Burned through your streaming watch list and DVR? Thankfully, there are plenty of new options being released, from the interactive return of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and group watch parties, to the quarantine emergence of professional wrestling and the Criterion Collection, there’s something for everybody. Especially those who grew up on Bam Bam Bigelow and François Truffaut.
HBO MAX GOES ALL-IN ON J.J. ABRAMS
How valuable is a good storyteller? According to WarnerMedia, the answer is half a billion dollars. That’s what the studio reportedly shelled out to sign J.J. Abrams, the writer and director who rebooted the Star Wars franchise and created television hits like Felicity, Alias and Lost. When you sign a creator for that much money you damn well better order something from them, and WarnerMedia’s upcoming HBO Max announced three new shows from Abrams’ Bad Robot. Duster, the only original drama of the three, will be written by Abrams and Shameless writer LaToya Morgan, and will follow a getaway driver in 1970’s southwest America. There are also two shows based on existing IP. Overlook will take place at the haunted hotel from The Shining, and Justice League Dark is based on the DC comic book about a supernatural version of the superhero team. Justice League Dark has been a priority of WarnerMedia for a while, with Guillermo del Toro attached to a feature version at one point.
Writers have become the all-stars of Hollywood over the last year as studios raced to sign creators in huge, exclusive deals for their streaming services. Abrams is just one of the new wave of TV writers who worked their way up the ranks at a time when the medium was looked down on, only to emerge as the Kings and Queens of content. Why? Because they know how to tell the types of stories that people can relate to. The types of stories that people spend a week anticipating, want to engage with, and discuss with friends. A good story can bring us all together and writers are finally getting rewarded for their ability to tell them.
NETFLIX GOES DEEPER INTO INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING WITH KIMMY SCHMIDT
A year after the series finale of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt aired, the series will return with a one-off special titled Kimmy vs The Reverend. It will use the same technology as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch in which viewers can make choices that will dictate the path of the narrative. Similar, but legally not the same as the classic Choose Your Own Adventure novels from many childhoods, Netflix will give viewers a way to interact with their favorite show in a unique way. And while it may sound simple, there’s a reason Netflix hasn’t filmed too many of these. Although the whole experience will be the length of a TV episode for the viewer, the writers still have to script out a variety of divergent storylines to give the audience places to go. It’s akin to writing multiple features that all have to connect and branch off of one another. Cast members told Entertainment Weekly that the script supervisor needed to remind them which timeline a scene took place in so they could keep their performances consistent. It’s interesting to see the ways broadcasters experiment with standard story structure to stand out amongst the hundreds of competing programs and streaming services, and hopefully we’ll see more creative gambles like this in the future.
GROUP WATCHING SURGES IN POPULARITY
From Netflix Party to Twitch streaming, community watching has been growing in popularity in a cord-cutter’s world. For years, basic cable provided friends with the opportunity to watch a movie together while in their own homes, but the rise of streaming required a lot of planning and synchronization for friends to join together in a remote movie night. Now, group watch parties have started growing in popularity thanks to two new apps. Amazon now allows Twitch users to stream movies and TV shows to anybody who wants to watch and comment along. Netflix Party is a third-party Chrome extension that lets large groups sync the same movie between them with a chatroom in which they can communicate. Digital watch-a-longs are nothing new, and some screenwriters have done Q&A Twitter screenings with their fans to answer questions and dole out tips of the trade while they watch the film. Now you don’t have to be a professional screenwriter with a large following to enjoy a digital movie night, as these new apps allow everybody to replicate their pre-quarantine Friday nights.
GO TO VIRTUAL FILM SCHOOL WITH THE CRITERION CHANNEL
When the FilmStruck streaming service shut down as part of AT&T’s HBO Max consolidation plan, classic film lovers held their collective breaths. The service was a co-venture between Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection and gave fans access to some of the world’s best movies. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Criterion to strike out on its own and launch The Criterion Channel, a streaming service with access to a rotating collection of about 2,000 titles. Entertainment Weekly took the time to put together a syllabus so that we can put ourselves through a digital film school by breaking down essential films into categories like “Game Changers”, “International Influence” and “The Rise of New Hollywood”. And if that’s not enough, the Criterion is constantly curating new titles and themed collections like the recently added “70’s Style Icons” and “Columbia Noir”. The streaming service also provides plenty of bonus features taken from their home releases that offer insight through making-ofs and commentaries. Now is the perfect opportunity to study story structure from the masters of the craft, and to also find inspiration in films with experimental narratives.
PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING IS ESSENTIAL IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA
In a move that sets the immediate return for live sports, the Florida Governor’s Office declared that the WWE is now considered an essential service. It couldn’t name the WWE specifically, so the move opens the door to any event that produces live television for a national audience without a live crowd. The WWE was in the process of recording months worth of television when it abruptly changed course and decided to resume live production. While there was the expected backlash to the announcement that professional wrestling is essential in a pandemic, other sports have started the conversation around resuming their leagues and Florida looks to weigh-in heavily on their future plans. The UFC has been trying with great difficulty to continue holding events and is hell bent on starting again in early May, and both the NBA and NHL have been looking at ways to finish their seasons. While the games would be a welcome distraction for the people at home, hopefully the safety of everybody involved remains the highest priority.