Apple TV+ Archives - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

How ‘Bad Sisters’ Made That ‘Outrageous’ Cliff Scene in the Season 2 Premiere Happen

Mandi Kerr — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 13:15:00 +0000

It’s movie—er, TV—magic. Bad Sisters Season 2 opened with a terrifying yet funny moment for the Garvey sisters involving a cliffside. Now, as the season finale approaches, star Eva Birthistle, who plays Ursula on the Apple TV+ original series, is sharing how it happened.

Eva, Becka, Ursula, and Bibi drove to a cliff in the ‘Bad Sisters’ premiere

In the Bad Sisters Season 2 premiere, which hit Apple TV+ on Nov. 12, 2024, the Garvey sisters—minus Grace (Anne-Marie Duff)—drove in the cover of darkness to a cliffside in Ireland. Their reason for being there soon became clear thanks to a hilarious moment with the trunk, seen below in the trailer. A body was in the trunk.

Just before, however, their own lives hung in the balance. Eva, played by showrunner-writer-actor Sharon Horgan, put the car in gear and had them dangling over the cliff’s edge. “It’s not my car. Sorry, it’s not my car,” Eva said as her sisters screamed before carefully getting them to safety.

The ‘Bad Sisters’ stars filmed the cliff scene on an ‘actual cliff’ with harnesses

Speaking to Hot Press, Birthistle opened up about filming the cliff scene in the Bad Sisters Season 2 premiere. “That was outrageous,” she said with a laugh. But not because of mo-cap suits or other special effects.

“It wasn’t done in a studio against a green screen—it was an actual cliff in Co. [County] Wicklow at three o’clock in the morning,” she said.

“We were on wires hanging from the side of a cliff. It was a big effort to get us into these harnesses and locked on. There were all these health and safety briefings beforehand. And then, when we walked on set, the heavens opened and we had the heaviest rain ever.”

“Thankfully, there was a trailer with a bed that we were able to nap in together between scenes,” she added. “Otherwise there’d have been ‘Actors Die Of Exposure’ stories in all the papers!”

2 more episodes until the ‘Bad Sisters’ season finale

Bad Sisters Season 2 is more than halfway over. (Sorry, fans!) Of the season’s eight episodes, five have already dropped, the most recent being the Dec. 4 episode titled “Boom.” That means only two episodes remain—one on Dec. 11 and another on Dec. 18—until the season finale.

The final episode of Bad Sisters Season 2, appropriately titled “Cliff Hanger,” begins streaming on Dec. 23. Consider it an early Christmas gift from the people behind the series because all of those lingering questions—What happened the day Grace died? Who is in the trunk?—will (hopefully) be revealed.

A new episode of Bad Sisters Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

‘Bad Sisters’ Star Anne-Marie Duff Thought Killing Off Her Character, Grace, Was a ‘Brilliant Idea’

Mandi Kerr — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 01:34:00 +0000

The Garvey sisters lost one of their own early in Bad Sisters Season 2, their beloved sister Grace. She’d found love again after killing her husband, John Paul (Claes Bang), in the previous season. Instead of mourning her character’s death and her own exit from the Apple TV+ original series, actor Anne-Marie Duff saw killing off Grace as a “brilliant idea.”

Duff likes that Grace’s death ‘shakes things up’ on ‘Bad Sisters’

Speaking to Variety about the “soap opera surprise” of Grace’s death in the second episode of Bad Sisters Season 2, Duff shared how she reacted to the twist.

“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” she told the outlet. “Because it shakes things up, and it changes the landscape, and suddenly there’s a huge amount of freedom in that.”

“And also, it was such a repeated question, ‘What happens to Grace in Season 2?’ And it removes that from the conversation,” she added.

Eva Birthistle, who plays Garvey sister, Ursula, saw it as a way to make the show even better for viewers. “I think what happens with the audience, then, is they think, ‘Well, if that’s possible, if that’s going to happen, then it could be anything that [can] happen.’ And it really keeps everybody on the back foot, and that makes for very enjoyable watching.”

‘Bad Sisters’ showrunner, star Sharon Horgan had doubts about killing off Grace

Eva Birthistle, Sharon Horgan, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

Speaking to The Daily Beast Obsessed, Bad Sisters Season 2 showrunner and star Sharon Horgan (Eva) shared that she didn’t write Grace’s death into the story without changing her mind. “I was nervous about it, and I went back and forth; she was dead, and then I was like, ‘No, we’re not going to do that,” she said.

Ultimately, Horgan felt it was right for the narrative. “Then it was honestly the only way I could see us moving forward with the story,” she explained. “Where the sisters felt like they had a purpose, where the show felt different, where it felt like Bad Sisters in its DNA, but it was doing something entirely different.”

“I felt as awful as it was [Grace’s death], Season 1 ends on a really high note, and she’s [Grace] triumphantly jumping into the water. Well, for me, that’s a beautiful ending, but it’s not life.” The fairy tale-esque ending to Bad Sisters Season 1 is why Horgan wanted to do a second season.

2 more episodes until the ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 finale

A bittersweet moment for fans of Bad Sisters is almost here. The season finale is only two episodes away. Yes, only two. The sixth episode of the season, titled “Who by Water,” drops on Dec. 11, 2024, before “How to Pick a Prick” the following week.

Then comes the finale on Dec. 23, 2024, titled “Cliff Hanger.” But don’t think there won’t be answers to all those lingering questions—Why did Grace have all that money? Who’s in the trunk?—in the season 2 finale. Horgan told Elle U.K. the final installment “feels like an end.”

Watch Bad Sisters Season 2 on Apple TV+. A new episode drops weekly.

‘Shrinking’ Recap: Dec. 4 Episode Is Grapes, Troll Pens, and New Chapters

Mandi Kerr — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 10:15:00 +0000

New chapters are in the making on the Dec. 4 episode of Shrinking. The Emmy-nominated TV show has changes brewing in Pasadena, California, for not only teenager, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), but also the adults. Ahead, get a recap of what happened in the Dec. 4 episode.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Dec. 4, 2024, episode of Shrinking Season 2 Episode 9: “Full Grown Dude Face.”]

Alice goes to Jimmy for help

Alice and Jimmy have come a long way as shown in “Full Grown Dude Face,” which began streaming Dec. 4, 2024, on Apple TV+. Jimmy might be thrown off by Dylan, a 17-year-old with a “full grown dude face” when he shows up to take Alice (Lukita Maxwell) out for pizza.

After choking on a grape and getting help from Dylan, Jimmy learns Alice has decided to go to a dance with Dylan at his school. “It’s time I re-enter the world,” she says.

Later, Paul (Harrison Ford) offers Jimmy some advice that foreshadows what’s to come. “Alice asserting her independence means you did good,” he says. Now, the hard part for you is figuring out how to let her separate without making her feel guilty. If you can manage to do that, then when she really needs something, there’s a chance that you’ll be the one she calls.”

In between handing over his credit card so Alice can buy a new dress Jimmy learns his daughter’s eager to not “be the girl with the dead mom.” But that changes when someone at an after-party learns about Alice’s past. And who does she call? Jimmy.

“Just like that, I’m the girl with the dead mom again,” she tells Jimmy outside Dylan’s house. At that, Jimmy shares why he often says he has “dead wife face.”

“It’s almost funny so it lets people know they don’t have to walk around eggshells around me,” he explains. Moments later Alice is back at the after-party and she uses her own version, “dead mom face,” to diffuse an awkward moment. There to check on her just like he promised he wouldn’t is Jimmy in his car blowing her a kiss as she mouths “thank you” from the porch.

Gaby worries about changes at home

Harrison Ford in the Dec. 4 episode of ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

As Gaby’s (Jessica Williams) sister, Courtney (Courtney Taylor), looks for a job, she confesses to Paul that she doesn’t want her living situation to change by having their mom (Vernee Johnson) move in with her.

“Obviously I want my sister to get a job. But the second she does, our mom becomes my problem. So I guess I’m hoping that if I say, ‘I’m rooting for you,’ enough I’ll start to mean it,” she tells Paul.

Then Gaby’s thrown a big curveball. Courtney’s decided to join the army. Along the way, Paul dishes out some wise words. “This isn’t about her,” he says about Gaby’s mom. “This is about setting boundaries and saying what you want.”

Skeptical Gaby can’t break her pattern as a “lifelong caretaker,” he tells his fellow therapist, “The only person you’re not good at looking after is yourself. If your mom wants to move in with you, I’m not sure you can say no.”

Then comes the moment Gaby’s mom is at her house. She assumes she’s moving in with Gaby and is excited to see her new bedroom. (Gaby’s current bedroom is her first choice.) And, just as Paul predicted, Gaby doesn’t tell her mom how she feels.

Brian and Charlie get advice before an important meeting

Claudia Sulewski in the Dec. 4 episode of ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

After admitting they weren’t ready to be parents in the Nov. 20 episode of Shrinking, Brian (Michael Urie) and Charlie (Devin Kawaoka) are trying to adopt. They’re gearing up to be interviewed by a birth mom.

Unsurprisingly, Brian is anxious about meeting her, worried he’ll screw it up for him and Charlie simply by being himself. Jimmy offers some advice: “Say the exact opposite of what you are about to say” and/or let Charlie do all the talking. Liz (Christa Miller) gives them a crash course on parenting before the birth mom, Ava (Claudia Sulewski), pictured above, arrives at Jimmy’s house to meet Brian and Charlie.

Their talk gets off to a rocky start—Brian has a hilarious moment involving garbage—before he seemingly wins her over with honesty and a shared love of troll pens and musicals. Later, though, Charlie and Brian learn they weren’t selected to be the baby’s adoptive parents.

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

‘Shrinking’ Nov. 27 Episode Recap: Forgiveness (Sort of), a Flashback, and 1 Last Drink

Mandi Kerr — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:23:00 +0000

Another week, another episode of the award-winning TV show Shrinking. Here’s what happened in the Nov. 27 episode of the comedy-drama from a very telling flashback to forgiveness and a heart-to-heart over a glass of bourbon.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Nov. 27, 2024, episode of Shrinking Season 2 Episode 8: “Last Drink.”]

Derek forgives Liz

In the latest episode of Shrinking, which is now streaming on Apple TV+, Derek (Ted McGinley) took a closer look at his and Liz’s (Christa Miller) marriage following her and Mac’s (Josh Hopkins) kiss.

Seeing the dog photos Liz took in Mac’s bar made him realize he’d been overlooking his wife. Because of that—and the delicious beer—Derek decided not to punch Mac. In true Derek fashion, he also told Mac it wasn’t too late to find love.

As for Liz, Alice (Lukita Maxwell), Gaby (Jessica Williams), and Jimmy (Jason Segel) checked up on her. The latter offered some particularly wise words of wisdom: “Sometimes the idea of forgiving someone feels impossible. Then you realize the villain in your story is just a person who made a big mistake.”

Gaby helped Derek realize he hadn’t been there for Liz when she admitted to feeling “underwater.” The whole thing ended with Derek telling Liz, “You screwed up. I wasn’t present and I should’ve been and I’m sorry for that” and their three sons coming home for dinner.

Ted McGinley in the Nov. 27, 2024, episode of ‘Shrinking’ | Apple TV+

Jimmy’s flashback shows life before and after the car crash

Remember how Jimmy saw Alice and Brian having dinner with Louis at the end of the Nov. 20 episode of Shrinking? The moment Jimmy saw them together, he flashed back to three years before the car crash.

But it wasn’t just a happy time for him, Tia, and Alice. It was good for Louis, too. His girlfriend, played by Meredith Hagner, moved in with him—and his Miss Congeniality poster. Every workday they waited at the train station together and people-watched. Meanwhile, Jimmy promised Tia they wouldn’t “mess” Alice up because she’s “the best thing” they’ve “ever done.”

Then came the fateful night of the crash. After turning down his girlfriend’s suggestion of a Lyft, Louis got behind the wheel. In the after he broke up with his girlfriend. As for Jimmy, he said he “can’t” when a teary-eyed Alice asked for her dad.

Paul gets disappointing news from his doctor

After “feeling off” and “starting to forget things,” Paul booked an appointment with his “hot” neurologist—Sean’s (Luke Tennie) words, not his. Because his Parkinson’s symptoms were flaring up more than usual, the doctor recommended Paul quit drinking, hence the episode’s title.

The appointment was a disappointment for Paul but rather fun for Sean, who hit it off with the doctor. They both served in the military and bonded over military jargon.

Jimmy forgives Louis but not himself

Jimmy forgave Louis— “I want you to go on with your life.” — but with a string attached. Jimmy asked Louis to “disappear” from his life, the part he later failed to mention to Brian and Alice when they asked how things went.

During Paul’s “last drink,” Jimmy explained his one big forgiveness hurdle left. “I let her [Tia] down so bad so when I see that guy [Louis] I’m forced to see what a f***ing terrible father I am and how I broke the last promise I made to my wife.”

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

Is ‘Shrinking’ New on Nov. 27?

Mandi Kerr — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 01:45:00 +0000

For Shrinking fans, Wednesdays usually mean an all-new episode of the Apple TV+ original series. But with Thanksgiving here and the holiday season officially underway, it can often mean a break in regularly scheduled programming for TV specials and festive mainstays. (Ahem, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, football, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, etc.). So, is Shrinking new on Nov. 27, 2024? Get the answer, ahead.

‘Shrinking’ is all new on Nov. 27, 2024

Get excited, Shrinking fans, because a new episode airs on Nov. 27, 2024. Just like in previous weeks, a new installment begins streaming on Apple TV+ in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to the streamer. Specifically 3 a.m. EST or 12 a.m. PT.

This time around, it’s an episode titled “Last Drink.” Without giving much away, the Nov. 27 episode of Shrinking involves flashbacks to three years ago shortly before and after the death of Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) wife, Tia (Lilan Bowden).

It includes heartwarming moments between Jimmy, Tia, and Alice (Lukita Maxwell) as well as a closer look at the life Louis (Brett Goldstein) led before he got behind the wheel leading up to Tia’s death.

Meanwhile, in the present, Derek (Ted McGinley) and Liz (Christa Miller) get some visitors. Paul (Harrison Ford) hits a new milestone with Sean (Luke Tennie) there for support, and Derek turns to Gaby (Jessica Williams) for advice.

What happened in the previous episode of ‘Shrinking’

Michael Urie and Jessica Williams in the Nov. 27, 2024, episode of ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

As for where Shrinking left off in the previous episode on Nov. 20, 2024, a lot happened in Pasadena, California, for Jimmy, Alice, Liz, Derek, Sean, Brian (Michael Urie), Paul, and Gaby.

Jimmy was surprised—not in a good way—after a day of “Jimmying” when he saw his daughter and longtime best friend laughing over dinner with Louis. Liz came clean to Derek (Ted McGinley) about kissing Mac (Josh Hopkins) after getting advice from Paul.

Gaby and Derrick No. 2 (Damon Wayans Jr.) tried to go on a first date again. Later, they helped Brian and his husband, Charlie (Devin Kawaoka), be honest with each other about adopting a baby—they want the usual nine months to prepare.

Meanwhile, Sean turned to Jimmy, Paul, and Jimmy’s patient, Dan (Mike C. Nelson), as a sounding board for meeting up with his old Army pal. Alice also made up with her bestie, Summer (Rachel Stubington), after their fight— “Ranchgate”— in the high school cafeteria.

‘Shrinking’ Season 2 is winding down

Christa Miller and Lukita Maxwell in the Nov. 27, 2024, episode of ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

Sorry, Shrinking fans. Season 2 is on its way to being over. (All good things must end eventually, right?) It’s well past the halfway mark with four of the season’s 12 episodes remaining.

On a more positive note, however, look out for new episodes of Shrinking throughout December. Installments are still slated to drop weekly as the holiday season continues. And, of course, there’s always the option of re-watching season 1 in between new episodes of season 2.

Shrinking is streaming on Apple TV+.

‘Bad Sisters’ Star Sharon Horgan Wanted Season 2 to Happen Because of ‘Fairy Tale’ Season 1

Mandi Kerr — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 15:45:00 +0000

Bad Sisters is back and it’s no “fairy tale” like season 1, according to star Sharon Horgan. The 54-year-old actor, who is also a co-developer on the Apple TV+ original series, says Bad Sisters Season 2 has the Garvey girls facing the “reality” of what’s happened, which was her motivation behind new episodes.

‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 shows ‘reality’ after ‘happily ever after’

Speaking to Page Six at the Bad Sisters Season 2 premiere, Horgan shared why she wanted the series to return. “As much as I loved the first season and how it ended, it was a bit of a fairy tale,” she said. “You know, like, woman lives happily ever after, [after] offing her other half.”

Set in Dublin, Ireland, the first season followed Garvey sisters Eva (Horgan), Bibi (Sarah Greene), Becka (Eve Hewson), and Ursula (Eva Burthistle) as they tried and failed again and again to kill their controlling and abusive brother-in-law, John Paul (Claes Bang), their sister, Grace’s (Anne-Marie Duff) husband.

Season 1 ended with Eva, Bibi, Becka, and Ursula getting what they so desperately wanted, John Paul gone. But they weren’t responsible, Grace was. She killed her husband. Now, in Bad Sisters Season 2 the “happily ever after” gives way to “reality,” which is why Horgan wanted the story to continue.

She said the motivation behind Bad Sisters Season 2 stemmed from the “reality of what happens when you’ve been in an abusive relationship. When you’ve been isolated from your family and how difficult it is to ask for help, when you’ve been in that situation.”

Horgan also shared that thoughts of a second season started “about midway through filming season one. Like a germ of an idea, we didn’t even know if it would happen or not.”

Dark humor is still a mainstay on ‘Bad Sisters’

Anne-Marie Duff, Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson, Sharon Horgan and Eva Birthistle in ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

The Catastrophe alum also revealed that the dark humor fans know from Bad Sisters Season 1 hasn’t gone away. Viewers are reminded when the trunk pops open in the series premiere. “We all go through terrible things,” Horgan said. “But there’s always a moment where we crack up or someone says something terrible and it lightens the mood.”

So, how does Bad Sisters do it? Making viewers laugh despite the heavy subject matter is a balancing act, according to Horgan. The show’s tone, she explained, is about “treading the line” and “never laughing at the situation.”

“I mean the whole thing has to just be truthful and believable,” she added. “I think then you can kind of get away with anything.”

A new episode of ‘Bad Sisters’ Season 2 drops weekly on Apple TV+

See what’s in store for the Garvey girls as the aftermath of John Paul’s death plays out in Bad Sisters Season 2. Following the initial two-episode premiere on Nov. 13, 2024, a new episode drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

Expect the eighth and final episode of the season to air just before Christmas. Meanwhile, Bad Sisters Season 1 is streaming, in full, on Apple TV+.

‘Shrinking’ Recap: Nov. 20 Episode Is Secrets, Honesty, and Jimmying

Mandi Kerr — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:35:00 +0000

Jimmy (Jason Segel)’s back to doing what he does best—Jimmying patients—in the Nov. 20 episode of Shrinking. But that’s not all that goes on in the Apple TV+ original series’ latest installment. There’s honesty, secrets, and a kiss. Ahead, get a full recap of what happened.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Nov. 20, 2024, episode of Shrinking Season 2 Episode 7: “Get in the Sea.”]

Jimmy’s back to Jimmying

Jimmy returns to his alternative therapy methods in Shrinking Season 2 Episode 7: “Get in the Sea,” which began streaming on Nov. 20, 2024. He spends the day with his patient, Dan (Mike C. Nelson), doing “classic exposure therapy” to prepare him for his closest friend’s wedding.

“Sitting alone at a table is my nightmare so I don’t think I can do it,” Dan said at the start. Nevertheless, he gives it a try. He sits at a restaurant’s communal table, goes to Alice’s (Lukita Maxwell) high school, has lunch with Paul (Harrison Ford), Sean (Luke Tennie), and Jimmy, and, finally, goes swimming—more on that later.

“Yes, at first I had to prod you to get you to talk,” Jimmy told Dan at the end of the day. “By the end, you were out there doggy paddling dropping truth bombs.” So, Jimmy’s “hot streak” with patients continued.

Liz gets advice from Paul after kissing Mac

One of the biggest moments in the Nov. 20 episode of Shrinking comes when Liz sees Mac’s (Josh Hopkins) brewery. He put her portraits of the shelter dogs on the wall and delivered a touching speech.

“Look, I can tell you’re going through a rough time,” he said. “I just wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You’re so cool and funny and talented. I mean, look at these photos. You see the world in a way nobody else does.”

Just after saying he’d “do anything” for her, Mac leans in and they kiss. Liz breaks it off, going to the park to meet with Paul (Harrison Ford) in Alice’s place. She tells him what happened: “We kissed each other.”

Paul’s advice when Liz asks what he’d do in this situation—remember he made up with his ex-wife, played by Gilmore Girls alum Kelly Bishop, in an earlier episode decades following his own infidelity—is to be honest. “Secrets have a way of getting out,” said. “There’s not a secret that I ever kept that I didn’t wish I’d told the f***ing person.”

Liz takes Paul’s advice and tells her husband, Derek (Ted McGinley), that she and her ex-boyfriend kissed. And, unsurprisingly, it doesn’t go well. “Deep down I thought we were so solid,” Derek said. “I don’t ask you for much, ever. You knew how I felt about that f***ing guy and you did this anyway.”

Brian tells Charlie he’s not ready for a baby

Damon Wayans Jr. and Jessica Williams in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 Episode 7: ‘Get in the Sea’ | Apple TV+

After Brian crashes Gaby’s date in a panic about adopting a baby “like, tomorrow,” Derrick No. 2’s (Damon Wayans Jr.) offers some advice: “We’ll get in the sea about it and we’ll figure it out.”

Turns out, Gaby’s new love interest meant it literally. Derrick No. 2 goes for a dip in the Pacific Ocean with Gaby, Jimmy, Dan, Brian, and his husband, Charlie (Devin Kawaoka), reminding everyone that “the ocean is a magical place.”

“I can’t handle a kid right now, but it could be ages before we get another chance,” Brian tells everyone. “As a guy who is also overlooked, did anyone ask your husband how he feels?” Dan asks. At that, Charlie admits he’s not ready to have a baby either. He, like Brian, wants to have nine months to prepare. So, they decide this isn’t the right time for them to become parents.

Jimmy sees Alice and Brian with Louis

Jason Segel in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 Episode 7: ‘Get in the Sea’ | Apple TV+

So, how does the Nov. 20 episode of Shrinking end? With a big reveal—well, two. As Liz comes clean about kissing Mac to Derek, Alice tells Louis (Brett Goldstein) and Brian over dinner that they should be honest with her dad, Jimmy, about the three of them hanging out.

Brian reluctantly agrees to be “strong and brave” but they don’t get the chance to broach the subject with Jimmy. Moments later, after says goodbye to Dan, he sees Alice, Brian, and Louis sitting inside the restaurant smiling and laughing. Meanwhile, Liz tells Derek it’s “better that I told you than you finding out on your own.”

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+.

‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ Won’t Air on TV in 2024: How to Stream The Holiday Classic For Free

Lucille Barilla — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 16:11:31 +0000

The holiday classic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will not air on network television in 2024 after decades of being shown on CBS, ABC, and even PBS. It will be available via streaming, but there is one way viewers can stream the holiday classic for free.

‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ will air for free 2 days in November

Typically, all Charlie Brown animated specials are available to watch on Apple TV+. However, there are two days in November when the holiday classic can be streamed for free.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will air for free on Apple TV+ without a subscription from Saturday, Nov. 23 through Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. This is ahead of the actual Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 28.

It comes after PBS obtained rights to air the special in 2020 and 2021, courtesy of Apple. The company did not renew their contract with public television in 2022 and 2023.

When did ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ originally air?

Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy created one of the first Friendsgiving meals in the 1973 holiday special. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was one of the first animated shows dedicated to Thanksgiving.

The Peanuts website describes as “Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Linus concoct the most original Thanksgiving menu since 1621 (buttered toast and pretzel sticks, anyone?). The Peanuts Gang also learns how to put the ‘thanks’ in Thanksgiving.”

A trio of Peanuts holiday specials aired for decades on CBS. The network began running A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965; and It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in 1966.

Other holidays also received the Charlie Brown treatment. There’s also Be My Valentine Charlie Brown (1975), It’s the Easter Beagle Charlie Brown (1974), and Happy New Year Charlie Brown (1986).

What is the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special about?

Snoopy Cooks dinner with Charlie Brown and Linus helping | Apple TV+

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tells the story of Charlie Brown and his friends, who celebrate the holiday together after Peppermint Patty invites herself and friends Franklin and Marcie to his home. Not knowing how to tell her “no,” Charlie Brown and Snoopy prepare a Thanksgiving dinner with their limited cooking abilities.

Instead of the traditional turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes, the friends, including Linus and Woodstock, were treated to popcorn, toast, pretzels, and jelly beans. However, Peppermint Patty voiced her displeasure at the meal, making Charlie Brown and Snoopy upset.

She was subsequently corrected by Marcie. The little girl told Peppermint Patty she pushed herself onto Charlie Brown for the holiday. The story concludes with an apology, the real meaning of Thanksgiving, which is spending time together as family and friends, and a trip to Grandma’s house for a proper meal for everyone.

‘Shrinking’ Star Jason Segel ‘Didn’t Want to Look at’ Brett Goldstein on Set

Mandi Kerr — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:45:00 +0000

They may have brought the Apple TV+ original series to life—along with showrunner Bill Lawrence—but Jason Segel, who plays Jimmy, a therapist grieving the death of his wife on Shrinking, wasn’t hanging out with Brett Goldstein on set. Segel didn’t want to look at the Ted Lasso alum because of their characters’ “painful” past.

Goldstein plays the drunk driver behind Tia’s death in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2

Shrinking Season 1 kept the identity of the drunk driver involved in the fatal crash that killed Jimmy’s wife, Tia (Lilan Bowden), a mystery. All that changed in season 2 when flashbacks finally revealed Goldstein as Louis, or “Double D” (drunk driver).

Jimmy thought back to the night that turned his and daughter Alice’s (Lukita Maxwell) lives upside down. Initially, viewers saw a person’s outline as they were put in the back of a police car at the site of the accident. Later, though, another flashback showed their face and it was none other than Goldstein.

Since then, Louis has popped up in subsequent episodes of Shrinking Season 2. In one, Alice confronted Louis in a tense meeting at the coffee shop where he works. In another, Louis met a very surprised Brian (Michael Urie) outside Jimmy and Alice’s house.

Segal didn’t want to ‘look at him in the face’

The warmth between the Shrinking co-creators cooled when filming began. “It was tender up until the moment we had to walk onto set together,” Segel told TheWrap. The reason? Louis is “this guy who’s coming back into Jimmy’s life in the most painful way possible.”

“I didn’t want to look at the guy because I wanted it to feel that way,” Segel explained, noting he didn’t do method acting, but he tried to keep Jimmy’s feelings about Louis close when cameras weren’t rolling.

“I don’t carry it around with me, but this character that Brett was playing is the cause of a lot of Jimmy’s pain, and I just didn’t really want to look at him in the face,” he said.

Brett Goldstein wasn’t originally supposed to play Louis on ‘Shrinking’

Brett Goldstein in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 | Apple TV+

In the same interview, Segel also revealed the part of Louis wasn’t Goldstein’s from the start. Originally, Louis was supposed to be younger.

“He was written a little younger before, and it was just a little bit different than Brett,” Segel said. “Brett and I are about the same age where we have a similar sensibility, and it just felt really exciting to play these scenes with him.”

“I think we always knew Brett would do something in the show,” he continued, noting the “plan” was for Goldstein to have a “lighter, kind of maybe comedic arc of a few episodes.” But that changed once Segel “said out loud what […] everybody in the room knew in their gut”— “that Brett should play that part.”

Lawrence saw Goldstein’s Louis as a mirror for Jimmy. “I wanted to do that with somebody who felt like a reflection of Jimmy. That when these two guys were standing face to face, they were looking at themselves. That was the picture that I thought was important, and I feel that way about Brett.”

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.

‘Shrinking’ Star Jessica Williams Felt ‘Really Stressed’ About Reprising Gaby Role in Season 2

Mandi Kerr — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 03:45:00 +0000

While the making of Shrinking Season 2 was certainly “fun” for Jessica Williams, or Gaby to fans, the actor felt “really stressed” as production on the Apple TV+ original series returned. Ahead, what made Williams “really nervous” as she reprised her role in the comedy-drama and how she overcame her nerves.

Williams worried about her ‘Shrinking’ performance being a ‘fluke’

Williams, who received an Emmy nod for her portrayal of Gaby in Shrinking Season 1, admitted to Deadline how “stressed” she felt as production on season 2 got underway. (The season premiered on Oct. 15, 2024.) About what exactly? Giving yet another award-nominating turn as the therapist who drinks from a massive water bottle and wears colorful outfits.

“We did the Emmys in January [2024] and because there was so much time, I didn’t know if I remembered Gaby,” Williams said. “We were gonna film literally in a few weeks after the strike started, we were supposed to film.”

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes started in July 2023, ending nearly four months later to the day. Williams and her co-star, Jason Segal, who also co-created Shrinking, were both nominated for Emmys.

“And so, I was really stressed for season 2, being like, ‘Do I remember her? Can I do it? Will I be able to hit the notes? Was it a fluke? Like I got nominated for this Emmy. Can I do it again?’”

“I put all these unfair [things]—it’s my loop of like perfection and expectations—on myself,” she added.

She remembered the ‘freedom’ of playing Gaby when filming on season 2 started

It didn’t take long for Williams’ nerves to go away. She quickly realized why playing Gaby “works” for her when she returned to the Shrinking set.

“It was so nice to be able to walk on set and be like, ‘Oh, the reason why this character works for me is because I have the ability to like kind of f**k around and find out with the comedy,’” she said.

“There’s freedom there,” she added. “And so it felt good to remember that and to have this character that I actually knew her bones really well.”

“So I got to have a lot of fun,” she added, “but I was really nervous.”

What ‘bummed’ Williams out about ‘Shrinking’ Season 2

Jason Segel and Jessica Williams in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 |

The Emmy nominee continued, sharing how disappointed she’d been when a potential singing-in-the-car moment with Paul (Harrison Ford) got cut short after her and Ford’s characters sang along to Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning” in Shrinking Season 1.

“I actually didn’t write that,” Williams said of the musical moment Gaby cut short during her and Paul’s drive to work in the season 2 premiere. “You could tell [Shrinking co-creator] Bill Lawrence if you talk to him. Tell him I was bummed as well. I was really bummed about that.”

Williams hinted at other “fun” moments with Ford in season 2. Calling them “all fun,” she shared her “favorite scene” involves Wendie Malick as Paul’s girlfriend Julie.

“Gaby has this obsession with Julie and Paul and would probably love to be in a throuple with them,” the actor said of her character. “If they ask, she would just love it. But that’s my favorite stuff to do with Harrison. It just kind of writes itself. Oh, it’s great.”

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+ where fans can also stream season 1.