Netflix Sets Premiere Date for ‘Maniac,’ ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Netflix announced the premiere date for multiple shows at the TCA summer press tour on Sunday.
The 10-episode limited series will launch Sept. 21. The series tells the stories of Annie Landsberg (Emma Stone) and Owen Milgrim (Jonah Hill), two strangers drawn to the late stages of a mysterious pharmaceutical trial, each for their own reasons. Annie’s disaffected and aimless, fixated on broken relationships with her mother and her sister; Owen, the fifth son of wealthy New York industrialists, has struggled his whole life with a disputed diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The series also stars Justin Theroux as Dr. James K. Mantleray, who claims he can repair anything about the mind with a sequence of pills of his own invention. “Maniac” was created by Patrick Somerville and directed by Cary Fukunaga.
Next, the highly-anticipated “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” based on the Archie Comics series of the same name, will launch on Oct. 26.
The series stars Kiernan Shipka in the title role and reimagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult, and witchcraft. In addition to Shipka, the cast includes Miranda Otto, Lucy Davis, Ross Lynch, Michelle Gomez, Chance Perdomo, Jaz Sinclair, Richard Coyle, Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Abigail Cowen, Lachlan Watson and Bronson Pinchot.
“Riverdale” showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who also serves as chief creative officer of Archie Comics, penned the script for the series. Aguirre-Sacasa executive produces alongside fellow “Riverdale” produers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, and Lee Toland Krieger. Berlanti Productions will produce in association with Warner Bros. TV.
The Chuck Lorre comedy series “The Kominsky Method” will debut on Nov. 16. The series stars Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as two friends tackling life’s inevitable curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that values youth and beauty.
The 8-episode, half-hour single camera was show created by Lorre and written by Lorre, Al Higgins, and David Javerbaum. Lorre also directed the first episode. Lorre, Higgins, and Douglas executive produce. Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. produces in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Finally, also announced they have picked up a fifth season of “Chef’s Table,” which will debut on Sept. 28. The new season will take viewers inside the lives and kitchens of four new international chefs as the series explores their lives, talents and passion from their piece of culinary heaven.
Netflix has also picked up two new unscripted series in their continued push into lifestyle programming. First up is “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” based on Samin Nosrat’s best-selling book of the same name.
Directed by Caroline Suh, each episode of the four-part series follows Nosrat as she travels to home kitchens of Italy, the southern islands of Japan, the heat of the Yucatán and back to Berkeley’s Chez Panisse—where she started her culinary career—to demystify and explore the central principles of what makes food delicious and how each of us can easily incorporate those elements into every dish. The series is produced by Jigsaw Productions, the creators of “Cooked.”
Next up is “The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell.” The series follows baker and artist Christine McConnell as she welcomes viewers into her spooky home. In every episode she bakes, sculpts and sews to create delectable confections and hauntingly disturbing decor with the help of her colorful collection of creatures. The series is produced by Henson Alternative and Wilshire Studios.
