The Continental: From the World of John Wick

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The Continental:
From the World of John Wick
Genre
  • Action thriller
  • Crime drama
Based onJohn Wick
by Derek Kolstad
Developed by
Showrunners
  • Greg Coolidge
  • Kirk Ward
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme“Hard Times” by Baby Huey & the Babysitters
ComposerRaffertie
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Iain Smith
  • Mark Taylor
Production locationHungary
Cinematography
  • Pål Ulvik Rokseth
  • Peter Deming
Editors
  • Ron Rosen
  • Steven Lang
Running time79–97 minutes
Production companies
  • Last Man Standing Films
  • Cool-ish Productions
  • Reese Wernick Productions
  • King of Brockton Inc
  • Thunder Road Pictures
  • Lionsgate Television
Original release
NetworkPeacock
ReleaseSeptember 22 (2023-09-22) –
October 6, 2023 (2023-10-06)
Related
John Wick

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (or simply The Continental ) is an American

Albert Hughes directed the first and third episodes, and Charlotte Brändström directed the second. The show stars Mel Gibson and Colin Woodell
.

The series premiered on September 22, 2023 on Peacock in the United States, and on Amazon Prime Video internationally.

Premise

The Continental: From the World of John Wick tells the background story of how Winston Scott, in an alternate history 1970s, came to his position as proprietor of the New York branch of "The Continental" chain of hotels, safe havens for professional assassins on the grounds of which no business may ever take place.

Cast

Main

  • Mel Gibson as Cormac O'Connor, who runs the Continental of New York during the 1970s.[1]
  • Colin Woodell as Winston Scott, a Scottish-American businessman who has been living in London for decades; Ian McShane portrays an older version of the character in the main John Wick films.[1]
    • Fflyn Edwards as Young Winston
  • detective sergeant new to New York City, who is searching for the Scott brothers.[1]
  • Ben Robson as Francis Patrick "Frankie" Scott, Jr., an assassin who is Winston's older brother, Yen's husband, and a Vietnam War vet.[1]
    • Ben Robinson as Young Frankie
  • Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles Burton, a gunrunner, who is also Vietnam War veteran, and son of deceased High Table assassin Hieronymus Burton.[1]
  • suicide bomber.[1]
  • Jessica Allain as Lou Burton, an amateur karate practitioner with a dislike for guns, Miles' younger sister and Hieronymus' daughter, who is unaware of his assassin past[1]
  • Ayomide Adegun as Charon O'Connor, Cormac's surrogate son, who seeks for Cormac to bring over his biological father from Nigeria; Lance Reddick portrayed an older version of the character in the main John Wick films.[2]
  • Jeremy Bobb as Mayhew, KD's partner, with whom she is having an affair.[2]
  • Peter Greene as Uncle Charlie, a long time family friend of the Scott family; David Patrick Kelly portrayed an older version of the character in the first two John Wick films.[2]

Supporting

  • Adam Shapiro as Lemmy, an associate of Miles[3]
  • Katie McGrath as the Adjudicator, a judge of the High Table easily identified by her porcelain mask.[3]
  • Mark Musashi and Marina Mazepa as "The Twins" a.k.a. Hansel and Gretel, assassins with a room at the Continental.[3]
  • Kirk Ward as The Henchman, the Adjudicator's bodyguard
  • Ray McKinnon as Gene Jenkins, an assassin associate of Lou's, whose eyesight is failing.[3]
  • the Bowery
    by the High Table
  • Dan Li as the Orphan Master, a local crime boss who comes to blows with Lou over her father's legacy.
  • Chris Ryman as Ronnie, one of Uncle Charlie’s men.
  • Samuel Blenkin as Thomas Caine, O'Connor's cellist

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Brothers in Arms"
Albert Hughes
Greg Coolidge & Kirk Ward and Shawn SimmonsSeptember 22, 2023 (2023-09-22)
In the 1970s, during a New Year's Eve party at the Continental Hotel in New York, Frankie Scott steals a press used by the High Table to mint gold coins. The Continental's manager, Cormac O'Connor, raised Frankie and his now-estranged brother Winston from childhood as criminals. Pressured by the High Table, he kidnaps Winston from London - where he left to pursue other opportunities - to New York for questioning about Frankie's whereabouts. Winston claims to know nothing, but Cormac has him followed. Winston's old colleague Charlie connects him to siblings Lou and Miles, gun-runners and owners of a karate dojo. Miles, Frankie's old Vietnam War comrade, provides a lead to Alphabet City, where Winston finds Frankie and his wife Yen hiding in an abandoned cinema. There, they are attacked by Cormac's assassins. The trio returns to Charlie, but one of Charlie's associates has betrayed them to Cormac. They are pursued to a building roof where Frankie has positioned a helicopter. With Yen and the pilot wounded, Frankie sacrifices himself and is shot dead by twin assassins Hansel and Gretel. The pair return to Cormac, but without the coin press. Winston, intent on revenge, takes Yen to the dojo and asks them to supply him with weapons.
2"Loyalty to the Master"Charlotte BrändströmTeleplay by : Shawn Simmons and Greg Coolidge & Kirk Ward & Ken Kristensen
Story by : Greg Coolidge & Kirk Ward & Shawn Simmons		September 29, 2023 (2023-09-29)
Vowing revenge for Frankie's death, Winston formulated a plan to take down O'Connor by taking over the hotel. Winston assembles a team with Miles, Lou and Lemmy, while recruiting Gene Jenkins (a sniper who is friends with Lou and Mile's dad) and Ronnie. While still holding a grudge against Winston, Yen reluctantly joins the team to seek revenge for her husband and provide them a drawing of the hotel's layout. The High Table's Adjudicator visited the hotel and gave O'Connor a three day deadline to retrieve the coin press. Lou has a run in with the new Chinese Mafia boss, wanting to keep her father's dojo sacred to his memory and free of local gangland influence. Meanwhile, Charon writes a letter to his father, whom O'Connor intends to bring to the States from Nigeria where Charon feels is safer. Thomas, the hotel cellist tells Charon that he will be quitting his job to study in a music conservatory in Ireland. He asks Charon to join him but Charon refuses saying he is loyal to O'Connor. Winston's team approaches Charon to attempt to recruit him, while O'Connor murders Thomas. Charon returns to the hotel and is shocked to see Thomas' corpse. O'Connor tells Charon that he intends to have Charon's father work in the hotel as the replacement when he arrives from Nigeria. Charon reveals that Winston Scott has assembled a team to kill him.
3"Theatre of Pain"Albert HughesGreg Coolidge & Kirk Ward & Ken KristensenOctober 6, 2023 (2023-10-06)
Winston forms an alliance with Mazie, and offers her an abandoned bank in return for some of her people for help in seizing the hotel. The Twins kidnap Winston and knock out Lou and KD who had come in search of him. Charon switches his allegiance and helps Winston escape from Cormac. The rest of the team enter the bank, with KD following behind. KD is actually the only survivor in the family that Frankie and Winston burned on Cormac's orders and she wants to get revenge on them. After Winston apologizes to her and gives her medicine, she decides to let him go. Cormac goes to the secret 13th floor which has a control room. Lou realizes that her father built the dojo by killing the former tenants of the property. She bombs it and joins the team in the hotel. The team kill most of Cormac's people in the hotel, including the Twins. Cormac initiates the Defensionum protocol to destroy the hotel. He is caught by Winston and KD, who kills him. Winston overrides the Defensionum protocol and saves the hotel. The Adjudicator later congratulates Winston on taking over the hotel. Winston says that he found the coin press in the old car in which he and Frankie used to live as children and it is now behind Mazie's bank's vault. He kills the Adjudicator in front of the hotel, and says that it is not the hotel but it is the people inside it who count.

Production

Development

While planning the story for

green-light in January 2018 and planned for the series to air on its Starz network. Initial reports indicated Chris Collins would serve as showrunner.[6][5]

Stahelski initially planned to direct the first episode of the series and stated that it would serve as an origin story for several of the characters in John Wick.

Albert Hughes and Charlotte Brändström were hired to direct.[11][12]

Casting

In October 2021, the cast members were announced, starting with Mel Gibson,[10] and followed by the rest of the lead cast including Colin Woodell as young Winston Scott from the main John Wick films.[1] Additional casting announcements in November 2021 revealed that Peter Greene and Ayomide Adegun would portray younger versions of Uncle Charlie and Charon, respectively, and Jeremy Bobb was cast as a new character named Mayhew.[2] In February 2022, roles were announced for Katie McGrath as the Adjudicator, Ray McKinnon, Adam Shapiro as Lemmy, as well as Mark Musashi and Marina Mazepa as Hansel and Gretel.[3]

Filming

Principal photography began in November 2021 in Budapest, Hungary.[13][14]

Post-production

In April 2023, the series working title of The Continental was finalized as The Continental: From the World of John Wick.[15]

Music

vinyl edition set to be released on October 20.[17]

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (Original Soundtrack)[17]
No.TitleLength
1."Persona Non Grata"1:49
2."Syringe"1:23
3."Us"1:32
4."Hansel & Gretel"1:13
5."Hallways"2:50
6."Tenement"1:50
7."Sacrifice"3:05
8."Crematorium"1:26
9."Saigon"1:15
10."Taking His House"3:22
11."Time For You to Feel Uncomfortable"1:53
12."My Apologies"0:46
13."Total Silence"4:13
14."High Risk High Reward"3:53
15."Loyalty to the Master"11:19
16."No Fidgeting"1:43
17."Disembark the Vehicle"1:01
18."Phone Booth"1:46
19."Fun Fumes"1:28
20."Rhodes Hotel"3:50
21."Phase One"5:34
22."Inimicus"5:52
23."Between Me and Him"1:20
24."Feel What They Felt"3:40
25."We All Go Now"1:45
26."Competitive Advantage"1:23
27."Rooftop"4:22
28."Structural Deformation"8:07
29."Interregnum"3:50
Total length:87:30

Release

On August 15, 2022,

Prime Video internationally.[21]

Reception

On review aggregator

weighted average, assigned the show a score of 53 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]

Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter found it to be a decent show, apart from the casting of Mel Gibson. Han felt that the rest of the cast had good chemistry, and intriguing backstory was introduced for some characters. She felt the format of the show had upsides and downsides, claiming that it was a bit too long for a film, yet too short to be a satisfying series. Likewise, the surrounding city felt constrained by its TV budget, and the intricate fight scenes were better than average for television, yet still fell short of the film levels.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Petski, Denise (October 19, 2021). "The Continental: Hubert Point-Du-Jour, Jessica Allain, Mishel Prada Among Five Cast In Starz's John Wick Prequel Series". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Hailu, Selome (November 10, 2021). "John Wick Prequel Series The Continental At Starz Casts Peter Greene, Ayomide Adegun and Jeremy Bobb". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Petski, Denise (February 8, 2022). "The Continental: Katie McGrath, Ray McKinnon Among 5 Cast In Starz's John Wick Prequel Series". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Giroux, Jack (January 21, 2017). "Lionsgate Interested In 'John Wick' TV Series Prequel". /Film. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Travers, Ben (June 14, 2017). "John Wick TV Show: Keanu Reeves Expected to Guest Star, a New Title, and More Plans for the Prequel". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 2017-06-16.
  6. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (January 12, 2018). "Starz Announces Premieres for Howards End, Vida, Sweetbitter, Greenlights John Wick Television Adaptation". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Gemmill, Allie (May 16, 2020). "The Continental: New John Wick Spinoff Show Plot Details Revealed". Collider. Valnet, Inc. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Nellie, Andreeva (April 23, 2021). "Lionsgate TV's Kevin Beggs Talks Indie Studio's Expansion, Deal Strategy, Covid Impact, The Continental Details & Saw Series Rumors". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Zinski, Dan (6 October 2023). ""My Experience Was...Odd": John Wick Spinoff Producer Explains How Show Went From 10 Episodes To 3 Movies". ScreenRant. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  10. ^ a b Porter, Rick (October 18, 2021). "Mel Gibson Boards John Wick Prequel Miniseries at Starz". The Hollywood Reporter. PMRC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  11. ^ Kit, Borys (July 16, 2021). "'John Wick' Prequel Event Series The Continental Lands Albert Hughes as Lead Director (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. PMRC. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 19, 2021). "Continental: Colin Woodell To Headline Starz's John Wick Prequel Series As Young Winston Scott". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  13. ^ Varga, Denes (December 16, 2021). "FNE Visegrad YR2021: Hungarian Film Production Booms in 2021 Despite the Pandemic - FilmNewEurope.com". Film New Europe Association. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. Variety Insight. Penske Media Corporation. December 8, 2021. Archived from the original
    on December 16, 2021.
  15. ^ Brathwaite, Lester Fabian (April 12, 2023). "The Continental first look gives you the bloody backstory on the John Wick hotel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  16. ^ "Raffertie Scoring Peacock's 'The Continental'". Film Music Reporter. April 12, 2023. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "The Continental: From the World of John Wick Soundtrack Album Details". Film Music Reporter. September 20, 2023. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  18. ^ White, Peter (August 15, 2022). "'John Wick' Prequel Series 'The Continental' Moves From Starz To Peacock". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2023-03-26). "Lionsgate's Joe Drake Wants To See Keanu Reeves In More 'John Wick' Pics After 'Chapter 4' Franchise Record B.O. Debut: "We're Not Ready To Say Goodbye"". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  20. ^ Mantilla, Ryan (July 18, 2023). "New 'The Continental' Images Deliver First Look at Mel Gibson's 'John Wick' Villain". Collider. Valnet, Inc. Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  21. ^ Otterson, Joe (3 November 2022). "John Wick Prequel Series The Continental to Stream on Amazon Internationally". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  22. ^ "The Continental: From the World of John Wick: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  23. Fandom, Inc.
    Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  24. ^ Han, Angie (September 20, 2023). "The Continental: From the World of John Wick Review: Mel Gibson Sours an Otherwise Serviceable Spinoff". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023.

External links

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