Category: Entertainment

The continuing adventures of Kitty Song-Covey; a genre film from Tommy Wirkola involving hurricanes and sharks; an all new cast of angry people in the next season of Beef; Kevin Hart and his friends seeking out the next comedy star; the sophomore season for basketball drama Running Point; an animated spinoff of Stranger Things; Charlize Theron trying to escape a deranged serial killer in the Australian wilderness; and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II starring as John Creasy in the TV adaptation on Man on Fire are among the highlights of the new film and TV series launching on Netflix in April.

The incredibly popular XO, Kitty returns for its third season on April 2, with Anna Cathcart’s character Kitty Song Covey entering her senior year at KISS in the South Korean capital Seoul. This season, which consists of eight episodes, sees Valentina Garza stepping in as showrunner. Returning cast members include Minyeong Choi, Gia Kim, and Sang Heon Lee as Kitty navigates mounting secrets, scandals, and the inevitable insecurities that come with senior year.

The next title to look out for in April, falls into potentially-awesome-but-likely-terrible category. On April 10, the survival thriller Thrash makes its debut on Netflix after moving from a planned theatrical release. Directed and written by Silent Night filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, the film stars respected actors Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou, so that’s definitely a plus. The plot follows a coastal town decimated by a Category 5 hurricane, where the resulting storm surge brings with it a terrifying influx of hungry sharks. Nailed on classic?

The second installment of Netflix’s multi-Emmy-winning rage porn anthology Beef premieres on April 16. Created by showrunner Lee Sung Jin and produced by indie powerhouse A24, the new season features a fresh cast including Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Charles Melton, and Cailee Spaeny. The story centers on a blackmail war that ignites at an elite country club after two young employees witness an alarming fight between their boss and his wife.

On April 20, Kevin Hart returns with Funny AF with Kevin Hart, a new stand-up competition series aimed at discovering the next big name in comedy. In what looks like a less mean version of Kill Tony, Hart and a rotating panel of guest judges — including Keegan-Michael Key, Tom Segura, and Nikki Glaser — feature in this unfiltered series which will culminate in live episodes where the audience helps crown a winner who will receive their own Netflix special.

Running Point tips off its second season on April 23, with Kate Hudson returning as Isla Gordon, the president of the Los Angeles Waves. Executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Ike Barinholtz, the new season sees Uche Agada and Justin Theroux join the main cast as regulars. As the championship looms, Isla must manage chaos in the locker room and the boardroom while navigating a complicated love triangle.

Also arriving on April 23 is another spinoff from the ever-expanding Stranger Things universe, the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. Directed by Phil Allora and showrun by Eric Robles, the series is set during the winter of 1985 in Hawkins. Featuring a voice cast that includes Odessa A’zion, the show explores fresh mysteries and bridges the events of the original series’ second and third seasons. Probably one for the die-hard fans (but there are lot of them).

April is a blessed month for genre fans, because as well as Thrash, Netflix is gifting us with another potentially-awesome-but-likely-terrible film with the survival thriller Apex, which premieres on April 24. Starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana, the film was shot on location in the Australian wilderness and features Theron as a grieving woman on a solo adventure who becomes the target of a cunning killer (Egerton) in a twisted game of cat-and-mouse. Apex is directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Beast, Everest, 2 Guns) and written by Jeremy Robbins.

Capping off the month, and heavy emphasis on capping, on April 30 is the series premiere of Man on Fire, an all new reimagining of A.J. Quinnell’s novel series. You may be thinking that the cult classic Denzel Washington movie adaptation was not that long ago but that film opened in theaters all the way back in 2004. For this series version, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II takes on the role of John Creasy, a skilled former mercenary plagued by PTSD who is drawn back into action during a quest for redemption. Written and showrun by Kyle Killen, the series also stars Scoot McNairy as Creasy’s CIA contact.

Movies added to Netflix in April include The Age of Adaline, Along Came Polly, American Gangster, Atonement, Bohemian Rhapsody, Everest, Hotel Transylvania 2, Kindergarten Cop, Lucy, Madagascar, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible II, Mission: Impossible III, Money Talks, Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie, Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, The Wiz, Scream (2022), A Quiet Place Part II and Him.

Missed what came to Netflix last month? Check out the March additions here.

Read on for the complete list of titles hitting Netflix in April.

April 1

Eat Pray Bark (DE)
The Giant Falls (AR)
It Takes a Village (PL)
Love on the Spectrum: Season 4
Sarah Millican: Late Bloomer
The Age of Adaline
Along Came Polly
American Gangster
Atonement
Bohemian Rhapsody
Everest
Happy’s Place: Season 1
Hotel Transylvania 2
Kindergarten Cop
Lucy
Madagascar
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
Money Talks
Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie
Smokey and the Bandit
Smokey and the Bandit II
St. Denis Medical: Season 1
The Wiz

April 2

Agent from Above (TW)
Alkhallat+: The Series: Desert Rules (SA)
The Bad Guys: The Series: Season 2
The Ramparts of Ice (JP)
Sins of Kujo (JP)
XO, Kitty: Season 3

April 3

Bloodhounds: Season 2 (KR)
Feel My Voice (IT)
Gangs of Galicia: Season 2 (ES)
High Tides: Season 3 (BE)
Maamla Legal Hai: Season 2 (IN)
The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson

April 7

Beast (2022)
Sheng Wang: Purple
Untold: Chess Mates

April 8

Trust Me: The False Prophet

April 9

18th Rose (PH)
Bandi (FR)
Big Mistakes
IF

April 10

Scream (2022)
Temptation Island: Season 2
Thrash
Turn of the Tide: Season 3 (PT)

April 11

A Quiet Place Part II
Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov (GB)

April 12

At Home With The Furys: Season 2 (GB)

April 13

America: Our Defining Hours
American Godfathers: The Five Families
The Booze, Bets and Sex That Built America
Halloween Ends
The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen
Noah Kahan: Out of Body

April 14

Crooks: Season 2 (DE)
Untold: Jail Blazers

April 15

Fake Profile: Season 3 (CO)
Made with Love (ID)
Million Dollar Secret: Season 2
The Law According to Lidia Poët: Season 3 (IT)

April 16

Beef: Season 2
Ronaldinho: The One and Only (BR)

April 17

180 (ZA)
A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (GB)
Alpha Males: Season 5 (ES)
Roommates

April 18

Denial
We Are All Trying Here (KR)

April 19

Him

April 20

CoComelon Lane: Season 7
Funny AF with Kevin Hart

April 21

Unchosen (GB)
Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill

April 22

Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool
Million Dollar Secret: Season 2
Santita (MX)
Sold Out on You (KR)
This Is a Gardening Show

April 23

Flunked (FR)
Running Point: Season 2
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85

April 24

Apex

April 26

Supernova:Genesis (MX)

April 27

Straight to Hell (JP)

April 29

Je m’appelle Agneta (SE)
Million Dollar Secret: Season 2
Should I Marry A Murderer? (GB)

April 30

Man on Fire

After appearing at Max & Helen’s on Monday night alongside co-creator Rachel Sennott to discuss their new Netflix series Big Mistakes, Dan Levy turned up on the East Coast Tuesday to promote the crime caper on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.

The promo tour marks Levy’s first since the passing of Catherine O’Hara, an “extended family” member and beloved Schitt’s Creek co-star. Fallon noted that the first time Levy appeared on his show was with his Schitt’s Creek family including O’Hara. “I’ve just gotta say I’m so sorry about the passing,” said Fallon.

“Listen, it’s like a collective loss, I think,” Levy said in response. “She was the greatest. She’s irreplaceable. The great comfort for me has just been to see how loved she was — the outpouring. Everyone felt like they kind of knew her.”

Fallon praised her as “one of the funniest comedians I’ve ever seen. Can do characters. Gorgeous.” Levy added, “Unbelievably talented at improvising. One of the great, great, great queens.”

O’Hara passed away at 71 in January following a brief illness. In the wake of her death, many of her friends and former co-stars took to social media to share the love and offer condolences to her family. “What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her,” Levy posted at the time. “My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family.”

His father, Eugene Levy, shared at the time, “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years. From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”

Over her more than four decades in in the film business, Kathleen Kennedy has been at the vanguard of tech, whether via her work on the Star Wars universe or all those Steven Spielberg ones. Jurassic Park alone makes you a pioneer.

You might expect the uber-veteran, then, to be similarly enthused about AI in filmmaking. But Kennedy sounded a more skeptical note Tuesday — even while speaking to an AI founder at an event he hosted.

“Taste is so fundamental to the process of creating things,” she said, in an on-stage conversation with Runway co-funder Cristóbal Valenzuela as part of an AI summit that the New York-based startup hosted in Manhattan Tuesday. “It’s life experiences; it’s educational. The best directors of films and photography came out of art, they studied art,” she said. She suggested AI-driven films by definition couldn’t have that experience.

The event saw a litany of high profile personalities talk about the promise of AI in cinema, a cause Runway has dedicated itself to pursuing. Valenzuela gave a keynote titled “normalizing magic” to a packed ballroom of hundreds, and executives from Adobe, Promise AI and Paramount all hailed the artistic potential of the tech with thoughts like “Human creativity will [now] not be constrained by time,” (Adobe’sVP of GenAI New Business Ventures Hannah Elsakr).

Kennedy, who left her role as head of Lucasfilm in January, didn’t entirely dismiss the technology, saying it could help for the kind of nuts-and-bolts tasks that nearly everyone agrees it could be useful for — 
“previz, planning, budgeting, scheduling.” But this was faint praise as she questioned more sweeping applications.

“Once you get into execution,” she said, a model could falter at the essence of filmmaking. “What are you trying to do? What’s the painting you’re trying to create?” Kennedy said. “There’s [beautiful] unpredictability in the creative process that’s going to be tricky to preserve because AI is so predictable.”

At one point she also stood up for the Hollywood creative community, leveling a charge, if mutedly, against parts of the tech world for how it was carrying forth the AI movement.

“I think what’s missing in the discussion right now is transparency,” she said, “I think people [in Hollywood] feel that there’s a lot they don’t know about what’s going on. When there’s conversation around how these language models are being trained, for instance…. I think if we can reach a point where there’s more transparency in those discussions —  and, frankly, more transparency, consequently, in people using these tools,” she added, “then I think that will help greatly to dissipate [the distrust].”

Valenzuela mostly deferred to Kennedy and did not challenge her, even as the AI community of which he’s a part believes there has been transparency and largely sees AI-skeptic filmmakers as hyper-traditionalists who need to get on board. He sometimes did bring up popular counterpoints, such as the idea that AI tools will lower the barrier to entry for filmmakers.

Companies like Runway see themselves as a bridge between the Silicon Valley hypesters and Hollywood skeptics, catering to filmmakers with tools and eschewing social applications like ByteDance’s Seesaw (The Brad Pitt-Tom Cruise fight people).

Kennedy did embrace some potentially novel use cases of AI in filmmaking, like getting simulated opinions from a host of actors on a script without needing to pry it from them (the idea would be to get new points of view on material). She also said that, thanks to AI, “we are on the precipice of something that might look and feel quite different than a two-hour movie experience…or television,” likely in short-form.

But she largely seemed wary of integrating AI into the filmmaking process, even raising an eyebrow at 3D printing, saying that it didn’t create props as durable as those made by conventional human means. 

“The interesting thing that happened with the props is that after about take 3 many of them started to break, and we realized that when so many things we do are hand-done, then the materials that are used and choices that are made…was something decided by a human being. And when we were doing this with the new technology, we didn’t have the benefit of that.”

Kennedy’s most philosophical response to the AI camp came when she described the value of human experience in film.

“I’m going to sound like a traditionalist,” she said, “but I have a deep appreciation for learned experiences that then contribute to the collaboration and the creative process. And it’s just like when we’re working with a composer, if you know that somebody’s classically trained, but they’re still doing a very modern rock-and-roll type score, you’re just going to get a depth to the decisionmaking along the way that I think is really valuable.”

Ditto, she said, with lighting.

“It’s one of the trickier tools in art because it permeates everything we do,” she said. “And you need to see many examples in order to do it the right way.”

Seven weeks into their strike, unionized staffers at the Writers Guild of America West will lose their health care benefits on Wednesday.

WGA West staffers can be covered by the Producer-Writers Guild of America (PWGA) Health Plan, the same plan that is offered to the Hollywood union’s members. Staffers accrue coverage on a month-to-month basis as long as they work 31 hours per week the previous month.

Staffers unionized with the Writers Guild Staff Union (WGSU), who have been out on strike since Feb. 17, say they learned on Tuesday that they will lose eligibility starting Wednesday.

Missy Brown, the co-chair of the WGSU, said in an interview that union members didn’t learn until Tuesday afternoon about the loss of coverage, and that was only after she found a PWGA Health Plan staffer who would speak with her. “I just find this very crazy that we weren’t notified of this,” she says.

Brown said that she left repeated voicemails with multiple staffers at the PWGA Health Plan offices over the last few days to determine the future of striking members’ coverage. She eventually “begged a receptionist to please find me a human being” at the offices and the staffer she was connected with then informed her that she and other striking guild members will be losing coverage April 1.

The WGA West confirmed the loss of coverage on Tuesday. “Striking employees can elect COBRA continuation coverage if they wish to be covered by the PWGA Health Fund in April. The WGAW cannot make contributions on behalf of staff employees who did not work in March and have no earnings,” the union said in a statement.

In addition to the alleged lack of communication around their loss of coverage, WGSU members are lamenting that their employer has not tried to rectify the situation. In an Instagram post, the union stated that “during the 2023 writers strike, WGAW and AMPTP negotiated to extend health coverage for writers throughout the strike.”

There has been no such extension for striking WGSU members, though they are in a different position than the writers in 2023 — the PWGA Health Plan is jointly administered by studio and union leaders and staffers are only negotiating with the union side. The WGA West negotiated its health coverage extension as part of its strike settlement agreement, rather than mid-strike.

Contends Brown, ”I’m sure there was something that could have been worked out to retain our healthcare.”

The latest dispute marks an escalation of already-high tensions between the WGSU and the WGA West. For weeks the staff union has been picketing outside the building where WGA West negotiators are locked in high-stakes negotiations with studios and streamers. A video published by Variety on March 27 showed protestors chanting “shame!” as WGA West negotiating committee members and leaders entered the building for negotiations.

Meanwhile, the WGA West and the WGSU remain at loggerheads over key elements of the union’s first contract. The two sides are stuck on issues like the role of seniority in layoffs and a wage scale for union members.