‘The Mission’ Review: While Netflix Drowns in True-Crime Docs, Nat Geo Embraces a World Without Answers

Just last month, “Star Wars” fans were treated to the news that Guillermo del Toro was working with Lucasfilm, at least at one point, on a couple of projects, including a solo film about the villainous Jabba the Hutt. Obviously, that was during a time where “Star Wars” was in a state of flux and Lucasfilm was desperately trying to figure out the way of the world under Disney’s ownership.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Like “Testament” — the 1983 made-for-TV movie that imagined the fallout, both nuclear and psychological, after an atomic bomb is dropped on American soil — “Leave the World Behind” depicts a plausible doomsday scenario from the perspective of a handful of ordinary characters. Not military experts, not scientists, but two families obliged to shelter under the same roof out in the East Hamptons while something scary unfolds a few hours away, off-screen, in New York.

EXCLUSIVE: After circling rights for weeks to the buzzy Vanity Fair article “True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him,” Amazon MGM Studios has locked them down, Deadline understands.

Will Tizard Contributor As the hulks of multi-million-dollar stadiums around the world attest in Haruna Honcoop’s investigative doc “Olympic Halftime,” the greatest global games have also built a reputation for massive waste and deception. “It’s always the same story,” says the director about her subject, seen this week in its world premiere screening at the Ji.hlava Intl.

It wouldn’t be that time of year without a new Lifetime-looking Xmas movie to warm your heart a little bit. Is it a movie, is it a film, or is it content? It’s hard to say, but Netflix’s “Best Christmas Ever” releases globally on Netflix on November 16, and it looks a bit standard-issue, tbh.

Castaway Diva, starring Park Eun-bin of Extraordinary Attorney Woo fame.Castaway Diva follows Seo Mok-ha, a crass countryside girl who has pipe dreams of becoming a pop star. One fateful day, as she’s making her way to Seoul city in order to make her dreams come true, Mok-ha somehow finds herself stranded on an uninhabited island, where she remains for the next 15 years.The new trailer introduces the eccentricities of Mok-ha, who speaks in a heavy dialect synonymous with rural South Korean towns and is extremely vocal about her dreams, despite being well aware of the fact that she “sounds hopeless”.

National Geographic announced a 2024 premiere date for Genius: MLK/X, the latest installment in Nat Geo’s Genius franchise. Genius: MLK/X will premiere the first two episodes Feb. 1 on National Geographic and stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, with two new episodes debuting weekly on all platforms. The news was announced during Nat Geo’s content showcase Wednesday night in NYC.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “Genius: MLK/X” has set its premiere date at Nat Geo, the network announced Wednesday. The first two episodes of the eight-episode fourth season of “Genius” will premiere on Feb. 1 on Nat Geo and will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

We have our first look at Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai in the upcoming live action Avatar: The Last Airbender series!

National Geographic has given a green light to No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski, a docuseries hosted by the Queer Eye star, from Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay Global.

Between the Rains and The Echo are among the big winners at the prestigious Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas.

EXCLUSIVE: Idris Elba is narrating and exec producing a Nat Geo series about people of color who fought during World War Two. Nat Geo’s Tom McDonald has also unveiled shows on the FBI and a groundbreaking new DNA project being used to identify John and Jane Does across America, as he says he wants to cement the network’s reputation as a “brand of record.”

American Fiction” from writer, director and producer Cord Jefferson, and the recent winner of the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award. Based on the novel “Erasure” by Percival Everett, the film stars Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison,” a frustrated novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired narratives and themes. After he writes an outlandish book making fun of the offensive tropes, his success propels him into the center of hypocrisy.

Move over David Attenborough, there are some new wildlife celebrities in town.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter National Geographic has partnered with Rex on the new docuseries tentatively titled “Top Gun: The Next Generation.” Rex, part of Zinc Media Group, will produce the series for Nat Geo. It follows the students of the U.S. Navy’s most elite fighter pilot program, which was popularized by the blockbuster films “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” starring Tom Cruise.

National Geographic is taking advantage of last year’s Top Gun buzz.

Welcome to Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best television being sold at Mipcom next week. Our editorial team has done extensive research in the run-up to the 2023 market and handpicked what we think are sure to be the shows that will be big talking points at this year’s event in Cannes. In between meetings and cocktail parties, you’re sure to hear whispers about the next potential global hit and The Hot Ones is here to guide you. Here’s our pick of top scripted titles headed for the Croisette.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic What would a monk want with a gun? Bringing wisdom and a streak of wry humor to his Bhutan-set sophomore feature, “The Monk and the Gun” director Pawo Choyning Dorji teases any number of possible answers to that question over the course of a droll, shrewdly satirical fable, in which Western values crash against a seemingly intransigent (but potentially more enlightened) South Asian culture. A gifted storyteller who keeps audiences guessing about his characters’ motives until the surprising moment everything comes together, Dorji was born in Bhutan, but attended university in Wisconsin.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max turned in the highest total customer satisfaction rating among U.S. subscription-streaming services, according to the results of Whip Media’s 2023 Streaming Satisfaction Report.

Charli & Dixie D’Amelio are spilling all the tea while taking a lie detector test – Just Jared Jr Cardi B is showing off her talent in the kitchen – Egotastic There was a mini Riverdale reunion at Paris Fashion Week - Just Jared Jr