Around the Tubes: 2/24/17

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 Mythbusters: The Search, Castle Rock, Gin Blossoms, Black Sails, Dark Net, Americans Underground: Secret City of WWI, I’m Dying Up Here, and Animal Kingdom.

- In a LIVE broadcast of Science Channel’s Mythbusters: The Search on Saturday, February 25 at 9:00, the next generation of Mythbusters will be revealed. Throughout the season, the final four contenders have all earned the right to be called Mythbusters, displaying killer myth-busting build skills, science smarts and remarkable nerves. Unfortunately, not all of them will walk away as Mythbusters. The finale, featuring Mythbusters: The Search host and Nerdist science editor Kyle Hill, will originate from Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center.

- Hulu is taking viewers into the chilling world of acclaimed, best-selling author Stephen King in the new Hulu Original drama series Castle Rock, from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, Warner Bros. Television and executive producers/writers Sam Shaw & Dustin Thomason. Hulu has ordered a 10 episode first season of the on-going series, with production set to begin this year. A teaser trailer for Castle Rock has been viewed more than one million times since it was released on Friday, Feb. 17, and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/UGHupqE1LCI.

- Gin Blossoms were formed in 1987 in Tempe, AZ, by lead guitarist/songwriter Doug Hopkins, Bill Leen and then-lead vocalist Jesse Valenzuela, (who eventually relinquished the lead vocal position to Robin Wilson before signing to A&M Records) taking their name from a photo of W.C. Fields in Kenneth Anger’s legendary Hollywood Babylon book, which depicted him “with gin blossoms,” referring to his rosacea-ravaged face. A southwest contemporary of bands like the Sidewinders, Meat Puppets, the Refreshments and Dead Hot Workshop. Gin Blossoms’ first full-length studio album, New Miserable Experience, came out on August 4, 1992, on A&M Records, followed four years later by Congratulations, I’m Sorry, on February 13, 1996. UMe will now reissue both albums on black and limited edition colored vinyl on March 24, marking the 25th anniversary of the release of New Miserable Experience.

- In a new deal with Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), Hulu has acquired the subscription streaming rights to the hit, Starz Original series premium cable network drama, Black Sails. All past episodes of the series from previous seasons will become available to stream on Hulu starting now. Hulu has also secured the rights to the fourth and final season when it becomes available.

- The second season of Dark Net, the provocative docu-series produced by Vocativ Films that shines a spotlight on the dark recesses of the deep web, will return to Showtime’s primetime schedule Thursday, April 6th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. DARK NET chronicles the ways in which the Internet has pervaded our communities, relationships and minds, and exposes the dangers of an unregulated, unsupervised digital frontier.

- Texas trauma surgeon Jeff Gusky has revealed an underground city and hidden world beneath a French wheat field. Also an explorer and photographer, Gusky has uncovered extraordinary carvings that bring to light new information about the American soldiers who took refuge there during World War I. The Americans left their names on the ancient limestone walls in hundreds of inscriptions and images: in some cases revealing their identities, where they came from, and ultimately their fate. On the 100th anniversary of WWI, Smithsonian Channel™ exclusively reveals never-before-seen photos and shocking discoveries about these soldiers in the one-hour special Americans Underground: Secret City of WWI, premiering on Monday, March 13, at 8:00.

- Showtime will present the world premiere of its highly anticipated new one-hour drama series I’m Dying Up Here at the South by Southwest® (SXSW) Film Festival on Wednesday, March 15 at 11:30 a.m. in the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. The world premiere will be immediately followed by a Q&A with the series’ cast and producers, including Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Treme), Ari Graynor (Bad Teacher), Andrew Santino (Mixology), Erik Griffin (Workaholics), Al Madrigal (The Daily Show) and executive producer Michael Aguilar.

- The Codys are back, and the ties that bind them are about to be stretched to the limit when TNT's hit Animal Kingdom returns for its second season. One of cable's Top 5 new dramas this past summer, the series about a Southern California crime family stars Emmy® and Tony® winner Ellen Barkin as the matriarch of the Cody clan, Scott Speedman as her second in command and Shawn Hatosy as her volatile, mentally unstable eldest son. Also starring are Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Molly Gordon and Carolina Guerra. The second season of Animal Kingdom is slated to launch Tuesday, May 30, at 9:00 on TNT.