Tag: Ray Romano

  • Fifteen new HBO Max originals coming to Warner Media platforms in Asia

    Fifteen new HBO Max originals coming to Warner Media platforms in Asia

    MUMBAI: With the launch of HBO Max in the United States on May 27, Warner Media has confirmed that a first wave of at least 15 HBO Max Originals will land on HBO GO and channels in Asia in 2020.

    Most shows will be available first on HBO GO, such as The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo and Love Life where three episodes of each have already dropped on May 27. Premiere dates for other titles and those across HBO, Warner TV, Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels are still to be confirmed.

    The programming slate, specially curated to suit the taste of Asian audiences, includes drama series, documentaries, movies and kids shows. The content is sourced from studios and distributors including Lionsgate, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Sesame Workshop.

    Talent includes household names like Ridley Scott, Meryl Streep, Kaley Cuoco, Lena Dunham, Anna Kendrick, Steven Soderbergh, Melissa McCarthy, Ray Romano, James Corden and of course Elmo and the Sesame Street gang.

    The titles include:

    Comedy & drama series

    Love Life

    Anna Kendrick stars in this anthology romantic comedy series about the journey from first love to last love, and how the people we’re with along the way make us into who we are when we finally end up with someone forever.

    Watch the trailer:

    Raised by Wolves

    From the mind of Ridley Scott, Raised by Wolves centres upon two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet.

    Flight Attendant

    Starring Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory), a flight attendant awakens in a Dubai hotel room to find her one-night-stand dead beside her. Could she have killed him? And, if not, who did?

    Doom Patrol (S2)

    The critically acclaimed DC series features a band of superpowered freaks, part support group, part superhero team, who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.

    Made for Love

    A series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name. Starring Cristin Milioti and Ray Romano, Made for Love is a dark, absurd and cynically poignant story of divorce and revenge.

    Generation

    Executive produced by Lena Dunham and Ben Barnz, Generation is a dark yet playful half-hour following a group of high school students. It tests deeply-entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community.

    KIDS & FAMILY:

    The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo

    Sesame Street’s Elmo is the host of his very own talk show! He’s going to bring you some (not-too-late) fun with an all-new celeb-studded series that celebrates bedtime routines. Guests include Lil Nas X, the Jonas Brothers, Ciara, Blake Lively, Sofia Carson, John Mulaney, Olivia Wilde and John Oliver.

    Watch the trailer:

    Looney Tunes Cartoons

    An all-new series featuring the marquee characters in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories.

    The Fungies!

    A prehistoric comedy cartoon, The Fungies! explores Fungietown through the whimsical quests of Seth, a young student at Fungietown Elementary.

    Adventure Time: Distant Lands

    These four new specials will continue the Adventure Time stories that captured imaginations and introduced unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, best buds who traversed the mystical Land of Ooo and encountered its colourful inhabitants.

    Sesame Street

    For 50 years, Sesame Street has helped kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, offering preschoolers and their families the gold standard in educational children’s programming.

    Sesame Street: The Monster at the End of the Book

    Starring lovable, furry Grover from Sesame Street, The Monster at the End of This Story is a new animated special based on the acclaimed children’s picture book.

    FILMS:

    UNpregnant

    The film tells the story of 17-year-old Veronica, who never thought she’d want to fail a test – that is, until she finds herself staring at a piece of plastic with two solid pink lines. The Greg Berlanti-production offers a mix of humour and grounded human emotion as it tackles complicated friendships and the difficult road to adulthood…all while in a stolen car.

    Let Them All Talk (wt)

    The film is based on a story of a celebrated author who takes a journey with some old friends to have some fun and heal old wounds. Her nephew comes along to wrangle the ladies and finds himself involved with a young literary agent. Stars Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Diane Wiest and directed by Steven Soderbergh.

    Superintelligence

    Starring Melissa McCarthy, this film tells the story of Carol Peters, to whom nothing extraordinary ever happens. But the world’s first super-intelligence has selected her for observation, taking over her life…with a more ominous plan to take over everything.

    Love Life trailer:

    The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo trailer:

  • Star World Premiere HD to premiere ‘Vinyl’

    Star World Premiere HD to premiere ‘Vinyl’

    MUMBAI: Lovers of great cinema and music, reunite! For, this is the first time that television will witness a world class cinema-like experience with a dream team of directors and producers par excellence. Legendary film-maker Martin Scorsese along with rock n roll fame Mick Jagger and meritorious show-runner, director and scriptwriter Terence Winter come together with their upcoming show ‘Vinyl’. Touted to be one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year, Scorsese’s Vinyl is all set to premiere in India this Wednesday, 17 February 2016 at 10 pm only on Star World Premiere HD. The show will continue to air every Wednesday at the same time.

    A dream moment for Scorsese fans, Vinyl will have all the brilliant elements that are essential to his movie – a mixture of grimy reality, fantastic background score, nostalgia of the 1970s New York and more. The series stars Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, P.J. Byrne and Juno Temple among others and is set in 1970s New York. A ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop, the show is seen through the eyes of a record label president, Richie Finestra, played by Bobby Cannavale, who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path. The show gives an inside look at how artists get cheated out of their royalties, cook the books and other classic music industry malfeasance. 

    Speaking of the show, Terence Winters also known for writing the script of the Oscar nominated movie Wolf of Wall Street and the hugely acclaimed show Boardwalk Empire said, “I’m just honest in the storytelling. I’m not trying to make it seem one way or another or clean anything up.” 
    He further added, “I’ve had the same policy in everything I do; I present the facts and let audiences decide what they think is good or bad. I don’t take a position on any kind of behavior. This is the actual reality of how it was, and you make of it what you will.”

    And what makes Scorsese want to be part of the small screen and work particularly on Vinyl? His eternal for rock and roll which is so evident in all his films! In addition to peppering his films with classic pop and rock tracks, the legendary auteur was one of the editors on the concert movie Woodstock and has directed a slew of other rock documentaries and live films and 2008’s Rolling Stones showcase Shine a Light. Now with Vinyl, Scorsese and Jagger come together for the very first time to create melodies for the 70s music and have left no stones unturned to give television one of the most exquisite soundtrack collections ever produced and compiled!
    Soundtracks for the show are replete with soul, blues and rock’n roll, with tracks by Otis Redding, The Meters, Edgar Winter, Foghat, Ruth Brown, and more. It will also feature original music by the critically acclaimed country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson, who provides the show’s theme song Sugar Daddy and The Nasty Bits, a group fronted by Mick Jagger’s son James Jagger, who also appears on the show.

    The one and only David Johansen will also be revitalizing a pair of classics by his seminal group the New York Dolls with re-recordings exclusively for the series. Beyond that, Star World Premiere HD will release a digital EP featuring songs from and inspired by each upcoming episode with Julian Casablancas, Iggy Pop, Charli XCX, the Arcs, Chris Cornell, Trey Songz, Jessie J, Nate Ruess, Royal Blood, Jess Glynne, DJ Cassidy, Alex Newell and Charlie Wilson all set to contribute music.

  • Star World Premiere HD to premiere ‘Vinyl’

    Star World Premiere HD to premiere ‘Vinyl’

    MUMBAI: Lovers of great cinema and music, reunite! For, this is the first time that television will witness a world class cinema-like experience with a dream team of directors and producers par excellence. Legendary film-maker Martin Scorsese along with rock n roll fame Mick Jagger and meritorious show-runner, director and scriptwriter Terence Winter come together with their upcoming show ‘Vinyl’. Touted to be one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year, Scorsese’s Vinyl is all set to premiere in India this Wednesday, 17 February 2016 at 10 pm only on Star World Premiere HD. The show will continue to air every Wednesday at the same time.

    A dream moment for Scorsese fans, Vinyl will have all the brilliant elements that are essential to his movie – a mixture of grimy reality, fantastic background score, nostalgia of the 1970s New York and more. The series stars Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, P.J. Byrne and Juno Temple among others and is set in 1970s New York. A ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop, the show is seen through the eyes of a record label president, Richie Finestra, played by Bobby Cannavale, who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path. The show gives an inside look at how artists get cheated out of their royalties, cook the books and other classic music industry malfeasance. 

    Speaking of the show, Terence Winters also known for writing the script of the Oscar nominated movie Wolf of Wall Street and the hugely acclaimed show Boardwalk Empire said, “I’m just honest in the storytelling. I’m not trying to make it seem one way or another or clean anything up.” 
    He further added, “I’ve had the same policy in everything I do; I present the facts and let audiences decide what they think is good or bad. I don’t take a position on any kind of behavior. This is the actual reality of how it was, and you make of it what you will.”

    And what makes Scorsese want to be part of the small screen and work particularly on Vinyl? His eternal for rock and roll which is so evident in all his films! In addition to peppering his films with classic pop and rock tracks, the legendary auteur was one of the editors on the concert movie Woodstock and has directed a slew of other rock documentaries and live films and 2008’s Rolling Stones showcase Shine a Light. Now with Vinyl, Scorsese and Jagger come together for the very first time to create melodies for the 70s music and have left no stones unturned to give television one of the most exquisite soundtrack collections ever produced and compiled!
    Soundtracks for the show are replete with soul, blues and rock’n roll, with tracks by Otis Redding, The Meters, Edgar Winter, Foghat, Ruth Brown, and more. It will also feature original music by the critically acclaimed country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson, who provides the show’s theme song Sugar Daddy and The Nasty Bits, a group fronted by Mick Jagger’s son James Jagger, who also appears on the show.

    The one and only David Johansen will also be revitalizing a pair of classics by his seminal group the New York Dolls with re-recordings exclusively for the series. Beyond that, Star World Premiere HD will release a digital EP featuring songs from and inspired by each upcoming episode with Julian Casablancas, Iggy Pop, Charli XCX, the Arcs, Chris Cornell, Trey Songz, Jessie J, Nate Ruess, Royal Blood, Jess Glynne, DJ Cassidy, Alex Newell and Charlie Wilson all set to contribute music.

  • Romedy Now will air ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’

    Romedy Now will air ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’

    MUMBAI: This January, get ready to witness a combination of love and laughter as Romedy Now is all set to air back-to-back episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, a comic family delight for its audience. Indian viewers will also be able to connect with the show due to the significance of family sentiments and emotions.

     

    Starting 14 January 2016, the popular American sitcom will have a new destination, the happiest place on TV, Romedy Now! The channel will air all nine seasons of the show, starting from Season 01 on 14 January 2016 at 8 pm. To air from Monday to Friday, the iconic show will further strengthen the current line-up of the leading English GEC.

     

    Everybody Loves Raymond stars stand-up comedian and Emmy-Award winner Ray Romano. The story revolves around Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter living on Long Island, New York, with his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) and three kids. But their big happy family gets a bit too big and less happy — when Ray’s meddling parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), frequently stop by, since they live directly across the street. Brother Robert (Brad Garrett), a divorced police officer, is constantly moving in and out of his parents’ house, and loves to drop by and show his resentment towards Ray’s successful career and happy family life. Dodging Marie’s constant critique of Debra’s cooking, Frank’s witty one-liners and Robert’s dead-pan despair, Ray and Debra just wish someone would ring their doorbell before entering once in a while.

     

    Everybody Loves Raymond was an instant hit abroad and has a huge fan following even in India. While it was being telecast, the show was among Top 5 programs in the prime-time and was watched by over 18 million viewers each week. Further testimony to the success of the show was the fact that the cast members of Everybody Loves Raymond won Primetime Emmy Awards for their roles in the series. 

     

    In order to sustain the buzz around the property, Romedy Now will launch a digital campaign in February. Seeing that ELR can alternatively be termed as a ‘Family Comedy’, the core thought revolves around families spending their time together with Romedy Now. The channel will use #FamilyTimeWithRomedy as a sub-plug and build content and activities around how the channel is the most sought after when it comes to family viewing. Using this, it will explore different traits/habits/likes/dislikes of each family. It will use instances occurring in the show and tie it back with relatable scenes and stills from the show. The campaign will be executed on Facebook and Twitter.

     

    Everybody Loves Raymond is yet another show that weaves into Romedy Now’s philosophy of bringing love and laughter to the Indian television viewers. With How I Met Your Mother, Gilmore Girls, Hot in Cleveland, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Romedy Now is undoubtedly the happiest place on TV and the ultimate destination to love and laughter!

  • Oprah is America’s favourite TV personality for fifth year in row

    Oprah is America’s favourite TV personality for fifth year in row

    MUMBAI: For the fifth year in a row, Oprah Winfrey has topped a Harris Poll in the US which asked people who their favourite television personality is.

    Jon Stewart who hosts the satirical new show The Daily Show is in second place for the second year, while Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly moves up one notch to third place.

    Next is a newcomer to the list — Hugh Laurie whom stars in the television show House who debuts in fourth place. He won a Golden Globe for his role last week. Veteran late night talk show host David Letterman drops from number three to fifth place.

    Letterman’s arch rival, Jay Leno, is number six on the list (dropping from 2005 when he was tied for fourth place). In the Harris Poll 1,162 US adults were surveyed online from 12-18 December, 2006 by Harris Interactive.

    Besides Laurie, there are two other new TV personalities who make it into the top 10 list, one for the first time and one from previous years. Ray Romano returns at number seven while the star of 24 Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter terrorism agent Jack Bauer makes his debut on the list, tied for eighth place. Rounding out the top 10 are Ellen DeGeneres who will host the Oscar Awards and Conan O’Brien, who are also tied for eighth place on this list.

    DeGeneres dropped from number six while O’Brien dropped from number seven. Three people dropped off the list: Jerry Seinfeld , George Lopez and comedian Tim Allen. Interestingly, the list lost three sitcom stars and gained two drama stars and one sitcom star. This might be an indication of what types of television shows viewers are watching.

    Not surprisingly, there are differences in favourite television personality when it comes to some demographic breaks. Women cite Oprah as their top television personality, but men choose O’Reilly. There are also interesting age breaks: Echo Boomers (ages 18 to 29) say that Conan O’Brien is number one. GenXers (ages 30 to 41) turn away from talk shows and say that Laurie is their favorite television personality. Baby Boomers (ages 42 to 60) say that Oprah is their favourite while Matures (ages 61 and over) say that it is O’Reilly.

    Finally, even with television stars, political boundaries are drawn. Conservatives say that O’Reilly is number one while liberals say that Stewart is their favourite.