Television

Subterms

    More stories

    • 100 Shares129 Views

      in Television

      Kaley Cuoco Drifts Off to Episodes of ‘Dateline’

      by

      The actress returns for Season 2 of the dark comedy “Based on a True Story” as the true-crime aficionado Ava.When Kaley Cuoco learned she was pregnant before shooting began on the first season of the dark comedy “Based on a True Story,” her character, Ava — a true-crime aficionado on the trail of a serial killer — was given a quick rewrite and became an expectant mother, too.Not surprisingly, when Cuoco chafed at the rituals of new motherhood, that wound up in the story line for Season 2 (out Nov. 21 on Peacock), which finds Ava on the scent of a copycat murderer.“A lot of this came from my own actual experiences of the first six months of being with my kid and despising some of the Mommy and Me classes,” said Cuoco, who had never worked with a baby on camera. “It was new for Ava, it was new for Kaley.”She lives in Thousand Oaks, Calif., with her partner, the actor Tom Pelphrey, and their daughter Matilda. Motherhood has required Cuoco to re-evaluate and compartmentalize.“This is the first time in my whole life that I’ve thought about anyone else but myself when it comes to work,” said Cuoco, who for 12 seasons played Penny on “The Big Bang Theory,” and appeared as Cassie for two on “The Flight Attendant,” earning three Emmy nominations. “You think of it as these kind of mini-moments,” she said of the three months of shooting “Based on a True Story,” during which she saw Matilda mostly on weekends.“But that’s part of it. You commit to that moment in time,” Cuoco added before elaborating on her devotion to rescue animals, Sharky’s rice and bean burritos, and “Dateline.”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

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Television

      ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Faced a Pitiless Terrain: Adapting Anything ‘Dune’

      by

      The novels were famously tough to adapt until Denis Villeneuve came along. Can an HBO prequel about the origins of the Bene Gesserit follow suit?For over 50 years, Frank Herbert’s best-selling science-fiction novel “Dune” was a puzzle no one in show business seemed able to solve. Published in 1965, the book had inspired a shelf full of sequels and prequels — along with scores of imitators — yet it defied every attempt to turn it into a blockbuster film or TV series.In the 1970s, the beloved avant-garde filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky spent two years and millions of dollars developing a movie and never shot a single frame. David Lynch tried next, but the resulting film, released in 1984, was a personal and box-office catastrophe. The story’s vastness and exoticism proved as perilous to storytellers as the fictional planet Arrakis, whose hostile deserts inspired the franchise’s name.When the HBO series “Dune: Prophecy” was announced, in 2019, its prospects seemed just as murky. Indeed the production struggled to find its footing. By the premiere, it will have seen four showrunners, three lead directors and high-level cast changes — not to mention a pandemic and two crippling industry strikes.But then in 2021, the French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, who was set to direct the pilot, released Part 1 of his two-part adaptation of “Dune.” Critics were ecstatic, and the film grossed over $400 million worldwide. Suddenly a “Dune” franchise looked viable. Villeneuve’s team had offered a blueprint for other creators to work from, tonally, aesthetically and narratively. (The studios behind the film, Legendary and Warner, which owns HBO, are also behind the series.)Perhaps more important, there was now a huge audience that had never read Herbert’s famously dense novels but had become invested in the story and characters. The resounding critical and financial success of “Dune: Part Two,” released in February, indicates viewers are still invested in the franchise.“I think Denis really unlocked this universe for people in a way that was relatable,” said Alison Schapker, a “Westworld” veteran who took over as the sole showrunner of “Dune: Prophecy” in 2022. “He grounded it. We wanted to tell a story that takes place in that universe.”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

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Jimmy Fallon Relays Biden’s Promise of a Peaceful Transfer of Power

      by

      “Democrats were like, ‘Well, I guess at this point we can let him speak again,’” the “Tonight Show” host said.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.Getting Back UpPresident Biden spoke from the White House on Thursday, promising a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Donald J. Trump in January.“Democrats were like, ‘Well, I guess at this point we can let him speak again,’” Jimmy Fallon said.“During his speech, Biden said, ‘You can’t love your country only when you win.’ Yeah. Then he said, ‘But since I didn’t win or lose, I can do whatever the hell I want.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Biden also tried to comfort Democrats by saying, ‘The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up.’ Then Biden said, ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go take a nap.’” — JIMMY FALLON“But he said ‘The America of your dreams is calling for you to get back up’ is based on a quote from his favorite British poet, Chumbawamba.” — JIMMY FALLON“He only spoke for a few minutes — didn’t want to miss the Showcase Showdown on ‘Price is Right.’” — JIMMY KIMMEL“The president gave a gracious speech. He told the nation, ‘You can’t love your country only when you win,’ which got a huge laugh in the lunchroom at Mar-a-Lago.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“We’re going to be talking about Trump again every day for another four years, I guess. And I, for one, did not think that when I came out of the jungles of Malaysia to do comedy that I would be making jokes about Donald Trump every day for 13 years straight. Thirteen years! I don’t talk about anybody as much — I don’t talk about my mom as much as I talk about this guy. I don’t talk about my wife as much as I talk about this guy. My wife thinks I’m having an emotional affair with him. I’m going to be talking about this guy on my [expletive] deathbed, OK? Which I assume will be in three years, when he somehow brings back the bubonic plague.” — RONNY CHIENGThe Punchiest Punchlines (Expat Edition)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

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Television

      ‘Alan Cumming’s Paradise Homes’ Is a Cheeky and Fabulous Distraction

      by

      Need a healthy does of escapism right about now? Look no further than this series on BritBox.There are certain television shows that seem as if they were created as an excuse for famous people to take nice vacations. “Alan Cumming’s Paradise Homes” is one such program. But that doesn’t mean the series, streaming now on BritBox, isn’t a charming, escapist watch.Cumming is the Scottish actor known for his work on Broadway in the likes of “Cabaret” and his stint on “The Good Wife,” but recently he has been using his thick brogue for reality TV hosting gigs. His stint lording over the bickering competitors of Peacock’s “The Traitors” won him an Emmy earlier this year. “Paradise Homes” continues the trend, but it features far less back stabbing.In the five-episode first season, Cumming travels around Europe and North America, poking his nose into extraordinarily designed homes. Cumming bills himself as an architecture buff who has designed several building projects of his own, and as he tours each spot, he evaluates it based partly on whether it is the type of place he picture himself in. It makes the entire enterprise feel like “Architectural Digest” by way of your most fabulous friend with a judgmental side.While I’m no expert, the houses really are incredible, mostly modernist palaces in unusual locales. Still, as is the case with most shows like this, the entertainment value varies based on who is living in the homes. The best subjects have the most curious houses, like the couple in rural Ontario who revamped a 19th century cabin with sleek and contemporary additions, painted black. The couple also get Cumming’s sense of humor, and they invite him to sing karaoke in their hot tub with them.For all the gorgeous scenery, Cumming, with his penchant for snooping and his stylish suits, is really the main attraction. He wants to have a good time, and when he vibes with the homeowners, the show sparks. He is also delightfully thrilled by tasty (vegan) food and splendid (alcoholic) beverages.“Paradise Homes” is light on the nitty-gritty of how these living spaces are funded and built, leaving the financial details vague. The lack of transparency can at times feel a little tone-deaf, but maybe it’s better that the show doesn’t get too bogged down in reality: “Paradise Homes” is an excellent distraction. For a couple of hours you can imagine you’re living the good life, sipping on wine with a amusingly cheeky guide. More

    • 63 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      New York Comedy Festival Recommendations

      by

      The intriguing options range from well-known names like Bill Maher and Tracy Morgan to under-the-radar standups like Chloe Radcliffe and Jay Jurden.When the New York Comedy Festival started in 2004, it was a modest affair, with only a dozen standup shows. Twenty years later, it has grown into a bustling, sprawling staple of the comedy season, featuring more than 100 shows, big and small, in every borough. The festival begins Thursday and runs through Nov. 17. Here are a few promising options.‘Chloe Radcliffe: Cheat’Chelsea Music Hall, SundayMore than a decade ago, a Hollywood producer told me you couldn’t make a movie about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend or spouse and still retain the audience’s sympathy. The stand-up Chloe Radcliffe proves him wrong in this personal solo show that explores infidelity (her own and the subject broadly) with a refreshing candor and open-mindedness. “Cheat” finds a new take on an old subject while delivering hard-hitting punchlines.Bill Maher: The WTF TourBeacon Theater, Nov. 16In a festival that doesn’t seem especially packed with political comics, Bill Maher, who has performed at the event more than any other comic, stands out. He has talked about giving up standup and focusing on his weekly HBO show and podcast, so who knows if this will be his swan song. In September he predicted Donald J. Trump would lose. What will he say now?Jay JurdenGramercy Theater, MondayWe 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

    • 75 Shares159 Views

      in Television

      Late Night Processes Donald Trump’s Re-Election

      by

      “Trump returning to the White House is a huge historic comeback for someone who literally never went away,” Jimmy Fallon said.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.Infernal FlameLate-night hosts spent Wednesday processing the 2024 election results and former President Donald Trump’s sweeping win.On “The Daily Show,” Desi Lydic lamented that “instead of breaking the glass ceiling, last night America decided to get back with her dirtbag ex.”“Yep, it’s official. America elected its first criminal president before electing its first female president. What a day for proud felonists.” — DESI LYDIC“We’ve had two qualified, accomplished women nominated for president, and both times they lost to the worst man in the whole country.” — DESI LYDIC“Yup, Trump could be the first president to be under White House arrest.” — JIMMY FALLON“All day yesterday, I was walking around proudly wearing my ‘I voted’ sticker. Today, I wore my ‘I am questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity’ sticker.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“Now, as a late-night host, people often say to me, ‘Come on, part of you has got to want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with.’ No, no. No one tells the guy who cleans the bathroom, ‘Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea — there’s so much material for you to work with!’” — STEPHEN COLBERT“I guess this election wasn’t rigged. That’s weird, though, right? I mean, he said it would be rigged. He said it was being rigged while people were in line voting. Isn’t it remarkable that this time, the fix wasn’t in? Last time, the Democrats cheated. This time, we chose not to, I guess.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Donald Trump is like the emperor from ‘Star Wars.’ He’s old, he’s evil and he keeps coming back with no reasonable explanation whatsoever.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Four More Years Edition)“Let me tell you, that was the worst Taco Tuesday of my whole life.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Trump returning to the White House is a huge historic comeback for someone who literally never went away.” — JIMMY FALLONWe 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

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Television

      Virginia Carter, a Feminist Adviser to Norman Lear, Dies at 87

      by

      A physicist who headed a chapter of the National Organization for Women, she took a career detour to be a feminist voice in Mr. Lear’s empire of socially aware sitcoms.Virginia Carter, a physicist whose activism for the National Organization for Women led the sitcom impresario Norman Lear to hire her in the early 1970s to be his feminist conscience as he presided over taboo-breaking shows that touched on sensitive social issues, died on Oct. 17 at her home in Redondo Beach, Calif. She was 87.Her friend Martha Wheelock, a filmmaker, confirmed her death but did not specify a cause.In 1973, Ms. Carter was at a turning point. Her success at Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit think tank that advised the Air Force on space programs and satellite systems, was tempered by being underpaid and receiving inadequate credit for her work.“Out of the depths of my own insecurities, I’d think, ‘Gee whiz, Virginia, you’re not good enough,’” she told The Chicago Tribune in 1978. “And I’d work harder and harder.”But she had also been the president of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, building its membership and fighting for feminist issues like the Equal Rights Amendment, which the California State Legislature ratified in November 1972.“I began to change, to speak publicly,” she told The Tribune. “And I found people outside of physics.”One of them was Frances Lear, a feminist activist who was Mr. Lear’s wife at the time (the couple divorced in 1985). She suggested that Ms. Carter meet with her husband, who by then was producing sitcoms that sometimes touched on feminist and political themes — “All in the Family” and, to a much greater degree, “Maude.” But Ms. Carter wasn’t immediately convinced.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

    • 113 Shares179 Views

      in Television

      Trump’s Win Unfolded on TV as a Muted Reboot

      by

      Election night on 2024 played like an enervated replay of 2016. Was it a harbinger of how the culture will respond to a second Trump term?If you stayed up into the early morning hours to watch the Blue Wall gradually bleed red and Donald J. Trump give a rambling victory speech surrounded by an entourage, you might have thought that you had seen this show before.You had. But not quite in this way.The long election night unfolded on TV much the way Mr. Trump’s first two did — similar stakes, similar battleground states. But it played very differently. His win in 2016, after a campaign in which he was often covered as an outrageous novelty who would never really win, landed in news studios like an asteroid. In 2020, networks were prepared to fact-check his defiant, false claim of victory after a night that ended up surprisingly close for him.His re-election, on the other hand, was unusual but not unanticipated. It was within the range of possible outcomes suggested by polling, and networks went on the air with the presumption that both he and Vice President Kamala Harris had a solid chance to end up president-elect.So the re-election of a president who had attempted to overturn the results of the last contest — and the return to top billing of America’s most divisive media star — was covered, at least in its first hours, largely as a matter of math.There were seven battleground states, and within them, layers and layers of numbers and variables to unpack. On channel after channel, guys in shirtsleeves with smart-screens — Steve Kornacki, Bill Hemmer, John King — zoomed into America’s electoral anatomy. A CNN map showed in shades of brown which areas of the country had suffered most from recent inflation, a vista of amber waves of pain.The percentages were plentiful but the broader perspective elusive. In the early hours, it could be tough for a channel hopper to get a sense of who was doing well and poorly. On Fox News, Jesse Watters gloated over the “cannonball” splash of Mr. Trump’s win in Florida, while ABC saw early hope for Harris in Pennsylvania.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