‘What We Do in the Shadows’ Spinoff ‘Wellington Paranormal’ Expands as Podcast

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian streamer Stan has acquired rights to both seasons, totaling 20 episodes, of the Malaysian adaptation of Scandinavian crime series “The Bridge.” The agreement, brokered by Lyle Bettson-Barker, SVP Australia and New Zealand from Banijay Rights, represents the first time that Stan has acquired a Malaysian drama series. The Asian version of “The Bridge” was initially commissioned by Viu and HBO Asia in 2018, after Double Vision, part of the Vision New Media group, introduced Viu to the format. It broadcast to across 23 territories in the combined footprints of Viu and HBO Asia and was also shown on Viu in South Africa.The title has garnered more than 20 regional awards and nominations across its two seasons, making it the most awarded drama in Malaysian history. Season one faithfully follows the original show, and sees a dead body found on the border between Malaysia and Singapore, necessitating an investigator from each country to work together to solve the crime.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic Palestinian refugees have been arriving in the slum district of Sabra and Shalila on the outskirts of Beirut since what Israel calls the War of Independence in 1948. Forty-four years later, their presence (and that of suspected PLO fighters) got targeted in a mid-September massacre by the Christian militia known as Lebanese Forces, executed while Israeli Defense Forces who’d already invaded the nation three months prior stood by. Another four decades have passed since, during which span the area has remained not just a last-resort magnet for multinational refugees, but “the most lawless, poorest, dirtiest place” in the city.

It’s nearly impossible to go on social media today and not see videos and pictures of war-torn Gaza. The massive amounts of bombings over the past couple of months in Gaza has chilled people to the bone.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. “Battle in the Box,” created by Korea’s NMedia and represented globally by Something Special, has previously seen deals announced with Fremantle for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Universal Music Greater China has signed a strategic partnership with Mandarin-language music superstar Jay Chou and his record label JVR Music. The agreement secures global marketing and distribution rights for Chou’s extensive music catalogue and for future projects. It also supports rising talent from his label, including artists Patrick Brasca and Young (aka Cao Yang) through JVR. Nicknamed the ‘King of Mandopop’ Chou has a two decade career that spans 15 studio albums, eight world tours and 378 concerts in Asia, America, Europe, and Australia.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Gael García Bernal is nursing a slight cold. He thinks he may have caught a bug during a flight to Los Angeles. But he theorizes it could have also come from the Academy Museum Gala, held in the museum’s open-air atrium, which he attended two nights before I meet him for breakfast at Chateau Marmont.

Some Strictly Come Dancing were united in their 'hate' as they told producers of the show what they 'need' during a bit of a different quarter-final. It was supposed to be crunch time in the ballroom on Saturday night (December 2) with the couples competing for a place in the semi-finals.

Kelsea Ballerini has revealed that she and boyfriend Chase Stokes have matching tattoos!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Carmen,” “Foe,” “Limbo,” Australia’s Oscar contender “Shayda,” “Streets of Colour” and “The Royal Hotel” have received the six nominations for best feature film at this year’s Screen Producers Australia Awards. The SPA Awards will be held on Thursday, March 21, 2024, the final evening of the Screen Forever conference. In the documentary feature section, the nominations are “Flyaways,” “Harley & Katya,” “Living With Devils,” “ONEFOUR: Against All Odds,” “The Cape,” “The Giants,” “The Jewish Nazi?” and “The Platypus Garden.” Nominations for best telemovie or miniseries production are “While the Men Are Away,” “The Claremont Murders,” “Wellmania,” “The Messenger,” “Bad Behaviour” and “The Clearing.” “2023 was a year filled with a number of challenges for our industry, but the Australian screen sector continued to delight audiences globally with stories that share our unique culture and creativity,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.

Taika Waititi has revealed that former US President, Donald Trump, issued a “list of demands” surrounding his brief appearance in NBC’s 2012 Super Bowl advert.The video features stars of the network, including The Office’s Steve Carell, Parks And Recreation’s Amy Poehler and 30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin. In the video, the actors are seen singing ‘Brotherhood Of Man’ from the 1961 musical, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.Trump, who at the time was hosting The Apprentice (US) can be briefly seen wearing a suit, looking into the camera, as he points and says the word, “you”.Waititi, who directed the advert, appeared on a recent episode of the SmartLess podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, where he shared that the former president’s appearance came with some conditions.“There was a piece of paper with a list of [Trump’s] demands,” the Jojo Rabbit director shared.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Taika Waititi revealed on the “SmartLess” podcast (via Business Insider) that Donald Trump had a list of demands when the two collaborated on a 2012 advertisement for NBC. The commercial, titled “Brotherhood of Man,” aired during the Super Bowl and touted the network’s television slate by combining characters from series such as “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live” and more. Waititi directed the ad, which also featured Donald Trump as he was the face of NBC’s reality competition series “The Apprentice” at the time.

When Kerry Thomas and James Berry noticed their daughter Lola was vomiting every morning, they immediately thought it was strange.

The bumbling cops at the center of Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement‘s comedy Wellington Paranormal are to present a podcast about the series.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his autumn statement that National Insurance will be slashed in the New Year.

, it gives us an opportunity to address and reassess the parts of us that we’ve been avoiding. The November full moon peaks in the sky on November 27 at 4:16 a.m. ET (1:16 a.m.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran actor Ciaran Hinds and Odessa Young have joined Euphoria star Jacob Elordi in the cast of premium Australian miniseries “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.” Production is now under way. An adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Richard Flanaghan, the five-part series is love story set against the backdrop of World War II. Production is by Curio Pictures with Prime Video releasing the title in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

2024 Grammy nominations were announced.But even as top contenders SZA, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo were already getting fitted for gowns, something was amiss.The fact that the nominees for music’s top prize were being announced before anyone got to chow and cocktail down for Friendsgiving — let alone Thanksgiving — made it feel way too early in the awards season.I mean, Mariah Carey didn’t even have enough time to properly defrost.Add to that the fact that the 2023 Country Music Awards took place just two days before the 2024 Grammy nominations were announced — and you knew that something just ain’t right with music award shows.That trend continued on Sunday night, when the Billboard Music Awards took the pre-Thanksgiving weekend spot long occupied by the American Music Awards — and turned it into one big turkey. (To make matters even weirder, both the BBMAs and the AMAs are owned by the same parent company.)Indeed, while the BBMAs were previously aired on NBC — these awards were relegated to a damn Billboard website.

Ana Navarro is concerned about what is happening at Univision after the Spanish-language network seemingly shifted their strategy to covering Donald Trump.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sting, Jonas Brothers, Halsey and OneRepublic are among the headline acts set to perform at Lollapalooza India. The music festival is set for a second edition Jan.

SPOILER ALERT – Do not read ahead if you have not watched the November 15 episode of The Masked Singer!