Around the Tubes: December 18, 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  How I Met Your Father, Yellowjackets, The Dropout, Letterkenny, George Harrison, Sing, Gary Owen, and Supergirl.

- Check out the official trailer and key art for Hulu Original Series.  "How I Met Your Father"! The 10-episode first season of the series premieres exclusively on Hulu Tuesday, January 18, 2022.   In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options. 

- SHOWTIME has renewed the critically acclaimed survival drama YELLOWJACKETS for a second season. Created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), the one-hour drama series stars Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Oscar^® and Emmy^® nominee Juliette Lewis (Camping), Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable). Jonathan Lisco (Animal Kingdom, Halt and Catch Fire) joins Lyle and Nickerson as executive producer and showrunning partner. Produced for SHOWTIME by studio Entertainment One (eOne), Karyn Kusama (Destroyer, Girlfight) executive produces and directed the pilot. Drew Comins of Creative Engine also serves as executive producer. The premiere of YELLOWJACKETS has been seen by over 4 million viewers across platforms to date. Season one of YELLOWJACKETS, which received a Critics’ Choice nomination for ‘Best Drama Series,’ is currently airing Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT and will finale on Sunday, January 16.

- The Hulu Original The Dropout premieres with three episodes on Thursday, March 3rd. New episodes stream weekly.  Money. Romance. Tragedy. Deception. Hulu’s limited series “The Dropout,” the story of Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) and Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. How did the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire lose it all in the blink of an eye?  The series stars Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes and Naveen Andrews as Sunny Balwani.

- The residents of Letterkenny belong to one of three groups: the Hicks, the Skids, and the Hockey Players, who are constantly feuding with each other over seemingly trivial matters that often end with someone getting their ass kicked. In season 10, McMurray and Wayne do some dickering, the Hicks attend a sausage party, the Hockey Players and Skids have a video game battle, the men of Letterkenny receive head to toe physicals…and that’s just for starters, buddy.  LETTERKENNY Season Ten premieres on Hulu Sunday, December 26th.

- An all-star cast from the worlds of music, TV, film and comedy have come together to honor George Harrison in the first-ever official music video for his iconic hit song, “My Sweet Lord.” Directed by Lance Bangs, and executive produced by Dhani Harrison and David Zonshine, the video stars Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer as metaphysical special agents who are tasked by the head of a clandestine agency, played by Mark Hamill, to search for that which can’t be seen.  WATCH “MY SWEET LORD” VIDEO.  Along the way dozens of agents team up to look high and low for what may have been right in front of their face all along, mirroring the seeking nature of the song. More than forty musicians, actors, comedians, directors, artists and other creatives make appearances, ranging from Harrison’s friends and former band mates Ringo Starr and Jeff Lynne; to actors Darren Criss, Jon Hamm, Rosanna Arquette; musicians Joe Walsh, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Reggie Watts, comedians Moshe Kasher, Natasha Leggero, Patton Oswalt; comedy duos Tim and Eric (Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) and Garfunkel and Oates (Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome); and others like writer, actor, director Taika Waititi (“What We Do In The Shadows,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor”) and visual artist Shepard Fairey. The video also features Harrison’s wife Olivia Harrison and their son Dhani Harrison, who appear in scenes with actress Aimee Mullins and actor Rupert Friend, respectively.

- Illumination, Universal Pictures and Republic Records release the Sing 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, out now. It accompanies the eagerly awaited new chapter in Illumination’s blockbuster animated franchise, Sing 2, which opens in US theaters on December 22, 2021.  Listen to the Sing 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack — HERE.  The soundtrack features three original works – U2’s “Your Song Saved My Life,” Sam i feat. Anitta, BIA & Jarina De Marco on “Suéltate,”, and a record from Adam Buxton with Fancy Feelings feat. DSCOSTU entitled “Tippy Toes”. The soundtrack also features a special Sing 2 Mix of the record “Soy Yo” by Bomba Estéro as well as a cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” from Keke Palmer ft. Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Reese Witherspoon & Tori Kelly.

- Three-time EMMY® Award winner Bo Burnham has released the long-awaited physical editions of his chart-dominating critically acclaimed album, INSIDE (The Songs). The CD and vinyl are available in stores nationwide today. It is available at major retailers while a limited-edition yellow vinyl can be found exclusively at Target.  Inside (The Songs) is available at all DSPS through IMPERIAL, a division of Republic Records — Listen HERE.  Bo Burnham has also released his official Inside merchandise, available now at boburnham.store.

 

- Famed comedian Gary Owen returns to SHOWTIME for his fifth stand-up comedy special, GARY OWEN: BLACK FAMOUS, premiering Friday, December 31 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. In the hour-long special, filmed in his hometown of Cincinnati at the Memorial Hall OTR, Owen hilariously embraces his new life as a divorcé following a very public and messy end to his marriage. Unable to diffuse rumors until now, Owen airs some of his dirty laundry and continues to dazzle viewers with more of his beloved real-life stories. But as Owen likes to say, this one ends with a “big twist!”  To watch and share a trailer from GARY OWEN: BLACK FAMOUS go to: https://youtu.be/YuvjgrDdNhY.

- After six supercharged seasons, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC mark the end of an epic era with the final installment of the action-packed series with the release of Supergirl: The Sixth and Final Season on Blu-ray & DVD March 8, 2022. Fans can purchase the sets which, in addition to all 20 super-powered episodes from season six, also contains an all-new featurette and deleted scenes. Supergirl: The Sixth and Final Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD ($29.98 in Canada) and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($39.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Supergirl: The Sixth and Final Season on is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.  Supergirl: The Complete Series will also be available, containing all 126 exhilarating episodes from the phenomenal series, as well as countless hours of bonus features from all six epic, not-to-be-missed seasons. Supergirl: The Complete Series is priced to own on DVD for $119.99 SRP ($134.99 in Canada), and on Blu-ray for $134.99 SRP ($154.99 in Canada), representing a substantial savings over purchasing all six seasons individually.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 12, 2021

 

Dexter: New Blood:  Holy Angel Batista sighting.  I was not expecting anyone for the original show to show up except the three that were already in the main cast.  I wonder if anyone else will pop up.  Granted, who is still alive?  Masuka and Quinn.  Then there is also Eshter and Cody.  I wonder is Harrison is lying about Hannah.  I also rolled my eyes when Angela gears started going when Batista mention Harrison’s name as that is not a common name.  Though it does makes sense for her to look Dexter up after her kid mentioned that Harrison mentioned that Jim was not actually Jim.  But does she confront her?

 

And Dexter is getting sloppy after so much time without a kill.  First he went after the guy when the police had just as much information as him not thinking they would check out the same diner.  Then he enters the dude’s house then puts on the gloves.  He better hope the police buy his staged overdose and not dust that window for prints.  But how exactly did he get the guy clothed and take down the kill room in time?  Dexter talked about remembering the Code, but he forgot the first rule, only go after people the law could not get.  The police had both guys seemly dead to rights.  Let the law run its course.  Then go after them if they do not get them.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  I actually saw the news of Kim Dicken returning to the show while watching the show and assumed that was a spoiler that Madison would have a cameo in this episode.  Thinking she would be at Padre.  Except she never popped up.  I guess she was the big surprise guest they hyped for Talking Dead and was also the big announcement.

 

Except Alicia never got to Padre because she absurdly thought the zombie Senator would lead her there.   Oh, and she got bit by said zombie and cut off her arm, but may not have cut it off in time.  Didn’t they already do the Schrödinger’s Cat with Alicia thinking she may have been infected?  C’mon, girl’s just got an infection, no one takes that long to turn into a zombie.  Just get some antibiotics.  But it turns out she is not sick enough to declare war on Strand.  I wonder if Madison is already in the compound or if Alicia eventually finds Padre with Madison inside.

 

Yellowjackets:  I am a big fan of karma, but boy, mocking someone for not knowing if the safety is on or off and then accidentally shooting yourself in the face because you forgot to put the safety on is even a bit much by karma standards.   But my favorite part of the episode was, when all the other girls were wearing athleisure wear that they brought to a soccer tournament, for no apparent reason, Jackie brought along an argyle sweater and was wearing it around the Canadian wilderness.  For this week’s Misty psycho watch, it certainly seems like she trip coach on purpose after she was the only one to raise her hand to cut the deer’s throat but the coach still picked someone else.

 

But finally things start to tie into the past with Taissa and Shauna after meeting in the first episode about the postcards and never talking about it after.  The former was haunted by woodland animals while the latter was actually sees Jackie (in her argyle sweater) and says something very ominous when relating to their time in wilderness.

 

 The Walking Dead: World Beyond:   Pretty blah finale, Huck redeemed herself with a suicide mission, so did her husband.  Evil chick got a promotion.  The outpost just moved into a mall.  Oh… and then then there was the end credits scene.  Apparently there are fast moving, 21 Days Later type variants in Europe.  What!?!

 

Hawkeye:  Well that was a letdown.  We were left with the cliffhanger of Jack putting Clint’s own Ronan sword to his throat only for that to be diffused very quickly.  I was interested with what Kate’s mom talking about Black Widow being able to be killed.  What exactly does the world know about what happened to Black Widow.  We know she was not killed, but sacrificed herself.  Black Widow’s own sister seems to be easily convinced that Clint killed her.  Is it not commonly known that Black Widow scarified herself to get an Infinity Stone that brought back half of them?

 

Survivor:  When DeShawn talked about his truth bomb, I thought he was going to throw Danny under the bus as multi-millionaire football player who would not need the money.  Instead, he bizarrely blew up Erika’s game which was not going to help him in the moment.  But it will lead to an interesting dynamic going back to camp with DeShawn still in the game and Heather now knowing her closest ally planned on dumping her before Final Tribal.  But with so few people left and Ricard still having the largest target on his back, the truth bomb may not change unless Ricard wins the next Immunity Challenge.  After that, it is fire.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: How do you get the easiest puzzle quickly and not get the simplest at all?  Tori even gave Emmanuel the cheat code of put five in the middle.  But pretty convenient for Tori to get the strength elimination and Devin to get the brains one.  It would have been interesting had those been flipped.

 

So now we are back to teams with TJ saying you do not want to be on the losing team.  Would he really cut half the finalists in one swoop?  It seems more likely that the losing team will have to go into the area with only two moving on.  This could lead to Nany vs. Kacey or CT vs. Devin could be a Johnny backpack situation, all I know is I do not care who wins at this point.  I am tired of everyone left at this point.  Nineteen ninety minute episodes is just way too much (which does not even count the likely two reunion shows that will follow).

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: Oh Tina, so entertaining, but you cannot just flame out like that even if there was no way you are beating Melinda.  At least go half speed.  Casey at least tried multiple times even though this challenge severely disadvantaged the vertically challenged.  But like I brought up last week, these two alliances that have formed still leave out half the cast.  What exactly are those people thinking?  And at what point do the burn votes of Tyler and Casey end up actually get voted in?  If I were those two, I would be a little worried.

 

Guilty Party:  So that was it?  Beth and an escaped convict are just going to travel to Wyoming together to hunt down the real killer with possibly a dead person in the back of the van?

 

Big Sky:  If Tonya went to the ranch alone, why did she exit the passenger’s seat?  What a weird continuity error.  And am I supposed to know who the kid of the weird dude was?  I was drawing a black at that reveal.

 

The Blacklist:  I know there was a time jump, but they aged Agnes up way too much to the point it is a little distracting as I spent too much trying to figure out how old she is compared to how old she should be.