What's Lady Whistledown's business model? Seriously: To produce and print enough scandal sheets to feed the appetite of the ton, surely Lady Whistledown owns a printing press or something. And how does she pay her workers? Also, let's talk about that typeface. - Slate
TV writers have helped changed public opinion on drunk driving, cigarette smoking, and - in the opposite direction - marriage equality. Why not mask-wearing, social distancing, and getting vaccinated? - Los Angeles Times
The film is based on a one-act play by Kemp Powers (a long one-act play), and the playwright calls it "a work of fiction powered by the truth" - the truth being that Malcolm X, Cassius Clay before he was Muhammed Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown, "four modern legends, really did hang out for one night in Miami,...
Why sea shanties, and why now? I do not have any concrete ideas about this; all I can tell you is that it’s happening. Apparently we’re doing sea shanties now. It makes as much and as little sense as anything else. - The Cut
"A common misconception is that niche shows geared toward specific audiences will not fare as well as more universal programs, but Lucinda Martinez, executive vice president of HBO and HBO Max brand marketing, says fan marketing is more focused on quality of connection rather than quantity." - Variety
Beginning in 1964 with Seven Up!, Apted made a series of nine films, shot at seven-year-intervals, following the lives of a group of 14 Englishmen and -women from ages 7 through 14, 21, 28, etc. (63 Up was released in 2019.) After his death last week, the 12 remaining subjects and several longtime crew members are considering whether to...
“Consolatory entertainment” is a better term for such programming. There is consolation in the simple pleasures of ordinary conversation, shared enjoyment and of laughing together that underpins the success of panel games, quiz shows and even celebrity chat shows. - The Conversation
"The past year … saw the horror genre take home its largest share of the box office in modern history. In a year where the world was stricken by real horrors, why were many people escaping to worlds full of fictional horrors? As odd as it may sound, the fact that people were more anxious in 2020 may be...
How much of the telly you watch this year will be on a live, linear channel, at the scheduled hour, with millions of others tuning in at exactly the same time? For many of us, the answer is getting dangerously close to none. - The Guardian
"The steep decline in airport traffic because of COVID-19, coupled with all of the new ways that people are consuming content on their personal devices, has lessened the need for the CNN Airport Network and we had to make the very difficult decision to end its operation ," the cable news giant announced. - Variety
"I always go off of this dancing logic: for every system of control that establishes itself in a very direct and very antagonizing way, or in a very pervasive and ubiquitous way, there will always be subcultures or underground communities that will try to dismantle them in some way." - Howlround
"Total spending on streaming services and software is projected to reach a record $112 billion in 2021, an 11 percent growth over 2020, according to Consumer Technology Association projections announced on Monday. … This follows 31 percent growth in 2020 over 2019." - The Hollywood Reporter
While Covid-19 quarantines have made television one of the more dominant mediums around, they’ve also altered the diet of what we watch within that medium. Pre-pandemic, people could watch movies in theaters, TV shows on Netflix, and live events at concert halls, clubs, and stadiums. Now, all of those things are channeled through televisions (or, in some cases, through smartphones, laptops,...
Eleven more cases came from The Kominsky Method, a Michael Douglas-starring Netflix series where aging actors confront mortality. Around the same time, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 database, which tracks workplace outbreaks from the past 14 days, Netflix had nine more positive cases; NBC Universal, including some crew of the show Mr. Mayor,...
During The Birds, even. The loss of the venue deeply affected Seattle's southern neighbor. "Before it was the Music Box the building was originally called the Tacoma Theater. Built in 1890 as an opera house, all that remains today is a single stone wall." - KING 5
