Around the Tubes: 7/15/16

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 Cesar 911, The Incredible Dr. Pol, Open Your Eyes, Behind the Lost Empires, Roadies, Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, and Showtime,

- On Friday, July 15th, hit show Cesar 911 returns to Nat Geo WILD with all new episodes. Tune-in to see Cesar Millan help dog owners in some of the most unique situations as they learn how to deal with challenges of owning a difficult dog. Viewers will see Cesar employ creative methods ranging from calling in Jillian Michaels to going undercover as a UPS delivery man to help these owners give their dog a chance at a balanced, happy and healthy life. Coming up, Cesar brings in television personality and fitness expert, Jillian Michaels, to work with the owners of an energetic K-9. In The Biggest Loser one couple’s Vizsla Lab mix, Tic Tac, threatens to ruin their dream of living on the water because of his unruly behavior. To help the couple, Cesar calls in his friend Jillian to devise a fitness regime… but this time for the owners themselves!

- Nat Geo Wild's No. 2 Show, The Incredible Dr. Pol, is back with an all new season of sick, injured, oozing, kicking, and biting cases. Follow Dr. Pol and his team as they rush across the Michigan countryside making house calls to a variety of farm animals. Weather they are hard at work castrating a quartet of rowdy alpacas or treating cows with deadly gastric infections, everyone has their hands full in this nail-clipping, bridge-building, bone-repairing abscess-draining season of mending mysterious and sensational solutions. The new season of The Incredible Dr. Pol premieres Saturday, July 16 at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

- Open Your Eyes, which chronicles the amazing journey of two elderly farmers in Nepal as their eyesight is restored, is an acclaimed new documentary directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky (Beware the Slenderman, Peabody Award-winning Hear and Now) which will premiere on HBO on July 18th at 9:00. With today's news cycles seemingly dominated by stories of conflict and negativity, the film presents a remarkable story of the global community coming together to create positive change.

- New technology and the opening of previously closed societies are ushering in a golden age of archaeology, uncovering the secrets of some of history’s most famous empires. Smithsonian Channel has gained access to some remarkable discoveries, and will reveal new insights in a major new programming block: Behind the Lost Empires. The block features specials on the lost city of Pompeii, a recently discovered Roman gladiator school in the heart of Europe, China’s Han Dynasty and its infamous female Emperor Wu, and Burma, the world’s first golden civilization. Pompeii: The Dead Speak kicks off Behind the Lost Empires on Monday, August 8 at 8:00.

- This week, Showtime wrapped production on the first season of the freshman music series Roadies with an impressive roster of musical acts set to appear in the season finale, which will air on Sunday, August 28th at 10:00. The one-hour episode will feature music personally curated by series creator, executive producer, writer and music supervisor Cameron Crowe, and performances from Jim James, Eddie Vedder, Nicole Atkins, Jackson Browne, Robyn Hitchcock, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig from Lucius, and Gary Clark Jr. The ROADIES soundtrack will be released by Republic Records and Stardog Records. Previously announced tracks include “I Wish I Was Sober” by Frightened Rabbit featuring Mike McCready, “Are You Satisfied?” by Reignwolf, and “Big Love” by Lindsey Buckingham.

- Drafthouse Films and MVD Entertainment have announced the upcoming home video release of Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on August 16th. After Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark was released 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film, which the New York Times calls "a testament to the transporting power of movie love." They finished every scene...except one; the film's explosive airplane set piece.

- Showtime Networks Inc. and Amblin Partners have entered into an exclusive output agreement under which qualifying Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media films theatrically released through December 2021 will air across Showtime®, The Movie Channel™ and Flix®, as well as on SHOWTIME multiplex channels and streaming services. The agreement, which extends the existing relationship between DreamWorks Pictures and Showtime Networks, allows it to exhibit high-profile Amblin Partners’ features across its premium channels on-air, on demand and over the internet. The announcement was made today by Kent Sevener, Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition, Showtime Networks Inc. and Jeff Small, Co-CEO, Amblin Partners.