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Despite being characterized as a noir drama, veteran director Jeffrey Reiner’s latest release, Lake George, emulates the feeling of a road trip buddy comedy-with an unlikely duo pairing up for self-interest, and trying to make the most of their partnership by going to great lengths to con a gangster. There is hardly a narrative choice present in the movie which viewers could treat as unexpected developments, but Lake George is not about the intrigue of the story itself. Rather, the movie shines in the way the chemistry between the two misfit leads played by the ever-reliable Shea Whigham and remarkable Carrie Coon is handled, the way beautiful natural landscape of Eastern California sprawled through Sierra Nevada and the San Fernando valley is captured, the way situational humor peppered through the story adds such a strong flavor to the narrative treatment. The ending betrays the mood created by the rest of the movie,...

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains details from the film Lake George

In Jeffrey Reiner’s neo-noir road movie Lake George, two unlikely strangers team up to try and take down a love-spurned mobster. The film, which marks the first reuniting of actors Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon since the pair appeared in Season 3 of Fargo, follows Don (Whigham), a reserved claims adjuster who took the fall for a mobster (Glenn Fleshler) who has just been released from prison. Upon his return to society, the mobster is ready to settle his debts and exact his revenge by tasking Don to kill his disloyal ex Phyllis (Coon) without hesitation.

Unable to pull the trigger on the obstinate, spitfire Phyllis, the guilt-ridden Don instead works with her as they travel through the mobster’s criminal network in Glendale, Goleta and the Mammoth Lakes, trying to get what they’re owed. Reiner tells Deadline that Lake George,...

With “Lake George,” Jeffrey Reiner makes his first indie feature as writer-director since the 1990s, following a prolific quarter-century helming small-screen projects. The filmmaker has cited formative viewings of classic film noirs on television as an inspiration, but this twisty tale feels more like the melancholy genre fictions of the late Ross Macdonald — low-key, droll, downbeat yet empathetic tours through labyrinths of disillusioned and corrupted Southern California lives.

While there’s a fair-sized body count here, the path hewn by uneasy allies Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon comes off less as a thriller than a rueful black comedy of errors, with even the most violent characters carrying a certain pathos. It’s a consistently involving effort that should reward discerning viewers amid the flood of flashier year-end titles. Magnet is releasing to limited U.S. theaters and digital platforms on Dec. 6.

More Willie Loman than Sam Spade, middle-aged Don (Whigham...

"You can't do it, can you??" Magnet Releasing has unveiled an official trailer for an indie dark comedy crime thriller called Lake George, made by filmmaker Jeffrey Reiner who has been making mostly TV recently. This premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and it will be out to watch starting in November this fall - including on VOD. A spin on the usual enforcer goes rogue plot. Tasked by mobsters with putting an end to Phyllis' life, Don is unable to pull the trigger, and instead – the two set off on a road trip that evolves into something much more. Phyllis has designs of her own and proposes a little tag team action to Don: combine forces with the aim to steal all the money from the people who want her dead. It's described as "a film that dances between Noir and dark comedy." Starring Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon as Don and Phyllis,...

Carrie Coon and Shea Whigham might be two of the most underrated actors working today. Though they’ve both had standout work in big projects, they continue to fly under the radar for most people. But perhaps that will change with the upcoming film, “Lake George.”

Read More: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

As seen in the trailer, “Lake George” tells the story of a man down on his luck and tasked by a mobster to kill a woman.

Continue reading ‘Lake George’ Trailer: Shea Whigham & Carrie Coon Star In Jeffrey Reiner’s Neo-Noir at The Playlist.

Carrie Coon is continuing her cult status as the go-to actress for complex performances.

The star, who leads HBO series “The Gilded Age” and Azazel Jacobs’ Netflix drama “His Three Daughters,” is poised to leave her mark on the “White Lotus” franchise with the highly anticipated third season. Before then, though, Coon can be seen in neo-noir crime comedy “Lake George,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and has been acquired by Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, for its North American rights. IndieWire shares the exclusive details below.

Coon stars as Phyllis, the target of hitman Don (Shea Whigham). Yet as things go sideways, Phyllis and Don end up working together to take down the mobsters who want her dead. The duo embark on a road trip to steal all the money from the mob boss who first hired Don. It’s a two-birds, one-stone kind...

Don emerges from prison exhausted after a decade inside. Played with subtle nuance by Shea Whigham, Don just wants peace. But escaping his past won’t be easy. His former criminal associate Armen still has a hold on him, pressuring Don into one last job.

The target is Phyllis, Armen’s partner in more ways than one. Carrie Coon brings Phyllis to life as a complex woman used to manipulating men, though maybe hoping for more. When Don hesitates pulling the trigger, an unexpected bond forms between him and Phyllis.

Together they uncover a secretive world hidden amongst LA’s sprawling suburbs, with Armen at its dark center. Don remains desperate to break free once and for all, while Phyllis grows curious about a life away from violence. Director Jeffrey Reiner skillfully weaves darker themes into his tale but also sees glimmers of hope in even the most damaged souls.

A nifty little neo-noir carried by two likeable leads, Lake George follows a pair of down-and-out, middle-aged criminals who try to rip off a rich gangster and somehow get away with it.

Is that a familiar premise? Yes. Do stars Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon manage to make the material feel both fresh and engaging? Yes. Is there still a theatrical audience out there for this kind of modest, well-acted and slickly crafted B-level thriller? That remains to be seen.

Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, veteran director Jeffrey Reiner’s latest feature offers up a few welcome twists on a typical noir scenario: Ex-con Don (Whigham) gets out of jail and tries to collect the money he’s owed by an L.A. thug, Armen (Glenn Fleshler), who lives in a massive McMansion up in the Hollywood Hills. But Don is no tough guy, and he winds up getting...

Elmore Leonard — cinematically, perhaps the most influential writer of the 20th century whose name never gave rise to an adjective — casts a long shadow over Jeffrey Reiner’s Lake George, a satisfying L.A. noir that follows his legacy almost to the letter. There’s no chiaroscuro here, nothing bad happens even remotely in darkness, but there’s a moral shading that Leonard would most likely enjoy. For some reason, though, these sunshine-crime stories never seem to stick like their shadowy counterparts do, which means that Lake George might have to wait a while before it finds out where it sits in the whole noir canon.

Reiner’s script leans into a lot of traditional crime-movie tropes, and it begins with an ambiguous one: Don (Shea Whigham), a middle-aged divorcé, has just been released from jail after 10 years inside. But for what? Don doesn’t seem the type, and his first calls on the outside,...

Lake George co-stars Carrie Coon and Shea Whigham are actors’ actors. They’re highly regarded by their peers, and they elevate every project they’re a part of, whether it’s an indie, a blockbuster or a prestigious cable series. And as soon as the audience sees them on the big or small screen, they immediately know they’re in good hands with the two reliable actors. The duo first worked together on season three of Noah Hawley’s Emmy-nominated Fargo series, and they spent six years trying to reunite until the SAG strike in the summer of 2023 presented a unique opportunity to do just that by way of an interim agreement.

The result is Jeffrey Reiner’s comedic neo-noir Lake George, which premieres tonight at New York City’s Tribeca Festival. The writer-director — who previously worked with Whigham and his daughter Giorgia on a 2018 episode of Dirty John — sent...

People may be surprised to learn that staying out of the ocean won’t guarantee their safety from sharks. In fact, a dip in a river or pond could lead to an encounter with one of the most aggressive sharks in the world: the bull shark. Strangely enough, though, the Carcharhinus leucas doesn’t show up in sharksploitation movies anywhere near as much as its larger and more popular cousin, the great white. Many don’t even know of its existence until they hear of a sighting or attack in an unlikely place.

Jaws led to great whites becoming the face of shark horror. Of course, there are exceptions — Deep Blue Sea features bio-engineered mako sharks, and Syfy went through a period of unleashing one variety of mutant shark after another — yet as a whole, sharksploitation prefers great whites. Then in 2003, TBS Superstation mixed things up by having a bull...

“Single Drunk Female” and “The Watchful Eye” have both been canceled at Freeform, Variety has confirmed.

Season 2 of the comedy, which was released in April, picked up with Samantha Fink, who finally feels like she has a life worth celebrating now that she has a year and a half of sobriety under her belt. However, Sam quickly learns that sometimes life has other plans for her. She’s forced to figure out how to effect change where she can, sit in her discomfort when she can’t, and maybe even enjoy the ride.

Sofia Black-d’Elia, Ally Sheedy, Sasha Compere, Lily Mae Harrington, Garrick Bernard, and Ian Gomez starred. Busy Phillips (“Cougar Town”), Ricky Velez (“The King of Staten Island”), Charlie Hall served as recurring guests on the season with guest star Molly Ringwald.

“Single Drunk Female” was executive produced by creator Simon Finch, Jenni Konner, Daisy Gardner, John Riggi, Phil Traill,...

Freeform is making some changes.

The Disney-backed network has canceled Single Drunk Female and The Watchful Eye.

Single Drunk Female has run for two seasons on the network and The Watchful Eye has been axed after one season.

Single Drunk Female follows 20-something alcoholic Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-d’Elia) who, after a public flame-out at a New York media company, is forced to seize the only chance she has to sober up and avoid jail time: moving back home with her overbearing mother, Carol (Ally Sheedy). Back in Greater Boston, Samantha sets out on a path to move past her worst self and figure out her best self. Kinda.

Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington and Garrick Bernard also star.

Related: 2023 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

The series comes from 20th Television and was created by Simone Finch, who executive produces along with Jenni Konner,...

Peter Meyer a prominent talent agent who prior to launching his company was a William Morris agent for over a decade, died Monday following a years-long battle with sarcoma. He was 68.

“After a heroic five-year battle against sarcoma, Meyer found peace surrounded by his family. He will be deeply missed by his wife, Anna Maria, and his three children, Christopher, Sasha, and Chase, as well as by his brothers John & Michael, sister Patty, nephews Zachary, Nathan, and Matthew and the rest of the Meyer and Sistare families. He also will be mourned by his beloved friends and incredibly talented clients with whom he grew very close over the decades,” the family said in a statement, provided to TheWrap by Meyer’s sister, producer Patricia K Meyer.

Born May 11, 1955 in Los Angeles, Meyer came from a family with deep ties to Hollywood and to the city. His father was Stanley Meyer,...

Peter Meyer, who represented the likes of Tom Hanks, James Caan and William Shatner as a talent agent at William Morris before spending the past three decades leading his own management firm, has died. He was 68.

Meyer died May 14 in his Los Angeles home after a five-year battle with sarcoma, his sister, writer-producer Patricia K. Meyer (The Women of Brewster Place), announced. Survivors also include his son Chris Meyer, a talent agent at CAA.

After training under legendary Wma agent Stan Kamen, Meyer was hired as a talent agent in June 1978. His clients would include actors Sterling Hayden, Kevin Costner, Kathleen Turner, Christopher Walken, Steve Guttenberg and David Hasselhoff.

After 11 years at Wma, he launched Meyer Management in 1990 to represent directors, writers, producers and authors, selling their work and facilitating their employment across all entertainment platforms.

He repped Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights), Michael Sloan and Tony Eldridge (The Equalizer...

There’s a complicated mystery afoot in Freeform‘s upcoming series The Watchful Eye.

A trailer released Wednesday, which is embedded below, previews a Hitchcock-inspired story that begins when a woman dies after falling off the ledge of a building — only some believe she may have been pushed.

Enter Elena Santos (Mariel Molino), a young woman with a complicated past, maneuvering her way into working as a live-in nanny for the affluent family in Manhattan who may have had something to do with the young woman’s death. At the behest of the woman’s mother, played by Kelly Bishop, Elena is trying to get to the bottom of the mystery, only to discover the mysterious building she now lives in has deadly secrets and ulterior motives. What they don’t know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

“I think that the suspense, the eeriness,...

Freeform’s kicking off the first season of the thriller The Watchful Eye on Monday, January 30, 2023 with back-to-back one-hour episodes. The new series follows Elena Santos (Mariel Molino) as she steps into the job of a nanny for a wealthy widower’s young son. Episode one, “Hen in the Fox House,” premieres at 9pm Et/Pt followed by “Hide and Seek” at 10pm Et/Pt.

The show will settle into its normal timeslot of Mondays at 10pm Et/Pt with episode three.

In addition to Mariel Molino, season one stars Warren Christie as Matthew, Kelly Bishop as Mrs. Ivey, Amy Acker as Tory, and Jon Ecker as Scott. Lex Lumpkin plays Elliott, Henry Joseph Saimiri is Jasper, and Aliyah Royale stars as Ginny.

The series comes from Ryan Seacrest Productions and was created by Julie Durk (Grace and Frankie). Durk serves as a consultant and Emily Fox (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) serves as showrunner.

Freeform has an exciting new thriller on tap for early 2023.

The young-skewing cabler revealed The Watchful Eye will launch  Monday, Jan. 30, with a double episode premiere at 9 p.m. before moving to its regular 10 p.m. timeslot.

The series follows Elena Santos, played by Mariel Molino, a young woman with a complicated past, maneuvering her way into working as a live-in nanny for an affluent family in Manhattan.

She quickly learns that everyone in the mysterious building has deadly secrets and ulterior motives.

What they don't know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

The series comes from Ryan Seacrest Productions and stars Molino, Warren Christie, Amy Acker, Jon Ecker, Aliyah Royale, Lex Lumpkin, Henry Joseph Samiri and Kelly Bishop.

It is created by Julie Durk (Grace and Frankie), who also serves as consultant.

Emily Fox (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) is showrunner and executive producer. Ryan Seacrest,...

Josh Olson shares his top 10 movies from his favorite movie year, 1992, with Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Star Wars (1977)

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

After Dark, My Sweet (1990)

The Last Of The Mohicans (1992)

Thief (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

The Last Of The Mohicans (1936)

The Player (1992) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Popeye (1980)

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Quintet (1979)

​HealtH (1980)

Come Back To the Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Secret Honor (1984)

The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Touch Of Evil (1958) – Howard Rodman’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Dead Alive a.k.a. Braindead (1992) – Mike Mendez’s trailer commentary

Meet The Feebles (1989) – Mike Mendez’s...

Freeform has ordered the new scripted series “The Watchful Eye” to series, with Mariel Molino (“Promised Land”) set to lead the cast.

Formerly known as “The Nanny” and created by Julie Durk (“Grace and Frankie”), “The Watchful Eye” focuses on Elena Santos (Molino), a young woman who begins a new job as a live-in nanny for an affluent Manhattan widower and his young son. Moving into their apartment building the Greybourne, she quickly discovers the secrets of many of the other inhabitants, while struggling to hide her own complicated past. The show was ordered to pilot at the network back in September 2021 with Andrea Londo in the lead role.

In addition to Molino, the series also stars Warren Christie (“The Village”) as Elena’s employer Matthew, Kelly Bishop (“Gilmore Girls”) as lifelong Greybourne resident Mrs. Ivey, Amy Acker (“The Gifted”) as Matthew’s sister-in-law Tory, Jon Ecker (“Firefly Lane”) as Elena’s boyfriend Scott,...

Freeform has picked up to series The Watchful Eye (fka The Nanny) drama with Mariel Molino (Promised Land) set to lead the ensemble cast. The Watchful Eye (fka The Nanny), which was ordered to pilot last year, hails from Julie Durk (Grace and Frankie), Ryan Seacrest Productions and ABC Signature.

Created by Durk, who also serves as consultant, The Watchful Eye is described as a Hitchcockian contemporary thriller that follows a young woman as she is thrust into a world of old money and deadly secrets. It follows Elena Santos, played by Molino, a young woman with a complicated past, maneuvering her way into working as a live-in nanny for an affluent family in Manhattan. She quickly learns that everyone in the mysterious building has deadly secrets and ulterior motives. What they don’t know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

Molino’s Elena is a bright,...

Click here to read the full article.

Freeform is headed into the world of wealthy Manhattanites with its latest series pickup.

The Disney-owned cable outlet has greenlit The Watchful Eye, a thriller centered on a young nanny who goes to work for a wealthy New York family that harbors a closetful of secrets.

Mariel Molino (ABC’s Promised Land) will play the lead role of Elena Santos, who maneuvers her way into a job with an affluent family and has some shocking secrets of her own. Molino takes over from Andrea Londos, who played Elena in the show’s pilot; sources say the character was reworked after the pilot, leading to the recasting.

Julie Durk (Grace and Frankie) created The Watchful Eye and will serve as a consultant. Emily Fox (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) will be the showrunner on the series from ABC Signature and Ryan Seacrest Productions.

“I’m...

Freeform has picked up the new drama “The Watchful Eye” from Ryan Seacrest Productions. Formerly known as “The Nanny,” the Mariel Molino–starring series is created by Julie Durk (“Grace and Frankie”), who also serves as consultant.

The ABC Signature–produced show follows Elena Santos (Molino), a young woman with a complex past and a few skeletons in her closet, who begins working as an au pair for a wealthy family. However, she quickly realizes that everyone in the luxurious Manhattan apartment building – called the Greybourne – is also hiding deadly secrets and ulterior motives.

Emily Fox (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”) is showrunner and executive producer. Seacrest, Nina Wass, Andrea Shay and Jeffrey Reiner also executive produce with Reiner directing the pilot.

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Sarah Hyland to Host ‘Love Island’ US Version for Peacock, First Trailer Revealed (Video)

“I’m incredibly excited about this series because it presents a contemporary twist on...

Freeform has ordered a Hitchcockian nanny drama pilot from Grace and Frankie exec producer Julie Durk.

Andrea Londo (Narcos), Warren Christie (The Village), Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls), Amy Acker (The Gifted), Jon Ecker (Firefly Lane), Lex Lumpkin (All That), Henry Joseph Samiri (The Bold and the Beautiful) and Aliyah Royale (The Walking Dead: The World Beyond) star in the untitled pilot.

The one-hour drama, which was known as “The Nanny” in development, is described as a Hitchcockian contemporary thriller that follows a young woman as she is thrust into a world of old money and deadly secrets.

The Untitled Julie Durk Project is written by Durk, who exec produced feature film You’ve Got Mail, and comes from ABC Signature and Ryan Seacrest Productions. Durk, Ryan Seacrest, Nina Wass and Andrea Shay exec produce.

Londo plays Elena, who at first seems like just a wholesome, friendly young woman trying to get...

Netflix announced that the third and final season of “Narcos: Mexico” will premiere on Nov. 5 and released some first looks at the episodes.

This third and final season follows the war that breaks out after Felix’s arrest and the new Mexican kingpins who emerge as newly independent cartels navigate political turmoil and escalating violence.

Returning series regulars include Scoot McNairy, José María Yázpik, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Hermosillo, Matt Letscher, Manuel Masalva, Alejandro Edda and Gorka Lasaosa. New cast members include Luis Gerardo Méndez, Alberto Guerra and Luisa Rubino, with guest star Bad Bunny aka Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio.

Executive producers on the series are Sidonie Dumas; Christophe Riandee; Nicolas Atlan; José Padilha; Doug Miro; Andrés Baiz, who also directs; Eric Newman and showrunner Carlo Bernard. Other directors are Alejandra Márquez Abella, Luis Ortega, Amat Escalante and Wagner Moura direct. Gaumont serves as the production company.

Watch a teaser and...

In today’s Global Bulletin young U.K. directors get a powerful new resource in Director Now from “Humans” director Lewis Arnold, Endemol Shine Poland starts shooting “The Crack,” Starzplay gets “High Fidelity” in Latin America and parts of Europe, plus Australia Media House and Leonine announce major hires.

Directors

More than 100 emerging U.K. directors have joined together to launch Directors Now, a free downloadable document in which each shares their unique backstory, musings and anecdotes about working in the industry today.

Meant as a resource for the next generation of filmmakers, the document was put together in part to counteract the negative impact the Covid-19 situation has had on new filmmakers who might otherwise have been starting their careers if circumstances were more normal.

Directors Now was created and edited by director Lewis Arnold, who also frequently teaches at the University of Gloucestershire and the National Film and Television School.

Ruth Wilson left Showtime’s Emmy-nominated drama “The Affair” in 2018 without an explanation. Now, the reasons for her departure are coming to light — along with an internal investigation conducted by CBS in 2017.

Though Wilson herself is under an Nda — she told the New York Times in 2018 that she’s “not really allowed to talk about it” — a story published by The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday paints a picture of the “toxic” and “hostile” work environment that reportedly lead to her exit, according to several anonymous sources close to the show’s production.

Showrunner Sarah Treem was the main source of tension for Wilson, according to THR, whose sources say Treem coaxed the actress into showing more nudity and performing more graphic sex scenes than necessary for the sake of creating a “titillating” scene.

Also Read: CBS Producer at Center of Lawsuit Says He Is 'Mortified' Over Accidentally Sending Inappropriate Photo to Colleague

“Over and over again,...

Ever since Ruth Wilson's surprising exit from The Affair during its fourth season in 2018, there has been much speculation about why she left the award-winning role.

The actress has been cryptic about the whole scenario, hinting at a much bigger story behind the exit, while maintaining on several occasions that she was not allowed to talk about.

According to a bombshell report in the December 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, the reason the actress has not been able to be transparent about her decision, is because she is constrained by the terms of an Nda.

The report includes numerous unnamed sources, who allege that Wilson had taken issue with "the frequency and nature of certain nude scenes," saying the actress found some of them "titillating."

One scene, in particular, called for Wilson to shoot an "aggressive sex scene" in which she was pushed up against a tree by co-star,...

The catalyst for Ruth Wilson’s abrupt and mysterious exit from Showtime’s The Affair appears to be even more unseemly than you probably imagined.

Wilson, who to date has been cryptic if not entirely mum about why she parted ways with the drama at the end of Season 4, remains, as we all assumed, constrained by the terms of an Nda. But the Dec. 19 issue of The Hollywood Reporter has an exhaustive (and exhaustingly depressing), 3,000-word account featuring numerous unnamed sources, alleging that Wilson had taken issue with “the frequency and nature of certain nude scenes” — some of which she...

Welcome to “Remote Controlled,” a podcast from Variety featuring the best and brightest in television, both in front of and behind the camera.

In this week’s episode, “Dirty John” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham sits down with Variety‘s senior features editor of TV, Danielle Turchiano, to talk about working with Connie Britton to develop a scripted version of Debra Newell and the importance of offering not only Newell’s perspective in the storytelling but that of the others in her life, including John Meehan (Eric Bana).

One of the things Cunningham notes she specifically wanted to do when setting out to write a scripted series inspired by Christopher Goffard’s podcast of the same name was play with perspective.

“That was a thing that I could do, that Chris couldn’t do, was hear from John, as opposed to about John,” she explains.

As a podcast listener, Cunningham recalls moments...

The usual way a phone interview with an actor whose films have grossed over a billion dollars goes is like this: A publicist calls the journalist, then connects the star into the call. But for his phone interview with IndieWire, Eric Bana called himself, exactly two minutes before the scheduled time. “It’s the only way it works for me,” was his explanation, one which did not at all surprise his collaborators on the Bravo drama series “Dirty John.”

“It’s not that you would necessarily expect him to be this imperious famous person who just bosses everyone around,” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham said. “But he very much is just sort of like… he’s just a guy. For him it’s like, ‘Why wouldn’t I just call her? Why do I need somebody to connect me on a phone? I know how to use a phone.’ I don’t...

Eric Bana knows he’s playing a very unlikeable guy on Bravo’s “Dirty John,” the new limited series based on the Los Angeles Times true-crime podcast of the same name.

But he also knows it’s his job to make you — and Connie Britton’s Debra Newell — like the unlikeable John Meehan as much as possible. Or, as Bana tells TheWrap, at least create a version of him that was “not something you’d wanna turn off after the first 30 minutes.”

On the TV adaptation of “Dirty John,” Debra is smitten with the charismatic — yet creepy — John, just like the real-life Newport Beach-based interior designer was with the real-life con man she met online.

Also Read: Connie Britton Explains Her Plan to Keep You From Screaming at 'Dirty John's' Debra Every Week

Their fast-tracked romance frightens Debra’s two daughters Terra (Julia Garner) and Veronica (Juno Temple...

“Dirty John’s” Debra Newell is dating a very bad man — a fact that viewers should pick up on by the end of the first episode of the new Bravo series, starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana, this Sunday.

Unless, that is, you’ve already listened to the Los Angeles Times podcast the drama is based on, in which case you know going into the premiere that John Meehan (Bana) is a con man, if ever there was one.

Debra’s (played by Britton) daughters (Julia Garner and Juno Temple) are nervous because their mom is so deeply in love (maybe lust?) with this mysterious doctor (or a man we at least think is a physician at first) who is prone to some random outbursts and creepy tendencies, and they tell her as much over and over and over again.

Just about any crime story can find an audience if it’s told with enough drama and intrigue. Though the true crime genre has been exploding in recent years thanks to podcasts (“Serial”) and documentary series, the widespread fascination with what makes people turn on each other — and how to withstand it — has fueled shows like “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Law & Order: Svu” for decades. As much as anything else, true crime and the fiction inspired by it has something of a built-in audience, ready and waiting to see what the hell new twist reality can serve up.

In this respect, “Dirty John” is a no-brainer of a programming choice. Christopher Goffard’s story about a drug addict grifter marrying wealthy women until they were no longer of use to him was released in October of last year as both a written Los Angeles Times report and a podcast. The latter...

Bravo said Tuesday that it is canceling the planned red carpet ahead of tonight’s world premiere of its anthology series Dirty John in Hollywood out of respect for victims of the wildfires still burning in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The screening at the NeueHouse Hollywood will go on as planned, but the 5:30 Pm red carpet that was to feature the series’ cast and crew was scrapped. It comes ahead of the series debut November 25 at 10 Pm on Bravo.

It comes as several events around Hollywood have been pared down as fires continue to burn northwest of Los Angeles. AFI Fest has canceled red carpets ahead of four of its gala screenings, the latest today with the Steve McQueen-directed Widows.

Dirty John, based on the articles and true crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard, stars Connie Britton and Eric Bana. It tells the cautionary...

In Today’s TV News Roundup, “Dirty John” has an official premiere date and Variety has obtained an exclusive clip from the upcoming season finale of “Carter.”

Dates

Bravo’s new limited series “Dirty John” is set to premiere Nov. 25 at 10:00 p.m. Et/Pt. The show, which stars Connie Britton and Eric Bana, is based off of a popular true-crime podcast of the same name hosted by Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard. In the podcast, Goffard narrated the cautionary romance between Debra Newell (Britton) and the charismatic conman John Meehan (Bana), which spiraled into a web of deception and terror that almost tore the family apart. Universal Cable Productions, in association with Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment will produce the show, alongside show creator Alexandra Cunningham and director Jeffrey Reiner. Bravo also released a trailer for the series, which can be seen below.

Showtime has...

Bravo has released a new trailer and announced the premiere date for Dirty John, it’s anticipated true crime anthology starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana. The series debuts Sunday, November 25 at 10 Pm on Bravo.

Based on the articles and breakout true crime podcast with over 30 million downloads from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard, the series tells the cautionary tale of how a whirlwind romance between Debra Newell (Britton) and the charismatic con-man John Meehan (Bana) spiraled into a frightening web of deception, denial and mental terror that nearly tore a family apart. Created by Alexandra Cunningham and directed by Jeffrey Reiner, the eight hour-long episodes are produced by Universal Cable Productions, in association with Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment.

The series centers on Debra Newell (Britton), who has a seemingly perfect life: she’s successful, beautiful and lives in one of California’s most desirable coastal cities,...

The hit Wondery/La Times podcast “Dirty John” has a trailer. Bravo’s limited series follows the doomed and enigmatic romance of Debra Newell (Connie Britton) and John Meehan (Eric Bana), a serial Newport Beach charmer whose licensed medical professional exterior hides a deadly past.

The first teaser played solely on Bana’s ability to be effortlessly charming, and then genuinely off-putting, with just a slight adjustment. This look at the show also includes Britton playing Newell’s repeated denials of Meehan’s wrongdoing and a look at Newell’s skeptical daughter Terra (Julia Garner) and concerned mother (Jean Smart).

In addition to a sneak peek at the some of the intrigue that also made “Dirty John” one of last year’s biggest podcast hits, the show also confirmed its release date for next month, just in time for Thanksgiving viewing. The series, which will air in eight parts, comes...

When Bravo ordered an eight-episode limited scripted series based on the “Dirty John” podcast, the production team had a wealth of material on which to base the show. Beyond Christopher Goffard’s audio telling of the story were numerous La Times articles. But additionally, the real Debra Newell is still alive and has been a resource for her portrayer, Connie Britton.

“We actually spent a good deal of time together and I really like her a lot, so it’s been such a great experience for me, and new experience for me, to sit down and really get to ask her questions — get to ask the character that I play questions,” Britton said at a Television Critics Assn. set visit for the show Wednesday. “It’s a really unique privilege to experience. And also, it’s helping to give so much insight into the story in a way that maybe...

Bravo has rounded out the cast and set Jeffrey Reiner to direct the first four episodes of the true crime anthology starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana, as production gets underway in Los Angeles. Reiner also will executive produce the series which hails from Universal Cable Productions, Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment. It’s set to premiere later this year on Bravo.

Written by Chance co-creator Alexandra Cunningham, Dirty John is based on the articles and breakout true-crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard. It centers on John Meehan (Bana), a handsome and romantic charmer who sweeps Debra Newell (Britton) off her feet and pulls her into his web of lies. The series chronicles the true story of how a romance with Meehan spiraled into secrets, denial and manipulation.

Joining previously announced Julia Garner, Juno Temple, Jean Smart and Kevin Zegers,...

Netflix has boarded two upcoming drama series, TNT’s futuristic action thriller Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, and Bravo’s anthology Dirty John, headlined by Connie Britton and Eric Bana. The Internet network is taking international distribution for both shows under its co-licensing model.

In a deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Netflix will premiere Snowpiercer, co-produced by Tomorrow Studios and Studio T, globally outside of the U.S. and China in 2019.

Netflix will carry internationally Dirty John, produced by Universal Cable Productions in association with Los Angeles Times Studios and Atlas Entertainment.

Snowpiercer, based on the acclaimed 2013 movie by Bong Joon-ho, was originally a pilot, which was picked up to series by TNT, while Dirty John received a two-season, straight-to-series order from Bravo earlier this year.

Under the co-licensing model, Netflix is collaborating with U.S. studios on series that air on other linear or digital networks in the U.

Louisa Mellor Oct 16, 2017

Electric Dreams delivers a glossy Vr thriller in its latest episode, written by Battlestar Galactica’s Ronald D. Moore…

This review contains spoilers.

See related Star Trek: Netflix reveals the most rewatched episodes New on Netflix UK: what's added in October 2017?

1.5 Real Life

If you’re a glassy-eyed wreck suffering from equal parts Ptsd and survivor guilt, don’t rely on your own subconscious to conjure you up a relaxing psychic holiday. You may as well book a world cruise through Boko Haram instead of Thomas Cook.

However unwise, that’s what traumatised cop Sarah (Anna Paquin) does in the opening segment of Real Life, the fifth Electric Dreams story, written by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Jeffrey Reiner. Still visibly shaken a year after fifteen of her colleagues were killed in a police massacre, Sarah agrees to take an experimental Vr trip out of her mind.

Rob Leane Jun 30, 2017

Channel 4 and Amazon are bringing us a Phillip K Dick anthology series that's worth getting excited about...

Philip K. Dick’s writing has been translated to the screen numerous times, with most of the results being brilliant in their own ways: Blade Runner remains one of the best-loved sci-fi films of all time; Minority Report stands out as one of the best Tom Cruise movies; Total Recall, the first one, has cult classic status; and The Man In The High Castle has really captured imaginations over the last couple of years.

See related Looking back at Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Now, Amazon and Channel 4 are teaming up to offer fans an unprecedented number of Dick-adapted stories all at once. Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is an anthology series, arriving this autumn, which gives short stories from the iconic author a Black Mirror sort of treatment.

<em>Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams</em> is continuing to round out its cast.

The upcoming Amazon and Channel 4 anthology series, which consists of 10 stand-alone episodes, has added Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard. The pair will star in an episode of the sci-fi drama called "Real Life," written by <em>Outlander</em>'s Ronald D. Moore and directed by <em>The Affair</em>'s Jeffrey Reiner.

Paquin will play Sarah, a policewoman living in the future who shares headspace with George (Howard), a brilliant game designer as each pursue violent killers whose plans could have shattering consequences. In a race against time,...

Kirsten Howard Louisa Mellor Rob Leane Feb 19, 2018

Electric Dreams returns to Channel 4 on Monday the 26th of February at 10pm with The Father Thing...

After airing six of its ten episodes in autumn 2017, sci-fi anthology series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams went into stasis. The remaining four episodes have now been confirmed as returning here in the UK in a new Monday night slot, an hour later than it previously aired.

See related Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 episodes 1 & 2 review: Orientation

Episode seven, The Father Thing, written and directed by Justified and The Wonder Years' Michael Dinner, and starring Greg Kinnear, will air on Monday the 26th of February at 10pm.

Here's the episode synopsis:

The world is under attack from aliens. Charlie must make difficult decisions to protect his mother and the human race, as he is among the first...

One Thing I Love Today is a daily column dedicated to putting a spotlight on some pop culture item worth your attention. After all, there's enough snark out there. Why not start every day with one quick shotgun blast of positivity? Noah Hawley is a True Believer. There is no reason whatsoever that a television show based on Fargo should work, but after finishing season two of the FX series, I am blown away by what he's accomplished and by the sheer force of his love for Joel and Ethan Coen. Homage and inspiration are similar, but not the exact same things. Homage is fine, but I think you can only go so far with it. Inspiration, though, is something else. Real inspiration is a springboard to something new, something that is genuinely yours. One person looks at something and sees and processes it a certain way, and someone else...

The Affair, Season 2, Episode 11: “211″

Written by Abe Sylvia and Sharr White

Directed by Michael Slovis

The Affair, Season 2, Episode 12: “212″

Written by Sarah Treem

Directed by Jeffrey Reiner

Airs Sundays at 10 pm Et on Showtime

Alison’s discomfort at her life outside of Montauk has been a looming spectre over the second season of The Affair, alongside Scotty’s death, which has cast its shadow over both seasons of the show to date. Both issues see a resolution in the final two episodes of the season, as Alison makes a key move in establishing her independence while the events leading up to Scotty’s death are brought to light in an entertaining finish.

Noah’s storyline over the past two episodes has gone a long way towards making the character a compelling figure for the season. Noah’s betrayal, and his reaction to Alison first dropping out, then buying the Lobster Roll,...

The Affair, Season 2, Episode 9: “209″

Written by David Henry Hwang and Alena Smith

Directed by Jeffrey Reiner

The Affair, Season 2, Episode 10: “210″

Written by Anya Epstein

Directed by Scott Winant

Airs Sundays at 10 pm Et on Showtime

Over the course of the The Affair‘s second season, both Alison and Cole have tried to move on from their marriage, with varying success. While Cole has buried himself in work and tried to separate himself from his family, Alison has attempted to build a lasting relationship with Noah despite some red flags. Over the past two episodes, however, both individuals have made major strides in their respective relationships as well as towards their own happiness. The results have been fascinating to watch as they have unfolded, with a lot of potential avenues for the story to go from here on out.

Alison’s unwillingness to bring Noah into her hospital room,...

Fargo, Season 2, Episode 6, “Rhinoceros”

Written by Noah Hawley

Directed by Jeffrey Reiner

Airs Mondays at 10pm (Et) on FX

In my review of “Before the Law”, I talked about how it felt like Fargo was building towards any number of Western-esque showdowns and while I meant that in mostly physical terms, the psychological warfare being played throughout this second season comes to a head in “Rhinoceros”. An evocative, hauntingly tense hour of standoffs and ultimatums, “Rhinoceros” details the Gerhardt family’s attempts to recover and exact revenge on The Butcher in one single, smooth motion—a motion that goes anything but smoothly, accelerating the show’s eventual descent into chaos.

Of the many impressive creative and technical aspects of Fargo‘s second season, the show’s ability to construct parallels between stories stands out; on most shows, the best episodes are usually the ones where the A, B, and C...

Fargo, Season 2, Episode 5, “The Gift of the Magi”

Written by Matt Wolpert & Ben Nedivi

Directed by Jeffrey Reiner

Airs Mondays at 10pm (Et) on FX

There’s a self-help book called The Secret you’ve probably heard of. Within the bound covers of this temple to bullshit, The Secret tries to explain how powerful the art of manifestation is: If you can conceive it, and commit to believing in it, it will become. Want to push your life forward? Just change the way you think, and you can have it all—or at least that’s what The Secret wants you to think. Watching “The Gift of the Magi”, I couldn’t help but think about Rhonda Byrnes’ monument to nonsense: From Ed to Dodd right up to presidential hopeful Ronald Reagan, “The Gift of the Magi” is all about people trying to manifest a better tomorrow for themselves through the power of their mind,...