Netflix Makes Several Important Announcements For TV Fans At TCA Meeting
BEVERLY HILLS (AP) — TV networks and streaming services are at the Television Critics Association summer meeting in Beverly Hills and releasing details on upcoming programs that have fans abuzz.
First, there may be another season of "Arrested Development" after all.
Netflix, which aired a fourth season of the show in 2013, is planning to bring the cast, including Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi and Will Arnett together for more episodes, but Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos says the sticking point seems to be coordinating their busy schedules.
"We are plugging along," he said. "It's a very long complex deal to make for these guys because the talent is very busy and working on other shows, but also because the show is owned by Fox."
"Arrested Development" aired for three seasons on Fox until its cancellation in 2006.
At the event, Tina Fey touched on the intersection of politics and entertainment this year, saying Donald Trump's run for president is "great for comedy."
"I'm sure 'Saturday Night Live' wishes they were on the air right now," Fey said during a panel discussion at the summer Television Critics Association Meeting. "I'm sure next year at this time you'll be doing a panel with Darrell Hammond (the former 'SNL' cast member who does an impression of Trump)."
Fey stopped short of making a joke about Trump, saying nothing was fully formed in her head.
Fey was head writer and a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" before she went on to star in NBC's "30 Rock." Now she's a co-creator and executive producer of the Netflix series "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
Other comics also have been unable to resist.
Stephen Colbert, whose hosting reign of "The Late Show" doesn't begin until September, recently posted a video on the show's YouTube channel, mocking Trumps announcement to run for president.
Attention superhero fans: Netflix says it's got your back.
The streaming site hopes to release a new Marvel series every six months. Next up: "Jessica Jones," will debut by the end of 2015.
Marvel series' will be supplemented with new content featuring the Defenders, an Avengers-like group whose characters include Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
All four will join forces in a combined "Defenders" season after each has been introduced with its own first season. "Daredevil," which premiered this spring, has been picked up for a second season.
Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos on Tuesday acknowledged the possibility of a spinoff on "Daredevil" villain, The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal. He will appear in season 2 of "Daredevil."
"That's the beauty of the Marvel universe," Sarandos said.
Netflix announced they've picked up "Longmire," a show canceled by A&E, for one simple reason: They thought it was good.
"There's no real policy," Netflix content head Ted Sarandos told a panel of journalists Tuesday. "There's no 'a show has to check off these boxes to make it.'"
"Longmire," starring Robert Taylor and Katee Sackhoff, was canceled in 2014 after three seasons. A few months later, Netflix announced it was picking the series up for a fourth season.
"We wanted to give the creators a chance to keep doing what they were doing," Sarandos said.
"Longmire" will premiere on Netflix on Sept. 10 and pick up right where the third season left off.
Don't expect cursing or nudity on the second season of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
Co-creator and executive producer Tina Fey says being in the Netflix world doesn't mean she plans to go overboard, noting that many people tell her they watch the show with their children.
"I think it does give us license to play with time and culture or to potentially offend an advertiser or the NFL," she joked
"Kimmy Schmidt," about a young woman (Ellie Kemper) rescued from a cult who begins a new life in New York, was originally intended to air on NBC. It wasn't until after filming was completed that it moved over to Netflix.
Editors were able to go back in and make the episodes a bit longer and add in jokes that might not have made it past network censors.
Shooting on the second season of "Kimmy" begins next month.
Netflix says it's "thrilled" to be working with Adam Sandler, even if he's no longer a titan at the box office.
Sandler, whose latest movie, "Pixels," pulled in $24-million in the U.S. in its first weekend — less than analysts expected — stars in "The Ridiculous Six," which premieres on Dec. 11 on the streaming site. The movie is one of four he will star in and produce for Netflix.
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, cited Sandler's international appeal as a bonus.
"We did our deal with Sandler because he is an enormous international movie star," he said. "We are as encouraged as ever."
Netflix will premiere an original documentary on Keith Richards.
"Keith Richards - Under the Influence" will be available Sept. 18, the streaming service announced Tuesday.
Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, the documentary will examine Richards' musical influences and the genesis of his sound, and follow him as the 71-year-old Rolling Stone prepares for his first solo album in 23 years. "Under the Influence" will have both new and archival footage.
The decision to reboot the ABC comedy "Full House" on Netflix with most of the original cast came down to the idea of families watching TV together.
"We got very excited about the idea of co-viewing the audience which is very rare on television today," Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, said Tuesday as the Television Critics Association summer meeting began.
It was also a smart business decision because it's remained a part of popular culture since going off the air in 1995, thanks to syndication.
The reboot, called "Fuller House," had its first taping last week. Sarandos said the cast easily slipped back into their characters. As for whether Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen would ever reprise their role of Michelle Tanner, Sarandos said, "the Olsen twins are teetering (over) whether or not they'll be around."
Aziz Ansari is getting his own Netflix series.
The comic has already headlined comedy specials for the streaming site but "Master of None" is a comedy that will follow the actor as an indecisive 30-year-old named Dev, living in New York.
He created the series, announced Tuesday, and will co-executive produce.
The cast includes H Jon Benjamin and Eric Wareheim.
"Master of None" hits Netflix on Nov. 6.
(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
