PRESS
Sarah Michelle Gellar Set To Join 'Wolf Pack'
Hold your howls: Sarah Michelle Gellar is about to investigate a wolf pack. Paramount+ today announced that Emmy® winner Sarah Michelle Gellar will star in and executive produce its upcoming original series Wolf Pack from MTV Entertainment Studios. The casting was unveiled -- in fitting fashion, may we add -- during Paramount+’s Teen Wolf panel in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, with a surprise appearance by Gellar.
‘Monarch’ Heralds a New Family Empire, This One With a Texas Twang
Starring Trace Adkins, Anna Friel and Susan Sarandon, the new Fox musical series brings “Empire”-style dynastic drama to the world of country music.
Shania Twain, Martina McBride & Tanya Tucker to Guest-Star on Fox’s Country Music Drama ‘Monarch’
The upcoming country music-focused Fox musical drama Monarch stars singer/actor Trace Adkins, but he’s not the only country music entertainer who will be featured in the upcoming series. Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Little Big Town and Tanya Tucker will also guest star throughout the first season of the series.
Susan Sarandon & Anna Friel To Star In Fox Drama Series ‘Monarch’
Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel are set to star in Fox’s straight-to-series country music dynasty drama Monarch, produced by Fox Entertainment.
‘Love, Victor’ Renewed for Season 3 at Hulu
The Disney-backed streamer has renewed the coming-of-age comedy and Love, Simon offshoot for a third season. The news comes a month and a half after the series starring Michael Cimino returned for its second season.
Jason Ensler To Direct & EP Premiere Of Fox Series ‘Monarch’, NBC Pilot ‘Dangerous Moms’
Seasoned TV director-producer Jason Ensler has been tapped to direct and executive produce the opening episode of Fox’s straight-to-series country music dynasty drama Monarch, produced by Fox Entertainment, and NBC’s drama pilot Dangerous Moms, from Warner Bros. TV and Universal TV. He is shooting the two pilots back-to-back in Atlanta.
'Love, Victor' Renewed at Hulu
Hulu is going back to Creekwood High. The Disney-owned streamer has renewed Love, Victor for a second season. Inspired by Becky Albertalli's book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Michael Cimino steps into the role of Victor, with original feature film star Nick Robinson serving as the show's narrator.
Hulu’s ‘Love, Victor’ Is A Welcome Diversion For An LGBTQ Pride Month Like No Other
With 2020’s LGBTQ Pride Month off to a less-than-celebratory start, there couldn’t be a better time to retreat into the cozy world of “Love, Simon,” where adolescent romance and self-acceptance can be found atop a Ferris wheel.
Jason Ensler Inks Overall Deal With 20th Century Fox TV, Joins ‘Love, Simon’ Disney+ Series
Director/producer Jason Ensler is expanding his relationship with 20th Century Fox TV, signing an overall deal with the studio, part of Disney TV Studios. Under the pact, Ensler will serve as the directing executive producer on Love, Victor. […]
Review: ‘The Passage’ is full of mystery, strong characters and fangs
Executive produced by Ridley Scott (“The Martian”) and Matt Reeves (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”), the thriller series has the potential to be network TV’s latest addictive end-times saga, thanks to several meaty mysteries and strong characters that drive the story forward […]
Why The Passage Gave The Virals Such Sympathetic Backstories
The Passage may be a show featuring a desperate mission to stop people who drink blood and can't bear the feel of sunlight, but it's not just another vampire show […]
The Passage draws the most online buzz
Mark-Paul Gosselaar's 'The Passage' is drawing the most online chatter, along with a whopping 10.2 million views for its trailer. [...]
Fox releases extended trailer for The Passage
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“Saved by the Bell”) stars in FOX’s upcoming “The Passage,” from executive producer Ridley Scott and based on Justin Cronin’s best-selling fantasy book trilogy. The series centers on Project Noah, a top secret medical facility where scientists are experimenting with a dangerous virus that could lead to the cure for all disease. [...]
The Passage gets series order at Fox
At long last, vampire epic The Passage is officially a go for a TV series at Fox. The project is based on Justin Cronin’s best-selling trilogy of novels and has had a long road to air. [...]
Fox pilot The Passage sets Jason Ensler
Fox is moving forward with the drama pilot “The Passage,” with the project now set to undergo reshoots with a new director, Variety has learned. [...]
The Exorcist is The Best Horror Series
The horror genre has always fascinated me –– there’s so much to unpack about what makes people’s skin crawl, what the darkest sides of humanity can make us do, and what might await us beyond this realm. Plus, I just love scaring myself. But good horror TV is hard to find. [...]
Gender Bashing in The Exorcist
It’s weird being both a woman and a horror fan. While the genre boasts the inclusion of strong women in prominent roles, the usage and treatment of women in horror films has also been, at times, dismissive and regressive. [...]
The Exorcist is Scarier In Season Two
The Exorcist was one of the biggest surprises of 2016. With an all-star cast and a truly terrifying story, it instantly became my favorite horror show on TV. It consistently scared me in a way no other series had. Then this year, the show returned for a second season and was somehow even better. It’s been more focused, better-paced and all around scarier than its first outing. [...]
Jason Ensler joins The Exorcist
Jason Ensler is joining Fox’s horror drama The Exorcist as an executive producer/director for its upcoming second season. In addition to his duties on the show, stemming from him directing two episodes of The Exorcist‘s first season, he also has signed a deal with the studio behind it, 20th Century Fox TV. [...]
Exorcist Episode 105 Review
A demonic confrontation is upon us! Will the power of the Lord compel this evil force from young Casey Rance (Hannah Kasulka)? Can Father Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) and Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera) band together and do what’s necessary? [...]
Lethal Weapon Episode 108 Review
"Can I Get a Witness?" may have been the slightest Lethal Weapon episode so far. Not that the beach shoot out at the end (set to CCR's "Run Through the Jungle") wasn't fun, or reminiscent of when Riggs' trailer got shot up in Lethal Weapon 2, but throwing a kid into the mix is always a tricky thing. Especially when the child character is meant to be a conduit for therapy. [...]
Lethal Weapon Episode 104 Review
Lethal Weapon truly proved this week that its best qualities, its grace, rested within its characters and not its action. Sure, there were a few tense moments in "There Goes the Neighborhood" -- a shootout in Sherman Oaks, a tussle with a naked "Black Hulk," and the standoff at the end between Murtaugh and Marcus -- but overall the series is starting to ease up on the adrenaline and play into the strong chemistry between the two leads. [...]
The Newsroom: Election Night Part 1 Review
Though it's hardly a clean mid-season break, The Newsroom comes back from its one-week Labor Day hiatus with all the momentum of the seventh episode. ACN's News Night team have royally fucked up by accusing the US government of committing war crimes, and even Jane Fonda, their most unlikely supporter, is rallying them for battle. [...]
Jason Ensler to Direct Transylvania
Jason Ensler has signed on to direct The CW’s drama pilot Transylvania. Written/executive produced by Hugh Sterbakov, Transylvania centers on a headstrong young woman in search of her missing father who ventures from NYC to Transylvania where she teams up with a wrongfully disgraced Scotland Yard Detective, and together they witness the births of the most famous monsters and villains in history. Ensler directed the pilots for such series as the CW’s Hart of Dixie and TNT’s Franklin & Bash. He is repped by WME. [...]
Brooklyn 99: Episode 105 Review
As we've often discussed, Brooklyn Nine-Nine serves up fairly overt themes each week. "The Vulture" touched on what in has already become overarching series thematic in the show's short five episode run: the importance of Voltron Force, and teamwork. Nothing says "let's pull together" like a common enemy or getting drunk and engaging in a little G-rated role play. [...]
Cult Pilot Review
No art form is more sensitive to social media than television. Over the years, shows as disparate as "Grey's Anatomy," "Mad Men" and "The Colbert Report" widened and intensified their fan bases through Twitter, Facebook, network websites and YouTube, making devotion just as important as ratings in defining a show's success. But there can be a dark side to this intensity; a fan's feeling of ownership can erupt in vitriolic hysteria when a beloved character is killed or an episode doesn't deliver — the social-media furor over the first season finale of "The Killing" almost got the show canceled. [...]
Jason Ensler to Direct Cult Pilot
Jason Ensler will direct the CW’s Cult, a mystery drama from veteran sci-fi writer producer Rockne S. O’Bannon produced by Gossip Girl co-creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. [...]
Franklin & Bash: LA Times Review
Shouldering their way into the loud and densely packed world of buddy dramedies, TNT's "Franklin & Bash" seems at first precisely what it is — a self-conscious newbie show that has to push past a frat pack of successes, including "White Collar" and "Hawaii Five-O," and separate itself from the failures — "The Defenders" and "The Good Guys" — just to get a place at the bar. [...]
An Oral History of Andy Barker P.I.
Launched eight years ago next week, Andy Barker, P.I. told the story of a good-guy accountant (Andy Richter) who gets in over his head when he’s mistaken for a private eye. The show was smart, yet accessible, had ample heart, thanks to Richter’s every-man charm, an interesting cast of supporting characters (led by Tony Hale and the departed Harve Presnell), and a seemingly endless supply of hard-boiled detective story tropes to play with. [...]
Andy Barker P.I. Washington Post Review
"Andy Barker P.I.," a new NBC series about an accidental detective, abounds in qualities that aren't common to contemporary sitcoms: sweet, lovable, good-natured. Maybe even "adorable as a puppy." Even though (or because) we're only seven years in, it's safe to call it "one of the best comedies of the 21st century!" What it lacks in edge, it makes up for in charm. [...]
Grilled: Cinema Blend Review
It’s hardly uncommon for sitcom stars to make their way into the world of feature film. Unfortunately, once there they usually end up acting the same character over and over again. Matthew Perry has turned every role he’s played into Chandler Bing under another name. Seriously, man, spread your wings a little. When TV comedic actors do open themselves up a little to try different things it can be exciting and fascinating to watch. With Grilled both Ray Romano and Kevin James take that leap of faith into the arms of director Jason Ensler, who guides them masterfuly into a whole new realm of comedy. [...]
Grilled: Film Fiend Review
Grilled is my kind of comedy. Instead of assaulting the audience with tired jokes and gross-out gags, Jason Ensler and company are content to let the laughs come naturally, organically. Nothing feels out-of-place or forced; it's the situation itself that brings the funny. Though each guy has his own brand of faults and flaws, you still find yourself in their corner, hoping that they'll close at least ONE DEAL before the movie ends. [...]
Martha Inc: The Story of Martha Stewart NYTimes Review
Only the most cold and unfeeling viewer could resist a movie that puts Martha Stewart on the set of her cooking show screaming, ''And for God's sake did I not ask for merlot??!!!!'' NBC's made-for-television movie ''Martha Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart'' does an entertaining job of tracing the rise and fall of one of the most fascinating -- and irritating -- tycoons of our time. [...]
Behind The Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three’s Company NYTimes Review
The appeal of a behind-the-scenes look at an ABC sitcom about two women and a man sharing an apartment that ran from 1977 to 1984 is more veiled. It deeper meaning cannot be appreciated fully without taking into account the bruised psyches and misplaced nostalgia of today's network executives. [...]