Pokémon might go live-action again

And a 'Simpsons' musical first

What to know

• A live-action Pokémon series is in development at Netflix… Hot take: The Detective Pikachu movie is good. Therefor I’m all about Nintendo and the Pokémon Company continuing to explore live-action adaptations. Lucifer showrunner Joe Henderson is reportedly shepherding (Mareeping? Woolooing?) this project. This also comes after many rumors of Nintendo working with Netflix on live-action projects — including a canceled Zelda show. 🎮

• Doctor Who’s new season will tell a serialized story… It’s not the first time the show has done this in its decades of regenerations, but it is the first in the modern era. That’s pretty significant considering it finally capitulated to an ever serialized TV landscape 🛸

• James Gunn pitched a Harley Quinn/Groot movie to DC and Marvel… I doubt this will ever happen but I’m legally obligated to tell you about it 🌱

• The Simpsons to kick off next season with a nearly sung-through musical episode… The Simpsons have been doing musical episodes for more than three decades now, but the fact this will be almost wall-to-wall music and include Kristen Bell caught me eye/ear 🎼

• A new Exorcist trilogy is in the works with Leslie Odom Jr. and Ellen Burstyn returning… David Gordon Green will write and direct the first one 🤮

• Jungle Cruise might actually be good!… come smell what The Rock is cooking 🚤

• The Green Knight is definitely good!… come smell what Dev Patel is cooking ⚔️

• Ted Lasso season 2 premiere breaks Apple record… and it was fantastic! Are there more new episodes yet? ⚽️

• Everyone peep the trailer for What We Do in the Shadows season 3… except you, Guillermo 🧛

• Legendary stand up Jackie Mason died over the weekend at 93

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Dropping this week:

• Behind the Music — July 29 Paramount+ music doc series

• Jungle Cruise — July 30 in theaters and Disney+ premium action comedy | RT

• The Green Knight — July 30 in theaters fantasy drama film | RT 94%

• Outer Banks s2 — July 30 Netflix drama series | RT

• The Pursuit of Love — July 30 Amazon drama series | RT 86%

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What to watch

Trailer: Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch — Oct 16 in theaters

Written and directed by Wes Anderson, starring Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Liev Schreiber, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman, Henry Winkler, and Anjelica Huston.

Wes Anderson gonna Wes Anderson! But damn if every frame of this trailer isn’t bloody delightful. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Anderson is the most specific filmmaker working right now. If you took the name off this trailer, you’d know exactly who made it. His style is uniquely his own and utterly unmistakable. Along with the signature vibe comes the familiar cast of Anderson repertory players (Murray, Wilson, Schwartzman, Norton, Dafoe, Ronan, Swinton, Brody), but he never stops there, instead packing his movies to the gills with big talent in sometime small roles. All it does is add to the charm. It’s been three years since Isle of Dogs (which no surprise, I loved) and The French Dispatch can’t come soon enough.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!