‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ International Travel Series Ordered by Max

“I May Destroy You,” takes the time-traveling route in “The Lazarus Project” on TNT.Essiedu plays George, who wakes up one morning to find that he’s seemingly repeating a day that happened six months ago yet nobody else seems to notice. He thinks he’s losing his grip on reality until he learns about a top-secret international organization called The Lazarus Project that uses time travel to stop mass-extinction events. (He’s told that the world has already ended several times, including once in the ’60s when Russia and America launched nuclear warheads at each other — but The Lazarus Project was able to undo it). Essiedu, 32, said he enjoys series in which time travel plays a main role.“I loved ‘Russian Doll.’ I haven’t watched the second [season] yet but I thought the first one was brilliant,” he told The Post. “‘Back to the Future’ is a classic.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here bringing you a rundown of all the biggest headlines and analysis from the international film and TV universe. Read on. 

After “Sex And The City 2” in 2010, no one expected Carrie Bradshaw and her friends to return to the small or big screens. But that’s exactly what happened in 2021 when “And Just Like That…” premiered on HBO Max (now Max), albeit without Kim Cattrall‘s Samantha Jones in tow.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Cannes Festival’s digital media partner Brut. and leading podcast studio Paradiso Media are launching “Brutally Informed,” a weekly podcast series that just launched exclusively on Audible. The program is part of Audible’s expanding news and non-fiction slate. Hosted by journalists Jared Marcelle, Rheya Spigner, and Noah Jones, “Brutally Informed” aims at delivering insights on issues spanning current affairs, culture, and societal issues with topics ranging from polyamory to the Colorado River to counterfeit sneakers. Each 15-minute episode boasts original interviews and investigative reporting. The audio show is produced by Alex Schuman, with Paradiso Media’s Yael Even Or serving as supervising producer. Executive Producers are Ann Heppermann for Audible, Carly Figueroa for Brut, and Emi Norris for Paradiso.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large These are indeed the waning days of the scripted basic cable juggernaut. That may be a strange thing to point out when once again, the most-watched entertainment show of the just-completed 2022-2023 TV season was “Yellowstone,” the modern western that airs on Paramount Network. But “Yellowstone” is wrapping up sometime in the next year, and the only other scripted series from a basic cabler to consistently be ranked among TV’s top shows, AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” has already ended its run. “The Walking Dead,” of course, dominated the season-ender charts for years — even beating football in the 2014-2015 TV season with a whopping 13.2 rating among adults 18-49. But as basic cable is almost completely out of the original scripted series business now (unscripted hits like “Vanderpump Rules” still abound, of course), those brief halcyon days are coming to an end.

Idris Elba wants you to buckle up.

Conan Gray has released his first single of 2023 to kick off a “new era” – check out the Max Martin-produced ‘Never Ending Song’ below.‘Never Ending Song’ is the first track Gray has released since 2022’s ‘Superache’ and the lush, ‘80s inspired track was also co-written by Martin.“I hope you can feel the smiles we had on our faces making this song. Happy beginning of summer,” Gray said, sharing the track on social media.Check out ‘Never Ending Song’ below.“It’s about a tale as old as time and something we’ve all gone through, which is a painful tumultuous relationship that just never seems to die no matter how many times you kill it,” Gray said in a press release.“The story just drags on and on.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Flawless, XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions have acquired the Cannes Critics’ Week selection “Vincent Must Die” for all English-speaking territories from Goodfellas. Flawless, the pioneering film technology company and a leader in the field of visual translation, recently announced it has launched a partnership with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions to acquire rights to foreign-language films, converting them to English for distribution in relevant markets. Directed by Stéphan Castang, “Vincent Must Die” is written by Mathieu Naert, produced by Thierry Lounas and Claire Bonnefoy, and stars Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. In the film, an ordinary man finds himself fighting for his life after he goes out one day and is mysteriously attacked by random strangers in the street with the intent to kill him.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The major broadcast networks are trying very hard this year to do what they do best – create franchise drama series built around the adventures of larger-than-life characters. Kathy Bates, Kaitlin Olson, Carrie Preston and Shanola Hampton are among the female actors hoping to click as distinctive protagonists with new series in the 2023-24 season. Bates will bring to life a next-generation “Matlock,” while Preston limns a new chapter for Elsbeth Tascioni, the attorney character she has played on and off on CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Paramount+’s “The Good Fight” since 2010. This is good news for the hundreds of international television buyers heading to Los Angeles for next week’s LA Screenings market. Another welcome development is that the largest media congloms are now on a big push to reopen their doors to third-party buyers, after a few years of holding back the biggest shows for in-house streaming services.

Conan O’Brien has been teasing his first Max (fka HBO Max) project for the last three years and it’s finally here.

posted Monday.“He was an incredible talent who brought Crash Bandicoot and other Crash characters to life. He will forever live on in the hearts of Crash fans.”O’Brien is notably responsible for Crash’s iconic “Woah!” that always signaled action or bad news.

William Earl UPDATED: The network upfronts are once again front-and-center for the television industry as major players gather in New York May 15-17 for the springtime ritual of presenting programming plans for the upcoming TV season. Upfronts are always a hectic time, but this year it’s even more so because of the writers strike that began May 2. Writers and many actors are sitting out the upfront presentations in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. The promise of WGA pickets surrounding all major events spurred Netflix to make a hasty decision to switch to a virtual presentation rather than an in-person event at the company’s Paris Theater.

Things have been hotting up for Tina O'Brien on-screen as her character was seen continuing her affair with Coronation Street's newest bad boy. The actress is best known for playing Sarah Barlow - nee Platt - in the ITV soap, but didn't join until the daughter of matriarch Gail Platt turned 12.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Freshman drama “Quantum Leap” is taking a quantum leap to Tuesdays, as NBC unveiled a mostly strike-proof fall schedule that features three new series (two dramas and a comedy) and a crowded midseason bench. The Peacock net’s lineup is heavy as always on football and Dick Wolf: And even more so on the pigskin, as NBC’s new deal to cover Big Ten football kicks in with a new Saturday showcase. But with few changes in store, the network will rely on established series to launch its freshman entries. NBC will use unscripted mainstay “The Voice” on Mondays to launch the new Jesse L. Martin starrer “The Irrational,” based on author Dan Ariely’s “Predictably Irrational,” at 10 p.m. On Tuesday, the hit “Night Court” revival will continue to lead off the night and help launch the new comedy “Extended Family,” starring Jon Cryer and Donald Faison, and from Mike O’Malley, at 8:30 p.m.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Mrs. Davis” may be one of the most surprising and unconventional new series of the spring — and now it’s making a surprising and unconventional move in the Emmy race as well. As the Television Academy deadline for category submissions ends today, Peacock has decided to make a last-minute shift and move the series into the limited/anthology series categories. Betty Gilpin stars in “Mrs. Davis” as Simone, a sometimes nun who takes on her nemesis, the artificial intelligence being known only as “Mrs. Davis,” and strikes a deal with the algorithm — which promises to shut down if Simone finds and destroys the holy grail. This exploration of faith and technology comes from executive producers Tara Hernandez (“The Big Bang Theory”) and Damon Lindelof (“The Leftovers”).

Coronation Street beauty Tina O'Brien left her followers stunned as she shared a throwback snap of herself looking like sixties model Twiggy in a short blonde wig and brown crochet outfit. Tina, 39, who has played Sarah Barlow, nee Platt, since 1999, shared the stunning snap on her Instagram and captioned it: "Throwback to when it was all about the teeny bopper magazines, pre-online content."

After the delights of Cheltenham and the Grand National, we feel the Flat season spring into full effect with the first Classic of the season at Newmarket.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The ninth annual SeriesFest, an annual television-centric event held in Denver, kicks off Friday with a slightly abbreviated schedule in light of the writers strike. Per WGA rules, writers are not allowed to make “promotional appearances” at film festivals (or presumably, TV festivals like SeriesFest) or at “For Your Consideration” Emmy events. Already, a number of FYC showcases have either been canceled, or continued on but with just a screening, no panel, due to the strike. SeriesFest becomes the first festival to be impacted by the strike. This year’s event takes place from May 5 to May 10, which now happens to coincide with the early days of the strike. As a result, showrunners have opted out of a handful of panels, while screenings of many new and returning shows will now take place without talent/showrunner Q&As. It could be an early peak at the pivot that may have to take place with other upcoming festivals, including Cannes and ATX.

Long live “Yellowstone”.