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      The Streaming Rush to Turn Scripture Into Scripts

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      After the success of “The Chosen,” Amazon and Netflix are converting Bible stories into films and TV shows with “Game of Thrones”-style intrigue and romantic comedy elements.A once-beloved king slips into madness as wary confidants surround him, breathless for his next maneuver.A soldier wrestles with his dueling loyalties toward family and friendship.A young man from a humble background defeats a brute, not knowing that the victory sets him on a path to ascend into power.With its interpersonal intrigue and battlefield bloodshed, “House of David” looks like it could be an alternate-universe of “Game of Thrones.” But rather than an adaptation of a high fantasy franchise from the 1990s, its source material goes back millenniums.“House of David,” a series that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, tells the story of David, the biblical shepherd who used a sling and stone to defeat the giant Goliath before assuming King Saul’s throne. It is part of the original faith-based programming that streaming services are unveiling to court the viewers who have made “The Chosen,” a prestige drama about the life of Jesus Christ, one of the most successful crowdfunded television or film projects of all time.“The sheer size of the audience is enormous,” said Jon Erwin, who pitched “House of David” to Amazon and co-directed several of the first season’s eight episodes. “It is the largest underserved niche audience in the world.”Viewership figures from streaming shows are rarely made public, but the team behind “The Chosen” estimates that the show has been watched by more than 280 million unique viewers worldwide, a third of whom it says are not religious. The hit show feels more like a workplace comedy-drama, a version of “The West Wing” set in Galilee, than the direct evangelism of the widely translated “The Jesus Film” (1979) or the storybook sermons of the 1990s animated series “VeggieTales.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3, Episode 4 Recap: Judge, Jury and …

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      The girls (and Travis) put Coach Ben on trial. The stakes are very high, the legal qualifications very low.Season 3, Episode 4: ‘12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis’What does justice look like to the Yellowjackets? It’s not pretty, it’s not logical, it’s often deeply unfair, and it’s all on display in this week’s episode.The centerpiece is a trial in the woods in the 1990s. The girls, having now found Ben, elect to decide his fate by mimicking an episode “Law & Order.” They choose lawyers — Tai is the prosecutor and Misty is the defense — and fashion a makeshift courtroom.It’s unclear what they plan to do with Ben if they find him guilty, but death is surely on the table. And yet, they also seem like kids playing dress up — which they are. As is familiar for “Yellowjackets,” childlike behavior and real stakes make for a potent concoction.We watch as the Yellowjackets’ warped sense of justice extends into the present day. There are two threads that emphasize that. First, there is Jeff and Shauna. Jeff is worried about his and Shauna’s massively bad karma, so he signs them up to volunteer at the senior home where Misty works. That becomes too emotionally intense for Shauna after she winds up locked inside a walk-in freezer, so she decides to replace a local cat that has been missing for years by just adopting a different cat. Sure, that will work.And then there’s Tai and Van, who find themselves wondering whether they should be the arbiters of life and death. They drop a Queen of Hearts from a deck of playing cards on the ground to see if it “chooses” anyone. When a man picks it up, they follow him back to his apartment and Tai nearly makes moves to kill him, thinking that taking his life will give the cancer ridden Van more time.Van stops Tai from going that far, but the mere fact that the possibility was on the table is evidence of how much all this Wilderness woo-woo has affected their minds.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Meghan Markle Channels Lifestyle Mavens in ‘With Love, Meghan’ on Netflix

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      The Duchess of Sussex has tried to channel the likes of Martha Stewart for years. Can “With Love, Meghan” get her there?“With Love, Meghan,” the new Netflix lifestyle series premiering next week, is a culmination of sorts for its creator and star, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The show casts the princess as a perfectly groomed domestic goddess, cooking and entertaining for friends at home in coastal California, a role to which she has seemingly aspired for more than a decade.Meghan’s ambitions to be the “millennial Martha Stewart of Montecito,” as a recent New York Times guest essay put it, were delayed first by her courtship and marriage to Prince Harry, in 2018, and then by the couple’s public feud with the British royal family.In 2020, Harry and Meghan announced they would step back from royal duties, causing a flurry of palace gossip and recriminations. The couple spent the next few years cannily telling (and monetizing) their side of the story in a series of media ventures — a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey; a six-episode Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan”; and a best-selling memoir by Prince Harry, “Spare.”But all along, Meghan displayed flashes of her Ina Garten side. Remember when she showed Oprah her chicken coop? Or when a London bakery posted a photo of the handwritten thank-you note on personalized stationery she had sent to its staff?In a 15-second video on Instagram last year, Meghan finally announced her new kitchen and lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Details were scant, but a trademark application sought approval for a retail store, cookbooks and tableware, as well as jellies, jams, marmalades, fruit preserves and nut butters.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The ‘S.N.L.’ Hosts Who Give 110%

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      A look back at the pro athletes who have tested their fortitude at 30 Rock. “Sometimes it’s a train wreck,” a producer said. Or an incredible surprise.“Saturday Night Live,” which is celebrating its 50th season this year, has had hundreds of hosts. There are the famous actors, the musicians and the comedians, of course. And then there are the professional athletes who are used to performing on fields, tracks and courts, not on a stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.Dwayne Johnson, the wrestler turned movie star known as the Rock, has hosted five times, the most of any athlete. Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion, stiffly sang and danced in a sport coat and jeans in 2005. Chris Evert, the winner of 18 Grand Slam tennis titles, hosted shortly after retiring in 1989, becoming the first of three female athletes to do so. (Nancy Kerrigan and Ronda Rousey are the others.)There is no guarantee an athlete’s monologue will be successful or the sketches funny. But this participation trophy is an exclusive one — only about three dozen have received an invite to flex their coordination and teamwork.A few years ago, Heidi Gardner, an “S.N.L.” cast member and Kansas City Chiefs fan, started a campaign to convince the show’s leadership that the star tight end Travis Kelce had the charisma to succeed as a host. Lorne Michaels eventually agreed, she said, with a catch: The Chiefs had to win the Super Bowl again.One month after they did in 2023, Kelce was making fun of his own monosyllabic motivational speeches and overlooked reality dating show.Lindsay Shookus, who worked on “S.N.L.” for more than two decades, said the show often tries to book athletes after high-profile events, such as the Super Bowl or the Olympics, when they are top of mind for a general audience.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      TV Shows Like ‘Clean Slate’ Imagine a Transgender Inclusive Society

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      Sitcoms have a history of ushering in social progress and building acceptance. But in a time of backlash and fragmented audiences, that may be harder.“Clean Slate,” on Amazon Prime Video, is the kind of comedy you’ve seen on TV before. A woman leaves her hectic life in New York City for her hometown in Alabama to make a fresh start, repair her relationship with her estranged father, work at the family carwash and, just maybe, find love.The first season is a tall glass of sweet tea — wholesome, a little saccharine and mostly sitcom-standard. Except for one thing: Desiree (Laverne Cox) is transgender, which is a revelation to her gruff, old-school dad, Harry (George Wallace), who last saw her 23 years ago as his “son,” Desmond.What might be most striking about “Clean Slate” is how un-fraught the situation is. After his initial surprise and a few pronoun faux pas, Harry takes his daughter’s identity in stride. So do their friends and neighbors (except for one moralizing preacher). Though the show was co-produced by the late Norman Lear, there is little of the acrimony of his 1970s culture-clash sitcoms like “All in the Family.”The statement, and maybe the fantasy, of the show is to posit a world that largely, casually assumes transgender rights and personhood, even as the headlines from our actual world scream otherwise. Our social problems aren’t absent in “Clean Slate”; at one point, in a burst of fatherly protectiveness, Harry worries that “these streets are not safe for people like Des.” But mostly, the show sticks to quirky family comedy and good-natured wisecracks.The kind of transformation that “Clean Slate” imagines — the movement of a group from controversial to ordinary — is one we’ve seen in other areas of society, most recently around gay rights. That change was itself driven in part by TV shows.From left, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes in “Will & Grace.” The show has been credited with helping to usher in acceptance of gay marriage.NBCWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Colbert Has Little Sympathy for Trump Voters With Buyers’ Remorse

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      “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said that Trump voters keep coming back for the same unappetizing thing they’ve been served time and again.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Bad BusinessA new poll indicates that some Americans feel buyer’s remorse about voting for President Donald Trump.On Thursday’s “Late Show,” Stephen Colbert pointed out that it’s mainly because, after more than a month in office, Trump has yet to eliminate inflation, as he promised during his campaign to do on Day 1.“That was his claim. He said it over and over again, and now, on Day 38, they still think things are too expensive. Somewhere in Delaware, Joe Biden is shaking his head, chuckling to himself, and thinking, ‘Why did I come into this room?’ ” — STEPHEN COLBERT“One thing that continues to make consumers anxious is the high price of breakfast. And with bird flu, there’s no end in sight. According to experts, egg prices could jump 41 percent, meaning this year’s Easter egg hunt is going to be The Purge.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“It’s getting so expensive — this is true — that here in New York, some bodegas are selling individual eggs, known as ‘loosie’ eggs, to customers who can’t afford full cartons. Yum, loose egg! And if you can’t afford those, there’s a guy in the alley in the back.” — STEPHEN COLBERTColbert said he had limited sympathy for Trump supporters.“They ordered the turd soup and then said, ‘Waiter, there’s turds in my soup.’ Then they came back four years later and asked, ‘Y’all still have that turd soup?’” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Punchiest Punchlines (Bad Sexist Jokes Edition)“So Jeff Bezos is launching a historic rocket mission in which Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez will be the astronaut in an all-woman mission. They’re calling it the ‘Real Housewives of Mars.’ ” — GREG GUTFELD“The mission will last four hours, but the women are expected to take six weeks to get ready.” — GREG GUTFELD“Also, there will be a booster rocket following their spaceship carrying all their luggage — because they’re chicks.” — GREG GUTFELDThe Bits Worth WatchingThe actress Gabrielle Union talked about her role in the new all-star crime comedy “Riff Raff” on Thursday’s “Daily Show.”Also, Check This Out“This was the only way I could get invited,” O’Brien joked about his hosting duties.The comedian and former late night host Conan O’Brien feels nervous but excited about taking on the typically thankless role of hosting the Academy Awards. More

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      ‘Running Point’ Is a Fun Basketball Comedy With a Deep Bench

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      Inspired loosely by the life of Jeanie Buss, the Netflix series counts Mindy Kaling among its creators and Kate Hudson among its stacked cast.“Running Point” is an amiable Netflix comedy starring Kate Hudson as an underestimated nepo adult tapped to run the fabled basketball team her late father once led. She is thrilled, if a bit overwhelmed, by the opportunity. Her brothers, who also work for the franchise, warn her to stay off Reddit.Hudson here is Isla, who never got as much attention from her father as her brothers did. But the Los Angeles Waves is the family business, and she is part of the family. The eldest, Cam (Justin Theroux), was ably running the show, but he gets sent off to rehab in the pilot. The doofy Ness (Scott MacArthur) is all heart, no brains, while the brittle Sandy (Drew Tarver) is all brains, no heart. So it’s up to the reformed party girl Isla to wrangle the players, make trade deals, manage the coaching staff, find sponsors and schmooze with other bigwigs to keep the Waves in playoff contention.She knows her stuff, though; as with any generic comedic heroine, her one flaw is clumsiness, and she walks into glass doors often enough that she spends a good chunk of her life with an old-timey ice pack against her noggin.“Point” is loosely inspired by the Lakers’s Jeanie Buss, who is among its executive producers. The show was created by Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen, whose last major collaboration was Kaling’s “The Mindy Project,” and by Elaine Ko. This outing feels watered down in comparison to “Mindy,” but it is still awfully good company, and its 10 episodes have an affable, sunny ease. It is also featherweight and ambitionless — not actually funny, but often fun.What the show lacks in depth or bite it gains in breadth and scope, and the cast runneth over: Brenda Song as Isla’s BFF and assistant; Jay Ellis as the successful, hunky coach; Chet Hanks as the troublemaker player who doesn’t know what “refute” means. Max Greenfield plays Isla’s doting fiancé, and Jon Glaser plays the abrasive sports radio host. If Tarver is basically playing his same character from “The Other Two,” so be it.“Point” seems happy enough to be reminiscent of other, better shows, which is perhaps the defining paradigm of current-day streaming comedies. Well, that and galling product integration, which “Point” also embraces.There is very little basketball here, so the characters rely instead on movies to guide their ideas, taking direction from “Casino,” “The Wedding Singer” and the “John Wick” franchise. “My life is not a good sports movie,” Isla sighs. Keep practicing, Isla! There’s always next year. More

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      ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Buffy’ Actors Mourn Michelle Trachtenberg

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      Blake Lively, Sarah Michelle Gellar and other stars remembered Trachtenberg’s work ethic and friendship in social media posts.News of Michelle Trachtenberg’s death at 39 on Wednesday sent shock waves through Hollywood, especially among actors who worked with her on movies like “Harriet the Spy” and the beloved TV shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl.”Blake LivelyLively, who played Serena van der Woodsen on “Gossip Girl,” called Trachtenberg “electricity” and shared a photo on Instagram of the first day they met. She also praised the work ethic of Trachtenberg, who played Georgina Sparks in 27 episodes of the show.“Everything she did, she did 200%,” Lively wrote in an Instagram story. “She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes.”Sarah Michelle GellarGellar, the star of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” shared a stack of eight photos with Trachtenberg, who played Dawn Summers in more than 60 episodes of the show. One photo showed Buffy embracing Dawn in an episode titled “Forever.”“Michelle, listen to me,” Gellar captioned the photos, referring to a famous “Buffy” quote. “Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you.”Chace CrawfordCrawford praised Trachtenberg as one of a kind and recalled her strong presence on the set of “Gossip Girl,” where he played Nate Archibald. “I remember her coming on set for the first time and just absolutely owning it,” he wrote on Instagram. “She was a force of nature and just so, so unapologetically funny and magnetic.”Alyson HanniganHannigan, who played Willow Rosenberg on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” said on Instagram that Trachtenberg “brought a loving energy to the set.”J. Smith-CameronSmith-Cameron, who also starred in the 1996 movie “Harriet the Spy,” told People that the young actress was excited to lead her first film at the age of 11. “Her natural ebullient nature was ratcheted up into giddiness as she tried to learn how to handle all that came with that,” she said.Additional TributesTributes also poured in from Melissa Joan Hart, Chris Colfer and Kenan Thompson. Rosie O’Donnell, who worked with Trachtenberg on “Harriet the Spy,” told People that the younger actor had “struggled the last few years” without providing specifics. More