Embracing ROGUE Adventures: The Latest Buzz in TV and Film

The entertainment news cycle was filled with updates about new projects that people should look forward to, and hyped titles to whet our appetites for all kinds of rogue adventures and storytelling. Some of the titles included a description of a realm (Starve Acre), others announced an episode/series shift (True Detective), and one marked the continuation of a saga (Godzilla/Kong). Overall, the mix promised suspense, fantasy and action.

ROGUE Elements in Starve Acre: A Spirited Union

Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark of HBO’s House of the Dragon and Amazon Prime Video’s Rings of Power have now set off on rogue adventure together with Starve Acre, a ghost story of an archaeologist couple who discover the rogue within their remote family estate, as their son starts to behave strangely.

Godzilla/Kong's Latest ROGUE Director

The third in a franchise that is a giant among giants in the monster movie genre, Godzilla vs Kong is being directed by the rogue director Grant Sputore, known for I Am Mother (2019), a Netflix film. Sputore now steers the big fella and the big ape to the next clash, a narrative that fans of the two titans across the globe wait for with bated breath.

A ROGUE Shift in True Detective

In the fifth season, the show has been handed over to the cult Mexican auteur Issa López after her success with Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017), with the promise that she will do whatever she wants to the series: new characters, locations and stories, but with the intensity maintained. This is what I mean by rogue storytelling: by being a totally different story from the one season four was supposed to be. The show had a ‘soft reboot’, and no one is sure what kind of dark stories it will tell, but everyone will be drawn to watch.

The Walking Dead Explores ROGUE Themes

Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol (2023) charts two of the cult TV show’s most popular rogues in AMC’s The Walking Dead spin-off. (Daryl. Damon. Connect the dots.) Daryl and Carol make their rogueish way through a zombie-ridden world in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon – The Book of Carol, set to debut on AMC and AMC+ on 29 September. ‘the rogue spirit of the original series carries on’

Doctor Who: A ROGUE Episode

Fans of Doctor Who rejoice! The aroma of the latest episode of Doctor Who aired on October 28, 2017, has a scent like none other. It’s called ‘Rweeney Titus’ and, tailored to satisfy the ever-eclectic appetite of the Doctor, this story of a rogue Timelord pushes the boundaries of space and time like you’ve never seen. KSiteTV previewed several photos to get you all salivating and foaming at the mouth, and I eagerly anticipate taking in what is certain to be a memorable addition to the Doctor Who pantheon.

Adult Swim Adds a Touch of ROGUE

And while Adult Swim’s Smiling Friends might not have that same goofy slant, they do bring some rogue humour to the mix in their recent short. The first three minutes of the show’s latest episode is available to watch below. Smiling Friends, a series that so far has showcased a clever and intriguing take on adult animation, is certain to surprise and delight viewers – and expand the horizons of the entire genre.

The Essence of ROGUE

Fundamentally, the word ‘rogue’ is a source of narrative indeterminacy, an outlier, a moment, a device or a character that puts a twist into stories or characters, a whiff of the unknown and the sideways. Whether it’s the soon-to-be-late archaeologists of Starve Acre, the new season of True Detective, or the ten-mile-high melees of the Godzilla/Kong series, rogue has the same root. The outlier, the unpredictable, the unexpected – under rogue is the sense that this is going to go somewhere you didn’t expect. It’s under that promise that you should tie down your dinner chairs.

Each of the rogue projects and updates is profiled here, as well as the surprise announced at the very end – a note that might not completely let viewers off the hook, but at least gives them an escape to worlds where only the unexpected is expected. After all, with so much on the horizon, we need to prepare ourselves to duck immediately after we read the teaser lines: ‘Coming Soon …’

New forms of TV and film are changing the way we experience these shows, but the pull of the rogue will remain. We can be confident that new paradigms will create new opportunities for exciting and innovative stories. Enjoy your rogue.