‘Locals’: Mark Ruffalo to executive produce (TV News Review)

Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, better known for his role as the Hulk, has signed on to executive produce an upcoming docuseries that explores the fight against systemic injustice for local communities.

“The Natives” aims to highlight the ground-breaking achievements of Native activists and allies in what Ruffalo calls the “Native Century”—an era in which younger and older generations of Natives can better connect to its cultural heritage.

Ruffalo is a three-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner for his performances in the 2015 film Spotlight and the 2020 miniseries I Know This Much Is True. Earlier this year, he produced the documentary Lakota Nation vs. the United States, which exposes the exploitation of indigenous peoples under colonization from the late 1400s to the present day.

Ruffalo is joined by executive producers Sean Flax, Margaret Reilly, Sarah Eagle Hart and showrunner David Check. Produced by Check Point Productions, the upcoming series will feature Native American voices on screen and behind the camera, with episodes directed by Native women filmmakers and hosted by Eagle Heart.

More in today’s TV news:

THE TRAILER

HBO has announced that the fourth season of Max Original series “Titans” will debut with two episodes on Thursday, November 3rd on HBO Max, followed by one episode each week until December 1st. An additional six new episodes of Season 4 will be released in 2023.

After saving Gotham, the Titans open the new season by hitting the road to return to San Francisco. But a stop in Metropolis finds them in the crosshairs of a supernatural cult with powers – a new threat they have yet to face.

Titans is produced by Weed Road Pictures and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and is based on the DC characters. Greg Walker is the showrunner and serves as an executive producer along with Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Richard Hatem.

Check out the season four teaser below.

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HBO has announced that the fourth season of the Max Original series “Doom Patrol” will debut with two episodes on Thursday, December 8th on HBO Max, followed by one episode each week until January 5th. An additional six new episodes of season four will be released in 2023.

The show reimagines one of DC’s most beloved superhero groups: “Robotman” a.k.a. Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), “Negative Man” a.k.a. Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), “Elasti-Woman” a.k.a. such as Rita Farr (April Bowlby), “Crazy” Jane” (Diane Guerrero), “Cyborg” aka Victor Stone (Giovan Wade), who is joined by former supervillain “Madame Rouge” aka Laura de Mille (Michelle Gomez). Season 4 opens with the team unexpectedly traveling to the future to find an unwelcome surprise, forcing them to decide which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world.

The series is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television with Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Chris Dinges and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson serving as executive producers. It is based on characters created for DC by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.

Check out the season four teaser below.

EXECUTIVES

Upgrade Productions has hired Caroline Kousser as executive vice president, head of series, announced by co-presidents Matt Broadley and Jonathan Kier. She will report directly to Brodlie and Kier.

In his new role, Kusser will oversee the development, distribution strategy and production of Upgrade’s series projects alongside Brodlie and Kier. She will be based in Los Angeles for the role.

Kuser previously served as Executive Vice President, International Co-Production at Mediawan and Leonine Studios, where she was responsible for all television co-production activities, managing and coordinating shows across more than 60 production companies. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Co-Production and Distribution, International at Fremantle, where she was involved in closing co-production deals with Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, Starz and Nat Geo.

PROGRAMMING

Revry has announced Drag Latina, an original reality series from first-time television producer Chiru Adams. The show will pit ten contestants against each other for a chance at the “Drag Latina” honor.

The Spanish-language series premieres on October 16 and features an all-out performance of the glitz and the push of resistance. Contestants for the series’ pilot season included a diverse group of performers from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Season 1’s drag queens are Africa Mendiola, Annika Leclerc, Amalara Sofia, Chichi Fuera, Leila Edwards, Mariah Spanick, Sunel Molina, Valeria Sparks, Venus Carangi, and Vicky Chavarria.

“We like to challenge the status quo in programming and offer ‘Drag Latina’ as a challenge to the idea that drag competition should be limited by geography, cultures and language,” said Chris Rodriguez, Chief Business Officer and co-founder of Revry, in a press release .

Mexican singer and TV actor Ninel Conde will host the first season of the show, and fellow singer Fedro will be a mentor and judge. Each week, drag queens will strut down the runway, compete in lip-sync battles, and tell personal stories to win over the judges—all culminating in the season finale on Nov. 20, where one queen will walk away with the title “Dear Latina”.

Watch the trailer for the series debut of Drag Latina below:

PARTNERSHIPS

The CW has partnered with US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy and legendary musician Stevie Wonder to spread awareness of the fragile state of mental health among America’s youth through the Dare to Love, Stand Up to Hate initiative.

“I am delighted to join forces with The CW Network and United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy to be a part of such an important and necessary life-changing initiative that has the ability to create energy that can motivates us all to inspire love and positivity to all humanity in our world,” Wonder said in a press statement.

The acclaimed recording artist’s song “Where Is Our Love Song” has become the official anthem of The CW’s “Dare to Love, Defy Hate” initiative, which the network explained aims to encourage all generations to promote “the theme of love and harmony everywhere world.”

The CW released a YouTube video for the initiative that intersperses snippets of in-person interviews with select young adults on the topic of mental health. Likewise, The CW aired a public service announcement in line with World Mental Health Day that featured network stars like the cast members of “All American” highlighting the negative power of cyberbullying.

More public service announcements are slated for release this month to coincide with National Bullying Prevention Month with the help of The Cybersmile Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to young people who are cyberbullied.

For the remainder of the fall television season, The CW shows such as “All American,” “All American: Homecoming,” “Nancy Drew,” “Superman & Lois,” “Walker” and “Walker Independence” will pay tribute to the campaign through storylines and episodes centered around mental health issues.