House of the Dragon

The prequel to the fantasy-laden phenomenon is based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood”, set 200 years before Golden Globe winner and many-nominated Game of Thrones. It delves into the centuries-old history of the House of Targaryen dynasty, which ruled the seven kingdoms as dragon-riders across the Westeros continent.

Co-showrunner and co-creator Ryan J. Condal (along with Miguel Sapochnik) described the show at Comicon as “Succession with dragons”, referencing the family’s vicious power struggles.

The House of the Dragon features a major conflict between warring siblings Aegon II, played by Tom Glyn Glynn-Carney, and Princess Rhaenyra, portrayed by both Milly Alcock, as the younger character, and Emma D’Arcy as the older. It’s all about the pair’s battle for the throne following the death of their father, Viserys I (Paddy Considine).

Famed novelist behind the Game of Thrones series, George R.R. Martin is also co-creator and executive producer of House of the Dragon. He said at Comicon, “My books are fantasies, obviously, but I do follow history a lot. I get inspiration from history and then I take elements from history. Game of Thrones, as many people observed, was based very loosely on The War of the Roses. This show was based on an earlier period in northern history called The Anarchy. I pilfered freely from real history, and I turn it up to 11. You know, the obligatory Spinal Tap reference,” he chuckled.

The Patient

The Patient is a psychological thriller starring Golden Globe winner Steve Carell as therapist Alan Strauss, who is held captive by one of his patients, a serial killer played by Domnhall Gleeson, as Sam Fortner. He enlists Strauss in the hopes of curbing his homicidal tendencies. While Strauss’ job is primarily to stop Fortner from killing again, his patient doesn’t make it easy and refuses to talk about his parental relationships, particularly with his mother. During Strauss’ captivity, he ruminates on his emotional struggles such as the recent death of his wife and his estrangement from his son.

Created by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg (The Americans), the cast is rounded out by Linda Emond, Laura Niemi, Andrew Leeds, and David Alan Grier. It’s been hailed as ‘Carell’s best dramatic performance to date,’ according to the Hollywood Reporter. Strong words considering he earned a Best Actor nod at the 2015 Golden Globe and Academy Awards for Foxcatcher. Carell also received an Emmy nod as Best Actor for The Morning Show.

This 10-episode limited series has attracted some controversy surrounding Carell, who is not Jewish, but plays a Jewish therapist. Weisberg told Variety, “When we came up with the original idea, the character wasn’t originally Jewish. And then you start, as you always do, looking for ways to add specificity and depth. We came up with that idea pretty quickly. But it allowed us to tap into things from our own lives … [it] added just certain dimensions and it became really a lot more fun to write in a certain way after that. That was number one. Casting Steve, who is not Jewish, our feeling has always been, as television writers, that we’re kind of in an area where people are pretending to be other people. That’s what everyone does all the time. That’s just our main outlook on it. But we understand some people feel differently about it and that is also fine, too. But that’s where we were coming from.”

Wednesday

We first became acquainted with the character Wednesday Addams from the hit 60s sitcom, The Addams Family (1964 – 1966), followed by two more TV series, first in 1973 and again in 1992 – 1993. In 1991, The Addams Family marked the first film in the franchise, nominated for a Golden Globe – Best Actress, Motion Picture Musical or comedy for Anjelica Huston, and followed by Addams Family Values, in 1993, also with the same Golden Globe nominee. In 2019, another series took on the otherworldly family in a computer-animated film. It merited a sequel, in 2021.

Now, with co-creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough at the helm – and with Tim Burton as executive producer and director of four of the eight episodes – Wednesday won’t be too familiar for fans of the previous TV series or the films. Millar and Gough told Vanity Fair that “The ambition of the show was to make it an eight-hour Tim Burton movie.”

Wednesday is a coming-of-age story starring Jenny Ortega (Jane the Virgin) in the titular role, with her parents played by Golden Globe nominee Catherine Zeta-Jones, as Morticia, and Luis Guzman, as Gomez Addams. Actors in supporting roles include Gwendoline Christie and Isaac Ordonez.

We follow Wednesday as a student at Nevermore Academy. She’s endeavoring to master her burgeoning psychic skills while thwarting a monstrous killing spree that terrorized the town. At the same time, she’s going through the trials and tribulations that any student must endure.

American Gigolo

The name is synonymous with Golden Globe winner Richard Gere, who starred in the 1980 film of the same name. In this re-imagined series, set in the present day, Jon Bernthal (The Punisher, We Own This City) stars as Julian Kaye, a former escort attempting to begin a new life after he’s released from prison, where he spent the last 15 years due to a wrongful conviction. He reconnects with his former lover, Michelle (Gretchen Mol), with whom he has a complicated relationship while seeking out the truth concerning how he was framed for murder.

Created by David Hollander (though no longer attached to the project), supporting actors include Rosie O’Donnell as Julian’s mother, Detective Sunday. Leland Orser is Richard Stratton, a tech billionaire. Lizzie Brochere plays an heiress to a ring of sex workers. Gabriel LaBelle is the younger version of Julian and Wayne Brady plays Julian’s best friend, Lorenzo.

One person who will not be watching this updated version is the writer and director of the original piece, Golden Globe nominee Paul Schrader. This is what he said to the daily newspaper Variety: “Some years ago I received a call from Paramount asking about remaking American Gigolo. I replied that I thought it was a terrible idea — times had changed, internet porn had redefined male sex work, viruses, etc.”