Around the Tubes: 11/16/2018

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 Affair, Comcast, Terrorism Close Calls, Game Show Network Daily Draw, Invisible Hands, Ariana Grande, Noël Wells, The Carpenters, and Cassadee Pope.

- Oscar® and Golden Globe® Award winner Anna Paquin (True Blood) has signed on as a series regular for the fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed Showtime drama series, The Affair. Paquin will play a pivotal role as Alison and Cole’s now adult daughter Joanie Lockhart, who returns some years in the future to a climate-change ravaged Montauk to piece together the truth about what happened to her mother, bringing the whole story full circle.

- Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) today announced it has selected two new African American majority owned independent networks to be broadly distributed on Comcast Cable systems beginning in January 2019. After a thorough evaluation of dozens of proposals, Comcast selected AFRO and CLEO TV, both of which will provide quality entertainment that highlights and features TV and movie content about African American and black communities.

- Looking for your next Netflix binge? Check out Terrorism Close Calls– a ten-part series investigating the world's deadliest terror plots that failed at an intimate event (now streaming on Netflix). The series features exclusive access to the agents involved in disrupting the plots as well as leading national and international authorities on counter-terrorism, intelligence, and law enforcement, including Mark Kelton.

- Game Show Network’s popular daily sweepstakes, Game Show Network Daily Draw, is super-sizing for the holidays by giving away up to $25,000 throughout its “Twelve Draws of Christmas.” On weeknights from Monday, December 10 through Tuesday, December 25 at 7 p.m. ET, host Trish Suhr will announce which twelve lucky viewers will win cash prizes ranging from $750 to $10,000! To play, viewers need to watch Game Show Network for the code word each weeknight from 8 pm – 2 am and then enter the code word online at https://www.gsntv.com/sweepstakes/dailydraw/ or send in a postcard for a chance to win. For more information go to gsntv.com/dailydraw/rules/.

- Invisible Hands exposes child labor and child trafficking within the supply chains of the world’s biggest corporations, which produce some of our most loved items. The film offers a harrowing account of children as young as five years old making the products we buy and consume every day. Chilling undercover footage shows children being sold like animals to the highest bidder and others being abused by this pervasive slave labor. Invisible Hands digs deep into a modern slavery system quietly supported by some of the world’s largest companies, demanding to know why top stakeholders continue to engage in this unlawful practice.

- Multi-platinum, record-breaking superstar Ariana Grande makes more history. Her brand new song, “thank u, next” claims the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with over 55.5 million streams in the U.S. On Apple Music, she broke multiple records. “thank u, next” now holds the global record for “#1 Most-Streamed Pop Song First-Week on Apple Music.” She also reaches rarified air as the “only female artist to chart in the Top 5 songs first-week of release on Apple Music.” It represents a milestone moment for the singer. At Spotify, it captured both “the U.S. and Global One-Day streaming records for a female artist,” generating over 9 million plays worldwide and 4 million in the U.S. on the platform. Not to mention, it soared to #1 on iTunes, Amazon Music, and Tidal. It also debuted at #1 on the Official UK Singles chart, becoming the highest selling #1 debut of the year in the UK.

- Actress, writer, filmmaker and comedian Noël Wells is proud to present the first single taken from her forthcoming debut album titled “Sunrise.” Streaming now, “Sunrise” was the first song written for the upcoming full-length, composed on a guitar Wells picked up in an AirBnB she was staying at in Austin, TX while she was shooting a film.

- The Carpenters are getting the royal treatment. Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is set for release worldwide December 7 by A&M/UMe. Featuring timeless hits and favorites, the album pairs Carpenters' original vocal and instrumental tracks with new orchestral arrangements from Carpenter, conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) at Abbey Road Studios. It is available now for preorder in digital, CD and 180-gram 2LP vinyl LP formats. The vinyl set will be released February 8.

- Tune in Friday, November 16 at 9:00 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special “Cassadee Pope” on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239. The show will also be available streaming on-demand through DIRECTV NOW and WatchTV.