'Queer Eye' Turns 20 at a Critical Moment; 'Extraction 2' Director Talks Return of Tyler Rake; World's Top 25 Drama Schools; 'The Walking Dead: Dead City' Review

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( June 17, 2023 What's news: NBC has canceled American Auto. Adult Swim has picked up a new animated series produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. Cynthia Nixon has opened up about Kim Cattrall's absence from And Just Like That. Lady Gaga's The Chromatica Ball tour is set to become a concert film. — [Abid Rahman]( 'Queer Eye' Turns 20 at a Critical Moment ►"It's incumbent upon all of us to have these conversations." From Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the most watched show in Bravo history, to the current revival, production company Scout has gone from “could not get arrested” to projects with Kristen Stewart, Amy Poehler and Janelle Monáe at a politically rancorous time. [The story.]( —"We can’t lose queer film and TV projects amid studio caution." In a guest column for THR, Will Graham, the co-creator of A League of Their Own and showrunner of Daisy Jones & The Six, writes that creators are constantly hearing that their ideas are too "niche," while corporations and brands are beginning to assume a neutral stance. [The column.]( —"I can’t WAIT for you to experience it." Fans who missed Lady Gaga’s latest headlining concert tour, The Chromatica Ball, will soon be able to experience it through the big screen. The Oscar-winning actress revealed on her Instagram Friday that she has been busy working on several projects, including the edit for the concert film. [The story.]( —Charged. Pete Davidson has been charged with reckless driving, three months after crashing into a home in Beverly Hills. The L.A. District Attorney’s office confirmed the actor and comedian had been charged with a single misdemeanor count to THR on Friday. The charge comes around two months after the Beverly Hills Police Department forwarded the case to the D.A. [The story.]( 'Extraction 2' Director Talks Return of Tyler Rake ►"We’re looking to expand the Extraction universe in potential subsequent films." THR's [Brian Davids]( spoke to filmmaker Sam Hargrave about his new Netflix feature Extraction 2. Hargrave discusses the competition he faces from fellow stuntmen turned filmmakers and explains why his action sequel starring Chris Hemsworth sidesteps the ambiguous ending of the first Extraction. [The interview.]( —Anonymous strike diary. THR's series of frank accounts of the writers strike continues. The Well-Known Creator is back, and the showrunner puts ChatGPT to work as he would any other newbie writer, but finds it lacks that all-important, all-too-human quality: voice. [The diary entry.]( —Heading to the junkyard. NBC has canceled its second-year comedy American Auto. The series, set at a struggling car company, wrapped its second season in April. It was the last scripted show on NBC’s 2022-23 schedule still in limbo; American Auto’s cancellation follows those of Young Rock and Grand Crew a week ago. NBC has also opted not to go ahead with its lone remaining comedy pilot, Non-Evil Twin, from Amber Ruffin (who also stars) and former Black-ish showrunner Kenny Smith. [The story.]( —New project. Mike Judge and Greg Daniels are bringing their next animated series to Adult Swim. The King of the Hill creators’ Bandera Entertainment is behind Common Side Effects, a half-hour series about people’s “complex reactions to the revelation of the mysterious elixir of life.” Joe Bennett (FXX’s Cake) and Steve Hely (American Dad) created the show. [The story.]( Top 25 Drama Schools in the World ►Best of the best. Drama schools worldwide were able to achieve a degree of stability in the past academic year as productions and classes largely went on as scheduled (though, in some cases, programs still felt lingering effects from COVID-19). From Los Angeles to London, THR consulted with educators and industry execs to determine its annual ranking of the best schools for an acting degree. [The list.]( —"You’re not walking around on eggshells." Cynthia Nixon opened up about what it was like to film And Just Like That without Kim Cattrall after six seasons of Sex and the City and two movies with her as part of the core four. In a new interview, Nixon said that "many things felt different. But the main thing that felt so great was that everybody who was there really wanted to be there. That’s just the bottom line." [The story.]( —"I was always trying to find a new and different way for Samantha to fall on the bed." Kim Cattrall has also been talking about her time on Sex and the City. In a new interview, the actress avoided discussing her co-stars but did reveal how she kept things fresh for her SATC character. [The story.]( —Dodged a bullet. Michael Cera and Aubrey Plaza almost tied the knot more than a decade ago, all for one big joke. In a new interview, Cera said that one time when the couple were driving through Las Vegas, they “almost just spontaneously took a detour and got married.” Cera said they were looking for something like an Elvis-type chapel to “get a certificate.” He added, “I think the idea was to then get a divorce right away, so we could call each other ‘my ex-husband’ and ‘my ex-wife’ at like … 20.” [The story.]( TV Review: 'The Walking Dead: Dead City' ►"More of the same, at least until the fifth episode." THR's chief TV critic [Dan Fienberg]( reviews AMC's The Walking Dead: Dead City. The spinoff show follows Lauren Cohan's Maggie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Negan as they attempt to stage a rescue mission in zombie-filled New York City. [The review.]( —"Quietly beautiful." THR's [Lovia Gyarkye]( reviews Monica Sorelle's Mountains. A prize winner at the Tribeca Film Festival, this drama tells the story of a Haitian family navigating their neighborhood's rapid changes. [The review.]( This Week's Must Reads ►On the cover. After six stints playing Spider-Man, Tom Holland is eager for post-superhero adventures. The 27-year-old Brit actor opens up to THR's [Seth Abramovitch]( about the pressures of mega-celebrity, his new Apple TV+ show A Crowded Room, his superstar girlfriend and his "Spider-Boys" group chat with Tobey and Andrew. [The cover story.]( —"It’s too hot on the page!" THR's award-winning Roundtable series moved on to the television showrunners this week. Tony Gilroy (Andor), Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Ryan Condal (House of the Dragon), Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Fleishman Is in Trouble), Katori Hall (P-Valley) and Ashley Lyle (Yellowjackets) join THR's [Mikey O'Connell]( for a discussion on negotiating sex scenes, Star Wars fans and the biggest problems that this writers strike won’t solve: "The concern with telling stories has been superimposed by a desire to make shareholders happy." [The roundtable.]( —"Finally, we get to have fun." For THR, author Eisa Nefertari Ulen writes that the recent release of Sony's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the LeBron James-produced Shooting Stars and Disney's The Little Mermaid, has allowed viewers — most crucially, Black children — to escape into realms where Black people soar, score and sing under the sea. [The column.]( —"I will miss it, but I will also celebrate it being over." THR's queen of chat [Jackie Strause]( spoke to Yellowstone star Wes Bentley about playing Jamie Dutton, and why the character's sadness has been hard to shake throughout the five seasons of the Paramount Network neo-Western. As TV’s most popular show readies for its final episodes, Bentley explains why he is ready to say goodbye. [The interview.]( —"The sins that lead to their horrible outcome." Jackie spoke to Josh Hartnett and Kate Mara, stars of the Black Mirror season six episode "Beyond the Sea." The actors unpack the themes revealed in the space story and share their feelings on that ending. Warning: Spoilers! [The interview.]( In other news... —Carrie Fisher’s [final movie Wonderwell gets enchanting trailer]( —Hans Zimmer [proposes to partner during live London concert]( —Events of the Week: [Asteroid City, Indiana Jones 5]( more]( What else we're reading... —In the face of tepid reviews, Miles Surrey believes that The Flash was never going to outrun its multitude of production problems [[Ringer]( —Jessica Gelt writes that the Tina Turner musical takes on new resonance after the powerhouse performer’s death [[LAT]( —Fascinating piece from Karen Hao, Salvador Rodriguez and Deepa Seetharaman about how, despite being eary on AI, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is now playing catch up [[WSJ]( —The Road director John Hillcoat pens a tribute to the late Cormac McCarthy, who he describes as "a man of miracles" [[Guardian]( —Natalie Sherman looks at why Spotify's big bet on Meghan Markle fell flat [[BBC]( Today... …in 1987, Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket premiered in Beverly Hills. The anti-war film comprised two acts — the first at the U.S. Marine Corps trailing facility in Parris Island, and the second in Vietnam on the eve of the Tet Offensive. [The original review.]( Today's birthdays: Ken Loach (87), Will Forte (53), Greg Kinnear (60), Jodie Whittaker (41), Thomas Haden Church (63), Barry Manilow (80), [Jason Patric]( (57), Louis Leterrier (50), Jennifer Irwin (48), Arthur Darvill (41), Bobby Farrelly (65), Joe Piscopo (72), Michael Showalter (53), Scott Adkins (47), Jon Gries (66), Marie Avgeropoulos (37), Odessa A’zion (23), John Gallagher Jr. (39), K.J. Apa (26), Mark Linn-Baker (69), Tramell Tillman (38), Staz Nair (32), Manish Dayal (40), Heather Mazur (47), Joshua Leonard (48) Brett Hadley, who starred as Genoa City police detective Carl Williams for more than a decade on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, has died. He was 92. [The obituary.]( Do you have THR's next big story? 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