Netflix Gets Steamy With ‘Malcolm & Marie,’ Signs Kevin Hart to 4-Feature Deal
“Malcolm & Marie” arrives February 5 with an intense love-hate relationship. In the steamy new Netflix drama, Zendaya and John David Washington play passionate, but tortured lovers. “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson directs, exploring not just a love story, but a story about love. Shot in secret last summer under quarantine, the cast and crew were in lockdown for two weeks. The black-and-white drama takes place in one night, as facts about their relationship are revealed.
Here’s a look at other deals and upcoming projects:
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Kevin Hart’s Netflix deal means he will star and produce four features for the streamer and then enter into a first-look deal via HartBeat Productions. He is due to shoot ‘True Story,” a limited drama series with Wesley Snipes for Netflix, though not part of the upcoming deal. In November, the platform streamed Hart’s “No F**s Given” special.
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Peacock expands topical news content with “The Overview,” a new special series hosted by NBC News-MSNBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz. Premiering on Peacock January 16, the show provides a new take on the most pressing issues. The first three episodes will focus on climate change, the future of elections,and the significance of nostalgia in society. Viewers can sign up for Peacock for free at peacocktv.com
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“The Tomorrow War,” a sci-fi thriller with Chris Pratt, is expected to land at Amazon Studios. The film price is said to be an estimated $200 million.
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“The Umbrella Academy” has cast the members of the Sparrow Academy, the next version of The Umbrella Academy, for the Netflix drama’s upcoming third season. Here, Sir Reginald Hargreeves still adopted seven of the 43 children, all born on the same day in 1989 to mothers who had not seemingly been pregnant — but all, save Ben (Justin H. Min) are different. The new lineup includes Marcus, a.k.a. Sparrow #1 (Justin Cornwell); Ben, Sparrow #2 (Min); Fei, Sparrow #3 (Britne Oldford); Alphonso, Sparrow #4, (Jake Epstein); Sloane, Sparrow #5 (Genesis Rodriguez); Jayme, Sparrow #6 (Cazzie David); Christopher, Sparrow #7 (played by an “existential dread inducing psykronium cube), per Netflix.
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Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is set to star on Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” series from David E. Kelley (“The Practice,” “Boston Legal”). The drama is adapted from “The Brass Verdict,” the second book in Michael Connelly’s series.
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The upcoming Gotham PD project at HBO Max arrives with Joe Barton as executive producer and showrunner on the untitled series from Terrence Winter. Barton previously created and wrote the BBC Two/Netflix drama series “Giri/Haji.” Most recently he co-wrote the upcoming feature film “Invasion,” starring Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer, which will be distributed by Amazon Studios. Barton will also write and executive produce the Netflix drama series “Half Bad,” based on the books by Sally Green.
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“The Office” was the most streamed show in 2020, per Nielsen. ( Nielsen’s SVOD Content Ratings service measures four services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+.) Americans streamed more than 57 billion minutes of “The Office,” which aired for nine seasons on NBC. The next most streamed was “Greys Anatomy.” Also in the top 10, past seasons of “Criminal Minds,” “NCIS,” “Schitt’s Creek,” “Supernatural,” “Shameless,” “New Girl,” “The Blacklist” and “Vampire Diaries.”