Around the Tubes: November 28, 2020

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 Shameless, The Weeknd, Goo Goo Dolls, and Blood Sweat and Tears.

- SHOWTIME has released the official trailer and poster art for the 11^th and final season of hit comedy series SHAMELESS. In honor of the ne’er-do-well Gallagher patriarch played by William H. Macy, the network is celebrating “Franksgiving Week” leading into America’s most stressful holiday. Starting with Monday’s surprise social media drop of the art, as well as brand-new GIF stickers of the cast, fans will receive SHAMELESS gifts on social media each day this week. The final season of SHAMELESS will premiere on Sunday, December 6^th at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

- Vevo and The Weeknd have announced a trilogy of Official Live Performances, beginning today through November 25, featuring songs from The Weeknd’s chart-topping album After Hours (XO Records / Republic Records). Directed by La Mar Taylor at Vevo’s studio in Los Angeles, CA, Part I, “Alone Again,” premieres today, November 23rd.  WATCH “ALONE AGAIN (OFFICIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE) | VEVO”  Vevo and The Weeknd first worked together in 2016 with exclusive “Vevo Presents” performances. Since then, The Weeknd has established himself as one of the world's most multifaceted artists. He has recently been named one of the most influential people of 2020 by Time Magazine, announced as the 2021’s Super Bowl Halftime Performer, and was the winner of three American Music Awards. Regarded for his creative vision, The Weeknd is known for his genre-bending music, and redefinition of storytelling, both sonically and visually.

- Multi-platinum, four-time GRAMMY-nominated rock band Goo Goo Dolls, debuts the trailer for It’s Christmas All Over, the first-ever augmented-reality movie musical, created and presented by the livestreaming platform FanTracks. It’s Christmas All Over will feature Goo Goo Dolls performing music from their brand-new holiday album of the same name (Warner Records), but goes beyond the realm of a live concert to transport viewers through an unparalleled music journey, all taking place within a surreal virtual world. This movie also marks the second time that the band has worked with FanTracks, the first being a livestream concert in October, which is currently available on-demand to subscribers on the FanTracks website.

- Jesse James Films in association with Crew Neck Productions are producing a fully authorized documentary blending music, politics, social commentary and a mystery involving one of the biggest rock bands of the late 60s/early 70s: Blood, Sweat & Tears. The film will be written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Who Is Harry Nilsson (and Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary and The Happy Days of Garry Marshall) who is diving deep into the mystery of what actually happened to the band that suddenly fell from grace at the peak of their fame.  In 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears was one of the biggest bands in the world. They had exploded on the scene with both daring and promise, selling millions of records, winning multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year (beating out The Beatles’ Abbey Road) and one of the headliners at the legendary Woodstock festival. In demand for concert and TV appearances, BS&T was a darling of the mainstream and rock press, icon of the counterculture and inspiration for a generation of horn-based bands. Their future was limitless. And then it all went wrong.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 22, 2020

 
The Good Lord Bird:  If this were an action movie, we know John Brown would have been able to shoot his way out of the predicament, but alas, this was based on real events and unfortunately the racist won this battle.  Hopefully John Brown can rest in the solace than the abolitionists won the war and the Black Man Is free today.  Well, or at the very least, freer because of him.
 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  Lucia, Sarah, and Wendell all pop back up right before the mid-season finale and it was a pretty insignificant return.  So that leaves Grace as the only person we have not seen since the group submitted to Ginny?  So June gains her hospital but loses Jon who is just going to bolt after reuniting with her?  The guy spent so much time looking for her.  Though I am sure he will run into Morgan and they will eventually deal with Ginny who is now down a hand.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So Silas just killed the two grifters and hid in a bathroom stall?  Alrighty.
 
 
Fargo:  Well I feel stupid.  When they started black and white, I wondered why a show already set in the fifties, a time of black and white television.  Even when the dog showed up it did not dawn on me.  It was not even until the twister that I realized, oh yeah, we were in Kansas all along.  Pretty cheap ploy for a mediocre season.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  Oh yeah, I forgot how convoluted this show was.  Seriously, there is a third universe where ghosts kill anyone who has gone through puberty and kids just run around willy nilly?   Were those kids from that place?  Did they come from a different universe?
 
Big Sky:  I could tell right away that Drew Carey’s brother was a bad dude, but I was not guessing he was that bad.  That is pretty bold to kill off the guy who was biggest name in the cast and front and center of all the marketing.  Make me wonder if David E. Kelley is hoping for a third season of Big Little Lies by killing off Reece Witherspoon’s ex-husband so quickly and violently.  Pretty meh premiere (c’mon, how does that hooker survive being wrapped in plastic for hours and is revives by a couple of chest thrusts), but that ending at least makes me wonder where they go from here.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  Oh joy, more midiclorans in the Star Wars universe.  But at least we now know why the evil dude is after Baby Yoda. 
 
 
The Blacklist:  The show shut down with three episodes left last season.  This was only the second episode back so I wonder if the compressed the last couple episodes they wanted to do or if next week supposed to wrap up last season’s arc because this really felt like a season finale.  I guess the “finale” will be Red vs. Lizzie but they will somehow reconcile before or during what was supposed to be this season’s “premiere.”  Although it will be sill if Lizzie forgives him because murdering her mother in front of her is something that has to be very hard to come back from.