SciFiAndTvTalk

Chariot Coming In April

In this dark and twisted thriller, John Malkovich stars as Dr. Karn, an odd, eccentric specialist who guides unknowing patients through the reincarnation transition. When Harrison (Thomas Mann) experiences mysterious recurring dreams, he turns to Dr. Karn for help and reveals his encounter with a woman (Rosa Salazar) he loved in a previous life. Noticing a glitch in the system, the doctor must fix the issue before permanently derailing his patient's future. Written and directed by Adam Sigal, Chariot also stars Scout Taylor Compton, Vernon Davis, Chris Mullinax, and Shane West. Premiering April 15th in theatres, Chariot will also be available On-Demand and on digital platforms. Check out the trailer below!

Tales of the Walking Dead - Additional Casting Announced (AMC)

AMC announced today that Olivia Munn (The Newsroom, X-Men: Apocalypse, Six), Danny Ramirez (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier), Loan Chabanol (Fading Gigolo), Embeth Davidtz (Old, Ray Donovan) and Jessie T. Usher (Shaft, The Boys) have joined the cast of Tales of the Walking Dead, the highly anticipated new series in the expanding The Walking Dead universe. The AMC Studios-produced episodic anthology consists of six original, standalone stories focused on both new and established characters within the walker apocalypse. Tales is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead universe, and showrunner Channing Powell, who has been a writer and producer on The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, and debuts this summer on AMC and AMC+.

“Olivia, Danny, Loan, Embeth, and Jessie are the latest massive talents that will bring new worlds of TWD to life with big, daring, different, emotional, shocking, scary, and crazy stories.  We’re excited for them to come walk with us,” said Gimple.

Added Powell, “Somehow we have lucked into the greatest cast — Olivia, Jessie, Embeth, Danny, Loan… We’ve been hoping these episodes will feel like unique, little films and with this range of actors, we are well on our way.”

Peacemaker Renewed For Second Season (HBO Max)

(L-R): Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, Chukwudi Iwuji, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma and John Cena in Peacemaker. Photo courtesy/copyright of HBO Max.

Following the stellar launch of Peacemaker, HBO Max has renewed the critically acclaimed and fan favorite series, written and directed by James Gunn and starring John Cena, for a second season. The eight-episode first season of the DC spinoff series premiered on Thursday, January 13 and will have its finale on February 17.  Gunn will direct and write all episodes for season two.

Rolling Stone heralded the series as “inspired” and “thrilling,” highlighting that “in a wildly oversaturated market for tales of hyper muscular men and women punching their way to justice, Peacemaker stands out.” The series debuted as the #1 new original streaming series for social engagement on Twitter across all of television and remains the #1 social show YTD across Max Originals on multiple social platforms.

Peacemaker follows the explosive escapades of the character that John Cena reprises in the aftermath of James Gunn’s 2021 film “The Suicide Squad” – a compellingly vainglorious man who believes in peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max comments, “The brilliance of James Gunn once again shines with Peacemaker. He took this character, brought to life by the inimitable John Cena, and created an exceptional series that’s simultaneously thrilling, hilarious and heartfelt, showcasing the humanity beneath this team of misfits living in a superhuman world. As the first original DC show to have its series premiere on HBO Max, we are thrilled that the viewers agreed to give peace a f***ing chance.”

James Gunn says, "Creating Peacemaker has been one of the true highlights of my life, both professionally and otherwise, with John Cena and the incredible creative team around me, as well as our partners at HBO Max. To have something we all love so much be loved by the audience in turn has been a wonderful experience. I can’t wait for folks to see where Team Peacemaker goes in Season Two!”

John Cena adds, “I am incredibly honored and humbled by the response to Peacemaker and the experience of playing this character. Thank you to James Gunn, Peter Safran, HBO Max, the crew, and my castmates who worked tirelessly to make this unforgettable series.”

Peacemaker stars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Chukwudi Iwuji, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick. James Gunn wrote all eight season one episodes and directed five, including the first. Gunn, Peter Safran and Matt Miller serve as executive producers on the series, with John Cena as co-executive producer and Stacy Littlejohn as consulting producer. Based on characters from DC, Peacemaker is produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Teaser Trailer Released (Prime Video)

Tolkien fans, pop culture fans, and football fans alike paused during the third quarter of Super Bowl LVI on Sunday when Amazon transported them on a long-awaited journey back into Middle-earth. Prime Video released its first official teaser trailer for its most highly anticipated new series of 2022, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The 60-second commercial spot offered Super Bowl viewers their first-ever audio-visual glimpses of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age, unveiling a brand-new legend from Amazon Studios and showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay set to begin on September 2. Featuring a selection of characters from the ensemble cast—such as Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs—and Arda-spanning environments, the teaser trailer takes viewers on an action-packed journey filled with wonder and excitement in true cinematic splendor. 

 The debut of the teaser trailer during the Super Bowl LVI on February 13 marks the latest breakout moment for what will arguably be one of the biggest global marketing campaigns of 2022. Early this year, Prime Video forged the show’s title treatment in molten metal, fueling fans’ insatiable appetite for this series and organically reaching an estimated 1 billion impressions worldwide within the first 24 hours. This campaign milestone was quickly followed with the unveiling of 23 intricately detailed posters featuring only the hands of the series’ stars, sparking huge online conversation regarding the identity and backstories of these characters. 

The eagerly awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world in multiple languages on Friday, September 2, with new episodes available weekly. 

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breath-taking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.  

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, and producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.  

The multi-season drama will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world in multiple languages on Friday, September 2, with new episodes available weekly. The Lord of the Rings books have been translated into over 38 languages and have sold more than 150 million copies. 

Above photo courtesy/copyright of Prime Video.

Harry Wild Starring Jane Seymour Premieres in April (Acorn TV)

Premiering Monday, April 4th on Acorn TV, Harry Wild is an eight-part Irish mystery thriller starring Emmy-winning actress Jane Seymour as Harriet “Harry” Wild, a recently retired English professor who finds herself at one of life’s crossroads. Jolted from a mugging, she reluctantly agrees to recover in the home of her son, Charlie (Kevin Ryan, Copper), a senior police detective. Harry starts to interfere in a particularly baffling murder case Charlie is investigating when she notices the murder shares striking similarities to an obscure Elizabethan play. When her path crosses that of her mugger, Fergus Reid (Rohan Nedd, Whitstable Pearl), Harry sees great potential in the troubled teen and, instead of turning him in, enlists him as her sidekick. Following her successful, albeit ill-advised, involvement in the case, Harry discovers a new lust for life as she and Fergus find new mysteries to solve.

The Chelsea Detective Premieres In March (Acorn TV)

Premiering Monday, March 7th on Acorn TV, The Chelsea Detective follows Detective Inspector Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough) as he investigates a series of murders in Chelsea, the affluent London borough where murder and mayhem boil beneath a seemingly calm surface. Aiding him in his quest for justice are no nonsense DS Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry), research and tech queen DC Jess Lombard (Lucy Phelps), rookie officer DC Connor Pollock (Peter Bankolé) and brilliant, if occasionally daunting, Chief Forensics Officer Ashley Wilton (Sophie Stone). Check out the trailer below!

London Kills Receives Third And Fourth Season Pick-Ups (Acorn TV)

Returning to Acorn TV for seasons three and four respecitively with its cutting-edge documentary style, London Kills dramatizes the experiences of an elite murder investigation squad in central London, led by Detective Inspector David Bradford (Hugo Speer, Shadow and Bone) and the core cast including Sharon Small (Mistresses, Murderland) as Detective Sergeant Vivienne Cole, Bailey Patrick (People Just Do Nothing, Bodyguard, Casualty, EastEnders) as Detective Constable Rob Brady and Tori Allen-Martin (Unforgotten, Pure) as Trainee Detective Constable Billie Fitzgerald. In season 3, the elite murder investigation team deals with a series of killings – which turn out to be linked. It soon becomes clear that the killer has access to information from within the police service itself – are the detectives hunting one of their own? In season 4, Bradford has always been a maverick, but now his behavior is spinning out of control. Cole thinks she knows why David is falling to pieces, but the real reason is darker than she could ever imagine.

London Kills executive producers include Paul Marquess and Donna Wiffen for PGMTV, Catherine Mackin and Bea Tammer for Acorn Media Enterprises.

My Life Is Murder Starring Lucy Lawless Renewed For Third Season (Acorn TV)

The wildly popular and Acorn TV subscriber driver My Life is Murder returns for season three with retired detective and sourdough superstar Alexa Crowe (Lucy Lawless, Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus) in 10 new episodes facing a raft of fascinating, powerful and surprising suspects – from eccentric billionaires and grieving florists to tango dancers and fiery fashionistas. The only thing they have in common is that none of them are expecting Alexa’s unique brand of crime solving… but they’ll quickly learn that you underestimate her at your own risk.  Her small ‘found family’ of fierce supporters, friends and fellow investigators are back: partner-in-crime-solving, Madison (Ebony Vagulans), charismatic detective Harry (Rawiri Jobe), and café owner Reuben (Joe Naufahu, Game of Thrones) - and that’s before her actual family members turn up to add their own drama and chaos. My Life is Murder is executive produced by Lucy Lawless, Claire Tonkin, Rachel Antony, Nicky Davies Williams, Pilar Perez and Don Klees.

Kin Set To Return For Second Season (AMC+)

Original hit Irish crime drama Kin is getting a second season on AMC+. Viewers were enthralled by the first season of AMC+’s gripping Irish gangland drama, which became one of the network's biggest new series launches of 2021, driving both strong viewership and new subscriber sign-ups. A hit with both audiences and critics, scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, Kin stars Charlie Cox(Daredevil, Boardwalk Empire), Clare Dunne (Herself), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Ciarán Hinds (Game of Thrones, The Terror) charts the lives of the Kinsellas, a small but tight-knit crime family embroiled in a war against a powerful drug kingpin, Eamon Cunningham (Hinds). The new season, which begins production this summer, will see the Kinsellas as the top dogs in Dublin, but killing Eamon Cunningham has created as many problems as it solved. They have incurred the wrath of an enemy even more dangerous than him. And where once there was “the unbreakable bonds of blood and family,” now there is only suspicion, distrust and resentment. But the greatest threat to the family emerges from “within” - in the shape of ruthless, bullying, agent of chaos. Fortunately, from positions of great adversity the boldest plans are often forged. And so it is with the Kinsellas. Kin is produced by BRON Studios and Headline Pictures. Peter McKenna (The Last Kingdom, Red Rock) serves as showrunner/executive producer, writer, and creator.

Bloodlands Renewed For Second Season (Acorn TV)

AMC Networks announced today from the Television Critics’ Association (TCA) Press Tour, the renewal of six original series across its suite of premium streaming services, including shows from AMC+, Acorn TV and Shudder. Fans of mysteries from Britain and beyond will be delighted by a trio of popular returning Acorn TV Original series, including gritty Irish crime thriller Bloodlands, starring James Nesbitt (Stay Close, Cold Feet). In the action-packed season 2 of Bloodlands, a top performer for Acorn TV, Nesbitt reprises his role as DCI Tom Brannick when the murder of a crooked accountant unravels a trail of greed that threatens to expose his identity as legendary assassin, Goliath, Tom and the accountant’s widow, Olivia (Victoria Smurfit, Marcella, Once Upon a Time), must keep each other dangerously close. As they try to solve the riddle her husband left behind, Tom and Olivia draw in Tom’s fellow officers DS Niamh McGovern (Charlene McKenna, Peaky Blinders) DCS Jacki Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch, The Last Kingdom) and DC “Birdy” Bird (Chris Walley, The Young Offenders), as well as his daughter, Izzy (Lola Petticrew, Tuesday), until deceit and betrayal build into a shattering climax. Bloodlands’ executive producers are award-winning showrunner Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty), Jimmy Mulville (Episodes) and Mark Redhead (The Secret, Bloody Sunday) for HTM Television and Tommy Bulfin for the BBC.