Television

Arts

Streaming Services Shake-Up Market At Sundance Film Festival

4:13pm January 27, 2016

Video streaming services like Amazon and Netflix are adding a new dimension to the Sundance Film Festival. NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Tatiana Siegel, senior film writer for the Hollywood Reporter, about the competition with traditional movie studios for distribution rights to some of the festival's most anticipated films.

A study by two U.S. senators estimated that 99 percent of cable TV subscribers rent their set-top boxes and pay on average $231 a year to do so.

National

FCC Chairman Issues Proposal Seeking To 'Unlock' Cable Box Market

3:55pm January 27, 2016

by Eyder Peralta

Almost all cable subscribers pay to rent a set-top box netting the industry billions a year. Chairman Tom Wheeler says ending that practice would lead to more innovation in the way we consume TV.

Actor Abe Vigoda Of 'The Godfather,' 'Barney Miller,' Has Died

5:44pm January 26, 2016

Abe Vigoda, the distinctive looking character actor and inspiration for dozens of Internet hoaxes, has died. Vigoda was known for his work in The Godfather and the television series Barney Miller.

Producer Harvey Weinstein has loved War and Peace ever since he first read it (slowly) at age 12. "It's sexy; there's nudity. It's unbelievable," he says. Above, James Norton as Andrei and Lily James as Natasha.

Books
Arts

Harvey Weinstein Promises His 'War And Peace' Miniseries Isn't Homework

8:17pm January 25, 2016

by Mandalit del Barco

Weinstein's new miniseries is an updated retelling of Leo Tolstoy's Russian classic. Nevermind the daunting page count — "It's got honest-to-God great action, great sex, great love story," he says.

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Can Just Anyone Write An Episode Of 'Friends'?

7:29am January 25, 2016

Andy Herd thinks a computer can write an episode of the 1990s sitcom. So far, the computer-generated episodes are gibberish. Herd thinks with a bit of editing he could sell the gibberish to a network.

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After #OscarsSoWhite, Academy Makes Changes To Increase Diversity

5:23pm January 23, 2016

by Michel Martin

Following criticism over a lack of diversity in the Oscars, the Academy Awards board of governors announced new programs to try to diversify the academy's membership by the year 2020.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in six new episodes of The X-Files.

Arts

Mulder And Scully On Why The World Is Ready For An 'X-Files' Reboot

6:17am January 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

"People want a villain," says actor David Duchovny. "They want a reason, they want a cabal, they want a conspiracy." He and Gillian Anderson co-star in six new episodes of The X-Files.

FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) reunites with agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in Fox's new X-Files series, which premieres Sunday night.

Arts

'X-Files' Reboot Brings Back Mulder, Scully And The Search For Truth

1:26pm January 22, 2016

by David Bianculli

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reunite in Fox's six-episode revival of its famous science fiction series. TV critic David Bianculli says the new X-Files is worth investigating.

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Steven Avery in the Netflix series Making A Murderer.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Making A Murderer,' True Crime, Alan Rickman

7:34am January 22, 2016

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, we talk a little about Netflix's high-profile true crime project and a little about the genre in general, then we touch on a fine acting career that has sadly ended.

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World News

Taliban Makes Good On A Promise To Target Afghan Media Networks

6:23am January 22, 2016

A suicide bomb attack killed six journalists from Afghanistan's independent television station, Tolo TV. Renee Montagne talks to Saad Mohseni, CEO Of Moby Group, the media company that owns Tolo TV.