Around the Tubes: January 5, 2022

      

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 everything’s gonna be all white, Life & Beth, Florian Picasso, Lyn Lapid, BENEE, Kae Tempest, Bob Marley, Bastille, Nothing Compares, 2nd Chance, Up Here, and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

SHOWTIME^® has released a trailer for everything’s gonna be all white, directed by Emmy^®-nominee Sacha Jenkins (BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES). In honor of Black History Month, SHOWTIME Documentary Films is premiering the provocative new three-part docu-series, which explores the history of race in America from the perspective of people of color. From the ever-shifting classifications of racial identity, to the generational effects of racism on housing, education and healthcare, to the singular fight of Indigenous populations to reclaim their land from constant encroachment, everything’s gonna be all white delves deeply into the root causes of racial inequities in this country. The first part of the docu-series will premiere on-air on Friday, February 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. SHOWTIME will release all three parts, along with a bonus episode, to its subscribers On Demand at 12:01 a.m. ET, prior to the on-air debut of the first episode later that night at 8 p.m. ET/PT. 

- Hulu has revealed the release date of original comedy series "Life & Beth" starring and executive produced by Amy Schumer. The ensemble cast includes Amy Schumer, Michael Cera, Susannah Flood, Violet Young, Kevin Kane, Yamaneika Saunders, Laura Benanti, Larry Owens, Michael Rapaport, Rosebud Walker and LaVar Walker.  "Life & Beth" premieres all 10 episodes on March 18, only on Hulu.  SYNOPSIS: Beth’s life would look pretty great on paper. Impressive to everyone she grew up with.  She makes a good living as a wine distributor. She’s in a long term relationship with a successful guy and lives in Manhattan. When a sudden incident forces Beth to engage with her past her life changes forever. Through flashbacks to her teen self, Beth starts to learn how she became who she is and who she wants to become.  We’ll go on her journey towards building a bigger, bolder and more authentic life. Learning to express herself and living in an intentional way. A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward.

- To commemorate the release of their NFT collection, Florian Picasso - the great grandson of the famed artist, adopted by Picasso’s granddaughter Marina - collaborated with John Legend and Nas on a new track titled "Tomorrow.” Available today, Friday, February 4^th. The song was produced and co-written by British artist and producer-legend Stuart Price. Each NFT from the release is be backed by the audio from "Tomorrow," creating a singular visual and sonic experience.  The NFT collection is segmented into different lots, with 5 limited sets of 200 NFT's being sold via their own ManAndTheBeat.com marketplace, powered by Origin Story. There will be a further release via Nifty Gateway of a limited set of 10 pieces, combining for a total of 1010 NFT’s for sale.

- Songstress Lyn Lapid returns with her latest single “I Guess That Was Goodbye”—listen HERE. Inspired by the heartache that results in not being able to say goodbye to a special person and produced by Wendy Wang (Tori Kelly, Nick Jonas, Terror Jr), the song is a gorgeous ballad complete with orchestral strings that lift Lyn’s signature ethereal vocals to a whole new level. Lyn first teased the track on TikTok, where it has amassed hundreds of thousands of views and quickly become a favorite amongst her fans—watch HERE and HERE.

- BENEE returns with her first new music of 2022, a single entitled “Beach Boy” via Republic Records – listen HERE. The song is produced by Greg Kurstin (Adele, Sia, Beck) and arrives alongside the announcement of her forthcoming EP LYCHEE out March 4th.  “Beach Boy” sets BENEE in her breeziest form to date. A sweetly toned vocal and dreamy guitars evoke sixties beach movies, sun kissed summer days, and perfect beach dates.

- British spoken word artist, rapper, poet, novelist, and playwright Kae Tempest announces a string of headline shows along the East Coast in March in support of their upcoming album The Line Is A Curve out April 8^th via American Recordings/Republic Records. The dates include Washington DC on March 22^nd, Boston on March 23^rd, and Brooklyn on March 24^th. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 4^th at 10AM local time via http://www.kaetempest.co.uk/live/.

- The Marley Family and UMe will honor the legacy of Bob Marley, commemorating his 77th birthday by honoring his life, legacy, and music with a multitude of in-person, virtual, and philanthropic events.  The Marley Family is celebrating the occasion by returning to Marley's Roots. Seven different events over seven days have been curated to give back to the community in Jamaica in observance of his birthday. The scheduled events include a Back To Our Roots beach cleanup and concert as well as a newly curated exhibition at the Bob Marley Museum, titled The 7 Roots of Bob Marley's Livity, which features the work of young, up-and-coming artists. In addition, a new web series of the same name will premiere on Tuff Gong TV, which explores the natural mystic of Reggae Legend and his enduring influence on Jamaica and the world. Marley's Earthstrong festivities culminate on February 6, with a limited-capacity concert celebration at Tuff Gong International, in Kingston, Jamaica which will be live-streamed on Bob Marley's official YouTube channel. In addition, an extraordinary Lion's Den Concert by Stephen Marley from Miami, FL., will also premiere on February 6. Watch Marley's 77^th Earthstrong ROOTS festivities on Bob Marley's official YouTube channel HERE.

- After building a groundswell of buzz for its arrival, Bastille unveils their anxiously awaited new album Give Me The Future today via Republic Records. Listen to Give Me The Future HERE.  The band set the stage for the record with their latest single “Shut Off The Lights” and announces today they will be performing the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden on February 15^th (check local listings). In addition, the song has garnered over 5 million global streams and has incited widespread applause from tastemakers. V Magazine urged it “might just be the highest they’ve ever gone,” while Entertainment Tonight noted it “focuses on staying in the moment and touches on the intimate connection humans experience with one another.” Watch the official music video for “Shut Off The Lights” HERE.

- SHOWTIME Documentary Films announced today that it has acquired worldwide rights to NOTHING COMPARES directed by Kathryn Ferguson (Taking the Waters, Space to Be). NOTHING COMPARES charts Sinéad OʼConnorʼs phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom before her iconoclastic personality led to her exile from the pop mainstream. Focusing on Sinéad’s prophetic words and deeds from 1987 to 1993, the film presents an authored, richly cinematic portrait of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens.  NOTHING COMPARES, Ferguson’s documentary feature directorial debut, was an official selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival last week. SHOWTIME is planning a theatrical release later this year in the U.S., UK and Ireland ahead of the SHOWTIME premiere in the U.S., and its international partner streaming platforms later this year. The announcement was made by Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. 

- SHOWTIME Documentary Films today announced that it has acquired North American rights to the Sundance Film Festival documentary 2ND CHANCE, from director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger, 99 Homes, Chop Shop).  2ND CHANCE, Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut, is an exploration of the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. SHOWTIME is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later his year, leading into awards season. The announcement was made by Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.

- Hulu greenlights musical romantic comedy series Up Here from  20^th Television and Old 320 Sycamore Productions.  Logline: A musical romantic comedy set in New York City in the waning days of 1999, following the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple, as they fall in love – and discover that the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves – and the treacherous world of memories, obsessions, fears, and fantasies that lives inside their heads.  Original songs for the series by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. 

- SHOWTIME announced today that BAFTA Award winner Bill Nighy (Love Actually) will star in the highly anticipated upcoming original drama series THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. He will reunite with stars Oscar and Emmy^® nominee and BAFTA Award winner Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and Oscar, BAFTA^® and Screen Actors Guild^® Award nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight), both of whom he worked with on previous projects. The series will premiere exclusively on SHOWTIME later this year.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 29, 2022

  

Claws:  Well, I have been predicting the group would slowly break up all season and they finally did, but it happened quickly and it was not everyone going over to Quiet Ann’s side.  But at least they called out Quiet Ann for not being very quiet this season.  I am now beginning to think that Desna killing Quiet Ann from the opening scene is actually them faking her death to get out from under the DEA.

 

Snowpiercer:  So Layton found someone in that building and it was not Melanie?  So where is Melanie?  They did spoil that she was still alive during “This Season On…”  Just how was that person surviving?  Where are they getting heat for their suit?  And why did the one dude that was being locked away in the library car have a Taser?  Maybe not give someone possibly loyal to Wilford a weapon that can be used against you.

 

How I Met Your Father:  I was very underwhelmed when Hilary Duff said she met the father that day and the only possible baby daddies we met were the dude who got engaged, the annoying British dude, the guy who moved to Australia (and did she really meet him that day if they had been facetiming and texting for weeks prior), and… Piz.  I did say it would be lame if the father turned out to be some guy at the engagement party that we, the audience did not meet.  Low and behold, the first person she is going to date is some random guy she said two words to at the bar.  If everyone she ends up dating over the course of the series just happened to be at that engagement party… ugh, I do not even want to think about it.

 

The Book of Boba Fett:  It seemed pretty obvious Mando was going to show up at some point.  Boba needs help taking down the Pykes and Mando owes him one for saving Grogu, oh and they literally played his theme at the end of the last episode, but I was not expecting a full episode of The Mandalorian right in the middle of the season with no Boba and Fennick only showing up for a minute.  Sad this was easily the best episode of this series.  The cold open was great.  Mando having to take a commercial flight was hilarious (shocking he got all his weapons back), and heartwarming that the mechanic converted the place on the ship usually meant for droid for presumably a place for Grogu to hang out (though where exactly is the bounty hunter going to put his bounties).  Though, Boba needs him, but Mando is going to go visit Grogu first?  Is Mando going to bring in Grogu for the final showdown?