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HBO productions have been an unparalleled goliath in the small screen since the advent of prestige TV, starting with The Sopranos. While the network isn’t immune to mishaps, given its years-long dominance on TV, longtime viewers have come to expect quality whenever a show releases under the HBO banner.

While this boils down to HBO’s nature of venturing into untouched territories with its stories, marking a stark departure from networks that rely on established formats, one common link among them has been their impeccable actors. With Isabela Merced proving to be the next reliable talent with The Last of US season 2, it’s safe to say this won’t be her last rodeo with the network.

Isabela Merced might be HBO’s next reliable asset moving forward A still from The Last of Us Season 2 | Credit: HBO

Longtime HBO viewers would be familiar with HBO’s history of working with the same actors,...

Filming on the third season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon begins this month, and we're hearing lots about casting, some of it from official channels, some of it because cast member post pictures of characters lists without thinking through whether that's a good idea. The point is that things are moving, and that's exciting!

We have some more minor casting news courtesy of @westerosies on X/Twitter, who always do a great job of keeping tabs on the comings and goings of the Seven Kingdoms. According to them, Michelle Bonnard will return as Sylvi the brothel madam in House of the Dragon season 3.

Who is Sylvi the brothel madam, you might be asking? Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) visited her in season 2; in season 1 we learn she may have been the first person he was ever intimate with. She was around for the food riot...

"I'd like to see you try and make a movie," goes the occasional taunt from commenters on negative reviews. It's a pretty unfair stance in a lot of ways, mainly because most critics do what they do out of a genuine love for both film and criticism, and treat it as an art in and of itself and have no secret desire to go off and make movies themselves. That said, there are a number of writers or directors who started their careers by writing about movies first. Like the guy who made "The Last Castle." And, uh, me. When I'm not writing here at the Playlist or elsewhere, I'm a screenwriter, and earlier this year I wrote a short called "The Listener," which was directed by Michael Gilhooly and produced by Sam Swann and their colleagues at Good Shout. It stars Amit Shah, who you might have seen this summer in "The Hundred Foot-Journey,...