Around the Tubes: 7/3/15

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 Ray Donovan, Masers of Sex, Conan, The Last Ship, Falling Skies, Funny or Die Presents America's Next Weatherman, Premier Boxing Champions, How to Train Your Dragon, Story of God, Don’t Stop the Music USA, and Milkshake.

- Showtime is giving viewers nationwide an opportunity to sample the third season premieres of its critically-acclaimed hit drama series Ray Donovan and Masers of Sex across multiple platforms, in advance of their debut on SHOWTIME on Sunday, July 12th starting at 9:00. Viewers can sample the TV-14 rated premieres of Ray Donovan (s.sho.com/RD301) and Masers of Sex (s.sho.com/MOS301) for free now on YouTube and SHO.com. The new season premieres can also be accessed via select television providers’ free On Demand channels and websites, on Showtime on Demand® and various partner sites and applications. Additionally, the episodes will be available via Showtime Anytime® on desktop, iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Kindle Fire™, Roku® players, Chromecast™, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox 360®, Xbox One and Apple TV® streaming players anywhere in the U.S., as well as for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Ray Donovan and Masers of Sex will also be available on the SHOWTIME Preview app on Smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Panasonic.

- When TBS’s Conan heads to San Diego July 8-11 for a week of shows during Comic-Con® International, the late-night series will showcase the incredible star power coming to town for the annual gathering. Host Conan O'Brien will welcome the stars of three massive pop-culture phenomena: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (Thursday, July 9), Game of Thrones (Friday, July 10) and The Walking Dead (Friday, July 10). In addition, the show will welcome a special surprise cast from an upcoming film to be unveiled in San Diego. The special week will open with appearances by actor Elijah Wood and The Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick. Conan's Comic-Con episodes will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre Wednesday, July 8 – Saturday, July 11, including two rare weekend shows. The episodes will air on TBS at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) each night and will be available across TBS and Team Coco's digital and mobile platforms the following day.

- TNT is bringing the explosive dramas The Last Ship and Falling Skies to Comic-Con International: San Diego 2015. TNT's presence at the annual gathering will include all-star panels for both series, plus an Oculus Rift virtual reality experience that puts fans of The Last Ship in the middle of the action. Among the many stars set to participate are The Last Ship's Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, Adam Baldwin, Travis Van Winkle, Jocko Sims and Marissa Neitling, along with Falling Skies' Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Connor Jessup, Colin Cunningham and Doug Jones. Also participating are The Last Ship executive producer Hank Steinberg and Falling Skies co-executive producer Olatunde Osunsanmi.

- TBS is about to bring some stormy competition to late night with the brand new series Funny Or Die Presents America's Next Weatherman, produced by Funny Or Die, Mark Burnett and United Artists Media Group (UAMG). Funny Or Die Presents America's Next Weatherman features 12 competitors vying for a job as America's next great weathercaster. Matt Oberg (The Comedians) hosts the competition, which will be judged by longtime weather personalities Johnny Mountain (KABC, KCBS) and Jillian Barberie (Good Day LA). The series is set to premiere Saturday, Aug. 8, at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS, with availability across TBS's on-demand, digital and mobile platforms the following day.

- Undefeated Welterweight World Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) is ready for his July 11 Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on ESPN fight, the first PBC fight on ESPN. Thurman will meet former world champion Luis Collazo (33-6, 19 KOs) on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT live from the USF Sun Dome in Tampa.

- Evolve Media’s CraveOnline Media (craveonline.com), the largest online male lifestyle publisher, announced today their annual Comic-Con activation, Crave Escape, aboard San Diego’s USS Midway. On Friday, July 10, two thousand select guests will board the historic aircraft carrier to enjoy an evening of food, drinks, and entertainment. Once again catering to its massive audience of music, gaming, and entertainment enthusiasts, CraveOnline will host performances by Cold War Kids, Bad Suns, and Cathedrals, as well as the Best of Gaming Cosplay Fashion Show. For complete coverage of Comic-Con, as well as photos and videos of the event, please visit: craveonline.com/hub/comic-con.

- FamilyFans is giving away SIGNED "Dragons" Memorabilia - Free! This month only. "Hiccup's Map" Poster from Dragons: Race to the Edge SIGNED by showrunners, Art Brown and Doug Sloan.

- National Geographic Channel and Executive Producers Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary and James Younger of Revelations Entertainment announced today The Story of God, a new global series exploring mankind’s quest to understand the divine. Host Freeman will embark on an epic exploration and intimate reflection on God, immersing himself in religious experiences and rituals all around the world, as well as becoming a test subject in scientific labs to examine how the frontiers of neuroscience and cosmology are intersecting the traditional domain of religion. The Story of God is slated to air on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Mundo in 2016 in the U.S. and globally in 171 countries and 45 languages. Each episode of The Story of God will center on one big question about the divine, from the mystery of creation, to the true power of miracles, to the promise of resurrection. These timeless and universal mysteries impact people from every faith. Freeman will be on the ground at some of humanity’s greatest religious sites, such as Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, India’s Bodhi Tree, Mayan temples and the Lakewood megachurch in Texas. He’ll travel with archeologists to uncover the long-lost religions of our ancestors, such as the 10,000-year-old ruins at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey or the ancient Celtic monument at Stonehenge.

- Imagine what it would be like if the talented artists, producers, and composers of the past and present had not been introduced to the power of music. This is the reality for large numbers of students, as schools throughout the US facing budget restrictions make music and art departments the first to go. The would-be musical stars of tomorrow are being denied access to essential education. In fact, just recently the city of Atlanta eliminated almost all music education programs. Although music education is often seen as a luxury, its absence from the curriculum is disastrous for America’s children, asthe value of music extends well beyond any student’s potential for stardom. Music increases understanding of subjects such as math, science, and foreign language, and schools that offer a music program have graduation rates 20 percent higher than schools that don’t embrace the power of music. “Quite simply,” said director, Emmy Award winner Nicole Boxer, “art can save lives.” The production team recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds they need as a basecamp for seeking the full project budget. Learn more about Don’t Stop the Music USA at http://kck.st/1Cooiol.

- Reality TV veteran Phil Abatecola (Hell's Kitchen, Big Brother) founded Distant Signal LLC in 2013 to focus on personal and unconventional storytelling with high production value on YouTube and other streaming platforms. He partnered with writer Mark Gonzales to create Distant Signal's freshman production, Milkshake, available on YouTube now. Milkshake tells the story of two unlikely friends who meet weekly in search of a legendary milkshake they once shared, but can't remember where. Lance, unemployed, but responsible, and Drake, a low level drug dealer with a day job, share their dreams, fears, and frustrations as they encounter LA's nightlife characters in search of the elusive, icy treat. Milkshake speaks to every young man trying to find his place in a post college world.

Previewing Falling Skies: The Final Season

Last week The Last Ship premiered with a two hour premiere pushing the new season of Falling Skies to tonight. I found this odd considering it seemed like every other season premiere for Falling Skies itself opened up with back to back episodes and it is weir that it would stop that streak for its final season. I guess the TNT action baton has been passed early.

The penultimate season of Falling Skies ended with a bang as Tom destroyed the alien power source on the moon with the help of his two year old Khalissi like daughter who sacrificed herself to save her father. Expect his Beamer was sent into space without any power. The new season starts up with a dream sequence ... or something like it with Tom's dead wife giving him a pep talk. It is unclear what is going on or how he gets back on Earth but it is clear that these "dreams" will have a big bearing on the new season.

Once reunited with the 2nd Mass, Tom uses these dreams to wipe out the remains of the Espheni fighting force left on the planet including wild roaming Skidder no longer linked to the Overlords. And what would a new season would be without a new alien creature harassing them and this season introduces a new mutated wasp which only becomes more creepy when they get it under a microscope. Though it it remains unclear in the early episodes who created them or what they were created for. My money would be whoever saved Tom.

Falling Skies airs Sundays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Falling Skies on iTunes.