The comedic duo, Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle have brought the outrageously hilarious comedy show, South Side back for season two.
On Wednesday November 10th, I attended a special screening for HBO Max’s new original series The Sex Lives of College Girls. The show, created by Mindy Kaling, follows the lives of four roommates as they navigate their newfound freedom on Essex College campus. Executive producers of the show include Mindy Kaling, Justin Noble, and Howard Klein. The show gives a great opportunity for young women in comedy to show their wit in a predominantly male genre.
Our four leading ladies include Alyah Chanelle Scott, Amrit Kaur, Pauline Chalamet, Renee Rapp. All four ladies were glowing on the carpet. Each were dressed in their own unique style, setting them apart from the rest. Their enthusiasm for the screening and party with the cast was over the moon. It felt like a giant college reunion. The girls gave their advice to college aged girls, and shared some of their favorite moments on set without giving away any spoilers.
Other notable cast in attendance included: Midori Francis, Ilia Isorelys Paulino, Renika Williams, Lolo Spencer, Conor Donnaly, Sherri Shepherd, Maya Rose Berko, Vico Ortiz, Charles (Betti) Platt, Scott Lipman, and Mueen Jahan. Terrence Terrell, Denzel Whitaker, Richa Moorjani, BJ Novak, Cinthya Carmona, and Sydney Morgan were also in attendance. Sarah Aubrey, head of Original Content at HBO Max was in attendance for both the screening and after party.
With a packed theater, Mindy and Justin spoke before the screening and thanked everyone involved in the project. They highlighted the efforts of the cast and crew being able to make the vision come to life. On the red carpet, Mindy stated her enthusiasm for the show. She went to college on the east coast and felt that experience wasn’t yet represented in the media. She believed the show to be funny and heartfelt. The Sex Lives of College Girls captures the nuances of female friendship. More often than not, beginning your college journey there are more losses than wins seemingly. The Sex Lives of College Girls captures that in a lighthearted way.
For Mindy, one of the most important aspects of the show was assembling a writers room full of young women. Being able to bring stories about the college experience in today’s time was vital for the overall relatability of the show. The first episode launched us into the lives of four complex girls who will each have to navigate their social lives in a new school. Overall, the night was filled with immense love and positivity from the cast and all those in attendance. They are extremely proud of the show, and their hard work shines through on screen.
The Sex Lives of College Girls premieres Wednesday November 18th, exclusively on HBO Max.
HBO Max’s Doom Patrol will conclude their third season this week. There are a number of questions among the community as everyone is curious on how this season will end. Earlier this week, news broke that Doom Patrol got renewed for a fourth season which will premiere in 2022. Here to preview the finale is Elasti-Woman/Rita Farr herself April Bowlby in this exclusive interview.
The Knockturnal: what can fans expect on the season three finale?
AB: “Oh my gosh! Well, they can expect a giant robot, which is very one of my favorite parts of the episode. I think they get to see that the Doom Patrol has faced their greatest fears, which is things that are the worst moments of their lives repeating over and over with their subconscious journey. And from that, they come out of it and they come out of it so much stronger than they were before, and they’re unified. And I think that from that point, certainly Rita is the leader which I enjoy a lot. And then everyone kind of just is hoping for wackiness and insanity and a feel good victory moment for the Doom Patrol.”
The Knockturnal: Rita at the start of the season felt like she was very connected with the characters, but now going towards the end of this season, the bonds are kind of shifting. What is your take on that?
AB: “I think that it’s great storytelling. I love that Rita found safety in her team and her lovely, dysfunctional family of the doomies. And I like that because she fell in love and then that love was taken from her. Now she has the drive of revenge, and I think it’s a beautiful story to tell that when you have that possession in you, you really can’t see anything else. And she does hurt the ones that she loves because she wants to punish the person who took away the love of her life. And it’s a sad thing to see. But it’s really interesting to see Rita in that new color of fearless Revenge. So I think it’s a fun storyline.”
The Knockturnal: I really think it’s fine too, especially since her interactions with Jane were also affected. Can you tell me about the development of bringing this kind of conflict together between the characters?
AB: “She’s not really been with the Doom Patrol for most of the season because Rita’s back in time with Madam Rouge. And then I think she asked Jane to like, step up and come along on this journey with her. And Jane is like trapped in underground and so many emotions are going on with that. And she doesn’t know what the pecking order is anymore and feels very vulnerable. And Rita has no time for that. And she just is like, ‘Do not fail me again and get your shit together.’ And poor Jane just can’t because her underground is falling apart and Kay is in danger. But Rita has no time for that. She’s just like excuses, excuses, and she really wants everyone to get on her page. And then a funny thing that happens towards the end of this season is that everyone’s lost their powers. And so Rita is the only one that’s leading the ship. And Kay is primary now. So it’s just like a lovely little girl, and Vic is traded his his powers to be a normal guy. And then you’ve got Robot Man who’s who’s got Parkinson’s. So it’s just not working out for Rita, and I think she’s very frustrated.”
The Knockturnal: It’s very good to see this show and Titans to get their footing on the ground now. So are you excited for the next season and are you excited that both these shows are the same shared universe is keeping the momentum up since Doom Patrol will be back for the fourth season in 2022?
AB: “Yeah, I am so excited for a fourth season because I think Doom Patrol deserves a victory moment. I feel like we’re just the wacky team that can’t quite get it together, which I love, but I feel like in the fourth season, perhaps we can really find our stride and start fighting in a fun, funky, cool way. Fighting evil to preserve the good. And with Titans, it’s a super blast that we’re in the same universe.And since Rita was born on Titans, hopefully one day we can have a crossover episode. That’s what I’m pitching.”
The season three finale of HBO Max’s Doom Patrol will stream this Sunday night!
As the cast of the HBO Max Original Love Live descended onto the red carpet of the DGA Theater in New York City to celebrate the release of season 2, the excitement was clear. Smiling faces and camera flashes were a welcome return to normalcy as part of the Tribeca Fall Preview. Of course, the Knockturnal was there to cover it all! If you missed season one, starring Anna Kendrick, don’t worry. Season two is in the same universe, but a completely different storyline starring Emmy nominee and executive producer William Jackson Harper.
Harper plays Marcus Watkins, a man working in publishing whose marriage unexpectedly implodes. Marcus is forced to rebuild his life brick by brick, hoping to find a love that will last. The season leans into the mess of what dating is really like, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It even explores issues of race and dating interracially. On that issue Williams says, “We did think it was very important to be as authentic as possible, but also Marcus is just Marcus and what really comes through in the first episode is the pressure that black people are under just by existing. He wants to do well at his job, he has these ideas, so we throw a lot of Marcus in the first episode because it’s really showing what it’s like to be a black professional. We wanted to do it in a nuanced way.”
On the red carpet, Harper was joined by his co-stars Jessica Williams, Punkie Johnson and Chris “Comedian CP” Powell. Anna Kendrick also made a surprise appearance as well as Janet Hubert, Arian Moayed, and John Earl Jelks. Showrunners Sam Boyd, Bridget Bedard, and Rachelle Williams also joined in the celebrations alongside the legend, Executive Producer Paul Feig.
The 10 episode season is now streaming on HBO Max.
Marcus Watkins takes over as Love Life’s protagonist in love. The HBO Max show returned for its second season with William Jackson Harper. The series’ bushel of showrunners—creator Sam Boyd, Transparent’s Bridget Bedard, and newcomer Rachelle Williams of Mixed-ish—give an exclusive interview to The Knockturnal.
Jesse Gi and Urvashi Pathania were at the center of HBO’s Asian Pacific American Visionaries celebration on October 15, 2021.
The long-anticipated sci-fi/action epic had its North American premiere at New York Film Festival on October 7th. The film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, gave a brief speech and special thank you to the New York audience for being in attendance. He later was joined by the film’s composer, Academy Award winner, Hans Zimmer for a post-screening Q&A.
HBO Max had an activation site to open New York Comic Con today. It was themed as DC Universe’s Doom Patrol.
As part of its promotion for Season 3 of Doom Patrol, which premiered on September 23, HBO Max staged a carnival-themed activation at the New York Comic Con from October 7 – 10.
Under the 18-foot-high big top tent, you can play four interactive carnival games. You can choose from Cliff’s Slot Car Speedway with custom slot cars featuring characters from Doom Patrol, Larry’s Negative Energy Maze, Vic Stone’s Cyborg Claw Machine, and Rita Farr’s Elasti-Mirrors.
In addition to the Doom Patrol t-shirts, a comic book, a stuffed giraffe, and Doom Patrol pins, there are a variety of Doom Patrol prizes available during the convention week at this activation. On the first day of New York Comic Con however, attendees were in for a treat.
Photo Credit: Julian Cannon
Cast members of Doom Patrol Joivan Wade (Cyborg), April Bowlby (Elasti-Girl), and Michelle Gomez (Madame Rouge) made a surprise appearance at the activation, exciting many fans. Twitch streamer ManvsGame interviewed the three today and the topic of discussion was the current season of the show. After the interview, the cast signed autographs for fans and even played some of the games at the activation.
Photo Credit: Julian Cannon
Photo Credit: Julian Cannon
Be sure to check out the Doom Patrol activation at New York Comic Con! You do not want to miss all of the games.
Doom Patrol’s third season is currently streaming on HBO Max.
On August 19th, 2021, HBO Max introduced “Sweet Life: Los Angeles,” an unscripted series from Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Issa Rae (HBO’s “Insecure” and “A Black Lady Sketch Show”).
From the mind of Emmy-nominated producer, Issa Rae is Sweet Life: Los Angeles, an unscripted HBO Max original following the lives of a group of successful friends in Los Angeles.