Not to exclude stellar photography all the world over, but there’s a common theme here in The Playlist’s picks for Best Cinematography ‘20: America. The year is littered with movies about the red, white, and blue in one form or another, to one extent or another, movies that capture either a period of time, or an enduring ethos, or tall tales and B.S. we tell ourselves as citizens of the self-styled greatest country in the world.

Continue reading The Best Cinematography Of 2020 at The Playlist.

What a year, right? With people stuck at home more than ever before, television felt even more essential, and the best creators rose to the challenge. While there was concern that pandemic shutdowns would destroy the landscape, there was no dearth of titles to choose from when it was time to pick the best 25 programs of 2020. Great shows missed the cut. And the diversity of genres and networks felt broader than ever.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

Dramas, comedies, docuseries, mini-series, and genre-benders defined the year.

Continue reading The 25 Best TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2020 at The Playlist.

After delivering one of the most visually stunning TV shows of 2020 with “Devs,” Alex Garland was getting ready to work on a new TV project. Then, 2020 happened and suddenly making a TV show about the need to protest seemed redundant, so Garland changed gears to something more familiar to fans of his directorial work: horror.

READ MORE: Alex Garland Is Currently Writing A New Series About “Civil Obedience” That He Wants To Make Next

“I wrote a low-budget horror movie, set in the UK,” Garland said during a recent interview with Empire magazine.

Continue reading Alex Garland’s Making A Low-Budget Horror & Canceled Plans To Make A TV Show About Civil Disobedience at The Playlist.

For the most part, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t have the same impact on the television landscape that it did with film. Yes, a few seasons were truncated (“Billions,” “The Good Fight”) and a few others had to reschedule wholesale (“Fargo”), but most of the TV output for the first half of 2020 was set long before anyone knew about the latest coronavirus. The truth is that this ridiculous year has arguably made people more reliant on television than ever, needing an escape from reality and having more time to invest in shows that they might have otherwise missed.

Continue reading The Best TV Of 2020… So Far at The Playlist.

This week, your Be Reel hosts decipher the back half of Alex Garland‘s limited series “Devs.” (If you missed the Episodes 1-4 podcast, find it here.)

LISTEN: ‘Effect Leads To Cause’: Recapping ‘Devs’ Episodes 1-4 [Podcast]

With the help of sci-fi novelist Tochi Onyebuchi, we examine the mesmerizing, loose-end-tying, head-scratching, quantum-defying final episodes of the FX on Hulu series.

Continue reading ‘To Hold And Horrify’: Recapping ‘Devs’ Episodes 5-8 [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

When it comes to contemporary sci-fi, Alex Garland sits at the top level of Hollywood creators. Whether penning original ideas about humanity’s undoing or adapting bestselling books to his own specifications, Garland has had a hand in several of the most intriguing sci-fi and horror films of the past 20 years. Lately, he’s stunned critics with directorial efforts like “Annihilation” (2018) and “Ex Machina” (2015) lately.

Continue reading Imagining The End of Humanity: Alex Garland’s Essential Films [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.

Without spoiling the ending of the series, Alex Garland wants everyone to know that his new FX on Hulu series, “Devs,” is a limited series, with a conclusion, and not the first season in a long run. But in a new interview with Collider, the filmmaker had so much fun working the cast that he assembled for “Devs” that he’s actually looking at ways to continue collaborating with them without the show going any further.

Continue reading Alex Garland Is Writing A New Series For His ‘Devs’ Cast To Star In at The Playlist.

March is an odd month for television. It’s not uncommon, at this point, for any month of the year to be filled with bits and pieces of the television spectrum that don’t align with the traditional network scheduling. However, to see a show such as the Alex Garland created “Devs” up against something like “Better Things” or the return of mega-hit “Westworld” with comeback kid “One Day at a Time” truly demonstrates the wide expanse of storytelling currently at our fingertips.

Continue reading 10 TV Shows To Watch In March: ‘Devs,’ ‘Westworld’ & More at The Playlist.

Hear me out. FX‘s “Devs” brings both Nietzsche and Goethe to mind (stay with me). The polymath and poet behind Elective Affinities once famously wrote, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Goethe, who interrogated human concerns through the lens of science, was speaking to brain chemistry behind passion and romance (still here?), but clearly free will and determinism are pointedly addressed.

Continue reading ‘Devs’: Alex Garland Examines False Techno Prophets Via A Stunning Astral Algorithmic Intelligence [Review] at The Playlist.

When it comes to sci-fi films and technology, Alex Garland is no stranger to the topic, especially in his films. Now he is taking on TV with his brand new series, “Devs.”  After the critical success of the films “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” Garland has written and directed all eight episodes of what is one of our most-anticipated shows of 2020.

Continue reading ‘Devs’ Trailer: Alex Garland Directs FX’s High-Tech Sci-Fi Thriller With Nick Offerman, Sonoya Mizuna & More at The Playlist.

Yesterday, we highlighted a video that FX released that showcased some of the offerings the network has on tap for the first half of 2020. While we only really discussed four of the new series (some of the exclusives for the upcoming FX on Hulu initiative), the cable network has a ton of new programs that are worthy of checking out. And now that we know the dates you can begin watching, it’s clear that 2020 is going to be a very busy time for fans of quality TV series.

Continue reading FX Announces Premiere Dates For Its Spring 2020 Lineup Including ‘Devs,’ ‘Fargo,’ ‘Mrs. America’ & More at The Playlist.

As documented in our Best TV of The 2010 Decade feature, which you should read, the 2010s were the age of PeakTV, Prestige TV and the dawn of the streaming age. Now in this new decade of the 2020s, we enter the Streaming War era. Yes, Netflix is here and here to stay, HBO isn’t going anywhere and Showtime, FX and all the other major players are solidified in status.

Continue reading The 60 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2020 at The Playlist.

In a world already oversaturated with streaming services, the folks at FX have decided to do the right thing and ditch their own platform and join up with a bigger service thanks to the Disney purchase of Fox in 2019 and the eventual takeover of Hulu. So, instead of us talking about FX launching something called FX Max and charging $15 per month, we are happy to say that the network has instead decided to put all its eggs in the Hulu basket.

Continue reading FX Teases Its 2020 Lineup With New Looks At ‘Fargo,’ ‘Devs,’ ‘Mrs. America’ & More at The Playlist.

With HBO getting a prime slot on the upcoming HBO Max, FX is feeling a bit behind in the race to be the most respected place for curated, prestige TV. Well, thanks to the new Disney overlords, FX is now getting the prime streaming destination it was looking for, on Hulu. And to kick things off, some of the most anticipated FX series that were coming to TVs in 2020 are now going to be exclusively streaming on the platform.

Continue reading Alex Garland’s ‘Devs’ & More FX Series Moving Exclusively To Hulu In 2020 at The Playlist.

Here’s to Alex Garland, a writer who has made his career out of a straightforward question: “What the future, but bad and scary?” From his early work on titles like “Sunshine” and “Never Let Me Go” to his current directorial work that has cemented his status as a Hollywood visionary (“Ex Machina,” “Annihilation“), Garland has emerged as one of the most exciting voices in the realm of science-fiction.

Continue reading ‘Devs’ Teaser: Alex Garland’s New Television Series Is Giving Us Some Serious ‘Ex Machina’ Vibes at The Playlist.

Just when you thought Peak TV couldn’t get Peakier (a record 495 scripted shows aired in 2018 – read about our favorites of the year here), things are going to get even crazier in 2019. Netflix will continue to pump out multiple shows a week, Amazon is entering a new phase with the remit “bring us the next ‘Game Of Thrones,’” some old favorites are returning after a year — or several years — off, every major network has at least one potential titan debuting, and tech behemoth Apple is finally getting into the scripted game after years of planning and teasing.

Continue reading The 50 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2019 at The Playlist.

While it’s true that Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Apple seem to be snatching up all the big-name talent for their television ventures, FX is out there making moves as well. And today, we found out that one of their biggest moves to date is their partnership with acclaimed filmmaker Alex Garland on the new series “Devs.”

Garland has discussed his upcoming sci-fi/thriller series previously, but today FX has announced that they are moving forward on “Devs” and will premiere all eight episodes in 2019.

Continue reading FX Announces Series Order For Alex Garland’s Sci-Fi Conspiracy Thriller ‘Devs’ Starring Nick Offerman at The Playlist.

If you’re badly burned by the studio system during the release of your last film, why not work on a TV show next?

While the bumbled release of “Annihilation” probably had nothing to do with the news that filmmaker Alex Garland is officially going to write and direct a TV series, it definitely made his choice a hell of a lot easier. FX recently announced they’ve ordered a pilot for the Alex Garland series “Devs,” which marks the filmmaker’s first foray into the world of TV.

Continue reading ‘Annihilation’s’ Alex Garland To Write And Direct FX Tech Pilot ‘Devs’ at The Playlist.

One has to wonder how executives at Paramount are feeling today as ecstatic reviews for “Annihilation” have rolled in. The studio sold off the international rights to Alex Garland’s brainy sci-fi movie to Netflix, choosing to hang on to the picture in the United States, Canada, and China (they thought the movie was “too intellectual“). We’ll see if the decision comes back to haunt them, but for the director, it’s a big victory.

Continue reading Alex Garland Shares Details About His Sci-Fi FX Series ‘Devs’ at The Playlist.