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Videoreleases

“Fiasco” - Season 1

Created, written and directed by Igor Gotesman (“Two Is a Family,” 2016), the French comedy television series, “Fiasco,” debuts Tuesday, April 30, on Prime Video with three episodes. The series follows a young creative named Raphaël Valande (Pierre Niney, “Frantz,” 2016), a man revved up and ready to shoot his directorial debut. His project begins in earnest, as Raphaël plans to make a film in tribute to his heroic grandmother, but when things start going wrong with production, Raphaël is left to wonder if someone on set is trying to sabotage any chance of his career taking off, putting his life’s goal at risk. Season 1 of “Fiasco” also stars François Civil (“Frank,” 2014), Marie-Christine Barrault (“My Night at Maud’s,” 1969), Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan,” 2010), Géraldine Nakache (“All That Glitters,” 2010), Pascal Demolon (“And Yet We Were All Blind,” 2022), Leslie Medina (“Balthazar”), Louise Coldefy (“Love at First Child,” 2015), Juliette Gasquet (“Jeune et golri”), Djimo (“The Last Mercenary,” 2021) and Gotesman himself.

“A Man in Full” - Season 1

Follow along with one man’s determined journey to keep his legacy alive when the limited drama series “A Man in Full” premieres Thursday, May 2, on Netflix. Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels, “American Rust”) is an Atlanta real estate mogul with a towering empire under his control. But when he faces sudden bankruptcy, Charlie’s world threatens to crumble completely as he works to defend his business empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe, “A Man in Full” comes from showrunner, writer and executive producer David E. Kelley (“The Lincoln Lawyer”). Directed by Regina King (“Shirley,” 2024) and Thomas Schlamme (“The West Wing”), the series also stars Diane Lane (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”), Lucy Liu (“Elementary”), Tom Pelphrey (“Ozark”), Sarah Jones (“For All Mankind”), William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place”), Aml Ameen (“Rustin,” 2023), Jon Michael Hill (“Elementary”), Chanté Adams (“A League of Their Own”), L. Warren Young (“Greenleaf”), Evan Roe (“Madam Secretary”) and Bill Camp (“American Rust”). The series comes from producer Ted Gidlow (“Shirley,” 2024), coproducer Amy Libowsky (“Silicon Valley”), associate producer Danielle L. Ross (“Shirley,” 2024) and executive producers Kelley, King and Matthew Tinker (“Big Sky”).

“The Veil”

Embark on an international espionage journey with the new FX limited thriller series, “The Veil,” premiering Tuesday, April 30, on Hulu. Imogen Salter (Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”) is a British MI6 agent who, as the best at what she does, will go to every limit to uncover the truth. Salter is sent on a mission to uncover the secrets held by Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan, “The Strangers’ Case,” 2024) that have the potential to prevent a deadly attack on the U.S. From here, the series follows along with their surprising and fraught relationship as the two women travel from Istanbul, to Paris and London. Meanwhile, the CIA and French DGSE must put their differences aside and work together behind the scenes to avert the impending disaster. Also starring Dali Benssalah (“No Time to Die,” 2021), Josh Charles (“The Good Wife”), Thibault de Montalembert (“The Tunnel”), Alex Secareanu (“Spy/ Master”) and James Purefoy (“Rome”), “The Veil” is written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) and directed by Damon Thomas (“Killing Eve”) and Daina Reid (“Shining Girls”). Moss, Knight, Denise Di Novi (“Little Women,” 2019), Lindsey McManus (“Shining Girls”) and Nina Tassler (“Not Going Quietly,” 2021) are executive producers.

“The Contestant”

Making its debut Thursday, May 2, on Hulu, “The Contestant” brings forth the mind-boggling tale of reality television pushed to the edge. In 1998 in Japan, comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, thought he was attending an audition when Toshio Tsuchiya, a successful Japanese TV producer, enlisted him to take part in a life-altering challenge. Set up in an apartment with nothing — including no clothing, food or connection to the outside world — Nasubi was challenged to win everything he needed to survive using only entries to magazine sweepstakes until he reached the goal of winning one million yen. With his every move being streamed live for the whole country as a show called “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes,” Nasubi’s challenge became a national obsession. From filmmaker Clair Titley (“One Born Every Minute”), “The Contestant” explores the many questions about “our culture of oversharing” (per Hulu) brought forth by Nasubi’s story, as well as looking at how Nasubi’s life was impacted afterward. Executive produced by Titley, the film is produced by Ian Bonhote (“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” 2024), Amit Dey (“The Greatest Night in Pop,” 2024), Megumi Inman (“Space: The Longest Goodbye,” 2024) and Andee Ryder (“Kingdom of Dreams”).

“Star Wars: Tales of the Empire”

The force is with Star Wars fans once again. Lucasfilm’s new animated follow-up series to “Tales of the Jedi,” titled “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire,” premieres Saturday, May 4, on Disney+. The second installment of the “Tales” series, this six-episode series is an epic adventure “into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths, set during different eras” (per Disney+). Morgan Elsbeth (voiced by Diana Lee Inosanto, “Ahsoka”) has lost everything and is now heading down a path of vengeance. Meanwhile, former Jedi Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger, “The Prank,” 2022) does whatever it takes to survive in a rapidly changing galaxy. As they navigate their journeys, their choices will define their destinies. The series voice cast is rounded out by Rya Kihlstedt (“Dexter”), Wing T. Chao (“The Mandalorian”), Lars Mikkelsen (“The Witcher”), Jason Isaacs (“Archie”) and Matthew Wood (“Star Wars: The Bad Batch”). Created by Dave Filoni (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”), the series is executive produced by Filoni, Carrie Beck (“The Mandalorian”), Athena Yvette Portillo (“Star Wars: Rebels”) and co-executive producer Josh Rimes (“Young Jedi Adventures”).

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” - Season 1

One of the best thing to come out of Star Wars’ prequel trilogy was Ewan McGregor’s (“Moulin Rouge!,” 2001) performance as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. McGregor returns to the iconic role for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” available now on Disney+. Set a decade after the events of “Revenge of the Sith” (2005), this six-part miniseries picks up as Obi-Wan is called from his duties of watching over a developing Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely, “Panhandle”) to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair, “The Boogeyman,” 2023) from the Galactic Empire. All the while, he is pursued by vengeful Imperial Inquisitors — played by Rupert Friend (“Hitman: Agent 47,” 2015), Sung Kang (“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” 2006), Moses Ingram (“The Queen’s Gambit”) and Rya Kihlstedt (“Dexter”) — and his former Padawan, who now goes by a different name: Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen, “Jumper,” 2008). Rounding out the cast for this miniseries are Kumail Nanjiani (“The Big Sick,” 2017), Benny Safdie (“Oppenheimer,” 2023), Joel Edgerton (“The Gift,” 2015), Bonnie Piesse (“Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones,” 2002), Simone Kessell (“Yellowjackets”), Flea (“Baby Driver,” 2017), Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue”), Zach Braff (“Scrubs”), Maya Erskine (“Blue Eye Samurai”) and Ian McDiarmid (“Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi,” 1983).

“Clarkson’s Farm” - Season 3 British journalist and TV personality Jeremy Clarkson (famous for “Top Gear” and Amazon’s “The Grand Tour”) puts his boots back on and gets down and dirty when “Clarkson’s Farm” returns to Prime Video with its third season, Friday, May 3. The first season saw Clarkson, who is definitely not a farmer, take on a new venture when he buys and learns how to tend to a British farm, following him through his first year in an informative, intense, back-breaking and sometimes heartbreaking journey, as he grappled with the worst farming weather in decades, disobedient animals, unresponsive crops and an unexpected pandemic. Now, Diddly Squat farm is facing some daunting challenges, with severe weather killing their crops, inflation driving up prices, their dreams of a restaurant dashed and a farm shop facing trouble. Desperate to come up with some new ways to make ends meet for the farm, Jeremy turns his hopes to Diddly Squat’s thick woodlands and hedgerows, which make up half of the property. In classic Clarkson fashion, his new ambitions bring on a slew of creative — and often halfcocked — ideas. Directed by Will Yapp (“The Circus,” 2012), the series is executive produced by Clarkson, Peter Fincham (“The Chelsea Detective”) and Andy Wilman (“The Grand Tour”), with series producer Peter Richardson (“The Grand Tour”).

“The Beekeeper” (2024)

Written by Kurt Wimmer (“Total Recall,” 2012) and directed by David Ayer (“End of Watch,” 2012), this brutal and biting action film, “The Beekeeper,” is now available to stream on Prime Video. Jason Statham (“Crank,” 2006) stars as Adam Clay, a wronged man who begins a relentless campaign for vengeance following the death of his neighbor (Phylicia Rashad, “Creed,” 2015), who killed herself after being scammed and robbed of over $2 million. Adam contacts The Beekeepers — a powerful and clandestine organization of connected operatives, a team he just so happens to be a part of — and asks for their help with his mission, knowing it may be futile otherwise. Jeremy Irons (“Dead Ringers,” 1988), Josh Hutcherson (“The Hunger Games,” 2012), Bobby Naderi (“Under the Shadow”), Emmy RaverLampman (“The Umbrella Academy”), David Witts (“EastEnders”), Michael Epp (“The Childhood of a Leader,” 2015), Taylor James (“Vikings: Valhalla”), Minnie Driver (“Circle of Friends”), Jemma Redgrave (“Red, White & Royal Blue,” 2023), Don Gilet (“EastEnders”) and Sophia Feliciano (“The Hand That Feeds You,” 2021) also star.

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