You’ll be surprised by the latest DC Comics character getting a spin-off series; Veronica Mars prepares for season 4 with a full-length trailer; short-form streaming service Quibi signs big-name stars, and more of the week’s biggest TV news.
We’re just weeks away from Stranger Things season 3’s July 4 release — which means it’s time for brands to inundate you with their tie-in marketing. Hey: nothing says 1980s like a bitchin’ brand deal! The latest round of merch includes:
Burger King: On June 21, get a Whopper served upside down (get it?) at select locations in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Or, ya know, you could just order a Whopper and flip it over any time you want.
welcome to hawki—er, burger king. would you like an upside down whopper?
served upside down at select bk locations on June 21.
a partnership with Coca-Cola and Netflix. pic.twitter.com/K4zNuJaVnD
— Stranger King (@BurgerKing) June 13, 2019
Coke: Share a New Coke with your friends with a limited run of the failed product, which you can get via a limited-edition Stranger Things glass bottle, at a pop-up vending machine, or with a gift or ticket at the company’s Atlanta headquarters.
Everyone: I don’t think Stranger Things can get any more 80’s.
Stranger Things: Hold my New Coke… #StrangerThings3 #Enjoy pic.twitter.com/xnCGY1dkrQ— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) May 21, 2019
Nike: Throw it back to 1985 with modern takes on authentic Nike styles from that year.
Baskin-Robbins: The ice cream chain is releasing tie-in sundaes and flavors including an Elevenade Freeze drink, Byers’ House Lights Polar Pizza Ice Cream Treat, USS Butterscotch quarts, and more.
Stranger Things Are Happening at Baskin-Robbins… pic.twitter.com/uJjljyRY9b
— Baskin-Robbins (@BaskinRobbins) May 28, 2019
H&M: Loving the retro summer style in the series’ first season that takes place over summer break? Check out H&M’s Stranger Things line for eighties-inspired clothes, swimwear, accessories, and more.
Big Mouth: The company behind everyone’s favorite donut-shaped pool floats has released a line of Stranger Things–shaped inflatables perfect for Instagram, including a massive Demogorgon lawn sprinkler, a waffle pool float, and a Christmas light beach blanket.
Lego: Now available: The Upside Down deluxe playset.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Introducing LEGO Stranger Things, available today for LEGO VIP members! https://t.co/EUTjqXYEAn @NXOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/QBC0ByrE1u
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) May 14, 2019
(Photo by Steffan Hill/SYFY)
The latest DC character to get its own TV series is space bounty hunter Lobo. Emmett J. Scanlan, who will play the character in season 2 of Superman prequel Krypton, has signed on to head up the potential live-action series.
The DC Comics character, whose name means “he who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it,” hails from the utopian planet of Czarnia — where he wiped out his entire race of people, and eventually took his rocket-fueled motorcycle and became the “best bounty hunter in the galaxy” with his strong fists, advanced haling powers, and unquenchable thirst for blood. He’s true to his word, and takes particular joy in apprehending people “as painfully as possible.”
His first appearance came in Omega Men #3 in 1983, and his powers include super strength, invulnerability, super speed, healing factor, alien technology, combat skill, weapons expert.
The week’s biggest trailer is the first full-length look at Pennyworth, the upcoming Batman prequel series about the early life of the caped crusader’s butler. The series premieres July 28 on Epix.
Other trailers include:
Before season 4 of Veronica Mars debuts on Hulu July 26, you can catch up with the titular character’s life as a teen private eye in seasons 1-3 of the series: They’ll premiere on the streaming service July 1. The cult favorite series ran from 2004-2007 and returned with a fan-funded movie in 2014. The 2019 revival will consist of an eight-episode fourth season of the series, with Kristen Bell and most original cast members reprising their roles. Watch the first trailer for the new season, released this week, above.
(Photo by MTV/Everett Collection)
MTV has ordered a spin-off of its ’90s animated series Daria, focusing on a classmate frequently seen in the original series: Jodie. Tracee Ellis Ross will serve as an executive producer and voice the titular character “as she comes into her own and enters the workplace in her first post-college job in tech,” according to the official description. The upcoming series is the first adult animated show in nearly two decades to star a black woman.
When They See Us has been the most-watched series on Netflix in the US every day since it premiered on May 31 pic.twitter.com/jS8IXIh03g
— Netflix US (@netflix) June 12, 2019
Netflix revealed an interesting viewership factoid about its Central Park Five miniseries from Ava DuVernay.
(Photo by BBC America)
Tatiana Maslany is returning to Orphan Black – sort of. The Clone Club president will narrate a new audio series called Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. It will serve as the official continuation of the BBC America series, which followed a group of women (all played by Maslany) who discovered they were clones created as part of an experiment. The new series will premiere this summer on Serial Box.
Warner Bros. Animation has released the very first short from its Looney Tunes Cartoons series, which is bringing back the beloved animated characters for a new generation. “Dynamite Dance,” directed by David Gemmill, features Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny and is available to watch now. Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and other marquee characters are all returning in the series, which will feature a “cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling” in “simple, gag-driven, and visually vibrant stories.” Each cartoon will run from one to six minutes, and each season will produce 1,000 minutes of new Looney Tunes animation.
A couple years ago I met with the amazing @rebeccasugar and got thw opportunity of a LIFETIME. I’m so proud to announce I’m co- exec producer of …
STEVEN UNIVERSE: THE MoVIE pic.twitter.com/MooL0kgIIW
— Chance The Rapper Album in July (@chancetherapper) June 13, 2019
Chance the Rapper, Estelle, Patti LuPone, Uzo Aduba, Gallant, and Aimee Mann are among the artists contributing new music to the upcoming Steven Universe TV movie, set to air on Cartoon Network in the fall. Other musicians adding their stamp to the series include aivi & surasshu, Jeff Liu, James Fauntleroy, Macie Stewart, Mike Krol, Jeff Ball, Grant Henry, and Julian “Zorsy” Sanchez. Voice cast for the film includes Estelle, LuPone, Aduba, Christine Ebersole, Lisa Hannigan, Zach Callison, Deedee Magno Hall, Michaela Dietz, Tom Scharpling, Shelby Rabara, Erica Luttrell, Charlyne Yi, Grace Rolek, Jennifer Paz, Kate Micucci, Matthew Moy, and Toks Olagundoye.
Daniel Radcliffe will co-star in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive special coming in 2020! pic.twitter.com/X9ad4onfIN
— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) June 13, 2019
Daniel Radcliffe will star as Frederick in the upcoming interactive Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt special, set to debut in 2020. While details on his role have not yet been revealed, the special will feature Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) setting out on her biggest adventure yet. Per the official description: “Three states! Explosions! A dancing hamburger! And you, the viewer, get to decide how the story goes. Will you foil the Reverend’s (Jon Hamm) evil plan and get Kimmy to her wedding on time? Or will you accidentally start a war against the robots? So grab your remote and a tray of delicious scrod, ‘cause Kimmy’s got her own Netflix interactive special!”
The newest cast member to join Netflix’s women’s wrestling series GLOW: Geena Davis, who will play former showgirl-turned-casino entertainment director Sandy Deveraux St. Clair in five of the 10 episodes of the series’ upcoming third season. The new episodes will feature the ladies in residency at the Fan-Tan Hotel and Casino, where Davis’ character works.
National Geographic’s upcoming drama about NASA’s Project Mercury and the Soviet space race, The Right Stuff, has cast Jake McDorman and Game of Thrones’ Joe Dempsie as astronauts in the Mercury Seven. Also cast in the Tom Wolfe adaptation are Aaron Stanton, James Lafferty, Micah Stock, and Michael Trotter. Patrick J. Adams was previously announced as playing John Glenn.
#StrangerThings star Gaten Matarazzo will host "Prank Encounters," a hidden camera prank show where two strangers each think it's their first day at a new job. It's business as usual until their paths collide and these part-time jobs turn into full-time nightmares. pic.twitter.com/0jBFBb4gBD
— See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) June 14, 2019
Josh Hartnett and Bridget Regan will headline the new Southern Gothic mystery series Paradise Lost, set to debut on Spectrum Originals and Paramount Network. The series, about a psychiatrist who moves with her family from California to her husband’s Mississippi hometown, uncovering shameful secrets in the process, will also star Barbara Hersey, Nick Nolte, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler, and Shane McRae.
Kelsey Grammer is joining Alec Baldwin and Jane Lynch as hosts of Ovation’s Inside the Actors Studio, interviewing director James Burrows for the latest iteration of the series. Other guests will include Henry Winkler (interviewed by Baldwin) and David Oyelowo (interviewed by Lynch), among others.
(Photo by Michael Gibson/STX Entertainment)
Idris Elba will star in a series for the short-form streaming service Quibi, which is set to launch in 2020. In Elba vs. Block, the actor will face off with star driver Ken Block in a competition pitting a variety of cars against each other. The two men will go head-to-head performing increasingly outrageous stunts to prove which car and which driver is best. The eight-episode series will be shot in London’s Docklands. Also working on a series for Quibi are Don Cheadle, Emily Mortimer, and Helena Howard, who will star in sci-fi drama Don’t Look Deeper, about a high school senior who can’t shake the feeling that she’s not human. Once she realizes who she is and where she comes from, her life will be in jeopardy.
WarnerMedia has ordered a series based on Frank Herbert’s Dune novels called Dune: The Sisterhood. The series will reportedly serve as a companion piece to the upcoming Dune feature film directed by Denis Villeneuve. Villeneuve will executive produce the series and direct its pilot.
Lena Dunham is returning to HBO as an executive producer of the new eight-part drama Industry, about the international finance world. Created by Konrad Kay and Mickey Down and based on their personal experiences, the series follows a group of twentysomething graduates angling for a permanent job at a top investment bank. The series will film in Cardiff, Wales over the summer.
James Purefoy stars in Hulu’s just-announced series Fertile Crescent, which will examine the Syrian civil war through the eyes of a young French man searching for his presumed dead sister who ends up teaming with a unit of Kurdish female fighters and traveling with them through ISIS-occupied territory. Felix Moati, Melanie Thierry, and more will star in the eight-episode series.
