SciFiAndTvTalk

Condor - Season Two Coming In November (EPIX)

Premium network EPIX today announced that spy-thriller series  Condor, from MGM Television and Skydance Television, will have its U.S. premiere with two back-to-back episodes on November 7 at 9pm. (Subsequent episodes will air Sundays at 9, with a two-episode finale on December 26).  Based on the novel  Six Days of the Condor  by James Grady and screenplay Three Days of the Condor by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel,  Condor follows CIA analyst Joe Turner (Max Irons) who stumbles onto a plan that threatens the lives of millions.

Season two of Condor finds Joe Turner still wandering around Europe, careful not to stay in any one place long enough to put down roots or be a danger to anyone he meets. But while Joe is busy avoiding his past, it catches up with him in the form of a mysterious Russian intelligence officer who claims to be an asset working for Joe’s Uncle Bob. The officer’s life is in danger and he’s willing to trade the identity of a Russian mole in the CIA for safe passage. Joe is reluctant to help –he wants nothing to do with the CIA –but events back home compel Joe to take action and force him to face the life he thought he’d left behind.

In addition to Irons,  Condor season two also stars Constance Zimmer, Alexei Bondar, Isidora Goreshter, Eric Johnson, Toby Leonard Moore, Jonathan Kells Phillips and Rose Rollins, with Kristen Hager and Bob Balaban returning from season one.  

The series is executive produced by Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg, Andrew McCarthy. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost for Skydance Television, Marcy Ross, Shane Elrod and Brian Walsh, John Weber and Frank Siracusa. Smilovic and Katzberg serve as showrunners. The series is produced by MGM Television & Skydance Television with MGM being the lead studio, in association with Paramount Television. Condor is internationally distributed by MGM.   

See - Sneak Peek From Season Two Opener (Apple TV+)

(L-R): Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista in See. Photo courtesy/copyright of Apple TV+.

The sophomore season of See, Apple’s action-packed, post-apocalyptic drama series starring Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista and Alfre Woodard, premieres globally on Friday, August 27, 2021 exclusively on Apple TV+ with the first episode, followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday. Check out a sneak peek clip from the season two opener.

See is set in a brutal and primitive future, hundreds of years after humankind has lost the ability to see. In season two, Baba Voss (Momoa) is struggling to reunite his family while protecting them as the threat of war looms between the Kingdom of Paya and the Trivantian Republic. Despite his best efforts, his wife and sighted children are pulled to the forefront of the conflict, where they come to the attention of his estranged brother, Edo Voss (Bautista), a powerful and cunning Trivantian General, whose long-simmering hatred for his brother imperils them all even further.

Joining Momoa, Bautista, and Woodard in the second season are new series regulars Eden Epstein (Sweetbitter), Tom Mison (Watchmen), Hoon Lee (Warrior), Olivia Cheng (Warrior), David Hewlett (The Shape of Water) and Tamara Tunie (Flight), as well as returning ensemble cast members Hera Hilmar, Sylvia Hoeks, Christian Camargo, Archie Madekwe, Nesta Cooper and Yadira Guevara-Prip. The second season of See is executive produced by Steven Knight, Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Jim Rowe and Jonathan Tropper, who also serves as showrunner. The series is produced by Chernin Entertainment and Endeavor Content.

Behind The Monsters Coming To Shudder

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streamer for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has announced its up-coming new original docu-series Behind the Monsters, which takes a deep dive on cinematic horror icons.  Each of the series’ six episodes will focus on a single horror character, including Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Candyman, Chucky and Pinhead, and feature interviews with horror experts and the writers, directors and actors from the original films that made each character the stuff of genre legends. Written and directed by Gabrielle Binkley and Anthony Uro and produced by Stage 3 Productions, Behind the Monsters debuts on Shudder on Tuesday October 26 with episodes rolling out weekly.

“In the history of film, only a handful of stars and characters like Mickey Mouse or Marilyn Monroe have risen to the heights of fame to become instantly recognizable the world over. Yet somehow, a small group of monsters who got their start in low-budget horror movies have transcended their humble beginnings to become international pop culture icons. Behind the Monsters will tell the story of their unlikely rise to fame, from the ideas that inspired them to the indelible mark they’ve left on the world,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s general manager.

Behind the Monsters will focus on the following horror icons over six episodes:

• CANDYMAN, featuring interviews with the original Candyman (1992) Director Bernard Rose and stars Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen; Candyman (2021) Director Nia DaCosta; and Horror Noire’s Tananarive Due, among others.

• CHUCKY, with interviews with Child’s Play (1988) Creator/Writer Don Mancini, Director Tom Holland and star Catherine Hicks, along with the voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif, among others.

• JASON Voorhees, including interviews with Kane Hodder, actor/stuntman from Friday the 13^th Parts VII & VIII, Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X, and Tom Savini, special effects creator on Friday the 13^th Parts I & IV, among others.

• MICHAEL MYERS, featuring interviews with actor Nick Castle from Halloween and the new Halloween films from Blumhouse, as well as Halloween (2018) stunt actor James Jude Courtney, among others.

• FREDDY KRUEGER, including interviews with A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) stars Heather Langenkamp and Lin Shaye, as well as Special Effects Designer Jim Doyle, among others.

• PINHEAD, including an interview with Hellraiser actor Doug Bradley and others.

Other experts from the within genre set to appear throughout the series include Drac & Swan Boulet (The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula), Horror Noire documentary writer and producer Ashlee Blackwell, The Last Podcast on the Left hosts Ben Kissel and Henry Zebrowski, Blumhouse producer Ryan Turek and filmmakers Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination), April Wolfe (Black Christmas, 2019), David Bruckner (Hellraiser reboot), and filmmaker and drag artist Peaches Christ.  

Behind the Monsters is executive produced by Phil Nobile Jr., Kelly Ryan and Mark Shostrom.

AMC Opens Writers' Room For Lives of the Mayfair Witches

AMC Studios has announced it will open a writers’ room to explore a potential new series based on Anne Rice’s Lives of the Mayfair Witches for AMC+ and AMC. This would be the second series in an expanding Anne Rice universe, following the recent greenlight of Interview with the Vampire, which is slated for a 2022 premiere.

Esta Spaulding (Masters of Sex, On Becoming a God in Central Florida) and Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, The Pacific, John Adams) are both on as writers and executive producers of the series, Spaulding, who has an overall deal with AMC Studios, would serve as showrunner if the series was greenlit. The series will focus on an intuitive young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the unlikely heir to a family of witches. As she grapples with her newfound powers, she must contend with a sinister presence that has haunted her family for generations. 

In a major acquisition last year, AMC Networks acquired the rights to Rice’s iconic works, encompassing 18 titles including the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches series, which have delighted fans around the world. Acclaimed and award-winning film and television producer Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Halt and Catch Fire, Rectify), who also has an overall agreement with AMC Studios, is taking the lead on developing the full Anne Rice collection into a streaming and television universe.

“We have an enormous amount of ambition for these iconic works, which have captivated and entertained millions of fans around the world, so it is gratifying to be moving so quickly from the ‘Interview’ greenlight to exploring a second series with such talented and accomplished writers and creators as Esta and Michelle,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We take our responsibility to deliver compelling television to both existing and new fans of this material incredibly seriously, as we move deliberately to develop these titles into a new franchise and universe for AMC+ and AMC.”

The Anne Rice catalog AMC acquired last year includes The Vampire Chronicles Series: Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoch The Devil, The Vampire Armand, Pandora, Vittorio the Vampire, Blood and Gold, Prince Lestat, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, and Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat; The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches Series: The Witching Hour, Lasher, Taltos; and The Vampire Chronicles/The Lives Of The Mayfair Witches- Crossover Novels: Merrick, Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle.

AMC Networks holds the comprehensive rights for this world renowned and globally coveted intellectual property to develop for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella, as well as external partner licensing, with Anne Rice and son Christopher Rice serving as executive producers on all series and films. Together, The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair series have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.

Finding Alice Coming In September (Acorn TV)

Co-created by and starring BAFTA-nominated actress Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty), Finding Alice will make its exclusive US and Canada debut with all six episodes on Monday, September 13 on Acorn TV, AMC Networks’ acclaimed streamer devoted to British and international television. The contemporary drama with comedic elements, created by Hawes, series director Roger Goldby (The Durrells) and Simon Nye (The Durrells), and written by Goldby and Nye, focuses on Alice’s honest, raw, darkly-comic journey of grief, love and life after the death of her partner Harry. Check out the original British TV trailer!

For Alice (Hawes), Harry (Jason Merrells, Agatha Raisin) and their daughter, Charlotte (Isabella Pappas, Paranoid), moving into their new home should have been a dream come true. But it quickly turns into a nightmare when Alice discovers Harry dead at the bottom of the stairs. Harry designed their new smart house, so it’s weird and wonderful, and one more disorientation for Alice on top of her sense of loss and abandonment.

Alice’s beloved partner is no more, and now she can’t find the fridge. Family should be a source of comfort, but Harry’s parents, Minnie (Gemma Jones, Bridget Jones’ Diary) and Gerry (Kenneth Cranham, The White Princess), keep popping round uninvited. While Alice’s own parents, Roger (Nigel Havers, Coronation Street) and Sarah (Joanna Lumley, Absolutely Fabulous), only seem to add to her list of problems. With Harry gone and Alice struggling to cope, Charlotte is forced to bottle up her grief and be the responsible one. Especially when the police turn up asking questions about the night that Harry died. To make matters worse, more unexpected visitors start knocking on Alice’s door, and she begins to realize that Harry’s business debt wasn’t the only secret he kept hidden from her.

Also starring are Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary) as Harry’s sister Nicola and Rhashan Stone (Keeping Faith) as mortuary worker Nathan Johnston.

The series is produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company) in association with Bright Pictures TV, Buddy Club Productions and Genial Productions.

Doom Patrol - First Look Season Three Teaser Released (HBO Max)

HBO Max has released a first look teaser for season three of the Max Original Doom Patrol. The first three episodes of season three will debut Thursday, September 23rd, with subsequent episodes launching weekly every Thursday through November 11 on HBO Max. Check out the teaser below!

Doom Patrol reimagines one of DC’s most beloved groups of Super Heroes: Robotman aka Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), Elasti-Woman aka Rita Farr (April Bowlby), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) and Cyborg aka Victor Stone (Joivan Wade), all led by modern-day mad scientist Niles Caulder aka The Chief (Timothy Dalton). Each member of the Doom Patrol suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities, but also left them scarred and disfigured. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of superpowered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.
 
Season three opens on the culmination of Dorothy’s (Abi Monterey) confrontation with the Candlemaker that leads to a devastating loss. The Doom Patrol is at a difficult crossroads and each member struggles to face who they are and who they want to be. And things get a whole lot more complicated when Madame Rouge (Michelle Gomez) arrives in a time machine with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it.  
  
Doom Patrol is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television with Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Chris Dingess and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson serving as executive producers. The series is based on characters created for DC by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.

Xena: Warrior Princess Reunion Coming to My Life is Murder (Acorn TV)

(L-R): Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. Photo courtesy/copyright of Acorn TV.

Acorn TV’s My Life is Murder is reuniting Lucy Lawless with her former castmate from the iconic Xena: Warrior Princess series, Renee O’Connor, in season two, which premieres on AMC Networks’ acclaimed streaming service Acorn TV on Monday, August 30. In an upcoming episode of the hit New Zealand mystery series, Alexa (Lawless) investigates the death of a self-help guru and finds herself in a cat-and-mouse game with the victim’s mysterious wife (O’Connor).

Season two will reunite Lucy with several former castmates from her most iconic series, including Anna Hutchison (Spartacus), Graham Vincent (Spartacus), Jay Ryan (Beauty and The Beast, It Chapter Two, Mary Kills People) and Bruce Hopkins (Lord of the Rings, Xena: Warrior Princess), as well as an array of previously announced guest stars including William Shatner (Star Trek, Haven), Martin Henderson (Grey’s Anatomy, The Gloaming), Michelle Ang (Fear The Walking Dead, Triple 9), Sara Wiseman (A Place to Call Home, Rake), Bill Bailey (Black Books, Ralph Spaced), Matt Whelan (Narcos: Mexico, The Sounds) and popular drag performers Kita Mean and Amanduh La Whore.

Alexa finds herself back in her home country of New Zealand for the first time in years and can’t help herself when she is asked to look into a bizarre unsolved murder. Joined again by her  partner-in-crime-solving, Madison Feliciano (Ebony Vagulans), as well as series newcomers including the charismatic detective Harry (Rawiri Jobe) and café owner Reuben (Joe Naufahu), she quickly finds herself investigating other murder mysteries in surprising, glamorous worlds filled with intriguing characters who are hiding dangerous and deadly secrets.

Series executive producers are Rachel Antony, Claire Tonkin, Tim Pye, Lucy Lawless, Nicky Davies Williams, Pilar Perez and Don Klees. Producer is Mark Beesley. A Greenstone TV Production for TVNZ and Acorn TV and DCD Rights Ltd., in association with Network 10.

Shudder Acquires Occult Coming-Of-Age Horror Hellbender

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired the occult horror feature Hellbender ahead of its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival. Shudder will release the film, which is written and directed by Toby Poser, John Adams and Zelda Adams, in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in early 2022.

Said Craig Engler, general manager of Shudder, “We are thrilled to bring this family-focused folk nightmare to Shudder with such a talented actual family in front of and behind the camera. With Hellbender, Wonder Wheel Productions has made their most polished feature yet, and we know our audience will delight in the film’s shocking visuals and scares.” 

“Teaming up with Shudder was at the top of our bloody bucket list. They’re the pinnacle of beautiful horror, and to be a part of that is beyond thrilling for our family,” added Toby Poser, Zelda Adams and John Adams.

“Hellbender is an absolute stunner. I am obsessed with every frame and couldn’t be more excited to partner with Shudder for the release of such an ambitious and unique movie,” said Justin Timms at Yellow Veil Pictures.

The acquisition deal was negotiated by Emily Gotto and Samuel Zimmerman on behalf of Shudder and Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms, and Joe Yanick of Yellow Veil Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.

In Hellbender, 16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams) suffers from a rare illness that has kept her isolated on a mountaintop with her mother (Toby Poser) her whole life.  As Izzy begins to question her sickness, she pushes back against her confinement and secretly befriends Amber (Lulu Adams), another girl living on the mountain, but her newfound happiness is derailed after she eats a live worm as part of a juvenile game and finds an insatiable and violent hunger awakened within her. To understand the hunger, Izzy must learn the dark secrets of her family's past and the ancient power in her bloodline.

Hellbender is the sixth feature from Wonder Wheel Productions, the family-run production company founded by Poser and Adams and their children, Zelda and Lulu. The family also produced the music for the feature with tracks from their experimental punk band H6LLB6ND6R. In 2019 the Adams family first screened at Fantasia with their award-winning The Deeper You Dig.

Hellbender will world premiere virtually August 14 as part of the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival, which kicks off August 5 as a hybrid event with in-person screenings in Montreal, Quebec and the virtual slate geo-locked to Canada. The film is part of the festival’s esteemed Cheval Noir competition.

The Walking Dead - 11 Weeks Of Reveals Continues (AMC)

Today, AMC released a new teaser for The Walking Dead as part of AMC’s “11 Weeks of Reveals until Season 11.” The Walking Dead Season 11 premieres Sunday, August 22th at 9pm ET/8c on AMC, and all 11A episodes will air one week early on AMC+, beginning August 15. Check out the teaser!

Additionally, as part of TWDU.com’s “11 Weeks of TWD” where each week leading up to the Season 11 premiere on August 22, a custom piece of artwork will be shared that looks back at significant moments from each season of the show’s decade-long run. The eighth piece of custom artwork is created by artist, designer and filmmaker Micheline Pitt, and can be viewed here.

Slasher: Flesh & Blood - Key Art Released (Shudder)

Shudder has released new key art (see above) for the original event series, Slasher: Flesh & Blood. Starring horror legend David Cronenberg (The Fly, Videodrome), the hit anthology series will exclusively stream on the horror streaming service in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Ireland beginning Thursday, August 12th with two episodes, followed by new episodes streaming each week.

The eight-episode event season stars Cronenberg alongside cast members from previous installments of the Slasher franchise in brand new roles, including Paula Brancati (Dark Oracle), Jefferson Brown (Carrie), Patrice Goodman (Sunnyside), Sabrina Grdevich (A.I. Artificial Intelligence), and Christopher Jacot (Going the Distance). New to the franchise are Rachael Crawford (Heartland), Jeananne Goosen (The Walking Dead), Sydney Meyer (Departure) and Alex Ozerov (The Americans).

Developed and produced by Shaftesbury and created by Aaron Martin, the series is executive produced by Aaron Martin, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, David Ozer, Thomas P. Vitale, David Nagelber, Tim Rouhana and Showrunner Ian Carpenter, with Adam MacDonald directing. Slasher is produced in association with the Rogers Cable Network Fund.