Hulu’s Runaways has its first full trailer, featuring a magic staff and a skittish velociraptor

With mere weeks to go until the release of Marvel’s Runaways, we finally have our first good look at the new series.

The first three episodes of Hulu’s long-awaited TV adaptation of the popular comic will drop on November 21. (The comic, created and originally written by Brian K. Vaughn, debuted in 2003.) But until then, this trailer gives a sense of how the TV show, helmed by Gossip Girl masterminds Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, will look and feel.

Predictably enough, the vibe is very in line with what Savage and Schwartz have done over at The CW, with an assortment of good-looking teens getting in over their heads as wicked adults enact their schemes. But Runaways kicks all that up a notch, because these teens have powers (and/or gadgets that give them powers), and those wicked adults are their supervillain parents.

In the trailer, we get to see not only these plot basics — as a brief teaser earlier this month showed — but more of the teens discovering who they really are. We get to see Nico (Lyrica Okano) discover the staff she’ll eventually wield as something like a magic wand as her powers grow. We get to see younger Runaway Molly (Allegra Acosta), wearing a pink pussy hat instead of the pink beanie of the comics, realize she’s much stronger than her tiny frame suggests. We get to see Karolina (Virginia Gardner) glow phosphorescent. We even get to see Chase (Gregg Sulkin) and Gert (Ariela Barer) in wide-eyed awe as they get their first glimpses of the velociraptor (Old Lace!) that will become so important to them as the series continues.

Inevitably, this adaptation won’t satisfy all fans of The Runaways, especially since the wait for someone, anyone, to adapt the story to the screen has been so long. But for now, let’s hold out hope that Hulu’s Runaways will stay faithful to the spirit of the source material while taking advantage of getting to unfold this story onscreen.

The first three episodes of Marvel’s Runaways premiere on November 21. Hulu will then release additional episodes on Tuesdays.

Source: vox.com Marvel Runaways Hulu Karolina Dean nico minoru chase stein xavin superhero
The real reason networks keep resurrecting old TV hitsIn 2014, Fox resurrected 24 as a 12-episode event. Earlier this year, it revived The X-Files with a six-episode miniseries. And in early 2017, it will bring back Prison Break. The obvious reason...

The real reason networks keep resurrecting old TV hits

In 2014, Fox resurrected 24 as a 12-episode event. Earlier this year, it revived The X-Files with a six-episode miniseries. And in early 2017, it will bring back Prison Break.

The obvious reason these reboots exist is that they draw good ratings. Even after over a decade off the air, X-Files was a massive smash, second only to Empire as Fox’s top scripted hit, and while 24 didn’t reach the same heights in its return, it was a solid performer. Thanks to name recognition and fan nostalgia, half the work was already done to get viewers in the door.

However, there’s more at stake with these reboots than just easy ratings wins and short-term gratification.

At Fox’s executive session at the 2016 Television Critics Association summer press tour, Dana Walden, the network’s co-president, said that one of the reasons the network decided to bring back Prison Break was that Netflix indicated it was seeing strong streaming numbers for the show, which originally ran from 2005 to 2009.

It was an unusually candid admission, because it indirectly revealed why TV (or Fox, at least) is so interested in making reboots and sequels right now.

But this detail doesn’t just apply to new shows. In fact, it’s particularly true of older shows in studios’ asset libraries, which have enjoyed an uptick in value as the studios open up their archives and sell off the streaming rights. If you’ve never seen The X-Files, but you’ve heard about it, then watching all of it on Netflix is a pretty good way to get caught up. It might not be new, but it’s new to you.

The more this attitude takes hold, and the more that studios realize how valuable their library of titles has become, the more the television industry changes. As I wrote here, one result is that networks are largely programming shows made by their partner studios, to make it easier and more lucrative to bring in streaming revenue. Another result is that more and more shows with marginal ratings are being renewed, in hopes they’ll make their money back further down the line.

Source: vox.com Prison Break Pitch Fox Hulu Netflix The X-Files television culture

17 festive TV episodes to stream this holiday season

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1. 30 Rock

Every single one of 30 Rock’s Christmas episodes is a zany delight that brings out the best in the show.

2. Gilmore Girls

The aggressively quaint town of Stars Hollow loves nothing more than a reason to decorate to within an inch of its life, so Christmas has a special place in its heart.

3. BoJack Horseman

While the showbiz jokes are far from the strongest element of Netflix’s cynical animated comedy, BoJack Horseman nonetheless offers up a sharp satire of ‘90s sitcoms with this one-off Christmas special. 

4. Orange is the New Black

Netflix’s wildly popular prison dramedy capped off its first season with an episode that borrows elements from traditional Christmas specials while subverting them entirely.

5. The Office

While The Office underwent many chaotic changes throughout its 10-season run, the employees of Dunder Mifflin almost always made room to celebrate Christmas together. 

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6. Bob’s Burgers

There are plenty of lovably bonkers families on this list, but none is quite so enthusiastic about celebrating the holidays as the Belchers.

7. New Girl

Family dinners and lessons learned are standby Christmas episode clichés. But in its second season, New Girl managed to find a new approach by tackling a very real holiday problem: too many parties. 

8. Arrested Development

Your heart will not be warmed as you watch the demented Bluth family get drunk, trash-talk their employees, and stage accidentally-on-purpose incestuous karaoke duets. But you will be entertained.

9. The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Mary Richards takes on the true spirit of giving in “Christmas and the Hard-Luck Kid,” The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s first Christmas special. But when she offers to take on a co-worker’s Christmas Eve shift, Mary finds herself far lonelier than she had anticipated; it is her first Christmas after getting divorced, after all. 

10. Seinfeld

Seinfeld always did its best to undercut the overwhelmingly sweet nature of traditional Christmas episodes — most memorably with “The Strike” and its introduction of Festivus, the holiday George’s father created years ago to fight back against the holiday season’s rampant commercialism. 

11. Community

Community boasts no fewer than three stellar Christmas episodes, each with its own distinctive character.

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12. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Now in its third season, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has fully accepted the warm embrace of sitcom holiday episodes. 

13. Doctor Who

British television loves a good Christmas special, so it makes sense that one of its longest-standing shows has returned to that well again and again.

14. Fresh Off the Boat

After missing the chance to dive into Christmas with its first season, Fresh Off the Boat showcases its sharp humor and adorable family shenanigans in season two’s “The Real Santa,” a Christmas episode that brings out the best the show has to offer.

15. Rugrats

There are precious few television episodes devoted to Hanukkah, which is why the earnest, deeply affecting Rugrats special about the holiday is such a gem. 

16. Hey Arnold!

When it wasn’t exploring hidden corners of a city through the eyes of delightful weirdo kids, the Nickelodeon cartoon Hey Arnold! was excellent at carrying out emotional blindsides that left you reeling and teary. Its holiday episodes are especially good at this; the first season’s “Arnold’s Christmas” is downright devastating.

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Miscellaneous but important 

17. The OC

Rejoice, all ye devotees of Chrismukkah, The OC’s combination holiday that honors both Christmas and Hanukkah.

Read more about each show’s holiday episodes.

holiday episodes tv shows Netflix Hulu culture Gilmore Girls Community Rugrats