Easybeats' rise the focus of drama
The Sony-owned Australian production company Playmaker is producing a television drama about the rise of The Easybeats for the ABC. Friday on My Mind will chart the rise of the iconic 1960s-era band formed by five migrant boys in Sydney, Stevie Wright, Gordon Fleet, George Young, Harry Vanda and Dick Diamonde. The band, which was active between 1964 and 1969, was compared to The Beatles and stepped onto the world stage when single Friday on My Mind hit number one in Australia and The Netherlands, number 6 in the UK and number 16 on the US Billboard chart. The TV biopic will be written by Christopher Lee and directed by Shawn Seet. It will air in 2017.
Trio set for Star Trek reboot
The US studio CBS has confirmed the first three actors to sign aboard its Star Trek reboot, Star Trek: Discovery. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Michelle Yeoh will play Captain Georgiou, commanding the USS Shenzhou, Doug Jones (The Knick) will play Lt Saru, an alien science officer, and Anthony Rapp (Pan's Labyrinth) will play Lt Stamets, an astromycologist (translation: fungus expert) in the ship's science department. CBS is expected to announce more cast members in the next few weeks. Star Trek: Discovery, which has become one of the most anticipated new US series, will launch in the US on the CBS All Access streaming platform in 2017; it will launch internationally on the streaming platform Netflix.
Masters of Sex season shelved
Masters of Sex, the critically acclaimed drama about sex research pioneers Bill Masters (Michael Sheen) and Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan), has been cancelled. The current fourth season will be the show's last; a planned fifth season has been shelved, the US studio Sony confirmed. The cable channel Showtime, which aired the series in the US, noted it was a "beautifully written and acted exploration of America's changing sexual mores." Despite a slew of award nominations and wins to its name, the US audience for the series had shrunk well below one million viewers. The series aired in Australia on SBS. Meanwhile, CBS has also paused its reboot of The Odd Couple, ordering only 13 episodes for the show's third season.
Netflix answers 'play later' call
The streaming platform Netflix has rolled out a much-requested update: the ability to download and play content later. The feature would, for example, allow consumers to pre-download content before boarding an airplane, or download content at home rather than on mobile or work networks. Not all of the service's library will be available to download; Netflix will add search filters to help viewers sift through to downloadable content, notably original series including Orange Is the New Black, The Crown, House of Cards, Narcos and The Crown. Notable exclusions include Gilmore Girls, Fuller House and Disney-owned content, such as the Marvel TV series and Disney films, including Jungle Book and Zootopia.
