The Frame

Two prominent music critics look at where the orchestra has been and where it's heading; filmmaker Sandi Tan looks for a lost film of hers in "Shirkers."

Aoife O'Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins all have successful individual careers, but decided to combine forces for their folk-Americana trio; how is "House of Cards" concluding without Kevin Spacey?; MOCA puts the spotlight on influential painter and film critic Manny Farber.

"The Good Place" creator Michael Schur and writer Jen Statsky talk about making a sitcom that takes on ethics and philosophy; as the Trump Administration reportedly considers rolling back civil rights protections for trans people, we revisit The Frame's 2017 roundtable discussion on transgender representation on television.

The award-winning Broadway smash with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul finally arrives in Los Angeles; how deep are Saudi Arabia's tentacles in American museums?; the Berlin-based performance group, Gob Squad, examines how we cope with aging.

The mezzo-soprano had a promising hoops career, but then she discovered singing; Netflix buys a huge production studio in Albuquerque; Janelle Monáe breaks down her song, "So Afraid."

She's a rare female minority show-runner, but her main goal is to let the mom character have some fun; how are immigrants depicted on TV?; the L.A. Master Chorale takes its show on the road.

Actor Peter Dinklage and filmmaker Sacha Gervasi on making "My Dinner With Hervé," about the French actor Hervé Villechaize; how do "The Conners" fare without Roseanne? L.A. Times TV critic Lorraine Ali shares her thoughts.

Muslim comedian Mo Amer once sat next to Eric Trump on an international flight. That's just one of many stories in his Netflix special "Vagabond." In the wake of Jamal Khashoggi's disapperance, Hollywood rethinks its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Plus, how Dieter Ruehle came to be the Dodgers' organist.

The popular politics podcast launches a weekly TV version on HBO leading up to the mid-term elections; the ReelAbilities Film Festival showcases movies and conversations to gain a greater appreciation of opportunities and challenges for differently-abled people.

The digital platform provides opportunities for comedy shows like "Everything Is Fine!"; the annual VF Summit draws the biggest names in Hollywood and Silicon Valley; Desert Daze claims a space on the music festival landscape.

California's film and TV industries are happily anticipating the state's expanded program to help keep production in-state; NBC will make all 13 episodes of "Aquarius" available online when the series debuts; Josh Gad (at left, with Billy Crystal) hopes "The Comedians" will improve his track record with TV projects.

At a presentation for advertisers, Hulu announces a new "Walking Dead" spinoff and an Amy Poehler project; Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa left Australia to join the band; Brett Morgen was given free rein in directing the documentary, "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck" (pictured).

Hollywood actors, and one prominent producer, are largely bypassed in the Tony nominations; artist William Pope.L has his iconoclastic vision on display at MOCA (pictured); comedian Paul F. Tompkins isn't quite the King of All Media, but he's getting close; "The Wire" creator David Simon has good reason to care about Baltimore.

Documentarian Phelim MacLeer on his controversial play "Ferguson," a work of verbatim theater comprised entirely of excerpts from testimony in the Michael Brown case; Costume designer Lisa Padovani on mashing up influences for her work on "Gotham"; French artist Vincent Lamouroux's piece "Projection" covers an abandoned Silver Lake motel and it's palm trees with lime wash.

Summer movie preview of those films we shouldn't miss. Could Cuba's massive Biennial become a global center for art? The rise of the Asian American youtube star. And, as the latest sequel is set to pass $1 billion overseas, the "Fast and Furious" franchise adds number 8.

Hollywood studios continue to preview their 2015 slates at CinemaCon, the splashy convention for theater owners; Song Exploder dissects a new song by My Morning Jacket; photographer Ken Gonzales-Day draws parallels between the history of lynching and recent fatal shootings by police (pictured).

By the end of 2015, movie concession stands will have to divulge how many calories there are in your favorite snacks; Phox talks about the unglamorous life of a touring band; ‘Happyish’ creator Shalom Auslander (at right, with Bradley Whitford) on how the show handled the death of original lead actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The annual convention for film studios and movie theater owners gets underway in Las Vegas; a group of Latino musicians have put together a tribute to Morrissey (pictured) and The Smiths; David Rubin and Lora Kennedy discuss being a casting director in today’s film business.

The band Tame Impala teases Coachella audience with its next album (pictured: Kevin Parker); some L.A. stage actors say working in small theaters for next to nothing can actually help their careers; John Fithian, president of the movie theater trade association, has a strategy to boost slumping business.

With Verizon offering a pseudo a la carte TV model, is cable as we know it becoming a thing of the past?; L.A. Opera's production of "Hercules vs. Vampires" (pictured) blends a campy sword-and-sandal film with high art; Kyle Kinane admits the absurdity of his job as a stand-up comic.

A second trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was unveiled today; "Dolphin's of Hollywood" (pictured) was a groundbreaking record store that opened in 1948, and its story is now the subject of a stage musical; how DJ and producer Mark Ronson ended up working with Stevie Wonder and author Michael Chabon.

Could the Santa Monica Museum of Art be leaving Santa Monica?; “Unfriended” producers Jason Blum and Couper Samuelson on the challenge of making a film thriller that plays out in real time on a laptop; the duo behind the band Sylvan Esso (pictured), currently playing Coachella, talk about the grind of being on tour.