Lord of the Flies is the first-ever television adaptation of William Golding's landmark 1954 novel, written by Jack Thorne and directed by Marc Munden. A co-production that aired first on the BBC before reaching Netflix, it brings fresh scale and psychological depth to a story that has haunted readers for generations.
After a plane crash strands a group of British schoolboys on a remote Pacific island in the early 1950s, the boys attempt to govern themselves. Ralph (Winston Sawyers) tries to hold the group together with the counsel of the clever, bullied Piggy (David McKenna), but the charismatic, power-hungry Jack (Lox Pratt) foments a rebellion that fractures their fragile society into fear, tribalism, and violence. The production cast a large ensemble of young newcomers, many making their professional debuts.
Released in 2026, the four-part series earned wide critical acclaim for its stunning direction and its unflinching portrait of how quickly civilization can unravel. Filmed on Malaysia's Langkawi archipelago, it stands as a definitive screen version of Golding's parable. It is streaming on Netflix.
Wonderfully illustrated and written by Noriaki Kubo, Bleach is a tale that follows Ichigo Kurosaki in a series of adventurous travels once he has gotten the powers of a "Death God" that is similar to the Grim Reaper. With his new powers Kurosaki now defends humans against evil spirits while guiding their souls to their afterlife. This immensely popular television series is an anthology format that also started a valuable media franchise that includes seven rock musicals, many video games, four animated movies or feature films, as well as a couple of original video animation features. Among the most popular media from the Bleach series is their line of merchandise such as t-shirts, novels, and trading cards. Ichigo Kurosaki, a gifted teenager who has the ability to actually see spirits, comes up with a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki. Kuchiki is hunting for a Hollow or lost dangerous soul that must be defeated. Ichigo must help Rukia out and battle the evil Hollows while Rukia is left behind and stranded in the world of humans, sapping her of her strengths. Rukia may be punished for transferring her powers to another, namely to Ichigo Kurosaki.
It all begins when thirteen individual teams consisting of three competitors each race across the deserts and mountains and even through the rivers in Morocco, each with the hope of winning a new Ford Explorer plus $50,000 in U.S. dollars. Mark Burnett of Survivor fame is the producer and a wildlife expert named Dave Salmoni hosts each episode as they go through stages with checkpoints to be reached first. Some of these checkpoints include a challenge that needs to be finished before the teams can move on to the next. The last team to reach the last checkpoint loses and must leave the show. Also if any member on a team decides to give up or quit, the team is eliminated. Trekking through the hot Sahara Desert then over Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa is no easy feat, especially when there so many other dedicated competitors involved. They must show their ability to ride horses, read compasses, rappel the mountains, and right a capsized boat capably and forge on to win the race.
Wilfred is a dog. Wilfred is a man in a dog suit. Either or both may be true but one thing for certain is the story idea and the concept just seems to work for this dark comedy. The Aussie actor Jason Gann (Rats and Cats, Kenny) is Wilfred the eponymous dog whose owner Sarah (played by Cindy Waddingham from I Love You Too and Lowdown) along with her boyfriend Adam (award winner Adam Zwar from Lowdown, The Wedding Party), who looks at Wilfred and sees him as a man who just happens to wear a dog suit. The idea came from an original and award winning short film written by Jason Gann and Adam Zwar. A very popular and AFI award winning television program in Australia which aired there in 2007 and again in 2010, Wilfred is now airing in the U.S. Editor Debbie Lee told them "Go as far as you want with it, the more bent the better" and so they did. This TV program based upon a short film has its silly moments but overall is funny and entertaining due to good acting and writing from its young stars.
Cooking shows are hot on television now days, creating serious competition among the celebrity cooks as well as prospective winners in various formats on TV. MasterChef features the likes of Gordon Ramsay (Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares) along side Joe Bastianich (restaurateur/vineyard owner), and Graham Elliot (chef/restaurant owner) as judges who oversee the contestants who come from a wide assortment of occupations including housewives, doctors, lawyers, private chefs, realtors, and travel writers. From what appears to be a huge crowd in the initial tryouts they whittle the prospects down to 100, then down to 38 or so and put them all to the test. With each contestant offering their "signature" dish to the judges, the competition begins and so does elimination, one by one. It is amazingly difficult to please all three judges as they are diverse in their likes and taste preferences, and the pressure is on to perform and show they have a talent for cooking. The coveted crown of MasterChef will be given to whomever can best please the judges and keep their head about them in the heat of the kitchen.
Lifetime television has found themselves a hit show with Drop Dead Diva. Brooke Elliott (Broadway musicals Wicked, The Pirate Queen) is Debbie Dobkins a shallow gal who was deemed to be a "zero" when she died in a car accident and then entered Heaven. Apparently she had done nothing worthwhile, either good or bad while on Earth. Hating her useless life she wants to return and do something of value. Pressing the key on a computer keyboard she is transported back to life but with what some may consider handicaps. She is now overweight Jane Bingum, a brilliant and hard working lawyer. Aghast with her appearance initially, Debbie learns to appreciate inner beauty and, through her inherited body, goes after the retribution she needs. Interesting twist on a semi-reality show where we find the heroine is scorned because of her appearance but learns more about how to treat people than she ever could in her previous life. Might be nice if we could each have a second chance in life. Margaret Cho (The Cho Show, Ghost Whisperer) is Teri Lee, Debbie's assistant and friend.
As is typical on American reality TV shows the competition is strong and celebrities find they are pretty average when it comes to competing, especially skating on ice! Ice skating is one of those sports that should be learned while young so the falling down isn't quite so painful. Stars on this show included Sean Young (Haunted Echoes, Harvest Moon) who was first to be eliminated, Bethenny Frankel (The Apprentice: Martha Stewart), Vince Neil (rock group Mötley Crüe), actor and rapper Brandon Mychal Smith, Jonny Moseley (Olympic Gold medal skier), and Rebecca Budig (Batman Forever) who was the winner. Each celebrity was paired with a professional skater who gave their celeb pointers and guided them to perform on the ice. Judges awarded points as well as the viewing audience so the combined scores determined who was the most successful pair each week. Vernon Kay hosted and judges were Dick Button, Johnny Weir, and Laurie Ann Gibson. Additionally they had a "color commentary" each episode by Tanith Belbin who is a retired Ice Dancer.
When Scott McCall is bitten by a werewolf while he wanders in the woods, he tries to keep it his secret from all but his closest friend Stiles (Dylan O'Brien from High Road). Stiles willingly helps his pal Scott when he must go through changes and become a werewolf at night. Scott is played by Tyler Posey (Brothers & Sister, Lincoln Heights) and must undergo the changes even though he fights it. He is somewhat of a social outcast and having such an enormous secret other life, it is even more difficult to fit in at his northern California Beacon Hills High School. As Scott first notices how powerful he has become and how each of his senses has become heightened, he finds his shape shifting strangely intriguing. He loves the game of lacrosse and now plays like a pro thanks to his newly found gift of power. And romance is coming his way since he now has more self confidence and has found a girlfriend in Allison Argent (Crystal Reed from Skyline).
Haven't we all wondered if we had perhaps been switched at birth when we disagreed with our parents? Now how about if it turns out that the hospital actually did switch babies, purely by accident? And the families don't find out until the children are teenagers. Bay Kennish (played by Vanessa Marano from Without a Trace and the Gilmore Girls) has a high school project that includes learning about blood types and she inadvertently finds out her parents blood types do no match hers, showing she absolutely cannot be related to either of them. The family has their DNA tested and confirms the results Bay has come up with in school. Finding that the hospital made a huge error by mixing up the babies, they find the other child and discover how different her life is. Lea Thompson (Back to the Future Trilogy) is Bay's stay at home mom Kathryn and her father, John is played by D.W. Moffett (Friday Night Lights). Bay's new found sister is Daphne (Katie Leclerc from Veronica Mars) who unfortunately suffered deafness due to a case of meningitis as a young child. Daphne, her mother, and grandmother have a hard life and soon the Kennishes invite them to live in their guest house. Deaf actress Marlee Matlin also stars as friend of Daphne's mom, Regina.
Audrina Cathleen Patridge has become a reality TV show star, highlighting an exciting career that began when she moved to Los Angeles and went to work as a receptionist for Quixote Studios back in 2005. Her swift rise to fame was helped along the way by roles in movies like Sorority Row and Into the Blue: The Reef. She became a hit on the MTV television program The Hills and appeared in more episodes of that reality show than anyone else. She is yet another former contestant on "Dancing With The Stars" and scored high marks until elimination after the sixth week. Now we get the opportunity to know Audrina a bit through her reality show on MTV. Her two sisters and mother are also sexy and deserving of plenty of the onscreen exposure this type of reality program usually generates so who will care about any plot or story line, just watch for plenty of bikini clad girls who've drawn the golden ticket to fame and fortune.
Dante Di Loreto and Ryan Murphy are the executive producers for the exciting new Glee Project that is a spin off (of sorts) from the popular Glee) and the casting director from Glee (Robert Ulrich) has moved over to The Glee Project as well. Each week there will be new challenges with the necessary eliminations to follow. Each cast member has their own part of a particular song the need to learn and then perform it before a mystery guest as the judge. When the part is done well enough they move on and perform for the guest star on a one on one basis in a music video which they will also create themselves. With help from professionals like Nikki Anders vocal producer and Zach Woodlee, a choreographer the contestants have to learn their parts to the best of their ability and perform in a professional manner. Callbacks will cull the group down, with the bottom three being offered a second chance to be safe. One of those bottom three will be eliminated and final callbacks will determine who moves on and who must leave. A list is posted and that is where finalists read of their fate.