Streaming Roundup (2/19/21): Tim Burton to Direct Netflix Series About Wednesday Addams
Tim Burton will direct and executive produce a live-action series about Wednesday Addams for Netflix. The streamer describes “Wednesday” as a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago.”
Donald Glover has a lucrative eight-figure deal with Amazon Studios. The deal includes a curated content portal on Amazon Prime Video. Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”) are also starring in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” for the streamer, expected in 2022, an updated take on the 2005 film. His brother Stephen (“FX’s “Atlanta”) has also signed a deal with the studio. Glover, who made his name in “Community,” had worked with Amazon Studios in “Guava Island.”
Here’s a look at other deals and upcoming projects:
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“John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise,” a six-part docuseries about the serial killer, will air March 25 on Peacock. The series features a prison interview with Gacy, who died by lethal injection in 1994. It also includes conversations with those who “were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds and those who believe that the full truth about the case remains concealed to this day,” according to the streamer.
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“Fate: The Winx Saga” gets a second season on Netflix, as the Otherworld girls learn to master their powers, while coping with love, rivals and monsters. Returning cast members include Abigail Cowen as the Fairy of the Dragon Flame, Hannah van der Westhuysen as Solaria Guardian Fairy, Precious Mustapha as Fairy of Waves, Eliot Salt as an earth fairy and Elisha Applebaum as a mind fairy.
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“Worth” is an upcoming Netflix drama, based on Kenneth Feinberg, the man who ran the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Starring Michael Keaton, it’s from the Obamas’ company, Higher Ground Productions. Directed by Sara Colangelo and written by Max Borenstein, “Worth” details the emotional toll of pricing a human life and securing compensation for over 5,300 people who lost loved ones or suffered serious health problems as a result of the terrorist attacks. “Worth,” which stars Stanley Tucci, Amy Ryan, Tate Donovan and Laura Benanti, debuts on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
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“Downton Abbey,” the award-winning British saga, will stream all six seasons on PBS Passport from Feb. 27, 2021 till Feb. 2, 2023. The period drama spans 12 years, beginning in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic and follows the upper-class and working-class lives of all involved with the Granthams. The cast includes Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael.
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Apple is partnering with Skydance Animation. The alliance, which includes feature films “Luck” and “Spellbound,” includes what Apple says is the “first-ever theatrical-quality animated television series” for Apple TV+ subscribers. John Lasseter, who founded Pixar with Steve Jobs, runs Skydance. The first series is “The Search for WondLa,” slated for two-seasons, based on the book series by Tony DiTerlizzi. Jane Fonda will also provide the lead voice in “Luck” — as “The Dragon,” the CEO of the Good Luck world. The animation deal makes Apple Studios a player in the genre.
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Crackle Plus has tapped Jeff Meier as head of programming for their networks: Crackle, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Españolflix, FrightPix, and SVOD platform Pivotshare. Meier comes from Sony Pictures where he headed content efforts for getTV, Sony Movie Channel, and cineSony. Meier will oversee the extensive Crackle and Popcornflix libraries of studio film titles and classic TV series, as well as a growing list of programming that includes exclusive movies such as the Angus MacFadyan medieval action film Robert the Bruce.