editor High-profile espionage cases in the post-war period often invoke the grisly fate of the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed by electric chair for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union in peace time. But in the new documentary “A Compassionate Spy,” filmmaker Steve James tells the incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia — and got away with it. The Participant and Kartemquin Films-produced documentary, which has its world premiere in Venice on Sept. 2, is one of a number of films at this year’s festival that tackle the topic of nuclear disaster: Projects from Noah Baumbach’s feature adaptation of Don DeLillo’s “White Noise” through to Oliver Stone’s on-the-nose documentary “Nuclear” all contemplate some aspect of our nuclear past and future.
Rivalries are heating up on and off the court at Bringston University in a new teaser from Season 2 of “All American: Homecoming,” which TheWrap can exclusively reveal.The clip shows tensions are clearly rising between tennis stars Simone (Geffri Hightower) and Thea (Camille Hyde). Also making an appearance in the sneak peek are Spencer (Daniel Ezra) and Jordan (Michael Evans Behling), from sister show “All American,” as they make a surprise trip to the Atlanta-based HBCU.
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Matt Carter’s “In From the Side” which had its world premiere at the British Film Institute’s Flare Festival. The movie will be released in the the U.K. by Verve Pictures on Sept. 16. Set in the world of gay rugby, “In From the Side” follows two men from a cash-strapped gay rugby club who unwittingly embark into an adulterous affair and must confront their growing feelings or risk destroying the club that they love. Produced by Andrew Faure, “In From the Side” marks the debut feature of Carter who has a background in visual effects. “Strand is the perfect partner for any independent filmmaker- we are delighted they are brining our film to a wide American audience” said Adam Silver, the film’s co-producer who reps the title and negotiated the deal with Jon Gerrans at Strand Releasing.
As The Umbrella Academy is headed for its fourth and final season, the series’ executive producer/showrunner Steve Blackman has re-upped his big, eight-figure overall deal with the streamer.
Selome Hailu SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t watched Season 1 of “Mo” on Netflix. As I finish interviewing comedian Mo Amer and ask him if there’s anything else he’d like to talk about, he says, “I don’t have a lean addiction, nor have I ever been addicted to lean. I keep saying that every chance I can, because it gets weird out here.” It’s an important distinction to make, as the mixture of prescription cough syrup, soda and candy has killed many, especially in Houston, where Amer grew up. He is the co-creator, executive producer and star of “Mo,” a comedy-drama series that heavily draws from his true experiences as a refugee — his parents were displaced from Palestine to Kuwait where Amer was born, before the whole family fled to Texas during the Gulf War. Several of the show’s most painful moments — like when, 20 years after his father’s death from a heart attack, is looking over paperwork with his immigration lawyer (Lee Eddy) and finds out for the first time that his father was captured and tortured during the war — are lifted directly from Amer’s life. But when Mo begins sipping lean to cope with an injury he sustains in Episode 1 — Amer says that’s all for the plot.
K.J. Yossman Baby Cow are the production company behind some of the U.K.’s best-loved comedy shows, including “Gavin and Stacey” with James Corden and Ruth Jones, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding’s “The Mighty Boosh” and “This Time With Alan Partridge” starring Steve Coogan as the cringe-worthy fictional television host. It was a prescient Coogan who founded Baby Cow alongside producer Henry Normal in 1998, long before talent-led production companies were a thing.
Cherien Dabis When I was offered the opportunity to direct the “Only Murders in the Building” episode “The Boy From 6B,” which focuses on the story of a deaf character, I knew instantly that I had to do it. It was precisely the kind of story that excites me, a story told from a point of view we rarely get to see, portraying a character from a community that’s underrepresented and misrepresented. I’ve built my career upon telling stories about marginalized communities, and by doing so, I’ve attempted to push us all out of the margins and into the center.
House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint opened up about the racist backlash he faced after getting cast on HBO’s upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff.
posted on Facebook, alongside photos of his father with their family. “But as dad was so well known the news is starting to reach out earlier than we would have liked.
Stranger Things actor Joe Keery has discussed the panicked reaction to ‘Protect Steve’ billboards used to promote the show’s fourth season.Ahead of season four’s final two episodes, released in July, Netflix debuted a number of billboards emblazoned with the words ‘Protect Steve’ surrounded by roots related to the overgrowth in the Upside Down.The marketing ploy caused many fans to fear for the safety of Keery’s character Steve Harrington in the final two episodes, something which amuses the actor today.“That was some very funny Netflix marketing,” laughs Keery to NME. “It’s pretty funny because they just freaked everybody out, but they knew how it ended!“It was like: ‘why are they saying this?’ Why are they doing this to everyone!”AT ALL COSTS!!! pic.twitter.com/qabjmpy0y1— Netflix (@netflix) June 29, 2022The actor however missed most of the anguish due to his absence from social media.