In Hollywood, 2023 will be known as the year of the strike. With writers’ and actors’ guilds on picket lines, film and television production ground to a halt. And it wreaked havoc on the release schedules of every network, studio and streamer, which is why there won’t be any new episodes of “Stranger Things,” “The White Lotus” or “The Last of Us” until 2025. But there was enough content in cans to make a great 2024, even if expected titles like “Daredevil: Born Again” and “Blade Runner 2099” They are not on the list.
stars
The year ahead will offer, above all, stars. In that category of notable casts is included “Disclaimer” (Apple+), starring Cate Blanchett,” in an adaptation of Renée Knight’s 2015 novel, about a famous television journalist who discovers that her deepest secret is about to be revealed. A combo that is already exciting, but that’s not all: it is written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Oscar winner for “Roma”), and has Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen and Kodi Smit-McPhee in the cast.
And this week, on January 14, “True Detective: Night Country” arrives on HBO Max. The fourth season of the saga will be the first to have its own subtitle, in a search for relaunch: it experienced a quite surprising drop in quality between its first and second season, and seeks to turn the page with a weighty cast in which the protagonist of Jodie Fosterthe detective in charge of investigating the mysterious disappearance of a group of men from a research station in Alaska: a story that has nods to the films of John Carpenter and the X-Files. Fiona Shaw, Christopher Eccleston and John Hawkes complete the cast.
anti heroes
The large casts do not exclude the series of heroes, or rather villains, which are a significant point in the programming of various platforms. HBO Max bets in that area on the spinoff of “The Batman” by Matt Reeves, which stars Oz Cobblepot, Colin Farrell’s Penguin. The actor is virtually unrecognizable as one of Batman’s most notable foes, and he’s gotten his own limited series that will run eight episodes, taking place over the span of just one week as Cobblepot violently rises to the top of Gotham City’s underworld. .
On the Disney+ side, there are two strong bets on the genre, one linked to Marvel, and another to the Star Wars universe. The first to revolve around Echo, a spin-off of “Hawkeye” about Maya López, one of the few deaf characters in the Marvel universe: ruthless hitwoman for the mafia “Echo” will serve as an origin story that will expose what led to the character where is it. And she will also see her revisiting the traumas of her past to move forward in her present and reconnect the character with her heritage. Alaqua Cox, who made her acting debut in “Hawkeye,” will reprise her role as Echo, with Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox) joining her. And to complete the category is “The Acolyte”, about a former Padawan (Amandla Stenberg) who meets with her Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae), to relearn the use of the Force. But they are forced to investigate a series of strange crimes, causing “The Acolyte” be more of a crime thriller, a fascinating starting point for the franchise.
In the air
More than a dozen years after “The Pacific,” Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman sign up again for a story set in World War II with “Masters of the Air”, the third miniseries of his war trilogy (which began with “Band of Brothers” in 2001). This time, following the 100th Bombardment Group, a squadron that flew more than 300 missions and lost half of its planes. The miniseries was a long time coming: HBO first announced its development in 2012 but it is now an Apple TV+ production. It has 10 chapters and big names: Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, Raff Law and the new star of Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa.
And “Avatar” was also in the air for a long time, after the critically reviled film of the same name directed by M. Night Shyamalan in 2010, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, itself based on the Nickelodeon animated series, which was loved by millions and continues to gain fans thanks to being part of the Netflix library, is reissued, and follows Aang, one of the last living Airbenders (humans who They have the power to control one of the four elements: water, air, fire or earth) and the only one that can dominate all the elements, also being a bridge between our world and that of the spirits. It is expected to be released on February 22.
British air
Helena Bonham Carter is the cover letter of this biopic, in which she plays Noele “Nolly” Gordon, the star of the British soap opera “Crossroads”, who at the height of her fame in 1981, is fired from the program. Three-part limited series, created by Russell T. Davies, is a fun, campy look at Nolly’s sudden fall from grace, and how far he will go to stay relevant and prove his detractors wrong – even though it takes place 40 years ago. , the story about the treatment of aging actresses in the showbiz machine is still very topical.
Also with a classic Brit air is “María y Jorge”, another real drama that tells the crazy antics of one of the most memorable characters of the 17th century. Julianne Moore She brings her best profile as Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, a masterful manipulator who carefully planned her rise among the most powerful members of the royal family. In Mary’s case, this meant encouraging her son George (Nicholas Galitzine) to seduce King James I of England (Tony Curran).
Also British is “Rivals,” about some unfriendly neighbors, an adaptation of one of the Rutshire Chronicles books by Jilly Cooper. The pairing of Alex Hassell and David Tennant, a television executive and former Olympic athlete turned MP, stakes their reputation on the showdown. And finally, the category is completed with “The Regime”, created by Frank Rich and Will Tracy, executive producers of “Succession” and starring Kate Winslet as the chancellor of an oligarchy that appears to be in its last moments of power, a development that does not sit well with the chancellor. Same black humor that was in the DNA of the HBO series: it premieres on March 3.
Eastern air
The American strike promoted Asian content on platforms, mainly from South Korea. 2024, in a clean sweep, fuses oriental settings with renowned Hollywood actors. This is the case of “Expatriates”, Nicole Kidman’s second big step on the small screen after “Big Little Lies”. The Oscar winner takes the lead in this Amazon Prime series (scheduled for January 26), based on the best-selling novel by Janice YK Lee, in which she plays Margaret, part of a close-knit group of expatriates who They live and love in Hong Kong.
And “The Sympathizer” closes the round, with Robert Downey Jr., the star of Iron Man, who plays multiple roles here. Spy thriller and satire based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Celebrated filmmakers Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar co-host the series, which chronicles the challenges faced by a Franco-Vietnamese communist spy in the final days of the Vietnam War. Panic and madness in the East, and one of the great television promises that the year that has just begun brings.
by RN
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