In the never-ending battle for prestige streamer dominance, today was a good day for Showtime. The Viacom division took two prestigious Peabody Awards for its limited series “The Good Lord Bird” starring Ethan Hawke and the news program “VICE on Showtime: Losing Ground.” Another Viacom production, MTV Films “76 Days,” won in the Documentary category.

READ MORE: “Ted Lasso,” “Time” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” win 2021 Peabody Awards

Traditionally handed out in an in-person ceremony, this year’s winners are being awarded virtually as one of the last vestiges of pandemic awards announcements (well, maybe the last vestiges).

Continue reading ‘The Good Lord Bird,’ ‘Unorthodox’ & ’76 Days’ Win 2021 Peabody Awards at The Playlist.

If any of the acting categories for the Limited Series or TV Movie contenders are in flux it’s the race for the Lead Actor Emmy. In theory, SAG Award nominee Ethan Hawke should make the cut for “The Good Lord Bird.” We’ll also assume Paul Bettany will be rewarded for his decades-spanning turn in “WandaVision” and, if critics had a voice, Joel Edgerton would be rewarded for a career-best performance for “The Underground Railroad” (which also assumes the Television Academy embraces the Amazon Prime player).

Continue reading Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or TV Movie Emmys 2021 Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

The 60 nominees for the 2021 Peabody Awards were revealed this morning and there were quite a few surprises on the narrative side. That being said, critically acclaimed programs such as “I May Destroy You,” “Small Axe,” “Ted Lasso,” “Never Have I Ever,” “Unorthodox” and “The Good Lord Bird” still made the cut. The winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony timed to the height of Emmy Award voting.

READ MORE: ‘Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Talks Starring In Mindy Kaling’s Bingeable Teen Series [Podcast]

Programs overlooked by the jurors included “Veneno,” “Bridgerton,” “Legendary,” “Hamilton,” “Black is King,” “The Flight Attendant” and “The Mandalorian.” Marvel fans keep the faith as “WandaVision” is eligible for next year’s honors.

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The Comedy and Drama Series categories are filled with questions about what programs will fill out the eight slots allotted for each, but the Limited Series race is a battle royale for just five nominees. It’s so competitive there are arguably only two locks, “The Queen’s Gambit” and “WandaVision.” And there are two “should be” locks in “I May Destroy You” and “Small Axe,” but, sadly, neither is guaranteed to make the five.

Continue reading Limited Series 2021 Emmys Predictions & Contenders at The Playlist.

Slightly delayed due to the pandemic, the American Film Institute announced their annual top 10 lists for 2020, and, as always, there were numerous surprises. Long hyped Oscar contenders such as “Nomadland,” “Minari” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” made the list, but so did underdogs such as “Sound of Metal” and “Da 5 Bloods.” On the television side, it was more predictable with only recent seasons of “Ramy” and “What We Do In Shadows” and newcomers such as “The Undoing,” “Never Have I Ever” and “P Valley” among the snubs.

Continue reading ‘Sound of Metal’ & ‘Judas And The Black Messiah’ Make AFI’s Top 10 Lists 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.

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There is no shortage of genre television offerings for this October, with plenty of shows looking to sustain horror fans who are looking for new output. Every streaming site seems to have either a horror anthology series or something branded with horror labeling. There’s less in the way of your standard drama and comedy, but still plenty of variety for those who aren’t just looking to revel in the Halloween spirit. From space-wandering bounty hunters to romantic comedies and paranormal activity, there’s something for everyone this month.

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Certain movie stars go their entire careers without ever truly getting the kudos they deserve. Sure, everybody and their mother is fond of Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Meryl Streep, and Brad Pitt; they’ve given enough iconic performances to provide their audiences with a lifetime’s worth of Oscar clips. Other stars – stars who consistently play it subtle, stars who would rather be the anchor in a scene where the lead actors are gunning for that coveted golden statue – are more prone to fly under the radar.

Continue reading Ethan Hawke: The Essential Performances at The Playlist.

Did John Brown, the infamous abolitionist who led the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, really take a cross-dressing teenage slave under his wing and name him Onion? No, not at all. “The Good Lord Bird,” which never purports itself as a true retelling, opens each episode with the tagline “All of this is true. Most of it happened.” Usually playing with the past, especially with a history as traumatizing as America’s original sin, slavery, can quickly go left.

Continue reading ‘Good Lord Bird’: Ethan Hawke Is Delightfully Unhinged In Showtime’s New Abolitionist Series [Review] at The Playlist.

Jason Blum has been on a roll lately in the film world. Over the past two years, he has produced “BlacKkKlansman,” “Halloween,” “Glass,” “Us,” and “The Invisible Man.” The amount of goodwill stored up by the horror producer has freed him up to venture outside his studio’s usual fare, especially in the TV world.

Continue reading ‘The Good Lord Bird’ Trailer: Ethan Hawke’s Abolitionist Revenge Western Is Finally Arriving In October at The Playlist.

Despite being just the weirdest year ever, it’s also been a super-strong, solid one for television. Maybe it’s because movies got kneecapped during the pandemic or maybe it’s because we’re all stuck at home more than ever, but there’s definitely lots of good TV to watch, including our picks for the 20 best shows of 2020 at the halfway point, which didn’t even include August’s acclaimed “Lovecraft Country.”

READ MORE: Fall Film Preview: 40 Most Anticipated Films To Watch

However, the Fall has always been the big season for television.

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Sometimes there’s something missing in your life and you didn’t even know it. For me, it’s a bearded, gun-toting Ethan Hawke as a “nuttier than squirrel turds,” Bible-thumping madman attempting to free slaves during the mid-1800s. And thankfully, Showtime is here to help with the new limited series “The Good Lord Bird.”

READ MORE: The 60 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2020

As seen in the trailer for “The Good Lord Bird,” the subject matter is deadly serious, as the show deals with the issues of slavery in an era of American history where Black people were thought of as commodities and not real people.

Continue reading ‘The Good Lord Bird’ Trailer: Ethan Hawke Is A God-Fearing, Insane Abolitionist For Showtime & Blumhouse TV 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.

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Jaden Smith To Star In Slavery Drama 'The Good Lord Bird'

Continue reading Jaden Smith To Star In Slavery Drama ‘The Good Lord Bird’ at The Playlist.