Around the Tubes: 1/15/16

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 Showtime news, Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee, Smurfs Epic Run, Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes, Supercar Superbuild, and Heartbreaker.

- SHOWTIME will be available to over 70 million households during a Free Preview Weekend from Saturday, January 16 through Monday, January 18. Viewers nationwide will be able to sample the network’s award-winning programming on SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and select distributors' TV Everywhere portals. The Free Preview weekend will include sampling of the series premieres of the powerful new drama series BILLIONS, starring Oscar® nominee and Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis, and the groundbreaking new political series THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH. Immediately following the series premiere of BILLIONS, SHOWTIME will offer a special sneak peek of the second episode on demand, on SHOWTIME ANYTIME and on the SHOWTIME streaming service starting at 11 p.m. ET. Additionally, viewers will be able to sample new episodes of the hit comedy series SHAMELESS, along with SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING heavyweight matches and feature films, including the world television premiere of the Oscar®-winning film The Imitation Game.

- Here are some other Showtime headlines from the TCA's:
HIT SHOWTIME® COMEDY SERIES SHAMELESS GETS SEVENTH SEASON PICK-UP
SHOWTIME® ANNOUNCES SPRING PREMIERE DATES FOR HOUSE OF LIES AND PENNY DREADFUL; HOUSE OF LIES Set For Sunday, April 10th at 9 PM ET/PT And PENNY DREADFUL On Sunday, May 1st at 10 PM ET/PT Across All Platforms

- In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month holidays, Muta’Ali Muhammad, grandson of legendary actors and activists Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis, will be premiering the documentary, Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee, on Centric TV January 17, 2016 at 3:00pm. The film will also be released February 1st via iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.


-This week, Ubisoft invites players to enter the magical world of the Smurfs with the latest game installment, SmurfsTM Epic Run. Available today for free on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Amazon, Smurfs Epic Run is a state-of-the-art 2D platform mobile game developed by Ubisoft Paris [Mobile]. The game challenges players to run, jump, glide, rush and dash through more than 100 levels, all with the goal of freeing the captive Smurfs.


- Certain images are permanently etched into our national memory, and the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion is one of them. On Jan. 28, 1986, with the eyes of the world watching, the space shuttle abruptly burst into flames during a live television broadcast. All seven crewmembers died, including a social studies teacher who was supposed to be the first American civilian in space. The heartbreaking tragedy instantly became a defining moment in American history. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, the National Geographic Channel combed through long-forgotten news footage, radio reports, audio recordings and rarely seen NASA footage to retell the events leading up to, during and immediately after that fateful day. Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes, premiering Monday, Jan. 25, at 9/8c, takes viewers behind the scenes of this compelling and historic story in a way never before seen. Produced by the Peabody-award winning producers of “MLK: The Assassination Tapes,” the one-hour special includes no narration and no commentators, instead unfolding the story solely through the reports of journalists covering the story at the time, extensive audio and video recordings from NASA and archived interviews with the flight crew and others who were part of the one-of-a-kind mission.

- The new Smithsonian Channel four-part series, Supercar Superrbuild, premiering Sunday, February 14 at 9:00, goes behind the inherent beauty, amazing mechanical prowess, and basic building process of Maserati, Lamborghini, Bentley and Aston Martin, four of the world’s leading luxury automakers, as they attempt to produce what they hope is their next iconic car.

- Check out brand new trailer below for Heartbeat (starring Melissa George), coming soon to NBC! Based on the real life and achievements of Dr. Kathy Magliato, this unique character-driven medical drama follows Dr. Alex Panttiere, an outspoken world-renowned heart transplant surgeon and one of the few women in her field. Stubborn and fearless, Alex always operates on her own terms. She revels in a racy personal life that's a full-time job in itself, manages the daily demands of skeptical faculty and dutiful interns, and pushes the boundaries of medical science to impressive new heights.