School has started for most schools in the US now and I go back to teaching myself next week. Not gonna lie, we are all stressed to the max. This always used to be my favorite time of the year because it meant NEW SHOWS! With the change to mostly streaming, new show season can be anytime but one of my favorite shows has come through for me. This is not a drill. After I saw The Suicide Squad and read about how Taika Waititi ended up with a role in the film after all, I turned to my partner and said, “I really need new episodes of What We Do in the Shadows.” Then BAM! They announced Season 3 is coming out on September 2nd AND it was renewed for Season 4. I’ll take any good news I can get these days. It keeps me from buying more school supplies for a dopamine boost. Without further ado, here’s the rest of the entertainment news….
UnFOURseen riches. #ShadowsFX has been renewed for season 4! pic.twitter.com/hpTAUtxhrS
— What We Do In The Shadows (@theshadowsfx) August 13, 2021
Television
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six-part prequel series by Netflix that will tell the story of the first prototype Witcher’s creation. Lenny Henry (Lord of the Rings Series) is set to join a robust cast including Michelle Yeoh (Star Trek Discovery). They just started filming in the UK. The second season of The Witcher will premiere December 17. [Deadline]
Reimagine the galaxy with #StarWarsVisions, an Original Series featuring stories from seven visionary Japanese anime studios, streaming September 22 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/Gd02yB9rcU
— Star Wars (@starwars) August 17, 2021
Maybe an Ann Rice-verse is on the horizon? AMC announced they’ll be adding an adaptation of the novelist Ann Rice’s Mayfair Witches trilogy to their lineup. Sam Reid was recently cast as the vampire Lestat for their Interview with a Vampire series and it appears some of the Mayfair characters show up in those books, making the crossover potential high. Can AMC successfully adapt Rice’s racy supernatural horror books? We’ll see. [Gizmodo]
There will be at least 10 episodes of Adventure Time: Fiona and Cake!!!! This is not a drill!! [Deadline]
In the 10-episode series, Fionna and Cake – with the help of the former Ice King, Simon Petrikov – embark on a multiverse-hopping adventure and journey of self-discovery. https://t.co/BzaJsTUJ1e pic.twitter.com/IrCWlYsHWe
— Variety (@Variety) August 17, 2021
Amid the backdrop of #FreeBritney bringing attention to conservatorship battles, it appears there has been one surrounding Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek). Her son, manager, and a concerned friend are fighting in court to control Nichols’ finances and living arrangements. More details on this sad situation are over at The Los Angeles Times. [LATimes]
Mae Whitman, the voice of Amity from The Owl House, has come out as pansexual. She talked about the importance of queer representation on her social media and how she wishes she’d had characters like Amity and Luz when she was growing up. Me too, Mae! Me too!!! [Paper]
Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like The Owl House. Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up. Queer representation is sososo important :,) keep it up world! #TOH pic.twitter.com/B3C71c24aN
— mae whitman (@maebirdwing) August 16, 2021
The Crown star Emma Corrin, who played Princess Diana in season 4, talked about coming out as queer earlier this year with Britain’s ITV. They said it was scary at first, but their journey with gender identity has been a long one and visibility has been important. [Today]
Yay more Martha Jones audiobooks! See the awesome cover below.
COVER AND CAST! Marina Sirtis and more join Freema Agyeman in #DoctorWho spin-off, The Year of Martha Jones! Find out more here: https://t.co/gijeT3uGdJ pic.twitter.com/kbhRVLfq8P
— Big Finish (@bigfinish) August 19, 2021
It looks like Riri Williams will make her big-screen debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ahead of her Ironheart series on Disney Plus. The teen-aged tech genius will be played by Dominique Thorne. [CB.com]
BREAKING: Mike Richards has stepped down as the host of Jeopardy! Official statement via Sony: pic.twitter.com/eJSwyBOXwN
— Claire McNear (@clairemcnear) August 20, 2021
Ryan Reynolds voiced his support for Levar Burton. He cited the power of fans in getting him the role of Deadpool and seemed to indicate he hoped the same for Burton. Fingers crossed for the Star Trek legend! Sadly so far it looks like Richards is still attached to Jeopardy as EP, so where they’ll go from here is still sus. [TheMarySue]
Film
The canary is out of the bag! It looks like we’ll be getting a Black Canary movie as the news was confirmed by none other than the Black Canary herself, Jurnee Smollett. However, it looks like this movie will be quite a ways off as Birds of Prey producer Sue Kroll has several other projects already in the works to wrap up first. [Collider]
Guess the Canary is out of the cage! ? So excited to finally embark on this adventure with my creative soul sis @MishaGreen. ?? #blackcanary #dinahlance #lettttssssssgoooooo ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! https://t.co/GocuNdEn6E
— jurnee smollett (@jurneesmollett) August 20, 2021
The Entertainment Weekly covers featuring the stars of the Eternals have been released along with profiles of the MCU’s newest superpowered characters. Directed by Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao, the Eternals film will debut on November 5th. [EW]
Meet the speedster Makkari. @LaurenRidloff, the MCU’s first deaf hero, and her #Eternals costars introduce a powerful family of immortals in Marvel’s next big adventure. https://t.co/2FEew28l1D pic.twitter.com/3iVR3GPPiv
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 18, 2021
Anthony Mackie is returning for Captain America 4! It will be written by The Falcon and Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman but no director has been announced yet. [Variety]
Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba the martial arts legend has died of COVID complications. He was probably best known in America for his role in Kill Bill but has been a prolific actor for over five decades. Chiba often showcased his martial arts skills and also did fight scene choreography. His final posthumous role will be Bond of Justice: Kizuna. [Variety]
What I’m Watching
Vivo! Three times now. Sony animation is killing it lately. These songs have finally knocked Frozen 2 off its pedestal as my kids’ new favorite bedtime songs. I don’t recommend it for this purpose, most of the songs are super catchy and upbeat. Not really meant for bedtime but they love them so much and I’m SO tired of Lost in the Woods, I’ll try anything new. But it’s really well written and paced, funny and heartwarming. It hits all the right notes. (See what I did there? ?) I mean any song with Missy Elliot on the remix must be special right?