showbiz

Netflix signs Ashton Kutcher for 2016 original content

January 07, 2016

‘The Ranch’, starring Ashton Kutcher is coming to Netflix this year. – Netflix pic, January 7, 2016.Content-streaming site Netflix has an action-packed year in store, with projects involving familiar faces from both the big and small screens.

Ashton Kutcher, Gérard Depardieu, Baz Luhrmann, Winona Ryder, Judd Apatow, Matt Smith and Jason Momoa are all billed in the site's 2016 line-up of series.

After airing "Narcos," "Jessica Jones," "Bloodline" and "Sense8" in 2015, Netflix is to add to its range of original content in 2016 with over a dozen new shows.

As from February 19, the site's subscribers can tune in to Gus and Mickey, the main characters in "Love," a quirky new romantic comedy series created by American comedy heavyweight Judd Apatow.

This will be followed on February 26 by "Fuller House," a reboot of the 1990s sitcom "Full House," which brings back original cast members such as Bob Saget, John Stamos and Dave Coulier. The Olsen twins will not, however, be starring in the 2016 series.

The comedy continues with Ashton Kutcher, teaming up with his former co-star from "That 70's Show," Danny Masterson, in "The Ranch." The pair play two brothers helping out with the family business on a Colorado Ranch.

Netflix is set to unveil its first French production, "Marseille," in March. This sees Gérard Depardieu star as the city's mayor, under threat from an ambitious young politician played by Benoît Magimel.

The series is created by Dan Franck, who worked on the French political drama "Spin." It will be available in all Netflix regions.

Netflix is also heading to the UK with "The Crown," a drama following the first years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. Claire Foy plays the Queen – who replaced her father George VI as monarch in 1952 – and stars alongside John Lithgow as Winston Churchill and Matt Smith ("Doctor Who").

"The Frontier," starring Jason Momoa ("Game of Thrones"), takes viewers to 18th century North America, a time of tension between Native tribes and European settlers as the fur trade reached its height.

Luhrmann looks to more recent history for his first foray onto the small screen: 1970s New York is the setting of "The Get Down," which stars Jimmy Smits and will tell the story of teens in the Bronx and the emergence of hip hop music.

Hot on the heels of "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones", a third Marvel superhero is set to land on Netflix this year. Luke Cage, played by Mike Colter – who already stars as the same character in "Jessica Jones" – is to get a stand-alone series.

Cast members include Alfre Woodard and Rosario Dawson, who already star in "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones".

Winona Ryder will be starring in "Stranger Things," a supernatural series set in the 1980s in Montauk, New York, where a young boy disappears.

On top of brand new original content, Netflix subscribers will see many of the platform's hit series return in 2016.

The fourth season of "House of Cards" will air on March 4, and a fourth season of "Orange is the New Black" is scheduled this year. New seasons of "Daredevil," "Bloodline," "Sense8," "Narcos," and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" are also due in 2016. – AFP/Relaxnews, January 7, 2016.