For over three decades, Sheila Nevins has been at the forefront of delivering documentary films into our living rooms as the head of HBO Documentary Films. 

Whether it be a hot-button issue like the fight to get the West Memphis Three off death row (as the “Paradise Lost” films help made possible), or a risqué look into our primal instincts (the late 1990s series “Taxicab Confessions”), Nevins has spent her career making audiences realize that nonfiction programming can be just as fulfilling than any scripted show on television.

Nothing better solidifies that notion than the recent success seen by HBO documentaries greenlit by Nevins.

In March, the Alex Gibney-directed documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” became the second most-watched HBO doc in the past decade with its look at the antics that allegedly occur within the controversial church.

That was on the heels of director Andrew Jarecki’s investigation of reclusive millionaire Robert Durst in the docu mini-series, “The Jinx.”

The series grabbed headlines when it concluded with Durst, who's linked to three killings spanning four decades, supposedly admitted to committing the murders following his final interview with Jarecki when talking to himself while using the bathroom. 

Then in May, the documentary by Brett Morgen (“The Kid Stays In The Picture”), “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” wowed audiences with its animation-infused look at the troubled life of the Nirvana frontman.  

But Nevins isn't getting too excited about all of the recent attention on her HBO documentaries.

“Stick around three or four months and tell me if docus are still hot,” Nevins recently told Business Insider in her corner office in midtown Manhattan.

Despite the whopping 27 Primetime Emmy Awards Nevins has received at HBO, she still can’t forget the documentaries that were ratings duds. 

Born and raised in Manhattan, Nevins received her MFA at the Yale School of Drama with aspirations to have a career in theater. But after getting married and having a family, she began work behind the camera producing man on the street interviews in the early '70s. That led to her having stints as a producer at ABC and CBS. Then, in 1979, she became the director of documentaries at HBO. In 2004, she earned the title as president of HBO Documentary Films. 

When Nevins first started her career, the type of documentaries being made were primarily in the talking head style you’d find on PBS, or played in schools.

The breakthrough for Nevins came when she realized that regular people had the potential to be showcased in astonishing ways. 

“I'm a great believer in the anonymity of the documentary subject,” she explained. “I think the stories of ordinary people are much more interesting because they are extraordinary. Fame tends to repeat itself. Someone's famous because they wear certain clothing or are famous because they've been in something or famous because of their political views. They just kind of regurgitate the same philosophy. It's interesting, but it doesn't require discovery in the same way that anonymity does.”

So she began green-lighting films that had a movie-like feel and looked at the human condition and social issues, like the 1996 Emmy-winning “One Survivor Remembers,” a short that recounts a Holocaust survivor’s six-year survival of Nazi abuse.

She also took stories ripped from the headlines, like getting then-unknown filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky to travel to Arkansas and look into a story she read about the alleged murders of three children at the hands of three teens. From that, the seminal doc “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” was born, showing that in all likelihood the teens did not commit the crime. This launched the 11-year crusade to free the teen murder suspects (which inevitably happened in 2007), from then on to be known as the West Memphis Three.

The blueprint of the stories Nevins wants to tell hasn’t changed much over the years. She still searches through The New York Times for stories that need deeper exploration, her team brings her ideas, and filmmakers with a relationship at HBO pitch her.

She says what makes the best films are the ones “you’re just busting with a desire to tell a story and find out more about it.”

When we talked to Nevins a few weeks ago, it was the day after the crash of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia. It was the lead story on all the morning news shows, but she didn’t see a story there to tell as an HBO doc. However, something like law enforcement’s handling of the capture of those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing still fascinates her.

“That’s what makes the job so interesting,” Nevins said. “It’s always different.”

What has changed drastically is the prestige a film has by including the HBO Documentary Films logo, and Nevins name, attached to it. It's something Nevins takes very seriously. 

“I don’t take [credit] unless there’s some sort of authorship because I would be embarrassed to ask for it,” she said.

In fact, it took some time after being at HBO for Nevins to realize that her name should be on the works she develops there. It was a chance encounter with “60 Minutes” creator and her mentor Don Hewitt at a department store that made her realize how important it was. 

“He said, ‘What do you do at [HBO]?’” Nevins recalls. “I said, ‘Well, people pitch to us and sometimes we have the ideas.’ He said, ‘Like an executive producer?’ He then said, ‘You should get credit, what if they go out of business?’ So the next time it came to renewing my contract I said ‘I want credit on my shows.’”  

Nevins sees her contribution as telling the filmmaker when she doesn’t understand something.

Gibney’s narration on “Going Clear” happened because Nevins couldn’t understand what was happening when watching portions of the film he sent her to look at, so she suggested he narrate it. 

“For a change, I was going to go without narration,” Gibney told BI via email. “Sheila was right. Narrating allowed me to be more efficient.”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and what I'm good at is not understanding something,” said Nevins with a laugh.

To find that clarity, Nevins has to be fully engrossed in watching what the filmmakers send her. And in an era when everyone is on their phones or multi-tasking on three different screens at once, it’s shocking to walk into Nevins' office to find no desk or computer in sight. Just couches and a small coffee table in the center of the room. 

Nevins says she owes HBO subscribers works that have had her full attention. 

“They are paying to watch,” she said. “I think on their behalf.”

To accomplish that, Nevins doesn't even take notes when looking at the rough cuts filmmakers send her.

“I’ve never taken a note about films,” she said. “I can't watch, think, and write at the same time. I can watch, think, and remember.”

It’s a process that director Shari Cookson knows very well. She came up in the business by producing and directing HBO docs for Nevins in the '90s. 

“Sometimes she’ll watch the film ahead of time so she’ll have a sense of it when the filmmakers are there,” Cookson told BI about Nevins’ feedback sans notes. “She just stops [the film] and says how she feels. By the end she knows the film pretty intimately.”

On June 22, HBO will air Cookson’s latest doc, “Requiem for the Dead: American Spring 2014,” which looks at the lives affected by gun-related deaths that occurred last spring. It was a project that Nevins sent out to Cookson and co-director Nick Doob to make. But the filmmakers wanted to tell it a different way, using only what the victims left behind on their social media to tell their stories. It was an unorthodox method, but Nevins instantly responded.

It's that kind of trust Nevins has in her filmmakers that Cookson says sets her apart from other executives in the business.

“She really has her whole heart and soul into the stories that are being told on her network,” Cookson said. “She really lives it and she lives it with you and gives you the freedom to do your best work.”

That commitment to her projects has also brought a streak of competitiveness in Nevins as more networks have created documentary programming over the years.

“I mean, everybody wants to be HBO,” she said. “I'm deeply competitive. I want it if it's good and I want it on HBO. Even if nobody recognizes it. If it's good, if it's excellent, if it's quality, I don't want it somewhere else.”

One project that Nevins still regrets slipped through her fingers is the 2011 Oscar-nominated “Restrepo,” which looked at a year in the life of a platoon stationed in one of the most deadly locations in Afghanistan.

“’Restrepo’ eats away at me,” Nevins said. “It pissed me off that I didn’t see it as being successful. I was more careful the next time about choosing a war story.”

That next time would be her executive producing the documentary short “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1,” which looks at a trauma hotline for military veterans. 

The film won Best Documentary – Short Subject at this year’s Academy Awards.

“Crisis Hotline” may have settled her frustration in missing out on “Restrepo,” but she’s certain there are dozens of other things she can use as motivation to stay on top of the documentary mountain.

“I'm the victim of my own philosophy,” she said. “I always think tomorrow is going to be worse or better but never the same. And these stories are about worse or better. I like that storytelling, and I believe it.”

SEE ALSO: This new HBO documentary will make you want to delete your search history

Join the conversation about this story »

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Warning: Massive spoilers ahead for the season five finale of "Game of Thrones"— do not read on if you are not caught up.

The epic season finale of “Game of Thrones” brought heaps of death, destruction, and nail-biting cliffhangers. Not to mention the brutally humiliating walk-of-shame that Cersei had to endure. 

But the biggest upset came when Jon Snow was stabbed, over and over again, by his Night’s Watch brothers and left to die as the episode faded to black.

Jon was lured into a trap by his squire, Olly, and then stabbed repeatedly in the chest and stomach until he fell to his knees. The men committing mutiny kept repeating "For the Watch," believing they were saving the Night's Watch from Jon's decision to ally with the Wildlings. The final moment of the episode was a quiet zoom into Jon's unseeing eyes, as dark blood pooled into the snow around him.

Fans were devastated, furious, and left wondering once again if “Game of Thrones” is a needlessly cruel series.

 
But all is not lost. Fans of the books have many reasons to believe Jon is going to survive the attack.

This scene was toward the end of the most recent book installment, A Dance with Dragons. It was the last readers also saw of Jon Snow, and his fate has been one of the biggest burning questions since the book was published in 2011.

So it shouldn't be a big surprise that fans have taken to forums and spent the last four years debating and optimistically gathering evidence that Jon will live on as our hero.

The Importance of Warging

You may recall that each Stark child, even Jon, adopted a direwolf puppy back in season one. Since the direwolf is the sigil of the Stark House, this was very auspicious.

When Bran, the second-youngest Stark brother, was crippled after being pushed from a tower, it seems to have awoken a power in him. In season four, we saw him receive guidance in “warging” — the ability to enter the mind of another animal or person and control them.

This power, also known as “skinchanging” seems most directly connected to Bran’s direwolf. He can easily slip into the wolf’s body and does so frequently.

So what does this have to do with Jon?

Readers believe that all the Starks are wargs, even if they haven’t tapped into their powers yet. This means that Jon may have the ability to warg into his direwolf, Ghost, and therefore technically survive an attack on his body.

Also, in both the show and the books, we were introduced to a famous Wildling with exceptional warging abilities. In the show, his name was Orell, but in the book is named Varamyr Sixskins.

In the fifth book, Varamyr is the point-of-view character for the prologue chapter. For anyone who hasn't read the books, you should know that each book's prologue and epilogue introduce a character that is killed by the end of the chapter. More significantly, these chapters almost always include a major event or piece of vital information.

An example of this is the very first scene that shows three Night’s Watch brothers encountering the White Walkers for the first time. Show fans might recall that this was also used as the opening for the series. It set the stage for the series’ fantasy elements and also gave readers/watchers the inside knowledge that White Walkers exist, while many book characters remained ignorant of this fact.

Varamyr’s chapter is an in-depth look at how his powers have enabled him to survive thus far. He spends much of the time pondering his “second life” — the life he will live through either an animal or another human’s body after his primary body is dead. Varamyr also thinks about Jon and directly references his direwolf, Ghost.

This is the most concrete evidence that the prologue provides:

[Varamyr] had known what Snow was the moment he saw that great white direwolf stalking silent at his side. One skinchanger can always sense another. The gift was strong in Snow, but the youth was untaught, still fighting his nature when he should have gloried in it.

So Varamyr is featured in the introduction of the same book that Jon is stabbed in. The odds of that being a coincidence are rather low. It’s very likely that the author, George R.R. Martin, included this section to establish the precedent of people “living” after death through warging.

It is also significant that, in the books, the last word Jon said before falling unconscious was “Ghost.” He was clearly thinking about his direwolf in the midst of this trauma.

But even if Jon wargs into Ghost, what will happen to his body?

Resurrection and the Lord of Light

Melisandre, the fire priestess and shadowbinder that accompanies Stannis, is a self-proclaimed servant of the Lord of Light. She has made many claims about the power of blood magic, and her ability to “see” the future through fire.

Melisandre believes Stannis Baratheon is the prophesied hero, Azor Ahai. This is a legendary figure who is the Lord of Light’s champion, and will be reborn in order to fight a coming darkness.

The full text from the book reads:

There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.

So Melisandre thinks Stannis is this savior, but there is evidence that she’s wrong. For a full explanation, watch this video.

The short of it is that Jon Snow is a strong Azor Ahai candidate, mostly due to signs that are present at his attack. The prophecy states that Azor Ahai is reborn amidst salt and smoke, and the book scene described Jon’s stab wounds as smoking, while the man stabbing him is crying salty, remorseful tears.

This is also supported by a cryptic line in Melisandre’s point-of-view chapter in "A Dance With Dragons." She thinks to herself, “I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R’hllor shows me only Snow.”

It can’t get a whole lot clearer than that. Though Melisandre doesn’t understand the full weight of what this means and continues to believe that Stannis is Azor Ahai, many book readers see this as a screaming clue. If Jon Snow is Azor Ahai, it doesn’t follow that this attack would result in his permanent death — he has to be reborn to fulfill the prophecy.

In the finale episode, Melisandre actually abandons Stannis, and rides back to the Wall. Book readers take this as another clear sign that she is involved in the aftermath of Jon's bloody ending in season five. Perhaps this was the showrunners' way of having her realize that Stannis is not Azor Ahai after all, and she has been led back to the Wall for her true purpose.

And Melisandre isn’t the only servant of the Lord of Light who dabbles in magic. In both the books and the show series, Beric Dondarion was introduced alongside a man known as Thoros of Myr, a red priest. Thoros uses a mysterious fire magic to resurrect Beric after he is killed in combat. 

So there’s a chance that Jon Snow is supposed to be reborn as Azor Ahai, and we know it’s possible to resurrect the dead using fire magic. These two pieces of information lead many to believe Jon will be brought back to life by Melisandre through some sort of fire-magic ritual.

A concern with this resurrection is that Beric admits he is not the same man when he returns, as if the rebirth causes his spirit to fade. This is where the warging theory becomes important again, because if Jon can move his spirit into Ghost temporarily, then when Melisandre revives him there should be no loss of Jon's essence.

Another book quote that supports that Jon may warg into Ghost and then return to his body comes from the same Melisandre chapter noted above. She is looking into the flames and sees a vision of Jon Snow. Melisandre watches and notes that his figure changes: “Now he was a man, now a wolf, now a man again.”

Hints from George R.R. Martin

Another reason fans have faith Jon isn’t really dead comes from the author of the series’ himself. In 2011, just after "Dance" was released, George R.R. Martin was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly. The first question was, “So why did you kill Jon Snow?”

Martin simply replied, “Oh, you think he’s dead, do you?”

This coy answer seems to be a pretty clear way of dodging any definitive confirmation. If Jon were truly dead and never coming back, why would it matter what the reader thought happened? This is a classic cliffhanger strategy, and Martin has done this before.

Amid the chaos of the iconic Red Wedding, Arya has a point-of-view chapter that concludes with her being smashed in the back of the head with an axe. The chapter ended abruptly there, leaving readers in a momentary lurch, thinking that Robb wasn’t the only Stark casualty of the massacre.

However, her chapters picked up again several pages later, revealing she had simply been knocked unconscious. Fool us once, George.

Another shock came when, through a different character’s perspective, readers were led to believe Davos Seaworth, Stannis’ advisor, had been killed. It is off-handedly mentioned he was caught and executed for his allegiance to Stannis.

Lo and behold, his point-of-view chapter appeared later in the book, assuring readers that his head was fully intact, and the rumor of his death was an intentional misdirection tactic. Fool us twice, George.

Lastly, Tyrion fans had quite the scare in one of his chapters as well, when he fell overboard from a ship and into the watery realm of the Stone Men. His chapter ended with the cryptic line, “black water filled his lungs, and the dark closed in around him.”

The show actually mimicked this earlier in season five, when Jorah and Tyrion were attacked by Stone Men and the scene faded to black as Tyrion was dragged deep into the water. As the show revealed, similar to the book, Tyrion was rescued and spared from any lasting damage.

You get the idea.

Book readers refuse to be tricked, once again, into thinking that a key character has died when their chapter ending is left unfinished. The last line in the chapter where Jon is stabbed says, “He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …”

The trailing off implies Jon falls unconscious. None of the following chapters are from the perspective of characters located at the Wall. This means we have no evidence of what happens beyond the attack, and Martin’s history of writing white-knuckle chapter endings is giving fans hope this is another false alarm.

An Unfinished Story

The last argument for Jon's survival comes from the simple desire for a completed character arc. Jon has been built up, especially in the recent season, as a growing leader who will have a great impact on the pending war against the White Walkers. Is it really his time to die?

Jon mercy-killed Mance, defying Stannis’ orders to have the Wildling leader burnt to death. Then, when faced with the treason of Janos Slynt, Jon made the tough but fair call of executing him. He has also been focused on the bigger picture and knows the Night’s Watch tumultuous history with the Wildlings is not as important as the pending war with the White Walkers. 

This came to a head in the eighth episode, when HBO pulled out all the stops for a fantastic showdown between Jon and a White Walker. The Night's King watched Jon, clearly intrigued by this small form of resistance, and it has set Jon up as the most direct antagonist to the White Walkers.

There is also the issue of Jon's parentage. Though most fans firmly subscribe to the theory that he is not Ned Stark's son but in fact his nephew and a secret Targaryen, this has yet to be revealed in either the show or the books. It's doubtful Jon would die before learning who his real parents were.

Despite the many clues we’ve picked apart, there is no way to precisely know Jon’s fate. The answer lies in the long-awaited sixth book, "The Winds of Winter," or the premiere of season six of “Game of Thrones.” Until next season, show watchers can finally join in the wild speculation alongside book readers. 

Entertainment Weekly spoke with Kit Harington, the actor who plays Jon, about this brutal scene. Harington claims he is not returning to the show. He was told by the show writers: "Look, you’re gone, it’s done." 

This may deter some fans from believing that Jon is still alive, but it's entirely possible that the show writers are keeping his fate a huge secret — even from the actors involved. 

SEE ALSO: One of the craziest 'Game of Thrones' fan theories might actually come true

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NOW WATCH: George R.R. Martin explains why you shouldn't trust everything you read in 'Game of Thrones'

Since leaving his "Late Show" hosting duties nearly a month ago, David Letterman has opened up about his new life as a retiree and is reflecting on his late-night experiences in a new interview with Indianapolis Monthly. 

In the article, Letterman revealed that he had a particularly tough time interviewing two guests: singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and former President Bill Clinton. 

Letterman said he was "anxious" to interview Zevon because he wasn't sure how to address the singer's terminal illness.

"Warren Zevon was on years ago, and we all knew he was dying," Letterman said in the interview. "I was at a loss because I couldn’t think of an entry point for a conversation with a dying man on a television show that’s supposed to be silly. 'How are you doing? You look great!' doesn’t exactly work. I was really dissatisfied with my part of that conversation. I was ill-equipped to connect with a friend who was going through something like that."

Zevon died in 2003 due to an inoperable form of mesothelioma, and his appearance on Letterman in 2002 ended up being his last interview and final public performance. 

Interviewing Bill Clinton for the first time, however, Letterman said he was "anxious for totally different reasons."

"Of course, what I learned about Bill was that you don’t even need to be in the studio for that interview. He’ll take care of it," Letterman said about the famous orator and former president.

Clinton would go on to make nine other appearances on Letterman's show. Their tenth and final interview took place during Letterman's penultimate week as host of "The Late Show," where Clinton joked that there's a 100% chance he'll move back to the White House if his wife, Hillary Clinton, wins the presidential election.

SEE ALSO: David Letterman kept his assistants after 'Late Show': 'I can no longer operate a telephone'

MORE: Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Murray, and more read Letterman's final 'Top 10' list

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As "Game of Thrones" concluded its season last Sunday, did you find yourself wishing it had more than 10 episodes? Sure, but that's HBO for you.

Well, have you realized that Fox's "Wayward Pines" is already halfway through its season after just five episodes? Or, could you have used more Ryan Phillippe after ABC's "Secrets and Lies" wrapped its first season after just 10 episodes? Did you know that Fox's hotly anticipated "X-Files" revival will be just six episodes long?

Get used to it. TV networks are going the way of cable and have been ordering increasingly shorter seasons.

Here are five reasons the TV networks are moving toward shorter seasons:

1.) Star power.

With hundreds of cable channels now working in the original series space, networks have to find ways to snatch back some of the spotlight. One tried and true way to do this is to attract big stars, which usually means movie stars.

Viola Davis is currently a hot topic when it comes to Emmys and was the face of ABC's newest and hottest Shonda Rhimes show last season, "How to Get Away With Murder." Yet, Davis wasn't about to sign on for anything more than 15 episodes, seven less than network TV's typical 22-episode order. She isn't the only one to put her foot down.

Clearly, Fox would've loved to have as many episodes as possible of its breakout hit, "Empire." But, co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong felt they wanted to do a short, tight season of 12 episodes. That said, Fox was able to convince them to do 18 episodes for Season 2 -- with a break halfway through.

2.) Storytelling can be more dramatic and focused.

Have you ever been so obsessed with a story line only to have the show barely address it for a full episode? Or was there a time when you wished a bothersome B-story would just end already? These can be the side effects of a traditional 22-episode season.

Actors, writers and producers seem to agree that storytelling can be more focused and deeper when presented over a shorter season.

"I think you can attract the talent you want by having a shorter season and you can tell more interesting stories,""X-Files" star David Duchovny told Variety. "I would never have gone and done another 22 episodes of ‘X-Files,’ but we’re going to do six — well, that’s like doing a movie. That’s like continuing the show in a way that we all can do at this point in our lives so that’s it all came about.”

3.) The syndication model has changed.

One of the ways producers hope to make more money on shows is to get repeats shown, which is called syndication. Even 10 years ago, the goal was to get series to at least 100 episodes (or roughly five seasons) in order to then sell them for syndication. But, that's all changed.

Streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu don't care how many episodes a show has. They just want content to offer their subscribers. And a full season -- whether it's 10 or 22 episodes -- is an opportunity for their subscribers to binge watch.

"Obviously, there’s still an incentive to find big hits that produced 100 or more episodes — the next generation of 'Law & Order' or 'Modern Family,' AMC and Sundance TV's president and general manager, Charlie Collier, told Vulture. "But streaming economics mean it’s possible to make money on shows with lower episode counts."

4.) Year-round programming.

In a way, networks are using a hybrid of their own 22-episode tradition and cable's shorter seasons to provide year-round programming. Networks realized that they were handing viewers over to cable when their shows went into reruns during the winter and summer hiatuses.

So, ABC, for example, can fill in an eight-week hiatus of "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" with an eight-episode run of "Marvel's Agent Carter" and retain the viewers (and charge more for advertising), which it would have lost to other networks during that break.

5.) Shorter seasons help to prevent fatigue.

TV shooting schedules can be very tiring. For producers, writers and lead actors who have to be in most scenes, 22 episodes can create fatigue with their long days, frequent evening shoots and fast script or edit turnarounds.

Early in "Empire's" production, Lee Daniels told TheWrap a story of how Oprah Winfrey warned him that he wouldn't be able to last in TV. "She’s right," he said. "I did two episodes and it’s rough.”

SEE ALSO: Here's why Hulu dropped the 'Plus' from its subscription service's name

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Sunday night is the night many have been waiting for.

"True Detective" is back with a whole new cast and a trailer that makes us all impatient for it to start.

The new season will follow three cops (Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell, and Taylor Kitsch) along with Vince Vaughn as a career criminal who "navigate a web of conspiracy" after a murder.

"True Detective" season 2 premieres on HBO Sunday. June 21.

Join the conversation about this story »

Warning: Spoiler Ahead

Earlier this month, NBC’s ProFootballTalk revealed that the NFL team uniforms featured in Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s upcoming HBO show “Ballers” are used without the consent of the league.

HBO’s reply to the story, and Business Insider, was that "HBO is always mindful of other intellectual property owners, but in this context there is no legal requirement to obtain their consent.”

It turns out that is 100% true, according to a prominent entertainment lawyer.

After speaking to entertainment lawyer Michael C. Donaldson, who has over 30 years of experience in copyright and entertainment issues, BI learned that as long as the use of the NFL trademark and team logos are used as it was intended to be used, and do not disparage or tarnish it, there is no need to ask for permission.

“[The NFL] brow beat a lot of people into paying fees that don’t have to be paid,” Donaldson told BI. “They extract those fees from filmmakers who are either nervous or not completely aware of their rights under the law.”

Donaldson gives this example in how to understand trademark law:

“It’s alright to say, ‘This Coca-Cola takes awful.’ You can say, ‘I hate Coca-Cola.’ What you can’t say is something that misrepresents it, such as you drink a Coke and you drop dead and someone says, ‘That happens all the time.’”

What causes the confusion, according to Donaldson, is what goes on at the networks. Because they air NFL games they have broadcast rights. You may notice the disclaimer during games that say in part, “…any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited.”

“So people think, ‘Oh, the networks pay for the use of logos, obviously I have to,” Donaldson said.

That is completely different from trademark rights.

In the opening scene of "Ballers" we see Johnson’s character, Spencer Strassmore, having flashbacks from his days on the gridiron as a Miami Dolphin. He’s wearing a Dolphin’s uniform with its logo in plain view. He’s chasing down a Buffalo Bill quarterback, his helmet logo also clearly visible.

Donaldson said what the show is depicting is completely legal.

According to Donaldson’s partner at his practice, Chris Perez, the show can go even further and the NFL could still not have a case.

“One thing that we can say for sure about players in the NFL in the last few years is that fights happen on the field every so often and then they get broken up by referees or coaches," said Perez. “Players have engaged in domestic violence and then convicted of that, and NFL players have committed murder. So you can create a show that uses NFL logos and create a fiction situation where all of those things happen.”

Later in that episode, the show does depict a player in a negative light. Star receiver for the Green Bay Packers, Ricky Jarret (John David Washington), gets into an altercation with another man at a night club and beats him to the ground in front of everyone.

Though the NFL won’t like that scene, Perez says the show is within its right to have a scene like that.

“Where you can get into trouble,” Perez said, “is portraying how the NFL reacts to it. The response has to be consistent to how the NFL would react in real life.”

According to Donaldson, if there were a scene where someone playing the NFL commissioner held a press conference saying that the NFL wants their players to get into fights at bars, the show would “get into big trouble.”

Jarret's actions in the episode do not go unpunished. Following the altercation he is cut from the team (with the Packers logo in full view, we see the GM say “cut him.”).

The NFL had “no comment” for this story.

“Ballers” premieres on HBO on Sunday, June 21.

SEE ALSO: Twitter wanted to broadcast the first streaming-only NFL game, but lost to Yahoo's $20 million bid

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NOW WATCH: Forget 'True Detective' — HBO's new show 'Ballers' featuring The Rock looks like the hit of the summer

HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins makes a living telling compelling stories. When Business Insider recently interviewed Nevins at her office in Manhattan, we got to hear a few good tales from her illustrious career, including a never-been-told story about the late James Gandolfini.

Nevins once accompanied Gandolfini as he visited injured military staying at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. At the time, “The Sopranos” actor had recently starred in and produced the HBO documentary about soldiers returning home from war, “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq.”

“His heart was in the suffering of guys coming home,” Nevins said of Gandolfini. “I don't know why, I never got a chance to ask him why because we were too busy doing shows, but he truly cared about these guys.”

Nevins and Gandolfini were prepping another PTSD-related project at the time when they visited Walter Reed. Inevitably, the project would get scrapped due to the 2007 scandal at the medical center regarding the neglect of patients by the staff, which occurred soon after their visit.

However, the experience would be one Nevins would never forget.

Here’s her recollection of Gandolfini visiting patients on the traumatic brain injury ward:

“Jim came down to Washington and we went on a tour of the floor. We went in and out of rooms. He was a real celebrity, he signed stuff, he was a very good sport about it. And then we went into a room where there was a guy who had half a head and his mother was reading the Bible and sitting there and she said, ‘Oh, my son loves you, he thinks you're the best, he just loves everything you do.’ She said, ‘Talk to him, tell him to get better.’ It was clear this kid was not going to get better. He wasn't there. And Jim talked and said ‘You get better, your mother is really reading to you and loves you and you're a great hero,’ and she said, ‘No, not that way, really talk like you are.’ Meaning Tony Soprano. So he said, ‘Listen you mother f-----g piece of s--t, you get your f-----g act together. You don't let your mother suffer after all she gave you, you piece of s--t.’ And the mother said, ‘Oh thank you, thank you.’”

“And Jim signs the Bible, or whatever she was reading, and he walks out of the room and just bursts into tears.” 

Though the Walter Reed project never came together, Nevins said she and Gandolfini were working on a documentary focused on prisoners with learning disabilities when he suddenly died of a heart attack in June of 2013.

But Nevins will never forget Gandolfini’s appreciation for those who serve our country.

“His heart was in these wounded guys," Nevins said. "I don't know why, but he felt like one of them.”

SEE ALSO: MEET SHEILA NEVINS: The woman who has greenlighted all HBO documentaries for the past 30 years

MORE: Here's the moment HBO knew its Scientology doc 'Going Clear' would be a huge hit

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NOW WATCH: 6 words to eliminate from your vocabulary to sound smarter

Although the HBO documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” is one of the most-watched docs in the history of the network, the head of HBO Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins, didn’t think a scathing look at the Church of Scientology would draw a lot of viewers when director Alex Gibney initially pitched her the idea.

“I never thought it would be sensational,” Nevins told Business Insider.

Before Gibney went to her, Nevins said she had never considered doing a film on the religion. She gave the go-ahead because she had confidence that the Oscar-winning Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side," 2007) could pull off a great adaptation of best-selling author Lawrence Wright’s book on the church, “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief.”

Nevins remembers the exact moment when she realized “Going Clear” was going to be a huge hit. “When I saw my name in a full page ad in The New York Times, I knew,” she said. “Docs don’t get full page ads, and when they do, they do really well.”

Nevins is referring to the ad that Scientology ran in The Times weeks before the film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

The ad compared “Going Clear” to the now infamous Rolling Stone story on campus rape at the University of Virginia, which turned out to be full of false claims. The headline in the ad read, “Is Alex Gibney’s Upcoming HBO ‘Documentary’ a Rolling Stone/UVA Redux?”

The ad then went on to outline numerous instances in which the church believed “Going Clear” was not factually correct.

It also stated: “Mr. Gibney and HBO documentary chief Sheila Nevins have rejected multiple requests to meet with executives of the Church, including those with individual firsthand information.”

“I thought, ‘They really don’t want us to do it,’” said Nevins. “All the reason more to do it.”

Nevins told The Hollywood Reporter months before the film premiered at Sundance that “probably 160 lawyers” were vetting the film.

Gibney told Business Insider by email that the legal process with HBO was “tough but fair,” and he couldn’t have imagined bringing the project anywhere else other than to HBO.

“They were fearless and supportive,” he wrote. “Sheila and HBO backed me up against the attacks we knew were coming and promoted the hell out of the movie.”

Thinking back on the whole ordeal, Nevins still can’t believe the church was so aggressive in trying to bash “Going Clear.”

“Scientology did their own commercial for us,” she said. “Going Clear” had its premiere airing on HBO in March and became the second most-watched documentary on the network in the past decade.

SEE ALSO: MEET SHEILA NEVINS: The woman who has greenlighted all HBO documentaries for the past 30 years

MORE: Why Tom Cruise and John Travolta can't leave Scientology, according to the HBO documentary "Going Clear"

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NOW WATCH: 6 Crazy Things Revealed In HBO's Explosive New Scientology Documentary 'Going Clear'

Have you ever wondered how white people really feel about how other races are treated versus how they're treated by others? Here's your chance.

In an effort to understand how races really perceive one another, MTV and Jose Antonio Vargas partnered to create the documentary "White People."

Vargas is the founder of Define American, which uses media to create conversations surrounding race, and he is the founding editor of #EmergingUS, a coming digital magazine in partnership with the Los Angeles Times that plans to cover race, immigration, and identity, as well as white Americans as they are becoming a racial minority.

In "White People," Vargas travels across the US to tell the story of five white youths of different backgrounds. Along the way, he also has conversations about race with young people at schools and community centers.

In an enlightening preview from the documentary, Vargas interviews a class about what white privilege means to them.

"You kind of get this feeling as you grow up that things belong to you," one female student answered.

"I can walk to a convenience store and back without getting hassled by the police," a male student added.

Another male student, pictured above, said: "I won't have to deal with the prejudices that someone who's Asian, someone who's black, someone who's Hispanic, has to deal with. That's my privilege as a white person. It's [expletive], but it's true."

Watch the preview below:

"White People" premieres Wednesday, July 22, at 8 p.m. on MTV.

SEE ALSO: Why white supremacists love the numbers 14 and 88

MORE: Hillary Clinton: 'Race remains a deep fault line in America'

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NOW WATCH: Economist Jeff Sachs reveals the biggest threat to the human race

In an interview featured in Judd Apatow's new book, "Sick in the Head," comedian Louis C.K. revealed that he had an intense disagreement with "Saturday Night Live" showrunner Lorne Michaels when hosting the show for the second time in 2014. 

Relaying the story to Apatow, C.K. explained that he was very displeased when Michaels wanted to cut down his 12 minute rehearsal monologue — which C.K. had "obsessed" over and crafted at open mic nights — to eight minutes. 

While C.K. was adamant that all 12 minutes stay in, Michaels disagreed, saying "It was good, but there was a lot of air in it, a lot of stopping and starting. I know there are cuts in there."

"My face turned red," C.K. said. "I was angry. I was like, "Well, I don't know. I thought [the set] was pretty good. And f--- you.'"

Michaels responded by showing him the rehearsal tape, and that's when C.K. realized that the routine wasn't as tight as he thought it was.

"My point was to prove how great it was," C.K. said. "And I watched it and I was like, God damn, it's not that good. Tons of air. And a lot of stopping and starting. I had a whole fart thing. A whole thing about farting on a baby that f---ing killed, and [Michaels] was like, 'You're winning without it. I wouldn't do it.' So I realized the farting on babies was stupid and it's going to ruin the monologue." 

The monologue that finally made it on to the live show was eight minutes of Louis C.K. at his best — featuring dark and hilarious material on third world hunger, feminism, and religion. 

Despite their heated disagreement, C.K. expressed his respect for Michaels — "He's so smart, but he scared me. And I needed to go in scared"— and ultimately, C.K. returned to host for a third time this year with an even more controversial monologue, which dipped into off-color comments on child molestation and racism.

SEE ALSO: Louis C.K.'s description of his brutally humiliating first two stand-up shows is gold

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NOW WATCH: A behind-the-scenes look at Saturday Night Live — the comedy institution created by a 'strange Canadian’

Hannibal Lecter's reign of terror is over at NBC.

The network and executive producer Bryan Fuller announced on Monday that the series will not be renewed for a fourth season. The series will finish its Season 3 run on Thursdays at 10 p.m.

“NBC has allowed us to craft a television series that no other broadcast network would have dared, and kept us on the air for three seasons despite Cancellation Bear Chow ratings and images that would have shredded the eyeballs of lesser Standards & Practices enforcers," Fuller said in a statement. "[Entertainment president] Jen Salke and her team have been fantastic partners and creatively supportive beyond measure. 'Hannibal' is finishing his last course at NBC’s table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again. And personally, I look forward to my next meal with NBC.”

NBC added: "We have been tremendously proud of ‘Hannibal’ over its three seasons. Bryan and his team of writers and producers, as well as our incredible actors, have brought a visual palette of storytelling that has been second to none in all of television — broadcast or cable. We thank Gaumont and everyone involved in the show for their tireless efforts that have made ‘Hannibal’ an incredible experience for audiences around the world.”

While "Hannibal" has never been a ratings barn burner for NBC, it has been a critical favorite. Its airings during the late-spring/summer when ratings needs are lower also allowed the network to give it a break.

The series returned on June 4 and over its three subsequent episodes has only averaged 1.98 million viewers and a very low .57 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen.

Taking place before the events of 1991 film "Silence of the Lambs,""Hannibal" was based on characters from the Thomas Harris novel, "Red Dragon."

"Hannibal"starred Hugh Dancy as FBI Special Agent Will Graham, a crime scene investigator with a special understanding of murderers and psychopaths, and Mad Mikkelsen as Lecter, a forensic psychiatrist with a hunger for human flesh who will become Graham's biggest challenge.

SEE ALSO: 20 TV shows that have just been canceled

MORE: The 10 most disturbingly gorgeous dishes from NBC's 'Hannibal'

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NOW WATCH: The very first 'Fast And The Furious' almost looks innocent compared to the madness that followed

We like to be on our personal devices more than we like to watch TV.

A New York Times Magazine article, “Comedy Central in the Post-TV Era,” takes a closer look at the network and the man behind its recent string of hit shows, Kent Alterman, president of content and original programming at the cable network.

While the article examines the way Comedy Central cultivates talent and is always developing new shows that will hit the ever-changing comedy zeitgeist, one striking section in the piece was the revelation of how out of date the Nielsen ratings system is.

Neilsen is the industry standard in audience measurement of a show. And when it comes to setting advertising prices for shows, the numbers generated by Neilsen set those figures.

However, as Alterman explained, the system Comedy Central and many others are held to is not holding up with today's viewing habits.

He said:

“What we sell is called C3 ratings: how many people watched a show in the first three days, without fast-forwarding through the commercials.”

That rating is so out of date that, according to the Times piece, even Viacom’s chief executive (Comedy Central is under the Viacom umbrella), Philippe Dauman, voiced his frustration about Neilsen to a conference call of reporters last November, in which he said the service had “not caught up to the marketplace.”

The stats* of how we watch Comedy Central’s most popular shows are staggering:

“Inside Amy Schumer” Season 3
YouTube streams: 27 million
Facebook streams: 4.5 million
Hulu streams: 1.2 million
Snapchat streams: 4.2 million
Linear television: 1.4 million

“Roast of Justin Bieber”
YouTube streams: 9.2 million
Facebook streams: 5.3 million
Comedy Central website show stars: 6.1 million
Snapchat streams: 3 million
Linear television: 7 million

“Key & Peele” Season 4A
YouTube streams: 195 million
Facebook streams: 50 million
Hulu streams: 10 million
Video-on-demand plays: 5 million
Linear television: 2 million

“Broad City” Season 2
YouTube streams: 5.7 million
Facebook streams: 2.9 million
Hulu streams: 8.4 million
Snapchat streams: 1.8 million
Linear television: 1.2 million

In the Times story, a Nielsen spokesperson noted that the company has proposed a comprehensive “measurement framework” to account for multiple platforms but that the industry has not yet agreed on a standard.

*According to The Times, stats are made up of total streams of clips on YouTube, Facebook, or Snapchat over the course of a season or show. Hulu streams include episode starts and clips. Linear figures are average per episode. Source: Comedy Central and Nielsen Media Research.

SEE ALSO: How Comedy Central's 'Broad City' lands epic celebrity guest stars

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July is fast approaching, so that means there will be a slew of new movies and TV shows heading to Netflix.

This coming month brings the return of Netflix's original show "Bojack Horseman," as well as a slew of other shows, movies, documentaries, and comedy specials. 

Check out everything coming to Netflix in July.

Here's what you should check out on Netflix in July:

TV

Bojack Horseman (available 7/17)

Netflix's first animated series had a hilarious, surprisingly moving first season. It stars Will Arnett as a horse who was once Hollywood's biggest sitcom star and is now attempting to make a comeback. The all star voiceover cast also includes Aaron Paul, Alison Brie, Patton Oswalt, Amy Sedaris. 

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (7/31)

Netflix's latest original series is an adaptation of the 2001 cult classic. With most of the original cast returning, this new "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" promises to have just as much hilarity and absurdity as the original film.

Movies

Tig (7/17)

In 2012, comedian Tig Notaro took the stage at Largo in Los Angeles and announced to the world that she had been diagnosed with cancer. That special, entitled "Live," has since become legendary. This new documentary explores the comedian's life both on and off stage. 

Here's the full list of June releases:

Available 7/1

"Alive" (1993)
"An Honest Liar" (2014)
"Bad Hair Day" (2015)
"Bionicle: The Legend Reborn" (2009)
"Bulworth" (1998)
"Dave Attell: Road Work"
"Death in Paradise" (Season 3)
"Grandma's Boy" (2006)
"Hostage" (2005)
"Invizimals: The Alliance Files"
"La Reina del Sur"
"Octonauts" (Season 3)
"Piglet's Big Movie" (2003)
"El Senor de los Cielos" (Seasons 1-2)
"Saw V" (2008)
"Set Fire to the Stars" (2014)
"Shooting Fish" (1997)
"The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994)
"Underworld: Evolution" (2006)
"Velvet" (Season 2)

Available 7/3

"Knights of Sidonia" (Season 2)

Available 7/4 

"Faults" (2014)
"Hell on Wheels" (Season 4)
"White Collar" (Season 6)

Available 7/7

"Monsters High: Scaris, City of Frights" (2013)
"Witches of East End" (Season 2)

Available 7/9

"Monsters: The Dark Continent" (2014)
"Serena" (2014)

Available 7/10

"Chris Tucker Live" (2015)
"Violetta" (Seasons 1-2)

Available 7/14

"Bad Ink" (Season 1)
"Bible Secrets Revealed" (Season 1)
"Creep" (2014)
"Goodbye to All That" (2014)
"Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau" (2014)
"Preachers' Daughters" (Season 2)
"Storage Wars: Texas" (Season 1)
"The Killer Speaks" (Season 2)

Available 7/15

"Da Sweet Blood of Jesus" (2014)
"H2O Mermaid Adventures" (5 new episodes)
"Penguins of Madagascar" (2014)
"The Physician" (2014)

Available 7/16

"Changeling" (2008)

Available 7/17

"Bojack Horseman" (Season 2)
"The Human Experiment" (2013)
"Tig" (2015)

Available 7/18

"Glee" (Season 6)
"Java Heat" (2013)

Available 7/23

"Teacher of the Year" (2014)

Available 7/25

"The Guest" (2014)

Available 7/28

"Comet" (2014)
"Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H." (Season 2)

Available 7/30

"Almost Mercy" (2015)
"My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" (Season 5)
"The Wrecking Crew" (2008)

Available 7/31

"Turbo Fast" (Season 2)
"Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" (2015)

SEE ALSO: The first photos of the 'Wet Hot American Summer' TV series are here and they're great

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Bianca de la Garza may just be the next big thing in late-night television.

That means "Bianca," which found itself ranked No. 2 to "Saturday Night Live" just one month after it debuted in New England in January, will now be available as far west as Los Angeles starting Saturday, June 28.

“Bianca is an entertaining and smart broadcaster who has been very successful for many years in New England,” said CBS Television Stations' president, Peter Dunn, in a statement on Monday. “We are pleased to give her the opportunity to significantly expand her popularity by clearing her show on many of our stations following our late news on Saturday nights."

With 17 years of on-air reporting under her belt, de la Garza was previously the anchor of WCVB-TV’s NewsCenter 5 “EyeOpener,” a top-rated morning newscast in New England.

A big supporter of children's charities, the Latina TV host lives in Boston and raises her daughter, Danica, as a single mom.

Produced by Embassy Row ("Watch What Happens Live"), "Bianca" airs Saturday evenings and covers a variety of topics from pop culture to dating and hot spots, as well as celebrity interviews.

"Bianca" will broadcast on the following stations at the following times:

In Los Angeles, "Bianca" will be carried on KCBS Channel 2 in Los Angeles, with a half-hour programming block from 11:35p.m.-12:05a.m. PDT.

In Philadelphia, "Bianca" will be carried on KYW Channel 3, from 11:35p.m.-12:05p.m. EDT.

In Dallas, "Bianca" will be carried on KTVT Channel 11, from 10:35p.m.-11:05p.m. CDT.

In Detroit, "Bianca" will be carried on WKBD from 11:00p.m.-11:30p.m. EDT.

In Minneapolis, "Bianca" will be carried on WCCO Channel 4, from 11:05p.m.-11:35p.m. CDT.

In Pittsburgh, "Bianca" will be carried on KDKA Channel 2, 11:35p.m.-12:05a.m. EDT.

In Baltimore, "Bianca" will be carried on WJZ Channel 13, 11:35p.m.-12:05a.m. EDT.

In Boston, "Bianca" will be carried on WCVB Channel 5, 11:35p.m.-12:05a.m. EDT.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, "Bianca" will be carried on WMUR Channel 9, 11:35p.m.-12:05a.m. EDT.

In Portland, Maine, "Bianca" will be carried on WMTW Channel 8, 11:30p.m.-12:00a.m. EDT.

Watch an episode below:

SEE ALSO: David Letterman kept his assistants after 'Late Show': 'I can no longer operate a telephone'

MORE: Here's what's next for Ryan Seacrest as he prepares for 'American Idol' to end

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When a co-worker first told me I needed to watch NBC’s "Hannibal," I shrugged it off. As a stubborn fan of the character and a hater of all things associated with remake culture, I had very little interest in watching NBC bastardize a great horror property. I could not have been more wrong.

Series creator Bryan Fuller has somehow managed to pull off the unthinkable by making a television series centered around Hannibal Lecter that is just as good, if not better, than the films.  

Despite the fact that NBC just devastated fans by canceling the show after its third season, the show is still well worth watching and hopefully will be picked up by another network soon (are you listening, Netflix?!). 

I have yet to read Thomas Harris’ novels in which the character of Hannibal originates, but I have seen all of the feature films — even the abysmal "Hannibal Rising"— and can say that viewers have yet to see Hannibal like this before. Week after week I am amazed by what the series gets away with; it airs in primetime on NBC yet features the most horrifically grotesque images I’ve ever seen on TV, including HBO.  

"Hannibal" has a distinct visual style that sets it apart from literally any other show on network television. The cinematography of Hannibal is unparalleled — between the gorgeous shot compositions, the use of slow motion and the visual and aural horror associated with Will’s ‘dream’ sequences, there is always something gorgeous to behold.  

Initially the show may appear to be nothing more than another boring police procedural, but it’s anything but. The show begins in the "Red Dragon"-phase, before Hannibal has been caught for his crimes. Rather than helping solving crimes from behind bars like in "Silence of The Lambs", Hannibal, played expertly by Mads Mikkelsen, has the privilege of actually visiting the crime scenes and getting a hands-on approach to investigating. 

Hannibal, a notable psychiatrist, is brought in by FBI to aid special investigator Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy in the best role of his career) who has the unique ability to ‘get in the minds’ of the killer through his victims. Will has the ability to essentially replay each week’s murder in his head via beautifully shot and intensely stylized visual sequences and figure out how the victim was killed.

Little do the authorities know that the very man helping them solve the crimes actually committed them in the first place. The best part about the show is that the focus is constantly shifting — just when you’re comfortable with the routine, the series throws you a curveball.  

The show would be nothing without its excellent cast. Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy are both superb in their leading roles, and the supporting cast, which includes the likes of Laurence Fishburne, Gillian Anderson and Cynthia Nixon are all equally wonderful.  The performances really elevate the material, and when combined with the absolutely insane visuals and special effects, Hannibal truly shines.

In addition to all of this, the incredibly creepy sound design is worth noting — never has a show made me cringe or jump with only sound. I have yet to meet an ardent horror fan who hasn’t been completely blown away by the show. 

If being scared isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other things to salivate over, including the food. While the cuisine may consist of people, it looks just as delicious as anything you’ll see on the Food Network and is presented in such a way that makes it elegant and tasteful. For a show that is often so horrific, it is so damned beautiful!

A quick Google search will bring about dozens of articles echoing my beliefs, as countless bloggers have taken to the web to spread their love for the series in an attempt to keep it on the air. Hannibal is one of those critically acclaimed shows that is constantly teetering on the verge of cancellation due to low viewership despite the fact that is has such an aggressive online following. Hannibal fans may be few, but they are proud, and like me, they’re doing all they can to keep the show alive. Fuller has made his long-term plans for the series public, revealing that he crafted it as a seven-season arc.

In order to see his vision fully realized, the show needs more loyal viewers. Luckily, after a steady increase in viewership this past season, it was renewed for a third season, and Hannibal fans everywhere exhaled a sigh of relief.

After watching the first few episodes of the first season (which is available for free in its entirety on Amazon Instant Video for Prime members), you won’t need any further convincing. Take a bite and see why televised horror doesn’t have to be as drab as "The Walking Dead."

SEE ALSO: Here's how 'Hannibal' creates food that resembles human flesh — and looks delicious

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NOW WATCH: Elijah Wood and Rainn Wilson take on kid zombies in a new horror-comedy

Hollywood's recycling bin is filling up -- especially for movies being adapted to TV.

In the upcoming season alone, there's numerous TV shows based on movies, including ABC's "Uncle Buck," CBS's "Limitless" and "Rush Hour," Netflix's "Wet Hot American Summer," MTV's "Scream," and Fox's "Minority Report."

In the crowded TV landscape, networks are looking for anything that can break through. Projects which existed in another medium (book, movie, stage play), and better still if they were hits, mean viewers already have knowledge of the show and possibly a connection.

Here are 19 movies currently being developed for TV.

"The Mortal Instruments"

Titled "Shadowhunters," the series is based on Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" book series. Set at ABC Family, the series has cast "Vampire Academy" actor Dominic Sherwood in the lead role of Jace.

"The Omen"

A&E's follow-up to 1976's "The Omen" finds Damien Thorne all grown up. With very little knowledge of the ungodly forces around him, he'll have to face the truth that he is the antichrist.

"American Gigolo"

Jerry Bruckheimer ("CSI" franchise) is developing the TV adaptation with Paramount TV. In the 1980 film, Richard Gere plays a male escort who's accused of murder.

If you've been looking for a way to watch Showtime shows and you have Hulu you're in luck — the premium channel is coming to the site in July.

Tuesday, Hulu announced via a press release it's partnering with Showtime to launch a streaming service for Hulu subscribers. 

Sounds exciting right? 

Premium content via a platform subscribers are already paying $7.99 per month to watch all other content currently available on Hulu.

Not so fast. 

According to the release, new and existing subscribers will need to pay an $8.99 on top of their $7.99 Hulu subscription to enjoy Showtime access.

Earlier this year, HBO started its own standalone service subscription Still, the Showtime charge is significantly less than the price of HBO's new standalone product, HBO Now, which launched in April.

Hulu is quickly amping up its content library.

In February, it announced an adaptation of Stephen King's 11/23/63— a story about a teacher who travels back in time to prevent JFK's assassination — which will star James Franco.

The streaming service will start streaming all seasons of "Seinfeld" this week, and recently saved Fox's "The Mindy Project" from cancellation.

SEE ALSO: Universal is completely dominating the box office this year

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NOW WATCH: Jeremy Renner and Tom Cruise team up in a new trailer for the next 'Mission: Impossible'

Fans of NBC's recently canceled "Hannibal," or fannibals as they refer to themselves, aren't taking the news sitting down.

Soon after news of the cancelation broke on Monday, fannibals mobilized to find some sort of Hail Mary for the "Silence of the Lambs" prequel. Their tweets filled social media on Monday afternoon with the hashtags #SaveHannibal and #Fannibals.

Is there a possibility NBC could change its mind?

Fannibals started a petition on change.org on Monday afternoon asking NBC to reconsider its decision. At the time this article was published, more than 31,000 people signed the petition.

"Hannibal" executive producer Bryan Fuller had only good things to say about working with NBC in his statement on the cancelation. He even gestured to their next project together.

"'Hannibal' is finishing his last course at NBC’s table this summer, but a hungry cannibal can always dine again. And personally, I look forward to my next meal with NBC,” he said. 

Could he really have been hoping for a reprieve from NBC? The network declined to comment for this article.

That's not the only petition popping up online:

Could "Hannibal" find a new home?

Fans are hoping that the series could jump to a new network like HBO, AMC or a streaming site like Amazon or Netflix. If so, it would join the ranks of shows that have previously been given a second chance like "Damages,""The Killing,""Arrested Development,""Community," and "The Mindy Project."

Reports have suggested that Amazon would probably make the most logical new home for the series since it already owns streaming rights to the drama. The media company didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

"Hannibal's" producers are trying to save the show too:

DeLaurentis Co. wrote the following on the show's Tumblr page:

"As a result of our being on the cancellation bubble throughout the show’s history, other networks/platforms have expressed interest in partnering with us in the past. We are currently exploring those options, and we hope to bring you future seasons."

And, production company Gaumont International Television told EW that "all options" are being explored.

Although "Hannibal" is a critical darling, the show has been plagued with low ratings since its first season. The series returned for Season 3 on June 4 and over its three subsequent episodes had only averaged 1.98 million viewers and a very low .57 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen.

SEE ALSO: Critical favorite 'Hannibal' canceled after three seasons by NBC

MORE: 'Hannibal' is the best TV show that no one is watching

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NOW WATCH: What really happened to Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones'?

Viola Davis wasn't going to try and be "the Vogue woman" on ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder," in which she plays no-nonsense top defense attorney and stoic college professor Annalise Keating.

That goal was certainly put to the test when the show asked her to shed her makeup and wig for an unforgettable scene just four episodes in to its freshman season.

"I felt like this was my chance to woman up," she said in a cover story for TheWrap's Emmy magazine. "Because I think that how we are as women, just in real life, is very interesting. And I think that in the hands of a woman–and I’d like to think that, in my professional life anyway, I have a certain braveness and boldness–I want to present women as they really are."

In the scene, Annalise strips her makeup and wig just ahead of a confrontation with her husband. And Davis was going to make sure that she would represent herself truthfully.

"You know, as soon as you walk through the door, what do you do?" she explained to the website. "You take off your bra, you let your ti----es sag, you let your hair come off–I mean my hair. I mean, I don’t have any eyebrows. I let my eyebrows be exactly what they are. And it’s me. And I wanted that scene to be somewhere in the narrative of Annalise. That who she is in her public life and who she was in her private life were absolutely, completely diametrically opposed to one another. Because that’s who we are as people. We wear the mask that grins and lies."

And by the way, she did the scene in one take. Again, for very real reasons.

"I didn’t feel like putting that makeup on again," the 49-year-old laughed. "So yes, absolutely it was one-take."

Watch Davis describe the scene below:

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WARNING: Mild spoilers below

On Sunday night, the much anticipated new season of "True Detective" finally dropped on everyone's TV sets and the reaction was ... not so good.

As colleague Ian Phillips notes in his round-up of reaction, a lot of the hate from fans revolves around a storyline that's too difficult to follow and the slow-moving nature of the show.

Everyone is getting it wrong.

In reality, the new "True Detective" is reverse-engineering your normal, run-of-the-mill character development. As a result, we're being introduced to this whole new world in a very different way, which I think is going to lead to big payoffs very quickly.

This season of the show takes place in Los Angeles and stars Rachel McAdams, Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch, and Vince Vaughn. The first three are all law enforcement of some type and Vince Vaughn plays a crime boss.

Episode 1 is incredibly fractured. It's told in a series of bite-size slices of life that give us individual insight into the characters. And it's true, many of these scenes are not specifically plot driven. Many of the things we see or that happen are likely not going to be part of any larger plot that this season of the show offers.

But they are crucial to character development and information, and that is what's so genius about episode 1.

Television shows of this type often follow somewhat of a formula. One that "True Detective" rejects. Let's take the example of the TV show "Lost," for example.

In "Lost," the inciting incident happens right at the beginning (plane crash on deserted island). The action starts right from the start. As the show progresses, it pushes forward with the plot but also has to spend a lot of time in flashbacks. The idea being, the more we know about these characters, the more we care about them. And of course, the events of their past can inform plot twists and turns of the present.

This takes a lot of time, and it takes us away from the forward motion of the plot. This is the same formula many shows follow to help tie everything together for the viewer. But sometimes, as someone watching the show, it can be distracting.

"True Detective" is flipping the script this season.

Every character gets a few scenes of them living their lives outside of whatever the big plot of the show is (or will be). That lets us get to know them right off the bat. Sure, we're going to find out more, other things will be revealed, and our interpretations of these characters will change as we learn more.

But in this episode, the plot doesn't really start until minute 60. At the very end, all the characters we've been following the whole time (except Vince Vaughn) converge around one plot point — one incident. From there, you know they will start embarking on some detective journey and we'll start getting into the real meat of the show.

But by the time we get there, to that moment of convergence, we already know so much about these characters.

We know Ani Bezzerides (McAdams) likes weird sex, has an estranged father and sister, is high strung, and likes to blow off steam drinking and gambling late at night.

We know Ray Velcoro (Farrell) is trying to get custody of his alleged son (the paternity is a bit fuzzy), and has a drinking problem.

We know Paul Woodrugh (Kitsch) has scars all over his body from earlier in life, has trouble with intimacy, and possesses a self-destructive tendency.

And we know Frank Semyon (Vaughn) is a crime boss with a good family life and what seems like a good heart. He is as ambitious as he seems compassionate, and he has a storied relationship with Ray.

We find out a whole lot more as well about these characters. But most importantly, as we head into the big case which will drive the story forward, we get who these people are. And we already know a lot about them beyond a mere first impression.

That's going to infuse the story with a ton more life as we move forward, and make each twist and turn all the more juicy.

Slow? No story? No way, we're just getting started and this is going to be fun ... and probably a little disturbing.

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