Ryan Murphy’s latest FX original series, Grotesquerie, will debut on September 25, the second series from the prolific producer to premiere next month on the channel.

The 10-episode horror series stars Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville, Michaela Diamond and Travis Kelce. According to FX, Grotesquerie follows a detective (Nash-Betts) in a small community who feels someone or something is taunting her after a series of heinous crimes that have unsettled the community. “With no leads and unsure of where to turn, she accepts the help of ‘Sister Megan’ (Diamond), a nun and journalist,” FX said. “As Lois and Sister Megan string together clues, they find themselves ensnared in a sinister web that only seems to raise more questions than answers.” 

The series marks the second new Murphy-created series to debut on FX next month, following the September 17 premiere of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.

Grotesquerie is produced by 20th Century Television, with Murphy, Alexis Martin Woodall, Jon Robin Baitz, Joe Baken, Max Winkler, Nash-Betts, Vance, Peter Ligouri, Nissa Diederich, Eric Kovtun and Scott Robertson serving as executive producers. 

FX has greenlit its latest comedy series, Snowflakes, set for a 2025 debut. The series, created by writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Show, follows a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither “good" nor “people” yet, according to FX. 

The series stars Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Owen Thiele. 

Also Read: FX Will Premiere The Old Man Season 2 and American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez in September

Kronengold and Show be executive producers along with Nick Kroll, Alicia Van Couvering, Jonathan Krisel and Stefani Robinson. 

“We are excited about the exceptional cast and powerhouse comedy team we’ve assembled for Snowflakes,” FX Entertainment president Nick Grad said in a statement. “Not only does it give us a chance to introduce our audience to Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw’s brilliant comedic voice, but we also get the opportunity to work again with Nick, Jonathan and Stefani, all incredibly talented veterans of signature FX comedies.” 

Snowflakes is the latest original series from FX, which racked up 93 Emmy nominations earlier this month. The network will launch the comedy series English Teacher in September. 

FX will debut the sixth and final season of its Emmy-nominated comedy series What We Do in the Shadows on October 21.

The series, which last week earned eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations, chronicles the nightly exploits of vampire roommates as they navigate the modern world of Staten Island, according to the network. FX will premiere the first three episodes of the 11-episode sixth season on October 21, said the network. 

The series stars Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak, Mark Proksch, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Guillén and Kristen Schaal. According to FX, the sixth season finds characters Nandor (Novak), Nadja (Demetriou), Laszlo (Berry), Colin (Proksch) and Guillermo (Guillén) entering the workforce, visiting New Hampshire, going to a human dinner party, fêteing The Baron and conjuring a demon — all while trying to find their place and their purpose in this crazy, mixed-up world.

What We Do in the Shadows is executive produced by Paul Simms, Jemaine Clement, Sam Johnson, Sarah Naftalis, Yana Gorskaya, Kyle Newacheck, Taika Waititi, Garret Basch and Eli Bush.

FX’s The Bear and Shōgun dominated the list of shows nominated for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in the comedy and drama categories, respectively.  

The nominations, announced Wednesday morning by actors Tony Hale and Sheryl Lee Ralph alongside Television Academy chairman Cris Abrego, held few surprises, but saw big returns for FX’s lineup of scripted series. 

The Bear, which won for best comedy series at last year’s Emmys — held this past January after being postponed due to the writer's strike — set a record for nominations in comedy categories with 23, beating out the previous record of 22 set by NBC’s 30 Rock in 2009. 

The Bear will compete in its category with two other FX shows, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in The Shadows, as well as HBO/Max’s Hacks and Curb Your Enthusiasm; ABC’s Abbott Elementary; Apple TV Plus’s Palm Royale; and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. 

FX’s freshman series Shōgun was the most-nominated drama series with 25 nominations. Shōgun will battle Netflix’s The Crown and 3 Body Problem; Prime Video’s Fallout and Mr. & Mrs. Smith; HBO’s The Gilded Age; and Apple TV’s The Morning Show and Slow Horses for top honors. 

The Bear stars Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White will look to become repeat Emmy winners. Edebiri, who won last year for best supporting actress, will now compete in the best actress category against last year’s winner Quinton Brunson (Abbott Elementary), as well as Maya Rudolph (Apple TV Plus’ Loot), Jean Smart (Hacks), Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building), and Kristen Wiig (Apple TV Plus' Palm Royale) 

White will defend his title against Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Steve Martin and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building) and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Reservation Dogs).

Emmy Awards winners will be announced September 15 at a ceremony televised live ABC. 

2024 PRIMETIME EMMYS: THE NOMINEES ARE …

Outstanding Drama Series

• 3 Body Problem (Netflix)
• The Crown (Netflix)
• Fallout (Prime Video)
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
• Shōgun (FX)
• Slow Horses (Apple TV Plus)
• The Gilded Age (HBO)
• The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus)
• Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age (HBO)
• Maya Erskine, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
• Anna Sawai, Shōgun (FX)
• Imelda Staunton, The Crown (Netflix)
• Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Idris Elba, Hijack (Apple TV Plus)
• Donald Glover, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
• Walton Goggins, Fallout (Prime Video)
• Gary Oldman, Slow Horses (Apple TV Plus)
• Hiroyuki Sanada, Shōgun (FX)
• Dominic West, The Crown (Netflix)

Outstanding Comedy Series

• Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
• Hacks (HBO)
• Only Murders In the Building (Hulu)
• Palm Royale (Apple TV Plus)
• Reservation Dogs (FX)
• The Bear (FX)
• What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX)
• Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
• Maya Rudolph, Loot (Apple TV Plus)
• Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO)
• Kristen Wiig, Palm Royale (Apple T V Plus)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Matt Berry, What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
• Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
• Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
• Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
• Jeremy Allen White, The Bear (FX)
• D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Reservation Dogs (FX)

Outstanding Talk Series

• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) 
• Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)
• The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
• The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)

Outstanding Reality Competition Program

• RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
• The Amazing Race (CBS)
• Top Chef (Bravo)
• The Voice (NBC)
• The Traitors (Peacock)

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

• Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Fargo (FX)
• Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV Plus)
• Ripley (Netflix)
• True Detective: Night Country (HBO)

Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

• Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
• Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Jon Hamm, Fargo (FX)
• Tom Hollander, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
• Andrew Scott, Ripley (Netflix)

Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

• Jodie Foster, True Detective: Night Country (HBO)
• Brie Larson, Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV Plus)
• Juno Temple, Fargo (HBO)
• Sofía Vergara, Griselda (Netflix)
• Naomi Watts, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)

FX’s freshman drama series Shōgun was the big winner during Friday's 40th annual TCA Awards ceremony, which recognized the best in programming for the 2023-24 TV season, according to the Television Critics Association. 

Shōgun garnered four wins, including Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama, TCA said. Max comedy series Hacks drew two awards wins for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy category, as well as Individual Achievement in Comedy for series star Jean Smart. Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials.

Disney Plus’s Bluey was the only repeat winner, taking home the statuette for the second straight year in the Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming category. 

The TCA also named late actor Andre Braugher as its Career Achievement recipient, and 1990s ABC drama series Twin Peaks as its Heritage Award winner. 

“It was a year of brilliant television, from an epic historical drama to a harrowing documentary,” TCA president Jacqueline Cutler said. “We’re thrilled to honor all who created these shows, often against great odds, as many were worked on during the pandemic and stopped for the strikes. Congratulations to all of the winners.” 

Below is the full list of 2024 TCA Awards winners: 

2024 TCA Awards Winners

• Individual Achievement in Drama: Anna Sawai (Shōgun, FX)
• Individual Achievement in Comedy: Jean Smart (Hacks, HBO/ MAX)
• Outstanding Achievement in News and Information: Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (ID)
• Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming: The Traitors (Peacock)
• Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming: Bluey (Disney Plus) 
• Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming: Doctor Who (Disney Plus)
• Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch: John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA (Netflix)
• Outstanding New Program: Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries, or Specials: Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
• Outstanding Achievement in Drama: Shōgun (FX)
• Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: Hacks (HBO/MAX)
• Program of the Year: Shōgun (FX)
• Career Achievement Honoree: Andre Braugher
• Heritage Award: Twin Peaks

FX has set September 12 for the return of its Emmy-nominated drama series The Old Man and September 17 to premiere its limited series American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.

The Old Man stars Jeff Bridges as former CIA agent Dan Chase and John Lithgow as  former FBI Assistant Director Harold Harper. They join forces to rescue a woman (Alia Shawkat) after she is kidnapped by a powerful Afghan tribal leader (Navid Negahban), FX said. Bridges was nominated in 2023 for best actor Emmy for Season 1 of the series, which aired in 2022.

The first installment of American Sports Story charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the New England Patriots tight end’s identity, family, career, 2017 suicide and his legacy in sports and American culture, FX said. Josh Rivera stars as Hernandez along with Jaylen Barron, Lindsay Mendez, Ean Castellanos, Tammy Blanchard, Tony Yazbeck, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Thomas Sadoski, Jake Cannavale and Norbert Leo Butz.

The Ryan Murphy-created series is also executive produced by Murphy, Stuart Zicherman, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Carl Franklin, Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy, Linda Pizzuti and Ira Napoliello.

Also set to debut in September is comedy series English Teacher, starring Brian Jordan Alvarez as a high school teacher in Austin, Texas who often finds himself at the intersection of the personal, professional and political aspects of working at a high school. The eight-episode series, which debuts September 2, also stars Stephanie Koenig, Sean Patton and Enrico Colantoni.

Debuting September 27 on FX is Social Studies, a character-driven documentary series that FX said delves into the lives of the first generation raised on social media. The five-episode series follows a diverse group of Los Angeles-based teens who offer an intimate glimpse into how social media has reshaped childhood.

AMC’s drama series Parish leads a limited lineup of original shows debuting during the week of Easter.

Parish debuts March 31 and stars veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito as a taxi driver whose dark past is revived after the murder of his son. Also starring in the six-part series are Arica Himmel, Paula Malcomson, and Skeet Ulrich.  

Premiering March 29 is Apple TV Plus' Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces, a documentary film focused on the iconic comedy/actor. Martin Short, Tina Fey and Selena Gomez appear in the two-part profile.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of March 25-31. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

March 27, Dead Hot (comedy), Tubi

March 28, American Rust: Broken Justice (drama), Prime Video

March 28, The Baxters (drama), Prime Video

March 28, We Were The Lucky Ones (drama), Hulu

March 29, Madu (documentary), Disney Plus

March 29, Spermworld (documentary movie), FX

March 29, Renegade Nell (adventure), Disney Plus 

March 31, A Gentleman in Moscow (drama), Showtime

The end of peak TV has finally come as the number of on-air scripted series dropped for the first time in years, FX Content and Productions chairman John Landgraf said Friday during the network’s Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour executive session.

FX, which for years has chronicled the year-to-year increase in scripted shows across linear TV and streaming services, reported that 516 shows were produced in 2023, down from 600 in 2022. The drop ends a decade long streak of increases in the number of original scripted series on TV — the exception being a 7% drop in 2020 due to the pandemic, according to the network.

After incorrectly predicting the fall of scripted programming for years, Landgraf said the production of scripted shows has finally peaked.

“The dual strikes undoubtedly played a role, but the industry shift and drawdown on production was likely underway before the strikes shuttered all production,” he said, adding that the realignment of industry priorities have led to a recent “cancellation of numerous projects.”

Landgraf also said there’s been a 31% year-to-year decrease in the amount of scripted content thus far in 2024.  

Despite the overall industry drop in scripted series, Landgraf said the network will remain aggressive in the development of original programming. Along with its current lineup of scripted series, including Emmy-winning comedy series The Bear, American Horror Story: Vengeance, What We Do in The Shadows, The Old Man and  American Horror Stories. 

New series premiering this year include Shogun, a new adaptation of the James Clavell’s novel set in Japan in the year 1600;  international spy thriller The Veil, starring Elisabeth Moss; NBA-themed series Clipped, about the rise and fall of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling; American Sports Story: Gladiator, based on the life of New England Patriots star Aaron Fernandez; and drama Dying For Sex.

The Walt Disney Co.’s FX and Hulu said they bought a Super Bowl commercial to promote the upcoming series Shogun.

The 30-second Super Bowl spot will direct viewers to go online to view a new 2 1/2-minute trailer for the show.

Disney Advertising was able to sell 30-second Super Bowl spots for about $7 million.

Shogun is adapted from James Clavell’s novel set in Japan in the year 1600.

The 10-episode limited series is scheduled to premiere February 27 on FX and Hulu in the United States. Star Plus will stream the show in Latin America and Disney Plus has it in all other territories. The premiere will include the first two episodes, with a new episode dropping each week afterwards.

Sunday night was a big night for three television shows as HBO’s Succession, FX’s The Bear, and Netflix’s Beef took home the majority of Golden Globe Awards in the television category during the 81st annual ceremony televised January 7. 

Succession, which ended its four season-run last spring, won four Golden Globes, including the award for best drama series, beating out another HBO series, freshman The Last of Us, as well as Netflix shows The Crown and The Diplomat, and Apple TV Plus’s The Morning Show. The show's third best drama series win ties a Golden Globes record also achieved by The X-Files and Mad Men. 

The series also took home statutes in the Best Male Actor category for Kieran Culkin, Best Female Actor for Sarah Snook, and Best Male Supporting Actor category for Matthew Macfadyen.

The Bear won the best comedy series statuette, while series star Jeremy Allen White was a repeat winner in the competitive Best Performance by a Male Actor in a musical or comedy category, besting Barry’s Bill Hader, Shrinking’s Jason Segel, Ted Lasso’s Jason Sudeikis, and Only Murders in the Building’s Martin Short and Steve Martin.

The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri was a surprise winner in a best performance by a female actor in a musical or comedy category that included last year’s winner, Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson, The Great’s Elle Fanning, Poker Face’s Natasha Lyonne, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan and Only Murders in the Building’s Selena Gomez. 

Netflix’s The Beef swept the Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture categories, winning best series, as well as best male and female performances for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, respectively. 

The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki was the only other winner in the traditional Golden Globe television categories, taking home the Best Female Supporting Actor statuette for her role as Princess Diana in the Netflix drama series. Ricky Gervais won the Golden Globe in the newly-created Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television category for his Netflix special Armageddon. 

Comedian Jo Koy hosted The Dick Clark Productions-produced Golden Globes ceremony, which aired on CBS after NBC dropped the show in 2022 due to the show’s former owner, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of diversity and other issues.

Golden Globe Award Winners in the TV Category

• Best Drama Series: Succession (HBO)
• Best Performance by Male Actor in a Drama Series: Kieran Culkin, Succession (HBO)
• Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Sarah Snook, Succession (HBO)
• Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy: The Bear (FX)
• Best Performance by a Male Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jeremy Allen White, The Bear (FX)
• Best Performance by a Female Actor, Musical or Comedy: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX)
• Best Limited, Anthology Series or Motion Picture: Beef (Netflix)
• Best Male Performance in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture: Steven Yeun, Beef (Netflix)
• Best Female Performance in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture: Ali Wong, Beef (Netflix)
• Best Male Supporting Actor: Mathew Macfadyen, Succession (HBO)
• Best Female Supporting Actor: Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown (Netflix)
• Best Performance in a Stand-Up Comedy: Ricky Gervais, Armageddon (Netflix)

Season five of Fargo is here, with Jon Hamm, Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the cast. It is set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019, and Temple’s housewife character Dot is in a bit of trouble. 

Hamm’s Roy Tillman is a North Dakota sheriff who is searching for Dot. FX describes Tillman as “a rancher, preacher and a constitutional lawman” who “believes that he is the law and therefore is above the law.” 

Two episodes are on FX November 21 and then Hulu November 22. 

Hamm, who of course played Don Draper on Mad Men, told B+C he was a fan of the Fargo movie, which came out in 1996, and was “skeptical” that showrunner and director Noah Hawley could successfully adapt it into a TV series. “But I was wildly pleased when I saw the first season, and then over the moon when I saw what they had done with subsequent seasons,” Hamm said. “I was tremendously happy to be asked to be in this one.”

Tillman “quickly establishes himself as a major force in this season’s story,” Hamm said. “He’s a very particular, very powerful, very scary character, so it was fun to play.”

Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, portrays Tillman’s feckless son Gator. Sam Spruell plays Ole Munch, a shady drifter that Tillman enlists to help find Dot. David Rysdahl plays her husband Wayne. Jennifer Jason Leigh is Wayne’s mother, the CEO of a debt collection agency and a bit of a crime boss. 

Temple, an English actress who plays Keeley Jones in Ted Lasso, mentioned the countless dialect sessions she had with Fargo’s speech coach to get the upper Midwest accent just right. She mentioned the show representing “one of the greatest challenges for an actor to be asked to be part of,” and how its unique tone, that peculiar mix of horror and comedy, “literally titillates every aspect of being an actor.”

Temple would stay in the dialect in between takes on the set. “If you make mistakes, you get used to it, so you don’t actually ruin the take,” she said. 

Leigh described shooting the show as “such a great ride, and you never know where you’re going or where you’ll end up. But you know you’ll be surprised … and so entertained.” 

Fargo shot in Calgary. Hamm called the setting “absolutely stunning,” and quite cold. 

The actors were excited to work with Hawley. “I put my faith very much in him when it comes time to do something like this,” Hamm said. “I know he’ll treat not only the character but the story and the season and the show with the utmost care. He’ll come at the story and the whole process from a tremendously creative place.”

Temple likened working with Hawley to being asked to sit in the front row for a lecture by her favorite professor. “It’s both intimidating and one of the thrills of a lifetime,” she said. 

Temple mentioned incredibly precise direction from Hawley. Leigh spoke of his knack for using every available tool to enhance his storytelling, from tweaking the scripts to knowing exactly where to place the camera. 

“You just know you’re in such good hands and you can’t wait to see it,” Leigh said. “He has such good insights into every character and the tone is so specific.”

Season five reviews look pretty positive. The Los Angeles Times said: “Every season sings in its own key, builds up its own nest of details. Three-fifths of the way in, the story feels comparatively conventional, notwithstanding that medieval flashback. But with four hours left to go — two whole Fargo movies — there are certainly surprises ahead, twists around corners hidden behind corners. Things will probably get crazy, and I’m eager to see it.”

Variety said: “Fargo is a testament to the value of creativity within constraints, reworking a 27-year-old movie into a living text. It’s an experiment that works better when it doesn’t explicitly argue for its own continued relevance.” 

Fargo has some things to say about the current state of affairs in America. Rolling Stone refers to Hamm’s character as a “MAGA Sheriff.” For his part, Hamm likened him to “some of the people we see on TV quite a bit.” He said of Tillman, “At the end of the day, if you decide to take the law into your own hands that’s probably not going to be sustainable.”

The actors said Fargo once again delivers in terms of being unpredictable. “We’re constantly learning things and being surprised by every character in every chapter of Fargo,” Leigh said. “The character you might be the most horrified by, or like the most–then you suddenly realize, who have I been identifying with all this time?”

Hamm said: “There’s always something unexpected when you tune in. … Expect something that’s going to be creative and enjoyable and entertaining.”

FX will step into the classroom with a new comedy series starring Brian Jordan Alvarez.

The series, English Teacher, follows a high school teacher trying to balance the competing demands of the students and their parents in a world where the rules seem to change everyday, according to the network.

Along with Alvarez, English Teacher stars Stephanie Koenig, Enrico Colantoni and Sean Patton. 

“Brian is an incredibly talented writer, actor and creator who has fully delivered on his vision for English Teacher,” said FX Entertainment president Nick Grad in a statement. “Together with a creative team featuring Paul Simms and Jonathan Krisel, along with this brilliant cast, they have created a hilarious, original comedy that is fresh, engaging and fun.”

The series is produced by FX Productions and executive produced by Alvarez, Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel and Dave King.  

FX's English Teacher announcement comes on the heels of its move to renew original series Welcome to Wrexham and The Bear. 

FX has greenlit a third season of its documentary series Welcome to Wrexham on the eve of the series’ season-two finale. 

The Emmy-nominated series chronicles the efforts of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to return the Wrexham football team to glory, said FX. The series, which ends its second season tonight (November 14), tracks the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, as the two Hollywood stars guide the future of the town’s historic football club, according to the network. 

The series drew six 2023 Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. 

“The wild global success of Welcome to Wrexham is a testament to the courage and vision of Rob and Ryan, the dogged spirit of the Red Dragons, and the hope and devotion of the people of Wrexham,” FX Entertainment president Nick Grad said in a statement. “It’s a story that has only begun to be told and one that everyone can continue to follow along with in the third season. Our thanks to the creative team who captured these thrilling moments and everyone who achieved what seemed impossible only a short time ago.”

Welcome to Wrexham is executive produced by McElhenney, Reynolds, Josh Drisko, Bryan Rowland, Jeff Luini, Nick Frenkel, George Dewey and Boardwalk Pictures’ Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma and Jordan Wynn.  

FX announced it will dish out a third season of its Emmy-nominated comedy series The Bear in 2024.

The Bear, which stars Jeremy Allen White as a chef who transforms a family sandwich business into a high-end restaurant, launched its second season this past June. The series is currently nominated for 13 Emmy awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series.  

"The Bear, which wowed audiences in its first season only to achieve even greater heights in season two, has become a cultural phenomenon,” FX Entertainment president Nick Grad said in a statement. "We’re so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. We and our partners at Hulu join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of The Bear.”

The Bear is executive produced by Calo, Senior, Storer, Hiro Murai and Matty Matheson. 

After competing against each other this past spring, the XFL and the USFL will combine to create one spring football league that hopes to take the field in 2024. 

The USFL and XFL announced Thursday their intent on merging, subject to customary regulatory approvals. "This historic combination will anchor professional spring football with the substantial capabilities and resources to ensure future growth and continue to enhance the development of the collective players, coaches, and staff that are coming together," the entities said in a joint statement. 

The eight-team XFL league, owned actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Danny Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners, launched its inaugural season this Spring, while the the eight-team USFL -- owned by Fox Corp. --  completed its second season this past May. 

Details regarding the new league -- including when it will begin play, and who will televise the games -- will be announced at a later date. Fox and NBC held the television rights to USFL games, while ABC, ESPN and FX aired XFL games.

The combined league will look to solidify what to date has been a spotty history of spring football in the U.S. The USFL re-launched in 2022 after a previous iteration of the league failed three decades earlier. The XFL initially launched in 2001 as a collaboration between the WWE and NBC before shutting down after one season. The WWE's Vince McMahon resurrected the league in 2020 but shut down operations in the middle of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

FX will bring back Emmy-winning shows American Horror Story in September and Fargo in November as part of its fall original programming slate.

American Horror Story: Delicate, the 12th installment of the Ryan Murphy-created American Horror Story anthology series, will debut September 20. The season will be divided into two parts, FX said, with the four-part first season running through October and the second part debuting in 2024. 

The fifth season of anthology series Fargo will debut on November 21 and will be set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019. The series will star Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Joe Keery, Sam Spruell and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Series creator Noah Hawley will serve as executive producer for Fargo along with Warren Littlefield, Steve Stark, Kim Todd and Joel and Ethan Coen. 

Also on FX’s fall docket is the October 26 return of American Horror Story spinoff series American Horror Stories, which will stream on Hulu. Also premiering on Hulu is  A Murder at the End of the World, which will debut its seven-episode season on November 14. The mystery series stars Emma Corrin, Brit Marling, Harris Dickinson, Alice Braga, Joan Chen and Clive Owen.

On the unscripted front, FX will debut The New York Times Presents: “How to Fix A Pageant” on September 29, according to the network. 

Season three of FX comedy Reservation Dogs premieres on Hulu August 2. The season, which is the final one, sees the Rez Dogs group of friends stranded in California and trying to figure out how to get home. 

The show is about four Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma. Devery Jacobs plays Elora, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai portrays Bear, Paulina Alexis plays Willie Jack and Lane Factor is Cheese. Season two saw the foursome stealing and scrounging to get cash for a move to California as they deal with the suicide of a close friend.  

After they get home in season three, Elora thinks about college, Bear interacts with a conspiracy theorist, Willie Jack aims to heal her community and Cheese moves back in with his “grandmother.” 

“Season three is full of road trips, bathroom wisdom, unexpected fathers, boarding schools, Bigfoot, rumors, revenge and healing,” FX said. 

Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi created the show, which is filmed in Oklahoma. They executive produce with Garrett Basch. 

Critics adore Reservation Dogs. A review in Variety said the show “goes out on a high note.” 

The Hollywood Reporter called the final season “a spirited and deeply felt homestretch.”

Newsday called the show “an overlooked TV gem.”

Entertainment Weekly, for its part, said, “It's too early to say goodbye to this little marvel of a show; there will be plenty of time for tears in September when the final season wraps. Reservation Dogs is happening now, and it's a blessing.”

FX said when the final season was announced: “People throw around the words historic and groundbreaking far too often and without merit: Reservation Dogs is worthy of those superlatives. Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi created one of the most important TV shows ever made. They gave the world a wholly unique, original and honest portrayal of Native people — one that has never before been seen in television or film.”

FX’s Reservation Dogs and Apple TV Plus’s Physical are among several series returning to television with new seasons during the first week of August.

Reservation Dogs on August 2 will launch its third and final season on Hulu. The Taika Waititi-produced series, which follows the lives of four teenagers in rural Oklahoma, is the first TV series to feature all indigenous writers and directors. Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paula Alexis, and Zahn McClarnon. 

Apple TV Plus's Physical is also launching its third and final season on August 2. The series stars Rose Byrne as an insecure 1980s housewife who decides to make her own way through the world of aerobics. Zooey Deschanel joins the Physical cast that also features Rory Scovel and Diedre Friel.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 31-August 6. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 31: Breeders (returning series), FX

August 3: Heartstopper (returning series), Netflix

August 3: The Lincoln Lawyer (returning series), Netflix

August 4: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (drama), Prime Video 

August 6: The Chi (returning series), Showtime

August 6: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (returning series), HBO

Season two of docuseries Welcome to Wrexham starts on FX Tuesday, September 12, and episodes stream the next day on Hulu. The show is about the Welsh soccer team Wrexham, which is owned by American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. 

The long-struggling squad, representing a working-class city in Wales, has been mired in the lower levels of U.K. soccer for several years. Season one saw Reynolds and McElhenney spend substantially to improve the field and stadium, and the team itself, in terms of standout players and a veteran manager. Improvement on the pitch happened as the season wound down, with the team making the playoffs. But Wrexham remained in the National League, the fifth tier of English soccer, where it played for the past 15 years. 

But Wrexham won the league in April, and its victorious run will be depicted in season two. The club moves up next season to League Two of the English Football League. 

Wrexham is currently touring the U.S., facing off against both U.S. clubs and premiere English teams. Wrexham plays Manchester United in San Diego July 26 and Philadelphia Union II outside Philadelphia July 29. 

Reynolds and McElhenney acquired the Wrexham club in 2020. Reynolds’s film credits include Deadpool and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. McElhenney plays Mac on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. 

“From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, Welcome to Wrexham follows Rob and Ryan’s stewardship and the inextricably connected fates of a team and a town in the midst of history in the making,” FX said. 

Welcome to Wrexham got six Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Unstructured Reality Series. 

The show is executive produced by McElhenney, Reynolds, Josh Drisko, Bryan Rowland, Jeff Luini, Nick Frenkel, George Dewey and Boardwalk Pictures’ Andrew Fried, Alan Bloom, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma and Jordan Wynn. It is produced by Boardwalk Pictures.

The return of FX’s drama series Justified highlights the list of original series debuting this week

Justified: City Primeval debuts July 18 and returns Timothy Olyphant to the role of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. The series, an extension of the Justified drama series that ran on FX from 2010-2015, follows Givens as he travels to Detroit to pursue an elusive killer, according to the network. 

Debuting July 23 is Paramount Plus’ Special Ops: Lioness, a new drama from prolific series creator Taylor Sheridan. The military-themed series stars Zoe Saldana, Laysla De Oliveira, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 17-23. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 19, The Deepest Breath (documentary), Netflix

July 19, Kalvin Phillips: The Road to City (sports documentary), Prime Video

July 20, Superpowered: The DC Story (documentary series), Max

July 20, Tacoma FD (returning series), truTV

July 21, Minx (returning series), Starz

July 21, Praise Petey (animation), Freeform

July 21, The Cloned Tyrone (movie), Netflix

FX’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series What We Do In The Shadows leads a busy week of cable and streaming-based show premieres this week.

Season five of the mockumentary about the lives of a group of vampires living together in Staten Island, New York, starts July 13. FX will debut the season’s first two episodes on July 13.

Netflix sports reality series Quarterback debuts July 12, and follows the exploits of National Football League signal-callers Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota during the 2022-23 NFL season.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 10-16. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 10: Miracle Workers: End Times (returning series), TBS

July 11: Betrayal: The Perfect Husband (true crime docuseries), Hulu

July 12: The Afterparty (returning series), Apple TV Plus

July 13: Full Circle (drama), Max

July 13: Project Greenlight (reality), Max

July 13: Survival of the Thickest (comedy), Netflix

July 14: Bird Box Barcelona (horror movie), Netflix

July 14: Foundation (returning series), Apple TV Plus

July 14: The Summer I Turned Pretty (returning series), Prime Video

July 16: Goliath (sports documentary), Showtime

FX, Hulu, ABC’s owned stations, their parent The Walt Disney Co. and FX/Hulu series The Bear are teaming up to fight hunger and food insecurity. They are collaborating with Food Bank for New York City, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and the Greater Chicago Food Depository to donate approximately 450,000 meals to children and families in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, where the show is set and produced. 

ABC’s owned stations in those markets, WABC New York, KABC Los Angeles and WLS Chicago, will broadcast coverage and provide information on food insecurity, as will Good Morning America. 

“Feeding America and their incredible network of food banks do such important work each and every day providing hunger relief to children and families in need,” Debra OConnell, president, networks and television business operations, Disney Entertainment Television, said. “It is an honor for us to create a special connection between them in our top ABC Owned Station markets and the immensely talented cast and crew of FX’s The Bear on Hulu to help support and shine a light on an issue that impacts so many children every summer.” 

Season two of The Bear, about a chef transforming his late brother’s grimy Chicago sandwich place into a high-end restaurant, premiered on Hulu June 22. 

“Giving back to the communities where we work and live is so meaningful to everyone associated with The Bear,” said Josh Senior, executive producer on The Bear. “We’re grateful to FX, Hulu, ABC’s Owned Television Stations and Disney for their support of this effort. We hope it will create more attention and awareness about the serious issue of summer hunger, and engage more people in the cause to help people in need.”

According to Feeding America, an estimated 22 million children receive their breakfast or lunch through school programs, and many have trouble finding proper meals and nutrition when school is not in session.  

“Summer can mean up to 90 days without school meals for children facing hunger,”  Lauren Biedron, senior VP of corporate partnerships at Feeding America, said. “We are thankful for The Bear producers, FX, Hulu and Disney for cooking up a wonderful opportunity to help us raise awareness of Summer Hunger and to help provide more meals to our neighbors in need.”

Disney said $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local partner food banks. 

HBO and streaming service Max — led by shows Succession and The Last of Us — drew the most nominations for 2023 TCA Awards, the Television Critics Association said Friday.

HBO and Max garnered a combined 20 nominations for the TCA Awards — which spotlight exceptional performances, series, creators, and stars spanning across all genres and platforms — to lead all distributors, according to the TCA, which represents more than 200 journalists who cover television for publications across the U.S. and Canada.

FX finished second with 10 nominations, followed by Disney Plus and Peacock, with nine nods each. 

HBO’s Succession and The Last of Us earned an industry-high five nominations each, tied with FX's The Bear. ABC series Abbott Elementary and Peacock’s Poker Face tied with four nominations.

Abbott Elementary will look to repeat in the category of Outstanding Comedy series as it competes with HBO’s Barry and Max’s The Other Two, as well as FX's Reservation Dogs and What We Do In The Shadows; Peacock's Poker Face; and Apple TV Plus's Shrinking. 

In the Outstanding Drama category, Succession will also look to repeat last year's win against 2019 category winner, Better Call Saul (AMC), as well as Disney Plus’s Andor, HBO/Max's The White Lotus and The Last of Us; Paramount Plus’s The Good Fight; AMC's Interview With the Vampire and Showtime’s Yellowjackets.

 “The 2023 nominees for the TCA Awards boast an eclectic lineup from across the entertainment spectrum,” TCA President and TV Critic for Salon.com Melanie McFarland said in a statement. “This season truly had something for everyone — from innovative comedies and gripping dramas, to immersive documentaries and refreshingly cerebral storytelling set in a galaxy far, far away. I am eager to see which stars and series our members have chosen to honor when the winners are revealed.”

Winners for the 39th annual TCA Awards will be announced August 7. Below is a complete list of nominations.

Outstanding Achievement in News or Information

• 30 for 30 — ESPN
• Free Chol Soo Lee — PBS
• Frontline – PBS (eight-time winner in category)
• Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? — Netflix
• Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence — Hulu
• Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi — Hulu
• The 1619 Project — Hulu
• The U.S. and the Holocaust — PBS

Outstanding Achievement in Reality

• Couples Therapy — Showtime (2021 Winner in Category)
• Jury Duty — Amazon Freevee
• RuPaul’s Drag Race — MTV (2014 Winner in Category)
• The Rehearsal — HBO | Max
• The Traitors — Peacock
• Top Chef — Bravo
• Vanderpump Rules — Bravo
• Welcome to Wrexham — FX

Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming

• Alma’s Way — PBS Kids
• Bluey — Disney Plus
• Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood — PBS Kids (2016 Winner in Youth Category)
• Donkey Hodie — PBS Kids
• Eva the Owlet – Apple TV Plus
• Molly of Denali — PBS Kids (2020 Winner in Youth Category)
• Ridley Jones — Netflix
• Sesame Street — HBO | Max (2018, 2011 & 2001 Winner in Youth Category)
• Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures — Disney Junior/Disney Plus

Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming

• American Born Chinese — Disney Plus
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series — Disney Plus
• Jane — Apple TV Plus
• Love, Victor — Hulu
• Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur — Disney Channel
• Ms. Marvel — Disney Plus
• Never Have I Ever — Netflix
• Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount Plus
• The Mysterious Benedict Society — Disney Plus

Outstanding New Program

• Andor — Disney Plus
• Interview with the Vampire — AMC
• Jury Duty — Amazon Freevee
• Mrs. Davis — Peacock
• Poker Face — Peacock
• Shrinking — Apple TV Plus
• The Bear — FX
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials

• A Small Light — National Geographic
• Beef — Netflix
• Black Bird — Apple TV Plus
• Daisy Jones & The Six — Prime Video
• Fleishman Is in Trouble — FX
• Mrs. Davis — Peacock
• The Patient — FX
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story — The Roku Channel

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

• Andor — Disney Plus
• Better Call Saul — AMC (2019 Winner in Category)
• Interview with the Vampire — AMC
• Succession – HBO | Max (2022 & 2020 Winner in Category)
• The Good Fight — Paramount Plus 
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max
• The White Lotus — HBO | Max
• Yellowjackets — Showtime

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

• Abbott Elementary — ABC (2022 Winner in Category)
• Barry — HBO | Max
• Poker Face — Peacock
• Reservation Dogs — FX
• Shrinking — Apple TV Plus 
• The Bear — FX
• The Other Two — HBO | Max
• What We Do in the Shadows — FX

Program of the Year

• Abbott Elementary — ABC (2022 Winner in Category)
• Andor — Disney Plus
• Better Call Saul — AMC
• Poker Face – Peacock
• Succession — HBO | Max
• The Bear — FX
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max
• The Other Two — HBO | Max
• The White Lotus — HBO | Max

Oustanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch

• The Amber Ruffin Show — Peacock
• A Black Lady Sketch Show — HBO | Max (2020 Winner in Category)
• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson – Netflix (2022 Winner in Category)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — HBO | Max (2021, 2019 & 2018 Winner in Category, and 2015 winner in News & Information)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — NBC
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — CBS
• Saturday Night Live — NBC
• Ziwe — Showtime

FX will end its Hulu-distributed dramedy series Reservation Dogs after its upcoming third season debuting in August, the network said Thursday (June 29).

The series, the first to feature an all-Indigenous group writers and directors, follows four teenagers in rural Oklahoma who look to achieve their dream of moving to California by any means necessary. 

Series co-creator Sterlin Harjo first revealed that season three would be the final season of Reservation Dogs in a Thursday-morning Instagram post. “The third season of Reservation Dogs will be the final season,” he said. “That’s a difficult line to write and a more difficult decision to make. However, it’s the correct decision creatively for the show.” 

FX also released a statement, saying that it’s “difficult to say goodbye to these incredible characters and to an award-winning series … that said, we support Sterlin and [co-creator Taika Waititi’s] decision to end the series in a way that will cement its legacy.” 

Reservation Dogs stars Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paula Alexis and Zahn McClarnon. 

Executive producers for the series include Harjo, Waititi and Garrett Basch.

FX’s full statement regarding Reservation Dogs reads as follows:

“People throw around the words historic and groundbreaking far too often and without merit: Reservation Dogs is worthy of those superlatives.  Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi created one of the most important TV shows ever made. They gave the world a wholly unique, original, and honest portrayal of Native people — one that has never before been seen in television or film.

“It’s difficult to say goodbye to these indelible characters and to an award-winning series that The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Variety and Vulture named The Best Show of 2022. That said, we support Sterlin and Taika’s decision to end the series in a way that will cement its legacy.

“We, along with our partners at Hulu, are forever grateful to the producers, writers, directors, cast, crew and the Native land and communities in eastern Oklahoma who collaborated to make this masterpiece. While we’re sad to see the show come to an end, we’re excited for Sterlin, Taika and Garrett Basch to continue to tell stories for FX. And Rez Dogs fans, we hope you share our excitement and anticipation for the coming season.” 

Rock band R.E.M. and FX series The Bear have partnered on a music video for the R.E.M. song “Strange Currencies,” which combines footage from the band’s Road Movie, which documented their 1995 tour, and clips and behind-the-scenes footage from season two of The Bear, which premiered on Hulu June 22. 

The song, from the 1995 album Monster, was featured in the season two trailer. Multiple versions of the song appear in season two, including the 1994 original, a 2019 remix and a demo of “Strange Currencies” that has not been released before. A digital single for the song, about a lovelorn person trying to win over a mysterious crush, debuted on digital platforms this month. 

R.E.M. tracks have appeared in The Bear before, including “Oh My Heart” closing out episode three from season one and “Half a World Away” in the season two finale. 

The Bear creator Christopher Storer and executive producer Josh Senior are fans of the band. 

The band is a fan of the show as well. “The Bear is hands down my favorite show of last year — I cannot wait to dive into episodes for season two,” R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe said. “Having incorporated R.E.M. songs into their universe makes it even sweeter.”  

FX Productions produces The Bear. 

Forming in Athens, Georgia in 1980, R.E.M. has released 15 studio albums and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Bassist Mike Mills said, “I’m so glad The Bear exists. It has become one of my favorite TV shows, and I can’t wait to watch more of it.”

FX will debut the fourth and final season of its parenthood-themed comedy series Breeders on July 31.

The 10-episode fourth season will bring back series stars Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard as troubled married couple Paul and Ally, who struggle to navigate the ups and downs of marriage and parenthood. The fourth season picks up five years after the end of season three, with Paul and Ally on the verge of splitting up while dealing with family-altering challenges brought by their children, according to the network.

Breeders also stars Alun Armstrong, Joanna Bacon, Oscar Kennedy and Zoe Athena.  

The series is executive produced by Freeman, Simon Blackwell, Chris Addison, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, David Martin, Toby Welch and Michael Eiggs.  

FX will debut the two episodes on July 31, with new episodes available each subsequent week, according to the network.

TV’s most claustrophobic series is back, as season two of The Bear is on Hulu. Season one was all about Carmy, played by Jeremy Allen White, trying to keep his late brother’s grubby sandwich joint afloat, and season two is about stripping The Original Beef down to the studs and putting an upscale restaurant in its place.

While the anxiety of season one was all about the sandwich spot’s workers doing their thing in the tight kitchen space, starved for fresh air, season two gets them outside a bit. Sydney spends some time with her father, who is loving but dubious about her career goals. Carmy meets up with a woman from his childhood neighborhood, which seems to cause a hint of a spark. Tina and Ebra get trained at culinary school. 

The pressure of feeding hundreds of hungry customers in a kitchen that’s falling apart drove season one, and the stress of getting a top-shelf restaurant open in a matter of months — the escalating costs, the crippling bureaucracy, the new menu — fuels the new season. Nobody delivers stress better than Richie, portrayed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, as he struggles to find his true purpose in a white-tablecloth eatery that fits better with the ambitions of Carmy and Sydney than his own. 

Scenes between Carmy and Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, getting to know each other better as they sort out the new menu, are riveting. Contemplating the herculean task that awaits them, an exasperated Sydney, wholly focused on attaining a Michelin star for the new place, says in the first episode, “This is a terrible idea.”

Carmy’s sister Natalie, played by Abby Elliott, has joined the restaurant staff as the operations manager, and the character known as “Mom” is keeping a secret from her co-workers and family members. Chicago again plays a starring role in The Bear, the city sparkling in B-roll footage of the El, the Willis Tower, the Chicago River, and showing its grime as the camera zeroes in on The Beef. A litany of vintage rock songs–REM, Counting Crows, Chicago’s own Wilco–provides the musical backdrop. 

The season two premiere is entitled “Beef” and the second episode is “Pasta.” Other episodes bear the titles “Sundae,” “Fishes” and “Bolognese.” Season two has 10 episodes, most bearing a name one can sink one’s teeth into (and all streaming at once). 

FX’s The Bear is listed as a comedy, but that’s due to its 30-minute run time more than its humor. There are cringey laughs here and there, but the show is much more about stress and how humans handle extreme levels of it. Delightful season two offers tons of agita, and some welcoming peeks at the characters’ lives outside the restaurant as it transforms from The Beef to The Bear. 

The debut of History's limited series FDR along with the premiere of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first scripted TV series lead the list of original content premiering on streaming services and cable networks during the week leading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.  

History's three-episode series, FDR, debuts May 29 and provides a portrait of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he led the U.S. through the Great Depression and World War II while dealing with his own personal fight with polio, according to the network. Co-produced  by Bradley Cooper, the series is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin Leadership: In Turbulent Times.  

Netflix on May 25 will debut drama/comedy series Fubar, starring Schwarzenegger as a CIA operative who, on the verge of retirement, discovers that his daughter also works for the agency. The two are paired together for one last undercover mission, according to Netflix. Monica Barbaro, Milan Carter, Gabriel Luna and Fortune Feimster also star in the eight-episode series.

Also this week, FX will debut the fifth and final season of its Sons of Anarchy biker spinoff drama Mayans M.C. on May 24. The series stars JD Pardo as Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes who runs the Mayans M.C. charter on the California-Mexico border, according to the network. JR Bourne, Danny Pino and Michael Irby also star in the series.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of May 22-29 (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

May 23, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (animation), Max

May 23, How to Create a Sex Scandal (documentary), Max

May 24, American Born Chinese (drama), Disney Plus

May 24, Platonic (comedy), Apple TV Plus

May 25, The Kardashians (returning series), Hulu

May 26, Being Mary Tyler Moore (documentary), HBO

May 26, Run The World (returning series), Starz

FX will debut the second season of its comedy series The Bear June 22 on Hulu.

The award-winning series stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmen Berzatto, a young chef who returns to his home to run his family’s sandwich shop after the death of one of his relatives, according to FX. The 10-episode second season finds Carmen along with his partners trying to transform the grimy sandwich joint into a "next-level" spot. 

Season one of The Bear earned a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics’ Choice Award for White in the comedy acting category. The series also stars Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliot, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colon-Zayas and Matty Matheson. 

Also: FX Sets May Premiere Date for ‘Class of ‘09’ Series

The Bear is executive produced by Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Hiro Murai, Josh Senior and Matty Matheson.

Two science fiction-themed original series highlight the list of show premieres launching this week on cable networks and streamers. 

MGM Plus’s sophomore series From debuts April 23 and continues to follow the lives of residents trapped in a small town who are forced to survive monstrous threats from the surrounding forest, according to network officials. The series stars Harold Perrineau, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Eion Bailey, and Elizabeth Saunders.

Peacock on April 20 debuts Mrs. Davis, a drama series starring Betty Gilpin as a nun who relies on her faith to battle an artificial intelligence threat, according to the streamer. The eight-episode series also stars Jack McDorman and Margo Martindale.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of April 17-23 on cable networks and streaming services. (For some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

April 20 – The Diplomat (drama) – Netflix

April 20 – Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (returning series) – Paramount Plus

April 20 – Quasi (comedy) – Hulu

April 21 – Dead Ringers (drama) – Prime Video

April 21 – Drops of God (drama) – Apple TV Plus

April 21 – Dear Mama (documentary) – FX

April 21 – Ghosted (movie) – Apple TV Plus

April 21 – Judy Blume Forever (documentary) – Prime Video

April 23 – Somebody Somewhere (returning series) – HBO

FX examines the evolution of the U.S. criminal justice system amid the rise of artificial intelligence in its new drama series Class of ‘09, slated to premiere on FX on Hulu May 10.

The eight-part series follows a class of FBI agents set in three distinct points in time who grapple with immense changes as the U.S. criminal justice system is altered by artificial intelligence, according to the network. 

The series, which stars Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara, spans multiple decades as it “examines the nature of justice, humanity and the choices we make that ultimately define our lives and legacy,” FX said. Along with Henry and Mara, Sepideh Moafi, Brian Smith, Jon Jon Briones, Brook Smith, Jake McDorman and Rosalind Eleazar also star in the series.

Class of ‘09 is executive produced by Tom Rob Smith along with Nia Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Zanne Devine, Jessica Levin and Joe Robert Cole.

Hulu will stream the first two episodes of the series on May 10. 

FX will debut the fifth and final season of its biker drama series Mayans M.C. on May 24. 

The Sons of Anarchy spinoff stars JD Pardo as Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes, who runs the Mayans M.C. charter on the California-Mexico border. According to FX, EZ has now risen to lead his brother Angel and the Santo Padre M.C. in a bloody war against their rival Sons of Anarchy. Defending the California territory and patch begins to claim lives within the club and causes strain between EZ and Angel, said the network. 

Along with Pardo, JR Bourne, Danny Pino, Carla Baratta, Michael Irby, Emilio Rivera, Sarah Bolger, Frankie Loyal, Joseph Lucero, Vincent Vargas, Gino Vento, Emily Tosta and Vanessa Giselle also star in the series. 

Mayans M.C. is executive produced by Elgin James and Kurt Sutter. ■ 

The March Madness college basketball tournament enters its elite-eight round this weekend as part of the busy lineup of live sports events airing on broadcast and cable networks.

The NCAA Men’s college basketball tournament action begins Saturday on TBS with Fla. Atlantic facing Kansas State and UConn battling Gonzaga. Sunday’s action will pit the winners of Friday night’s San Diego State-Alabama and Princeton-Creighton  games in one elite eight matchup, and the winners of the Miami-Houston and Xavier-Texas games in the other contest.

In other sports, Showtime on Saturday will offer a pay-per-view boxing fight card featuring the super middleweight bout between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant. In the octagon, ESPN will air a Saturday afternoon UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event bout between bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. 

On the racetrack, Fox on Sunday will televise the NASCAR Cup EchoPark Grand Prix auto racing event. On the ice, ABC on Saturday will televise live the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game.

On the football field, the XFL enters week six with three games, including ABC’s Saturday Seattle Sea Dragons-Orlando Guardians and Sunday San Antonio Brahmas-Arlington Renegades telecasts, as well as FX’s Saturday St. Louis Battlehawks-Vegas Vipers game. 

The National Women’s Soccer League kicks off its 2023 season Saturday on CBSSN, which will air the Chicago Red Stars-San Diego Wave FC. ■ 

Hit FX dramedy The Bear, with Jeremy Allen White as a high-profile chef who returns to Chicago to take over his deceased brother’s dusty sandwich joint, will debut season two on Hulu in June. A commercial that aired during the Oscars revealed the start date, and showed the sandwich place, known as The Original Beef of Chicagoland, being taken apart as main character Carmy plots a high-end restaurant in the space. “Via Chicago,” from the Chicago band Wilco, plays. 

“It’s not a reopening, it’s a rebirth,” said @TheBearFX on Hulu. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas are also in the cast. 

“A world away from what he’s used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing realities of small-business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother’s suicide,” goes the show description on FX. “The Bear is about food, family, the insanity of the grind, the beauty of Sense of Urgency and the steep slippery downsides.”

The Bear was created by Christopher Storer, who executive produces with Joanna Calo, Hiro Murai and Nate Matteson of Super Frog and Josh Senior. The series is produced by FX Productions.

Season one was a hit. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone called The Bear “the most stressful thing on TV right now. It’s also great.” ■

This weekend’s lineup of live TV sports telecasts begins on the baseball field as the World Baseball Classic continues with games on Saturday and Sunday.

Team USA will take the field for the international baseball tournament on Saturday against Great Britain on Fox and on Sunday against Mexico on FS1. Overall Fox, FS1 and FS2 will air 15 World Baseball Classic games over the weekend. 

Also: Fox Sports Steps to the Plate with World Baseball Classic Coverage

On the NBA court, ABC on Saturday will air a primetime game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors, and ESPN on Sunday will televise the N.Y. Knicks-L.A. Lakers contest. 

On the racetrack, Fox on Sunday will air the NASCAR Cup United Rentals Work United 500 race. On the ice, ABC on Saturday will televise the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins game, while on Sunday TNT will air the N.Y. Rangers-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup.

March Madness will officially kick off Sunday with CBS’ live airing of the NCAA Men’s college basketball tournament selection show, and ESPN’s live telecast of the Women’s college basketball tournament selection show. 

The XFL tees up week four of its inaugural pro football season Saturday with an FX doubleheader featuring the Houston Roughnecks-Orlando Guardians and San Antonio Brahmas-Seattle Sea Dragons games. On Sunday, ESPN2 will air the Arlington Renegades-St. Louis Battlehawks and the Vegas Vipers-D.C. Defenders contests.

On the soccer field, Peacock and USA will air nine Premier League soccer games over the weekend. In the ring, Showtime will air the Tim Tszu-Tony Harrison junior middleweight title fight.■ 

Under the austerity of CEO David Zaslav and his management team, it seems like it's pretty tough to get a new project produced at Warner Bros. Discovery these days, even for someone who has created generational wealth underpinning the entire enterprise. 

That may be why Sopranos creator David Chase, who signed a five-year first-look deal with WBD as recently as October 2021, has decided to take one of his scripts to Disney's FX Productions, where he'll partner with Hannah Fidell (A Teacher) to turn it into a TV show. 

Fidell, best known for creating the FX and Hulu ripped-from-the-headlines, Texas-teacher-boinks-a-student drama A Teacher in 2020, will direct the project, for which little if any thematic information has leaked. Fidell has a first-look deal with FX, and has also directed installments of Pam & Tommy, Casual and The Act. 

They seem to like her there. 

Chase's unproduced script has apparently been around long enough for the consolidated showbiz trades to write that Fidell has been enlisted to give it a "contemporary take." 

Chase, 77, hasn't been super active over the last decade, having only produced and directed mildly disappointing Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark for Warner/HBO in 2021, and one of late Sopranos star James Gandolfini's last projects, 2012 rock group drama Not Fade Away, before that. 

(Chase was reportedly miffed when the previous Warner regime elected to premiere Many Saints, and the rest of the 2021 Warner film slate, on HBO Max the same day it hit the still pandemic ravaged theater circuit.)

Of course, before that, Chase created what many have argued to be the greatest TV drama in the history of the medium -- an asset that has benefitted HBO and parent WBD, both in terms of brand identity and bottom line, in incalculable ways. 

And that admittedly hyperbolic paragraph comes before mentioning a pre-Sopranos writing career that included Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure.

Chase, Fidell and Chase Films’ Nicole Lambert will executive produce the new project. 

This weekend’s full lineup of top live TV sports action begins on the soccer field as Major League Soccer launches its 28th season exclusively on Fox and FS1.

Fox will telecast the New York City FC-Nashville SC MLS match on Saturday, while FS1 will air the Seattle Sounders FC-Colorado Rapids game. The games officially launch Fox Sports’s four-year linear TV deal with MLS.

On the NBA court, ABC will air a Saturday primetime matchup between Eastern Conference rivals the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. On Sunday ABC will air an afternoon NBA doubleheader featuring the Phoenix Suns-Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers-Dallas Mavericks contests, while ESPN’s primetime doubleheader includes the Minnesota Timberwolves-Golden State Warriors and L.A. Clippers-Denver Nuggets games. 

Week two of pro-football league the XFL will launch Saturday with the D.C-Vegas game on FX, while ESPN on Sunday will air the San Antonio-Orlando game and ESPN2 will offer the Arlington-Houston contest.

In the ring, YouTube star Jake Paul on Sunday will look to advance his boxing career when he faces Tommy Fury in the main event of an ESPN Plus pay-per-view boxing card on Sunday. On Saturday, Showtime will telecast a live fight card headlined by the junior welterweight championship fight between Subriel Matias and Jeremias Ponce.

The men’s college basketball lineup begins with top-ranked Houston traveling to face the Pirates of East Carolina on ESPN2, second-ranked Alabama taking on Arkansas on ESPN2, third-ranked Kansas taking on West Virginia on ESPN and fifth-ranked Purdue hosting No. 17 Indiana on Fox. On Sunday, fourth-ranked UCLA plays Colorado on CBS. 

Saturday’s women’s college basketball schedule of top-ranked teams includes fourth-ranked UConn playing DePaul on Fox. On Sunday, top-ranked South Carolina hosts Georgia on ESPN2, second-ranked Indiana battles No.6 Iowa on ESPN, and fifth-ranked LSU meets Mississippi State on the SEC Network. 

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Honda Classic golf tournament, while Fox will continue its NASCAR coverage with the Sunday telecast of the Pala Casino 400 race. 

On the ice, ABC on Saturday afternoon will telecast the N.Y. Rangers-Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins-St. Louis Blues NHL games. ■

A trio of scripted series returns leads the list of original shows, movies and specials debuting this week. 

FX on February 22 will debut the sixth and final season of its drama hit series Snowfall. The series, which chronicles how an off-the-books CIA operation contributed to the destruction rock cocaine leveled upon the vibrant community of South Central L.A., stars Damson Idris.  

Starz on February 24 launches season three of its comedy series Party Down, 13 years after canceling the show after two seasons.

The series, which follows a group of caterers hoping to eventually make it to Hollywood, brings back the show's former cast members, including Kevin Marino, Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Megan Mullally and Ryan Hansen. Joining the cast for the third season are Tyrel Jackson Williams and Jennifer Garner, according to the network. 

Peacock’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot series Bel-Air debuts its second season on February 23. Former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali joins the cast of returning regulars that includes Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones and Jimmy Akingbola. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of February 21 to February 16 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

February 23: Black Snow (drama) — Sundance Now

February 23: Outer Banks (returning series) — Netflix

February 24: Bruiser (drama) — Hulu

February 24: The Consultant (drama) — Amazon Prime Video

February 24: Liaison (drama) — Apple TV Plus

February 24: We Have a Ghost (fantasy movie) — Netflix

February 25: The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium (music special) — HBO

The sixth and final season of drama Snowfall premieres February 22 on FX, with two episodes on that night. The show has chronicled how an off-the-books CIA operation contributed to the destruction that crack brought on South Central L.A. in the ’80s. 

In the final season, civil war threatens to destroy the Saint family. 

Damson Idris, Angela Lewis, Michael Hyatt, Carter Hudson and Amin Joseph star. 

John Singleton and Eric Amodio created the show with Dave Andron. Singleton died in 2019. Showrunner Andron spoke at the TCA Winter Press Tour last month about honoring Singleton with a strong landing for Snowfall. “This is all his legacy,” he said. “This is the story. He started his career telling about South Central, about his neighborhood. If anything, I guess we just felt maybe a little added pressure to make sure we brought it home and landed the plane the right way.”

Executive producer Walter Mosley spoke about the different communities the show spotlights, including Hispanic, Black and white ones, and how they came together, for better or for worse, over the course of the show’s life. He also spoke about how the characters grew. “They started off young, inexperienced, or coming from a different experience, and they had to go through this kind of terror road of crack dealing and racism and come out the other end,” he said. “This is not a happy ending kind of thing.”

Idris plays Franklin Saint, and is a producer on the show. He spoke about his own growth, and the growth of his character. “To see Franklin Saint go from boy to man and to see myself go from boy to man, and my art and the way I interact with the world — being more confident, being more of a leader and leaning into that — I think that’s one of the biggest comparisons I have with Franklin,” Idris said. “I think that is his evolution. We’ve watched a kid turn into a man and the rocky road that that was for him.” ▪️

PASADENA, CALIF. — Cast and producers from FX's The Bear are doing their mise en place for season two, as the hit half-hour show returns on Hulu in early summer. There will be 10 episodes, FX announced at the Television Critics Association press tour Thursday.

Christopher Storer created The Bear, and executive produces with Joanna Calo, Hiro Murai and Nate Matteson and Josh Senior. Courtney Storer, sister of Christopher, is the culinary producer on the show. A veteran chef, she, along with producer and cast member Matty Matheson, ensures that the cast pulls off their moves in the kitchen accurately, and that the kitchen, and its various trappings, is authentic as well.

Culinary producer is a unique title, and the cast raved about her and Matheson’s work on the show. “I don’t think we would be here talking about the show without their attention to detail,” said Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie.

Matheson, a restaurateur, plays Neil Fak.

Jeremy Allen White, who plays Carmy, added, “If you’re doing something silly, they stop you.”

White and Ayo Edebiri, who plays sous chef Sydney, prepared for their roles by taking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education. White said the cast should ease back into their kitchen roles when shooting begins. “I’m confident we can get back in our bubble and there will be some muscle memory to it,” he said.

White got a Golden Globe earlier this week for best actor in a comedy. The Bear is hardly a comedy, but it is a half-hour show.

The show is about an acclaimed chef, Carmy, who returns home to Chicago to run his brother’s gritty sandwich shop following his brother’s suicide. The shop is in the gentrifying River North neighborhood, and the city, and its residents, are a key part of the show.

“Chicago was crucial to the story,” said Christopher Storer.

The new season sees Carmy convert the sandwich shop into a fine-dining place. One reporter asked Storer what that means for Moss-Bachrach’s Richie, who’s much more familiar with greasy beef sandwiches than truffles or caviar.

“Somebody like Richie is finding where he fits in,” said Storer. “That’s sort of what he’s looking for in season two.”

The producers said a claustrophobic kitchen is a great setting for high-energy, complicated characters to bump into each other and find themselves. “There’s no better setting than a restaurant for the pressures,” said Storer.

Courtney Storer added that “you never stop learning in a kitchen. There’s knowledge everywhere. Whatever job you’re doing, you’re learning.”

She also mentioned the “real love” that develops among cooks. “That kind of chemistry is very attractive in kitchens,” she said, describing restaurant life as “equal parts crazy as it is wonderful.”

Speaking of pressure, White was asked about the stress of nailing a second season after the success of season one. He said he’s “given some peace” in the trust he has in Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo and the producers. But “the pressure in my head remains the same,” he added. ■

PASADENA, Calif. — There were a record 599 adult scripted shows in 2022, up 7% from 2021, according to a closely watched annual tally conducted by cable network FX.

John Landgraf, chairman of FX Content and FX Productions, and the godfather of the so-called “Peak TV Theory,” said the number would likely go down in 2023, but he acknowledged he’d made that prediction before, only to see the number of scripted series climb.

“I think that 599 is the peak,” Landgraf said during FX’s Television Critics Association press tour session Thursday. “I don’t think you’ll see that number again. I think it’s going to start to come down.”

Landgraf has plenty of data this time to back up his prediction. For example, U.K. research company Ampere Analysis recently said that U.S. scripted series orders were down 24% in the back half of 2022, with major suppliers including Warner Bros. Discovery cutting way back on spending.

The FX session began with a trailer from upcoming drama Shogun.

Landgraf called 2022 “a very good year creatively” for the network. Among the FX research he shared was a chart showing Disney and its brands, including FX, with 533 votes for the TV critics’ best shows in 2022, ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery at 494 (that includes HBO), Apple TV Plus at 188 and Netflix at 187.

Among networks, HBO had 485 critics’ picks, FX 269, Apple TV had 188 and Netflix had 187.

“The competition is beginning to narrow,” Landgraf noted, speaking of the challenge not only of producing 599 original shows, but marketing them as well.

FX also broke it down by show. Apple TV Plus’s Severance tallied 81 critics’ votes for best show; FX/Hulu’s The Bear and Disney Plus’s Andor had 76, and AMC’s Better Call Saul had 65.

Besides The Bear, buzzy FX shows include Atlanta, Fleishman Is in Trouble and What We Do in the Shadows.

Landgraf spoke of Hulu as vital to FX’s distribution. He referred to the streamer as “an everything brand, a supermarket brand” and one far broader than FX. “Our brand is the human condition writ large,” he said, with shows differing in their aesthetics and tone. “I believe so strongly that individual titles have always been the bulwark of our business.”

Basic cable, he said, “is really struggling to compete,” with FX and AMC “really holding the fort.”

All content creators and distributors are challenged with getting viewers’ attention for a few hours each week. “How do you get people to pause and have a really special experience” amid social media, video games and other entertainment and attention options, Landgraf wondered. “That’s a challenge Hollywood is having right now.”

He said FX is focused on producing shows that “make them worth stopping to watch” and “having something different from what TikTok provides, what YouTube provides.”

Asked about upcoming projects, Landgraf said no topic has been finalized for the next installment of American Crime Story, and Noah Hawley’s Alien series has scripts and is in pre-production, with production beginning this year, when Hawley completes the new season of Fargo.

Asked about weekly distribution versus all-at-once, both of which apply to various FX-produced shows, Landgraf said he prefers the weekly approach, but bingeing works well for some series, such as The Bear.

“I’m trying to learn the possibilities of the new medium,” he said. “I’d like to hold onto appointment viewing and weekly viewing as much as we can.” ■

FX set the premiere dates for several shows, including docuseries The New York Times Presents, comedy Dave and docuseries Dear Mama.

“Sin Eater,” a two-parter from The New York Times Presents, starts March 10 on FX and Hulu. Season three of Dave premieres April 5 on FXX. The New York Times Presents episode “The Legacy of J Dilla” is on FX and Hulu April 7 and new docuseries Dear Mama debuts April 21.

“Sin Eater” is about Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano. “If you were famous and had a problem in the 1990s, Anthony Pellicano was the man you hired to make it go away,” goes the summary. 

“Sin Eater” is produced and directed by John Pappas. Rachel Abrams and Liz Day of The Times are the reporters. 

“The Legacy of J Dilla” is about the musician and producer J Dilla. Born James Dewitt Yancey, the Detroit native started rapping and making beats as a kid and grew into a visionary artist who left an undeniable mark on hip-hop. He died in 2006 at 32. 

Dave features rapper and comedian Dave Burd, who is known as Lil Dicky. In the new season, he is headlining his first-ever tour, and crisscrossing the U.S., learning a bit about the varied cultural landscape he encounters.  

Dave is co-created by Dave Burd and Jeff Schaffer, and executive produced by the pair along with Luvh Rakhe, Vanessa McGee, Kris Eber, Rob Rosell, Kevin Hart and Hartbeat Productions, Scooter Braun, Marty Bowen, Mike Hertz and SB Projects’ James Shin and Scott Manson.  

Dear Mama explores the lives and legacies of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur. It “defies the conventions of traditional documentary storytelling to share an illuminating saga of mother and son,” said FX. There are five parts.

Allen Hughes is executive producer, writer and director along with executive producer and writer Lasse Järvi and executive producers Quincy Delight Jones III (QD3), Staci Robinson, Nelson George, Charles King, Peter Nelson, Adel “Future” Nur, Jamal Joseph and Ted Skillman.

In other premiere news, the sixth season of Snowfall is on FX February 22. ■

ABC’s Abbott Elementary was among the early winners in the television category during Tuesday night’s 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

Quinta Brunson won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy series for her starring role in the freshman ABC series, while her co-star Tyler James Williams won the statuette for best supporting actor in a television series during the telecast, hosted by Jerrod Carmichael. 

Jeremy Allen White won Best Actor in a TV musical/comedy for FX’s The Bear.

Carmichael in his opening monologue addressed the lack of diversity surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s membership ranks, as well as other issues which forced the HFPA-produced Globes off of television last year. 

Also: Are the Golden Globes Still Golden?

“I’ll tell you why I’m here … I’m here because I’m Black,” Carmichael quipped. He also took the HFPA to task, saying that they didn’t have a Black member, “until George Floyd died." 

Still, Carmichael said that despite the controversy, he said the industry should be recognized for its achievements. “This is an evening where we get to celebrate … I think the industry deserves evenings like this.” ■

FX brings author Octavia E. Butler’s sci-fi novel Kindred to the small screen in an eight-part series premiering on Hulu December 13.

The series, executive produced by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, revolves around a young, black writer who settles down in Los Angeles and eventually time travels between the present and a pre-Civil War period where she encounters slavery while meeting her ancestors.

Hulu will debut all eight episodes of the series, which stars Mallori Johnson, Micah Stock, Gayle Rankin and Ryan Kwanten.

Jacobs-Jenkins, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist who has worked on such television shows as HBO’s Watchmen and Prime Video’s Outer Range, said adopting Butler’s groundbreaking 1979 novel was something he had worked toward for years.

“This was one of the first and only books where I closed it and thought to myself this is about me, my family and my history,” he said. “It’s about coming of age as an American and having to reckon with the legacies of the history that makes up this country’s narrative.”

Kindred debuts during an unprecedented time for content produced by people of color to be seen and experienced on television, according to Jacobs-Jenkins.

“There’s more work for creators of color than at any point in history,” he said. “There are just so many options as viewers, and I feel very lucky to be operating in this moment. I don’t have to feel the pressure about being the only Black content creator interested in this and other material. It’s an embarrassment of riches.”

At the same time, he hopes that Kindred can contribute to the authentic and accurate discussion and media portrayal of slavery in America.

“Nothing has done more damage to the way we think and talk about slavery in this country than TV and film,” he said. “I’m trying really hard to see if we can repair that – how do we refresh our thoughts about the people who lived during this period, the choices that were made and what it takes to survive? Ultimately those lessons are the lessons for how we survive now.” ■ 

FX will develop a new science fiction series for Hulu dubbed Never Let Me Go, starring Tracey Ullman.

The series, inspired by a Kazuo Ishuguro novel, follows a rebellious teenage clone who escapes from a boarding school, setting in motion events that will spark a revolution and test the boundaries of what it means to be human, according to the network.

Along with Ullman, Never Let Me Go stars Viola Prettejohn, Kelly Macdonald, Aiysha Hart, Spike Fearn, Shaniqua Okwok, Gary Beadle, Kwami Odoom, Susan Brown, Keira Chanse and Edward Holcroft.

Melissa Iqbal will serve as executive producer along with Marc Munden, Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Maria Fleischer and Ishiguro.

The series will be produced by DNA Productions, Searchlight TV and FX Productions.  

“Never Let Me Go is a modern science fiction classic that Melissa Iqbal and the creative team have brilliantly adapted for FX as a drama exploring timely and unsettling themes on life and the ethics of technology,” said Balian. “We are honored to partner with Andrew and Allon at DNA Productions, Searchlight Television, Alex Garland, Marc Munden, Kazuo Ishiguro and the incredible cast on this exciting new project.”■

Two long-running cable series make their return during a mid-October week of show debuts.

FX’s American Horror Story: NYC debuts October 19, marking the 11th season of the Ryan Murphy-produced anthology series. The latest installment in the horror franchise stars Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto and Charlie Carver.

Also debuting on the 19th is IFC’s comedy series Documentary Now! The fourth season of the mockumentary series stars Fred Armisen, Cate Blanchett, Alexander Skarsgard, Jonathan Pryce and Nicholas Braun.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of October 17-23 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

October 19 – The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (documentary) – Peacock

October 19 – The School for Good and Evil (drama movie) – Netflix

October 19 – Year One: A Political Odyssey (documentary) – HBO

October 20 – Inside Amy Schumer (returning series) – Paramount Plus

October 20 – One of Us Is Lying (returning series) – Peacock

October 20 – V/H/S/99 (returning show ) – Shudder

October 21 – Acapulco (returning series) – Prime Video

October 21 – From Scratch (drama) – Netflix

October 21 – Ghostwriter (returning series) – Apple TV Plus

October 21 – The Peripheral (sci-fi) – Prime Video

October 21 – Raymond & Ray (drama) – Apple TV Plus

October 22 – The Hair Tales (documentary) – Hulu

Cable networks and streaming services will ring in the Halloween season this October with a number of new original scripted series and movies that will look to thrill audiences throughout the month.

Networks like Epix and Showtime along with such streaming services as Prime Video and Netflix and will roll out horror-themed original programming shows that premiere alongside a multitude of Halloween-themed, network programming stunts that celebrate the spooky season, from Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween” to Peacock's “Halloween Horror” film collection.

Also slated to premiere this month are the final episodes of AMC’s zombie-themed The Walking Dead series (October 2), the second season premiere of Syfy’s Chucky (October 5) and 11th season premiere of FX’s Emmy-winning American Horror Story (October 19).

TV industry analyst Marc Berman says the television industry has embraced the Halloween season as more viewers tune into scary and horror programming as an escape from the struggles of everyday life. 

“If you go back in history, Halloween has always been celebrated on television, but that celebration keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Berman said. “Viewers just love Halloween, and considering the world that we live in and all the Hell we are going through with everything, it’s just a great escape, and television continues to celebrate it.”

Below is a partial list of original, Halloween-targeted scripted series and movies premiering during the month of October:

October 2 

Blumhouse’s Compendium of Horror (documentary series) – Epix 

Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire (series) – AMC

October 5

Reginald The Vampire (series) – Syfy

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone (movie) – Netflix 

October 6 

Monster High: The Movie (movie) – Paramount Plus 

October 7

Hellraiser (movie) – Hulu 

The Midnight Club (series) – Netflix 

October 8 

Cursed Friends (movie) – Comedy Central

Bring It On: Cheer or Die (movie) –  Syfy  

October 9

Let The Right One In (series) – Showtime

October 10

Grimcutty (movie) – Hulu 

October 13

Dark Glasses (movie) – Shudder 

October 14

Halloween Ends (movie) – Peacock 

The Curse of Bridge Hollow (movie) – Netflix 

October 20

V/H/S/99 (movie) – Shudder 

October 21

Peripheral (series) – Prime Video 

October 25

Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities(series) – Netflix■

Emmy Award-winning series Atlanta and The Handmaid's Tale lead the list of original content premiering during the last full week of summer.

FX’s Atlanta will debut its fourth and final season on September 15. The series stars Emmy-winning actor Donald Glover, Brian Tyree Henry, LaKeith Lee Stanfield and Zazie Beetz. 

Hulu on September 14 will launch the fifth season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which stars Elisabeth Moss in her Emmy-winning lead role. The series also stars Samira Wiley, Yvonne Strahovski, and Ann Dowd.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of September 12 to September 18 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

September 12 – War of the Worlds (returning series) – Epix

September 14 – Sins of Our Mother (miniseries) – Netflix

September 15 – Vampire Academy (drama) – Peacock

September 16 – Goodnight Mommy (movie) – Prime Video

September 16 – Los Espookys (returning series) – HBO

September 18 – SEAL Team (returning series) – Paramount Plus

Welcome to Wrexham, a docuseries about a Welsh soccer team taken over by two Hollywood standouts, starts on FX August 24. 

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney acquired the struggling Wrexham club in 2020. Dating back to 1864, Wrexham is one of the oldest professional football clubs in the world, according to FX. The series tracks “the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, UK, as two Hollywood stars take ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling football club.”

McElhenney created and stars in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and holds those same titles at Mythic Quest on Apple TV Plus. Reynolds is best known for his work in the Deadpool franchise, as well as Free Guy and The Adam Project. 

The pilot sees the pair attempt to acquire the team. With a nod to Ted Lasso, Reynolds and McElhenney have no soccer experience and have not worked together. “From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, Welcome to Wrexham will track Rob and Ryan’s crash course in football club ownership and the inextricably connected fates of a team and a town counting on two actors to bring some serious hope and change to a community that could use it,” said FX. 

FX has signed on for two seasons. Jon Landgraf, FX chairman, called Wrexham “quite an unusual docuseries” during the TCA’s summer press tour. “It definitely does follow the fate of the team and the players and many of the games that were played on the field, but it also follows the story of Rob and Ryan and the management that they brought into the team,” he said. “It also follows the town of Wrexham and many of the stories of the fans. It's about fandom in general, and also tells some of the history of Wrexham and Wales and that particular team.”

Welcome to Wrexham is produced by Boardwalk Pictures. Episodes are on Hulu the day after their linear premiere. ■

Prime Video's superhero-themed original movie and Hulu's miniseries profiling an iconic heavyweight boxing champion headline the television projects debuting this week. 

Prime on Aug. 26 will premiere Samaritan, starring Sylvester Stallone as a reclusive superhero who is forced after retirement to defend his home city against a violent crime wave.

Premiering Aug 25 is Hulu's Mike, which chronicles the controversial life and career of boxer Mike Tyson. the eight-episode series stars Trevante Rhodes, Russell Hornsby and Harvey Keitel. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of August 22 to August 28 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Aug. 22 – Kevin Can F**k Himself (returning series) – AMC

Aug. 23 – Chad & JT Go Deep (comedy) – Netflix

Aug. 24 – Archer (returning series) – FXX

Aug. 24 – Mo (comedy) – Netflix

Aug. 24 – Welcome to Wrexham (documentary series) – FX

Aug. 25 – The End is Nye (documentary series) – Peacock

Aug. 25 – Star Trek: Lower Decks (returning series) – Paramount Plus

Aug. 25 – Everything I Know About Love (dramedy) – Peacock

Aug. 25 – Little Demon (animated series) – FXX

Aug. 26 – See (drama) – Apple TV Plus

Aug. 26 – Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby (documentary) – Prime Video