APPLE TV+ Press Tour Winter 2021! M. Night Shyamalan Wants You To Laugh. Schmigadoon Revives 1940s Musicals With Diverse Casting. Time To Get Physical!
By Delaina Dixon | February 21, 2021 | Entertainment
Here’s hot news from the Press Tour panel for Apple TV+!
Apple TV+’s hit series Servant is back for season two! The story follows a couple who hire a mysterious nanny to care for a life-like doll they’ve acquired after the death of their real-life child. Yep, it’s kind of a dark premise, but season two is being lauded for its comedic elements. “I always loved to make people laugh,” says series creator M. Night Shyamalan, the man behind the supernatural thrillers The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. While Shyamalan’s known for his dark and mysterious themes, he admitted during the panel, “I could never get it right with the darker stuff as my younger self … with Unbreakable, I had so many more funny things I could have put in.” Shyamalan is becoming more comfortable with adding the funny to his dark worlds and presenting actors and talent who can pull them off with authenticity. “I love to make you scared and uncomfortable and make you laugh at the same time,” he revealed. Servant is now airing on Apple TV+ with new episodes on Friday.
A couple in a rut, played by SNL‘s Cicely Strong and comedic actor Keegan Michael Key (pictured up top), wind up in a colorful town called Schmigadoon which feels and sounds like an old-timey musical. But this town looks more like our diverse nation circa 2021 as a multiracial cast sings and dances in 1940s costumes and style. “It was always important that it looked like America today; it’s an aspirational place,” stated the series producers. Key added that it’s a place where “different racial backgrounds are living there in harmony,” and with that out of the way, the cast can have fun with the musical troupes. “That’s why we do comedy,” declared Strong, who gets to sing a whole song about, uh, vaginas. Shimgadoon premieres this summer on Apple TV+.
The DivaGals can’t wait for the new dramedy Physical. It stars Rose Byrne as an exasperated housewife in the 1980s who finds her self-empowerment through aerobics. We’re watching for the leotards, legwarmers and leg lifts! It also premieres this summer.
photo credit: Apple TV+
