Tingly Fingers for Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul, one of the more hotly-anticipated shows for next year, has managed to maintain an almost unheard of level of mystery. The Breaking Bad spinoff show has restrained its PR to mere small town billboards, classified ads and the odd trailer, leading to fever pitch levels of intrigue and endless speculation. We know the plot follows lawyer and strong web presence Saul Goodman, and will be set in 2002. This morning the airing dates for the U.S. were confirmed, and yet another teaser trailer was released:
The world waits. Talking of spinoffs, how convenient that we have a competition about that exact thing running at the moment. You should enter.
From Glenfield to Springfield
It’s been a huge week for New Zealand’s favourite thing – getting mentioned in overseas productions (as demonstrated in this glorious column). And this time it wasn’t just any old production, it was none other than the mighty cartoon heavyweight The Simpsons. We got severely nailed by Groening and Co. in an episode calling New Zealand the “Millhouse of Australia.” No doubt being vindicated as a real place in the world outweighed any offence caused. They also used their opening couch gag to pay tribute to our founding document The Hobbit, which you can watch below. Finally, Lisa Simpson set Twitter alight yesterday by naming Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries on her 25 books every woman should read list. God defend our famous, famous land.
Cameo Corner
Today it was confirmed in Entertainment Weekly that Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm will be reprising his cameo role as Ed for the final season of Parks and Recreation. Returning cast members such as Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe have also been confirmed for the last Pawnee hoorah. In other cameo news, Hugh Laurie has been confirmed for the upcoming fourth season of Veep. It is unclear how large his role will be, but you could prepare yourself by watching old episodes of both Veep and House here on Lightbox. Just a thought, you know.
Coverband Makes it Big
You may have caught Kiwi comedy Coverband on TV One in recent months. Made by the team behind Hounds and 7 Days, the hilarious six-episode series was picked up this week for development in the U.S. by CBS. “To have the home of massive comedies like The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and 2 Broke Girls looking at Coverband is almost unbelievable” stated co-writer and producer Jarrod Holt in a statement this week. Furthermore, the network development team is none other than Happy Madison productions, owned by Adam Sandler. Take that The Simpsons! Watch old episodes here and see what got Tinseltown laughing so bloody hard.
Netflix to Arrive Down Under
Netflix will be launching an online television service in New Zealand and Australia next year, joining Lightbox, Neon, Quickflix and the kitchen sink in the online content race. It’s line-up includes original shows such as Marco Polo and BoJack Horseman. Other titles include DreamWorks Animation’s All Hail King Julien, documentaries Virunga and Mission Blue, and several exclusive stand-up comedy specials. The service is expected to launch in March.
Have a safe and happy weekend.