ICYMI: The Walking Dead Finale Extended; HBO Releases Trailers For Veep, Silicon Valley; Gwendoline Christie Cast In SundanceTV's Top of The Lake; and More TV News
With season six of Game of Thrones just around the corner, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are giving more and more non-spoiler hints about the highly anticipated new season. The two confirmed what we all suspected: No, not that Jon Snow is still alive, but season six is the best season of Thrones yet. They also reassured fans this week that this season will in no way spoil the next book, which leaves us asking more questions about what the heck this season is going to center on. (Entertainment Weekly)
Thanks to the kind heart of Ellen DeGeneres and the higher-ups at HBO, the premium network has agreed to air unknown comedian Quincy Jones’ comedy standup special – something he decided he wanted to accomplish before he dies after being diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer. Jones will tape his special on April 4th and it’s set to air sometime this spring. (Entertainment Weekly)
Rejoice, The Walking Dead fans! The season six finale has been extended from its normal 60-minute time slot to 90 minutes. Perhaps this will give us enough time to get fully acquainted with Negan. (Entertainment Weekly)
HBO does have other shows besides Game of Thrones premiering this spring. Their two biggest comedies are premiering the same night as Game of Thrones: Veep and Silicon Valley. This week HBO released the first looks at the new seasons for both shows, which are sure to be the perfect upper right after the sure-to-be-Game-of-Thrones-downer.
The creator of Switched At Birth announced via Twitter the last and final season will not air until sometime in 2017, while reminding fans that “true fans will wait” and it’ll be “worth it.” (Deadline)
It’s always tough when you put a lot of effort into a project and put it in front of people only to have it essentially blow up in your face. That’s essentially what happened to ABC’s new series Of Kings and Prophets, which was canceled after just two airings. (Deadline)
HBO has finally given a premiere date for the film adaptation of the Broadway show All The Way, starring Tony Award-winner Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon B. Johnson. The film will premiere on May 21 at 8pm ET. (Deadline)
WEtv has given the go-ahead for a second season of Growing Up Hip Hop, a reality show that follows a handful of new generation hip hop moguls and their efforts to make their own way in the business apart from their famous parents. (Deadline)
Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie is joining Elisabeth Moss on BBC Two/SundanceTV’s Top of The Lake for the second season of the mystery series. The second season will be set four years after the conclusion of the first, with Robin (Moss) investigating the death of an unidentified Asian girl whose body washes ashore on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Details of Christie’s role have yet to be revealed but is said to be a major one. (Entertainment Weekly)
With the Rams heading back to L.A. from St. Louis, it’s incredibly fitting HBO has chosen to center the 11th season of the NFL behind-the-scenes show Hard Knocks on their homecoming and readjustment to Los Angeles. The new season is set to premiere August 9th at 10pm ET. (ESPN)
After two seasons of making us laugh and cry with the promise of a third, HBO has decided to cancel the original comedy Togetherness. The final episode of season two and the series will air on April 10th. (Indiewire)
After news broke of Garry Shandling’s untimely death, HBO has announced that Shandling’s groundbreaking, hugely influential showbiz satire The Larry Sanders Show will return to HBO’s on-demand services – a deal that was made before Shandling passed away. (AV Club)