Could the dragons over at HBO be blowing smoke after a successful first season of the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon? Steel yourself for discourse within the fantasy action community because House of the Dragon Season 2 debuted with 7.8 million viewers on Sunday night. While that number is more than admirable, it’s less than the first season’s 9-9.5 million viewers. While the dropoff is concerning, there’s no need to light the pyres and blow the horns.
Looking at House of the Dragon‘s first season, we find 29 million viewers tuning in per episode across all platforms. The total was HBO’s highest since Game of Thrones ended to mixed reactions, with many swearing off the franchise after a lackluster finale. However, Game of Thrones gave up the throne when The Last of Us clocked 30 million viewers throughout its first season.
What could cause the numbers to drop for House of the Dragon? Plenty of things. People could be busy. Marketing might catch fewer eyes than HBO would hope for, or some viewers could be waiting to take the sophomore season’s temperature through word of mouth. Getting anyone to sit down at a specific time and place today is an uphill battle for most networks, even HBO. Back in my day, if you didn’t watch a show as it was airing, you were sh*t out of luck and would need to wait for home release or reruns. Today, you can catch an episode of your favorite show online whenever you please, within reason. House of the Dragon fans could wait for a more convenient time to watch or tune in once the season ends. A positive sign for House of the Dragon Season 2 is that many Max subscribers binged the first season before the newest episode’s premiere.
Let’s be clear: 7.8 million views is a good number. The drama stems from House of the Dragon being a Game of Thrones prequel, so any dip in viewership could become sensationalized. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, True Detective: Night Country averaged about 13 million viewers per episode for its entire season, while the sophomore season of The White Lotus pulled 10.1 million viewers. Meanwhile, the final season of Succession banked 8.7 million viewers. That’s only 900,000 more than House of the Dragon‘s single-night total. In other words, House of the Dragon still breathes fire, though it might need to up its game to stay on top.
To check out our thoughts about House of the Dragon Season 2, you can read Alex Maidy’s review. Did you check out HBO’s House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere? Let us know in the comments below.
It’s funny that one day ago, just before Nintendo’s June Direct, we had almost no idea what the next six months would look like for the Switch. Nintendo has confirmed it will have news on its next console in the coming months, and that means the Switch is in its twilight year. But after a 40-minute presentation, we…
It’s funny that one day ago, just before Nintendo’s June Direct, we had almost no idea what the next six months would look like for the Switch. Nintendo has confirmed it will have news on its next console in the coming months, and that means the Switch is in its twilight year. But after a 40-minute presentation, we…
There were some who thought Will Smith had destroyed his career when he slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage back in 2022 – but with Bad Boys: Ride or Die passing the $100 million box office mark after just ten days of release, that’s clearly not the case. So it’s no surprise to hear that Sony, the studio behind Bad Boys: Ride or Die, is continuing their working relationship with Smith by getting him to sign on to star in the film Resistor, an adaptation of the novel Influx, from bestselling author Daniel Suarez.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony isn’t offering to reveal any Resistor plot details, so we have to turn to the description of Suarez’s novel to get an idea of what this movie might be about. Goodreads provides the information on Influx: Physicist Jon Grady and his team have discovered a device that can reflect gravity—a triumph that will revolutionize the field of physics and change the future. But instead of acclaim, Grady’s lab is locked down by a covert organization known as the Bureau of Technology Control. The bureau’s mission: suppress the truth of sudden technological progress and prevent the social upheaval it would trigger. Because the future is already here. And it’s rewards are only for a select few. When Grady refuses to join the BTC, he’s thrown into a nightmarish high-tech prison housing other doomed rebel intellects. Now, as the only hope to usher humanity out of its artificial dark age, Grady and his fellow prisoners must try to expose the secrets of an unimaginable enemy—one that wields a technological advantage half a century in the making.
Resistor doesn’t have a director attached yet, but it’s coming our way from Escape Artists and is being produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Tony Shaw, Dave Wilson, and Westbrook’s Smith and Jon Mone. Heather Washington is executive producing. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Smith and Black previously worked together on Seven Pounds, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Emancipation… all of which were Sony films.
What do you think of Will Smith signing on to star in Resistor? Have you read Daniel Suarez’s novel Influx? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
If you thought everybody hated Chris in the early 2000s, wait until you see how much the disdain has grown in 2024. The comedy series Everybody Hates Chris, inspired by filmmaker Chris Rock’s teenage years, is getting reimagined for a new animated series called Everybody Still Hates Chris. Select actors from the original live-action series reprise their roles while newcomers join the hate parade coming to Comedy Central later this year.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Expendables franchise, White Chicks) and Tichina Arnold (Martin, Little Shop of Horrors, The Neighborhood) reprise their roles as Julius and Rochelle, respectively, with newcomers Tim Johnson Jr., Ozioma Akagha, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, and Gunnar Sizemore joining the cast.
Here’s the official synopsis and details for Everybody Hates Chris courtesy of Comedy Central’s press release:
Everybody Still Hates Chris will feature Chris Rock (Rustin, Fargo) as “Adult Chris,” narrating stories inspired by his experience growing up as a skinny nerd in a large working-class family in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, during the late 1980s. Terry Crews (America’s Got Talent) will voice “Julius,” Chris’ father who is a gentle giant with a relentless work ethic, and cheap. He grew up dirt poor, so he knows the cost of everything down to the penny. He works two jobs to support the family, and on his days off, he takes on a third job. Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood) will voice “Rochelle,” Chris’ mother who is smart, strong-willed, and has a nurturing spirit, but she can also be hot-headed, especially when it comes to her kids. She tolerates zero nonsense, so she quits more jobs in a month than most people do in a lifetime.
In addition to the cast of the original series Everybody Hates Chris, Tim Johnson Jr. (Saturdays) will voice “Young Chris,” a nerd who wants to be cool but he’s outshined by his younger brother, tortured by his little sister, and foiled by his cheapskate dad; Ozioma Akagha (DELILAH) will voice “Tonya,” Chris’ feisty baby sister, with the face of an angel and the heart of a demon, who gets along with her middle brother Drew but leaps at any chance to get Chris in trouble; Terrence Little Gardenhigh (Danger Force) will voice “Drew,” the golden child of the family who is the epitome of Black Excellence: handsome, athletic, a ladies man, taller and cooler than his older brother Chris; and Gunnar Sizemore (Kung Fu Panda) will voice “Greg,” Chris’s only friend at school who is girl-obsessed, status-conscious and raised by a single dad.
Created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi, Everybody Hates Chris is based loosely on Rock’s personal experiences as a teenager growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, from 1982 to 1987. The original live-action series has 88 episodes (4 seasons), starring Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, Tequan Richmond, Imani Hakim, Vincent Martella, and Tyler James Williams.
“I’m very excited to introduce the world to another funny side of my childhood,” said star and Executive Producer Chris Rock.
“I wanted this job to get free tickets to a Chris Rock stand up show, but we ended up making something we’re proud of that is true to the original series we all loved,” said Sanjay Shah, series Showrunner and Executive Producer.
Are you an Everybody Hates Chris fan? Are you looking forward to the animated follow-up? Does the concept lend well to animation, or would you rather see the series return in live-action? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Everybody Still Hates Chris premieres on Comedy Central later this year.
As the dust settled on a hectic (and messy) launch, I got the chance to talk with FPS XDefiant’s executive producer Mark Rubin, and creative director Safy Saada, about the free-to-play Call of Duty-like’s first few weeks, how the Ubisoft team balances the game, all-important bunny hopping, creating good maps, and the…
As the dust settled on a hectic (and messy) launch, I got the chance to talk with FPS XDefiant’s executive producer Mark Rubin, and creative director Safy Saada, about the free-to-play Call of Duty-like’s first few weeks, how the Ubisoft team balances the game, all-important bunny hopping, creating good maps, and the…
The 49th Toronto International Film Festival is set to run from September 5th to the 15th, 2024, and with those dates swiftly approaching, the festival has just revealed their first wave of titles and honorees (both via The Hollywood Reporter).
The film line-up includes “the world premiere of R.J. Culter’s new documentary Elton John: Never Too Late about the legendary British singer; the Korean drama Harbin from director Woo Min-ho (Inside Men) starring Hyun Bin, Lee Dong-wook, Park Jeong-min, and Jeon Yeo-been; Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, a genre-bending story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz, adapted from the Stephen King short story, and starring Jacob Tremblay, David Dastmalchian and Tom Hiddleston; Netflix’s Rez Ball, a coming-of-age tale about Indigenous basketball, directed by Sydney Freeland (Reservation Dogs, Echo) and produced by LeBron James; the world premiere of DreamWorks Animation’s animated feature The Wild Robot, from three-time Oscar nominee Chris Sanders (The Croods, How to Train Your Dragon, Lily & Stitch), which features an ensemble voice cast led by Lupita Nyong’o as a robot stranded on an uninhabited island who must learn to connect with the untrusting animals; and Nightbitch, a horror comedy from director Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) starring Amy Adams as a stay-at-home mom whose life takes a surreal turn.”
Anita Lee, TIFF’s chief programming officer, provided the following statement: “We know the TIFF audience has been eagerly anticipating what films will be coming to Toronto this September, and today’s announcement is a perfect snapshot of what’s to come this year. TIFF is renowned for showcasing works from both emerging and established filmmakers worldwide.“
Not only is the Amy Adams film Nightbitch part of the line-up, making its world premiere, but Adams is also one of this year’s honorees. She’s the winner of the TIFF Tribute Performer Award. Also being honored at the festival is Toronto native and legendary filmmaker David Cronenberg, who will be receiving the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award.
What do you think of the Toronto International Film Festival’s 2024 line-up so far, and are you glad to hear that Amy Adams and David Cronenberg are being honored at the festival?
Parenting is one of the toughest challenges any human being could face; now imagine the infant is bigger than a house and can shoot lasers out of their eyes. This chaos is only a portion of what the characters in Ultraman: Rising face and Tokyo will never be the same. Here to talk about the hardships of Kaiju parenting are the directors of Ultraman: Rising, Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima, and featured members of the cast, Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid Part II, Tekken, The Day After Tomorrow), Gedde Watanabe (UHF, Sixteen Candles, Gremlins 2: The New Batch), and Christopher Sean (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Days of Our Lives, Star Wars: Resistance).
During our time with the cast and creators of Ultraman: Rising, we delved deep into everyone’s Ultraman history to determine if they felt pressure to honor the beloved superhero’s legacy. We also discuss the wonders of parenting and how you don’t need to have kids to act like a guardian to someone or something. The actors also share valuable lessons they learned while making Ultraman: Rising and how anyone could apply them to everyday life.
While speaking with Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima, we discussed their co-directing approach and how sharing the director’s chair is both a challenge and a gift. We also find out if they’d be interested in helming an Ultraman x Godzilla crossover film and what their epic approach to the material would be. Do filmmakers dream about their characters? We find out in this exclusive interview.
Here’s the official synopsis for Ultraman: Rising courtesy of Netflix:
With Tokyo under siege from rising monster attacks, baseball star Ken Sato reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman. But the titanic superhero meets his match when he is forced to adopt a 35-foot-tall, fire-breathing baby kaiju. Sato must rise above his ego to balance work and parenthood while protecting the baby from forces bent on exploiting her for their own dark plans.
Ultraman: Rising is available to watch right now on Netflix. How would you react to becoming a surrogate parent for an infant Kaiju? Let us know in the comments section below.
On Halloween of 2022, it was announced that original Friday the 13th screenwriter Victor Miller – fresh off winning the U.S. copyright to the 1980 film after a lawsuit that stretched on for years – was teaming up with his lawyer Marc Toberoff, franchise rights holder Rob Barsamian, production company A24, the Peacock streaming service, and showrunner Bryan Fuller (whose credits include Hannibal and Pushing Daisies) to develop a new Friday the 13th streaming series called Crystal Lake – and by April of 2024, things were looking pretty good for the show. Under the guidance of Fuller and his frequent collaborator Jim Danger Gray, the project was gearing up to go into production this summer (on July 22nd, to be exact), with filming to last for seven to eight months. Charlize Theron was being considered for the role of Pamela Voorhees, Vincenzo Natali (Cube) and Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) were on board to direct episodes, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson was plotting an hour-long chase episode that would be “set entirely on a frozen Crystal Lake, with the summer camp’s cabins trapped under snow drifts.” Peacock had provided a budget of $85 million for the first season, which was set to consist of eight episodes, and a $300,000 deposit had been placed on soundstages in Canada… and then, as we’ve previously heard, everything fell apart. Fuller and Gray were removed from the project in early May, and it was said that A24 was going “a different way” with Crystal Lake. In a new article, the folks at The Wrap tried to get to the bottom of the problems, unearthing talk of unpaid writers, inexperienced executives, and questionable bookkeeping.
The Wrap spoke to more than a half-dozen insiders while putting together their report… and it’s worth noting that pretty much anything one insider would say, there was another insider saying the opposite.
One source said that A24 didn’t feel confident in the vision Fuller and Gray had for the show and had to pull the plug. Another source said, “It felt like everybody on the Bryan/Jim side were trying very hard to make the show. A24 felt like they were doing everything they could to not make the show.” There’s confusion over whether or not Peacock was aware of the decision to fire Fuller and Gray, were directly involved with the decision, or if the order came from one of the top executives at Universal… but whatever the case, they were fired.
Crystal Lake is part of A24’s goal to expand into more commercial projects, as they were specifically looking for a globally recognized property that could move them into more mainstream territory. So the idea of expanding the Friday the 13th franchise is very appealing to them. According to The Wrap’s article, Fuller’s approach to the material was to make each season a deconstruction of the first four Friday the 13th films. “The series would incorporate lore from several sequels but remix that material in a way similar to Fuller’s Hannibal, which interpolated the Thomas Harris novels for three seasons.” A source close to A24 confirmed, “We had the mask, we had the sequels, we could do whatever we wanted. He had a good path forward, which I did really like.“
As we’ve heard before, Fuller did assemble a team of writers in early 2023, before the writers strike, with members of that team including his “three lieutenants”, who have worked with him on previous shows like Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, and American Gods, as well as Tommy Pico, who is on the Reservation Dogs staff; Tananarive Due, who has written multiple novels over the last thirty years and executive produced Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror; and Steven Barnes, who is also an author and has also contributed scripts to shows like Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, and the ’80s version of The Twilight Zone. The problem came after the writers strike ended, when (according to The Wrap), “Despite being the first studio to sign the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement, A24 refused to convert the writers who had worked on that initial development phase into actual, paid writers, according to several sources. … A24 assured Fuller and Gray that there would be a paid writer’s room but later backtracked, according to several Crystal Lake sources.” Fuller couldn’t deliver polished drafts of the scripts because the writers of the initial drafts needed to do revisions but were prohibited by guild guidelines before they weren’t officially staff writers. Plus, “according to those with knowledge of the situation, four writers are owed roughly $100,000 each for already completed work.” A source close to A24 denies there were any guild violations, and sources couldn’t agree whether the project fell behind on scripts, slowing the project on the way to production, or if the project was actually ahead of schedule. It’s also a source close to A24 who says that it was Fuller who didn’t want an official writers room, not the company – and that A24 would have hired the writers if Crystal Lake weren’t already going over-budget. “Crystal Lake producers maintain they consistently requested additional weeks for the writers room and were told by A24 executives that Peacock had mandated they get no more than six weeks, when the WGA was mandating 12-week minimums.“
Each episode of Crystal Lake was set to have a budget of $9.6 million, but A24 reportedly wanted to cut that in half. Instead, the budget was rising. In a story that The Wrap heard from more than one source, “Inman Young, A24’s production head whose previous credits include projects like The Whale (budget: $3 million) and Waves (budget: $6 million), claimed the show wasn’t just slightly over budget, it was 100% over budget. Several members of the Crystal Lake production team refuted that assertion.” Instead, The Wrap found that the show was 4 to 6 million over budget for the entire season, and some insiders felt that could have been handled during production. Several sources seemed to blame the fact that Young doesn’t have TV experience on some of the issues behind the scenes… but A24 was also behind the HBO series The Sympathizer, which had a larger budget than Crystal Lake, and they didn’t seem to have problems on that one.
Despite running into problems on Crystal Lake, A24 is still committed to making the show, which is said to be very important to Peacock. A source close to A24, lawyer Marc Toberoff, and a source close to NBCUniversal all confirmed that Crystal Lake is still moving forward. It just needs to find a new showrunner – one A24 is confident going into production with. It remains to be seen if they will use the original Fuller scripts and outlines, or start over completely. Nick Antosca – a co-producer on Hannibal and an executive producer on Chucky – is said to be one of the contenders for the showrunner job, but it’s believed that Antosca (who wrote the screenplay for an unmade Friday the 13th reboot back in 2015) would scrap Fuller’s work and rebuild Crystal Lake from the ground up if he signed on.
So, as of right now, it looks like Crystal Lake is still going to happen. We just don’t know when it’s going to happen, who’s going to be running the show if it does, or if the finished product will retain anything Fuller had in mind for it.
What do you think of the trouble behind the scenes on Crystal Lake? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
