Welcome to Development Hell, the fiery pit into which we fling recent developments in casting, distribution, and everything else that’s new and mildly interesting in the Boschian phantasmagoria of the entertainment industry.

Way back in February, we reported that Oscar-nominated The Big Sick writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon were developing an anthology series about immigrants called Little America for Apple’s then-mysterious streaming platform. Now, Apple has given the show a series order, officially putting Nanjiani and Gordon…

At the start of season five, I argued that Silicon Valley was staring at a lot of obstacles, thanks to a somewhat unmoored fourth season and associated real-world debacles. And now looking at the season as a whole, it’s been a mixed bag in terms of working around those roadblocks. T.J. Miller’s absence proved to be no…

In my review of Silicon Valley’s fifth season premiere a few weeks ago, I argued that while the show continues to have issues in its advanced age, it’s still working off of a sturdy foundation with its talented cast and its perverse sense of humor. And as we approach the end of the season, that point has held up. Each…

The founders of Pied Piper have talked a big game about a brand new day this season—a new Internet free from unwanted ads and identity theft—but actual hope has been hard to come by. Their new employees nearly shattered the workplace with feuds over dogs and coffee. They’ve been targeted by unscrupulous executives and…

RuPaul has changed the drag economy over the past decade, and RuPaul’s DragCon is a major part of that landscape. It’s an event that connects drag professionals and fans from around the world, and for Drag Race alumni, it can be a major money maker if queens are able to create a marketable brand for themselves. “Drag…

For all HBO’s “It’s not TV” pride at being above its broadcast peers, this Sunday has a lot of hallmarks of those broadcasters’ love of themed programming. On the same night as the second season premiere of Westworld, a show that throws the evolution of robots back in the face of their creators, Silicon Valley is…

“You can be openly polyamorous and people will call you brave. You can put micro-doses of LSD in your cereal and people will call you a pioneer. But the one thing you cannot be is a Christian.”

All the way back in the third episode of Silicon Valley, I made the observation that a central lesson to take from the show was the message “Look before you leap.” Multiple seasons later, that message hasn’t become any less relevant. Putting the “neg” in “negotiations,” spilling evidence of a conspiracy onto the…

I may have come across as a bit harsh on Silicon Valley in my review of last week’s premiere, but I feel it’s important to clarify that my judgments come from a place of love. When this show is firing on all cylinders, it’s frequently one of the best comedies on television, and it bothers me when it comes across as…

For its first 40 minutes, last year’s The Big Sick follows a fairly familiar rom-com structure: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl are driven apart due to the fact that they’re from different worlds, even as the audience can tell a romantic reunion is all but inevitable. And…

It’s a scary time to be an immigrant in America; although the Trump White House’s loudest rhetoric about the “dangers” of illegal immigration has died down from its early-2017 peak to a low, still very scary roar, the Department Of Homeland Security’s ICE agency continues to work largely unabated in its efforts to…

As it begins its fifth season, Silicon Valley finds itself at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons. It’s coming off a fourth season that had its moments, but that was repeatedly criticized for its inability to commit to the fresher narratives it introduced. It’s satirizing an industry whose public perception in the…

Silicon Valley returns this Sunday, March 25, with a fully funded, fully staffed Pied Piper and a host of new anxieties for Richard. On the red carpet of the season-five premiere, we had the cast reveal what they love to do on their phones.

Seth and Lauren Rogen’s altruistic variety special, Hilarity For Charity, is coming to Netflix for the first time in its six-year history. The streaming platform and the Future Man executive producer announced the collaboration today along with a stacked lineup. The indefatigable Tiffany Haddish has secured a spot in…

During tonight’s Academy Awards ceremony, Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani presented the award for Best Production Design, but before that they took a moment to honor immigrants. Nyong’o noted that she’s from Kenya, getting a huge cheer from the audience (“Kenya’s in the house,” added Nanjiani), and Nanjiani—or…

Newly-minted Oscar nominees Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani have their pick of projects at this point, and it looks like they’re headed to the small(er) screen. Deadline reports the Big Sick writers are teaming up with SMILF executive producer Lee Eisenberg and Master Of None co-creator Alan Yang on an anthology…

Just because you’ve been nominated for an Academy Award doesn’t mean you can stop eating your vegetables. That’s the hard lesson Kumail Nanjiani learned this week when he was forced to make good on a bet with Baby Driver director Edgar Wright. Apparently, Wright predicted last year that Nanjiani and his wife Emily V.…

Kumail Nanjiani may be terrified of social media, but he’s still very good at it. We’ve seen the comedian and actor use it to share stories both horrific and heartwarming, and while the tales themselves have been compelling on their own, what really elevates them is the clear sense of wonder and humility Nanjiani is…