New TV Trailers: Forever, Love Death + Robots, WondLa: Season 2, and More
Take a peek at some of the latest trailers for upcoming TV shows.
“Forever” Trailer: First Love, Big Emotions, and Parental Pressure Collide in Netflix’s Modern Take on Judy Blume’s Classic Teen Romance, Starring Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. — Premiering May 8th
Aaaah, in the wise words of Slick Rick (The Ruler!), “A teenage love ... don't, don't, do-don't hurt me again.”
Can’t help but think of Slick Rick's classic 80s rap “Teenage Love” when reflecting on what it was like for many of us growing up in simpler times, experiencing our first loves and first breakups. The raw emotion, the intensity, and the innocence of those moments are something we never truly forget. But with all due respect to Slick Rick, legendary young adult author Judy Blume might be the one person who understood teenage love more than anyone else. She certainly became a voice for generations of readers who found comfort in her writings about the emotional rollercoaster that youth go through.
But alas, the landscape has changed. It's now a digital age where every emotion is shared freely online, yet people, particularly young people, are operating in more curated, often filtered lifestyles. Teenage love might have a lot of the same components as before, but the environment is entirely different.
This isn’t to say that Judy Blume has suddenly become outdated or obsolete. In fact, her writings might be perfect for a little reimagining for a more modern audience. While her classic novels—like Forever—captured the essence of young love and self-discovery during a time when everything was more private and reserved, the core of those emotions still resonates today.
This brings us to Forever, Netflix's new teen-centric series that serves as a modern reimagining of Judy Blume's classic coming-of-age novel. It follows two teens as they navigate the complexities of first love, emotional intimacy, and what it truly means to be committed to one another, despite the challenges they face from their parents.
The series, created and showrun by Mara Brock Akil (The Game, Being Mary Jane), sets the story against the backdrop of an African American community in Los Angeles in 2018, pre-Covid America. This marks a departure from the novel's original setting of New Jersey suburbia, circa mid-1970s.
Lovie Simone (The Craft: Legacy) and Michael Cooper Jr. (On the Come Up) star as Keisha Clark and Justin Edwards, the two Black-American teens at the heart of this love story. The show offers a fresh perspective on what it means to fall in love, be vulnerable, and grow up in today’s digitally-dependent world, where every moment is captured and shared on social media, yet true transparency is often hidden—sometimes even from ourselves. But, staying true to Judy Blume's original themes, there is also significant pressure from the teens’ individual families, where parents have already mapped out their future plans with zero room for romance.
Co-starring Karen Pittman, Wood Harris, Xosha Roquemore, Barry Shabaka Henley, and Niles Fitch, with actress/filmmaker Regina King serving as an executive producer and directing the first episode, Forever is coming to Netflix on Thursday, May 8th.
“Love, Death + Robots: Volume 4” Teaser: Tim Miller’s Groundbreaking Animated Anthology Returns with More Mind-Bending Shorts from Top VFX and Animation Talent – Premieres on Netflix May 15th
Where could one go to see some of the most cutting-edge animated stories around? Where animators and VFX artists are given free rein to express themselves in some of the coolest ways possible?
Well, filmmaker and VFX artist Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate), along with executive producer David Fincher (Social Network, Fight Club) and supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2), might have established the perfect showcase for wildly inventive and highly imaginative animated shorts made by some of the top animators working today.
That place is Love, Death + Robots, the animated anthology series that pushes the boundaries of animation and visual storytelling. Now returning next month with its fourth season (aka “Volume 4”), the Netflix original series has been bringing together a diverse collection of rising and established talents in the animation and VFX world. Each episode is a standalone story, giving animators the freedom to experiment with different techniques, styles, and genres, resulting in some of the most mind-bending animated shorts ever created.
And during a time when we keep hearing troubling stories of pay disparities and poor working conditions that have become more prevalent in the animation and VFX industry, it's refreshing to see a showcase like this one, where the intention is to shine a light directly on the many artists who have gone unrecognized for far too long.
Get a taste of what's in store for this new season by checking out the teaser above. And prepare for a mind-bending, visually stunning ride when Love, Death & Robots: Volume 4 arrives on Netflix on Thursday, May 15th.
“WondLa: Season 2” Trailer: Eva Faces New Challenges in a Futuristic Human Metropolis in This New Season of Skydance’s Animated Series — Premieres April 25th on Apple TV+
Skydance Animation continues to make strides with its original animated content. However, their animated feature efforts, 2024's Spellbound (on Netflix) and 2022's Luck (on Apple TV+), haven’t quite broken through as much as they’d probably hoped. With former Pixar honcho John Lasseter serving as Skydance's head of animation, one might expect the studio to push the boundaries of animation, distancing itself from the familiar Pixar aesthetic while still benefiting from Lasseter’s expertise. After all, with Lasseter at the helm, you'd think Skydance would be striving to carve out its own identity, perhaps experimenting with new visual styles and storytelling formats. So, why does every animated project coming out of Skydance feel like some kind of Pixar reject or leftovers?
Now, to be fair, we haven’t seen WondLa, Skydance’s first original animated series, which will return later this month with its second season. So, it might just turn out to be a terrific show. But from the look of this Season 2 trailer, we can't help but notice that WondLa has that Pixar sheen, but also missing a certain “je ne sais quoi.” But then again, maybe that's just us who feel that way.
Based on The Search for WondLa, the children's science fiction fantasy novel trilogy by Tony DiTerlizzi, the animated series follows Eva, a human teen girl who was raised in a state-of-the-art underground bunker all alone with only her robot caretaker, Muthr. Brought up to fear the outside world and believing she was the last of her kind, Eva is forced to venture out for the first time in her life, only to discover a strange planet inhabited by aliens and creatures she has never seen, nor have they ever seen anyone like her.
Season 2 will find Eva discovering New Attica, a futuristic metropolis populated by the last of the humans. But she realizes that New Attica isn't all it seems to be, as its ruler, Cadmus Pryde (voiced by Alan Tudyk), has nefarious plans to exploit Eva in a campaign to seize the world's most sought-after power source, leaving nothing for non-human entities living off the planet.
Jeanine Mason (Roswell, New Mexico) stars as the voice of Eva, while other voices include Tudyk, Gary Anthony Williams, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, and Ana Villafane.
Showrun by Bobs Gannaway, WondLa: Season 2 premieres April 25th on Apple TV+.
“Andor: Season 2” New TV Spots: Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor Returns for a Politically Charged Send-Off in This Critically Acclaimed Star Wars Series — Premieres April 22nd on Disney+
To be quite honest, the Star Wars franchise is currently in a state of flux. The next stage will determine where and how this franchise will evolve, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could mean someone can come in and give a nice injection of creativity to help things move along. To put it crudely, a colonic of sorts.
But the thing that gives us pause is Andor. It's a critically acclaimed series that has been generating a considerable but growing fan base that appreciates its exploration of the political nuances within this Star Wars universe. For all intents and purposes, the series harkens back to the subtext of the original trilogy and its political themes such as the corruption of power, fascism vs. democracy, and how the role of an ideology (spiritual or not) plays in a rebellion against tyranny. One would think these are great avenues to explore for future projects.
But what truly gives us pause is maybe these aren't the lessons being learned from the critical success of Andor, but rather the focus will be on the more marketable and familiar aspects of Star Wars—the action, the nostalgia, the lightsabers, the cute alien creatures, and the epic space battles. While Andor excels by diving into the more grounded themes of Star Wars, like political intrigue and the human side of rebellion, the franchise has often been driven by its broader appeal in space opera fantasy that at this point has been excavated to death.
So, with Andor coming to a close with its second season later this month, could this also mean the politically-driven aspects of the Star Wars saga are drawing to a close as well? Disney might indeed be tempted to lean into a more flashy, fanservice-driven direction with whatever the next Star Wars project they choose to move forward with.
If that’s the case, at least we’ll have had two seasons of Andor to chew on. The series has shown that there’s much more depth to explore in this universe. It’s a show that’s proven Star Wars can have layers beyond just space battles and lightsaber duels, bringing something grounded, mature, and, dare we say, relevant. But like we said, the Star Wars franchise is in a state of flux, and who knows what direction it will take.
And regardless of where the saga goes from here, you know we’re getting ready to see Andor get its proper send-off, starting on Tuesday, April 22, on Disney+.
It's the perfect time to be reminded of all the morally gray characters, sneaky political intrigue, and the deep, rich storytelling that made Andor such a standout in the Star Wars universe. Watch these two new promo spots (watch them above), and get ready to dive back into the brutal world of Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor.
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MAX and Apple TV+ Drop New Sizzle Reels Teasing Their Upcoming Lineups—Here’s What’s Coming
Who doesn’t love a good sizzle reel? How 'about two! Both MAX and Apple TV have released new promotional reels, giving us a rapid-fire look at their upcoming slate of original series—and there’s a lot to be excited about. From prestige dramas and returning favorites to offbeat comedies and high-concept thrillers, these reels offer a bite-sized tease of what each platform has cooking.
“Nautilus” Teaser: A Steampunk Reimagining of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea With Shazad Latif as Captain Nemo — Premieres June 29th on AMC and AMC+
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea gets a bold new spin in Nautilus, a ten-episode British limited series that reimagines Jules Verne’s iconic tale as a high-octane, steampunk origin story. Star Trek: Discovery's Shazad Latif stars as Captain Nemo, an Indian prince turned renegade scientist, who builds a powerful submarine to wage war against colonial oppression. With a globe-spanning cast that includes Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont, Pacharo Mzembe, Luke Arnold with Anna Torv, and Richard E. Grant, Nautilus sets sail on June 29th on AMC and AMC+. Watch the teaser trailer and prepare to dive deep!
“The Librarians: The Next Chapter” Trailer: The Magical Franchise You Forgot Still Existed Is Back—and on TNT, No Less!
Wait, TNT is still around? And The Librarian franchise is not only alive but spawning a spinoff? Yep—The Librarians: The Next Chapter is here, picking up the torch with a new cast, led by Callum McGowan, as the next generation of protectors guarding the world’s most powerful magical artifacts. Originally launched with Noah Wyle (who’s currently crushing it in The Pitt), this fantasy adventure series kicks off a two-night premiere event starting Sunday, May 2 on TNT. So, it’s time to pull out that dusty library card again.
“Long Way Back” Trailer: Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman Hit the Road (Again) in Their Latest Two-Wheeled Adventure
Ewan McGregor can act, sing, and swing a lightsaber—but he’s also got a serious thing for epic motorcycle trips. Teaming up once again with longtime friend and road warrior Charley Boorman, the duo returns for another installment in their long-running travel series, this time crisscrossing Scandinavia, the Arctic Circle, the Baltics, and beyond. It’s the latest chapter following Long Way Round, Long Way Down, and Long Way Up, and yes—it’s still just as much a travel show as it is a love letter to life on two wheels. Streaming May 9th on Apple TV+, Long Way Back promises new roads, new stories, and plenty of reasons to drop everything and start planning your own long ride.