Streaming News Roundup: ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Cast Additions, ‘Our Flag Means Death’ Canceled, More
HBO Announces New “The Last of Us” Season 2 and “The White Lotus” Season 3
Two of HBO and Max’s biggest dramas have welcomed new cast members this past week.
First, the Emmy-nominated post-apocalyptic survival drama “The Last of Us” announced “Dopesick” star Kaitlyn Dever will be joining the show’s second season, based on the sequel video game in Naughty Dog’s “Last of Us” franchise. Dever will play new co-lead Abby, “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.”
Emmy nominee Young Mazino (“Beef”) will also join Season 2 as Jesse, “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at [a] terrible cost.”
Watch the trailer for the premiere season of “The Last of Us”:
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return as Joel and Ellie, respectively, continuing Season 1’s storyline. The first season (and first game) takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed in a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, where Joel, a hardened survivor, is tasked with taking the 14-year-old immune Ellie out of the quarantine zone and toward the hope of saving humanity.
Season 2 is slated to begin production in February.
Watch the trailer for Season 2 of “The White Lotus”:
Also at HBO, on the heels of last week's news Parker Posey would be joining the Season 3 cast of “The White Lotus,” the hit dark dramedy series announced Tuesday night it has added HBO alum and “The Gilded Age” star Carrie Coon.
In addition to Posey and Season 1’s Natasha Rothwell, who will return as Belinda for the third installment, the new season will star the previously announced Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul and Tayme Thapthimthong.
The upcoming season will be set in Thailand, with production scheduled to begin next month. Plot details are being kept under wraps but will follow a new group of guests at the White Lotus property.
Max Celebrates “The Sopranos” 25th Anniversary With Exclusive Footage and More
With all due respect, really only “The Sopranos” has an idea of what it’s like to be Number One. HBO’s mega-hit and endless influential crime drama is celebrating its 25th anniversary today, Jan. 10, and the cabler is ringing in a quarter of a century with never-before-seen footage, fan events, cast reunions, and more.
Max began the week by launching “The Sopranos: 25th Anniversary” collection, which includes 15 deleted scenes and five hours of behind-the-scenes featurette content. a “Sopranos”-inspired menu at Da Nico in New York City, “Family Reunion” fan screenings at Alamo Drafthouse, and much more.
Watch the promo for “The Sopranos” 25th Anniversary below:
The landmark series, which starred James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese, Steven Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, and more, debuted on Jan. 10, 1999, and ran until its highly controversial finale on June 10, 2007. Throughout its run, it won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in every year it was eligible, becoming the first cable TV series to receive a nomination for the award.
“Our Flag Means Death” Canceled After Two Seasons
Lower the flag to half-mast: in a shocking announcement, the fan-favorite Max period comedy series “Our Flag Means Death” will not return for a third season.
The series very loosely tells the story of Stede Bonnet, a wealthy man who decides he wants to set sail and become a pirate. Rhys Darby stars as Stede, who, while struggling to earn the respect of his potentially mutinous crew, encounters Captain Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), leading to a friendship and then love between the two captains. Samson Kayo, Vico Ortiz, Ewen Bremner, Joel Fry, Matthew Maher, Kristian Nairn, Con O’Neill, David Fane, Samba Schutte, Nat Faxon and Leslie Jones make up the swashbuckling ensemble.
Watch the trailer for “Our Flag Means Death” Season 2 below:
The long-awaited second season premiered this past October to overwhelmingly positive reviews, currently holding a 96% Tomatometer and 93% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first two seasons are expected to remain in Max’s catalog.
Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” Adds A-Listers
Guillermo Del Toro is stitching together his dream cast for his upcoming Netflix “Frankenstein” adaptation. “Saltburn” star Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”), Felix Kammerer (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), Lars Mikkelsen (“The Witcher”), David Bradley (“Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio”), and Christian Convery (“Sweet Tooth”) have joined the previously announced Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth in the fantasy film, which will bring Mary Shellery’s classic tale to life again.
Elordi will reportedly play Frankenstein’s monster, taking over the role from Andrew Garfield, with all the other recent additions currently in roles undisclosed. Isaac will play the brilliant but arrogant Victor Frankenstein, “who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.”
Frankenstein continues Netflix’s partnership with del Toro, which has so far included Oscar winner “Pinocchio,” “Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities,” “Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans,” and “Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia.”
More casting and a production timeline will be announced at a later date.
Max Sets Premiere Dates for “Sort Of” Season 3 and “Tokyo Vice” Season 2
Another twofer for Max subscribers: the streamer has officially set the premiere dates and released the trailers for Season 2 of Peabody winner “Sort Of” and Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice,” starring Ansel Elgort.
“Sort Of” stars Bilal Baig as Sabi Mehboob, a non-binary millennial trying to balance their roles as a child, caregiver, worker, and person. When their life gets shaken up following the death of their father, they will need to embrace the freedom that comes with taking big risks.
Baig leads the cast of Gray Powell, Kaya Kanashiro, Aden Bedard, Amanda Cordner, Grace Lynn Kung, Ellora Patnaik, Supinder Wraich, and more.
Season 2 of the comedy will premiere on Max on Thursday, Jan. 18.
Watch the trailer for “Sort Of” Season 3 below:
Season 2 of the critically acclaimed “Tokyo Vice” will land on the platform with its first two episodes on Thursday, Feb. 8. Loosely inspired by Jake Adelstein’s first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat with Elgort playing the American journalist, Season 2 of the drama will take audiences “deeper into the city’s criminal underworld as Adelstein comes to realize that his life, and the lives of those close to him, are in terrible danger.”
Watch the trailer for “Tokyo Vice” Season 2 below:
Ken Watanabe, Rinko Kikuchi, Rachel Keller, Show Kasamatsu, and Ayumi Ito lead opposite Elgort with Yosuke Kubozuka and Miki Maya joining the cast as new series regulars.
Apple TV+ Reveals “The Dynasty” Trailer
Apple TV+ is tackling the high rewards (and high costs) of greatness. The streamer has released the official trailer for “The Dynasty: New England Patriots.” Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Hamachek (“Tiger”) directs the series, which comes from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries and will chronicle the rise and historic 20-year run of the New England Patriots during the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft era.
Watch the trailer for “The Dynasty: New England Patriots” below:
Based on Jeff Benedict’s critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling book of the same name, the 10-part docuseries will dive deep into the highs and lows that fueled six Super Bowl titles, on- and in-the-locker-rooms controversy, chemistry, and internal strife with interviews from Kraft, Belichick, and Brady, as well as past and present Patriots players, coaches, executives, high-profile fans, and more. The project will also employ thousands of hours of never-before-seen video footage and audio files from the Patriots organization’s archive.
“The Dynasty: New England Patriots” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, Feb. 16.