By Josh Osman
It’s certainly been a big month for entertainment: there have been some enormous releases in cinema, some fantastic shows are making returns to the air, and, most importantly, the Emmys brought some big surprises and some expected outcomes.
‘Downton Abbey’ Poster
September has been a great month for cinemas, with new films competing to storm the box office. The long-awaited ‘It: Chapter Two’ finally arrived, only to lukewarm reviews from the public and critics alike and an underperformance at the box office, earning less than its predecessor, which can likely be attributed to the reviews and the nearly three-hour long runtime. ‘Downton Abbey’ was released on the 13th to positive reviews, topping the box office, though it was criticised for paling in comparison to the acclaimed series. ‘Ad Astra’ released the week after, just behind ‘Downton Abbey’, getting good reviews from critics but a much weaker response from the public. The other major release so far has been ‘Hustlers’, a crime drama with a star-studded cast including Jennifer Lopez, ‘Riverdale’ star, Lili Reinhardt, and Constance Wu.
‘Joker’ poster
As of the time of writing, there are still some films due to come out extremely soon that cannot be overlooked. In the coming week, two widely anticipated releases are due: ‘Judy’ and ‘Joker’. ‘Judy’ is a biographical drama following the life of a struggling Judy Garland, adapted from the stage musical ‘End of the Rainbow’; early reviews have been very positive, with many critics hailing Renee Zellweger’s performance as the titular character as a major contender for next year’s Oscars. Similarly, ‘Joker’, a drama detailing the rise of the infamous enemy to Batman, has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, with Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the Joker being singled out for praise, also being labelled a potential frontrunner for the Oscar.
In other news, many beloved TV shows have returned to the air this month. ‘The Good Place’, an Emmy-nominated comedy satirising the concepts of heaven and hell, has returned for its fourth and final season, with the stakes higher than ever before and it seems to be setting up for an extremely promising finale. ‘This is Us’, a family drama depicting the life of an American family over three generations, has also returned for its fourth season, though there are still at least two more to come. New to Netflix, having just been released, is a new satirical musical comedy: ‘The Politician’, starring Ben Platt and Gwyneth Paltrow; it follows an arrogant, wealthy student who has always been confident that he would become the President of the United States as he powers through high school.
Phoebe Waller Bridge at the Emmys
Finally, the huge event of the month: the Emmy awards. Some results shocked and others could not have been more expected. ‘Game of Thrones’ managed to walk away with two awards, despite an extremely polarized reception from both critics and the public, in ‘Outstanding Drama Series’ and an ‘Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series’ for Peter Dinklage as the fan-favourite Tyrion Lannister. Bill Hader won the award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series’ for playing a hitman/stage actor in ‘Barry’, the second consecutive win for this role. Jodie Comer won the award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ for her performance as everyone’s favourite assassin ‘Villanelle’ in ‘Killing Eve’ and Billy Porter walked away with the award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series’ for his role in ‘Pose’, a drama series depicting the LGBT community and underground ballroom culture in New York City during the 1980s and early 1990s. But it goes without saying that the real winner of the Emmys this year was British comedian Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who walked away winning three awards for her beloved tragicomedy ‘Fleabag’: ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’, ‘Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series’ and, for her performance as the eponymous protagonist, ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series’.
Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in ‘Killing Eve’
The next month is looking equally promising, with major cinema releases such as ‘Judy’, ‘Joker’ and the sequels to both ‘Zombieland’ and ‘Maleficent’ due for release. Plus, the thriller ‘Mr Robot’ will be returning for its fourth season and the new superhero show ‘Batwoman’ is airing at the beginning of the month. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the anticipated releases over the next month, meaning that October is building up to be another great month for TV and film.