If you love The Office, watch this show
If you love The Office, watch this show
And big Wicked news
What to know
Wicked to be split into two movies… Director Jon M. Chu says the decisions was made for creative reasons, as they couldn’t fit everything into one movie without making fatal omissions. I’m all for this. The Wicked musical's book yada yadas a lot of the plot, especially in the second act — to the point of it just barely making sense. If they need more time to fit everything in, so be it. If you're a fan of the show (or musicals in general), why wouldn't you want more of it? Additionally, this would put “Defying Gravity” at the end of the first movie potentially, which is great. All that said, this is a risk for Universal if the first one flops like some big movie musicals have recently. 🧙🏻♀️
Theater owners chief says day-and-date releases are dead… Sure, the simultaneous streaming-theatrical release is dead — for now. National Association of Theatre Owners head John Fithian can shout this from the mountains, but it doesn’t stop the rapid expansion of streaming, nor the continued shrinkage of the theatrical window. Simultaneous releases might be dead, but the general competition from streaming remains and it’s strong. 🍿
Sony making more Venom and Ghostbusters… The former is a no brainer (the two Venom movies have made $1.35B globally), but Ghostbusters: Afterlife only grossed $200M worldwide. I guess any moderate success with a popular IP is enough to get a sequel these days. Ghostbusters is a valuable property for Sony, what are they not going to make another one? 👻
Rapper Bad Bunny to anchor live-action El Muerto in Sony’s Spidey cinematic universe… In other Sony-leaning-into-IP news, the studio/tech company is continuing to mine the depths of its Spider-Man holdings. Can Bad Bunny act? Someone who’s seen Fast 9 or Narcos: Mexico will have to let me know. He’s appearing in Brad Pitt’s upcoming Bullet Train as well. The Sony Spider-Man universe is quite beguiling as it feels more rudderless and random than the DC EU. 🐰
Danielle Deadwyler to lead J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sci-fi series at HBO… If you watched Station Eleven (and you really should), you know how amazing this is. Plus, this is no mere Bad Robot production, Abrams is writing and directing this one himself. It’s his first TV writing credit since co-creating Fringe in 2008. 👏
Spider-Verse 3 now subtitled Beyond the Spider-Verse, footage of Across the Spider-Verse described… Prepositions, so helpful. If you want a description of some of the upcoming sequels’ footage head over to. 🕷
The Crown looking for young Kate Middleton actress… Just how current is The Crown going to get?! 👑
What’s new
We Own This City — Apr 25 | HBO drama miniseries | 🍅 93%
The Offer — Apr 28 | Paramount+ drama miniseries | 🍅 50%
Under the Banner of Heaven — Apr 28 | Hulu drama miniseries | 🍅 86%
Ozark s4 pt 2 — Apr 29 | Netflix drama series | 🍅 93%
What to watch
Abbott Elementary is the feel good, workplace sitcom you’ve been waiting for. The delightful first season of this elementary school-set mockumentary series created by and starring Quinta Brunson is now available in full on Hulu. If you love The Office or Parks and Rec, put this show at the top of your must-watch list. Abott follows many of the same beats and tropes as those shows: It’s got a well drawn ensemble cast each with repeatable and funny character games to play, humorous direct-to-camera testimonials, a will-they-won’t-they romance, and even a Leslie-and-Ron dynamic between Brunson and a veteran teacher played by Sheryl Lee Ralph. It’s familiar, yet bold and new. Brunson sets her series apart from its predecessors with her specific and observed reflection on inner city public education in 2022. Abbott Elementary is able to cast a light on the issues teachers and students face when resources are scarce, while also making us laugh. All-in-all it’s an impressive arrival for multi-hyphenate Quinta Brunson, the show is a clear heir apparent to Parks and The Office, and ABC should be very proud to have it on their air. May it run for years.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!