Showtime at TCA 2019: ‘The Chi’ Season 2, ‘Homeland’ Pushed Back, Kevin Bacon’s ‘City on a Hill’
Television Critics Association 2019 Winter Press Tour News:
The Chi Season 2 Premiere Date
The second season of show will premiere on Sunday, April 7 at 10/9c.
The series is created and executive produced by Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and executive produced by Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Common (Selma). Ayanna Floyd serves as this season’s showrunner/EP. The Chi is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of Chicago residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption.
Homeland Final Season Moved
Homeland will start production on its eighth and final season next week, which has been described as “breathless” and “surprising.” Because of all of the international filming locations, the final season premiere has been moved from June to fall 2019.
Showtime
City on a Hill Premiere Date & Trailer
The new one-hour drama series will premiere on Sunday, June 16 at 9/8c. It stars Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Kevin Bacon (The Following) and Screen Actors Guild award winner Aldis Hodge (Underground, Friday Night Lights).
The series is set in early 1990s Boston, rife with criminals emboldened by local law enforcement agencies in which corruption and racism was the norm. In this fictional account, Assistant District Attorney Decourcy Ward (Hodge) arrives from Brooklyn and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rohr (Bacon). Production on the 10-episode series will begin in February in New York and Boston.
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Finds a Director
Paco Cabezas (Penny Dreadful, The Alienist) is set to direct multiple episodes of the show’s new chapter.
Oscar nominee John Logan, creator, writer and executive producer of the Emmy nominated series Penny Dreadful, will continue in those same roles. Production on the drama series is expected to begin later this year.
The new series explores an exciting mix of the supernatural and the combustible reality of the period, creating new occult myths and moral dilemmas within a genuine historical backdrop. This chapter is a bold new vision that will employ all new characters and storylines.
Wu-Tang Clan Docuseries Premiere Date & Trailer
The four-part docuseries, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, from filmmaker Sacha Jenkins will debut on Friday, May 10.
As the group marks the 25th anniversary of their breakout debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the series looks back on their career, combining intimate and reflective interviews from each of the nine living members with never-before-seen archival footage and performances. The series follows the founding members – RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Masta Killa and Cappadonna – many of whom were childhood friends in the hardscrabble world of ’70s and ’80s Staten Island and Brooklyn.
The Loudest Voice in the Room
Russell Crowe had a special message for the TCA, introducing his new series The Loudest Voice in the Room about Roger Ailes and Fox News. The video shows his incredible transformation into Ailes, which includes layers of prosthetics. The series will premiere this summer on Showtime.
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XY Chelsea Premiere Date
The unique and intimate portrait of Chelsea Manning is directed by Tim Travers Hawkins and executive produced by Oscar Winner Laura Poitras and will premiere on Friday, June 7 at 9/8c.
This project tells the historic story of whistle-blower Chelsea Manning, whose 35-year sentence in a maximum security prison was commuted by President Obama in 2017. Shot over two years and featuring exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes verité with Manning, the film begins on the momentous day in May of that year when she leaves prison and follows her through her journey of discovery, while also examining her place in the conversation on national security and the fight of the transgender community for rights and visibility.
