Around the Tubes: 10/12/2018

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 Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Enemies: The President, Justice and the FBI, The Avett Brothers, The Lumineers, Keb’ Mo’ and Rosanne Cash, Meg Myers, Finesse Mitchell: The Spirit Told Me to Tell You, Fair Game with Kristine Leahy, Kidding, Raised By Wolves, Misery Index, The Wild Andes, China From Above, Naomi Watts, Too Stupid To Die, and M.D. Live.

- Hulu has given a straight-to-series order to Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The upcoming drama series created and written by Alex Tse (SuperFly) and Wu-Tang Clan front man The RZA, has received a 10-episode order from Hulu and will be executive produced by Imagine’s Brian Grazer (Empire, Genius) and Francie Calfo (Empire, Genius), Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA and Method Man, and Tse. Imagine Television creative executive James Seidman will oversee the project for Imagine. Based on one of the most influential and important groups in hip-hop history, the series marks the latest high-profile original series order from Hulu that aims to deliver authentic, culturally-relevant storytelling to today’s audiences. The series will explore and expand the world of the Wu-Tang clan, and marks Hulu’s second project with Brian Grazer’s Imagine following the Emmy and Grammy Award winning documentary, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years.

- As the ongoing clashes between the Trump administration, the Department of Justice and the FBI continue to make headlines, Showtime will premiere a new documentary series from Oscar and Emmy award-winning director Alex Gibney. Enemies: The President, Justice and the FBI will provide an in-depth look into the long history of conflict between American presidents and the FBI. The four-part documentary series will premiere its first episode on Showtime on Sunday, November 18 at 8:00.


- The Avett Brothers will headline “Concert for Hurricane Florence Relief” at Minges Coliseum on Tuesday, November 13th, 2018. Future Islands and Valient Thorr, both illustrious bands with connections to eastern North Carolina, will perform in the benefit show. Tickets -- $75 Lower level and $65 --Upper level go on sale on Friday, October 12th at https://ecutickets.net and by phone at 800-DIAL-ECU (800-342-5328). Proceeds from the concert will entirely be donated back to the resilient people and organizations contributing to Hurricane Florence Relief efforts.

- On the one-year anniversary of his passing, The Lumineers today release their version of Tom Petty's Walls. "Tom Petty is a musical hero of mine, and Walls is such an incredible song," shares the band's Wesley Schultz, continuing "When I got married, my wife walked down the aisle to the song." All proceeds from the song will benefit MusiCares, a charity of the Recording Academy™, which provides a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need.

- Keb’ Mo’ and Rosanne Cash have released the official music video for their timely anthem song, "Put A Woman In Charge," an upbeat track with a timely message about female empowerment and embracing women in leadership roles. Following the recent passing of his mother, Mo’ hopes the track can be a gift to women everywhere, that were like his mom; intelligent, hard-working, savvy, and resilient.

- MTV yesterday confirmed that Academy Award®-nominated actress and recording artist Hailee Steinfeld will host and perform at the “2018 MTV EMAs” airing live globally from Bilbao Exhibition Centre, Spain on Sunday, November 4 at 7:00. MTV revealed Steinfeld as host this morning through a Facebook Live sketch that broadcasted across its international platforms.

- Meg Myers arrives to today with her brooding and powerful visuals for her song, "Jealous Sea," premiering exclusively on Refinery29. The video was directed by Clara Aranovich, who also directed the video for "Numb", and sees Meg walking the streets of Los Angeles at night, as she slowly embraces her inner powers and wild side. Clara elaborated on the visuals- "Anyone who’s seen Meg perform live can attest that she has incredible presence; it’s as if she becomes someone or something else all together, as if she’s channeling odd forces. For JEALOUS SEA, I was compelled to make something that showcases this side of Meg, this power she has, a power I feel all women secretly hold."

- Finesse Mitchell takes the stage in his first stand-up special Finesse Mitchell: The Spirit Told Me to Tell You, premiering on Friday, October 19 at 10:00 on Showtime on-air, streaming and on demand. In the hour-long special directed by Devon Shepard and shot at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California, the Saturday Night Live alum discusses everything from L.A. life and staying out of the club to juggling the non-stop demands of marriage, fatherhood and “adult-ing.”


- FOX Sports announced the premiere of Fair Game with Kristine Leahy on Monday, Oct. 22 (5:30 PM ET) on FS1. The network’s new weekday sports show features host Leahy in conversations with the biggest names in sports and entertainment.

- Showtime has ordered a second season of its comedy series Kidding, starring two time Golden Globe® winner and Emmy® nominee Jim Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades. Ordered for 10 episodes next season, Kidding is created by Dave Holstein (WEEDS, Raising Hope). The first season of Kidding currently airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, with its season finale on November 11.

- Turner's TNT has greenlit straight to series Raised By Wolves, a serialized sci-fi series from master storyteller and filmmaker Ridley Scott (The Martian, Blade Runner, Alien: Covenant), who will also mark his television directorial debut with the series. Acclaimed writer Aaron Guzikowski, the visionary behind the highly lauded film Prisoners, will serve as showrunner as well as a writer. The series is being produced by Scott's Scott Free Productions in association with Turner's Studio T and Madhouse Entertainment, with Scott, Guzikowski, David W. Zucker (The Man in the High Castle) and Jordan Sheehan (The Terror), and Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner (Prisoners) and Robyn Meisinger (Prisoners) serving as executive producers. The International rights to the series will be distributed through Turner International. Raised by Wolves centers upon two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.

- Turner’s TBS has ordered the comedy game show Misery Index, a new unscripted series inspired by the outrageously entertaining card game Sh*t Happens. Critically acclaimed and in demand comedy troupe The Tenderloins — Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano — creators and stars of truTV’s Impractical Jokers, cable’s #1 original comedy series, have joined the series to help infuse comic relief. The game will feature two teams — each consisting of one contestant and two Tenderloins. Teams will compete against each other by attempting to determine the ranking of hilarious and miserable real-life events — from getting fired to accidentally sexting your grandfather — on a scale of 1-100.

- For more than three years, filmmaker Christian Baumeister and his intrepid team braved volcanic peaks, caustic lagoons, dense tropical forests and lightning-strewn salt flats to capture the remarkable diversity of life and landscape found in the Andes Mountains. Traveling to six countries and covering more than 20,000 miles by off-road vehicle, they faced extreme challenges as they ventured to seldom explored locations in search of some of the world’s rarest creatures. The Wild Andes showcases this spectacular region and its animal inhabitants in striking detail with a new three-part series, premiering Wednesday, November 7 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- A country of staggering contrasts, China is home to the world’s highest mountains, arid deserts, bustling megacities, the ruins of ancient civilizations and the source of Asia’s biggest rivers. Now, a new four-part series from Smithsonian Channel reveals the secrets and patterns of life in traditional and modern China in stunning ultra-high definition, portraying 40 locations across all four corners of the country. Through a combination of innovative aerial photography and on-the-ground human stories, China From Above showcases this breathtaking nation like never before and reveals a country that has long fascinated and mystified. China From Above premieres Monday, November 12 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Showtime has announced that Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated actress Naomi Watts has joined the cast of the network’s upcoming eight-episode limited series about Fox News founder Roger Ailes. Based on extensive reporting by Gabriel Sherman for his bestselling book, The Loudest Voice in the Room, the series stars Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) in the title role. Crowe also serves as an executive producer on the series. Emmy® nominee Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale) will direct the first two episodes. Production is set to begin next month.

- MTV, in conjunction with Gunpowder & Sky, today announced that its new stunt series Too Stupid To Die will premiere on Friday, November 2nd at 9:30. The highly anticipated series, developed with Zach Holmes, the online sensation and daredevil who was banned by YouTube, will feature bizarre pranks, hilarious antics and outrageous stunts.

- Turner announced M.D. Live (working title), the first live, non-fiction series that taps into the worldwide phenomenon of medical crowdsourcing. The two-hour weekly event set to premiere in 2019 will feature patients battling various ailments that are undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or uncured. A recurring panel of highly accredited doctors will discuss potential diagnoses before throwing live to the crowd for additional feedback, solutions and support. TNT has ordered 10 episodes of the series from Lionsgate Television.

Previewing Light as a Feather

The first time AwesomenessTV teamed up with Hulu, they produced the very cheap looking Freakish. The acting was bad, the writing was poor, the zombie theme was played out, and it really looked like some webseries from a decade earlier. But the thing is, but the time the second season, the show killed off some of the worsts actors and replaced them with much better ones, moved outside the school, peppered in some political intrigue, came up with some compelling plots… and was promptly canceled quietly after.

The duo’s next attempt at the horror genre is Light as a Feather based on the childhood game because I guess Ouija was already made into a movie franchise. Right of the bat, the show actually looks professionally made, a step up from Freakish. And instead of social media stars the show cast actual actors, okay, no one that recognizable but not doing their casting via Instagram and YouTube is an improvement.

For those unfamiliar, Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board is a game where the participants lift someone who pretends to be dead. In the television version new girl Violet, who was only invited because another girl in the group accidentally sprayed her with fake blood in a very Carrie type scene, wants to put a twist on the game where they predict each other’s death while playing. And then someone ends up dying exactly the way Violet says right down to the severed arm. And then things get weirder.

So yeah, Violet seems like she could be a witch while the remaining girls have to figure out how the new girl made this happen before their deaths play out like predicted while playing the game. But the thing is, this is not the first rash of deaths. McKenna, whom Violet seems most infatuated with, had a twin sister die previously. As we get closer to Halloween, Light as a Feather may not conjure up too much gore (beside the so creepy growth on Violet’s back) at least in the first half of episodes, but it keeps the tension up enough if you are into the teen-light version of horror.

All episodes of Light as a Feather are available tomorrow on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 10/7/2018

Shameless: About half way through the episode I thought to myself, for the hundredth episode, this week was fairly tame for such a milestone. Then Frank went and started a race riot. That is more like it.

The Last Ship: I always found the lesbian relationship completely weird, out of place, and just randomly popped out of nowhere at the start of this season. It really just screamed something shady was going on. And apparently I was right. Too bad Alicia did not figure it out before me because she is yet another character to die this season. Is anyone going to get out of this final season alive?
You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.

You: Ooo, a change in format. But maybe I was too harsh on Joe monologing because Beck is not that more compelling at it. I actually assumed the Captain was her father the moment he offered money (I guess I forgot she mentioned he was dead). Though does Peach actually think he is dead with her dead dog an analogy for her father or does she just think the father is just dead to Beck? Really weird to tell everyone, even your best friend, your dad is dead when he is not. But did Joe really leave Beck alone in his apartment with her panties, shirt, and phone when returning the book or did h take that stuff with him. Joe is kind of sloppy for a meticulous stalker.
You can download You on iTunes.

Manifest: So this show is just going to be miracle of the week format? Meh. I am much more interested in the shadow figure who may be going around and killing passengers from the plane. My prediction: it is someone who was on the plane.
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: Do these people seriously forget they are playing for a million dollars? I am not risking a chance at a million dollars to play chicken with my partner. And Zach is clearly in the wrong because Amanda’s alliance is clearly stronger and easier to be one on one. And how did they lose that elimination? C’mon, at one point how do you not realize that Zach needs to climb across and shake that last flag off? I was thinking that after the third try failed.
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.

Survivor: David vs. Goliath: The promo monkey really was trolling us last week. It seemed like both tribes were targeting a woman of color, which would have been another in a long list of women of color being voted out first. Unfortunately, the show reverted back to an older trope of voting out the most attractive females early. Meh.
You can download Survivor: David vs. Goliath on iTunes.

The Good Place: Oh my goodness, the American Café was just offensively brilliant. Maybe even better was the explanation of how the Jacksonville Jaguars and Blake Bortles got suddenly good.
The Good Place on iTunes.