Around the Tubes: July 6, 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 Affair, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Doom Patrol, Bill Burr Presents IanTalk: Ideas Not Worth Spreading, Snow Patrol, Carly Rae Jepsen, Of Monsters and Men, and Kara Marni.

- Showtime has released the trailer for the fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe®-winning Showtime drama series The Affair. Premiering on Sunday, August 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the series stars Golden Globe nominee Dominic West, Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney and Sanaa Lathan. Created by WGA Award-winning playwright, writer, executive producer and showrunner Sarah Treem (House of Cards, In Treatment), the series explores the emotional and psychological effects of an affair that destroyed two marriages, and the crime that brings these individuals back together. Oscar® and Golden Globe winner Anna Paquin (True Blood) joined the final season as a series regular.


- Hulu released the official trailer for upcoming limited anthology rom-com series Four Weddings and a Funeral from Mindy Kaling. The series stars Zoe Boyle, Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, Sophia La Porta, Harish Patel, Nikesh Patel, John Reynolds, Rebecca Rittenhouse and Brandon Mychal Smith. Four Weddings and a Funeral premieres the first four episodes Wednesday, July 31 and new episodes weekly only on Hulu.


- Things are about to get weird! Get ready for nonstop action as the world’s favorite misfit DC Super Heroes are about to enter our universe with the release of Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on October 1, 2019 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride with all 15 episodes from the first season of the DC UNIVERSE original series, plus enjoy the captivating extra features including gag reel and deleted scenes. Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD ($30.99 in Canada) and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($39.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Both sets have an order due date of August 27, 2019. Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers (available on August 26th in the U.S.).

- Bill Burr Presents IanTalk: Ideas Not Worth Spreading, the second of three All Things Comedy produced specials previously announced by Comedy Central, premieres July 12 at midnight ET/PT on Comedy Central. Official Trailer. In IanTalk: Ideas Not Worth Spreading, IAN EDWARDS gives his own edgy twist on a traditional TedTalk. He shares his thoughts on abortion, Harriet Tubman, and why he refuses to learn to swim for his own safety. Through his authentic balance of charm and self-deprecating humor, he’s able to dive into the intricacies of life, success, and dating with a relatable and refreshing twist.

- Snow Patrol debut their new song, “Time Won’t Go Slowly.” Listen here: The band announced on their social media channels yesterday they have been in the studio over the last few months and are releasing a new track ahead of more music later this year, celebrating the 25th anniversary since Snow Patrol formed.

- Vevo announces the release of Carly Rae Jepsen's live performance of "Too Much" from her new album, Dedicated. After Jepsen released her critically acclaimed album E·MO·TION in 2015, it became "a modern touchstone for a new crop of pop-leaning artists and legacy acts," as NPR noted, adding that "the blast radius of E*MO*TION is expansive." The album also inspired an abundance of memes - extending the cultural cachet that Jepsen earned from the ubiquity of her Grammy-nominated blockbuster hit "Call Me Maybe" (from her U.S debut album Kiss), which not only climbed to No. 1 on the iTunes Singles charts in over 47 countries, sold over 20 million singles worldwide, and was certified Diamond in the U.S., but was referenced by everyone from former secretary-of-state Colin Powell to Cookie Monster.


- Multiplatinum Icelandic quintet Of Monsters and Men share the official music video for their single “Alligator” today off of their upcoming third full-length album FEVER DREAM out July 26th via Republic Records. Check out the video for “Alligator” HERE!

- Red hot following a powerhouse performance at Glastonbury Festival this past weekend, critically acclaimed rising British R&B star Kara Marni shares a brand new single entitled “Opposite” today. Get it HERE.

Previewing Into the Dark: Culture Shock

Jason Blum, producer of Into the Dark, once say of one of most famous movies, The Purge, ““Whatever political party you’re in, you come out of the film saying, ‘See, that affirms my beliefs,’ which I think is cool. People on the Right are like, ‘The Purge is a terrible thing. This is an example of government getting into our private lives, when they should be smaller and get out of our private lives.’ People on the Left say, ‘There are too many guns, and this is what happens when there are too many guns.’ It’s a really violent movie, and it’s supposed to get people scared and it’s supposed to get people to have a good time for an hour and a half, in a movie theater. If it also gets people talking about whether it’s a good or a bad idea, that’s a great thing, too.”

I really do not think there will be as much ambiguity to the political themed latest Into the Dark installment, Culture Shock. First off, the America’s Birthday themed episode starts south of the border and it is over a half an hour before you hear anyone speak any English. The episode even mocks a certain popular Twitter feed. Yeah, conservative talking heads will be whining about this right after a segment where they call liberals snowflakes.

The episode starts off with a news segment stating violence against aliens at an all-time high (fun fact, the reporter also played a reporter in the Christmas episode; though a shared Into the Dark shared universe was kind of put to rest when someone who died in the Halloween episode showed up in the Mother’s Day episode). Marisol is giving birth any day now and has paid a coyote to get her across the border in time to anchor her baby. Along for the ride is a small child and a dude with a face tattoo that translates to “strength.” Oh my.

Things gets complicated when they arrive at the border and things go black, then all of the sudden Marisol wakes up in a bright pastel color scheme, has already given birth, in a very Wizard of Oz comparison to the dark and dirty first part of the show. This new place is part Pleasantville and part Stepford Wives. What happened? I will not say other than this is the best twist so far on Into the Dark.


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

Into the Dark: Culture Shock premiere tomorrow exclusively on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 30, 2019

Big Little Lies: Okay, I wonder if this is going to be an every other week thing because this week was much more entertaining than the last. Though I am missing what is Meryl Steep’s deal. She does not want to believe her son is an adulterer let alone a rapist, but then starts stocking Ziggy. SAeems like deep down she knows but does not want to admit it. Something dark had to have happened with her other son.

Claws: Gee, when I see a dead body, my first thought is call the police. Who would think Polly has a guy to help get rid of a body? But just when you thought the show could not get any weirder, Virginia starts talking to a pig.
You can download Claws on iTunes.

City on a Hill: So the bother is an informant for money? Couldn’t he make more money robbing armored trucks? Or is he just doing this because his brother would only let him do that one job. If the last job only netted $15,000 each, and Kevin Bacon is offering a $20,000 reward. But where exactly is Kevin Bacon getting this money? Does the FBI really pay that well to informants are does Bacon use the money he steals from bookies and the like to get all his money so he can close more cases?

Fear the Walking Dead: So we are not going to get a what Daniel was doing since we last saw him episode? Meh. But the using a cat to distract walkers so you can kill them easier was kind of brilliant. but that had to be one of the more gruesome ideas with the plan on either show. Now how many seasons until we see Daniel again?
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

Legion: Um, where was the “previous on” reminder? I vaguely remember that not much actually happens on the show. Afterwards I went to YouTube to find the official recap and… um, that was not much help. Maybe it is not something that is meant to be understood.
You can download Legion on iTunes.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Wait, was that was June’s kid’s place in DC? But aren’t they in Boston? But June has seen her daughter multiple times. Did they move? And if Rory Gilmore and the crazy Handmaid had to be brought back from the colonies because a lack of Handmaids, why were there so many on the Mall at the end? Seems like there are plenty.
You can watch The The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

Krpton: So they were able to remove Brainiac who looks like the old Brainiac. This makes no sense.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

Swamp Thing: So we finally learned what happened to Shauna, they did shock me that Abby was at fault… until it turned out to be just a red herring and something drug Shauna down. So now that we got that answered, now the question is, who, or what, actually did that? If Swamp Thing could see what happen, shouldn’t he be able to know what pulled Shauna down?

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: So not-Coulson is over a hundred years old? Well that kind of hurts my multi-verse theory. So just how do the two look-a-likes have matching DNA?
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.