Lena Dunham strikes a first-look deal with Netflix / Squid Game 3 premieres in June / AMC almost scrapped Saul Goodman
PLUS: John Mulaney vows "we will never be relevant" as he announces Netflix's Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney’s March premiere.
Lena Dunham strikes a first-look deal with Netflix
The Girls creator and star, who directed the first episode of Industry, is leaving HBO for Netflix. Her production company Good Thing Going will develop serialized first-look projects for Netflix, in addition to her already in the works comedy series Too Much, starring Megan Stalter. “Lena’s authenticity and singular voice have redefined storytelling for this generation," says Jinny Howe, vice president of drama series at Netflix. "She’s a creative powerhouse, weaving together complex and nuanced narratives that are as thought-provoking as they are entertaining. We look forward to delighting audiences with more of the deeply relatable stories they love from Lena.” In a statement, Dunham said: “Working with Netflix to bring Too Much to life has been a dream; the trust, support and creative freedom they offer are rare and precious.”
Squid Game 3 premieres in June as photos tease "graver consequences"
The third and final season of the Netflix Korean survival drama will drop on June 27. According to the official synopsis, the final season "follows Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) after losing his best friend in the game and being driven to utter despair by the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun), who was hiding his true identity to infiltrate the game. Gi-hun persists with his goal to put an end to the game, while the Front Man continues onto his next move and the surviving players' choices will lead to graver consequences with each round."
John Mulaney vows "we will never be relevant" as he announces Netflix's Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney’s March premiere
“We will be live globally with no delay,” Mulaney said at Next on Netflix of his talk show follow-up to John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, premiering March 12 with new episodes rolling out weekly for 12 weeks. “We will never be relevant. We will never be your source for news. We will always be reckless. Netflix will always provide us with data that we will ignore. This is the one place where you can see Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting next to Nikki Glaser, sitting next to a family therapist with music by Mannequin Pussy — that’s just an example; we don’t know if we can lock in Mannequin Pussy. This is a really fun experiment. Not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan.”
Netflix's documentary slate includes Eddie Murphy's Eddie, Errol Morris’ Chaos: The Manson Murders, American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden and Hurricane Katrina
“In his own words, (Murphy) talks about entertaining three generations of fans with a filmography that spans comedy, action, drama, animation, musicals, and family fare,” Netflix says of the Angus Wall-directed Eddie. Oscar winner Errol Morris' Chaos: The Manson Murders premieres March 7. American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden premieres March 10. And the three-part Katrina: Come Hell and High Water from producer Spike Lee is set to debut in August, in time for Hurricane Katrina's 20-year anniversary. Also coming to Netflix are Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, a documentary on the 2023 Titan submersible implosion and Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds.
Netflix TV boss: "Nobody knows what 'Prestige TV’ actually is"
“Those of you who know me know that I love myth-busting. And one of the biggest myths about Netflix is that we don’t do ‘prestige TV’ — or we don’t do as much of it as we used to," chief content officer Bela Bajaria said at last night's Next on Netflix event. “Now, the most annoying thing about this myth — besides the fact that it’s not true — is that nobody knows what ‘prestige TV’ actually is. Is it a critically acclaimed show? Does it win awards? Is it a show audiences love? Is it one that people at your dinner parties in New York and L.A. talk about? Like I said, no one knows. The only thing we do know is that a lot of people who brag about making prestige TV have a very narrow audience.”
Ginny & Georgia returns for Season 3 this summer
The Netflix drama series starring Antonia Gentry and Brianne Howey will return after two years on June 5. “Georgia has just been arrested for murder during her wedding — ruining her fairy tale ending and putting the spotlight on the Millers like never before," reads the Season 3 description. "It’s always been Ginny and Georgia against the world, but the world has never come for them quite like this. Now, Ginny needs to see where she stands when push comes to shove – is the two of them against the world something Ginny really wants to sign up for?”
Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker team for ITV's Frauds
The Gentleman Jack alum and former Doctor Who star will lead the heist thriller that Jones co-created with Anne-Marie O’Connor. "Jones will play Bert, who has spent the last decade in a Spanish prison cell with a burning desire to pull off one final job that will prove her worth," according to Deadline. "Doctor Who star Whittaker is Sam, her partner, who for the past decade has been content to live a life of quiet anonymity in the hills of Southern Spain. The story begins as Sam anxiously waits for Bert to be released from a maximum-security prison on grounds of compassionate discharge. On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost?"
Duffer Brothers: Stranger Things 5 will be like "eight blockbuster movies"
"We spent a full year filming this season," co-creator Ross Duffer said at Next on Netflix. "By the end, we had captured over 650 hours of footage. So, needless to say, this is our biggest and most ambitious season yet. It's like eight blockbuster movies. It's pretty, pretty insane." Co-creator Matt Duffer added: "At the same (time), we think it's — or hope it's — our most personal story," Matt added. "It was super intense and emotional to film — for us and for our actors we've been with for so long. And we've been making it together for almost 10 years now. There was a lot of crying. There was so much crying. The show means so much to all of us, and everyone put their hearts and souls into it. And we hope — and believe — that passion is going to translate to the screen."
An AMC executive asked Breaking Bad to scrap the Saul Goodman character before his debut
Peter Gould, who wrote the Season 2 episode "Better Call Saul" and co-created the Better Call Saul prequel series, recalls in Alan Sepinwall's new book Saul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill: The Better Call Saul Critical Companion that an AMC executive wasn't initially keen on Bob Odenkirk's character. "My fear was actually enhanced when we had our first notes call with an executive who will remain nameless," says Gould. "Vince (Gilligan) and I were on a conference call, and the question came up, basically, “We don’t like this character. Could we start again and come up with a different story for this episode?...And Vince said, 'No.' He was strongly advocating for the script and for the character. And, to their credit, the person or persons on the call backed down, because they had to trust Vince. But, you can think about what an alternative universe would be where we had had to throw that episode out. And as it was, that season we ended up shutting down briefly, because we ran out of scripts — which never happened again, I’m happy to report."
Conan O'Brien won't roast celebrities when he hosts the Oscars
In contrast to Nikki Glaser and his predecessor Jimmy Kimmel, Conan said in an interview with Good Morning America that he won't be roasting celebrities at the March 2 ceremony. “I can let someone have it if I think, in the moment, they really need it,” he said. “But I’m also very comfortable, as a comedian, putting the joke on me.”
Tyler Perry's Beauty in Black gets a Part 2 Netflix premiere date
The drama series starring Taylor Polidore Williams and Crystle Stewart returns March 6.
Netflix shares the first look at Wednesday Season 2
Wednesday Addams appeared in Netflix's sizzle reel for 2025.
BBC apologizes for its employees joking about Russell Brand exposing himself to a woman
The BBC on Thursday published the findings of a review carried out into Brand’s conduct during his time at its radio channels from 2006 through 2008, finding that a woman complained that Brand exposed himself in the bathroom of its Los Angeles bureau. A complaint was made but the incident was considered “fairly common knowledge” in the bureau and “often ‘joked about.
Temptation Island sets a March premiere date on Netflix
The Mark L. Walberg-hosted dating reality show will join Netflix after leaving USA on March 12.
Great British Bake Off names Prue Leith's substitute for celebrity specials
Caroline Waldegrave will fill in for Leith only for the annual star-studded specials in aid of Stand Up To Cancer. “I am only stepping back from the Celebrity series, which is just a question of the filming commitment involved as we make these shows back to back," says Leith. Waldegrave is the managing director of Leith’s School of Food and Wine.
Netflix teases reimagining of Judy Blume’s Forever
Mara Brock Akil’s reimagining of Blume's 1975 novel of the same name will be set in 2018 Los Angeles, starring Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. "Reimagined for a new generation,” Netflix’s Forever promises “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018," reads the official description.
Check out Uzo Aduba in the teaser for Netflix's Shondaland White House murder mystery The Residence
Netflix is teasing the “screwball whodunit," in which Aduba plays Cordelia Cupp, “the most sought-after detective in the world.”