Burn the Boats

on

A "Bridgerton Ball" experience held in Michigan turned out to be a royal mess.

Organizers billed [it] as a chance for fans to "step into the enchanting world of the Regency-era … for an evening of sophistication, grace and historical charm."

The reality, say some attendees, was a disorganized and bare-bones event that left costumed attendees sitting on the floor amid vendors selling Kit Kats and watching a stripper who was hired as the evening's entertainment. [source]

I knew CBS was making a Matlock reboot starring Kathy Bates.

The pilot reveals what seems like its "twist": it isn't a reboot of Matlock at all, but rather a series which uses the cultural legacy of Matlock as a frame of reference for a show about a different kind of senior lawyer. Bates' Madeline Matlock—or Matty—just happens to share a name with someone people recognize, which she uses to her advantage in charming a prestigious law firm to give her a chance to return to the workforce after her dirtbag, dead husband left her with nothing.

The actual twist is that Madeline's last name isn't a coincidence: it is an alias, chosen for its folksy charm. As we learn when she gets off her bus to a chauffeured car, Madeline Matlock is actually Madeline Kingston, a wealthy woman whose husband is very much alive and helping her infiltrate the law firm she believes is responsible for burying evidence of the opioid crisis that claimed her daughter's life. Working alongside her tech savvy grandson, Matty is living a double life in the hopes that she gets close enough to three attorneys to learn which one hid the files. [source]

Prime Video will drop fresh episodes of its new game shows at the same time every week, dubbing the virtual programming block "Winning Wednesdays."

In Buy It Now, a Shark Tank-esque hybrid reality/game show, various entrepreneurs pitch their products, first to a studio audience and then to a rotating panel made up of Amazon execs and celebrity business owners such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Anderson, and Christian Siriano. Winning entrepreneurs get added to a "Buy It Now" storefront on Amazon.

In Wish List Games, contestants compete against each other in a series of over-the-top games and challenges. The prize: Everything on the contestant's Amazon Wish List (up to $25,000). [source]

Prime Video Game Show Idea: Is It Fake?. Contestants are shown five similar items and must identify which one is not dropshipped Chinese junk. Winners go on a minute-long shopping spree through an Amazon warehouse.

I'm a strong woman

on

Previously on Adam Riff™ [21 Feb 2021]:

In November 2020, Fox announced a new primetime version of Name That Tune hosted by actress Jane Krakowski, which premiered on January 6, 2021.

It was filmed in Australia with American expats as contestants. [source]

[Fox's] Mental Samurai to shoot Season 2 in Portugal

American contestants will be flown to Portugal.

I was wondering why season two of the American version Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars on Fox filmed in England, and then I saw this:

Fox is moving the Gordon Ramsay reality show MasterChef out of Los Angeles, as casting for its 15th season is requiring potential contestants for a valid U.S. passport and to be prepared to travel abroad.

Meanwhile, game shows on the network such as The Floor and Beat Shazam are now shot in Ireland.

Competition/game shows are already cheap to make, so how amazing must European tax incentives be?

Importing American contestants to save money.

related:

[pause]

Adam Riff™ Clip of the Week

on

38. Swamp Things (American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, S01E02)

Stray Observations

  • "Oh, they've really cleaned Shepherd's Market up. Used to be Brass City. People would pop out the office to grab a Pret sandwich and a blowjob." (Industry, S03E06)
  • "Save this activist thing for Facebook."
    "Nobody's on Facebook, Markie." (English Teacher, S01E04)
  • "I don't know, I just feel like when I was your guys' age, like… If we wanted to change something, we would do something about it, we would speak truth to power, you know?"
    "Like, about what?"
    "Like, we would protest, like, Bush getting re-elected. We were trying to get Kerry in office."
    "Did it work?"
    [pause] (English Teacher, S01E04)
  • "Question: Is this for a grade?"
    "Just pass/fail, yeah, and as long as it's violent and heinous, it's a pass." (English Teacher, S01E04)
  • "Think about it like this: You've worked your whole life to become a power bottom, now you get to be a power bottom with a gun."
    "You think I'm a bottom? After this whole week?" (English Teacher, S01E04)
  • "You, no joke, have the most beautiful skin that I have ever seen in my entire life."
    "White girls always feel the need to say that." (Bad Monkey, S01E07)
  • "Craig, how's your son?"
    "Oh, well, you know, he left college and moved back home. Turns out he's neurotypical. Just doesn't want to talk to us." (Bad Monkey, S01E07)
  • "Ugh! It really warms the heart."
    "You don't have a heart."
    "Yes, I do. It's black. And it beats for you." (Agatha All Along, S01E01)
  • "All right. Let's hit The Road. Okay. And this is not a car." (Agatha All Along, S01E02)
  • "Hey! Where do you keep your jade eggs? I'm fresh out of marbles, and my pelvic floor is all over the place. Actually, you gals wanna go splitsies on one? Hmm? Anyone? Anyone? Sisterhood of the traveling Kegels?" (Agatha All Along, S01E02)

Nude Africa

on

Let's check in on creative at Paramount/CBS/Showtime:

TRANSFORMERS ONE (PARAMOUNT)
Premieres Friday, September 20

The origin story explores the friendship — and eventual animosity — between Optimus Prime and Megatron.

APARTMENT 7A (PARAMOUNT+)
Premieres Friday, September 27

The film tells the story prior to Rosemary's Baby, exploring what happened in the infamous Bramford building before Rosemary moved in.

NCIS: ORIGINS (CBS)
Premieres Monday, October 14

Follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS, and is narrated by Mark Harmon.

DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN (SHOWTIME)
Premieres Sunday, December 15

Set in 1991, follows Dexter as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer.

Includes Michael C. Hall as the inner voice of the young serial killer in training.

related:

The Neighborhood sitcom universe.

I got the will to drive myself sleepless

on

Bin Buddies is noted as being "the first upper preschool CG animated series to place bin men in a starring role" – a rather refreshing change of pace for children's shows surrounding a fantastical depiction of blue-collar work.

Bin Buddies is aimed at children between the ages of five and seven; its adventures set in "Nicelittletown," a place where trash collectors are celebrated by children in the same way that a fireman might be. [source]

Idea: An animated children's series about gig workers.

Task the Rabbit. Uber Cheets (cheetah). Fiverr Mousekewitz (Mousekumar?).

Firebuds is an animated comedy series produced by Disney.

A group of kids and their rescue vehicle buddies…

Bo Bayani is a Jewish Filipino-American boy who is an aspiring firefighter. He is the leader of the Firebuds.

What?

Halo is a helicopter who's in a lot of clubs.

Cory is Halo's vroom-mate. Cory is non-binary.

Adam Riff™ Clip of the Week

on

36. Greek Chorus (English Teacher, S01E01)

Stray Observations

  • "Yeah, his name's Rajah."
    "Is that a traditional name?"
    "Well, it's from Aladdin." (Industry, S03E04)
  • "It's much easier to raise strong boys than fix broken men." (Industry, S03E04)
  • ♫: Elliana – "Nirvana" (English Teacher, S01E01)
  • "If it's not the parents, who's trying to cancel it?"
    "The students. The LGBTQ+IA2S+ Alliance."
    "That's crazy. Why didn't they just come talk to me? I helped rhinestone their flag." (English Teacher, S01E02)
  • "Okay! You're doing good at hold." (Only Murders in the Building, S04E02)

IShowSpeed is the new Tarkovsky

on

The British pop star Robbie Williams has always felt like a performing monkey.

In the coming musical biopic Better Man, the character of Robbie Williams is a computer-generated chimp, though everyone else around him is human.

For the chimp's face, the eyes of the actual pop star were used.

And so from the first frame of the film to the last, Williams is portrayed by a monkey, first as a young childlike one with furry paws and outsized ears who doesn't fit in at school and is desperate for the approval of his showman father; then as a rebellious boy-band monkey with dyed blond hair (just on his head) and a penchant for copious amounts of cocaine and alcohol; and finally as an adult monkey desperately trying to fight off his demons. [source]

"So, as I said, Robbie's Home! began airing in the fall of '96 and it was an immediate hit. Ratings were huge. Pretty good reviews, and then one day, we're shooting an episode in season two entitled 'Robbie's Birthday.' And, boom. Robbie just hit his limit. It was six minutes and 13 seconds of havoc. The network tried to bury it, but it was a spectacle. People are just obsessed."

Robbie Williams as Bubbles in next year's Michael Jackson biopic.

Godzilla × Robbie Williams.

"Ape not kill ape."
"You are not ape."

Tonia Haddix loves Robbie Williams.