‘Pachinko’ Gets Season 2 Premiere Date, ‘Hacks’ Scores a Season 4 Renewal, New Chicago RSN, More
‘Pachinko’ Gets Season 2 Premiere Date, ‘Hacks’ Scores a Season 4 Renewal, New Chicago RSN, More
“Pachinko” Season 2 Premiere Date Announced
Apple TV+ has announced the official return of one of its most acclaimed series.
Soo Hugh’s Peabody Award-winning “Pachinko” will have its Season 2 premiere on Friday, Aug. 23. Based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Min Jin Lee, the sweeping, four-generation, three-language story “chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family…as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive.”
Watch the date announcement video for “Pachinko” Season 2 below:
Returning starring cast members include Yuh-Jung Youn, Soji Arai, Jin Ha, Junwoo Han, Eun-chae Jung, Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Anna Sawai, and Sungkyu Kim.
New episodes of “Pachinko” Season 2 will be released weekly every Friday through Oct. 11.
“Hacks” Renewed at Max
After wrapping its third season this past Thursday, the award-winning comedy series, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, was given a Season 4 renewal from the streamer.
“Hacks,” which was created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, follows the dysfunctional partnership between Smart’s Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comic, and Einbinder’s Ava Daniels, an outcast comedy 25-year-old comedy writer who is hired to modernize Vance’s material. After Season 3 began with Vance riding high from her successful standup special and Ava exploring new opportunities in Los Angeles, the pair joined forces again.
Watch the trailer for “Hacks” Season 3 below:
In addition to In addition to Smart, Einbinder, and Downs, “Hacks” also stars Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mega Statler, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato, Kaitlin Olson, Jane Adams, Christopher McDonald, and more.
Prime Video Will Reboot “American Gladiators”
3… 2… 1… “American Gladiators” is entering the arena once again.
The classic competition series will return after a reboot order from Prime Video, a competitive response itself to the recent success of the BBC’s reboot of the United Kingdom’s version, “Gladiators,” which was renewed earlier this year for a second season after becoming the network’s biggest entertainment series launch in nearly a decade.
Watch the intro video for the original “American Gladiators” below:
“American Gladiators” originally launched in syndication in 1989, pitting a cast of amateur athletes (referred to as contenders) against each other and the title cast of Gladiators who must prevent their quest for success. NBC previously commissioned a reboot in 2008 hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali that ran for two seasons.
Original series creator Johnny C. Ferraro’s Flor-Jon Films will executive produce the reboot, which will see the return of classic competitions such as Gauntlet, Hang Tough, and The Eliminator.
Teaser for Final Season of “Snowpiercer” Out Now
Within three months of acquiring the post-apocalyptic thriller series, AMC has released the first teaser trailer for the upcoming fourth and final season of “Snowpiercer,” which will premiere far earlier than initially anticipated.
The adaptation of Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette’s graphic novel series and Bong Joon-ho's film of the same name premiered initially on TNT in 2020 (and was expected to move to TBS during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown before the decision was reversed), but, as announced earlier this year, the series will make the move to AMC and its streamer AMC+ for its final season.
Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, “Snowpiercer” centers on the remnants of humanity and the perpetually moving train that circles the globe they inhabit. Set nine months after the action-packed Season 3 finale that split up Melanie (played by Jennifer Connelly), who stayed aboard Snowpiercer to lead the Eternal Engine and the safety-focused passengers, and Andre (Daveed Diggs), who chose to lead the others on Big Alice to the unknown, outside world of New Eden.
Watch the teaser trailer for “Snowpiercer” Season 4 below:
The series also stars Sean Bean, Rowan Blanchard, Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGuinness, Lena Hall, Sam Otto, Chelsea Harris, Mike O’Malley, Roberto Urbina, and Sheila Vand with Clark Gregg and Michael Aronov joining the final season.
The Season 4 premiere, “Snakes In The Garden,” will air on Sunday, July 21 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and will be available to stream on AMC+. The first two seasons of the series are available to stream now, with Season 3 coming to the service this Saturday, June 8.
Netflix Announces Premiere for “Lara Croft” Series
She’s back to making her own luck. Netflix has announced the premiere date for its upcoming animated series “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft,” the latest from the three-decade-old franchise.
No stranger to playing a hero, Hayley Atwell will voice the title tomb raider. Written by Tasha Huo (“The Witcher: Blood Origin”), the new series will pick up after the events of the “Tomb Raider” Survivor video game trilogy (which includes 2013’s “Tomb Raider, 2015’s “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” and 2018’s “Shadow of the Tomb Raider”) and will follow Croft as she “continues to explore ancient mysteries and uncover lost truths across breathtaking and dangerous destinations” in adventurer’s latest chapter.
Watch the date announcement video for “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” below:
Per the official series description, Croft has traded in exploring with her friends to embark on increasingly perilous solo missions, but when she must return home after a dangerous and powerful Chinese artifact is stolen from Croft Manor by a thief with a personal connection, the pursuit “will take her on an adventure around the world and to the depths of forgotten tombs, where she will be forced to confront her true self and decide just what kind of hero she wants to become.
In addition to Atwell, Allen Maldonado will voice the role of Zip, and Earl Baylon will reprise his role of Jonah from the games. Additional voices will be announced later.
“Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” will premiere exclusively on Thursday, Oct. 10, on Netflix.
Trailer for Netflix’s “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution” Released
Netflix is kicking off this Pride this year with the full-length trailer for “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution,” its upcoming documentary taking a closer look at the history and influence of queer stand-up comedy.
Watch the trailer for “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution” below:
In addition to rare archival materials, performances, and interviews, the special features an all-star roster including Margaret Cho, Patti Harrison, Lea DeLaria, Eddie Izzard, Tig Notaro, Rosie O’Donnell, Lily Tomlin, Joel Kim Booster, Mae Martin, Sandra Bernhard, Marsha Warfield, Trixie Mattel, Robin Tran, Roger Q. Mason, and many others.
“Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution” will premiere exclusively on Netflix on Tuesday, June 18.
Chicago Sports Will Have New Home This Fall
Three of the Windy City’s major sports teams have found a new broadcast home.
Starting this October, the Chicago Bulls, [Blackhawks], and [White Sox] will play their games on Chicago Sports Network (CHSN), replacing NBC Sports Chicago as the teams’ official homes. The brand-new regional sports network (RSN) will launch this fall with Blackhawks and Bulls preseason games, with the White Sox following suit in the 2025 MLB season.
The confirmation comes just under a month since we reported on the early details regarding the deal with Standard Media Group that showed the privately held Nashville, Tennessee-based company would create a new network to house the three teams, providing fans with options to watch over-the-air, with cable, and, in the future, through streaming.
The Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox will see their current deal with NBC Sports Chicago, where they have been since Oct. 1, 2004, expire 20 years later this Oct. 1. The Chicago Cubs were also part of the pack before they split to form their Marquee Sports Network in 2019.