Mediaboss Marketing

Squid Game: The Challenge, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, A Murder at the End of the World, The Curse (Photos: Netflix/Apple TV+/FX/Showtime)

Period pieces galore are in store for us this November, as Netflix bows an adaptation of a Pulitzer-winning WWII novel and the final season The Crown, Apple TV+ does the time warp again (and again), and Hulu rolls out a puckish retelling of a Charles Dickens classic (not that one, its too soon). Elsewhere, the lush costuming of The Buccaneers gives The Gilded Age a run for its new and old money, while FX heads all the way back to 2019, with some help from Juno Temple and Jon Hamm.

But rest assured that theres plenty of contemporary storytelling on the way next month few things will ground viewers in the now like the arrivals of a grueling reality competition series based on a scripted drama about a grueling reality competition series and an irreverent new show that marries murder-mystery mania with some eat the rich sentiment.

The Primetimer staff shares our most anticipated TV shows for November 2023 below. And if that's not enough, scroll to the end fora list of even more notable premieres.

Premieres November 2

Anthony Doerr's 2014 novel All the Light We Cannot See won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for its story about a teenage girl who's being hidden from the Nazis in occupied Paris while sending out messages of resistance, and the young German radio expert tasked with finding her. This much-anticipated adaptation comes from a pair of unlikely sources: writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and Shawn Levy, director of movies like Night at the Museum, This Is Where I Leave You, and the upcoming Deadpool 3 (and part of Taylor Swift's recent Sunday Night Football entourage). Joe Reid

Premieres November 8

What do you get when you mix The Gilded Age's old-versus-new-money conflict with Bridgerton's steamy romance? The Buccaneers, a series adaptation of Edith Wharton's unfinished novel. When a group of American girls arrive in London in search of husbands (at the urging of socialite Mrs. St. George, played by Christina Hendicks), they upend the social scene with their unconventional sensibilities and disregard for the time-honored traditions of polite society.

Despite the frosty reception, the girls set their sights on the town's available bachelors, but they quickly realize that they aspire to more than just walking down the aisle to a nobleman. In true Edith Wharton fashion, their journey through the 1870s English aristocracy is filled with all the lavish balls and love triangles viewers could want, but creator Katherine Jakeways has added a few modern touches, including a soundtrack packed with top female artists, from Taylor Swift to Boygenius. Claire Spellberg Lustig

Premieres November 11

The latest chapter of For All Mankind starts off on Mars, something that would have seemed inconceivable when Ronald D. Moore, Ben Nedivi, and Matt Wolpert first began to unspool their sci-fi epic on Apple TV+ four years ago. NASAs more than caught up in the space race, generating billions in revenue, producing a president (Jodi Balfours Ellen Wilson), and now, looking to establish the first self-sustaining colony on Mars. But, as FAMs proven time and again, progress doesnt move on a straight path. Private interests rear their heads again, and theyre not the only threats on the horizon. The future is still uncertain, but we do know we can count on the same awe-inspiring visuals and top-notch performances of previous installments. Danette Chavez

Premieres November 12

Home renovations have been cited as a reason for filing for divorce at least, according to a 10-year-old survey by a site called Houzz, in which 12% of respondents claimed that major home improvement projects put considerable strain on their marriages. Sure, that figures apocryphal, but we cant help but think about it while watching Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdies dark new comedy for Showtime, or any of the real-life HGTV shows with husband-and-wife teams that inspired it. When Asher (Fielder) and Whitney Siegel (Emma Stone) set out to make a socially conscious home renovation show in Espaola, New Mexico, it takes a toll on their marriage and their psyches. The Curse is discomfiting, like much of Fielders and Safdies respective oeuvres, and its often hilarious, much like Fielders and Safdies other work. DC

Premieres November 14

If Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery didn't convince viewers to stay away from the isolated compounds of the ultra-wealthy, FX's A Murder at the End of the World (formerly titled Retreat) is here to seal the deal. Emma Corrin gets their Benoit Blanc on as Gen Z sleuth Darby Hart, a tech-savvy hacker who's invited to a retreat by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen). When one of the guests turns up dead, Darby puts her skills to the test to identify the killer before they strike again.

A large supporting cast will be joining Corrin and Owen in this remote locale: In addition to co-creating the series with The OA collaborator Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling stars opposite Harris Dickinson, though FX has been careful to preserve the mystery of their roles. Jermaine Fowler, Alice Braga, and Joan Chen also feature in A Murder at the End of the World, but the question remains: Will they be suspects or victims? And will Darby determine the answer before it's too late? CSL

Premieres November 16

It all comes down to this. In its final season which Netflix has divided into two parts The Crown brings Queen Elizabeth II's (Imelda Staunton) reign into the modern era with the sudden death of Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla's (Olivia Williams) controversial marriage, and Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton's (Meg Bellamy) courtship.

As befits her status in British history (but not necessarily within the royal family), Diana's death serves as the season's inflection point, with the first four episodes dramatizing the months leading up to the August 1997 car crash, and the final six emphasizing the impact of her death on her family and the Queen's relationship with the public. The storyline has already stirred up strong feelings in the U.K., but creator Peter Morgan promises it was handled with the utmost respect and if anyone can do Diana's story justice, it's Debicki, whose exceptional performance proved to be a bright spot in the lackluster fifth season. CSL

Premieres November 17

Apple TV+ tries to muscle in on the cinematic universe action with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which jumps back and forth between two timelines the 1950s and the 2010s to tell the story of how the eponymous, Godzilla-monitoring agency came to be. This is the second TV series (the first being Skull Island) and the sixth overall installment in Legendarys Monsterverse, with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empires theatrical release just around the corner (officially, April 12, 2024). If you love seeing kaiju fight, Monarch is probably already on your radar. But the series also offers compelling stand-ins for viewers not as well versed in primordial titan lore: two siblings who are really just trying to understand their family history. And if that doesnt sell you on it, Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell will tag-team the role of Lee Shaw, an Army officer with a mysterious role in the creation of this powerful organization. DC

Premieres November 21

A trip to Fargo is always welcome, even after that detour to Kansas City in Season 4 (but we realize were in the minority here). The latest installment of Noah Hawleys anthology, which is based on the Coen brothers black comedy of the same name, sees Juno Temple alternately kicking ass and politely enduring interrogations by cops from both Minnesota and North Dakota, including Jon Hamm as Sheriff Tillman. Though its set in 2019, Season 5 has the look and feel of the phenomenal second season, which took place in 1979 and also had a young married couple at the center of all the passive-aggressive action. Whether this marks an overall return to form remains to be seen, but the cast, which also includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lamorne Morris, and Dave Foley, is as stacked as ever. DC

Premieres November 22

There's been a lot of light on Netflix's upcoming reality competition, based on its hit Korean drama. Beyond the obvious questions ("how do you create a reality show out of a fictional scenario where people fight to their deaths?"), there were numerous reports during filming of everything from contestant injuries to unsafe working conditions to the game being rigged for social-media influencers to advance. And yet, the idea of a 456-person reality competition does sound mind-boggling enough to be intriguing. How can they make this work?? JR

Premieres November 29

Disney produced this cheeky Australian adaptation of the character from Charles Dickens Oliver Twist. The Artful Dodger (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), once a peerless thief, has grown up to be a respectable surgeon under the name Jack Dawkins. But when his old cohort Fagin (David Thewlis) comes back into his life, he's drawn back to his life of crime. The series also stars Maia Mitchell (Good Trouble) as an ambitious would-be surgeon, and Damon Herriman (Justified) as a man who might expose Dodger and take him down. JR

Black Cake (Hulu): Series premiere, November 1 Invincible (Prime Video): Season 2 premiere, November 3 Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount): Series premiere, November 5 Escaping Twin Flames (Netflix): Docuseries premiere, November 7 Culprits (Hulu): Series premiere, November 8 Rap Sh!t (Max): Season 2 premiere, November 9 Colin From Accounts (Paramount+): Series premiere, November 9 Blackberry (AMC): Series premiere, November 13 Love Has Won (HBO): Docuseries premiere, November 13 Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story (Hulu): Docuseries premiere, November 15 Julia (Max): Season 2 premiere, November 16 Ghosts: U.K. series premiere on CBS, November 16 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Netflix): Series premiere, November 17 Twin Love (Prime Video): Reality series premiere, November 17 A Nearly Normal Thriller (Netflix): Series premiere, November 24 Faraway Downs (Hulu): Series premiere, November 26 Love Like a K-Drama (Netflix): Series premiere, November 28 Slow Horses (Apple TV+): Season 3 premiere, November 29 (moved up from December 1) Obliterated (Netflix): Series premiere, November 30 Virgin River (Netflix): Holiday specials premiere, November 30

More here:

Best TV Shows to Watch in November 2023: 'The Crown', 'The Curse' - PRIMETIMER

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door or "The Movie" outside Japan is an underrated work of art only marred by a few narrative blemishes. The fact it doesn't appear in conversations about the series shouldn't be taken as a sign that the film was a disaster. While it doesn't hit the same emotional highs as the TV show's best episodes, the movie does deliver some of the best action scenes in animated history.

While it's easy to disregard the movie as a quick tie-in to bring in a few extra dollars out of the Cowboy Bebop anime, thinking it's sloppy or uninspired would be a disservice to both. The movie, created by staff from Sunrise, Bones, and Bandai Visual, is bursting with quality visuals. Its only weakness is a plot that lacks the same charisma and imagination that the original TV series had in spades.

Related: Cowboy Bebop Anime Studio Announces Surprise Sequel to a Classic Mech Series

From beginning to end, the movie is focused on capturing Bebop's Martian colony at its most sumptuous, starting with a photo-realistic opening credits capturing daily life. The creators knew that the viewers couldn't get enough of the anime's fight scenes, and cram in even more intricately choreographed sequences. The hand-to-hand sequences are easily some of the best ever committed to film, and the aerial chase in the last third of the movie, completely hand-drawn, remains unique in the anime industry. Even celebrated aircraft-focused shows like The Sky Crawlers or Yukikaze would sooner rely on CGI vehicles to perform airborne stunts.

Sadly, the plot of the film, while serviceable, doesn't leave much of an impression. The original anime's episodes possessed some truly outrageous sci-fi ideas; from monkey-creating viruses, clown-clad assassins, and a high stakes battle for a hyper-intelligent corgi. The movie's terrorist plot, by comparison, lacks any sort of eccentricities, and even feels out of place for how rote its killer gas is, simply dropping bodies without any usual Bebop fanfare. Vincent Volaju, meanwhile, is a lackluster villain: a brooding, rambling madman who mostly provides conflict for conflict's sake. While the anime's Vicious is similar, his seething hatred of Spike was still palpable enough to be memorable.

As a result, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is an understated show of style over substance, with hundreds of frames of slick animation dedicated to a few jaw-dropping minutes of fights and long tours of Mars that isn't able to really sell its high-stakes plot as something signature to its world, or as something worth remembering. While the TV series could sell its low-key crime adventures, the movie's conspiracy-thriller feels generic. Nonetheless, as the last ride for Cowboy Bebop, its movie is well worth the experience of seeing; better still, its Halloween sequence makes watching it this October especially timely.

Excerpt from:

Cowboy Bebop The Movie Review: A Monumental Achievement in ... - Screen Rant

Reality TV shows got a shot of adrenaline this summer with the launch of Fox's "Stars on Mars," a 12-part, "Survivor"-like elimination series with a sci-fi twist.

"Stars on Mars" features minor entertainers, B-list singers, internet influencers and former pro athletes called "celebronauts" who compete against each other to avoid banishment from a Red Planet habitat after completing a series of tasks doled out by Mission Control, William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame.

"Stars on Mars" premiered on June 5. It presents its sixth episode, "Leaks in the Hab," on Monday (July 17), with the 11 remaining participants plugging holes in the damaged colony structure. We've got an exclusive clip of this chaotic action to share.

Related: Super Bowl champ Richard Sherman on suiting up for Fox TV show 'Stars on Mars' (exclusive)

Here's the official logline for this week's episode:

"Four new celebronauts Cat Cora, Ashley Iaconetti, Paul Pierce and Andy Richter have landed on Mars amidst a micrometeorite shower! The meteors have punctured the walls of the hab, creating a large number of tiny holes, causing the oxygen levels inside the hab to plummet. The 11 celebronauts will need to work together to plug the holes until the hab can be fixed. This mission tests the contestants' endurance and will earn them another mission patch."

One unique element of the show is the tail-wagging addition of a RADDOG robo-canine mobility platform. The robotic dog acted as an AI companion character and mechanical security officer for the simulated off-Earth environment, which was built in the remote Australian opal-mining town of Coober Pedy.

The full cast, excluding those five already voted off, are: Lance Armstrong, Cat Cora, Ashley Iaconetti, Natasha Leggero, Marshawn Lynch, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Paul Pierce, Andy Richter, Adam Rippon, Ronda Rousey, Tom Schwartz, Richard Sherman, Tinashe, Porsha Williams Guobadia, Tallulah Willis and Ariel Winter.

The new "Leaks in the Hab" episode of "Stars on Mars" airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox and the next day on the Hulu streaming platform.

Watch Stars on Mars on Hulu with Disney+ Bundle

More:

Celebronauts race to plug holes in the hab on Fox's 'Stars on Mars ... - Space.com

After disappointing their fan bases in their most recent starts, My Way and Allegiant got into the win column Friday night (July 21) at The Meadowlands by winning their respective $30,000 divisions of the second leg of the New Jersey Sire Stakes for two-year-olds on the trot.

My Way (Muscle Hill-Fine Tuned Lady) broke early a week ago in leg one as the 4-5 favourite but had no such problem on Friday in the first of three splits for colts and geldings, displaying two moves on the way to a 31/4-length score in 1:54.4 to win his second career betting start. Poof Of Record, the 6-5 favourite, was second best.

He took a bad step and I lost him, said winning driver Tim Tetrick of last week. Tonight, he wanted to run on the last turn, but I yelled at him to make him pay attention.

My Way, a Marcus Melander student, returned $5.80 to win as the 9-5 second choice in the wagering.

Last week, Allegiant (Tactical Landing-Too Good For You) finished second as the 3-5 public choice, but her fans came back for another try, this time at odds of 2-5, and the Vernon Beachy trainee delivered by three-quarters of a length after going a pocket trip in 1:54.2 in the second of three divisions for fillies.

Shes an excellent horse, said winning driver Dave Miller. She tries very hard and has good manners and good speed. Behind the gate, I saw Dexter [Dunn, driving eventual second-place finisher Special Talent] was right on the gate and I was thinking it would be good to get a trip right behind him.

Now a winner of three of four career starts, Allegiant (pictured above) returned $2.80 to win.

The other fillies emerging victorious were Walcango (Walner-Tamgo Donato) in 1:54.3 for driver Todd McCarthy and trainer Jim Campbell as the 9-2 third choice and Soiree Hanover (Walner-Spring Gala), who stayed perfect in two NJSS outings after scoring in 1:55.4 for Tetrick and Lucas Wallin as the 3-5 public choice.

On the colt and gelding side, Sig Sauer (Muscle Hill-Sigilwig) made his pari-mutuel debut a winning one for Andy McCarthy and Noel Daley in 1:54.4. The 9-5 second choice took down 4-5 favourite Stormcloudfashion, who finished second.

Finally, Mars Hill (Muscle Hill-Cardinale) made it two-for-two in Sire Stakes starts in 1:55.2 for Todd McCarthy and Tony Alagna. After winning last week at odds of 14-1, he once again rewarded his backers, scoring as the 7-1 third choice.

Todd McCarthy led the driver colony with three wins. Alagnas double paced the trainers.

All-source handle totalled $2,839,183 on the 14-race card.

There were no winning tickets sold on the 20-cent Pick-6, creating a carryover of $6,275 for Saturday night when racing resumes at 6:20 p.m. Free past performances for every race of every Big M card are available by going to playmeadowlands.com.

(Meadowlands Racetrack)

Read more from the original source:

My Way, Allegiant Make Amends In New Jersey Sire Stakes - Standardbred Canada

Coral reefs support vibrant marine ecosystems, stimulate tourism and fishing industries, and protect shorelines from tropical storms and erosion. But reefs around the globe have been hit hard by pollution, overfishing and climate change, which is causing increasingly frequent and severe coral bleaching. Scientists predict severe bleaching on 99% of the worlds reefs within this century unless we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Saving coral reefs requires major systemic changes dramatic cuts in energy consumption, switching to renewable energy, managing overfishing and pollution, and restoring target reefs.

Restoration efforts have now become a priority for many scientists. This series looks at some of those efforts.

Early on a June morning, a group of 10 people dressed in shorts and flipflops gathers in a classroom at the Coral Restoration Foundation Exploration Center in Key Largo, Florida. We have come from Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Texas, and just down the road to help save Floridas coral reefs.

The 360-mile-long Florida reef is the third largest in the world. But since the 1970s, nearly 90% of its corals have died due to climate change, hurricanes, disease and human development. Reefs around the world are suffering from similar threats, and were just some of the thousands of volunteers joining scientists, government and non-government agencies, and private companies fighting to stop this loss.

As scuba divers, we take it personally.

This loss has happened in my lifetime, says Sage Morningstar, the foundation intern leading todays volunteer training. Others of us remember diving the Florida reef years ago or hearing about its former glory from those who did. The foundation created its public dive program for people like us in 2017, and since then more than 4,000 volunteers have participated.

Corals reproduce both sexually and asexually, the latter through fragmentation when a piece breaks off, reattaches to the reef, and grows a new colony. The Coral Restoration Foundation uses fragmentation to grow corals in seven underwater nurseries along the South Florida coast, each containing hundreds of underwater structures called Coral Trees. Teams build the trees in a nearby facility, put them in the water, and attach about 60 small fragments. The corals grow for six to nine months, then are tagged, taken to a restoration site, and attached to a living reef through a process called outplanting. The nurseries now are self-sufficient, meaning fragments for new growth come from corals already there.

Five of the foundations restoration sites Carysfort Reef, Horseshoe Reef, Sombrero Reef, Looe Key and Eastern Dry Rocks are also part of Mission: Iconic Reefs, an ambitious effort by NOAA to restore seven Florida reefs (the other two are Cheeca Rocks and Newfound Harbor). Other parties involved are Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, The Florida Aquarium, The Nature Conservancy, Reef Renewal and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

The project totals 3 million square feet of restoration. Its not just about planting more corals, but the most resilient corals, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Sarah Fangman explained in a webinar in early 2021.

While some have criticized the agency for launching this mission while the threats continue, we cant afford to wait. Natural recovery cant happen fast enough, Fangman stressed during the webinar. Yes, we have to address temperature stress, water quality, and other threats to give this system a chance, but restoration helps it along while were fixing those things.

The morning training session complete, our group heads to the dive shop. But then Mother Nature steps in, sending a storm that cancels the trip. Disappointment shows in every face; each of us was excited about doing something meaningful today, contributing in however small a way to the reefs.

The plan had called for us to board the dive boat and go to the Tavernier Coral Nursery to clean some of the 500 trees standing in the sandy bottom there under about 30 feet of water.

Groves of the trees create an orderly grid that covers 1.5 acres, each grove containing a different species. In the one we were to clean, fragments of endangered staghorn coral hang like ornaments on the spindly Charlie Brown-ish tree structures. Volunteers use brushes to remove algae from monofilament line that holds each fragment and small chisels to scrape the stuff from the branches and trunks of the coral trees. On a healthy reef, but to a lesser extent in this nursery setting, herbivorous fish species like parrotfish keep algae in check, lest it grow over and kill corals by smothering them or blocking the sunlight.

One section of the nursery is a sort of genetic ark, holding hundreds of coral genotypes the complete set of an individual organisms genes, including variations.

Biodiversity is primary, says Morningstar. We have genotypes here that no longer exist in the wild. That genetic diversity makes it more likely that at least some of the corals survive if something happens on the reef, such as high temperatures or disease. Its a key component of outplanting efforts.

Out next stop was to be Craysfort Reef, to plant staghorn corals that have grown big enough to venture from the nursery. On these dives, the crew hits the water first, schlepping milk crates of fragments, small hammers, and containers of epoxy. Volunteers follow and buddy teams are assigned to a tagged section of reef. Each measures a hammers length from an existing coral fragment, cleans three saucer-sized spots on the reef, applies epoxy, and attaches the new fragments at the three points. Proper attachment is critical, as the corals must survive the incessant action of normal waves and the more forceful waves of storms.

So, although volunteers are encouraged to attach as many corals as possible during the timed dive, the goal is quality, not quantity. The foundation team checks each planting and teams work outward in a circular fashion. This pattern allows the corals to grow together and fuse into one large colony. (Because the fragments come from the same original coral, they grow together rather than competing for space, as unrelated corals do.)

Working underwater has unique challenges and divers say outplanting can be quite frustrating. Surging ocean waters move you back and forth at this shallow depth, and you must control your buoyancy to avoid damaging any corals. Each scrape of the hammer moves your body. Fish attracted by the stirred-up algae get in the way. Most people use up their air faster than they would on a recreational dive. But the frustration pales against the importance of the task.

After these dive trips, volunteers scatter to the various attractions of the Keys, but work continues for the foundation team. The staff creates and maintains the nurseries, conducts regular outplanting dives on their own, and leads public outreach events and dives. They also monitor survival of individual outplants and the effect of restoration efforts on the larger ecosystem. Monitoring now is done primarily via a technique called photomosaic, which uses software to stitch together multiple photographs and create a map of a restoration site.

With photomosaics, we are able to see survival and growth of all our outplants, not just a select sample, Morningstar says. The technique, which several published studies have validated, also reduces the time spent on monitoring corals, freeing up more time for planting them.

Since 2012 Coral Restoration Foundation has outplanted more than 220,000 corals (nearly 13,500 of those by volunteers) representing more than 365,000 square feet of habitat. The foundation also ticked off another important indicator of success: the first-ever spawning of nursery-raised corals in the wild.

Making babies is hard, especially for corals, Morningstar says, adding that spawning is a clear sign of reef health.

While scuba divers and residents of the Florida coast have an obvious stake in this effort, coral loss affects almost everyone. The annual economic value of the worlds coral reefs is an estimated $9.9 trillion two times that of tidal marshes and wetlands and seven times more than tropical forests. This value comes from the role of reefs in supporting 25% of all marine life, providing food and livelihoods for coastal residents, underpinning tourism, and protecting shorelines and structures from wave energy, especially during storms. Coral reef services benefit more than a billion people around the world. That makes restoration an important investment.

Restoring a tenth of the worlds coral reefs would cost in the range of $4 to $8 trillion, writes marine biologist Juli Berwald in her book Life on the Rocks. A 2014 study of coral reefs valued their ecosystem services at $362,000 per hectare per year. Frank Mars said it required a $250,000 investment to restore a hectare of reef. So, youve got a return on investment of about 1.5 with coral reefs. Restoring coral reefs is a reasonable investment, she concludes. (The method developed in Indonesia by Mars yes, the candy company uses six-legged rebar structures populated with coral fragments and networked together on the ocean floor; Mars says 8 divers could construct a basketball court-sized reef in 3 hours.)

It remains true that unless and until humans stop doing the things that harm reefs, these restoration efforts are a bit like trying to empty the sea with a bucket. But again, wait and it may be too late. And theres more that people can do.

Put pressure on policymakers around the world, suggests Jessica Levy, the foundations director of restoration strategy. Support policies, candidates and leaders who support climate response. We need this to be a political issue, unfortunately. Make ocean friendly choices in your daily life, choosing sustainable seafood and reducing plastic consumption and your carbon footprint. It all contributes, but we really need to ensure that governments take action.

And show up in Key Largo, too, if you can. The corals need all hands on deck. I plan to make a return trip and hope for better weather.

Coral Reefs Are in Crisis. Could a Controversial Idea Help?

More:

Planting Coral Gardens to Save Florida's Reefs The Revelator - The Revelator