Around the Tubes: 7/29/16

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 Triumph’s Summer Election Special 2016, Great Performances, 2016 Global Citizen Festival, Sting, Tony Lucca, Mission Critical, America's National Parks at 100, Hip Hop Squares, Might Ship at War: The Queen Mary, America’s Next Top Model, and TBS.

- On the heels of its recent Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special, Triumph’s Election Special 2016, Hulu will debut a new, follow-up one-hour special hosted by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog titled Triumph’s Summer Election Special 2016. The new Hulu Original, in association with Funny Or Die, will become available to stream to Hulu subscribers on August 11.

- The PBS Arts Fall Festival returns Friday nights, beginning October 21, 2016, with all new programs, including the highly anticipated look into the making of the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton, a contemporary take on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Visionary Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s Tony and Grammy Award-winning creator and star, will host this year’s festival. Great Performances “Hamilton’s America” gives viewers a look at Miranda and his colleagues’ creative process during the three years leading up to the Broadway opening of the record-breaking musical winner of 11 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize.

- Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, Major Lazer, and Metallica will headline the 2016 Global Citizen Festival, the annual free-ticketed event on the Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City on Saturday, September 24, 2016. The Festival will harness actions from millions of Global Citizens around the world to hold world leaders accountable to the progress made toward achieving the Global Goals set out by the United Nations last year. Special guest performances will be given by Usher, Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Ellie Goulding, Yandel, and Yusuf/Cat Stevens. Hosts for this year’s Festival will include Chelsea Handler, Deborra-lee & Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra, Salma Hayek Pinault, and Seth Meyers.

- On September 30, A&M / Interscope Records are proud to release The Studio Collection, a career-spanning vinyl LP box set featuring all of Sting’s seminal solo studio albums brought together for the first time. The Studio Collection includes eight essential A&M Records albums across eleven LPs – The Dream Of The Blue Turtles (1985), ...Nothing Like The Sun (1987) (double LP), The Soul Cages (1991), Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993), Mercury Falling (1996), Brand New Day (1999) (double LP), Sacred Love (2003) (double LP) and The Last Ship (2013) – with both Brand New Day and Sacred Love available on vinyl for the first time ever.

- Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is set to release a new digital EP on August 5, 2016 via Rock Ridge Music entitled Sessions, Vol. 2: Muscle Shoals. The three tracks on the release came from a day-long session Lucca did in Muscle Shoals, AL 10 years ago when he went to the music town to explore the area and get to know some writers and players in that scene.

- For many of Earth’s species, time is running out. Iconic animals such as black rhinos, mountain gorillas and giant pandas are close to joining dodos and dinosaurs on the unfortunate list of animals gone forever. While working to preserve these threatened and endangered creatures may seem like a daunting mission, Nat Geo WILD believes that it’s a critical one. Today, Nat Geo WILD announced the premiere of Mission Critical, a new monthly programming initiative featuring powerful stories of the most incredible and endangered animals on our planet. The new series hopes to inspire a new generation of animal lovers to preserve and protect our world’s amazing wildlife, and will premiere globally in 131 countries and 38 languages. Every month, Mission Critical highlights species at the forefront of extinction and the brave individuals who are racing against the clock to make a difference. From adorable baby beluga whales to mischievous Tasmanian devils to elusive leopards, the episodes range from heartwarming to tear-jerking in hopes to shine a light on those animals that need our attention most.

- It began as a radical idea to preserve a mysterious land of “boiling sulpher springs.” Now the National Park Service is 100 years old – with more than 400 places we’ve seen fit to save forever. Smithsonian Channel will celebrate the centennial with America's National Parks at 100 premiering Sunday, August 28 at 8:00. The one-hour special tells the story of how this radical idea evolved into an enduring mission shaped by the creativity, resourcefulness and passion of individual Americans.

- VH1 is giving the classic game show Hollywood Sqares a Hip Hop makeover with the help of Ice Cube and his Cube Vision production company in conjunction with Jesse Collins Entertainment and Jeff Kwatinetz’s The Firm. Slated for a Fall 2016 premiere, celebrity contestants will match wits and test their pop culture knowledge with the superstar squares, featuring the biggest names in hip hop, comedy and entertainment. According to Ice Cube: “Hip Hop Squares is going to be fun and spontaneous; unlike typical game shows, viewers should never know what’s going to happen next. When VH1 asked us to join the producing team, we jumped aboard as we have had success with VH1, and we love their team, excitement and commitment to the show.”

- Nat Geo WILD announced today that Emmy-nominated actor Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) will narrate the upcoming global miniseries event Savage Kingdom, a rare look at warring animal clans battling for survival in a remote region of Africa that is drying up after years of flood-soaked abundance. The winners are rewarded with the richest hunting grounds in the kingdom, while the losers are fated to exile … or even death. Savage Kingdom premieres Friday, Nov. 25, at 9:00 on Nat Geo WILD and globally this fall in 134 countries and 37 languages.

- For six seasons, The Wonder Years captured the angst of growing up in suburban middle-class America in the late '60s, as seen through the life and times of Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage). Audiences eagerly followed his evolution as a typical awkward teenager who remembered every moment of his transition from childhood with excruciating detail and remarkable hindsight. From his first kiss with Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) to his friendship with Paul Pfeiffer (Josh Saviano) and the ups and downs of the Arnold family, fans shared in laughter, love, and loss, but above all, wonder. This 22-DVD set contains all 115 episodes from the six seasons of this landmark series that aired from 1988 to 1993. Included in this specially-priced slipcase set are complete show notes with episode synopses, cast member reflections, "Current Events," and more plus nearly 12 hours of bonus material, as well as an astounding soundtrack of over 300 classic period songs as they were featured in the original broadcasts featuring such artists as: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, and of course, Joe Cocker's unforgettable theme. The Wonder Years: The Complete Series Street Date: August 23, 2016.

- All aboard Smithsonian Channel this August, as the network sets sail on an epic journey to chronicle the spectacular life and times of the singular vessel R.M.S. Queen Mary, as both a luxury passenger liner and a wartime troop ship. Might Ship at War: The Queen Mary, a new one-hour special timed to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the famed ocean liner’s maiden voyage, will premiere Sunday, August 21 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- VH1 today announced the host and judging panel for the network’s upcoming reincarnation of America’s Next Top Model, premiering this fall. Singer, actress and entrepreneur Rita Ora will host the reinvented show with supermodel and body activist Ashley Graham, Paper Magazine Chief Creative Officer Drew Elliott and celebrity stylist and image architect Law Roach serving as judges. Show creator Tyra Banks and Ken Mok continue as executive producers of the iconic modeling competition, with Banks making surprise appearances throughout the season.

- TBS, a division of Turner, has greenlit Storyville, a new digital animated series co-created by OkayPlayer. The top-rated network is also in development on Think B.I.G., a scripted series based loosely on lyrics by the late, great Notorious B.I.G. The two projects are the first to emerge from a new strategic content partnership between TBS & TNT and New York-based content and media organization Mass Appeal.