I remember a few years ago, I watched the unaired pilot for The Big Bang Theory, which had a different Penny (different actress, different name and I think she was an actual slut?). The guys felt a bit creepier than the sweet awkward nerds we had in the official series and the overall tone felt more mature and sexual.

A few minutes ago, Youtube recommended me the unaired pilot for Big Time Rush. It wasn't my favorite show but honestly I think it was funny for Nickelodeon in those days; and in that pilot you can clearly see how recasting the lead actor (Kendall) might have completely changed the band's dynamic, and why adding a caring, protective mom for a group of boys was so important. -Here's the link in case you're interested: https://youtu.be/HxUYJ0wAcKA

What unaired pilot or original concept have you seen that you think wouldnt have worked? where they made the right call by recasting or changing the tone of the show? Comes to my mind Ren and Stimpy adult version or the Tracey Ullman's version of The Simpsons as well. I think also South Park had an early version before the pilot?

It would be nice if you add the URL to the pilot you mention c: Thanks!

Crystal Lake

Premise: The prequel series to the Friday the 13th franchise centers on Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) as two strangers' arrival in Crystal Lake forces her troubled past back into the spotlight.

Subreddit: r/CrystalLakeTV

Platform: Peacock.

Metacritic: 60/100.

Links:

• IMDB
• Trailer
• Wikipedia)

From Deadline:

CBC celebrities, assemble! The names in the hot seat for Season 2 of the Canadian version of The Assembly are in, and they’ve got some collective star power.

Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams, The Hangover‘s Zach Galifianakis and This is the End actor Jay Baruchel have signed up to be grilled by a cast of autistic and neurodivergent interviewers for the six-part series.

Also on the cast list are three-time Olympic gold medalist Marie-Philip Poulin, Miss Universe Canada Ashley Callingbull, who has appeared in Netflix, CBC and APTN comedy North of North, and singer-songwriter Lights.

The second season of CBC’s show premieres on CBC Gem and CBC TV on Sunday, November 1 at 9 p.m. ET (9:30 NT). Special extended ‘Producer’s Cuts’ will be released on CBC Gem the same day from 9 a.m. ET.

The Assembly began life in France on France Télévisions as Les Rencontres du Papotin, and has since spawned returning versions in countries such as the UK, Spain and Australia. Guests across versions have included Camille Cottin, President Emmanuel Macron, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Stephen Fry and Sam Neil.

Each version features the cast of autistic and neurodivergent interviewers audiences, who collectively quiz celebrities in an ask-anything interview format. In Canada, interviewers from the first season will return alongside additional new ones.

I just finished Netflix's East of Eden, and what impressed me most was how unwilling the show was to give simple explanations for its characters.

Almost everyone in this story is both a victim of someone else's choices and eventually responsible for choices that hurt someone else.

Adam and Charles grow up under a father who creates competition and emotional distance between them. Adam knows firsthand what that does to two brothers, yet years later Caleb and Aron somehow find themselves trapped in a very similar dynamic.

That's one of the things I thought the series did extremely well. Adam isn't necessarily a bad person, but being a good person doesn't automatically make someone a good father.

I actually found Adam more frustrating than Cathy at times for that reason.

Cathy is obviously responsible for some horrific things, but the show gives us enough of her childhood and mental deterioration to make her more complicated than a straightforward villain. I found myself feeling compassion for her while still being horrified by her choices.

There are so many things about her that the series intentionally, or perhaps unintentionally, leaves unanswered.

Why did she marry Adam and allow him to imagine this entire future together when she clearly didn't want it? Why have children knowing she wanted to leave? Why did she seem capable of showing Charles a warmth that she could never show Adam?

And I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Charles appearing in Cathy's imagination.

The Charles in her mind felt noticeably different from the actual Charles. He seemed almost like a manifestation of her darkest impulses rather than the man himself. He encourages her worst thoughts throughout the series, yet he's strangely absent when she finally decides to kill herself.

I wish the show had spent more time with Charles because his early death left me feeling like a major piece of both Adam and Cathy's stories was missing.

Then there's Adam's relationship with his sons.

I understand why Cathy destroyed him emotionally, but I think there came a point where Adam had a responsibility to stop allowing that trauma to control the way he raised Caleb and Aron.

He knew what it felt like to compete with a brother for a father's approval. He knew what emotional neglect felt like. Yet he still repeated parts of his own childhood.

His biggest mistake, in my opinion, was refusing to tell his sons the truth about their mother.

Which brings me to the part of the ending I disagree with most:

I don't think Caleb should carry the responsibility for Aron's death.

Caleb absolutely made a cruel decision when he forced Aron to confront Cathy. But Aron's death felt like the final domino in a chain that had been falling for decades.

Cathy abandoned her children.

Adam concealed the truth.

Aron created an idealized understanding of his family.

Caleb shattered it.

Aron then made his own decision about what to do afterward.

Reducing all of that to Caleb being responsible for Aron's death felt strangely simplistic for a show that otherwise spends so much time showing how complicated human behavior is. I was especially surprised that Lee seemed willing to place so much responsibility on Caleb.

And Lee was easily my favorite character.

He could have very easily been written as the endlessly wise supporting character whose only purpose is helping the Trasks, but I thought the series gave him enough vulnerability and personal disappointment to make him feel like his own person.

His code-switching, his friendship with Hamilton, his dream of owning a bookstore, and his eventual decision to return to the Trasks were some of my favorite parts of the series.

The scene where Lee realizes Hamilton is someone he can trust and drops the accent he'd been using was particularly memorable. Their friendship gave the show some desperately needed warmth.

By the end, what struck me most was how Caleb and Aron's relationship ultimately echoes Adam and Charles's.

The Trasks have money. The twins have a comfortable home. They have education, discipline, and people who genuinely love them.

None of it protects them from unresolved generational trauma.

That's ultimately what I think the show is about more than anything else. Almost every tragedy can be traced backward to something another person never dealt with.

Adam and Charles inherit their father's damage. Adam carries his own damage into fatherhood. Cathy carries her childhood into nearly every relationship she has. Caleb and Aron inherit consequences from decisions that were made before they were even born.

One person's unresolved pain becomes another person's burden.

I thought the series was excellent overall, but I finished it with a lot of unanswered questions, particularly about Charles, Cathy, and the amount of blame placed on Caleb.

For everyone who finished it: Do you think Caleb was actually responsible for Aron's death? And did the series give you enough information to understand Cathy, or do you think it left too much unexplained?

We really were in a golden era during the 00s as well as the 2010’s (CW shows!) and like ESPECIALLY the 2010’s. I was a teen during those years so it was like truly the prime years. Yes, now i’m in my late 20s but I still find myself missing these type of shows.

It’s crazy bc Netflix delivered some shows like that a few years ago but they ALL got canceled after one season and now they don’t do these shows anymore. I’m particularly still mourning Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself. THIS SHOW WAS SO FUCKING GOOD. IT HAD EVERYTHING I WANTED. It was witchy and DARK despite still being a YA-Show.

Other streaming services don’t really deliver in that genre either. And like I don’t need it to be YA. In fact I would more adult shows in that genre. But point still stands. They’re rarely done these days. I can barely mention any off the top of my head. And it’s weird bc shows like the Vampire Diaries and Supernatural genuinely were SO huge and successful. You’d think they’d have another attempt at that genre (doesn’t have to be Vampires!!) and I know there’s IWTV, which I still need to watch.

Anyway, anybody else feel that way? Just felt like venting.

I just finished watching the first 12 episodes of Hollywood Arts, and honestly, I went into this expecting it to be cringey. Let’s be real: with the number of disappointing reboots, revivals, and spin-offs we’ve gotten in recent years, it’s hard not to approach another one with a healthy dose of skepticism. Surprisingly, though, Hollywood Arts has been pretty serviceable so far. It’s not without its flaws, but there’s enough here to make it an enjoyable watch.

Trina Vega carried this show, and I will die on that hill.

Her mannerisms, antics, and overall characterisation feel so natural that it’s almost as if she never left the original series. What makes Trina work isn’t just the nostalgia factor; it’s that her character still feels distinctly Trina. She doesn’t come across as a watered-down version of herself or a character who’s been brought back solely for fan service. She brings the same chaotic energy that made her memorable in Victorious, and honestly, the show benefits tremendously from her presence.

I also appreciate the callbacks to iconic Victorious moments and references, such as Karaoke Dokie, the Pear Phone, Tori’s locker, the Lockout episode, and the Big Showcase. These references feel like little rewards for longtime fans without making the entire series dependent on nostalgia. That’s precisely how you incorporate callbacks into a spin-off: respect the original show’s legacy while giving the new series room to establish its own identity.

The new cast deserves credit, too.

Oscar and Jen are the two newcomers who stood out to me the most. They have that exaggerated, expressive, almost cartoonish approach to comedy that made so much of Nickelodeon’s classic sitcom acting memorable. Their performances don’t feel like they’re trying too hard to imitate the original cast; rather, they capture the spirit of that era of Nickelodeon television. They’re expressive, committed to the absurdity, and willing to go all out with their characters. For me, they understand the assignment.

As for Emmy, I think she’s been okay as the lead, but I was hoping she’d hold her own a little more against the rest of the cast. At times, she fades into the background, which is particularly noticeable when the supporting characters have such strong and distinctive personalities. This isn’t necessarily a knock on her acting abilities, but I do think the show needs to give its lead more opportunities to stand out. When your supporting cast consistently commands more attention than your protagonist, that’s something worth addressing.

My biggest criticism, however, is the show’s Disney coded storytelling.

A lot of the storylines revolve around working together, supporting one another, and chasing your dreams. There’s nothing inherently wrong with those themes, but the execution sometimes feels a little too polished and formulaic. One of the things that made Victorious stand out was its willingness to embrace weirdness, absurdity, and characters who weren’t always trying to teach the audience a lesson. I would’ve liked Hollywood Arts to lean further into that unconventional energy instead of occasionally feeling like a Disney Channel sitcom wearing a Nickelodeon costume.

I’m also a little disappointed by the use of existing pop songs. I would’ve preferred the series to stick more closely to original songs, which were such an integral part of Victorious. The original music wasn’t just filler between scenes; it helped establish the show’s identity and gave its musical performances a personality of their own. Using familiar pop songs isn’t automatically a bad decision, but I think original music would’ve done more to distinguish Hollywood Arts from other teen sitcoms.

Overall, I’m giving the first 12 episodes an 8.5/10.

My biggest hope for the remaining episodes is that the show becomes more confident in its own identity. It doesn’t need to replicate Victorious beat for beat, but it should understand what made the original memorable in the first place: its unapologetic weirdness, ridiculous humour, eccentric characters, and original music.
Hollywood Arts has the potential to be more than a nostalgia trip. I just hope it stops playing it safe and lets itself be as weird as the school it’s named after.

I don't mean a remake or spinoff. A show that continues from the original, maybe with a new generation of characters whilst the original characters are seen too but older.

I loved the first season, it was funny, well acted, fairly good action and a real cliff hanger ending. Did it get dropped, is it still in production, is Donald Glover too busy?