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How Did 21st-Century TV Comedy Get So Dark?

"BoJack Horseman, Fleabag, Veep, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are among the comedies that have left the traditional sitcom form in the dust. … The laughs come with much higher emotional stakes, often juxtaposed with grief, shame, addiction, … and questions about the very meaning of life." - BBC

The Cultural Revisionism Industry

Over the past few years, a certain genre of media has found opportunity in debunking false conceptions of the semi-recent past and meditating on the cultural factors which contributed to their initial spread. - Gawker

What Happened To Tony Soprano In The End? “Sopranos” Showrunner David Chase Finally ‘Fesses Up

Okay, it's not really a surprise, but we finally get confirmation from the guy who made the decision, along with his feelings about the brouhaha around the show's finale, what led him to make the prequel, and how he feels about film versus TV. - The Hollywood Reporter

AI Is Figuring Out Ancient Board Games — And Letting Us Play Them Online

Those games go back as far as cilivization does. Yet when archaeologists discover game boards and pieces, of course, they never find rule books. So we haven't been able to play them — until now. - Wired

Netflix Is A Drug, Its Algorithms Are Dealers, And David Foster Wallace Predicted It All

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos "recognized that viewers were addicts, and that his role was to supply what they wanted" whenever they wanted it. The predictive analytic software that makes recommendations lets users imagine they're in control — just as depicted in Infinite Jest back in 1996. - Literary Hub

Study: More Diversity on Screen Boosts Viewership

The study found that ratings and social media engagement for most groups, including white audiences, peaked for shows that featured casts that were at least 31% minority, while viewership among adults between the ages of 18 and 49 often peaked when a show had a majority minority cast.  - Time

Can This New Movie Pass Save Art House Theatres?

Mubi, which caters to cinephiles seeking an eclectic mix of films, has begun offering a membership program: A well-stocked streaming service that movie lovers can flip on from home, bundled with a weekly ticket they can use to go see a handpicked film at their favorite theater. - The New York Times

Why “Star Trek” Has stood The Test Of Time

From the beginning it had a mission, not just to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no earthlings had gone before, but to model a future for its audience that was a little ahead of its time. - Los Angeles Times

The Golden Globes Want To Present Awards Again. Hollywood Takes A Pass

Despite the public silence, according to those involved in the response discussions, there is a broad “consensus” across the entertainment industry to withhold submissions for the planned upcoming Globes. - Los Angeles Times

Old Movies Have Never Been So Available. So Why Are We Worried?

There was a time when you couldn’t see even towering classics, other than at the odd repertory showing. Now, those films are just a click away. But will a cinephilic culture continue to surround them? And if it does, does it matter if that culture continues to shrink as long as it’s enthusiastic? - IndieWire

Preserving Mexico’s Old-Time Popular Cinema — And Getting Some Respect From The World For It

"Had they not been rescued from a dusty storehouse seven years ago, the original negatives of hundreds of Mexican movies featuring the likes of the silver-masked crime-fighting wrestler El Santo, a bikini-clad Batwoman and the Satan-worshipping Panther Women would have been lost forever." - The Guardian

Media Companies Believe The Blockchain Will Transform Their Businesses

With crypto and blockchain, the movie and entertainment industry is poised to reinvent its business functions, facilitating secure, transparent, and traceable transactions across the market. - Fast Company

NBCUniversal Loses Half A Billion Dollars On Its New Streaming Service

"Comcast on Thursday reported $230 million in revenue and a $520 million adjusted loss related to NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock in its third-quarter earnings report. That compared to $41 million in revenue and an adjusted loss of $233 million in the comparable year-ago period." - The Hollywood Reporter

This Is The Second Most Popular Talk Radio Show In America (You May Never Have Heard Of It)

"Like much of talk radio, The Ramsey Show sits in a murky zone between journalism and entertainment. It is not quite a news program, religious service, reality show, infomercial, or financial advice; it is somehow all five." - Columbia Journalism Review

So It Continues: Hong Kong Passes China-Style Film Censorship Law

The legislation bans any film deemed against the national security interests of the People's Republic of China, with violators subject to three years in prison and $130,000 in fines. The law is expected to hasten the decline of Hong Kong's once-vibrant movie industry. - The Hollywood Reporter

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