It’s one thing for an actor to replace a superstar in the second season of a TV series. For Amazon Prime’s “Homecoming” that meant Janelle Monae effectively needing to fill the shoes of one of the few real movie stars left in the world, Julia Roberts. It’s another thing for a filmmaker to replace the original director who brought a very distinctive style to the first season. That was the task for Kyle Patrick Alvarez.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’s’ Kyle Patrick Alvarez On The Brilliance Of Joan Cusack & Embracing The 30-Minute Thriller Format [Interview] at The Playlist.

Janelle Monae is more than just an incredible singer, dancer, songwriter and actor. She’s an activist and a community leader. In fact, few people have remained as busy as Monae during this stay at home period. Still, it was somewhat surprising that she found the time in her seemingly always packed schedule to topline the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s “Homecoming.”

READ MORE: “Homecoming” Season 2 review

Created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg and directed by Sam Esmail, the first season of “Homecoming” tied multiple storylines to a fictional live-in facility for American soldiers readjusting to civilian life.

Continue reading Janelle Monae On The Challenge Of ‘Homecoming’ & How ‘Antebellum’ May ‘Trigger’ People [Interview] at The Playlist.

The first season of “Homecoming” is not without its hiccups, but it is a bold, aesthetically mature step-forward, nonetheless, for the ominous mystery series– a subgenre that has started to outweigh its welcome since “True Detective’s” freshman installment created a new standard. Much like the HBO program, “Homecoming’s” acting arsenal and its strong sense of atmosphere are two of the show’s biggest draws, and, just like “True Detective’s” second batch of episodes, the sophomore go-around for “Homecoming” attempts to expand the horizon of its original vision, replacing A-list actors with other big-name performers, while misunderstanding part of what made the first season work so well in the first place.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Introduces Intriguing Ideas But Relies Too Much On Misdirection [Review] at The Playlist.

There seems to be an influx of exciting television in May, both new and returning. From new series from television titan Ryan Murphy to a new series co-created by a “Rick and Morty” mastermind and the returns of some of the most exciting comedy series of 2019, there’s no shortage of things to watch in the upcoming month.

READ MORE: ‘Betty’: HBO’s ‘Skate Kitchen’ Spin-Off Is An Imperfect Start To Skater Girl Magic [Review]

Better still, there’s such an array of genres and tone to explore that, if you have the time, there’s a likelihood you’ll stumble across something you never envisioned yourself watching and find a new show that you might not have found before.

Continue reading 12 Shows To Watch In May: ‘Hollywood,’ ‘The Eddy,’ ‘Snowpiercer’ & More at The Playlist.

Exactly what is the Geist Group cooking up and administering to war veterans trying to reacclimate to civilian life? Apparently, it and other things compelled Walter (Stephan James) and his social worker Heidi (Julia Roberts) to fly the coop. When both were last seen, she had found him living an unassuming life in an unassuming town. Unfortunately, Walter’s quiet existence is about to be disturbed.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Trailer: Janelle Monáe, Chris Cooper & More Join Amazon’s Acclaimed Thriller at The Playlist.

Though originally thought of as a limited series, Amazon’s “Homecoming” became a bit of a hit for the streaming platform, with acclaim being given to series star Julia Roberts and co-creator Sam Esmail. And as we know, Hollywood isn’t known for letting critically-acclaimed hit series just die after one season. So, here we are, with the first teaser for a very different Season 2 of the drama series.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 Teaser: Janelle Monáe Takes Over As The Lead In The Amazon Prime Series 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.

The Recording Academy announed the 2020 Grammy Nominations on Wednesday morning and history was made. Lizzo led all nominees with eight, but both she Billie Eilish landed nods in the top four categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist. They become the first two artists to ever pull that unique feat off.

READ MORE: Beyonce’s “Homecoming” chronicles her iconic Coachella performance [Review]

Eilish and Lil Nas X earned six nominations overall.

Continue reading Lizzo, Lil Nas X & Billie Eilish Lead 2020 Grammy Nominations at The Playlist.

Last year, Amazon Prime Video had Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts headlining her first major TV work with “Homecoming.” The psychological drama might not have been the awards beast that everyone was anticipating, but the series was well-received and apparently a hit for the streaming service. However, when the series was renewed for Season 2, it was clear that major changes were coming, as both Roberts and the director of the entire first season, Sam Esmail, were departing.

Continue reading Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez Joins Season 2 Of ‘Homecoming’ As Actors Stephan James & Hong Chau Are Set To Return at The Playlist.

Despite a trio of Golden Globe nominations earlier this year, for Best Drama Series, Best Actress, and Best Actor, Amazon’s “Homecoming” came away from the awards show with no trophies. And when the Emmy nominations were announced, the series came up empty again. However, that shouldn’t be an indictment of the series that stars Julia Roberts, as it received pretty great reviews and was regularly part of people’s top 10 lists.

Continue reading Janelle Monáe Set To Replace Julia Roberts As Lead In Amazon’s ‘Homecoming’ Season 2 at The Playlist.

Decades from now people will insist they were there. They’ll say they were standing on that desert field at Coachella on April 14, 2018, when Beyonce Knowles delivered a performance for the ages. It will be the Woodstock or Live Aid of its time.  If you weren’t there you’ll insist to your grandchildren or nephews or nieces you were.  That’s because it was a show that went beyond the lofty expectations her fans, critics or the larger entertainment audience who had trekked out from Los Angeles (including many of her peers) had.

Continue reading Beyonce’s ‘Homecoming’ Chronicles Her Spectacular Coachella Performance [Review] at The Playlist.

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced the nominations for the 2019 Peabody Awards and 60 different television, streaming, radio/podcast and news programs are in the mix for 30 prestigious slots. There were over 1,200 entries this year that were selected by a unanimous vote of 19 individual jurors.

READ MORE: “Barry”: Trauma, lies and inherent darkness make for a terrific season 2 [Review]

In a statement released by the organization, Jeffrey P.

Continue reading ‘Barry,’ ‘Pose’ & ‘Steven Universe’ Among 2019 Peabody Award Nominees at The Playlist.

Hulu announced today that the third season of their critically acclaimed drama series “The Handmaid’s Tale” will debut on June 5.  That’s certainly a longer wait than fans were hoping for (season 2 debuted on April 25, 2018) and it also means the 2017 Emmy winner for Drama Series and a nominee last year won’t qualify this time around.  That has to be somewhat disconcerting for the Television Academy considering there’s now a growing list of Emmy favorites that won’t debut in time.

Continue reading ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Joins Growing List Of Drama Series Missing 2019 Emmys at The Playlist.

Sorry folks, but the whole “Julia Roberts does a TV show” thing is officially over. After earning pretty stellar reviews for her performance in Sam Esmail’s “Homecoming,” the Academy Award-winning actress has hung up her TV shoes for now and won’t be returning for Season 2 of Amazon’s thriller.

According to THR, Season 2 of “Homecoming” will be without its original star moving forward.

Continue reading Julia Roberts Will Not Be Returning To Amazon Series ‘Homecoming’ In Season 2 at The Playlist.

The Art Director’s Guild of America announced their 2019 ADG Awards nominees and thanks to multipe categories across film and television almost every possible movie or program that could get nominated did.  On the film side that meant potential Oscar nominees such as “Black Panther,” “The Favourite,” “First Man,” “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Roma.”  The TV nominees saw acclaimed work for “Homecoming,” “The Good Place,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Sharp Objects” and “Maniac” earn recognition from the guild.

Continue reading ‘Black Panther,’ ‘The Favourite’ Top 2019 Art Director Guild Awards Nods at The Playlist.

It was, as we’ve discussed already, a great year for movies (The 25 Best Films Of 2018). It was perhaps a less great one on TV, at least on the surface. There were more scripted shows than ever once again, but with some heavy-hitters skipping a year, and a few high-profile disappointments (Hi, “The Romanoffs!”), it was hard not to feel that the ageless TV vs. film debate came out of 2018 with a point on the movies board.

Continue reading The Best TV Shows Of 2018 at The Playlist.

The membership of the Screen Actors Guild has what we can only say is a  “reputation.”  And this year it might have caught up with them just a bit.  The nominating committee for SAG, the select group of members who vote on the nominations, is known to skip out on major film screenings (something distributors have been complaining about since October this season) and focus on the TV shows they have right in front of them.  

Continue reading Snubs & Surprises of the 2019 SAG Awards Noms: Regina King, Emily Blunt, BlacKkKlansman at The Playlist.

The Writers Guild of America announced the Television, New Media and News nominees for the 2019 WGA Awards and this appears to be. a cyclical year where many of the honorees were returning or veteran shows. Familiar titles such as “The Americans,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Atlanta” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” all earned nods in their respective categories. It was the new shows that were recognized and those that were not that continue to intrigue.

Continue reading ‘Succession,’ ‘Homecoming’ & ‘Barry’ Crash The 2019 WGA Television Noms at The Playlist.

Yes, it’s that time of year again.  A moment in our lives with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association breaks hearts and provides false hope to other struggling awards contenders.  The Golden Globe nominations are almost upon us.  Are you ready to bask in their glory?

Now, it goes without saying that the HFPA is a curious bunch.  International “journalists” (granted, a few are quite reputable) that have different conflicting agendas and, arguably, barely watch enough television to actually hand out awards in those categories.

Continue reading Golden Globes Nomination Predictions: Bohemian Rhapsody, Nicole Kidman, Sharp Objects at The Playlist.

It’s suspiciously light on the TV front this month (perhaps not a bad thing with the abundance of films we have to add to our watch lists), but what it lacks for quantity it makes up for in intriguing debuts and returns of fan favorites. From experimenting with the format to the replacement of a lead in one of Netflix’s most popular shows, to Sam Esmail’s first endeavor following his success with “Mr.

Continue reading 8 TV Shows To Watch In November: ‘House Of Cards,’ ‘The Little Drummer Girl’ & More at The Playlist.

You likely know writer, director and showrunner Sam Esmail from his breakout series “Mr. Robot.”  But the Emmy-nominated visionary showrunner actually has something new for you to binge on beginning this Friday.  On the same day that “Mr. Robot’s” star, Rami Malek, appears in the biggest movie of his career, “Bohemian Rhapsody,”  Esmail will make an equally impressive jump with his new series, “Homecoming.”  And, frankly, in this era of Peak TV where prestige players debut on a weekly basis, Esmail has helped shape one of the more impressive pieces of original narrative content this year.

Continue reading Sam Esmail On The “Effortless” Julia Roberts And Giving ‘Homecoming’ An Ending [Interview] at The Playlist.

Julia Roberts makes an impressive television debut in Amazon’s half-hour drama “Homecoming.” With all 10 episodes directed by “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail, “Homecoming” aesthetically and thematically can be viewed as an unofficial companion piece to that show. While sometimes overwhelmed by Esmail’s stylistic choices, “Homecoming” is a well-crafted paranoid mystery that is engrossing for its short runtime.

Adapted from their popular Gimlet Media podcast of the same name by creators Micah Bloomberg and Eli Horowitz, “Homecoming” follows case worker Heidi Bergman (Julia Roberts), whose work at the Homecoming facility sees her help combat veterans reintegrate into civilian life.

Continue reading Julia Roberts Gives Her Best Performance In Years In Sam Esmail’s ‘Homecoming’ Amazon Series [Review] at The Playlist.

If someone told Julia Roberts, at the height of her “Erin Brockovich” run, that she would eventually star on a web series for a company that shipped toilet paper, she would have laughed. But alas, we are in the Golden Age of TV and 18 years after her Oscar-winning performance in the aforementioned film, Roberts is set to headline a new series for Amazon called “Homecoming.”

READ MORE: The Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2018

The trailers and marketing materials have been very mysterious surrounding the psychological thriller series from the creator of “Mr.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Trailer: Julia Roberts Helps Soldiers Transition To Civilian Life In New Psychological Thriller Series at The Playlist.

With “Mr. Robot,” creator Sam Esmail has proven himself to be one of the most capable people in the TV industry at telling a gripping psychological thriller. Let’s hand it to him because Esmail took a story about a hacker with severe mental issues and turned it into one of the most talked-about shows on television. Well, now Esmail is hoping to do the same thing with his upcoming Amazon series, “Homecoming,” and judging by the first trailer, we’d have to say that it appears the writer-director has another hit on his hands.

Continue reading ‘Homecoming’ Trailer: Julia Roberts Stars In ‘Mr. Robot’ Creator’s Latest Psychological Thriller Series at The Playlist.

This was an odd year for the San Diego Comic-Con. Before the event even began, many were wondering what to make of the annual nerd extravaganza. Would there be any effect from Marvel Studios ditching Hall H? Would WB/DC bring out the big guns to capture the spotlight? And would there be any surprise announcements or projects that weren’t leaked ahead of time?

Well, now that SDCC has come and gone, we have some answers to these questions, and a whole lot more.

Continue reading 2018 San Diego Comic-Con: The Winners & Losers Of Geekdom’s Biggest Event at The Playlist.