Around the Tubes: 2/28/15

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Great British Baking Show, Motown 25, The Cove, Dreamcatcher, Chili's, and Epix.

- It’s the finals... From thousands of applicants, 12 bakers made it to the tent -- and now, just three remain in the hit series The Great British Baking Show on PBS. Episode ten airs on PBS Sunday, March 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET, before Downton Abbey. (Show times may vary, please check local listings in your market). Last week, contestant Richard was named “Star Baker” for the unprecedented fifth time, while Chetna was sent home, however the three remaining contestants, Richard, Nancy and Luis start anew in the series finale.

- Where were you when Michael Jackson unveiled his iconic moonwalk for the very first time as part of the legendary TV special Motown 25: Yesterday · Today · Forever? You likely remember those "six seconds that changed the world", as the historic concert televised by NBC on May 16, 1983, became an immediate sensation and water-cooler event in an era before social media. Now, music lovers and pop culture aficionados alike will have the opportunity to see magic and history being made as the Emmy® Award-winning program will air exclusively as a fundraising event on public television stations this February and March, marking the first TV broadcast of the concert since its debut more than 30 years ago. It will make its national public broadcasting premiere on February 28 at 8:00 (check local listings).

- This Sunday, March 1st at 8:00, The Cove will make its television premiere on Participant Media’s television network, Pivot. Ric O’Barry’s Academy Award® winning documentary exposes the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins off the coast of Japan occurring each year. The film follows O’Barry and his team of activists as they uncover the environmental crimes that are happening in Taiji, Japan and explore the impact it is making worldwide.

- Following its recent win at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Dreamcatcher will premiere on Showtime on March 27th at 9:00. The film is an inspirational portrait of Chicago’s Brenda Myers-Powell whose Dreamcatcher Foundation fights to end human trafficking and prevent the sexual exploitation of at-risk youth. To view the trailer go to: sho.com.

- TBS is hitting the road with a 10-episode order for a new comedy series from The Daily Show's Jason Jones & Samantha Bee. Jones stars in the series, which is inspired by his and Bee's own experiences with family getaways. Also starring are Natalie Zea (Justified, The Following), Ashley Gerasimovich (Louie, We Need to Talk about Kevin) and Liam Carroll (The Neighbors). Production is slated to begin this summer, with the TBS launch scheduled for Q4 2015.

- I’m sure you remember the Chili’s Baby Back Ribs jingle as one of the most recognizable in recent brand history. For the restaurants 40th anniversary, they’re asking musicians, songwriters, and everyday people to sing along as they recreate the famous jingle from the 90’s. On March 14th, 2015 during what they call “St. Chilihead Day”, Chili’s Grill and Bar will celebrate by posting an anniversary video featuring submissions from this social activation. Here’s the video they shot over 4 days with many musicians to kick off the campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysAe_DdZO-E
Viewers can share their version at http://SingBabyBack.com.

- EPIX this week announced that it has extended its agreement with Amazon to license thousands of new releases, classic library titles and original programs for Prime Instant Video. Programming from the agreement includes movies from EPIX studio partners, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, and delivers new releases such as Transformers: Age of Extinction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Interstellar, Selma and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, along with classic big film franchises including James Bond, Star Trek, Rocky and more.