Streaming News Round-Up: ‘Walking Dead’ Final Episodes, Elba Narrates Docuseries, Cranston Returns to Showtime
AMC Networks is diving head first into the Halloween season this fall, beginning with the final batch of episodes from the final season of hit zombie apocalypse series “The Walking Dead.” The 11th season of the show officially began on Aug. 22, 2021, but was broken down into three parts; the second launched in February, and the third kicks off on Oct. 2 on AMC.
The first installment of the final eight-episode block will premiere on the same day that a new series, “Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire,” begins on the cable network. Both will also stream on AMC+. The streaming service’s original animated thriller “Pantheon” will debut its season finale on Oct. 13, when AMC+ and Shudder release horror flicks “Deadstream” and “She Will.”
Watch “The Walking Dead” Season 11 trailer:
It was announced this week that Netflix will release a new docuseries on Sept. 30 narrated by Idris Elba. “Human Playground” will highlight the unique origins and evolution of play across the globe, from age-old rituals to billion-dollar businesses. The series is directed by Tomas Kaan, who previously helmed “Our Planet,” and explores everything from robot camel races in the United Arab Emirates to big wave surfing in Nazaré, Portugal, to eagle hunting in Kyrgyzstan.
Watch the trailer from “Human Playground”:
Showtime announced this week that the second season of the Bryan Cranston-led drama “Your Honor” will debut on cable and stream in December. The 10-episode season begins Dec. 9 with the linear premiere on Dec. 11. From acclaimed creators Peter Moffat and Robert and Michelle King, the show is based on the Israeli series “Kvodo” and premiered in December 2020.
In the show, Cranston plays a judge whose life is derailed by an accident involving his son and the son of a crime boss. The second season is the show’s final installment and will feature guest appearances by Amy Landecker, Margo Martindale, and Rosie Perez.
Sarah Paulson (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”) will star and executive produce the drama “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin” for HBO Max. The show is based on the streamer’s docuseries that aired last year; Paulson will play Shamblin Lara. The doc detailed Shamblin Lara’s rise from a diet advocate with her Weigh Down Workshop to the founding of Remnant Fellowship, her Tennessee church. Shamblin Lara was later accused of abusive, cult-like behavior by congregants.
Peacock announced a series order for its first adult animated comedy, “In The Know.” Mike Judge (“Beavis and Butt-Head”), Zach Woods (“The Office”), and Brandon Gardner will co-create and executive produce. Judge and Woods will lead the voice cast. The show will center on Lauren Caspian, a well-meaning, but hypocritical NPR host who also happens to be a stop-motion puppet — and conducts interviews with real-world human guests. Each episode of Peacock’s “In the Know” will follow the making of an episode of the fictitious NPR “In the Know,” complete with Caspian’s diverse crew of staffers.
The documentary “Our American Family,” about a Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse, streams Oct. 7 on AMC+. The doc centers on five family members struggling to transcend their troubled histories.
Animals have freaky and unusual abilities. And the documentary “Super/Natural,” which streams on Disney+ Sept. 21, has chronicled them. An added bonus: Oscar winner Benedict Cumberbatch (“Year of the Dog”) narrates and James Cameron (“Titanic”) produces.