NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Shout-out to Issa López, who served as showrunner, exec producer, and director on the recently aired “True Detective: Night Country” – López has just signed an overall deal with HBO which will see her return for the next installment of the series, and create new content for HBO and Max. “Night Country,” starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, was the most-watched season of the franchise.
The latest stats are out on female representation in movies: according to a new research brief from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, just 30% of the top 100 films of 2023 featured a female lead or co-lead – that’s a big drop from the record-high of 44% in 2022. You can read the full report here and also listen to the head of the Inclusion Initiative, Dr. Stacy Smith talk about the numbers on The Town.
Trailer watch: the first look at new Max series “The Girls on the Bus” has dropped - following four political reporters (Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Natasha Behnam, Christina Elmore) on the campaign trail, the ensemble comedy premieres March 14. Created by Amy Chozick and
Julie Plec, it’s inspired by Chozick’s own experiences and based on her 2018 memoir “Chasing Hilary.” Check out the trailer.
All synopses are courtesy of press materials, unless otherwise noted.
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN AND NON-GENDERED PERSONS OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
Drive-Away Dolls – Written by Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen
This comedy caper follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley), an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
“Drive-Away Dolls” is now in theaters.