Latest news with #comedyDrama
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+: 10 of the best new shows to stream in June
Stick From Wednesday, June 4th, Apple TV+ What do washed-up sports stars do when they've reached the end of the road and are looking for a signpost to redemption? Easy: they just stumble on a young prodigy, preferably from a dysfunctional background and with a few anger issues, and take them under their wing. Pryce Cahill is a former pro golfer – nicknamed Stick – whose career ended 20 years ago, followed soon after by his marriage and his job at a sporting-goods store. With lots of time on his hands and little else in prospect, Pryce encounters Santi, a troubled teenager who happens to be a genius with a golf club. Can Pryce help Santi hit the heights of PGA success that he never reached himself? And does Santi even want success? Owen Wilson stars as Stick in this comedy drama that plays a bit like Hoosiers meets Happy Gilmore. It's from the crowd that brought us Ted Lasso, so nuff said. Ginny & Georgia From Thursday, June 5th, Netflix Mother-daughter relationships can be a bit of a trial, but in the third series of this comedy drama the Miller family faces an actual trial – for murder. Series two ended with Georgia (Brianne Howey), the mom, being arrested on her own wedding day; her daughter, Ginny (Antonia Gentry), faces the dilemma of whether to believe in her mother's innocence or accept the overwhelming evidence against her. What she does know is that she doesn't want her mom to go to prison. Georgia is put under house arrest and made to wear an electronic ankle monitor, while Ginny has to run the gauntlet in the school corridor every day, with the eyes of her classmates burning through her head. Will the Miller family rise to their greatest challenge yet while still delivering some laugh-out-loud moments? You better believe it, peaches. Fubar From Thursday, June 12th, Netflix When it was announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be returning for a second series of this comedy spy show, the 'I'll be back' quips came thick and fast. In his first foray into TV territory, Arnie plays the CIA agent Luke Brunner, who has had to defer his retirement for one last espionage job. Now it looks as if the gold-watch ceremony will have to wait a bit longer, as in series two he faces a deadly foe in the form of an old flame, the German spy Greta Nelso, played with suitably over-the-top gusto by Carrie-Anne Moss. In series one Luke was pulled back out of retirement to rescue a fellow CIA operative – who turned out to be his daughter, Emma (Monica Barbaro). The cast members have all talked about how much fun they had making this series – let's hope it's just as much fun for us to watch. We Were Liars From Wednesday, June 18th, Prime Video Take a private island paradise off the coast of New England, add a sprinkle of rich, beautiful, privileged teenagers, top it off with a dash of smouldering passion and jealousy, and you've got the perfect recipe for a murder mystery. Cadence Sinclair Eastman is a scion of the wealthy, influential Sinclair family, and she and her siblings, cousins and close friends – known as the Liars – are spending another idyllic summer on the island, but then something bad happens, and the dynamic within the group changes irrevocably, while the island's unspoken omerta rule suddenly kicks in. Sounds like another variation on the 'I know what you did last summer' trope. It's based on the bestselling YA novel by E Lockhart, aka Emily Jenkins. READ MORE The Buccaneers From Wednesday, June 18th, Apple TV+ Those scandalous American girls are back in polite English society in the second series of the period drama, which is sort of like Bridgerton with a bit of a twang. In the 1870s a group of wealthy and brash young heiresses are sent over from the United States to gatecrash the London social scene and bag themselves husbands, but their extroverted ways quickly clash with the buttoned-up traditions of Victorian society. It's not long before they're setting gentlemen's pulses racing, and sending scandalised dowagers reaching for the smelling salts. In this second series the Buccaneers have become firmly integrated in London life, and Nan has become the Duchess of Tintagel, while Conchita is better known as Lady Brightlingsea. But they're still out to shake up the status quo, all to a fab, completely anachronistic soundtrack featuring Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga and The Last Dinner Party. The Waterfront From Thursday, June 19th, Netflix The Buckley family are the kingpins of their own fishing empire in a small village on the coast of North Carolina. Their name is on practically every business, shop and restaurant, so they have a bit of a hegemony here. But, beneath it all, business is going downhill, and the family patriarch, Harlan Buckley (Colt McCallany), must raise a couple of million to turn things around. He gets into bed with some shady drug smugglers, but as things spiral out of control and the body count piles up, it's looking more and more like the Buckleys will be sleeping with the fishes. Countdown From Wednesday, June 25th, Prime Video A dead Homeland Security agent, a secret taskforce and a terror plot that could end in millions of deaths: maybe I won't have another consonant after all, Rachel, thank you very much. Jensen Ackles from The Boys heads the cast of this action-thriller series created by Derek Haas, the mind behind the FBI series and all its variants. Ackles is the LAPD cop Mark Meachum, who is recruited into the taskforce after the Homeland Security guy is murdered in broad daylight. The murder is just the tip of the iceberg, and soon Ackles and the team are racing to stop the bad guys from turning the citizens of LA into DOA. The Bear From Thursday, June 26th, Disney+ Chef-patron Carmy Berzatto is back in kitchen hell in the fourth series of the foodie dramedy, and he's still in pursuit of excellence in the former sandwich shop in Chicago that he inherited after the suicide of his brother, Michael. Carmy, a Michelin-star chef, has turned the dive into a fine-dining restaurant, but success is far from a done deal. Money is running out, and the kitchen is still in chaos and turmoil. Can Carmy create a calmer atmosphere in this culinary crucible? Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy, with Ayo Edebiri, Oliver Platt and Jamie Lee Curtis among the cast. Squid Game From Friday, June 27th, Netflix How much of a gaming junkie do you have to be to go back into a game that could end in your death? In series two of the hit Korean series – Netflix's most successful non-English-language series – Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) went back into the game with a clear mission to take down the faceless organisation behind this murderous, macabre theme park, but in this third and final series he finds himself back in the Squid Game dorm after the failure of his attempted rebellion – and this time the games have been taken to even deadlier levels. Gi-hun must survive this last round and also outwit his treacherous adversary the Frontman as the tournament reaches its bloody, adrenaline-pumping climax. Smoke From Friday, June 27th, Apple TV+ The Rocket Man star Taron Egerton heads a strong cast in this new crime series about an arson investigator in pursuit of two serial pyromaniacs. Joining Egerton in the series – based on a true story – are Rafe Spall, Jurnee Smollett, Anna Chlumsky, Greg Kinnear and John Leguizamo. Egerton plays the investigator, with Smollett as the detective who becomes his reluctant partner; they'll have to find common ground if they are going to stop the firestarting spree before it gets completely out of control.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Under the Vines, review: no fizz, no excitement and decidedly non-vintage
At what point does nice become insufferable? One way to find out is to binge-watch Under the Vines (BBC One), an odd-couple comedy-drama set in the world capital of normalised niceness, New Zealand. When an old vintner leaves his South Island vineyard split between his nephew, a stuffy middle-aged Brit (Charles Edwards) and his stepdaughter, a flighty, spendthrift Aussie (Rebeca Gibney), they both descend on Central Otago to check out their inheritance. They quickly decide to sell it – they don't like each other, neither of them knows anything about wine-making and anyway, the vineyard's a bust. We all know what happens next. Louis (Edwards) and Daisy (Gibney) inevitably end up falling in love with the place, the quirky locals and, in the fullness of six episodes, each other. It is a tale as old as TV time – the town mice and the country mice; Northern Exposure, Green Acres, Death in Paradise and many more, whereby simple living leads to personal discovery with a healthy dose of fish-out-of-water chuckles on the way. Both Louis and Daisy's lives back home needed fixing – he is an overworked lawyer who was about to split up with his wife and lose his child if he didn't get his act together. She was a Sydney socialite reliant on handouts from the now dead stepfather to sustain her Jimmy Choo habit. Wine and grapes and careful husbandry are used as an overarching metaphor for them both slowing down and paying attention to the things that matter. Once Louis and Daisy start to realise what those things are – family, good people, nature – they begin to revel in their new life. It presents writer Erin White with a problem about halfway through the first series, because Louis's beloved son Julian is back in London. He is flown down for a convenient holiday and a dubious plot twist later on in the run, but the fact remains that, were Under the Vines anything approaching half-credible, Louis would never have gone to New Zealand in the first place. It leads you to ask in what reality this show is set, and the answer comes in learning that it is a series that is nearly five years old. It was first aired on Acorn TV, a British-American streamer that specialises in nice British telly, just after the pandemic. In that context Under the Vines makes a lot more sense: it offers the lure of getting away from it all, the idea of working outside, of actually interacting with strangers at all and seeing hills and mountains and rolling fields. This was all we really wanted from television in 2021. But while wines may improve with age, Under the Vines has not. A few years ago, there was also a vogue for what was then called 'slow' television in which nothing much happened, and Under the Vines is slow, gently sozzled, sundowner TV served with a few gigglers and some idiosyncratic characters as ballast. Great for the New Zealand tourist board, great for the wine industry, but expect only to be tickled, never engrossed.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Ballad of Wallis Island: Doctor called to Welsh set for freezing actors
A medic was called on to the set of a new comedy drama filmed on the Welsh coast to make sure the actors did not suffer from the cold - despite a suggestion it was shot during the summer months. The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Carey Mulligan, Tim Key and Tom Basden, is thought to have been filmed in and around Pembrokeshire. At a screening in London, director James Griffiths told the PA news agency a medic checked Mulligan and other actors' temperatures due to the cold, saying Basden was "blue". When asked if it was filmed in the summer, Oscar-nominated actor Mulligan, whose mother is from Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, said: "It's Wales." In the film, Mulligan plays on half of a disbanded folk band with her ex-boyfriend, played by Plebs star Basden. They are paid to reunite for a gig on an island called Wallis by a fan and lottery winner, played by comedian Key. At the gala screening at the Ham Yard Hotel, London, Griffiths said, "Tom especially was going blue through most of the takes."I think there was a medic going in, and you too, right [Mulligan]? We had a medic sort of checking your temperature for the cold stuff. It was freezing."Mulligan added it was special as she just had a baby when they started filming. "It's just attached to all these gorgeous memories of my baby being little."And you guys were all around, and everyone was cuddling her, and we were all sort of together for a bit. So it's very precious to me."Key said: "We shot the short film (version) 18 years ago, and we're kind of very eager to get back to Wales. Feels like it's a big part of the film. Weirdly."Basden said the filming location was "beautiful" but "unpredictable weather wise". The original short film, The One And Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, was nominated for a 2008 Bafta short film prize, and saw Key and Basden in the main roles.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Ballad of Wallis Island: ‘Anyone can hypothetically write Carey Mulligan into their little thing. She was top of our list'
The Ballad of Wallis Island is an excellent new British comedy drama starring Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan . Almost two decades in the making, the film expands on the much-admired short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, from 2007. 'When we started writing it, me and Tom were living together and writing a lot,' says Key. 'We were young and prolific. We weren't two guys who'd had an idea and then decided to develop the characters. We had lots of different sketches that we were equally excited about. But for some reason this one felt like it could be longer than a sketch. 'We didn't have to work hard to find my character. He sort of existed as an amalgamation of teachers and uncles and venue managers. It felt very natural when we started doing it on camera. Then going back to it 17 years later was easy.' Key is a versatile comedian, actor and writer – he's renowned for his distinctive absurdist poetry and deadpan bent. His script (which he wrote with Basden) and cheery central performance make for a note-perfect movie. Key plays Charles, an eccentric double lottery winner living alone on a remote island. To commemorate the anniversary of his wife's death, Charles hands over vast sums of money for a private concert reuniting McGwyer & Mortimer, a favourite folk duo. READ MORE [ Along Came Love review: Diverting melodrama just about delivers on early promise of knotty personal drama Opens in new window ] The balladeers, Herb McGwyer and Nell Mortimer – played by Basden and Mulligan – are also former romantic partners. That both believe they're performing solo leads to a strained reunion. Nell also arrives with her new husband. 'Obviously, it makes a difference having Carey Mulligan's name on the project,' says Key. 'It was quite a surreal conversation. It felt like quite a hypothetical conversation. Anyone is allowed to dream. Anyone can hypothetically write Carey Mulligan into their little thing. She was the top of our list. When we reached out to her, the fact that she knew who we were and was amenable to reading the script was very exciting. From start to finish she was just incredible.' [ When the Light Breaks review: Emotionally astute drama is a bonsai miniature of overwhelming grief Opens in new window ] A hit at Sundance last January, The Ballad of Wallis Island has been praised by US critics as a 'sublime, adorable comedy' and 'the sort of hilarious heart-warmer that only comes around once or twice a year to offer a blessed break from darkness, snobbery and streaming schlock'. 'We couldn't have been happier with the way the Americans responded to the film,' says Key. 'It felt like a quirk of the universe that somehow this very British film would start in America. It was very surreal that the first time we saw it was in an auditorium with 1,400 people in Sundance. The first 30 seconds weren't easy, but then they started to laugh.' British panel shows such as Taskmaster and Richard Osman's House of Games are graced by a wealth of witty folk, but only one of that merry-go-round of presenters and panellists has published two volumes of lockdown-themed verse. 'I went up the garden centre,' Key's poem Flora opens. 'Finally! I bought a cactus and some mint things/ and asked the cashier out. After work, we went up the park. I couldn't kiss her because my tongue was/ less than two metres long.' Starting with the weightily titled Instructions, Guidelines, Tutelage, Suggestions, Other Suggestions and Examples Etc: An Attempted Book, Key has published six poetry collections and released a poetry album, Tim Key: With a String Quartet. On a Boat. His musings greatly enlivened Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe, the much-missed TV review. 'That was a very interesting job,' says Key. 'I'd never written poetry prescriptively before. I usually just go to the pub for last orders and scribble. I definitely didn't know whether I'd be able to write about the news and serious themes. I don't really follow the news. Mostly I was constantly trying to work out what my angle was so I wouldn't be a complete disgrace.' Wanting to do comedy was like watching Wimbledon and thinking, Oh, I wouldn't mind competing at Wimbledon Key, who is 48, studied Russian at the University of Sheffield. After graduating he became involved with Footlights, the Cambridge sketch troupe, despite not attending that university. Pretending to be doing a PhD, he teamed up with Basden, Stefan Golaszewski and Lloyd Woolf to form the sketch troupe Cowards. 'I don't think it was particularly easy for my parents,' he says. 'They see a lot of potential in you and helped you to go to university. I don't know what they thought I would do, but trying to be a comedian probably wasn't on their list. They were incredibly supportive, but occasionally I'd hear phrases about journalism or conversation about law. At some point, three or four years in, I was on Radio 4 and they could tell people in the village.' In 2009 Key's solo show The Slutcracker won the Edinburgh Comedy Award. He has gone on to perform seven more solo shows. 'It was all very unexpected,' he says. 'I had a millimetre of the end of one toe in the comedy world when I was 24. When I was 23 I would have said I had absolutely no chance. I thought you had to have friends or family in the industry. I never felt that it was a real thing. I felt like I was living my life and things like The Two Ronnies were happening in a completely different universe. Wanting to do comedy was like watching Wimbledon and thinking, Oh, I wouldn't mind competing at Wimbledon.' In 2010 Key appeared as Sidekick Simon on Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge, an internet incarnation of Steve Coogan's satirical creation. Key has reprised the role in the BBC series This Time with Alan Partridge and in the 2013 film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa . It was a head-spinning experience for a former schoolboy fan of Partridge's first TV appearances in the parody news show The Day Today. 'It was petrifying,' says Key. 'I watched The Day Today as it came out. I loved Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci and Rebecca Front. I think you'd have to have a screw loose not to be worried. You don't want to ruin a franchise and let down your 16-year-old self. So it was quite high pressure, going to work that first day. And leaving work as well. I didn't know whether I'd done a good job. Now I'm very comfortable. I loved doing it.' The Ballad of Wallis Island: Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan and Tim Key. Photograph: Focus Features The Ballad of Wallis Island is Key's first leading role since a series of big-screen appearances that began with The Double, in 2013, and continued through Greed, See How They Run and Wicked Little Letters to, most recently, Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 . It's not quite Mulligan's glittering CV, but he knows his way around a set. 'It boggles the mind how many people were in the make-up team for Mickey 17,' says Key. 'Our film was a more familiar thing, where you're dealing with day-to-day things with maybe 17 other people, not 400. But someone from Mickey 17's make-up department would easily have done another film of our size and then probably three more in the last year. So we surround ourselves with the best people we can possibly find.' He has racked up additional TV credits on Time Trumpet, Inside No 9, The Witchfinder, Taskmaster and The End of the F**ing World. No wonder he gets recognised on the street. But for what? 'Peep Show is very high in the mix, just from doing two or three episodes,' he says. 'Obviously, Partridge. In London, sometimes people have seen me in a show. And, during lockdown, me and Alex Horne and Mark Watson did an online parlour game called No More Jockeys. That rose through the rankings of things people know me for. I think there's still a kind of cult following for that.' The Ballad of Wallis Island is in cinemas from Friday, May 30th
The Review Geek
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Has Poker Face been renewed for Season 3? Here's what we know:
Renewed or Cancelled? Poker Face is the latest comedic drama on Peacock, with an energetic cast, an inspired Natasha Lyonne in the driver's seat and a simple but effective premise. Having watched the first two seasons in its entirety, you may be wondering if this one has been renewed or cancelled. Well, wonder no more! What is Poker Face about? Charlie Cale is on the run. She stays on the move from town to town, out of sight of the casino bosses looking for her. Oh and also, Charlie knows when people are lying. A handy skill which comes into use as she stumbles across mysterious cases on the road. Poker Face is a mystery comedy-drama following the case-of-the-week format, created by Rian Johnson. So if you liked Knives Out and Glass Onion, this show will definitely tickle your itch for a good murder mystery. We have ongoing coverage of Poker Face on the site, including recaps for every episode. You can find those HERE! Has Poker Face been renewed for Season 2? At the time of writing, Poker Face has not been renewed for season 3. Generally Peacock would gauge numerous metrics before renewing a show, including how many people initially watch it and then looking at the drop-off rate. With some shows, cancellations or renewals happen quickly. Other times, it can take months before a decision over a show's future is made. So far, Poker Face has had a pretty good reaction online from critics and audiences alike. Given the way this show is set up, and the ending we receive, we're predicting that this will be renewed for a third season. The series has potential no doubt, and given its enduring popularity, it seems like it's only going to be a matter of time but we'll have to wait and see. However, we could be completely wrong too, so take our prediction with a pinch of salt! What we know about season 2 so far: Barely anything is known about Poker Face season 3 at this point given Peacock haven't officially renewed or cancelled this one. Given the season's conclusion, it seems likely that we could be seeing more of our characters though. Should this get the nod, we'd expect another 12 episode season and a return of the same cast and crew too. We will update this page when more information becomes available, so be sure to check this page out in the near future. Would you like to see Poker Face return for a third season? What's been your favourite part of the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
