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      Netflix Is Gobbling Up World Literature. What Could Go Wrong?

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      The streamer keeps mounting lavish adaptations of beloved novels — and making them all feel like just more Netflix.I’m thinking of a piece of filmed entertainment. It was adapted from a famous, internationally significant novel. It was blessed with lavish budgets, accomplished directors, ambitious visual design. A premiere was announced, ads were purchased, trailers were released — and then, one day, it was dumped onto a streaming service and almost immediately forgotten.Can you guess which one I’m thinking of? It could be “Pachinko,” or “The Fall of the House of Usher,” or “The Wheel of Time,” or any number of others. This past December, Netflix released over eight hours of television adapting somewhat less than half of Gabriel García Márquez’s 1967 classic, “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” It has, in fact, been Hoovering up the rights to major novels from around the world, spending millions to transform them into prestige programming. In the last year alone, there has been a film adaptation of Juan Rulfo’s novel “Pedro Paramo” (from Mexico), a mini-series of Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s 1950s novel “The Leopard” (from Italy) and the first season of a version of Liu Cixin’s “The Three-Body Problem” (from China), which reportedly cost around $160 million to make.News that this was happening to “One Hundred Years of Solitude” might have shocked Márquez. He wrote for the movies and gave his blessing to multiple adaptations of his work, but the great Colombian writer never did sell the rights to “Solitude.” He thought its story, which follows the Buendia family over a century of history in the fictional city Macondo, would take 100 hours to tell properly; he also insisted it be filmed in Spanish. After his death in 2014, his widow held to these wishes; it was only in 2019, after the couple’s sons had become more involved in the estate, that Netflix acquired the rights. Márquez’s heirs would be executive producers. They negotiated for the show to be made in Colombia, and in Spanish.When the series was announced, though, Netflix sounded a more global note: “We know our members around the world love watching Spanish-language films and series,” said its vice president for Spanish-language programming. Netflix is available in more than 190 countries, and once a piece of original content enters its library — whether a Korean drama or a Latin American telenovela — it can be viewed most anywhere. The company seems to have pursued “Solitude” as an iteration of hits like “The Crown,” “Squid Game” and “Money Heist”: local productions that captivate international audiences through a combination of regional specificity and broad televisual legibility. The mini-series resembles the other things on Netflix more than it resembles anything in Márquez.The book is a natural candidate. It offers an imaginative evocation of Colombian history, rife with characters and love affairs and civil wars; it is also one of the best-known Spanish-language novels in the world, having sold some 50 million copies across nearly four dozen translations. Like “The Leopard” and “Pedro Paramo,” it has both national pedigree and international reputation, its title familiar enough to make viewers around the world pause over the Netflix tile. It is, in other words, valuable I.P. And that means it must now conform to the expectations of modern streaming: It must be adapted for frictionless international content consumption.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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      In ‘Long Bright River,’ Amanda Seyfried Serves and Protects

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      For Amanda Seyfried, the first day on set for “Long Bright River,” a limited series for Peacock, was awful. She stood under the lights in a mock-up of a police morgue, in her patrol cop uniform, unsure how to move or speak.“Every first day of work, I never know what the [expletive] I’m doing,” she told me later.Seyfried overprepares for most roles. She researches; she memorizes; she asks question after question. But then suddenly she’s on a soundstage somewhere, with the lights blazing and the cameras pointed at her face, and the terror rushes in. If she has an acting process, she said, “it’s all based on the fear that I’m not going to be good enough.”Seyfried, 39, was speaking on an icy February morning. We’d met for a late breakfast at a cafe on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, near where Seyfried keeps an apartment. (She and her husband, the actor Thomas Sadoski, and their two children, spend most of their time on a farm upstate.) She was in town to shoot a Paul Feig movie, “The Housemaid,” and to promote “Long Bright River,” a moody eight-episode suspense series that premieres on March 13. She had recently wrapped “Ann Lee,” a historical musical by Mona Fastvold.Over more than two decades as an actor, Amanda Seyfried has moved from comedy and romance to more complex roles. Dana Scruggs for The New York TimesDoes this sound like a lot? It was. “I think I’m falling apart,” Seyfried said as she looked at the menu. She had recently injured her back on “The Housemaid” and was taking muscle relaxants.“I’m fine now,” she said. “I mean, I’m not. I’m struggling, but I’m walking.”Seyfried has been in the business for more than two decades, and has moved, gradually, from comedy (“Mean Girls”) and romance (“Mamma Mia”) to more complex roles. Her performance as the actress Marion Davies in the Netflix film “Mank” earned her an Oscar nomination, and she won an Emmy for her portrayal of the convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu mini-series, “The Dropout.” With those roles and those accolades secure, she has finally been recognized as a gifted dramatic actress.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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      Late Night Takes Stock of Trump’s Effect on the Markets

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      “In the first Trump term, it took a disease to destroy the economy,” Stephen Colbert said. “This time, he’s the disease.”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.‘Stocks Down, Measles Up’Wall Street had its worst day of 2025 on Monday, after President Trump declined to rule out the possibility that his tariffs might lead to a recession.Stephen Colbert said the clocks might have sprung forward on Sunday for daylight saving time, “but today, the stock market fall down go boom.”“The Dow Jones dropped 890 points. Now, I don’t know a lot of financial jargon, but let’s just say your 401 is not ’k,” — STEPHEN COLBERT“In the first Trump term, it took a disease to destroy the economy. This time, he’s the disease.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“During a Fox News interview, President Trump declined to rule out the possibility that his economic policies could cause a recession. Trump was, like, ‘Depends if we use my economic policies from this morning or this afternoon.’” — JIMMY FALLON“It’s not great when the summary of your first two months in office is ‘Stocks down, measles up.’” — JIMMY FALLON“When asked by reporters yesterday aboard Air Force One about the possibility of a recession, President Trump said that his tariffs will make the U.S. ‘so rich, you’re not going to know where to spend all that money’ — unless, you know, you’re feeling like an omelet.” — SETH MEYERS“What do you want us to watch instead? [imitating Trump] ‘Maria, it’s a mistake to watch the stock market when you should be watching ‘Severance.’ What a show; it’s a great show.’” — SETH MEYERS, in response to Trump telling the Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that Americans shouldn’t watch the stock marketThe Punchiest Punchlines (Spring Forward Edition)“Well, guys, yesterday was daylight saving time, and we lost an hour of sleep. Democrats were, like, ‘An hour? We haven’t slept since November.’” — JIMMY FALLON“I tried something a little different this year. I set my clocks ahead four years. It didn’t work.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“We sprung forward. I might have pulled something. But considering the way things are going, I’ve never been more grateful to be one hour closer to the end of whatever this is.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“We go forward, we go backward. It’s like living in a Christopher Nolan movie, and Matt Damon is in those — I want no part of it.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Bits Worth WatchingFormer Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York was the subject of Saturday’s “Lie-Curious” segment on “Have I Got News For You.”What We’re Excited About on Tuesday NightThe drag performer Trixie Mattel will appear on “After Midnight.”Also, Check This OutLady Gaga’s “Mayhem” is a bright, shiny and thoroughly sleek pop record.Arturo Holmes/Getty ImagesFor her new album, “Mayhem,” Lady Gaga mines her past for self-mythologizing nostalgia. More

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      Brian Tyree Henry Isn’t Hiding

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      The actor Brian Tyree Henry made his professional debut in 2007, as Tybalt, in a shimmering “Romeo and Juliet” for Shakespeare in the Park. More stage roles followed, then a nimble leap to television, in “Atlanta,” and a turn to film.I saw it all, or nearly all (not “Godzilla vs. Kong”). So I can’t really explain how I spent so long in a nearly deserted hotel dining room sending increasingly anxious texts to Henry’s publicist, wondering where he was. As I texted, Henry was sitting at a table maybe 20 feet away, in glasses and a baseball cap. The cap had a large B on it.Some comfort: This also happens to Julia Roberts, his co-star on a Sam Esmail film currently in production in Paris. “He’s kind of this quiet chameleon,” she told me later. “Sometimes I don’t put two and two together immediately. Then I’m like, oh, wait a minute: It’s Brian again.”Henry, 42, an actor of extraordinary texture, vigor and grace, is tall and relatively broad. He looks, he knows, like a guy who used to play football. (Actually, he was a speech debate kid and a member of the marching band.) That he can disappear into roles, into a restaurant table, speaks to his gift, his craft. But for a man who has spent his life fighting to be seen, who struggles to feel that he belongs in the places he inhabits, it also brings a kind of pain.Brian Tyree Henry was drawn to his role in “Dope Thief,” his first top billing. But he had to wrestle with his own insecurities.Kadar Small for The New York Times“Even you didn’t know me with glasses on,” he said, once I’d shifted to his table. “There’s always just something that people are expecting. Then I come in and they’re just like, ‘Oh, well, that’s not what we want.’ And I’m like, well, this is who I am.”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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      ‘Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney,’ Plus 6 Things to Watch on TV this Week

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      A live talk show comes to Netflix, Ringo Starr performs in Nashville and Amanda Seyfried plays a Philadelphia police officer.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that air or stream this week, March 6-10. Details and times are subject to change.They’re on the case.It’s been a little while since we last saw Amanda Seyfried on the small screen, but now she is back in a new mini-series, “Long Bright River.” Based on a book by Liz Moore of the same name, the story follows Mickey Fitzpatrick (Seyfried), a Philadelphia police officer who patrols a neighborhood known for opioid use — in part to try to find her sister who is an addict and is missing. After a string of murders in the neighborhood, Mickey’s job becomes even more personal. Streaming on Thursday on Peacock.“Dope Thief” is another crime-related mini series, also based on a book (written by Dennis Tafoya). This one stars Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura as two friends who pose as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration to rob a house, which leads to them discovering a narcotics trafficking route. Michael Mando (“Better Call Saul”) was originally supposed to star in the series but was fired and replaced with Moura after an on-set incident. That, combined with a pause in production because of the Writers Guild of America strike, means this show has been a long time in the works. Streaming on Friday on AppleTV+.Being an adult is hard. So is being a teenager.Stephen Graham, left, and Owen Cooper in “Adolescence.”Courtesy of NetflixOne notoriously difficult feat is filming one shot for an entire TV episode — essentially, hitting record on the camera and having the actors perform their lines as if they are in a play. All four episodes of the new drama series “Adolescence” are produced that way, as it follows a family in the aftermath of their 13-year-old son’s arrest in connection to a classmate’s murder. Though the series is about an investigation, it also explores the pressures that teenagers face these days, including bullying and toxic masculinity online. Streaming on Netflix on Thursday.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 White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 4 Recap: Party Time

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      The gal pals finally moved out of their hermetic bubble this week in search of a little fun. The results were questionable.Season 3, Episode 4: ‘Hide or Seek’There is something about the experience of being on a luxury vacation that can get into the vacationers’ heads. Mike White understands this. Through three seasons of “The White Lotus,” he has focused on the nagging dissatisfaction of the privileged — especially when they are supposed to be at leisure. Are they really enjoying themselves? Are they getting the escape from the everyday they needed? Most important: Are they getting their money’s worth?White seems to love characters who are earnestly searching for something, who could be on the precipice of a real change in their lives if they could just get past their doubts, their fears, their patterns of behavior, the general sense that they are being cheated. White clearly empathizes with these people. He also manages to make them hilarious.With that in mind, I want to start again this week with the gal pals, who have been this season’s most reliable source of pure, pitiless comedy. In this episode, the ladies finally move out of their hermetic bubble of giggles and gossip and start trying to engage more with their surroundings. The experiment does not go well.Jaclyn, as always, drives the action. Frustrated that her husband is not responding to her texts, she decides to do a little misbehaving. The resort is too staid, too serious. She asks Valentin to suggest someplace she and her friends can go that has “more of a vibe.”Valentin directs them to what seems to be a more party-friendly hotel. The music is loud, and the drinks are large and colorful. But when Jaclyn gets roped into a conversation with two very un-“posh” Australian widows who recognize her from TV, she senses something is off. They appear to be at “a bargain hotel for retirees.” They return to Valentin, feeling insulted.Valentin next recommends a fun club that will open in the evening for the local community’s full moon celebration. But when the ladies try to kill time by shopping in the marketplace, they are chased by hordes of children armed with water pistols. Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie take refuge in a convenience store. The children lurk outside, like ravenous zombies.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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      ‘S.N.L.’ Imagines an Oval Office Meeting With Trump, Rubio and Musk

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      This week, the opener described a conflict between Elon Musk and Marco Rubio. Lady Gaga proved to be a capable joke-teller as both the host and the musical guest.Following a report in The New York Times about a White House meeting where Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had clashed in front of President Trump, it was up to “Saturday Night Live” to imagine how they might make peace — and to let us listen in on their inner monologues.This week’s “S.N.L.” broadcast, for which Lady Gaga was both the host and the musical guest, began with a voice-over that described the conflict between Musk and Rubio as a stain on “an otherwise remarkably cool and smooth start to the Trump presidency.”Inside the Oval Office stood James Austin Johnson, in his recurring role as President Trump, and Marcello Hernández, playing Rubio.Johnson said he forgave Hernández for “being under a lot of stress,” but told him, “I need you to be my good little Marco.”“If you think I’m going to stand here and let you call me that,” Hernández replied, “you’re right.”Johnson added, “Unfortunately, I just made English the official language. So now your name is Mark Ruby.”Hernández said he objected to Musk “having total access to our government,” but Johnson praised the billionaire for his management of SpaceX, which he said was “doing incredible things in terms of explosions, and with regard to rocket debris.”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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      Zahn McClarnon on the New Season of ‘Dark Winds’

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      Zahn McClarnon, who plays a Navajo cop in AMC crime drama, talks about the coming third season, which is moodier and more mystical than previous ones.“Dark Winds,” the AMC desert-noir drama centered on a Navajo Tribal Police force in 1970s New Mexico, has been widely acclaimed since its debut in 2022, and viewing numbers have also been solid. An average of 2 million people tuned in for each episode, AMC said, good enough for the second season to rank among the 10 most-watched cable dramas in 2023. Then last year, the series received the well-known Netflix bump after its first two seasons arrived on the service in August, landing in the Top 10 of Nielsen’s overall streaming chart.Now AMC will see how many new fans follow “Dark Winds” back to its home platform: The third season premieres Sunday on AMC and AMC+ — it has already been renewed for a fourth — with more murder and mysteries for the stoic tribal cop Joe Leaphorn, played by Zahn McClarnon, to investigate.Leaphorn has been a noble figure in the series, and critics have given particular praise to McClarnon’s performance as well as the show’s evocative mix of crime drama, poignant family dynamics and authentic portrayals of Navajo traditions and culture. But at the end of Season 2, Leaphorn left his foe to die in the desert, and the new season finds him grappling with the consequences of that decision.“Joe is definitely struggling quite a bit with a lot of fear and anxiety over some of the choices that he’s made in the past, specifically last season,” McClarnon said in an interview.Season 3 in general is darker and more mystical than the first two. Leaphorn’s sidekick, Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), is haunted by past traumas and abandonment. (“Dark Winds” is based on Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn and Chee novels.) The former deputy Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten) is now a Border Patrol agent investigating a human trafficking ring. Back on the reservation, two Native boys have disappeared, leaving behind only a bicycle and a patch of blood. And as Leaphorn investigates the harrowing case, he is pursued by — and pursuing — a demonic, mythical Native monster known as Ye’iitsoh.Other potential bad actors include a fifth-generation oilman who may have a sinister side hustle, played by the veteran character actor Bruce Greenwood. Jenna Elfman is another notable addition to the cast, as a visiting F.B.I. agent investigating the disappearance of the man Leaphorn left in the desert.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