Saturday, January 23, 2021

Around the Tubes: January 23, 2021

 

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 Fake Famous, Sublime, A Life Too Short, The Lady and the Dale, Lori McKenna, Your Honor, William H. Macy, and The First Lady.


HBO’s FAKE FAMOUS, debuting TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), from first-time director and veteran journalist Nick Bilton, explores the industry of social media influencers through an innovative social experiment. The film’s journey into this world is driven by the casting of three people in Los Angeles who all have relatively small social followings and the attempt to grow them into famous influencers. By purchasing fake followers and an army of bots to “engage” with their social media, the newly made “influencers” discover both the wonders and costs of this unlikely, immersive lifestyle.  The documentary will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max.


Z2 COMICS continues to roll out news of some of their most ambitious projects yet, with today’s announcement of the RYAN CADY-written graphic novel chronicling the misadventures of one of the most defining bands of the last three decades, the Long Beach, reggae-punk institution, SUBLIME!  The laid-back Long Beach trio spawned an entire genre—fusing reggae grooves, punk grittiness, ska energy, back-porch folk introspection, and hip-hop swagger.   The SUBLIME: $5 AT THE DOOR graphic novel clocks in at 120 pages and will be released in a standard soft and hardcover editions in comic shops and bookstores alike in June 2021, with a special deluxe edition, and highly limited super deluxe edition available for preorder now exclusively through the Z2 website! Deluxe and super deluxe edition include a special first-time vinyl edition of the Doin’ Time EP, unavailable elsewhere, as well as exclusive prints, Lou-Dog toy and more!


MTV Documentary Films will debut A Life Too Short, from two-time Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Tribeca Film Festival winner My Father The Mover from breakout director Julia Jansch on Friday, January 22 at 7:00PM ET on Pluto TV.  An official selection of the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival’s Shortlist and SFFILM’s DocStories festival, A Life Too Short, produced by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, directed by Safyah Usmani, co-directed by Saad Zuberi and executive produced by Sheila Nevins and Guy Oseary, examines the startling tragedy behind the killing of Pakistani activist and social media star Qandeel Baloch. A vocal, provocative proponent of women’s rights and freedom of expression, Qandeel challenged conventional ideas with her open exclamations of women’s equality and sexuality.  Her bravery and outspokenness ended in chilling violence that reverberates around the world.  Following Qandeel’s murder, a crucial amendment to Pakistani law was passed, eliminating the possibility for families to forgive the perpetrators of “honor” killings.  The premiere of A Life Too Short will be followed by the award-winning short documentary My Father The Mover at 7:45 PM ET. The film introduces a South African teenager named Alatha whose father calls himself a Mover. Using African dance moves – electronic Gqom beats – he helps kids in Khayelitsha township to transcend hardship and "find their superpowers." The Mover is also a single father, and while he has helped many kids, he still has difficulty getting his own daughter to find her own powers.  But in a tender moment together, that is all about to change.


This four-part documentary series from Emmy®-winning producers Mark and Jay Duplass (“Room 104”) traces the audacious story of Elizabeth Carmichael, a larger-than-life entrepreneur who took the world by storm with her promotion of a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car known as The Dale in the middle of the 1970s oil crisis. Liz's promotional zeal thrust her into fierce public and media scrutiny which uncovered a web of mystery and suspicion about the car’s technology and her own checkered past. Co-directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, THE LADY AND THE DALE mixes animation, archival footage, and interviews with Liz's family members and gender scholars, including Susan Stryker. The result is a probing exploration of family and identity seen through the lens of the rise and fall of a fearless and wily innovator, an extraordinarily resilient woman and a dedicated parent.  The series debuts with two back-to-back episodes SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), with new episodes airing subsequent Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. THE LADY AND THE DALE will premiere on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.


Award-winning broadcaster and podcaster, Candy O’Terry and Music City Mentor, Jacy Dawn Valeras have released another episode in their joint podcast project, Country Music Success Stories with Candy O’Terry. The new podcast is a conversation with one of Candy and Jacy's all-time favorite singer/songwriters, multi-award winner Lori McKenna.  Their shared Boston roots shine through this interview with Lori which took place at 95.9 WATD, a local radio station just outside of Boston. At the core of this episode is the connection between an artist and local radio. Lori shares stories of her slow and steady rise in country music while raising her five children in her hometown of Stoughton, MA. and the joy of hearing Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Little Big Town breathe life into her songs. Subscribe to the podcast here and listen on all podcast platforms here.  Listen to an excerpt of the conversation with Candy O’Terry and Lori McKenna about writing the hit song “Humble And Kind” recorded by Tim McGraw here.


The hit SHOWTIME drama series YOUR HONOR will return with an all-new episode on Sunday, January 31st at 10pm ET/PT, after a repeat this coming Sunday. The ninth episode will air Sunday, February 7th at 10pm. The following Sunday, on February 14th at 10pm, the series concludes with the finale, directed by series star and executive producer Bryan Cranston.


William H. Macy is more than just your favorite on-screen character, he’s creating gritty music and badass whiskey. His new single, “Whiskey Dell,” is a marriage of those passions. Under the moniker Willie CreeksMacy’s inner outlaw, is personally writing spirited tales of fishing in the rugged Rockies while armed with his trusty 1935 Martin ukulele and a glass of whiskey from Woody Creek DistillersWhiskey Dell” features a driving kick, floor-rumbling bass, and a feverish energy brought to life through colorful collaboration with some extremely talented musicians. Watch the video HERE and stream the single HERE

 

SHOWTIME has announced that Oscar and Emmy® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit) will star as Betty Ford and Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Susanne Bier (The Undoing) will direct and executive produce the anthology series THE FIRST LADY (w/t), starring and executive produced by Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), who will play former first lady Michelle Obama. THE FIRST LADY is a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Produced by SHOWTIME and Lionsgate Television, the series is executive produced by Oscar winner Cathy Schulman (Crash), Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Andrew Wang, Jeff Gaspin (Rhythm + Flow) and Brad Kaplan (Mr. Church) and created by author Aaron Cooley (Four Seats: A Thriller of the Supreme Court), who will write several of the episodes and executive produce. 


Sunday, January 17, 2021

57 Channels and Only This is on: January 17, 2021

 

 Shameless:  Yet another Showtime show that features a teacher forking their student right now?  Last decade, Game of Thrones kicked off a decade of shows that features siblings hooking up, is this the new official taboo for this decade between this, Your Honor and A Teacher?  I hope not because I am ready for this topic to die.  Never a good sign when the Milkovichs move next door and that is not the grossest thing that happens in the episode.

 

Your Honor:  I knew last week this was not going to be the finale, because, you know, six more episodes, but it sure seemed like it because of the gangster would have no problem killing a judge.  And he almost did, but the thing that saved him was the judge knew his son was going to be arrested. Kind of a cheap play to extend the episode. 

 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist:  Last week’s musical selections were not great but they corrected that this week with an influx of nineties music.  And it seemed like I was not the only one who thought the workplace was turning into a bit of a sausagefest.  But if Zoey poached three chicks from the fifth floor, isn’t that place a sausagefest now?

 

The Challenge: Double Agents:  So that makes Natalie the second people in two seasons to come on the show pregnant.  Though Melissa last season made it all the way to the finals without realizing.  And with her took the only female Gold Skull with her while three dudes had one.  Guess it is going to be much easier for the females to make it to the finales, but the dudes are going to run out of Gold Skulls soon unless someone who already has one gets sent in next.  Hopefully Fessy just keeps getting thrown in after all the Gold Skulls are passed out.

 

Search Party:  That new dude is extremely annoying.  Really everyone is extremely annoying this season.  Portia is the only entertaining part of the show so far.

 

Wandavision: They have been saying this show is going to be weird for a while but I still was not prepared for it.  I wonder if they are just going to continue doing a new decade every episode or if they will speed thing up.  Hopefully by episode five, Vision gets sent off to live with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Aire.