Ben Schwartz
Nicolas Cage Is a Perfect Dracula In the Cheerfully Bloody and Funny Renfield: Review
The violent R-rated comedy stars Nicholas Hoult stars as the titular familiar. Nicolas Cage Is a Perfect Dracula In the Cheerfully Bloody and Funny Renfield: Review Liz Shannon Miller
Space Force Season 2 Review: A Big Improvement That Leaves You Wanting More
The Pitch: The original pitch was simple: In 2019, the 45th President of the United States announced a plan for a Space Force branch of the U.S. military. To Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (who previously worked together on The Office), that sounded pretty ridiculous, so they successfully pitched Netflix on a satirical version of what such a “space force” would look like, with Carell as the general in charge. Unfortunately, Season 1 of Netflix’s Space Force… didn’t quite work. Despite the assembly of a surprise-packed ensemble, including awkward comedy G.O.A.T. Carell, human live wire Ben Schwartz, secret MVP Tawny Newsome, and wild card John Malkovich, there was something just off in how the writing and acting and directing jelled together — and to the credit of Carell and Daniels, they no...
Action, Murder, Musical and Romance: The Afterparty Cast and Creator on the Art of Genre-Bending
Technically, The Afterparty is one show, a murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie that tracks what happens when the celebration following a high school reunion becomes the site of tragedy for an obnoxious pop singer (Dave Franco). But it also could be said to be many different shows, as every member of the all-star cast, including Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Ben Schwartz, Ike Barinholtz, Ilana Glazer, and Jamie Demetriou, is a suspect, and as Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) interviews them, their version of events mimics a popular genre of entertainment. Each episode thus focuses on one genre, from rom-com to action movie to musical and more, as meticulously recreated by creator Chris Miller, which he says evolved organically out of his original concept for the series. Advertiseme...
The Afterparty Review: Apple TV+’s Comedic Murder Mystery Might Be the Most Inventive TV Show of 2022 (So Far)
The Pitch: For those familiar with the work of 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord, there are a few constants, a major one being their talent for taking a premise and making it simultaneously very clear and simple and also deceptively complex. Apple TV+’s The Afterparty is a perfect example of this, presenting itself initially as a fairly straightforward murder mystery out of the pages of Agatha Christie, with Tiffany Haddish in the Hercule Poirot role. On its own merits, that’s an idea that would be enough to inspire interest, and then Miller (who created the series and directs every episode; Lord serves as an executive producer) adds an additional layer: Every episode, which focuses on one potential suspect’s version of events, also utilizes a different...
Netflix’s Space Force Is A Waste of Space, Talent, Resources, Time: Review
The Pitch: In the Summer of 2018, the U.S. government announced a sixth branch of the armed forces, to be called the “Space Force.” A nation scratched their heads, but President Donald J. Trump tweeted out “Space Force all the way!” to the delight of his neo-conservative base and those who still think the current administration taps into a rich vein of comedy. It played to the tune of 128,000 likes. In January 2019, Netflix announced a new series based on the venture, to be developed by The Office’s Greg Daniels and Steve Carrell, with the latter starring. And now, for May 2020, Netflix’s Space Force arrives with a veritable Right Stuff-grade line-up of sitcom stars – Carrell, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy O. Yang, Ben Schwartz, Jane Lynch, Patrick Warburton, the late Fred Willard, and on and on – wi...
“Space Is Hard” in the First Official Trailer for Steve Carell’s Space Force: Watch
Space Force, the new Netflix sitcom co-created by Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (The Office), has released its first official trailer. And while “Space is hard,” as Carrell’s General Naird says in the clip, the jokes come easily for this veteran comedic cast. As you may have guessed, the series mocks President Trump’s idea for sixth military branch. But the new satire has some targets on the political left, too, and in the trailer a young congresswoman of color with big hoop earrings has the bizarre idea to make “space is hard” the official Space Force motto. The trailer tracks General Naird as he goes from mocking the new branch to becoming its reluctant leader. He’s assisted by the scientist Dr. Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich, in a toned-down riff on Dr. Strangelove) and S...
Jerry Stiller Tributes: Jason Alexander, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin James Honor Comic Icon
Jerry Stiller, legendary actor and comic of Seinfeld and The King of Queens, passed away on Monday morning. In the wake of his passing at the age of 92, countless co-stars and fellow colleagues offered their thoughts and condolences. His son, Ben, broke the news this morning on Twitter: “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years. He will be greatly missed. Love you Dad.” Jason Alexander, who portrayed his on-screen son George Costanza in Seinfeld, tweeted: “He was perhaps the kindest man I ever had the honor to work beside. He made me laugh when I was a child and every day I was with him. A great actor, a great man, a lovely friend.” Editors̵...
Steve Carell’s Netflix Comedy Space Force Gets First Trailer: Watch
Space Force, the upcoming Netflix comedy series from The Office co-creator Greg Daniels and Steve Carell, has received its first teaser trailer in advance of its May 29th premiere. Watch it below. Carell, who also serves as co-creator and executive producer, stars as Mark R. Naird, “a General tapped by the White House to lead a new branch of the Armed Forces with the goal of putting American ‘Boots on the Moon’ by 2024.” If you haven’t guessed by now, the series directly riffs on Donald Trump’s ludicrous Space Force idea. Assisting Carell with this mission is an all-star cast that includes John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, Noah Emmerich, Diana Silvers, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, Jane Lynch, and Fred Willard. Paul King (of Paddington 2 and...
