James Clavell’s “Shōgun” is a notoriously long book. The first edition in 1975 ran well over a thousand pages and yet was somehow still a truly massive, culture-shifting literary hit, selling millions of copies. Not only did it start a successful series of books for the author known as The Asian Saga, but it really helped define the prestige network TV mini-series. In 1980, a nine-hour mini-series captivated viewers on NBC over five nights, becoming the highest-rated program in the history of the network and second only to ABC’s “Roots” on any network.

Continue reading ‘Shōgun’ Review: FX’s Lavish Action Samurai Period Piece Reshapes Beloved Original at The Playlist.

As “Reservation Dogs” is only mid-way through their first season, it’s been announced that the series has been officially picked for a second season by FX on Hulu. The comedic series focuses on a group of indigenous teenagers on a reservation in rural Oklahoma and was co-created by Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo.

READ MORE: ‘Our Flag Means Death’: Fred Armisen Joins Taika Waititi In HBO Max Pirate Series

It stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, and Lane Factor.

Continue reading ‘Reservations Dogs’ Lands Second Season Order From FX On Hulu at The Playlist.

The Television Critics Association summer tour is underway, and FX Network chief John Landgraf has been sharing info at his presentation all day. We know that “What We Do In The Shadows” has been renewed for a fourth season, and “American Horror Stories” has been renewed for season two. In addition, FX is trying to fight hard to stay in the Ryan Murphy business, given he’s expanded into Netflix.

Continue reading Noah Hawley’s ‘Alien’ Series Likely Arrives In 2023; FX Calls It A “Beast” & Aware Of Its “Cinematic Universe” Placement at The Playlist.

The Netflix series “The OA” certainly had a following, and the team behind the sci-fi show is reuniting with another genre project. FX has announced via a press release circulated by outlets like Deadline has revealed that Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij are working together on a whodunnit limited series, “Retreat.”

READ MORE: Netflix Cancels ‘The OA’ After Two Seasons & Not Even The Movements Can Bring It Back

It sort of sounds like an amplified version of murder mysteries such as “Knives Out” or likely similar to something like “Clue,” with a Gen Z spin.

Continue reading ‘The OA’s Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij Reunite For New FX Murder Mystery Series ‘Retreat’ at The Playlist.

COVID-19 may have lasted for what feels like an eternity, but vampirism is forever. Fans of FX’s hit show “What We Do In The Shadows” may rejoice now: after an extended wait thanks to the now dwindling pandemic, an all-new season of their favorite vampires from Staten Island hits the network this Fall.

READ MORE: FX Shares Summer & Fall Premiere Dates For ‘What We Do In The Shadows,’ ‘Y: The Last Man,’ ‘Impeachment’ & More

The FX show takes the mockumentary format of the 2014 cult-favorite movie by Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi and revamps it to an episodic format.

Continue reading ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 Trailer: The Staten Island Vamps Return in September & Season 4 Greenlit at The Playlist.

You know what could have been really lame? “What We Do In The Shadows,” the TV series spin-off of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s excellent Sundance vampire mockumentary from 2014 (the film that got the latter filmmaker on the radar of people like Marvel‘s Kevin Feige). Now, film to TV is pretty common these days, but ‘Shadows’ is very particular about its brand of comedy and minor, but still important VFX.

Continue reading ‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 Teaser Trailer: Vampires Return September 2 at The Playlist.

“American Horror Story: Double Feature” takes on more than one meaning for fans this summer. The upcoming tenth season of the long-running horror anthology series drops in August. But before then, fans get a double dose of AHS with “American Horror Stories.”

The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Movies Of 2021

The new FX series takes the idea of an anthology series to a granular level.

Continue reading ‘American Horror Stories’ Trailer & Preview Teasers Gives Fans A Double Dose of ‘AHS’ at The Playlist.

Summer is just about here – and it’s going to be a big one on FX. The network has just announced the premiere dates for its most anticipated titles of the year, ranging from the return of Taika Waititi’s mockumentary series “What We Do in the Shadows” and the next chapter in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, “Impeachment: American Crime Story”.

READ MORE: ‘Pistol’ First Look: Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols FX Series Is Expected To Debut In 2022

The first title to look out for is “American Horror Stories” on July 15, a spin-off take of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s hit horror show “American Horror Story,” with a different self-contained episode set to air every week. 

these are not your typical bedtime stories.

Continue reading FX Shares Summer & Fall Premiere Dates For ‘What We Do In The Shadows,’ ‘Y: The Last Man,’ ‘Impeachment’ & More at The Playlist.

Even at what seems like the end of the world, it is impossible to escape the toxicity of the patriarchy. In FX’s “Black Narcissus,” an adaptation of Rumer Godden’s same-named bestselling 1939 novel (adapted as a film in 1947, starring Deborah Kerr in her breakout role), men of both Eastern and Western cultures remain certain of their superiority. The rigidity of Christian ideology, and the narrow role for women within it, was shaped by men; the strict caste system of various ethnic groups in the Himalayas, in particular those with royalty, was shaped by men.

Continue reading ‘Black Narcissus’: FX’s Series Adaptation Relies On Moody Disorientation But Doesn’t Go Far Enough [Review] at The Playlist.

It might be the first show to do so, but it certainly won’t be the last. Due to production being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, FX Networks has decided to push the premiere date of “Fargo” season four to later in 2020. The move takes the highly anticipated limited series out of 2020 Emmy contention.

READ MORE: Chris Rock says his ‘Fargo’ Season 4 role is “The best part I’ll ever have”

Noah Hawley’s latest incarnation of “Fargo” is mostly set in 1950 Kansas City, Missouri and stars Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, Jason Shwartzman, Ben Whishaw, Jack Huston and Timothy Olyphant, among others.

Continue reading ‘Fargo’ Season 4 Premiere Delayed Due To Coronavirus 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.

What’s easily one of the most anticipated and exciting series coming to TV in 2019? Without question, it’s FX Networks’ limited series “Fosse Verdon,” the story of the singular romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon as played by Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams.  Fosse was a legendary American dancer, musical theatre choreographer, director, and filmmaker who made “Cabaret” and was nominated for four four Academy Awards for his efforts, winning for Best Director. 

Continue reading ‘Fosse Verdon’ First Look Trailer: Michelle Williams & Sam Rockwell In FX’s Prestige Limited Series at The Playlist.

Despite all the numerous wigs, elaborate disguises, and covert missions, “The Americans” has never really been about espionage or even the tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. during the 1980s. Instead, when you strip all of that away, it’s simply about a marriage: one that just happens to be between two Russian spies in the Cold War. That focus has never been more clear in the first three episodes from the sixth – and final – season of the FX series from Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields.

Continue reading ‘The Americans’ Season 6 Is A Worthy Ending To One Of The Decade’s Best Series [Review] at The Playlist.

Everyone wants a piece of “Deadpool” now that the Marvel/20th Century Fox’s merc with a mouth character is a major massive hit. Fox, trying to capitalize on the anti-hero’s popularity, even commissioned an animated adult action-comedy on FX from “Atlanta” star, creator (and general creative genius) Donald Glover and his writer brother Stephen Glover, last year. “Deadpool” oversaturation? Whatever the case may be, FX has now canceled the show before it started, citing the infamous “creative differences”, despite receiving a 10-episode straight-to-series order initially.

Continue reading FX Cancels Donald Glover’s Animated ‘Deadpool’ Series Before It Airs at The Playlist.

Let’s just cut through the BS and acknowledge reality. It’s not the government that controls us. It’s not money either. Personal success, happiness, love: none of those. It’s Marvel. Marvel owns us. And as long as they keep making “Legion,” then we’re okay with that.

FX and Marvel just released the first trailer for “Legion” season 2, and it looks just as crazy, scary, and beautiful as the first season. 

Continue reading ‘Legion’ Season 2 Trailer Is Here To Mess With Your Mind at The Playlist.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise for a show whose characters constantly change their identities, but “Archer” has evolved into a fascinating chameleon in its later seasons. While its first four years focused on a spy agency (the unfortunately named “ISIS”), the FXX series has changed its overarching narrative in the following seasons. Its fifth season, subtitled “Vice,” found the former would-be government agents selling cocaine in Miami; season six saw the removal of the name ISIS for obvious reasons; and last year moved the show to Los Angeles as the characters worked as private detectives at the Figgis Agency.

Continue reading ‘Archer’ Reinvents Itself Again With Season 8’s ‘Dreamland’ [Review] at The Playlist.

Welcome to the first episode of Bingeworthy™, The Playlist‘s new podcast devoted to all things TV. This week Editor-in-Chief Rodrigo Perez helps me kick things off with a discussion of what we’ve been watching and what we’re looking forward to in the next few months.

We dive into the Netflix universe, sharing our thoughts on Baz Luhrmann’s “The Get Down,” as well as Marvel‘s “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and the upcoming launch of “Luke Cage.” We also continue The Playlist and the Talkhouse‘s Podcast chat on “Stranger Things” and plotblocking.

Continue reading Podcast: ‘Bingeworthy™’ Launches As The Playlist’s TV-Focused Podcast at The Playlist.

Casting: Miles Teller Joins 'The Stopwatch Gang,' Elizabeth Banks & Paul Giamatti Engage In 'Battle Of The Sexes' & More

Continue reading Casting: Miles Teller Joins ‘The Stopwatch Gang,’ Elizabeth Banks & Paul Giamatti Engage In ‘Battle Of The Sexes’ & More at The Playlist.

TV: Martin Scorsese & Benicio Del Toro Team For 'Cortes,' Remake Of 'Luther' In The Works & More

Continue reading TV: Martin Scorsese & Benicio Del Toro Team For ‘Cortes,’ Remake Of ‘Luther’ In The Works & More at The Playlist.