Around the Tubes: May 4, 2019

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 Handmaid's Tale, Veronica Mars, City on a Hill, Desus and Mero, Catch-22, Brendan Schaub You'd Be Surprised, The Day We Walked on the Moon, It’s Bruno, Fletcher, Of Monsters and Men, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story, Anthony Hamilton, JP Cooper, This Is Not Happening with Roy Wood Jr., Family Style, Black Monday, The Chi, and other Hulu Upfront news.

- At the Hulu '19 presentation, we released the official trailer for season three of The Handmaid's Tale as well as the first look at the Hulu revival of Veronica Mars. The new season of The Handmaid's Tale premieres Wednesday, June 5. Veronica Mars premieres all episodes on Friday, July 26, only on Hulu.




- Showtime released the poster and new trailer for its upcoming one-hour drama series City on a Hill starring Golden Globe® winner and Emmy® nominee Kevin Bacon (The Following) and Screen Actors Guild® Award winner Aldis Hodge (Underground). Premiering on Sunday, June 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, City on a Hill is currently in production on 10 episodes in New York and Boston.


- Showtime is bringing fans more Desus and Mero, expanding the show to two nights a week for a special summer run. The network’s first-ever late-night talk show will air two nights a week starting Monday May 6 and will air Monday and Thursday nights at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT all summer long, up until its August hiatus beginning Monday, August 5. Desus and Mero features the duo chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more, as well as giving their take on the day’s hot topics in their signature style in front of a small live studio audience from New York City. Upcoming guests on Desus and Mero will include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Charlize Theron, Amy Poehler, Gabrielle Union, Seth Rogen, Spike Lee, Bill Hader, Regina Hall and many more.

- Hulu has released a new featurette on the making of Catch-22 featuring soundbites with George Clooney (Director/ 'Scheisskopf'), Grant Heslov (Director/ 'Doc. Daneeka'), Luke Daives (Co-Writer), Ellen Kuras (Director), Christopher Abbott ('Yossarian') and Kyle Chandler ('Col. Cathcart). All 6 episodes of Catch-22 premiere on Friday, May 17, only on Hulu.


- Showtime presents podcast host and comedian Brendan Schaub in his first television comedy special, Brendan Schaub You'd Be Surprised, premiering Friday, May 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. A modern-day renaissance man, the former college football player, retired mixed martial arts fighter and current talk-show host takes center stage on premium television for the first time in a stand-up comedy special as he shares his tale and completes a life-long dream. Brendan Schaub You'd Be Surprised was filmed at Spreckels Theatre in San Diego on January 19.


- Half a century after humanity’s historic first step on the Moon, Smithsonian Channel will launch a six-week celebration of this historic accomplishment. Six-part series Apollo's Moon Shot explores the Moon program through unique and rare access to Apollo artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, while a companion augmented reality app enables users to participate in the mission. One-hour documentary The Day We Walked on the Moon relives those iconic 24 hours through the surprising revelations of the men and women who were there and those impacted across the globe. Apollo's Moon Shot premieres Sunday, June 16 at 8 PM ET/PT, and the APOLLO’S MOON SHOT app will be available for download free of charge on iOS and Android platforms this June. The Day We Walked on the Moon premieres Sunday, July 7 at 9 PM ET/PT and will be available to stream on the Smithsonian Channel app and at SmithsonianChannel.com beginning Sunday, June 30.

- There’s just no coming between a man and his dog, as the Netflix/Stage 13 new scripted series It’s Bruno attests. It’s the brainchild of Solvan “Slick” Naim, whose entry into filmmaking started with music. As a kid, whenever he would hear a song he loved, he would create characters and a narrative to go with it. Before he turned to filmmaking, he was pursuing a career in music as a rapper. In a way, it’s what makes Slick’s visual style so dynamic. “It’s Bruno” plays like vibrant, pulsing and visual beats surrounding the tight bond between a man and his dog. Streaming May 17 on Netflix.


- Grammy® Award-nominated multiplatinum Icelandic quintet Of Monsters and Men make their much-anticipated return today with the new single “Alligator.” Get it HERE via Republic Records and watch the lyric video HERE.

- Vevo announces the release of Fletcher's live performances of "Undrunk." Hailed by PAPER as "one of the most exciting female artists to emerge in pop," FLETCHER's new single, "Undrunk," is simultaneously heart-wrenching and infectious, capturing the post-breakup yearning for a do-over. It also brings to light the harsh reality of calling it quits and that "Some things you can't undo / and one of them's you." Creating infectious pop music in its most authentic form, FLETCHER's genuine approach to storytelling can elicit a visceral connection for anyone listening.

- As part of its ‘Fuse Docs’ series, I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story directed by Jessica Leski follows four diverse women across different generations as they explore what it means to be a superfan obsessed with bands from the Beatles to One Direction. What turns a fan into a Stan? From Beatlemaniacs to Directioners, obsession with a famous boyband is a curious thing. The Beatles, Backstreet Boys, Take That and One Direction all inspire a particular, fanatical fascination. In this surprising coming of age story, the focus is on four diverse women across different generations who struggle with the challenges and contradictions that come with their obsession. Directed by Jessica Leski. The film has its television world premiere on Fuse May 18.

- In a three-day immersive experience, Grammy Award winning artist Anthony Hamilton will join the ranks of other world-famous musicians and scientists to put a focus on climate-change solutions. The event scheduled for May 17-19 will be curated by Earth's Call, a new nonprofit organization that finds and funds innovative solutions to fight the climate crisis. The concert will anchor the three-day immersive experience of sight and sound. Highlights for the weekend in and around Aspen can be found here. Hamilton will join Grammy Award winning artists Colbie Caillat, Mickey Hart, Patti LaBelle, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Alan Parsons — along with the Compton Kidz Club and the Earth's Symphony Orchestra, the latter led by Grammy Award winning conductor Cheche Alara — will perform at the Benedict Music Tent, home of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

- The unmistakably British singer-songwriter JP Cooper follows the rapid success of debut album ‘Raised Under Grey Skies’ with ‘Sing It With Me’ ft. Astrid S – his first release of 2019. Never shy of working with other artists, ‘Sing it With Me,' is the most joyous of collaborations. With voices that meld together into one, the harmonies complement each other in all the right ways. Slowly adding layers, the track begins with the soulful vocals of Cooper and eventually builds up to an explosive chorus that commands the attention of any room. The perfect soundtrack for the dance floor or a day on the beach, 'Sing It With Me' can translate to any occasion. With a driving beat and passionate vocals, the track has an infectious energy that leaves listeners captivated by the duo.

- Comedy Central just posted the unedited version of Gastor Almonte's appearance on This Is Not Happening with Roy Wood Jr. over on Facebook Watch - check out Reverse Drive-By here:

- Stage 13, the award-winning content studio that is a division of Warner Bros. Digital Networks, continues to premiere its unique and relevant original programming with the streaming debut and series launch of Family Style on Monday, May 13. The show will launch on Stage 13’s siteand YouTube channel and on Facebook Watch during Asian Pacific American Heritage month. The original 12-episode, unscripted series offers a lively look at not just Asian food, but the history and culture that bring the food to the dish.

- Showtime announced today that it has picked up a second season of its series Black Monday. The comedy about a motley crew of underdogs causing the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street stars and is executive produced by Emmy® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Don Cheadle. Two-time Tony® Award nominee and Grammy® winner Andrew Rannells (Girls) and Regina Hall (Girls Trip) star in and produce the series. Black Monday is created by showrunners and executive producers David Caspe (Happy Endings) and Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl). Emmy® nominees Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Preacher, Superbad, Future Man) serve as executive producers. Black Monday will resume production on 10 episodes later this year for a 2020 debut on the network.\

- Showtime has picked up the hit drama series The Chi for a third season. Created and executive produced by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Boomerang, Master of None) and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma), THE CHI is a timely coming-of-age story centering on a group of residents who become linked by coincidence but bonded by the need for connection and redemption. The cast includes Jason Mitchell (Mudbound, Straight Outta Compton), Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (Queen of Katwe), Jacob Latimore (Sleight), Alex Hibbert (Moonlight), Yolonda Ross (Treme) and Armando Riesco (Bull). The second season is currently airing Sundays at 10 p.m. PT/ET.

- In other Hulu Upfront news:
The company has surpassed 28 Million U.S. customers
Hulu has expanded its partnership with Marvel Television with two new live-action series, Marvel’s Ghost Rider and Marvel’s Helstrom
Hulu inks a new multi-year deal with Vox Media Studios to create food-focused Hulu originals with David Chang & Chrissy Teigen
Hulu strikes original programming deal with TIME’s 100 Most Influential Honoree, Chrissy Teigen
Hulu expands slate of original series with straight-to-series order for Nine Perfect Strangers starring and produced by Academy Award® Winner Nicole Kidman and Emmy® Award-Winner Bruna Papandrea
Hulu will launch new binge advertising experience as it expands suite of behavior-driven ad formats
Hulu greenlights limited series, The Dropout, starring Kate McKinnon as Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes
Hulu renews freshman comedies Pen15 and Ramy

Previewing Into the Dark: All That We Destroy

After the first couple episodes tied very strongly into their holidays, the last couple Into the Dark episode seemed to tenuously linked to the supposed theme. March’s Ides of March episode only had a vague revenge plot but did not even feature an “Et Tu Brute” moment. Now for May, we are treated to a Mother’s Day episode that does not even mention the holiday once.

All That We Destroy features a geneticist mother who clones someone for his son which makes her a mother on two levels even though neither actually celebrates the holiday at any point during the episode. Samantha Mathis (American Phycho) plays the mother who is working on cloning to help cure people of disease in the near future as organ donors. Except she has diverged from her research to make the perfect clone for her son Israel Broussard (Happy Death Day).

See her son is a psychopath with homicidal tendencies and in her mind killing a clone is more in a moral grey area than having him snap and killing an actual human being. Sure this sucks for Aurora Perrineau (who was in the first Into the Dark episode though this is not a cross-over; although, since she is a clone in the future, I guess it is plausible) who plays the clone as she just repeatedly beaten to death while seventies soft rock song Every Time I Think of You is playing and then dragged naked to be cloned again. But hey, Into the Dark has already killed her off before. Things get even more complicated when another ethnically ambiguous woman (Dora Madison, Dexter) moves in the area and takes a likening to the son.

Setting aside dude killing a woman over and over again trope, All That We Destroy is the creepiest and haunting installment to date. It asks hard questions about technology and just how far should we go for the people we care about. Sure the twist ending can be seen from a mile away, but it still remains a satisfying ending.  It almost makes you forget the whole thing has nothing to do with Mother's Day.

Into the Dark Power Ranking
1. The Body (October)
2. All That We Destroy (May)
3. Down (February)
4. New Year, New You (January)
5. Pooka! (December)
6. I’m Just Forking with You (April)
7. Treehouse (March)
8. Flesh and Bone (November)

Into the Dark: All That We Destroy premiere tomorrow on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: April 28, 2019

Supergirl: After eighty years of Superman, you just kind of have to accept that everyone around him and Supergirl are blind and just do not notice them when they put on glasses, but seriously, no one realize Kara is Supergirl in the middle of a riot in a men’s prison that Supergirl started?
Supergirl on iTunes.

Killing Eve: The first couple episodes were kind of a bore, but at least th assissin is, you know, assassinating again. That tie gag was pretty entertaining. I doubt she is going to pull off “boring and strait” going forward which I guess is why she is back with Constantine. How long will that last?
You can download Killing Eve on iTunes.

Billions: It only took half the season but we finally get a sighting of Bobby’s baby momma, and what it may seem like it may be the last. Usually Chuck getting beat is always the low for any episode, but seeing Wags in a dress may actually be worse. But the ending is exactly why someone calling themselves “they” is stupid because when you really want to use that person in a plural you have to specify.

Good Girls: So Ruby is just going to go to prison and let her brother go too for Beth? I am sure there is a twist coming soon that will make the investigation go away, but this just does not make much sense to me. That twist better happen soon.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes

The Chi: How messed up is our legal system if a guy who confesses in detail to a murder, there is an eye witness to the crime, gets released that easily?

The Bold Type: Wait, the new editor has a boyfriend? I thought for sure he was brought in to possibly be the third side of a love triangle with Jane and Pinstripe.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

The Act: With that end tag of admitting to dramatizing aspect of the story leads me to question almost everything, but as much as I wish no one was stupid to post their murder on their shared Facebook page with the person they killed, I definitely believe this two would be that stupid. Especially the part of leaving the geo-tagging on. But I hope all the trial scenes in the final feature copious amounts of reaction shots and commentary from the neighbors like the Jury on Survivor. Their reaction shot to Gypsy walking was fun.
You can stream The Act on Hulu.

Survivor: Edge of Extinction: Last week I said it was stupid for Wardog to turn on Kelley because if you are the second biggest threat in the game, you do not want to target the first because then you are the biggest threat. And everyone recognized this and promptly sent Wardog to sit next to Kelley on the jury. But unlike Kelley, Wardog has no chance of beating eight or nine other people to get back in the game. As Gabby from David vs. Goliath said when Wardog responded, “Not over yet” after she welcomed him into the eighth place club, “Wardog my man I’ve seen u in challenges.” Really the only thing that could have been better than that Tweet this week would have been had Lauren stood up after Wardog was voted off and screamed, “The North remembers!”
You can download Survivor: Edge of Extinction on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists: So the black chick bashed the black dude in the head and he breaks into her hospital room after she gets run over by a car to say… I am not entirely sure what was going on in that scene. And if he did not run her over, who did?
You can download Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists on iTunes.

The Challenge: War of World: Poor Nany, I actually though she was going to win this season, and then they had to go and dissolve the team, and worse, her old teammate Turbo was pretty much the reason Nany lost. And how pathetic was Wes’s taping skill? It was shocking how fast Georgia got out of that.
You can download The Challenge: War of Worlds on iTunes.

Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger: Oh snap, Rebecca Logan is evil. I guess I should have seen that coming. And a grief support group does seem like a great place to find girls considering they just obviously lost someone and could very well be alone. But I don’t know, maybe you do not try to kidnap a girl who can create light daggers and light bombs.
You can download Marvel's Cloak and Dagger on iTunes.

Gotham: Well we finally got Batman, an actual full episode of Batman even if he spent most of the time in the shadows. But I guess it is understandable because the one full show of Batman e got looked very CGI. Certainly was not the little kid from the show. We also got a different Catwoman in what was either a bad perm or a wig. But at least they got an equally bad actress, so that was consistent. Never quite figured out who Barbra Keen was. They teased her to be Harley Quinn for a season but never ended up pulling that trigger. Then she shows up ten years later with red hair for no apparent reason (other than I guess they needed a reason why her daughter was a redhead). I actually thought she was Poison Ivy at first. Weird she or really any of the other rouges gallery that were not main characters showed up for the finale. Could have had them just hang out in Arkham with The Riddler. Speaking of the younger Barbra, I kind of feel bad for the kid knowing when she got stolen by The Joker what The Joker would do to her eventually. Though when The Joker shot the elder Barbra, I thought she was going to be the one that ends up in a wheelchair because of it. But the worst of all, why have Gordon crow his iconic mustache just to have him quickly shave it off?
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Doom Patrol: Well that was filler. And what happened to Beard Hunter at the end of last episode? But at least we got another Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man update. I wonder if the team runs into him later this season.

The Blacklist: Oh wow, Lizzy told Red it was her who turned him in. I really though Red was going to shoot Dembe during his speech because he has shot a couple people from a chair after giving a long speech before. Then in the second episode we finally get fake Red’s origin story. But just where is Lizzy’s mom now? I vaguely remember teasing her but I do not believe we have ever actually seen her in present day or know what happened to her.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.