Written In The Stars: Media For Night Sky

[Meredith Quill]

Your Media Topic!

[paulvdb]

‘Lightyears’: Adam Bartley, Chai Hansen, Julieta Zylberberg, Rocío Hernández, Kiah McKirnan, Join Amazon’s Sci-Fi Series
 

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Longmire alum Adam Bartley, Chai Hansen (New Legends Of Monkey), Julieta Zylberberg (The Invisible Look), Rocío Hernández (La caída), and Kiah McKirnan (Mare of Easttown) are set as series regulars opposite Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons in Amazon’s genre-bending drama series Lightyears, a co-production between Amazon Studios and Legendary Television.

Written and co-executive produced by Holden Miller, Lightyears follows Franklin and Irene York, played by Simmons and Spacek, a couple who years ago discovered a chamber buried in their backyard that inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet. They’ve carefully guarded their secret ever since, but when an enigmatic young man enters their lives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is quickly upended — and the mysterious chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could ever have imagined.

 

[paulvdb]

Prime Video Announces May 20 Premiere Date for "Night Sky"

Night Sky is the new name for Lightyears.

[paulvdb]

A First Look at the Stars in Prime Video's "Night Sky"

[paulvdb]

Trailer:

 

[AnimeMania]

Edited April 25, 2022 by AnimeMania

[AnimeMania]

[AnimeMania]

Night Sky,  previously entitled Lightyear, is an 8 Episode Science Fiction TV Series, set to be released all at once on May 20, 2022 on Prime Video, filmed in Chicago, Illinois. This story that spans space and time, is a look at life from the most mundane to the most sublime. Aging is a completely universal experience. It was a way to access a lot of the themes inherent in the show like: mortality, love, and family dynamics. Night Sky's plot is driven by the big questions in life, writer and co-executive producer, Holden Miller explains: "What does it all add up to? What have I spent my time doing? What do I wanna spend the latter parts of my time on earth doing?" Irene, in particular, struggles with why she and Franklin have access to this planet. She wants to understand “what to glean from it, what it's supposed to mean to her, what it means that she was the one chosen in her mind to see this, and what she's supposed to do with this,” When Jude shows up, it brings these questions into greater focus, and shakes the Yorks out of their everyday routines. 

 

The Night Sky TV Series follows Irene and Franklin York, an elderly couple in their 70's who, twenty years ago, found a chamber buried in their backyard which inexplicably leads to a strangely beautiful, deserted planet, where they sit in a room and look at the otherworldly sky, never daring to venture out to explore for fear of dying. One day Irene discovers an enigmatic young man named Jude on the alien world  and brings him back down to their home in Illinois. After that their secret, and the life they have made together is upended. The chamber that they once considered their own, turns out to be much more than they thought.

J.K. Simmons plays Franklin York, a grumpy former woodworker with a charmingly grumpy demeanor. After more than 50 years of marriage, Franklin still has a powerful devotion to his wife but he doesn’t share the same fascination that she has with the chamber, a secret which weighs heavily on him. For her sake, he is willing to endure its presence in their lives, but his patience is wearing thin.

Lowrey Brown plays a Young Franklin (ages 21-30), who becomes entranced by Irene from the first time he sees her, through their first years together as newlyweds and as young parents.

Sissy Spacek plays Irene York, a retired English teacher with a thoughtful, magnetic presence. As her health declines, Irene’s life with her husband Franklin increasingly revolves around visits to the chamber. For decades they’ve kept their remote planet retreat, the place they go there to get away from the world, hidden from view by a shed in their backyard, a secret, as Irene starts to becomes increasingly obsessed over the deeper meaning of their discovery.  

Lily Cardone plays Young Irene (ages 19-30) who is surprised to find herself charmed by Franklin, but later throws herself into building their life as a family, her work as a teacher, and the parenting of their son Michael.

Chai Hansen plays Jude, a stranger who comes out of the chamber. 

Adam Bartley will play Byron, Franklin and Irene’s neighbor, a local busybody convinced the Yorks are up to something nefarious and who is determined to prove he’s right.

Cass Buggé plays Jeanine Albermarle, who has been married to Byron for seven years and is newly arrived in Farnsworth. She works as a customer service rep for a travel company and is trying to build a social circle. While she still loves her husband, she’s finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate his suspicions about their elderly neighbors, Irene and Franklin.

Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez plays Stella as a teenager.

Julieta Zylberberg plays Stella, a single mother living in rural Argentina, trying to raise her teenage daughter, Toni, but is also burdened by a dark family secret.

Rocío Hernández plays Toni, the teenage daughter who, wanting more from life, starts to resent her protective and secretive mother, Stella. 
Stella and Toni, are a mother-daughter duo who are also caretakers of a chamber similar to the Yorks, located on their family ranch in Argentina. Stella and Toni's story becomes a way for us to understand travel through the universe and the mythology of the chambers better.

Kiah McKirnan is Denise, the Yorks’ granddaughter, a graduate student haunted by the loss of her father who seeks validation through overachieving and looking after her grandparents’ needs.

Beth Lacke portrays Chandra, a former student of Irene York who is dissatisfied with her job as a caregiver at a local nursing home and with life in general. A chance encounter with her former teacher sends Chandra in a new life direction.

Stephen Louis Grush plays Nick, a socially awkward loner who operates the family drapery business and who boasts of his own strange charisma. He’s eager to impress, and often finds himself on the wrong side of bad situations. Nick has an unexpected connection to Stella.

[AnimeMania]

Variety Review

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J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek Can’t Save a Muddled ‘Night Sky’: TV Review

 

IndieWire Review

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‘Night Sky’ Review: J.K. Simmons and Sissy Spacek Get Lost in the Stars in Amazon’s Ambling, Empty Mystery

 

Entertainment Weekly Review

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Night Sky review: This is not the Sissy Spacek-J.K. Simmons drama we (or they) deserve

 

Edited May 16, 2022 by AnimeMania

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m watching it and I think it’s great.  

[paulvdb]

‘Night Sky’ Canceled By Prime Video After One Season

[chaifan]

47 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

‘Night Sky’ Canceled By Prime Video After One Season

I'm disappointed.  This was something new and different, and the cast was excellent.  I really don't get the supposed reason of the "sizable costs tied to its sci-fi content".  Set wise, this has to be one of the cheapest shows out there.  A farm & farmhouse, small town, country roads.  The only "sci-fi" was the portal (a single metal room) and a very very limited view of the planet from the portal.  No movement, alien creatures, no plant life, just rock.  How expensive can that be to CGI? 

Spoiler

Yes, there was the brief end scene of Franklin scrambling around on the planet, and then Franklin & Irene looking at the "village".  But again, all still background, no extensive CGI needed. 

Edited July 6, 2022 by chaifan

[Haleth]

Well, that’s too bad. There were a whole lot of unanswered questions.