Streaming Roundup (3/12/21), Including ‘Central Park’ Renewal and TCM Film Festival Coming to HBO Max
“Central Park,” an animated musical series, earned a season three order from Apple TV+. Co-creator Loren Bouchard (“Bob’s Burgers”) said: “Seasons two and three of ‘Central Park’ mean 29 more episodes, and something like a 115 new songs.
The show’s second season is set to premiere June 25. Owen Tillerman, the park’s manager, and his family live in the park. But a wealthy hotel heiress wants to turn beautiful Central Park into a series of condos. The Tillermans hope to stop her. The show celebrity voices include Josh Gad, Leslie Odom, Jr., Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn and Tituss Burgess.
Central Park
An animated musical comedy about the Tillermans, a family that lives in a castle in Central Park. Owen, the park manager, and Paige, his journalist wife, raise their kids Molly and Cole in the world’s most famous park, while fending off a hotel heiress, Bitsy Brandenham, who would love nothing more than to turn the park into condos.
Here’s a look at other deals and upcoming projects:
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Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced the TCM Classic Film Festival will run virtually this year May 6 –May 9, both on the TCM network and — for the first time — within the Classics Curated by TCM Hub on HBO Max. The 12th Annual Festival will open with a 60th anniversary screening of “West Side Story” with stars Rita Moreno, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn giving exclusive interviews. Opening night is May 6 at 8:00 PM ET. Pola Changnon, head of TCM, said: “The breadth of this festival will offer interest for every kind of classic movie fan – whether they’re new to this world or card-carrying cinephiles!”
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Imagine Entertainment has signed a multi-year, first-look deal to create scripted features for Apple TV+. Apple’s recent content includes “Wolfwalkers,” Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks” and Tom Hanks’ “Greyhound.” Ron Howard-Brian Glazer Imagine slate includes “Hillbilly Elegy” on Netflix and “The Da Vinci Code.” Upcoming is the Jonathan Larson musical “Tick, Tick…Boom,” directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, starring Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Judith Light and Bradley Whitford.
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David Simon and George Pelecanos (“The Wire,” “Treme”) have a new limited series they are bringing to HBO Max. It’s a true story of the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force. Simon created and executive produced the series; Pelecanos worked on the show as a writer and producer. The pair also worked together on “The Deuce” for HBO.
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Patti LuPone and Erinn Hayes will star in the HBO Max comedy pilot “OK Boomer.” LuPone plays a boomer grandmother who shows up at her estranged daughter’s (Hayes) house to live off the family’s money. But it’s her granddaughter who challenges the witty, sarcastic grandmother on their divergent views.
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Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”) is joining “The Good Fight” for its fifth season and first as a Paramount+ original series. He plays a man without legal training, but decides to open a court in the back of a copy shop. It takes off — and the judgments are honored by the public. Patinkin will also voice a character in the upcoming animated film “The Magician’s Elephant” for Netflix.
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Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will star in “Lady in the Lake,” a series adaptation of the Laura Lipman novel for Apple TV+. The series will be co-written by Alma Har’el and Dre Ryan, with Har’el directing. The limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder forces a housewife and mother (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist.
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“Selling Sunset” and “Bling Empire” got renewals from Netflix. “Sunset” gets a new season four and five order, while “Bling” gets a sophomore season. Both series focus on the lives of the 1% in Los Angeles.
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George R.R. Martin’s “Wild Cards” is moving from Hulu to Peacock, though the project is still in development. Set in the present, the “Wild Cards” books focus on the aftermath of an alien virus that killed 90% of those infected. Martin will executive produce along with Melinda Snodgrass, who co-edited the books with him and Vince Gerardis.