Sundance Now Greenlights ‘A Discovery of Witches’ and HBO Max Renews ‘The Flight Attendant’
“A Discovery of Witches,” season two, premieres on Jan. 9 on Sundance Now and Shudder. Adapted from Deborah Harkness’ “All Souls” trilogy, the 10-part second season finds vampire Matthew (Matthew Goode) and Diana, his untrained companion, (Teresa Palmer) hiding in time in the intriguing and treacherous world of Elizabethan London. There, they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life.
Here’s a look at other deals and upcoming projects:
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“The Flight Attendant,” starring Kaley Cuoco (“The Big Bang Theory”), was renewed by HBO Max for a second season. According to the streamer, the thriller “saw week-over-week growth and ranked as HBO Max’s No. 1 series overall during its run.” The first eight-episode season of “The Flight Attendant” was based on Chris Bohjalian’s novel about a woman who wakes up in a hotel room and discovers a murdered man in her bed. Separately, HBO released the trailer for the two-part doc series “Tiger,” about golfer Tiger Woods. It premieres Jan 10 and ends Jan. 17.
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“Locke and Key” has been renewed for a third season at Netflix; production begins next year. The news comes just ahead of the second-season debut, set to launch in 2021. The series is based on the comic-book series by Joe Hill and Gabrielle Rodriguez. After their father is murdered, the Locke siblings move into Keyhouse, their ancestral home. In the spooky residence, they discover magical keys that relate to their dad’s unexpected demise. The cast includes Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Darby Stanchfield and Sherri Saum.
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“Virgin River” also gets a Netflix renewal for season three. Based on best-selling novels by Robyn Carr, the series dropped season one in December 2019 and season two in late November 2020. Stars Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson will be joined by Zibby Allen and Stacey Farber in the next incarnation. Like the previous two turns, it will be a 10-episode arc. Carr wrote 21 “Virgin River” books, with the last one published in October.
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The Dodo has partnered with Hulu to bring its family-favorite animal series to the streamer. Hulu viewers can access 40 episodes from The Dodo’s series, including “Comeback Kids,” “Reunited,” “Best Animal Friends,” “Adoption Day,” “Rescued!” and “First Taste of Freedom.” Prior to the Hulu deal, these six series collectively amassed more than 1.3 billion video views across social-media platforms; audiences have spent nearly 40 million hours watching the shows.
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“His Dark Materials” has been renewed by HBO/HBO Max and BBC One for its third and final season. Based on author Philip Pullman’s trilogy, the series was renewed for a second season before the first debuted in November 2019. The second season ends Dec. 28. The final eight-episode season begins filming in Cardiff, Wales, in 2021. The story revolves around Lyra, a brave young woman (Dafne Keen) from another world. The drama also stars Ruth Wilson, Amir Wilson, Ariyon Bakare, Andrew Scott, Will Keen, Ruta Gedmintas and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
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Vimeo is spinning off from IAC; it intends to launch an IPO in Q2 2021. It claims 200 million total users and says it gained 30 million new users over the last seven months.
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Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free OTT video streamer for its smart TVs and Galaxy phones, arrives in India next year. Samsung TV Plus is already available in 12 countries: the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Korea, Australia and Brazil.