‘The Takedown’ Review: Netflix Buddy Comedy Suffers From Problematic Detours

Netflix is under fire again due to jokes about the transgender community in Ricky Gervais‘ new comedy special.

Ricky Gervais doesn’t let criticism get him down.

Multiple liberal media outlets are having a hard time dealing with taboo-breaking comedian Ricky Gervais' new Netflix comedy special because of its jokes about transgender people. Gervais’ new special, titled "SuperNature," debuted on the streaming platform Tuesday and has already received multiple scathing reviews for containing several outrageous jokes about trans people and the activists who aggressively insist that the public respect their pronouns.  Hollywood magazine Variety, and British outlets Metro and The Independent clutched their collective pearls over the special.  Variety's opening salvo skewered it for trying to "score points off of a marginalized group of people." The Hollywood outlet slammed the special as a "collision between two malign forces," namely Gervais and Netflix.

Tommy Chong will be back as Leo in Netflix’s upcoming That ’90s Show, a follow-up to hit sitcom That ’70s Show.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter“That ’90s Show,” the spinoff of “That ’70s Show” at Netflix, is bringing back Tommy Chong as Leo.Chong made the announcement during an interview with The Dark Mark Show, saying “They gave me a call and I did my part…They never gave me any instructions, so I don’t know if I’m supposed to be talking about it or not. I really don’t give a s— to tell you the truth.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has boarded “Darlings,” headlined by top Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and directed by feature debutant Jasmeet K. Reen.Written by Reen, Parveez Sheikh (“Queen”) and Vijay Maurya (Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder”), “Darlings” is billed as a dark comedy which explores the lives of a mother-daughter duo trying to find their place in Mumbai, seeking courage and love in exceptional circumstances while fighting against all odds.The film is produced by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions.

Ava DuVernay’s Wings of Fire, an animated series adaptation of the family fantasy books which had been in development at Netflix since 2021, is the latest victim of animation cuts at the streamer, sources close to the project confirm to Deadline. We hear several other projects are not moving forward as well.

EXCLUSIVE: Omar Sy’s star continues to burn bright on Netflix, as the French star’s thriller The Takedown comfortably held on to top spot in the streamer’s non-English language film chart.

A Rhode Island dog whose inspiring story of going from shelter dog to lifesaving police K-9 which became the subject of a recent Netflix movie has been euthanized.

Canadian unscripted producer Sean Connolly has set up his own production business and tied up a multi-year strategic deal with compatriot firm Great Pacific Media.

UPDATED, 7:40 AM: Netflix today released a four-minute video clip of Pete Davidson joking about Kanye West during his appearance last week at the Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival at The Fonda Theatre. You can watch it above.

Joe Leydon Film CriticIt’s easy to see why Netflix wanted to reteam actor Omar Sy and director Louis Leterrier in something, anything, given the popularity of their previous collaboration, the French thriller series “Lupin.” But U.S. viewers may be a tad puzzled by the streamer’s decision to green-light as their follow-up a popcorn movie as nondescript as “The Takedown” — a sequel to “On the Other Side of the Tracks” (“De l’autre côté du périph”), a lightweight 2012 French-produced buddy-cop action-comedy that, whatever its popularity in its home territory, received only (very) limited release by The Weinstein Company in this county.On the other hand: Leterrier — whose credits also include “Now You See Me” and the first two entries in the “Transporter” franchise — has just this week been given the keys to “Fast X,” replacing the creatively distanced Justin Lin as director for the next installment of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.

Netflix has released a first-look photo of Randall Park and Melissa Fumero on the set of Blockbuster, its upcoming single-camera video store comedy series from Universal Television. See the photo below.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentA nationwide referendum is to be held in Switzerland on May 15 on a proposed law that would force streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to re-invest 4% of their local revenues in Swiss film and TV productions.Dubbed “Lex Netflix,” the Swiss law –– which is modeled on European regulations that don’t apply in the country as it’s not part of the E.U. –– is sparking plenty of controversy.“Lex Netflix” is being opposed by Swiss groups of different political stripes who say it goes against the principles of the country’s fiercely free-market economy.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix has ordered a docuseries from Shawn Levy, Vox Media Studios and The Verge about how technology will affect the basic aspects of our lives in the future, Variety has learned exclusively.Titled “The Future Of…,” the show asks: “What if we could look into the future to see how every aspect of our daily lives — from raising pets and house plants to what we eat and how we date — will be impacted by technology?” Per Netflix, “We can, and should, expect more from the future than the dystopia promised in current science fiction. ‘The Future Of…’ will reveal surprising and personal predictions about the rest of our lives — and the lives of generations to come.”The series will be released globally in two batches, with the first six episodes premiering Tuesday, June 21, and the remaining six episodes on Tuesday, June 28.

Dave Chappelle has been attacked by a man during a Netflix stand-up show at the Hollywood Bowl.Footage has surfaced online from last night’s show (May 3) which appears to show a man charging and tackling the comedian.The man was then said to have been dragged away by security, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Following the incident at the Netflix Is A Joke festival, Chappelle regained his composure and joked that “it was a trans man” in reference to the backlash last year over his stand-up special The Closer, where he described himself as “team TERF” as he spoke on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling.Dave Chappelle just got attacked on stage pic.twitter.com/E4gAfmkPgQ— Hoodville (@Hoodville_) May 4, 2022Here is a video of the aftermath.

“‘No Good Deed’ was inspired by my many late nights during the early pandemic maniacally searching Zillow listings for a way out of my house,” Feldman said in a statement. “I’m endlessly grateful to Netflix for being such a supportive creative home and for continuing to allow me to turn my crippling anxiety into entertainment.”The upcoming series is part of Feldman’s overall deal with Netflix.

 is bringing in a new member of its creative family. Following Justin Lin's departure from the upcoming 10th installment of the franchise, ET can confirm that French filmmaker Louis Leterrier has been chosen to step in and direct the action-packed film.Leterrier is best known for directing the first two  films, as well as 2008's 2010's 2013's and the Netflix streaming series Lin announced his directorial departure last Tuesday, but shared with fans that he would be remaining on the project as a producer.