HBO is doubling down on ‘Game of Thrones’ prequels and, honestly, who can blame them?

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

It’s Friday! Happy Friday!

Tales of Dunk & Egg is being developed as another Game of Thrones prequel at HBO, and according to Deadline, it’s one of a “handful” of Game of Thrones projects being developed.

The Tales of Dunk & Egg are a series of novellas by George R.R. Martin about the adventures of “Dunk” (the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall) and “Egg” (the future king Aegon V Targaryen), which take place some 90 years before the events in Game of Thrones. There are three novellas published so far, and Martin has threatened that he hopes to write somewhere between 6 and 12 in total. ONLY AFTER YOU FINISH THE OTHER NOVELS, GEORGE.

This is not the first Game of Thrones prequel being worked on at HBO: House of the Dragon has already been ordered, and is on track to premiere next year — so this is interesting news in that they are not limiting themselves to this one series. But it’s also not surprising: HBO lost MORE THAN HALF of their subscribers after Game of Thrones ended. They’ve heard y’all loud and clear: you like Game of Thrones? OH WE’LL GIVE YOU GAME OF THRONES. 

There is some SALACIOUS gossip out there that Jane Krakowski, the wonderous Jenna Marone on 30 Rock, was secretly dating the My Pillow guy for nine months last year. JANE, NO!

The source said: ‘It surprised many of Jane’s friends because she’s such an icon in the gay community, but here she is dating one of Trump’s biggest business backers. I mean he was seen in the West Wing and at Trump rallies and he is probably responsible for half of the revenue of Fox News.

‘We’d always joke that Jane had so much money, couldn’t she afford her own My Pillow?’ 

But to be fair, Jenna Marone would have TOTALLY dated the My Pillow guy, as would Jacqueline White, if we’re all being honest with ourselves. For what it’s worth, Jane Krakowski is denying the whole thing, putting out a statement to Vanity Fair that reads: “Jane has never met Mr. Lindell. She is not and has never been in any relationship with him, romantic or otherwise. She is, however, in full-fledged fantasy relationships with Brad Pitt, Regé-Jean Page, and Kermit the Frog and welcomes any and all coverage on those.” 

If you have watched Night Stalker on Netflix, or are interested in the Richard Ramirez story in general, writer Ed Solomon has a wild story about how he was mistaken for the killer back when he was a writer on Laverne & Shirley. It’s a long thread, so I won’t post the whole thing here, but to get you started:

Ed Solomon went on to write Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Men in Black and did not murder anyone.

KELLY DODD NEEDS TO SIT DOWN.

Heads up: Wonder Woman 1984 is leaving HBO Max on Sunday, so tick tock.

There will be a Peaky Blinders movie that will help set up other Peaky Blinders-related content.

HEY, MICROSOFT: BLACK MIRROR IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUGGESTION BOX.

The AV Club has some suggestions for which Muppet Show episodes you should check out when it debuts on Disney+ next month.

This is just a very good quiz about shows canceled after one season. How many can you name?

Sorry, nerds, K-2SO will not be in the first season of Andor on Disney+.

Here are all the Cobra Kai easter eggs you probably missed in season three. Spoilers, obviously.

There’s a mini-Lost reunion headed to MacGyver on February 12.

The Kanye/Kim divorce will play out on Keeping Up with the Kardashians‘ final season and Ye is VERY NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT. Lol, too bad. Shouldn’t have married a reality star, then, I guess.

The director of Amazon’s Tandav has agreed to remove the offending scenes in his series after Hindu nationalists accused him of insulting their deities and inciting animosity between Hindus and Muslims and between the castes.

LOVE IS DEAD. And apparently blindsided, too.

Going Viral

Heads up: I know I said I was taking a breather from politics yesterday — and I am (for how long, who knows) — but what I am going to continue to write about is this pandemic, which will occasionally take us into the realm of politics. Basically, this is the reality we are living in, and it has an impact on the TV and movie industry and we can’t NOT talk about it. So yes, you are going to see Donald Jessica Trump’s name in here every once in a while, but it’s kinda unavoidable considering how he completely screwed the pooch on the virus response while he was in office.

The low estimates suggest we’ve surpassed 410,000 American deaths — the higher estimates say we’ve already surpassed 420,000. Yesterday, somewhere around 3,889 Americans died, maybe as many as 4,363. And President Biden is warning that we could top 500,000 deaths in less than a month.

President Biden signed a bunch of executive orders addressing the pandemic crisis yesterday, and unveiled his plan, the “National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.” Imagine that, a national plan.

The “National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness” outlined the kind of centralized response that Mr. Trump long avoided. The plan instructed federal agencies to invoke the Defense Production Act if necessary to expand supplies; created a “pandemic testing board” to help expand access to testing; ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue guidelines to protect workers; called for new guidelines on reopening schools and businesses; and said the government would begin fully reimbursing states for the cost of using the National Guard to accelerate the pace of vaccinations.

Also, Dr. Fauci was back behind the White House press briefing room podium yesterday.

There, Dr. Fauci delivered some sobering news: our country is “still in a very serious situation,” and the mutant variants might delay our ability to crush the virus. But he also had hope:

“If you can suppress that by a very good vaccine campaign, then you could actually avoid this deleterious effect that you might get from the mutations,” he said.

If the United States can vaccinate 70 percent to 85 percent of the population by the middle or end of the summer, he predicted, “by the time we get to the fall, we will be approaching a degree of normality.”

GET THAT VACCINE WHEN YOU CAN, Y’ALL.

Dr. Fauci also had some shit to say about the Trump administration:

And then on CNN this morning, he was asked if the “lack of candor” from the Trump administration caused deaths, and he was like: “YUP.”

The Tokyo Olympics are definitely going to happen unless they are not.

Dave Chappelle has tested positive for the virus here in Texas and has canceled a set of shows he was planning to do in Austin. Dammit to Hell, Dave.

Rémy Julienne, a stuntman and stunt coordinator, has died from COVID-19.

No Time to Die has been pushed back yet again. Listen, we’ll be lucky if it will be safe to see movies in the theaters by the fall, and everyone just needs to reckon with that already.

Coronation Street has paused filming as the virus rages through the U.K.

Renewals

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

  • Chad will debut on TBS on April 6.
  • The Walking Dead returns on AMC on February 28.
  • Framing Britney Spears will premiere on FX and FX on Hulu on February 5.
  • Big Trick Energy will premiere on truTV on April 22.
  • American Dad! returns on TBS on April 19.
  • Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness will premiere on Netflix sometime in 2021.

R.I.P.

Mira Furlan, Actress in Lost and Babylon 5. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Furlan when I moderated a Lost panel at Houston’s Comicpalooza a couple of years ago. She was smart and fiery and forthcoming, and certainly the most interesting part of the entire panel. My deepest condolences to her loved ones.

Hank Aaron, Baseball Hall of Famer, one of the greatest baseball players of all time, a civil rights hero, and one of the men one of my sons is named for.

Mick Norcross, U.K. reality show star of The Only Way Is Essex

Nathalie Delon, French actress

WATCH THIS

FRIDAY

Blacklist: Elizabeth seeks vengeance against Reddington. Season premiere. 7 p.m., NBC

Painting with John: Musician, actor, director, and painter, John Lurie teaches audiences what he’s learned about painting and life in general. Series premiere. 10 p.m., HBO

Pixar Popcorn: This new series highlights Pixar’s brilliant short films. Series premiere. Disney+

SATURDAY

Don’t Let Go: David Oyelowo stars as a detective who tries to prevent his niece’s murder with her help from an alternative timeline. 7 p.m., HBO

Salt-n-Pepa: The story of Cheryl “Salt” James’ and Sandra “Pepa” Denton’s journey in becoming some of rap music’s first female superstars. 7 p.m., Lifetime

SUNDAY

Euphoria: Fuck Anyone Who Is Not a Sea Blob: Jules reflects on the year in this special episode. 8 p.m., HBO

Charmed: The Faction closes in on the sisters in the season premiere. 8 p.m., The CW

FBI: Two are dead at a quinceañera in the season premiere. 9 p.m., CBS

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Friday): Rosario Dawson, Daveed Diggs, Amanda Shires featuring Jason Isbell

FRI. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Shark Tank
(new)		 20/20
CBS MacGyver
(new)		 Magnum P.I.
(new)		 Blue Bloods
(new)
CW Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(repeat)		 Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(repeat)		 Penn & Teller: Fool Us
(new)		 Local
FOX Friday Night Smackdown Local
NBC The Blacklist
(new)		 Dateline

—

SAT. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30
ABC Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
(repeat)		 The Chase
(repeat)		 Big Sky
(repeat)		 News/Local
CBS NCIS: Los Angeles
(repeat)		 S.W.A.T.
(repeat)		 48 Hours News/Local
FOX 9-1-1
(repeat)		 9-1-1: Lone Star
(repeat)		 News/Local
NBC Ellen’s Game of Games
(repeat)		 Dateline
(repeat)		 Saturday Night Live
(repeat)		 News/
Local		 Saturday Night Live
(Timotheé Chalamet & Bruce Springsteen)

—

SUN. 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC America’s Funniest Home Videos
(repeat)		 Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
(new)		 Card Sharks
(new)		 The Rookie
(new)
CBS NFL Football FBI
(new)
The CW Local Batwoman
(new)		 Charmed
(new)		 Local
FOX The Simp-sons
(repeat)		 Bob’s Burgers
(repeat)		 The Simp-sons
(repeat)		 Bob’s Burgers
(repeat)		 Bob’s Burgers
(repeat)		 Family Guy
(repeat)		 Local/News
NBC Weakest Link
(repeat)		 The Wall
(repeat)		 Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
(repeat)		 Law & Order: SVU
(repeat)

2 thoughts on “HBO is doubling down on ‘Game of Thrones’ prequels and, honestly, who can blame them?”

  1. I saw the news about Mira Furlan this morning and thought about you and that “Lost” panel you hosted. She was terrific, and I’m just sad that she’s no longer with us. Rest in peace.

    Reply

    1. She was so honest and open on that panel about her experience on the show — good and bad — in a way that I’ve never seen an actor be. She made that panel interesting and didn’t just spout a bunch of platitudes. She was impressive, and she’s already missed. Glad you were there for that experience.

      -T

      Reply

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