Today In Entertainment

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

What's news: Why HBO Max is betting big on animation, Hallmark Channel's new CEO speaks, Disney+ begins European content push, CBS sets primetime special with Oprah, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, how The Bachelor may try to salvage the season, James Beard biography getting the feature treatment, David Boreanz speaks out on Joss Whedon. Plus: Reviews of HBO's Allen v. Farrow and NBC's Young Rock. --Alex Weprin

 What's Behind HBO Max's Animation Push?

►Why HBO Max is going all-in on adult animation. While animated shows take longer to craft, they are ultimately cheaper to make than scripted originals and can be safely produced during a pandemic, Lesley Goldberg writes. They also repeat well on streaming platforms where they also have a timelessness that makes them easier to bring in new audiences. And, in success, they can also lead to lucrative merchandising deals. Case in point: Rick and Morty — which launched in 2013 — is already a multibillion-dollar franchise, joining stalwarts like Family Guy, The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers with collectible toys and apparel. The story.

In other streaming news...

+Disney+ has green lit its first slate of European originals, including projects for its international brand Star, which launches in Europe later this month. 10 new originals have been officially unveiled, with projects spanning dramas, comedies and documentaries from France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands and from creators and producers including the likes Juliette Howell (Brexit: The Uncivil War), Stephen Butchard (Baghdad Central), Quoc Dang Tran (Marianne) and Jörg Winger (Deutschland 83). The slate.

+Apple TV+ space drama For All Mankind is getting a companion podcast, the first such original audio show from the tech giant. For All Mankind: The Official Podcast will be hosted by Krys Marshall, who plays Commander Danielle Poole in the Ronald D. Moore series. The first episode of the podcast will drop Feb. 19 alongside For All Mankind's second season premiere. The story.

+Netflix's Bridgerton has found a lead actress for its second season. The series has cast Simone Ashley (Sex Education) as Kate Sharma, the love interest for Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey). Season two of the Shondaland drama — which Netflix has said its its biggest original series ever — will be based on the second book in Julia Quinn's series of novels, The Viscount Who Loved Me. More.

 A New Hallmark

►How Hallmark's new CEO is harnessing the iconic brand to better reflect society. Wonya Lucas, who joined the cable channel in August, wants to mirror Hallmark's successful greeting card brands as she strives to fully embrace inclusivity and culture, Lesley Goldberg reports.

--On how the channel will evolve: "Hallmark Channel is mostly romantic comedies. We want to express different types of love and we hear that from our audience. Sisterhood is an opportunity for us. All you have to do is read a bunch of Hallmark cards and that will tell you what we should be doing. Sisterhood, fatherhood, brotherhood, family, it makes sense for a family network. That is the essence of who we are. Leaning into who we are — expressing different types of love, overcoming adversity — is a key theme in our lives. Augmenting what we do in terms of romantic comedies and continuing to do more of it."

--Would Hallmark aim for "prestige" TV? "Hallmark Hall of Fame was. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movies did win awards. They had top producers and actors. Cicely Tyson did a number of Hallmark Hall of Fame movies for us including one with Morgan Freeman, which goes back to the heritage and the inclusiveness of the brand. Can we be that again? Absolutely. We have permission because we have been that. It is something I aspire to; there is so much good work to be done." The interview.

In other TV news...

+Oprah Winfrey will interview the duke and duchess of Sussex for a CBS primetime special. The special, titled Oprah With Meghan and Harry, will feature Winfrey talking with the couple about everything from their marriage to their decision to step away from Britain's royal family. It's set to air March 7. The story.

+With Chris Harrison gone amid racial controversy, The Bachelor aims to salvage historic season. The cycle with the first Black Bachelor now derailed, the ABC reality series must grapple with how to move forward without the face of the franchise, THR's Bachelor expert Jackie Strause writes. The story.

 Notable TV Reviews...

+Daniel Fienberg reviews HBO's Allen v. Farrow, writing that "there’s a difference between criticizing the survivor and criticizing the project constructed around her — which is important to note, because Dick and Ziering have made choices that don’t always work and built arguments that aren’t as convincing as Dylan [Farrow]’s own words." The review.

+Fienberg also reviews NBC's Young Rock, writing that the sitcom is "caught between The Rock and a good show." "Nobody would say that The Rock is giving a bad performance as The Rock in Young Rock, but he's a distraction and a dilution in a show that deserved to have the chance to stand on its own merits." The review.

►The Gotham Group, producer of the Maze Runner movie trilogy, is headed to the kitchen with its latest project. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein's management-production company has optioned John Birdsall’s The Man Who Ate Too Much, a biography about James Beard, the American food world legend. And Gotham has tapped David Gilbert and Sean Greer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novel Less, to adapt the book about the pioneering chef and food writer. The story.

►China box office update: A comeback story is underway at China's booming theatrical box office. Beijing Culture's time-travel comedy Hi, Mom, which opened the Lunar New Year holiday in  distant second place behind Wanda Picture's Detective Chinatown 3, has suddenly surged to the front of the pack. The lighthearted family comedy finished the weekend with $161.7 million, trailing DC3's record-smashing opening of $397.2 million. But by Monday, fortunes had reversed as Hi, Mom pulled in $82.2 million compared to $66.6 million for the Wanda tentpole, according to data from Artisan Gateway. The story.

►Is Small Axe a film or TV series? Director Steve McQueen clears up the category confusion. "This was always made for television, for the BBC, because I wanted my mother to see these stories on TV," he tells THR. "This is nothing new to Europe. Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Alan Parker — that all came from made-for-TV movies. All I wanted to do was to tell as many stories as I could possibly tell in that time and place." More.

►THR landed nominations for best entertainment publication and best website for the 13th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. In addition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is up for best columnist, Scott Feinberg is nominated for online journalist of the year, and Sheri Linden and Inkoo Kang are nominated for best critic in the film and TV categories, respectively. The details.

In other news...

--David Boreanaz has spoken out on the misconduct allegations against Joss Whedon, joining a growing group of former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel castmembers to support their former co-star Charisma Carpenter.

--Mariah Carey, George C. Wolfe, Netflix and the Oscar-shortlisted documentary feature All In: The Fight for Democracy will be the recipients of the African American Film Critics Association's special achievement awards at its 12th annual AAFCA Awards, the organization announced on Tuesday.

--Ryan Murphy will receive the Art Directors Guild's Cinematic Imagery Award at the 25th ADG Awards, which will be handed out on April 10 during a virtual presentation.

--London-headquartered visual effects house DNEG — whose credits include Christopher Nolan's Interstellar and Tenet — has partnered with XR entertainment studio Dimension to offer virtual production capabilities to filmmakers around the world by sharing their technology, workflows and expertise.

--Audio streaming giant Spotify said Tuesday that it would add Mona Sutphen to its board in April. Sutphen is a private equity advisor and a co-founder/advisor for several technology start-ups who served as a senior White House official during the Obama Administration.

--Elyas M’Barek, star of Who Am I and hit German comedy franchise Fack ju Göhte, and Deutschland 89 lead Jonas Nay have been cast to star in 1000 Zeilen (1000 Lines), a media satire inspired by the real-life 2018 fake news scandal involving disgraced Der Spiegel journalist Claas Relotius. 

--Larry Kudlow's Fox Business show debuts today, and his first guest will be former Treasury Secretary (and film producer) Steven Mnuchin.

--Reese Witherspoon's popular book club is introducing a new kind of cooking show. Reese's Book Club is set to launch a new four-episode digital series called Eat the Book.

What else we're reading...

--"The making and the meaning of The Silence of the Lambs" [Vanity Fair]

--"The Super Bowl is losing viewers under 50, reflecting how American media has fragmented" [CNBC]

--"Parler resurfaces online after monthlong service disruption" [WSJ]

--“He finally got the White Whale”: How a beach bum made millions betting on GameStop" [The Ringer]

Today's birthdays: The Weeknd, 31, Mahershala Ali, 47, Ice-T, 63, Michael Avenatti, 50, Elizabeth Olsen, 32.

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FEBRUARY 16, 2021

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