Around the Tubes: 2/9/2017

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 Angie Tribeca, Showtime, After Spring, Big Cat Week, Disgraced, Conan Without Borders: Made in Mexico, FilmStruck, and Mama's Family.

- The world called, and Angie has answered with the most magnificent, masterful and moving third season of TBS's Angie Tribeca yet. Rashida Jones, Hayes MacArthur, Jere Burns, Deon Cole, Andrée Vermeulen and Jagger will be back when the powerful police drama returns Monday, April 10, at 10:30, exclusively on TBS, a division of Turner.

- Showtime will be available to more than 73 million households during a Free Preview Weekend from Friday, February 17 through Monday, February 20. Viewers nationwide will be able to sample the network’s award-winning programming on Showtime, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and via select distributors' TV Everywhere portals. The Free Preview Weekend will include the season two premiere of the powerful drama series Billions, starring Oscar® nominee and Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis. Additionally, viewers will be able to sample new episodes of the Emmy-winning drama series HOMELAND, along with a live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event, feature films and compelling documentary programming.

- Starz announced this week the critically-acclaimed documentary After Spring, executive produced by Jon Stewart and Chris McShane and directed/produced by Steph Ching and Ellen Martinez, will make its national television debut on Friday, February 10 at 9:00 exclusively on STARZ. The documentary will be made available for STARZ subscribers on the STARZ app and STARZ ON DEMAND today, Friday, February 3, one week prior to the television premiere. he outstanding documentary feature film tells the heartbreaking and inspiring personal stories of Syrian refugees and aid workers at the Zaatari Refugee Camp, home to 80,000 people and now considered the fourth largest city in Jordan. More than 50 percent of the camp’s population is under 18 years old and over 5,000 babies have been born in the camp since it opened in July 2012. The Syrian conflict has displaced more than 10 million people, according to the United Nations.

- For millions of years, big cats have stood atop the food chain as treasured icons of the wild. We have a deep, ancient connection with these revered predators. We admire them; we fear them; and now, we need to fight for them. Today, big cats such as lions, cheetahs, leopards and cougars are in decline across the globe. Nat Geo WILD’s seventh annual Big Cat Week has turned its lens on these majestic animals to shine a light on their struggle and to remind viewers of their importance in the world. Big Cat Week premieres Monday, Feb. 20, at 9:00 on Nat Geo WILD

- This week, Showtime Networks Inc. announced the feature-length documentary Disgraced, which recounts the shocking murder of Baylor University men’s basketball star Patrick Dennehy as well as an attempted cover-up of NCAA rule violations. The film, which will make its world premiere at the 2017 South By Southwest film festival next month, will premiere on Showtime on March 31 at 9:00.

- Star Wars: Rouge One star Diego Luna and former Mexican President Vincente Fox will join Conan O'Brien during the late-night host's newest primetime special, Conan Without Borders: Made in Mexico. Shot on location in Mexico City, the hour-long special is set to premiere Wednesday, March 1, at 10:00, exclusively on TBS.

- FilmStruck, the streaming movie service for film aficionados, is now available on Google Chromecast second generation and Chromecast Ultra devices. Continuing its rapid platform expansion, the streaming service will also launch on Roku, Playstation 4 and Xbox One in the coming months. FilmStruck, featuring the largest streaming library of contemporary and classic arthouse, indie, foreign and cult films and the exclusive streaming home to the Criterion Collection, is available for streaming on Apple TV 4th generation devices, Amazon Fire TV, web, iOS and Android devices.

- Everyone's favorite indelible and smart alecky small-town matriarch is back - and, she's brought her whole crazy family with her! After breaking out from "The Family" sketches on "The Carol Burnett Show," Thelma "Mama" Harper's home-spun humor earned its own well-loved sitcom which ran for six knee-slapping seasons. Set in the fictional city of Raytown, MAMA'S FAMILY revolves around the eye-opening escapades of the Harper clan, headed by Mama Harper, who does not suffer fools gladly. In fact, she makes everybody suffer a little with her patented snappy retorts that truly put the "diss" in dysfunction. Now, for the first time, home audiences can revel in the very best episodes of this outlandish family comedy with Mama's Family: The Mama's Family Favorites Collection. Street Date: March 7, 2017

- Some upcoming Showtime premiere dates:
Original Series
Billions: Sunday, February 19 at 10:00
Guerrilla: Sunday, April 16 at 9:00
Twin Peaks: Sunday May 21 at 9:00
I'm Dying Up Here: Sunday, June 4 at 10:00
Ray Donovan: Summer
Documentaries
American Jihad: Saturday, March 11 at 9:00
Beach Boys: Making of Pet Sounds: Apri
Jackson: May
More Than T: June
Becoming Cary Grant: TBD
Comedy Specials
Nick Cannon: Stand Up. Don't Shoot: Friday, Febuary 10 at 9:00
SXSW Comedy with Natasha Leggero Part Two: Friday, March 17 at 10;00
Steve Byrne: Tell the Damn Joke: April
Al Madrigal: Shrimpin' Ain't Easy: Friday May 5 at 9:00
Andrew Santino: Home Field Advantage: Friday, June 2 at 9:00
Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth: Friday, July 7 at 9:00
Sports
Shobox: The New Generation: Friday, February 10 at 10:00
Showtime Championship Boxing: Broner vs. Granados: Saturday, Febuary 18 at 9:00
Shobox: The New Generation: Fridy, February 24 at 10:00
Prison Fighters: 5 Rounds to Freedom: Friday, February 24 at 8:30