Taking Flight with “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Creator Malcolm Spellman

The success or failure of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier laid heavily upon many folks, but perhaps none as specifically as creator and showrunner Malcolm Spellman. Spellman succeeded in delivering not only a thrilling, six-episode season with cinematic-level action but also a character study of one would-be Captain America in Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier absorbed the narrative traumas Sam had already endured as well as the real-world traumas that Black Americans have been dealing with forever.

Director Barry Jenkins Mixes Beauty and Brutality in “The Underground Railroad”

The Underground Railroad has been a long time coming in Barry Jenkins‘ imagination. As a kid growing up in Miami’s rough Liberty City neighborhood, the writer-director pictured literal railroad tracks running beneath the earth. Fast forward to 2014, when Jenkins thrilled to Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and secured adaptation rights even before he’d finished promoting his Oscar-winning Moonlight movie.

After completing If Beale Street Could Talk,

“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” Director Kari Skogland on the Evolution of the Hero

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland had her work cut out for her. Direct roughly six hours worth of action (practically two Avengers films’ worth), introduce a brand new location to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Madripool), brand new villains (the Flag Smashers), a brand new Captain America (Wyatt Russell’s John Walker), and continue the long-established character arcs of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

Showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks Goes Deep on an American Icon in “Genius: Aretha”

She won a Tony for her spectacular singing in The Color Purple, then earned an Oscar nomination in her role as the titular underground railroad heroine in Harriet. Now Cynthia Erivo‘s harnessing her vocal and dramatic gifts to deliver a sensational portrayal of Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha (March 21 on NatGeo). Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright-turned-showrunner Suzan-Lori Parks, the eight-episode biopic dramatizes Franklin’s journey from gospel singing child prodigy to her decades-long reign as pop music’s undisputed Queen of Soul.

“Lovecraft Country” Creator Misha Green on Confidence and Taking Risks in Hollywood

Name a vocation and Misha Green has probably done it. And if not in her own lifetime, then through the lives of the characters she creates.    

“My sister just reminded me the other day, she was like, ‘You actually got into UCLA for acting,’” Green said. “And I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s RIGHT!’”

But ultimately, it was a life behind the camera that Green preferred. She decided to study television and film at New York University and a few years later landed her first industry job as a staff writer for FX’s Sons of Anarchy.

Showrunner Benjamin Cavell on Remaking Stephen King’s Beloved Dark Fantasy “The Stand”

Stephen King’s The Stand, published in 1978, has eerily stood the test of time. The epic masterpiece follows the struggle between good and evil and is set against a backdrop of an apocalyptic plague called Captain Trips that has taken countless lives worldwide. The novel has been read by millions and was adapted for a four-part television series back in 1994.

Now, with showrunner, co-creator and executive producer Benjamin Cavell (Justified,

Showrunner Chris Van Dusen on Creating a Modern Regency Romance in “Bridgerton”

Buckle up for Christmas Day, when Bridgerton, a romance set in England’s 19th century Regency era, debuts on Netflix. Shonda Rhimes’ first executive-produced series for the streaming service, this bright, sexy show reimagines a casually multiracial society set in a horse-drawn world of candy-colored palaces, sybaritic balls, and aristocracy on display.

Bridgerton was shot on location at storied homes like Lancaster House, where Queen Elizabeth II still holds royal functions,

Raising Dion Showrunner Carol Barbee on Netflix’s Singular Superhero Show

On film or television, there has never been a superhero origin story with a focus on the superhero’s mom. That changes with the new Netflix show Raising Dion, which is based on a 2015 comic book of the same name by Dennis Liu. The show features Alisha Wainwright as Nicole Reese, a young widow raising 8-year-old Dion (Ja’Siah Young), who begins to exhibit superhuman abilities. Michael B. Jordan plays her late husband Mark,

How Killing Eve Showrunner Emerald Fennell Delivered 9 Emmy Nominations

“It’s OK if you feel weird. You just killed someone for the first time. With an ax.” That’s one many deadpan Killing Eve lines crafted by actress-turned-showrunner Emerald Fennell and delivered by psychopath Villanelle (Jodie Comer) to fish-out-of-water spy Eve (Sandra Oh). AMC/BBC America’s British thriller earned nine Emmy nominations for its second season including an Outstanding Writing nod for Fennell, who seemingly came out of nowhere to succeed Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the show’s creative boss.

Los Espookys Co-Creator & Breakout Star Ana Fabrega on her new HBO Series

On June 30, New York City will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, which catalyzed the contemporary gay rights movement as we know it. As a gay filmmaker and comedic performer who was born the year Stonewall took place, I’m thrilled that, especially in the last few years, mainstream entertainment has embraced a new unashamed and unfiltered breed of LGBTQ comedian. Case in point: The superb new HBO comedy Los Espookys.

Showrunner Lauren Morelli Spins New Tales of the City for Netflix

The interwoven stories of the residents of Barbary Lane are being told again. Introduced in author Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City 40 years ago, and then adapted for television several times since the 1990s, the beloved San Francisco-set saga is being revived by Netflix and starts streaming this June.

Like its predecessors, which were based on Maupin’s nine novels, the 2019 version focuses a lot on the LGBTQ community—but it does so with some new characters and a modern take.

Peaky Blinders Creator Steven Knight on his BAFTA-Winning Crime Epic

Peaky Blinders beat The Crown in May to win England’s BAFTA Award for best television drama, but series creator Steven Knight won’t be shocked if his show fails to snag American kudos when Emmy nominations are announced Thursday. “Peaky Blinders doesn’t do the things that other shows do,” he says. “It took a long time to get our first BAFTA but audiences in Europe and America are loving Peaky.

Succession Creator Dissects the Family Squabbles of the Mega Rich

Family dynamics are difficult enough to navigate under the most mundane of circumstances. Factoring in massive sums of money, dizzying power and toxic levels of sibling rivalry, what could possibly go wrong? HBO‘s big business melodrama Succession offers some twisty-turny answers as it examines the warping effect of inherited wealth as filtered through the wife and offspring of wily media mogul Logan Roy (Brian Cox). Airing on Sundays, the limited series tracks the machinations of young adults (Jeremy Strong,

Preacher Showrunner Sam Catlin on Grandma Driving Season 3’s Insane Misadventures

It had to happen eventually, according to showrunner Sam Catlin, so Preacher Season 3 begins this Sunday, June 24, at the creepy Angelville plantation ruled by the terrifying spell-caster known as “Grandma.” Fans of the comic book source material figured the matriarch would show up at some point, but they didn’t expect her to be portrayed by Betty Buckley, the Broadway musical icon. “Betty‘s got this great authority and her audition was incredible,”

First-Time Showrunner Breaks Down his Dark hit Series The Sinner

Derek Simonds had been toiling on the periphery of show business since 2001, when his indie film Seven and a Match toured the festival circuit, but progress proved fitful. He developed Call Me By Your Name, penned some TV pilots and worked as a story editor on ABC drama The Astronaut Wives Club, but, Simonds says, “I was still banging on doors to be heard.”