Around the Tubes: January 18, 2025

 

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Paradise, A Thousand Blows, and Erin Gibney.

- Hulu has debuted the second trailer for Dan Fogelman's upcoming drama series "Paradise," starring Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson.  The series premieres Tuesday January 28 with three episodes at launch, then streams weekly.

- From “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, “A Thousand Blows” is set in the perilous world of illegal boxing in 1880s Victorian London and based on little explored real-life characters with incredible stories.  The six-episode first season will premiere on Friday, February 21, 2025 on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.  Inspired by the true life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in the brutal East End of London in the 1880s. Hezekiah Moscow and Alec Munroe, best friends on the run from Jamaica, find themselves thrust into the criminal underbelly of London’s thriving bare-knuckle boxing scene. As Hezekiah finds fortune and fame through the art of pugilism, he attracts the attention of the infamous Queen of the Forty Elephants, Mary Carr, who sets about exploiting his talents to further her criminal enterprise. Meanwhile the menacing and self-declared emperor of the East End boxing world, Sugar Goodson, determines to destroy Hezekiah whose ambitions to fight in the West End threatens everything he has built. What ensues is a battle of the old world against the new.

- Country-pop singer-songwriter Erin Gibney just released her new single, "not something i've told my friends," on January 10, 2025, via Rock Ridge Music.  Says Gibney about the song: "'not something i've told my friends" is a song I wrote after I started speaking to my ex again. When we began talking, I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. I knew it was wrong, I knew I would get hurt, and I knew for sure that my friends would disapprove. My friends had seen me work through all my emotions of the breakup and had been by my side through all of it. They helped me heal, and, by talking to my ex again, I felt like I was not only letting myself down, but letting them down as well. I wrote 'not something i've told my friends' as a way to work through those feelings and remind myself why I stopped talking to my ex in the first place." 

The Ten Most Anticipated Events of 2025

10.  Gross Point Gardening Society (February 23):  The trailer makes this look like a reboot of Desperate Housewives but with AnnaSophia Robb and Amy Santiago.  To which I say, sign me up.  Though, I do wonder if you are doing a Desperate Housewives rip-off, why is it on NBC and not, say, Peacock where you do not have to worry about network restrictions?

 

9.  A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (TBD):  It might be a while before we get another season of Hot D so it seems wise to put on another Game of Thrones spin-off in the middle of the hiatus.  Hopefully this one is better than the first one.

 

8.  Spaceballs 2: Back for More Cash (TBD):  a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, we were promised a Spaceballs sequel.  Now that we got part two of History of the World, not it is time for that long awaited other Mel Brooks promised sequel

 

7.  Apple Cider Vinegar (TBD):  Big year for Kaitlin Deaver, she is going to be in the new season of The Last of Us (albeit playing what I hear is a very divisive character), but I am more interesting in her other, non-IP show coming this year about a health guru who fakes her cancer diagnosis.

 

6.  The Running Man (November 21):  The last time Edgar Wright adapted something, we got cult classic, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  It will be interesting what he does with the book that was already adapted into an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

 

5.  Daredevil: Born Again (March 4):  Last year was a down year for comic book adaptations.  But they are back in full force this year.  Marvel is releasing three films and six television shows.  DC is starting its James Gunn era in earnest with one movie and at least one show.  But the one show I am most excited for is the reboot of the Daredevil show.  Okay, the reshoots and complete overhaul makes me a little skeptical, but hopefully it will end up being as good as the Netflix show.

 

4.  Andor season 2 (April 22):  The first season was one of the best thing Star Wars has ever produced, and apparently has the price tag to prove it.  Thankfully that got it filmed before Disney started tightening the purse strings

 

3.  Wake Up Dead Man: a Knives Out Mystery (TBD):  a new cast of big names are set to annoy Daniel Craig, hopefully this is good as the first two.

 

2.  Predator: Badlands (November 7):  Not much is known about the lasted movie in the franchise.  The title gives you an idea of where it will be set, through it is unclear when.  Prey showed playing with history is an interesting wrinkle for the franchise.  Oh, and the predator is going to match wits with Catherine the Great herself, Elle Fanning.  Huzzah!

 

1.  Happy Gilmore 2 (TBD):  C’mon, was there any doubt as what would be number 1?

The Ten Best Movies I Saw in 2024

 

1.  The Fall Guy

2.  Oppenheimer

3.  Alien: Romulus

4.  Renfield

5.  Abigail

6.  Totally Killer

7.  Turtles All the Way Down

8.  Bullet Train

9.  Cocaine Bear

10.  Mean Girls

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 12, 2024

 

Mayfair Witches:  Wait, Rowen was pregnant and gave birth to the evil dude from season one that is now aging so quickly, they will probably be able to bring back the actor by next episode?  This is why you do not wait two years in-between seasons.  I do not remember any of this crap.  But if they are going to rip off the What We Do in the Shadows’ storyline, they should have put that actor’s head on a baby’s body.  That would have been much more entertaining.

 

Skeleton Crew:   I have been saying that Jude Law will turn on the kids only to save them in the last minute because it seemed clearly he was on a redemption arc, but it is hard to redeem him when he straight up murdered extremely cheap looking werewolf mask guy.

 

The Challenge: Battle of the Eras:  Poor Michele, all she had to do was be more likable than Tori and she wins.  How exactly did Tori have a higher karma vote than Michele?  Was it simply the vacation alliance?

 

Shifting Gears:  If you told me there was a show starring Kat Dennings, Stifler, and the dude from Ed, I would get excited for it.  Unfortunately that show is top-lined by Tim Allen.  Sigh.

 

The Head:  Our long national nightmare is finally over, I have The Max again, and just in time to catch up on this season of The Head.  I was surprised to see the show is being released weekly because the previous two seasons were all at once.  Not only that, The Max usually releases two to three episode at once. 

 

This season is an upgrade from season two.  Maggie is the most interesting character and it is nice having her back in middle of anything instead of just trying to find where Arthur is.  Speaking of Arthur, I have to assume he is not dead, otherwise, why have his flashback?  I am also assuming at this point he is corresponding with Maggie in some mind game.  But is he behind the current timeline?  His daughter has been conspicuously safe so far and I think he gave the playbook of what he would do earlier this season.  As for now, I am going with him, but hoping for a more interesting twist.