Maybe award shows shouldn't have writers
And Jennifer Lawrence open to franchise return
What to know
Maybe all award shows should go without writers… The Tony Awards were last night (here’s the full list of winners) and despite or maybe because of not having writers (due to the WGA strike), it was a slick, pointed, and entertaining affair. The Tonys are always the best award show because it’s packed to the walls with musical performances (this helps the Grammys too) and the speeches tend to be very impassioned. It turns out when you cut away everything else—all those hokey pre-written comedy bits—you’re left with just the best elements. Not every award show could do this. The Emmys and Oscars don’t have the same number of musical performances to rely on — and big shows like this do need some written material to keep things on track. But not having writers worked this time and exposed just how bloated award shows are with extra nonsense. Plus, it was the most-watched Tonys since 2019! 🏆
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Jennifer Lawrence is “totally open” to playing Katniss again… What is the state of Jennifer Lawrence’s career? A few years back she fired all of her representation, took some time out of the spotlight, and came back with Don’t Look Up, Causeway, and now No Hard Feelings. She seems a bit more in control quality wise and less precious about things, which makes a return to Katniss both surprising but fitting. She seems to have genuine fondness for the character. I’m not sure 2019 Lawrence would have been so keen to jump back into a franchise. My question is did she just “secret” another Hunger Games sequel into existence? You have to imagine someone at Lionsgate was speed dialing Lawrence’s people after Variety broke the story. 🏹
Amazon drama chief tries to spin Citadel ratings… Odetta Watkins revealed that the very expensive series “still ‘needs time to grow’ with ‘very jaded’ U.S. audiences.” Citadel is reportedly doing well overseas (which was the intention) — but I kind of can’t believe that she was honest about the series underperforming domestically. Even though it did not do well in the Nielsen ratings, the company line from Amazon has been that this show is a success. 📦
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts roars to $60M, Spider-Verse holds strong with $55M… $60M might not seem like a lot after Spidey did 2X that last week, but the last two Transformers movies opened to $21.6M and $44.7M, so this is a win in disguise. It also ensures that we’ll probably get more Transformers movies which should please the roughly 5 million people who went to see it this weekend. 🤖
The South Park guys have reportedly spent $40M rescuing quirky Mexican restaurant Casa Bonita… As made famous in a 2003 episode of South Park. They said they could have built it back twice as big for half the price, but are instead “restoring it, like a piece of art.” You’ve got to admire the commitment. 🌮
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta accused of sexual assault… Not good. It was unclear how and when Huerta would return to the MCU, but just like the Jonathan Majors situation, one has to assume Feige and company are revisiting their plans now. 😡
Roku acquires Chelsea Peretti’s directorial debut First Time Female Director… Peretti wrote, directed, and stars in the aptly-titled movie about a woman who takes over a local theater company. It’s got a stacked cast and sounds hilarious. 🎭
Gladiator 2 set accident leaves several crew members with “non-life threatening” injuries… Glad to hear nobody died, but it’s always terrible when incidents like these happen. 👎
The Idol drops 12% in week two to 800k viewers… Your daily dose of schadenfreude. If it continues to drop or even plateau, I doubt it gets renewed. 📉
NBC cancels Young Rock and Grand Crew, orders hospital mockumentary series… Out: Family and friend-group sitcoms. In: Workplace sitcoms. 🩺
HBO has released the trailer for Winning Time s2… What will happen to those scrappy LA Lakers? 🏀
Chris Pratt confirms a Mario sequel is in the works, discussions on pause due to strike… Obviously. 🍄
What’s new
The Full Monty — June 12 | FX & Hulu comedy series | 🍅
The Flash — June 16 | DC superhero movie in theaters | 🍅 71%
Elemental — June 16 | Pixar movie in theaters | 🍅 78%
The Blackening — June 16 | Horror comedy movie in theaters | 🍅
Extraction 2 — June 16 | Netflix action movie | 🍅
Stan Lee — June 16 | Disney+ documentary | 🍅
The Walking Dead: Dead City — June 18 | AMC drama series | 🍅
Returning: Our Planet s2, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds s2, Black Mirror s6, Outlander s7, The Righteous Gemstones s3
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!