We may be living in a golden age of TV, but panning through all the dross to find that gold can be time-consuming and tedious. For every much-discussed hit like Severance, House of the Dragon, and The Bear, there are dozens of new original shows that barely tip the cultural needle. And with so many new streaming services competing with HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Disney Plus, it’s impossible to keep up with everything new to view. But The Verge’s TV section is ready to help. Our news, reviews, and interviews help you find the next Stranger Things or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in time to keep up with the cultural conversation. And our essays and analysis invite you to consider the deeper context of what you’re watching.
The two projects highlight how it takes more than nostalgia to reinvigorate a franchise.
That’s Katie Dippold, creator and showrunner of the horror / comedy hybrid Widow’s Bay, which Apple just confirmed has been renewed. The news comes just ahead of the season 1 finale, which streams on June 17th.
Lionsgate’s partnershuip with Runway seemed to have hit a major snag last fall when the companies couldn’t get their AI model to generate footage suitable to be turned into a full-on movie. And now, they’re reportedly putting more energy into producing “short episodic series using existing Lionsgate IP.”
Still not convinced you need a 3D printer? If you head on over to Printables you’ll find all the model files and instructions you’ll need to turn a standard garden hose nozzle into Curt Turner’s sprayser; a detailed Star Trek phaser replica for blasting begonias instead of the Borg.
This Doctor Who era’s days have long been numbered, and today the BBC confirmed the bad news. Showrunner Russell T Davies is stepping away, the Christmas special has been canceled (and was apparently never even written), and there’s no Who in the works while the BBC hunts for a new production company.
The mayor of Shelbyville, Indiana, potential home of a proposed $2 billion data center, says he only sees signs opposed to the project “in shitty houses.” As ever, there’s a Simpsons quote for that.
SteveBigAndTall:
It’s more of a Springfield idea I guess.
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Recently-fired 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley has some words for the clowns now running CBS. “It would have been so much better if Bari Weiss had been offered this job and said ‘Oh, that’s not for me; I don’t know how to do that,’” he tells the Times. The full interview is worth your attention:
[The New York Times]
Telemundo’s live feed on Peacock will apparently be the first commercial deployment of the efficient Dolby AC-4 codec by a streaming platform, promising immersive stadium sound that shouldn’t overload the network. Peacock will also be streaming the World Cup in 4K and 1080p HDR, according to Dolby spokesperson Andrea Villarreal.
Update and correction: Peacock will stream the games in 4K and 1080p HDR, but won’t offer personalized audio controls as previously stated.
Quilty claims to predict box office success.
Netflix’s next animated series, Dealies, sounds like a weirdo version of Superstore. But it’s especially interesting as its co-creator Joe Bennett was behind both Scavengers Reign and Common Side Effects. No word on when it’ll start streaming.
According to Variety, “Amazon execs were concerned that [Martin] Gero’s take on the series would not have broad appeal beyond the franchise’s already dedicated fanbase.” Gero formerly wrote, produced, and directed episodes of all three of the original Stargate series and was set to lead Amazon’s reboot as writer and showrunner.
That’s true for folks living underground in Silo, Apple TV’s sci-fi series, as you can see in the new trailer. But it’s also true for the show’s creators, who only have two more seasons to wrap-up the sprawling post-apocalyptic story. Season 3 starts streaming on July 3rd.
Following online backlash, Jorge Gutierrez announced that he will no longer be making the AI series Punky Duck:
My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech. My sincerest apology to those I upset. I promise to do better moving forward. Thank you for your patience with me. I will try harder.
Punky Duck was one of three animated AI series set to appear on Prime Video as part of Amazon’s GenAI Creators’ Fund.
That was the case for the previous trailer for season 3 of House of the Dragon, and it’s true for the latest, as well. The Game of Thrones spinoff returns in around a month, premiering on June 21st.
The Apple TV series returns for season 2 next month, and the new trailer makes it clear John Sugar is getting pulled into yet another far-reaching mystery. Interestingly, the trailer barely hints at the show’s sci-fi nature, which — spoiler warning! — you can read about here if you’re curious.
Amazon MGM Studios greenlit three shows as part of its GenAI Creators’ Fund, which gives producers access to the company’s AI filmmaking platform. The projects include Cupcake & Friends from BuzzFeed Studios; Love, Diana Music Hunters from former Nickelodeon exec Albie Hecht; and Punky Duck from animator Jorge R. Gutierrez.
All three shows will debut on Prime Video “at a future date.”
Marvel’s animated throwback X-Men ’97 will be back very soon, streaming on Disney Plus on July 1st. We also got a new trailer to remind you just how dire things are currently for the mutant team.
Spider-Verse aside, it feels like Sony is just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
Variety reports on why early uploads of Stephen Colbert’s post-The Late Show endeavor were pulled, citing copyright complaints from Paramount/CBS. A statement from the company says it was because it financed and produced the episode with Colbert, which was eventually published on his YouTube channel, but it has now “decided to waive further enforcement of this standard industry practice until additional review.”
24 hours after the Late Show’s finale and 11 years after his first guest-hosting appearance on Monroe, Michigan’s public access television station, Colbert took over the show for a second time. He brought along Jack White as his musical director and conducted a delightful interview with the show’s regular hosts, Michelle Baumann and Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson.
It’s been a surprisingly busy week for new releases. Here’s some stuff to check out across film, TV, and gaming:
A satisfying conclusion to a bloody mess of a show.
Catch it on CBS at 11:35PM. The episode has been shrouded in secrecy, but Deadline has some potential spoilers about who makes an appearance.
If you want something fun to watch before the finale airs, check out Colbert’s interview with Jon Stewart from earlier this week. I also strongly recommend this interview Colbert did with People — he seems like a great human being.
There is no war in Ba Sing Se in the new trailer for season two of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series. But there are plenty of action shots showing off how much more intense the elemental bending will be when the season premieres on June 25th.
With Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, there’s a trend brewing on Apple’s streaming service.
Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath will “develop animated series and films exclusively for Netflix, with first-look rights for live action projects,” according to a press release. Their latest film, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, debuted in April.
While the first teaser for HBO’s upcoming Lantern series felt a little to grounded, the new one actually gives us a pretty good look at how Hal Jordan’s superpowers are going to look on the small screen.
It’s time for Josh D’Amaro to lock in.
It’s been a while since we heard anything new about Disney’s Agatha All Along followup, VisionQuest, but Disney has just pegged the series for an October 14th premiere.
The new extended scene from episode 4 of Pluribus doesn’t include any major revelations, but it is an entertaining three minutes of Rhea Seehorn tripping out.
Star Wars is making its long-awaited return to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu next week, but the galaxy far, far away still has a home on streaming. Disney announced that season 2 of Mando spinoff Ahsoka will premiere in early 2027. That’s more than three years removed from when the show debuted.
Clips of Hacks creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, and Paul W. Downs are making the rounds as they promote the (amazing) HBO Max show’s final season. They have a unified message about using AI for creative purposes: “It’s so deeply offensive to me on every level,” says Aniello in an interview at Wired. “The grist and the struggle and the friction, it’s what makes art good,” says Statsky in an On with Kara Swisher appearance.
Prime Video hasn’t mentioned how many episodes its ordered to adapt the Rebecca Yarros dragon-riding romantasy novels that are so widely beloved by BookTok, but Meredith Averill (The Haunting of Hill House, Locke & Key) will serve as showrunner and executive producer. An expected release date also hasn’t been announced yet.
[Amazon MGM Studios]
Mark your calendar for November 11th.
”Season Three takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war, bind all peoples to his will – and at last rule all Middle-earth,” according to a press release.
During NBC Universal’s upfronts presentation, Vin Diesel made a surprise announcement: not only is Fast and Furious coming to TV, it’s somehow getting four different spinoff series. There are no other details right now, but the show will be streaming on Peacock whenever they do come out.
