Around the Tubes: July 31, 2021

   

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Only Murders In The Building, Sublime, Dexter, Billions, Smallville, Tug of Words, Lord Huron, Clairo, Flag Day, The Flash, and Three Women.

- The first three episodes of "Only Murders In The Building” premiere August 31 on Hulu. New episodes stream Tuesdays. 

- 25 years ago yesterday, Sublime’s self-titled album was released after the untimely passing of lead singer Bradley Nowell, spawning timeless hits like “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Wrong Way.” The iconic album continues to connect with fans and live on a quarter-century after its initial release, as the music endures and new generations discover Sublime. To celebrate the 25^th anniversary, the band’s  management  Surfdog/DKM in conjunction with UMe have arranged a number of special releases and events, plus new merch with Live Nation and other partners to commemorate the milestone. ‘Sublime’ 25^th Anniversary Highlights:  ‘Behind The Album Cover’ Episode: An in-depth conversation with Sublime art legend Opie Ortiz as he explains the history of the legendary ‘Sublime’ album cover and how it came to be. Fans can check out the episode here: http://sublime.lnk.to/behindthecoverPR

- Starring multiple Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall as America’s favorite serial killer Dexter Morgan, the special event series DEXTER: NEW BLOOD will premiere Sunday, November 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Set 10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, the series finds him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York.  Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons. Joining Hall, the cast also includes Julia Jones (The Mandalorian), Alano Miller (Sylvie’s Love), Johnny Sequoyah (Believe), Jack Alcott (THE GOOD LORD BIRD) and Clancy Brown (The Crown, BILLIONS).  Reuniting Hall with original series showrunner Clyde Phillips, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD is currently in production on 10 one-hour episodes in Western Massachusetts. 

- SHOWTIME released today the trailer for the highly anticipated return of season five of the hit drama series BILLIONS, starring Oscar^® nominee and Emmy^® winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy winner Damian Lewis, which will return on Sunday, September 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT with five new episodes. For fans looking to catch up, the season five premiere episode of BILLIONS is now available for free on YouTube, Showtime.com and Sho.com, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME partner platforms. All previous episodes of BILLIONS are now available for subscribers on SHOWTIME. BILLIONS has been renewed for season six, which will premiere early next year.

- It’s been 20 years since Clark Kent first arrived in Kansas, and in honor of the 20^th Anniversary of the remarkable series, Smallville: The Complete Series 20^th Anniversary Edition will soar onto Blu-ray for the first time ever from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on October 19, 2021. This set for the ultimate fan features all 218 episodes along with over 28 hours of bonus features from all 10 incredible seasons, plus Digital Copy (US Only). Smallville: The Complete Series 20^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is priced to own at $179.99 SRP ($209.99 in Canada) and will also be available on DVD for $154.99 SRP ($184.99 in Canada).  The groundbreaking, Emmy®-winning 10-season hit that redefined the origins of the world’s greatest super hero is all here – from Krypton refugee Kal-El’s arrival on Earth through his tumultuous teen years to Clark Kent’s final steps toward embracing his destiny as the Man of Steel. Relive a decade’s worth of thrills in fantastic adventures full of action, heart and humor in abundance, all anchored by the marvelous performance of Tom Welling at its center. Savor again the series’ thoughtful and imaginative integration and reinvention of the iconic characters of DC lore. And let your spirits be lifted up, up and away.

- Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, has announced Emmy® award-winning television and sports personality Ahmad Rashad as host of a new quick-moving wordplay game show, TUG OF WORDS. The half-hour original series is anticipated to premiere fall 2021.  From the producing team behind “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” TUG OF WORDS is a fast-paced game where two teams compete to answer word clue questions correctly and pull the flag on the “tug of war rope” to their side. In round one, each answer involves changing a single letter in the word that appears on the board. For example, with ‘TUG’ on the board, the answer to the clue ‘a label inside a garment’ is ‘TAG,’ and with ‘TAG’ then on the board, the answer to the clue ‘hopefully the upstairs neighbors aren’t learning this dance’ is ‘TAP.’ With each round, an additional letter is added creating four and five letter words to solve. The team with the flag on their side after three rounds wins the game, qualifying them for the bonus round where they have opportunity to compete for $10,000.

- Lord Huron release the official music video for their song “Love Me Like You Used To” off their critically acclaimed album Long Lost.  Watch Lord Huron’s “Love Me Like You Used To” official music video HERE.  Stream Long Lost via Whispering Pines Studios Inc./Republic Records HERE.  The video shows a mysterious woman exploring the Whispering Pines Museum. As she explores the memorabilia, paying homage to Tubbs Tarbell and the artists of Whispering Pines Studios, the true purpose of her visit becomes clear.

- Clairo’s critically acclaimed sophomore album Sling, released on July 16^th via FADER Label/Republic Records, debuted at #1 on Billboard Alternative Albums Chart, #2 on Top Rock Albums Chart, and Top 20 on Top 200 Chart. This is the highest album charting debut for the 22-year-old American artist, songwriter, and producer. Listen to Sling HERE.

- Seattle Surf & Republic Records announce the upcoming release of the Flag Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack out on August 20^th.  The thirteen-track soundtrack serves as the musical companion to the Cannes Film Festival selected film Flag Day starring and directed by Academy® Award winner Sean Penn and starring his daughter Dylan Penn. The film opens in select theaters beginning Friday August 20, 2021.The soundtrack will feature songs from Cat Power, Glen Hansard, Eddie Vedder & Olivia Vedder.  Pre-order the Flag Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—HERE

- It’s time to escape the Mirrorverse, resurrect the Speed Force and make every second count! The Flash is back to protect Central City with his lightning-fast reflexes – and fans will be zooming in to pick up the highest-rated series on The CW – as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season on Blu-ray and DVD on October 12, 2021. Speed-watch all 18 riveting episodes from season seven, plus never-before-seen bonus content including deleted scenes and a gag reel. The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season is priced to own at $39.99 SRP for the DVD ($44.98 in Canada) and $44.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($49.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.

- SHOWTIME has announced that DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It, Jurassic World: Dominion) will star in the original series THREE WOMEN. The series also stars Emmy and SAG Award nominee Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) and is based on the blockbuster nonfiction No. 1 bestseller by Lisa Taddeo, who is also a writer on the series. Principal photography is set to begin in the fall. 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 25, 2021

The White Lotus:  So absolutely no reference of someone who is going to die this week?  There was not even really a clue either unless the manager guy OD’s from all the drugs he stole.  But we got one of the funnier aid’s joke every.  That was a joke, right?  I laughed pretty hard even though it seemed pretty obvious that is where the conversation was going.

 

Kevin Can Fork Himself:  Finally something that almost resembled something funny in the sitcom part this week with Kevin going back and forth between his two birthday parties.  Now all his wife has to do is wait for his heart to explode from all that meat.

 

The Chi:   Who knew Emmitt had that in him.  I guess thinking about your woman getting down with other dudes with straighten you out.  But his girl definitely has a reason not to trust him.  I was thinking how long before his eyes start to wonder again.  Though I think they may get their movie ending by the end of this season and we will see if dude can stay faithful next season.

 

Black Monday:  I felt like I missed something with Blair being scared Tiff was going to kill him at the beginning of the episode.  I had to go back to the “previously on” to see if I missed something.  It just turned out he thought she was the murderer because the stock exchange lady had a heart attack.  Kind of a big leap.  But Tiff is definitely not the murderer because she just got show and maybe dead, I guess we will need some confirmation if the gunshot was fatal next week.  The remaining Leman brother is definitely dead.  With so many deaths, I wonder if this eighties show will do the biggest eighties plot twist and have the whole season turn out to be a dream.

 

Flatbush Misdemeanor:  My favorite part of the episode was after porn kept coming up, dude tries to explain it away by claiming, “I bought this used.”  Sure.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  So it is not going to dawn on her that the reason her mother did not show up is because she is not actually dead.  But she did realize she did she her ex-girlfriend last week and she was not seeing things so at least she is not totally dense.

 

In the Dark:  Well that plan went up in flames.  Quite literally.  But were they able to get all the drugs out first.  No reason to ask if they got Jess out, that one is very obvious.  But what now?  The group is going to have to be arrested now.  But I have always assumed that the blind chick would be able to clear herself if she has proof that the captain destroyed Harry Crane’s confession.  Mmm, I wonder whatever happened to his daughter now that both parent are dead.

 

Good Girls:  That could have made for a decent series finale with the girls actually moving to Nevada with the final scene being them robbing once again.  Just stop before anyone actually got shot.  Except Nevada just turned out to be a dream. Though I am not entirely sure what was going on once the dream sequence ended.  So they find the gun with her fingerprints all over it, I am presuming the same one that killed the nerdy chick.  But the Secret Service is just going to leave that alone?  And why did Annie get arrested?