TV Bits: 'Divorce', 'Difficult People', 'The X-Files', 'Fear The Walking Dead' Casting, And More
In this edition of TV Bits:
I've never seen Divorce, but someone is clearly watching the HBO series, because season 2 is coming. Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church return in the series that "finds Frances (Parker) and her ex-husband, Robert (Thomas Haden Church), dealing with the aftermath of their explosive separation and learning to rebuild their lives." In addition to Parker and Church, the show co-stars Molly Shannon, Talia Balsam, Tracy Letts, Sterling Jerins and Charlie Kilgore. Divorce season 2 premieres Sunday, January 14 on HBO.
While Hulu's Difficult People seemed to have quite the cult following, it apparently wasn't big enough to sustain the series any longer. Hulu has pulled the plug on the comedy starring Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner after three seasons. "Yes it's true. DIFFICULT PEOPLE has come to an end," Eichner wrote on Twitter. Thanks to many people but above all my friend, @julieklausner. A singular comedic voice & the funniest person I know. I cannot WAIT to see what Julie creates next. Thanks to all of you Difficult People out there who watched." Klausner added: "My black heart is full of love reading fans' responses to #DifficultPeople ending. THANK YOU. It was an honor and the best time of my life."
The X-Files is coming back for yet another season, and it's coming back soon. FOX announced that season 11 of the series will premiere on January 11, 2018. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will both be back as Agents Mulder and Scully, tracking down mysterious cases involving aliens, monsters and other things that go bump in night. Hopefully it'll be better than the previous revival season, which was the opposite of good. Also premiering on January 11: 9-1-1, from creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series, starring Angela Bassett, Connie Britton, and Peter Krause, focuses on the lives of first responders.
Fear the Walking Dead, the spin-off of AMC's apparently endless zombie drama The Walking Dead, is adding two new cast members. THR reports that Jenna Elfman will be joining the series in an undisclosed role. THR also says Garret Dillahunt has joined the cast as well. Like Elfman, details on Dillahunt's part are a secret. Interestingly enough, Dillahunt had originally expressed interest in playing the character Nagan on The Walking Dead. That role eventually went to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I've never seen Fear the Walking Dead and I gave up on The Walking Dead after about two episodes, but hey, people seem to dig these shows, so they'll apparently never, ever end.
You're The Worst, FXX's dark romantic comedy about two unbalanced people in love, has been renewed for a fifth and final season. Aya Cash and Chris Geere star in the series, created by Stephen Falk. "Stephen Falk has been an extraordinary creative partner to work with over the past four years, and it is in that spirit that we came to the mutual decision to end You're the Worst with its fifth season," said FX president of original programming Nick Grad, per THR. "Stephen's singular vision for the series has been its guiding force from the start and our decision, while difficult, will allow the series to end on its own terms and in a way most satisfying to its devoted fans. We want to thank Stephen, the cast and the crew for everything they've done to make You're the Worst one of the best comedies on TV."
Who out there watches Crackle? Anybody? The streaming platform may not get the same attention as Netflix or Amazon, but it's out there, plugging away with its own shows. One such show is StartUp, which has just been renewed for a third season, per THR. The series stars Martin Freeman and Adam Brody, and is described as a "gritty drama" that "follows unlikely tech entrepreneurs behind a brilliant idea, and a powerful FBI agent (Freeman) who can make or break those he comes in contact with — not always for the right reasons."
Shoot the Messenger, a new series from WGN America, now has a premiere date of Monday February 26, 2018. The eight-part event series stars Elyse Levesque, Lyriq Bent, Lucas Bryant and Alex Kingston, and focuses on a young journalist who gets caught up in a world of urban gangs, the political class, corporate power-brokers and the cops. "Shoot the Messenger is a great fit for our powerful line-up of crime programming," said Gavin Harvey, President, WGN America (via Coming Soon). "It's a high-quality, edge-of-your-seat drama that addresses topical issues and will resonate with not only our core viewers, but also a new audience of crime enthusiasts." Watch a trailer for the show above.
Bad news for the few remaining people watching the horror network Chiller: NBCUniversal is shutting it down. The niche channel had a string of mostly terrible horror movies, and struggled to maintain an audience. Rather than carry Chiller like dead wait, NBCUniversal is pulling the plug at the end of 2017. The channel did manage to produce one original show in its tenure: Slasher. I'm guessing that show is done for good, unless someone else picks it up. In the meantime, if you're looking for a horror-centric home, I advise you to sign up for Shudder.
In the wake of the sexual misconduct revelations involving Louis C.K., the multiple shows C.K. was involved with have found themselves caught in limbo. One such show, the animated series The Cops, has been cancelled completely before it ever got off the ground. This is incredibly unfortunate for everyone involved with the series, who of course had nothing to do with C.K.'s misconduct but now must suffer because of it. One of the show's artists, art director Francis Giglio, penned an open-letter to C.K. and posted it on his Facebook page. Here's the text:
My name is Francis Giglio and I am was the Art Director on your animated show "The Cops."
I am writing to you today to give a voice to another group of people that have been affected by your actions. The amazingly talented crew on The Cops that has been tirelessly working hard to create a unique prime time animated show. We now find ourselves out of a job right before the holiday season. So many of us are frantically looking for a new project to jump on. Myself included as my wife stays home with our 3 year old daughter and I want to always make sure they are taken care of.
However here is the bigger point.
All of the stress and frustration that I find myself in now is nothing compared to the pain and distress you have caused those women. I will happily walk away from this project and any other project to fully support anyone that needs to come forward about sexual abuse or harassment.
Best Regards,
Francis Giglio
Art Director, The Cops