'Sex and the City' returns — minus one
And a sweet story about Robin Williams on the set of 'Jumanji'
What to know
Sex and the City is coming back — minus Samantha | TV Line
HBO Max is reportedly close to a deal bringing back Sex and the City for a limited series run. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon are set to return, but don't expect to see Kim Cattrall as Samantha. Cattrall has made it very clear she is done with the franchise and the character. I couldn't help but wonder, can any hit show stay dead for long?
An Exorcist sequel is on the way from David Gordon Green | Observer
Get out your Bibles and crosses, Green is in talks with Blumhouse (Get Out, Paranormal Activity, The Purge, almost every big horror movie of the last decade) to direct a sequel to William Friedkin’s 1973 classic. Green previously worked with Blumhouse on the successful Halloween restart. While Friedkin is not involved in this project, maybe Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair will pop up? From studio stoner comedies to indie drama and now horror, is there any genre David Gordon Green can’t do?
Patty Jenkins might not return for Wonder Woman 3 if it skips theaters | NYT
Warner Bros stunned Hollywood and movie fans when it announced that all of its 2021 movies would drop simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. The decision has caused shockwaves to say the least and upset numerous industry artists. Now Wonder Woman and WW 1984 director Patty Jenkins is casting doubt on whether she’d return for a third without a theater release: “I’d love to do the third one if the circumstances were right and there was still a theatrical model possible. I don’t know that I would if there wasn’t.” It’s hard to blame her for that.
Robin Williams stood up for the kids while filming Jumanji | People
A super sweet story about the legendary Robin Williams on the set of 1995’s Jumanji emerged this week. Former child star Bradley Pierce explained how Williams stopped a particularly hard week of shooting from going into overtime, “In addition to being warm and generous and kind, he was also very protective of all of us. He told everyone, ‘we’re done today, time to go home.'”
His Dark Materials renewed for third and final season | Variety
The HBO and BBC series adaptation of the beloved Philip Pullman novels, that doesn’t feature nearly enough Lin-Manuel Miranda, is coming in for a landing. Season 3 will cover book 3 The Amber Spyglass. I was pretty underwhelmed with the first season as it seemed to be both covering a ton of plot but was somehow still languidly paced. 3-seasons-and-out might be the motivation I need to go back and finish it.
Also...
Legendary is trying to stop WB from releasing Dune on HBO Max
Oh F#*%! There’s a trailer for History of Swear Words doc with Nic Cage
FX Native American-led comedy Reservation Dogs gets series pick up
The COVID relief bill makes illegal streaming for profit a felony
New series from Bob’s Burgers creator to get special preview Jan 3
What to watch
Trailer: Coming 2 America - March 5 (Amazon)
Directed by Craig Brewer, written by Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield. Starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos, Louie Anderson, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Bella Murphy, Rotimi, KiKi Layne, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Teyana Taylor.
From what we can glean from this teaser trailer, Murphy and company are staying true to the tone and humor of the original, so fans should definitely be excited. This also seems like a return to form for Murphy (and Hall), who will play multiple roles underneath layers of makeup. Of course, Murphy’s Prince Akeem now has a son, because if you’re doing a reboot, you gotta give your main character a son. Those are the rules.
(Editor’s note: The ‘What to watch’ section will cover both shows and movies I’m recommending as well clips and trailers to, uh, watch )
New notables on streaming this week:
The Midnight Sky (Dec 23) - George Clooney Netflix movie | 55% on RT
Bridgerton (Dec 25) - Shonda Rhimes’ first Netflix series | 100% on RT
Soul (Dec 25) - Pixar movie on Disney+ | 98% on RT
Wonder Woman 1984 (Dec 25) - HBO Max | 83% on RT
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About the Author: Alex Rabinowitz has led the way on social media and story packaging at media outlets big and small. With his acclaimed Tumblr site PopCultureBrain.com, Alex became a leading figure in emerging social networks and entertainment news. Sourced by many top destinations, including New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Videogum, Pop Culture Brain was featured by BuzzFeed and TIME as the best pop culture blog on Tumblr. Alex's writing has appeared on The Huffington Post, GQ, Mic, and Time Warner Cable.