Around the Tubes: 11/25/2017

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 The Alienist, Wild ‘N Out, Maggie Lindemann, Lady Antebellum, The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst, Panama's Animal Highway, and Meth Storm.

- The Alienist opens when a series of haunting murders of boy prostitutes grips New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) calls upon criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and newspaper illustrator John Moore (Luke Evans) to conduct the investigation in secret. They are joined by Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), a headstrong secretary determined to become the city's first female police detective. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and forensics, this band of social outsiders set out to apprehend one of New York City's first serial killers. The limited series also stars Douglas Smith, Matthew Shear, Matt Lintz, Robert Ray Wisdom and Q'orianka Kilcher. The Alienist premieres across TNT’s television, mobile and digital platforms on Monday, January 22nd, at 9:00.


- For the 10TH SEASON of Wild ‘N Out Nick Cannon and his world class crew of comedians and freestylers will be taking their hit show to Brooklyn! Over the years Wild ‘N Out has curated one of the most impressive arsenals of comedians and entertainers in the game. Mike Epps, Kevin Hart, Kat Williams, Mikey Day, Pete Davidson, DeRay Davis and more all started as Wild ‘N Out cast members. Each episode puts two teams, comprised mostly of seasoned vets, against each other in some of the most hilarious, entertaining and sometimes outlandish games seen on TV. Nick Cannon will lead his team against a celebrity-led squad and the two teams will try to best each other in ridiculous comic throw downs. These throw downs escalate with each act, all gearing up toward the main event: the “Wildstyle battle” to decide who takes home the coveted WNO battle belt. The show premieres on Thursday, November 30th with two back-to-back episodes beginning at 11:00 on MTV.

- Multi-platinum recording artist, Maggie Lindemann continues to prove that she is one of music’s newest pop heroines. The 19 year old artist lands today with her new single “Obsessed” (via 300 Entertainment)— a glittering pop gem infused with tropical synths and saccharine melodies.

- On Friday, November 24, AT&T* AUDIENCE Network will present the broadcast premiere of a special concert and documentary event with seven-time GRAMMY award-winning trio Lady Antebellum via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and streaming on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. The two-hour show, titled Lady Antebellum: YOU LOOK GOOD WORLD TOUR starts live at 8:00 and gives viewers full access to personal interviews and a never-before-seen televised concert packed with their biggest chart-topping hits and new favorites. The show was recorded live at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena--on the last official North American stop of the tour, which spanned over 60 shows this year and coincided with the release of their sixth studio album HEART BREAK.

- For nineteen months, American families were glued to their TV screens watching the saga of the kidnapped Patricia “Patty” Campbell Hearst as she turned from an American heiress to the automatic machine gun toting urban guerilla fugitive named Tania. Hear the inside story straight from Patty herself in The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst, which features footage of her first interview following her release, first-hand audio tapes of the kidnappers and rediscovered news footage to reexamine the story that held a nation in thrall. The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst airs this Sunday, November 26 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Smithsonian Channel’s Wild Wednesday lineup takes viewers on a journey of extremes, from the rugged beauty of South Dakota’s Badlands to the tropical jungles of Panama, to meet some of the amazing animals that call these locations home. While an extraordinary assortment of creatures migrate thousands of miles to escape to warmer weather, others must stick it out through the brutal winter. All of these animals have one thing in common: the struggle to survive. Get a closer look at the challenges these animals face on Smithsonian Channel with the premiere of Panama's Animal Highway on Wednesday, December 13 at 8:00 and America's Badlands on Wednesday, December 20 at 8:00.

- Today, 90% of the methamphetamine consumed in America comes over the border from Mexico in the form of a superdrug called ICE. As drug enforcement agents battle sophisticated cartels, poor, rural users, dealers and families are caught in the middle. Featuring extensive access to law enforcement, Meth Storm tells the story of rural, economically-disadvantaged users and dealers whose addiction to ICE and lack of job opportunities have landed them in an endless cycle of poverty and incarceration, and follows police and DEA agents struggling to stop the cartels. Debuting this MONDAY, NOV. 27 (10:00–11:40 p.m. ET/PT), this timely presentation is both a cautionary tale and a high-stakes drama told from inside the war on drugs. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

The Voice Season Thirteen Not So Live Playoffs Power Ranking

What the fork!?! Back in season six, the show realized taped Playoffs with coaches picking all three singers was an abject failure and when back to Live Playoffs… until this season. Which begs the question why? Is it simply because NBC did not want to preempt This Is Us? There were plenty ways around this, push This Is Us to 10:00. Or just do two hours on Wednesday. Just push The Blacklist episode back a week.

So we are left to wonder what would have happened had America voted. I think Jennifer’s team would be the same with America saving Noah and Chris and then Jennifer inexplicably saving Shi’Ann (even though Hannah deserved for making a horrible song almost listenable; seriously, Jennifer did really horrible job picking songs making me wonder if there was intentional bussing). Blake is slightly more questionable. Red probably would have (sadly) gotten America’s vote, and Chloe charted high on iTunes, then Blake could have saved Keisha. But America loves boring white guys so Mitchell could have very likely gotten the second spot with a bored housewife catnip of a song selection, but then again he charted very low. But if it counts as a votes, are the bored housewives more willing to part with their cash?

Things get interesting with Adam. Addison far and away charted the highest, but Jon, Emily, and Adam were all bunched up. I think Adam gets through with the country vote, and then Adam saves Jon. But how many people who would have downloaded Emily’s song if it was for a vote but didn’t since she did not advance. That may have been a bit of a change. Miley is probably the most questionable with all her singers bunched up together.

But I have reached that point of the season where I stop caring. I will probably catch Addison on YouTube and vote for her if I remember. So here is my final Power Ranking.

1. Addison Agen (Team Miley Adam)
2. Adam Cunningham (Team Blake Adam)
3. Noah Mac (Team Blake Jennifer)
4. Chloe Kohanski (Team Miley Blake)
5. Jon Mero (Team Adam)
6. Davon Fleming (Team Jennifer)
7. Janice Freeman (Team Miley)
8. Brooke Simpson (Team Miley)
9. Ashland Craft (Team Miley)
10. Keisha Renee (Team Blake)
11. Shi’Ann Jones (Team Jennifer)
12. Red Marlow (Team Blake)

Ugg, I hate these coaches, my top four are the four Steals left In the show. Miley in particular, her team would have been much better if it were Karli, Addison, and Chloe. Brooke and Ashland never lived up to their buzzed about Blind Auditions and though Janice improved I still find her mostly boring. But who cares what I think, here is how the top twelve charted on iTunes.

1. Noah Mac (19)
2. Addison Agen (31)
3. Red Marlow (62)
4. Chloe Kohanski (67)
5. Emily Luther (94)
6. Davon Flemming (95)
7. Jon Mero (100)
8. Adam Cunningham (104)
9. Janice Freeman (127)
10. Ashland Craft (152)
11. Noah Mac – Hold Back the River (164)
12. Chloe Kohanski – Landslide (171)
13. Brooke Simpson (169)
14. Keisha Renee (179)
15. Karli Webster (262)
16. Adam Pearce (266)
17. Addison Agen – Beneath You’re Beautiful (300)
18. Mitchell Lee (326)
19. Moriah Formica (337)
20. Anthony Alexander (363)
21. Noah Mac – Way Down We Go (486)
22. Red Marlow - Outskirts of Heaven (512)
23. Shi’Ann Jones (591)
24. Lucas Holliday (612)
25. Hannah Mrozak (637)
26. Natalie Stovall (655)
27. Addison Agen – Jolene (656)
28. Addison Agen and Karli Webster (684)
29. Emily Luther – Glitter in the Sky (773)
30. Chloe Kohanski – The Chain (862)
31. Keisha Renee – I Hope You Dance (904)
32. Esera Tuaolo (978)
33. Keisha Renee and Noah Mac (1031)
34. Davon Flemming - I Can Only Imagine (1112)
35. Chris Weaver (1191)
36. Whitney Fenimore (1434)
37. Emily Luther – Summertime (1434)
38. Janice Freeman – I’m Going Down (1487)

I have been saying Noah and Addison are the front runners for a couple rounds now in that they have been constantly recharting past performances. Both had all four in the top 1500 last week. Chloe and Keisha had three. Though if I were a betting man, I would still pick Red to win after two strong weeks on the charts. If you averaged the peaks of all four rounds, here is how everyone would rank (Janice, Chloe, and Shi’Ann all failed to chart one round and I gave them 1500 for the missing song).


1. Addison Agen (76)
2. Noah Mac (131.75)
3. Karli Webster (160.3)
4. Ashland Craft (163.25)
5. Brooke Simpson (191.5)
6. Davon Flemming (248.25)
7. Adam Cunningham (259)
8. Jon Mero (332)
9. Mitchell Lee (334.75)
10. Moriah Formica (339)
11. Keisha Renee (346.5)
12. Emily Luther (359.25)
13. Natalie Stovell (437.6)
14. Anthony Alexander (448.75)
15. Janice Freeman (501.75)
16. Red Marlow (518)
17. Chloe Kohanski (535.75)
18. Hannah Mrozak (547.25)
19. Chris Weaver (557.75)
20. Lucas Holiday (571)
21. Adam Peirce (701.5)
22. Shi’Ann Jones (719)
23. Esera Tuaolo (749.25)
24. Whitney Fenimore (755.6)

Wow, four of the top five were all on Miley’s team at the start of the season, though the top two are no longer on her team. I do wonder what would happen if we pulled an Olympic rull where you toss out the lowest score because Janice and Chloe had one bad performance but their last two were strong (same with Red who no one cared about his first two performances).

Weirdly, despite coaches getting to pick instead of he public, I went eleven for twelve on my picks (Mitchell instead of Chloe being the one I got wrong). Except Mitchell was one my finalist. So here are my revised picks:

Elimination Order: Shi’Ann, Janice, Brooke
Eliminated During Bloodbath: Chloe, Jon, Addison, Keisha, Davon
Finalists: Adam, Ashland, Noah
Winner: Red

And I just realized there is a lot of country and RnB this season, with only three (Chloe, Addison, and Noah) not fitting into that category. Five RnB, four country is way too much. If you are going to have the coaches pick the top twelve they need to do a much better job coming up with a more diverse sound. Shi’Ann has no right being here. Adam , Whitney, and or Moriah could have added some pure rock (Noah is more in the alt-rock vein). Clearly iTunes purchaser would have included Karli who is more of an old school pop singer compared to Addison’s newer take on the folk pop genre. Seriously, The Voice, white people can sing more than country on this show.

Previewing Search Party: Season Two

The first season of Search Party followed a bunch of annoying Brooklyn hipsters trying to find their missing college friend that they really did not communicate with anymore despite living in a time where it is really easy to stay in touch with everyone. But the thing is, I could tell from the very beginning how that season was going to end: with the whole missing thing being a misunderstanding and the friend would show up safe and sound on the finale. And though that is exactly how the mystery was resolved, the show did throw a huge curve at the end when the merry band of hipsters killed a dude.

Sure, they thought he had something to do with the disappearance and possible murder, except the friend was alive and well and he was a private investigator looking for a reward. So this was straight up murder. Much like the first season, early in the seconds season I f think I figured out how the season second season would end: these Brooklyn hipsters would end up in prison. Seriously, there is no way these morons could possibly get away with murder, can they? Sure it would hard for there to be a show if most the of the main characters are in prison unless there is big switch in season three.

Each of the annoying Brooklyn hipsters are rationalizing the tragedy in their own way. Dory keeps seeing things, Elliot developed a rash, Drew is trying to get his job to transfer him to the Shanghai office in hopes there is no extradition treaty, and Portia actually veers into trauma by joining a play about the Manson murders. Needless to say none of these coping mechanisms go very well. Oh yeah, and lets not forget the gang’s token black friend (who knew he went on to become ABC’s The Mayor) who joins the staff of a senatorial campaign of someone who looks a lot like nineties era Hilary Clinton. Though I am not entirely sure if this was intentional but this candidate does act more like Bill than Hilary behind close door in an eerie bit of timing with all the current senate candidates right now.

The thing about the first season was it was fun watching a bunch of incompetent hipster try to do something good for the first time in the lives and bumble their way through their task. But watching a bunch of incompetent hipster try to get away with murder and bumble their way through their task is not nearly as entertaining. It was really mostly a drag. The most entertaining part came in the second to last episode where a not so incognito Portia and Eliot do a very poor job tailing someone. See the uncomfortable comedy is much better when the stakes were low. But I will say, much like the end of the first season, I was shocked by the ending and left wondering what they possibly be doing in season three.

Search Party airs Sundays at 10:00 on TBS and airs back to back episodes each week.