The Ten Most Anticipated Events of 2024

 

The strikes really put a damper on 2024 as a bunch of things got delay.  Here are the few things this year worth getting at least a little excited about.

 

10.  Obligatory Super-Hero Mentions:  It seems like we may be close to the end of the superhero era.  There will be no DC movies and just one set in the MCU.  Yet, for some reason, Sony’s Spiderverse is still plowing full steam ahead with movies based on characters named Madam Webb and Kraven the Hunter.  Yeah, I have no clue who they are either.

 

9.  2024 Elections (November 5):  Usually elections are higher on my anticipated lists, but if we are barreling towards a race between a senile old man and a senile old man who is also a raving lunatic, my excitement level is fairly low.  Only one of those old farts kicking the bucket or the 14^th Amendment can save us now.

 

8.  Mean Girls (January 12):  A movie musical based on a musical that was based on a movie sounds like a horrible idea, but I am still mildly intrigued by this.

 

7.  The Final Season of La Brea January 9):  Sigh, the guiltiest guilty pleasure on television is coming to an end.

 

6.  True Detective: Night Country (January 14):  I am cautiously optimistic about this one considering it has been diminishing returns since the first season.  But putting it up north adds an interesting wrinkle.

 

5.  House of the Dragon (TBD):  It seemed like the first season was just a preamble with all the time jumping.  Things should finally pick in the second season.

 

4.  Shōgun (February 27):  I am all for a cool samurai show.

 

3.  Ballerina (June 7):  The first attempt at John Wick without John Wick did not get good reviews and was probably little watched as it was on Peacock.  But center a movie around Ana De Armas could be a better second attempt.

 

2.  Self Reliance (January 12):  I am always up for an Anna Kendrick movie especially when it premieres on Hulu.

1.  2024 Paris Olympics (July 26):  There is nothing I get more excited more than the Olympics.  I usually watch as much as I can.  Then to make this installment even better, NBC just announced that they hired Snoop Dogg to be a correspondent.

 

The 13 Most Anticipated Events of 2023

 

The great Adam Duritz told us that it was a long December but there is reason to believe that this year will be better than last.  Here are thirteen reason why 2023 may actually be better than last year.

 

 

13.  Obligatory Superhero Mention:  It was a rough year for superheroes in 2022 and it looks like fatigue is finally settling in.  Marvel Phase 4 fizzled to an incoherent end.  It was even worse for DC which saw a Batgirl film get canned when it was almost finished filming and chaos ensued when the control given to James Gunn.  Henry Cavill was out as Superman days after it being announced he would return so Gunn could direct a Superman movie himself (that is some Big Dick Cheney Energy).  But as of now, DC will be releasing four zombie films tied to the last regime: Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 7), The Flash (June 16), Blue Beetle (August 18), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, half of which star someone with a lot of bad press last year and it is unlikely anyone in these movies will be seen again in these roles.

 

12.  Marvel launches Phase 5 with Ant-Man: Quantumania (February 17) featuring the theatrical debut of Kang who was last seen in the season finale of Loki, though this Kang is a variant of that one.  Yeah, that was one of the problems with Phase 4, it started getting confusing.  That will be followed by Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 (May 5), which will likely be Gunn’s last contribution to Marvel (at least until he gets fired by DC), The Marvels (July 28), featuring one of the few bright spots of Phase 4: Ms. Marvel.  On the small screen, there will be new seasons of What If…? and Loki, spin-offs starring Echo and Agatha as well new show Secret Invasion (featuring Emilia Clarke’s MCU debut after unsuccessful stints in the terminator and Star Wars franchises)  and Ironheart.  Oh, and Sony is still trying to make their Spider-Man Cinematic Universe a thing and will release something called Kraven the Hunter (October 6).  Oof.  But at least they have Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2), a sequel to the entertaining animated movie.

 

12.  The Drop (January 13, Hulu):   I am not sure if this is a mockup of The Slap, but I am just going to pretend it is.

 

11.  Orphan Black: Echoes (TBD, AMC):  Does we need more Orphan Black, especially without Tatiana Maslany?  And how exactly do you do this show without her if there are about a hundred people in this world who look like her?  Little is known about this show other than it stars Krysten Ritter, though we do not know how many Krysten Ritters there will be.

 

10.  Evil Dead Rises (April 21, theaters):  This is the second attempt to revive the Evil Dead franchise without Sam Rami writing or director or starring Bruce Campbell (both or producing).  This is the first one to take outside a cabin in the woods but instead the Book of the Dead will be found in the bowels of an apartment building.  Hopefully the change of scenery will add something to this film that the first reboot did not.  Unfortunately this is one of the films that Discovery took off the HBO Max schedule and put it in theaters.  So I guess I will have to wait an extra 45 days to watch.

 

9.  Community: Six Seasons and Finally the Movie (TBD, Peacock):  During the third season, Community was preempted for couple months to air The Cape.  In the show, Abed became obsessed with the show even declaring that it would run for six seasons and a movie, a phrase that became a rallying cry for the show’s fans as it was perpetually on the bubble.  Of course NBC canceled it one season shy.  Yet, somehow, Yahoo! Screen (almost a big footnote as The Cape) picked it up for that sixth season.  Then seven year after its six season, the show is finally getting a movie on Peacock. 

 

8.  Party Down (February 23, Starz):  Speaking of long gestating revivals of cult comedies, rumors of a Party Down movie date back over a decade but it is getting a full series return to the same network that axed it thirteen years ago.  Everyone from the second season is back except Lizzy Caplan (Chloe Zoe joins the cast to replace her) and as depressing their lives were when the original aired, I can only imagine how more depressing it will be this time.  My one hope for the revival is that, much like Rob Thomas’ last revival, he brings back Jason Doring (I believe he played a Young Republican in the first season) just to kill him off.  That would be hilarious.

 

7.  The Last of Us (January 15, HBO):  I never played the video game, but if the adaptation is half as good they say the game is, we will start off 2023 on a high note.

 

6.  The Curse (TBD, Showtime):  Emma Stone is quickly becoming the queen of weird television shows.  She recently appeared in the trippy Maniac and next up is this comedy which also stars Nathan Fielder (who is also set to direct) about a cursed house being renovated by an HGTV show.  Sounds wild.

 

5.  More Star Wars:  Not as rough as the superhero movies and shows, but quite an uneven year for Star Wars.  The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan were not highly regarded and while Andor was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of the year, it was also, reportedly, the least watched live action Star Wars show yet.   Oh, and no The Mandalorian, though the titular character and his little green friend did pop up a couple times on The Book of Boba Fett.  Oh, and it is now three years since the last movie and still no official date for the next one.  But the little green savior will be back on the small screen this year (March 1).  The Asoka spin-off will also be this year as well as a new show Skeleton Crew from the guy behind the latest Spider-Man movies.  But the year will be kicked off by a second season of The Bad Batch (January 4).  A new season of Visions and new animated show Young Jedi Adventures are also expected early this year.

 

4.  Only Murders in the Building Season 3 (TBD, Hulu):  Shockingly, Paul Rudd showed up in season two finale.  Even more shocking, he died in his second season.  Even more shocking than that, the show then announce, despite just killing him off, Rudd would be joining the cast for season three setting up a Fundamentals of Caring reunion and a reunion of 5-timers club members.  I am guessing there will be copious amounts of flashbacks in season three, though evil twin brother cannot be ruled out in a show like this.

 

3.  Women’s World Cup (July 20, Fox):  You know it has been a bad World Cup when  journalist dies at a game and most people think the government had him killed because he dared to wear a rainbow shirt to a game.  The men’s world cup was an unmitigated disaster from all the migrant worker deaths, FIFA banning arm bands, and the government banning beer hours before kickoff and getting caught bussing in fans to cheer for their team.  The good thing about the women’s world cup is that most despots are too sexists to bid on them.   The field has been expanded 32 teams which has led to first time world cup appeared by the Philippines and Zambia in either men’s or women’s cups.  Two time defending champs America have to be the favorite going in, but after a three game losing streak last fall, it looks like European teams are starting to catch up.  Despite the games on the other side of the world in Australian and New Zealand, the first two games for the US are at 9:00 EST, though the third start at 3:00 in thr morning.

 

2.  Yellowjackets Season 2 (March 26, Showtime):  All hail our new Antler Queen Lottie Forking Mathews!!!  Unfortunately the PR people at Showtime ruined that both Lottie and Van will make it to present day with casting of their adult versions (Elijah Wood has also been cast as a Citizen Detective).  But despite that annoyance, I am extremely excited to see the teenagers dissolve into madness as winter quickly fell on the Canadian forest, and mostly fell on poor Jackie.

 

1. Justified: City Primeval (TBD, FX):  One of the five greatest shows of this century is getting a reboot.  While Raylan Givens does not actually appear in the Elmore Leonard book, they are fudging that for the show.  As of now it looks like Raylan will be the only one from the show to return, unless you count his daughter who will be played by Timothy Olyphant’s real life daughter. 

 

 

Here is everything else I will be watching this winter:

 

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (January 16, CBS)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (January 2, NBC)

10:30 – Miracle Workers: End Times (January 16, TBS)

 

Tuesdays

Leverage Redemption (already back, Freevee)

How I Met Your Father (January 24, Hulu)

Extraordinary (January 24, Hulu)

8:00 – Night Court (January 17, NBC)

9:00 – La Brea (January 31, NBC)

 

Wednesdays

The Bad Batch (January 4, Disney+)

Wu-Tang: An American Saga (February 15, Hulu)

The Mandalorian (March 1, Disney+)

8:00 – The Challenge (already back, MTV)

8:00 – Survivor (March 1, CBS)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (January 11, ABC)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (January 4, ABC)

10:00 – Big Sky (January 4, ABC) 

10:00 – Grown’ish (January 18, Freeform)

 

Thursdays

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS, January 5, CBS)

 

Fridays

8:00 - Young Rock (January 6, NBC)

 

Sundays

8:00 – The Blacklist (Febuary 26, NBC)

9:00 – Mayfiar Witches (January 8, AMC)

9:00 – The Last of Us (January 15, HBO)

9:00 – Your Honor (January 15, Showtime)

9:00 – Yellowjackets (March 26, Showtime)

The Most (and Least) Anticipated Questions of 2022-23 Television

 

The start of the television season is upon us, though it feels like it already started as many big shows started last week.  Though, it reality, it feels like the television season did not even end with a constant stream of notable shows popping up during what typically been a barren wasteland for scripted television.  But I digress.  The unofficial start of the television season is when I like to ask a couple questions that hopefully get answered by the end of the season… if the season actually ever ends in the era of streaming.

  

      1.       Who Will Win the IP War: Marvel, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars?  Labor Day is when temperatures start to fall with the unofficial end of summer, but things are already heating up on television.  We have three episodes of She-Hulk and House of the Dragon as well as two episodes of Rings of Power.  Then the day before the official first day of fall, Andor premieres.  Marvel, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars represent the three biggest names on television right now (sorry DC and Walking Dead who also recently launched less buzzworthy shows).  HBO says Hot D got 10 million viewers for its premiere and increased that for the second episode.  Then Prime said 25 million people watched Ring (though a bit apples to oranges because Hot D was just Americans and Rings were worldwide).  The Ploose did not give out She-Hulk numbers, but something called Samba TV claims 1.5 million households watched the premiere, but again households to people can be apple to oranges).  That viewership went up seems like Hot D is currently in prime position to win the IP wars.  The low states comedy of She-Hulk will probably come in last with Andor being the dark horse.  The last two Star Wars shows were not well received but Rogue One was one of the bright spots of the Disney era Star Wars properties.  But what is clear, there will be a round two.

      2.       Who the Fork Is Lottie Matthews?!?  Fewer things got me more hyped while watching television over the past year than listening to Natalie’s voice mail on Yellowjackets when her AA sponsor found out who emptied Travis’s bank account and asked her, “Who the fork is Lottie Matthews.”  Sure, my theory that Lottie was Pit Girl went out the window, but considering how Lottie went from a background character to a crazy Antler Queen, I am not disappointed.  If she could go off the rails after a couple months, just how crazy has she become twenty-five year later?  Unfortunately the show already spoiled her acolyte Van is still alive when they announced Lauren Ambrose has been cast as an adult version.  Elijah Wood has also been cast, but thankfully not as adult Javi in another spoiler, but as one of Misty’s Citizen Detectives.

      3.       What Now on The Handmaid’s Tale?  After three seasons of torture porn, June actually managed to escape Gilliad last season and celebrated by brutally murdering Commander Waterford.  So what do you do after escaping and killing your capture?  Well, June still needs to rescue her daughter who is still in Gilliad.  Hopefully that does not take three seasons to accomplish.  And while the Commander is dead, his widow is still very much alive.  Though one person we will not be seeing is Emily who has been written off the show.  Though no big loss as she had not added much to the show after escaping back in season two.

      4.       Will Dr. Ben Seong Run Into Dr. Samuel Beckett?  For years I have been asking for a Quantum Leap reboot with Sam playing the Al role.  While we are getting a Quantum Leap reboot, the leaper is still a dude and the Al sand in will be played by Ernie Hudson.  Sigh.  Now the question is, will the new leaper eventually run into Sam?   Here is hoping he will and it will be sooner rather than later.

      5.       Who Killed Pail Rudd and When Will We Find Out?  Much like the first season of Only Murders in the Building ended with a teaser of a new murder, season two ended will Paul Rudd dying on stage shortly after having a tense exchange with Charles Hayden Savage and a notably shaken Mabel in shock.  Was Mabel the “she” Charles told Paul Rudd to stay away from?  The list of alternatives is not very long.  Lucy is too young but could Lucy’s mom be back in the picture.  Then there is the question of when will the third season premiere.  Season two actually arrived two months earlier than the first, could we get the third season two more months earlier?  That would put it in late April.  For Emmy reason, it is doubtful, but the Emmy window ending in late May, a premiere around that time does not seem out of the question.  Then the other question remains, if Paul Rudd was murdered on stage, will they need to change the name of Only Murders in the Building?

 

As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, how would we know if something was cool if there weren't things that sucked; here are the five least anticipated questions

      1.       Who Will Survive the Walking Dead?  It is the end of the era, after ten seasons, the last as which was split into three parts; The Waling Dead is coming to an end.  So who will survive?  Well, Daryl and Carole have already been announced for a spin-off show (though Carole dropped out) as well as one with Maggie and Negan so I am guess those four survive unless those shows will just be those zombiefied four around eating stupid humans.  Actually, that may actually be better than what we will likely get.

      2.       Who Will Survive The CW Sale?  It was a bloodbath last spring when The CW canceled three of its female fronted superhero television shows (Stargirl was lucky in that it had not aired yet).  The Flash has already been announced for a final season which will leave just Stargirl, Superman, and the upcoming Gotham Knights as the lone superhero shows.  Will any of them or the other low performing show make the cut after the new owners have full control?  Who care, no one will likely watch either way.

      3.       Who Will Survive the HBO Max / Discovery Merger?  The new CEO comes in, axes the almost completed Batgirl and the internet turns into Chicken Little.  Someone even claimed HBO Max would stop making originals and current originals would move to HBO.  Stupid people.  While this month HBO Max will premiering… um, just about nothing, a sizzle real that launched with Hot D promises new seasons of Pennyworth (coming next month) Titans, Doom Patrol, Hacks Minx, Our Flag Means Death, coming soon.  Okay, the only new show is some new show with Elizabeth Olsen based on a story Hulu already did earlier this year.  So the merger may mean less content coming from HBO Max / Discover, but in an era of too much television, that may not be such a bad thing

      4.       Who Will Survive NBC Axing the 10:00 Hour?  This rumor just hit the internet recently launching a thousand Jay Leno jokes.  But if NBC does end up axing six hours every week, what will be left?  Sadly, it will probably not be what historically NBC has done best: comedies.  They are no sitcoms premiering this month, though Young Rock and some George Lopez show are coming to Fridays in November.  But losing 10:00 would also mean no full nights of Chicago or Law and Order shows.  Though what will become of ambitious shows like La Brea that NBC tries every year?  What surprises me about this is that linear television is still very profitable and NBC’s streaming sister, Peacock is the one that seems to be struggling the most.  It seems like a very poor business move.  But if we get less procedurals, maybe that will not be such a bad thing.  Speaking of which…

      5.       Just How Many Spin-Off Are There?  Law and Order and Chicago are not the only shows that dominate an entire night, FBI, All-American, and Walker all take up a full day of programing.  NCIS and The Rookie do have shows on different nights while Grey’s Anatomy takes up multiple timeslots on Thursday .  Surprisingly we are down to just the original CSI this fall.  Who are watching all these shows and their spin-offs?

 

Here is everything I will be watching this fall... Why the fork are there so many shows on Wednesdays?  How about spreading things out?

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS, September 19(

9:00 – Kevin Can Fork Himself (AMC, already started)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (NBC, September 19)

 

Tuesdays

Reboot (Hulu, September 20)

9:00 - La Brea (NBC, September 27)

 

 Wednesdays

Wedding Season (Hulu, September 7)

Tell Me Lies (Hulu, September 7)

The Handmaid’s Tale (September 14)

Andor (Disney+, September 21)

Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (Peacock, November 23)

8:00 – Stargirl (The CW, already started)

8:00 – Survivor (CBS, September 21)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (ABC, September 21)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (ABC, September 21)

10:00 – Big Sky (ABC, September 21)

 

Thursdays

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+, already started)

She-Hulk (Disney+, already started)

The Lord of the Ring: The Rings of Power (Prime, already started)

A Friend of the Family (Peacock, October 6)

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS, September 29)

 

Fridays

Ramy (Hulu, September 30)

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC, November 4)

 

Sundays

9:00 – House of the Dragon (HBO, already started)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC, October 2)

10:00 – Let the Right One In (Showtime, October 9)

The Most Anticipated Show(s) of 2022-23

 

Every May, I would scroll over the network schedules they produce during the Upfronts and make a list of the new shows coming next fall that I am most excited about.  That list has gotten smaller and smaller and this year the list is just one: Quantum Leap.  I guess unless you really love cop or doctor shows, networks are just not for you anymore.  Law and Order, FBI, and Chicago even have their own nights.  That does not count Grey’s Anatomy or NCIS which has two hour blocks or The Rookie that has two shows on different nights.

 

Of course this is because all the adventurous shows have moved to streaming.  Sitcoms used to be the one thing networks did better than streaming but there are no new sitcoms launching in September, Lopez vs. Lopez will get a late fall premiere.  Only two other sitcom got announced this year.  Not only will no new shows will be on the fall schedule, CBS and ABC both cut an hour of comedy each from their current schedules.  They both very recently had two two hour blocks of sitcoms each week, now CBS is down to two one hour blocks and ABC has one two hour block.  The previously mentioned NBC, who once had the once vaunted Must See TV Thursday comedy block, will launch with no sitcoms on their schedule for the second straight year.

 

So with very few new shows, my fall schedule looks very bare.

 

 Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (NBC)

 

Tuesdays

9:00 – La Brea (NBC)

 

Wesnesday

8:00 – Survivor (CBS)

8:00 – DC’s Stargirl (The CW)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (ABC)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

10:00 - Big Sky (ABC)

 

Thursdays

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS)

 

 Fridays

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC)

 

Saturdays/Sundays

Nothing

 

 

While I am listing schedules, might as well also post my Summer Schedule which is disturbingly filling up.  Summer used to be a time to catch up on things, but there are a lot of originals coming

 

Mondays

9:00 – Ima Vep (HBO, June 6)

9:00 – In the Dark (The CW, June 6)

 

Tuesdays

Pistol (Hulu, May 31)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, June 28)

10:00 – Motherland: Fort Salem (Freeform, June 21)

10:00 – What We Do in the Shadows (FX, July 12)

 

Wednesdays

Ms. Marvel (Disney+, June 8)

Reservation Dogs (Hulu, August 3)

She-Hulk:  Attorney at Law (Disney+, August 17)

10:00 – Grown’ish (Freeform, July 10:00)

 

Thursdays

Players (Paramount+, June 16)

Maggie (Hulu, July 7)

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime, September 1)

 

Fridays

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+, May 27)

Loot (Apple TV+, June 24)

 

Sundays

9:00 – Westworld (HBO, June 26)

9:00 – The Chi (Showtime, June 26)

9:00 – House of the Dragon (HBO, August 21)

10:00 – City on a Hill (Showtime, July 10)

11:00 - Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime, June 19)

 

The Ten Most Anticipated Events of 2022

 

10.  The End of The Walking Dead (returns 2/20):  It is the end of an era with The Walking Dead ending after eleven seasons.  Though much like the titular characters, the show will live on with a Carol and Daryl spinoff (spoiler alert, they do not die… though I may actually enjoy a show following the zombified duo more than what we will actually get) and of course there is always Fear the Walking Dead and supposedly those Rick movies, so I guess this is not truly the end.

 

9.  Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin:   The original show had possibly the worst plot twist in the history television when Allison’s brother turned out to be Allison’s other brother who was about seven years too young from when they already established the character to be.   The soft reboot with Allison and Mona was pretty bad.  Still, the quick glimpse in the HBO Mas 2022 teaser got me weirdly excited for the third go-around.

 

8.  Single Drunk Female (January 20):  I know nothing about this show, there has not even been a trailer released yet, but based solely on the name, I will be watching.

 

7.  Pam and Tommy (February 2):  When Hulu announce they were going to do a show about the infamous sex tape, I went, huh?  Then they announce Seth Rogen as the dude who obtained the sex tape, and again went, huh?  But I was also intrigued.  This is one of those shows you just hope completely goes off the rails.  Though I really hope we do not have to see how the Winter Soldier steers a boat. 

 

6.  Problematic Sporting Events (Maybe?):  Nothing I love more than international sporting events and we will be getting two this year… maybe.  With the Omicron variant wreaking havoc all over the world, it seems like the Winter Olympics may follow the Summer’s lead and postpone a year (the NHL already pulled out their players).  Hopefully things will be better by summer for the Men’s World Cup.  Oh wait, they pushed that to the late fall because some shady regime in Qatar, where it hits triple digits in the summer, presented the highest bribe and they proceed to have essentially slave labor build the soccer stadiums.    The Winter Olympics are just as problematics because it is being held in China who has a long history of human rights violations.  Sigh.  But hey, maybe both events will be canceled, but with money to be made and them being held in places that do not care about the well-being of people, probably not.

 

5.  The Next Game of Thrones (Maybe?):  Ever since Games of Thrones was winding down, networks and streaming serves have been on the lookout for that elusive next Game of Thrones.  There are a few contenders coming out.  Here are a few ranked from least likely to most likely.  Halo was supposed to be Showtime’s foray into the attempted Game of Thrones market but their corporate daddy gave that to Paramount+ (Showtime did get The Man Who Fell to Earth, which I am pretty confident in saying will not be the next Game of Thrones).  While this is huge IP, space stories do seems to have a ceiling and The Mount is near the bottom of the most subscribers’ power ranking.

Next up is Lord of the Rings which is one of the biggest IP names out that that spawn two very successful trilogies earlier this century.  Amazon has the big pocket and a large subscriber base, but as Apple has shown with Foundation, shelling out a lot of money on IP alone will buy you the next Game of Thrones.  Plus while a lot of people subscribe to Prime, there also seems to be a lot of people that do not realize Prime Video comes with that two day free shipping.

So the most likely next Game of Thrones will be… Game of Thrones.  After spending a lot of money on a Pilot that got scrapped, HBO went with another story and we will likely be getting House of the Dragon this year.  But it is not guaranteed it will do as well as the original show.  House of the Dragon will have to win over a lot of fans who were disappointed with the choppy final season and pretty bad finale.  But on the bright side, this show will not have to hope George R.R. Martin finishes the books before the get to that part of the story

 

4.  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, More Star Wars and Marvel Shows on the Ploose:  I will be watching all the shows they release but the MCU seems to be having diminishing returns.  The Mandalorian was great, but will Star Wars fatigue set in when they start pumping out more shows too?  I was fairly meh on the first episode of the Book of Boba Fett.  Here is my power raking of the shows that are likely coming to the Ploose this year: 

1)      Obi-Wan Kenobi

2)      Ms. Marvel

3)      Secret Invasion

4)      Andor

5)      Moon Knight

6)      She-Hulk

 

3.  Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 16) and Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8):  While superhero fatigue is setting in, the two goofier heroes of their respective cinematic universes and thus stared in some of the more entertaining movies.

 

2.  The Woman in the House across the Street from the Girl in the Window (January 29):  Now there is a title.  But all I need to know is the series is starring Kristen Bell so I may have to re-subscribe to Netflix for the first time in a while.

 

1.  The Season Finale of Yellowjackets (January 15):  Last episode was wild, Laura Lee’s plane blew up and it seems like Adam turned out to be the blackmailer, which could mean he could be adult Javi.  Of course after Van survived being mauled by wolf, I half expect Laura Lee to crawl out of the lake at the start of next episode.  Okay, I have actually seen the next episode and no spoilers, but there is a very big reveal and a popular Reddit theory gets vindicated.  Okay, one spoiler: the girls butcher a Seal.  No spoilers for the finale, mostly because I have not seen it.  But considering how bat-shirt crazy things have been I am sure there will a few more jaw dropping moment for the last episode.  It looks like the girls will be going to a reunion.  I have to image we finally learn of some of the other crash survivor that made it to middle age.  But will we see the presumed dead Jackie like I have been predicting all season?  Will we learn of anyone else who is with Misty during the dining scene from the premiere?  Oh, and the finale is entitled “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” or “the glory of the world” in Latin, a phrase spoken when anointing a new Pope.  One has to assume a new leader will be coroneted during the earlier timeline.  Yeah, this is going to be wild.  And since the show was already been renewed, we may get more than three episodes this year.

 

Here is everything else I will be watching while trying to stay warm this winter:

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS, January 3)

9:00 – Snowpiercer (TNT, January 24)

 

Tuesdays

How I Met Your Father (Hulu, January 18)

Dollface (Hulu, February 11)

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC, March 15)

8:30 – Mr. Mayor (NBC, March 15)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (ABC, January 4)

9:30 – Black’ish (ABC, January 4)

 

Wednesday

The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+, already started)

Pam and Tommy (Hulu, February 2)

8:00 - The Goldbergs (ABC, January 5)

8:30 - The Wonder Years (ABC, January 5)

 

Thursdays

Peacemaker (HBO Max, January 13)

The Dropout (Hulu, March 3)

8:00 – The Blacklist (NBC, January 6)

9:00 – Ghosts (CBS, January 6)

9:30 - B Positive (CBS, January 6)

9:30 – Pivoting (Fox, preview January 9, regular timeslot premiere January 13)

10:00 – Grown’ish (Freeform, January 24)

10:30 – Single Drunk Female (Freeform, January 20 back to back episode starting at 10:00 the first week)

 

Fridays

Search Party (HBO Max, January 7)

2022 Winter Olympics (NBC, February 4)

8:00 – The Blacklist (NBC, February 25)

 

Sundays

8:00 – Killing Eve (BBC America, February 27)

9:00 – Billions (Showtime, January 23)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC, February 20)

9:00 – Fear the Walking Dead (AMC, april 17)

10:00 - The Righteous Gemstones (HBO, January 9)

10:00 – Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber (Showtime, February 27)

The Five Most Anticipated New Shows of 2021-22

 

I waited a week to release my Fall Television schedule after most of the networks released theirs to wait for The CW except none of their new shows made my Most Anticipated list and I will be watching nothing on their fall schedule.    Though, is it wring that I am more interested the live action Powerpuff Girls show after the head of the CW called it a mess?  I kind of want to start a #ReleaseThePowerCut movement.  As for shows that actually made my list, well, it is only comedies.  Really, this season is almost as dreadful as last one, but at least the networks last year could blame the pandemic.  I really do not have much to say about any of these other that they look mostly watchable.  Hopefully the streaming services offer something better this fall.  Hulu is premiering two new shows in late August, Nine Perfect Strangers and Only Murders in the Building, which should trickle into fall.

 

1.       1,  Ghosts (Thursdays at 9:00 on CBS)

2.       2.  Maggie  (Midseason ABC)

3.       3,  Abbott Elementary (Midseason ABC)

4.       4.  Smallwood (Midseason CBS)

5.       5.  The Wonder Years (Wednesdays At 8:30 on ABC)

 

Here is my complete network fall schedule: 

 

Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS)

 

Tuesdays

Nothing

 

Wednesdays

8:00 – Survivor (CBS)

8:00 – The Goldbergs (ABC)

8:30 – The Wonder Years (ABC)  

 

Thursdays

9:00 – Ghosts (CBS)

9:30 – B Positive (CBS)

 

Fridays

8:00 – The Blacklist (NBC)

 

Sundays

Nothing, wow, this schedule is really dreadful.

The Ten Most Anticipated Events of 2021

  
10. Everything that got delayed from 2020:  Unfortunately due to the Coronapocalypse, many things on my most anticipated list from last year never actually happened.  Hopefully movies like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, West Side Story. Black Widow, as well as the Olympics actually happens this year.

9.  Mr. Mayor (January 7):  National treasure Ted Danson is back on a NBC sitcom about a year after the end of The Good Place from the team that brought us 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  Should be good.

8.   8. In the Heights (June 18):  There are a lot of things this year that are written in pencil, but Warner Bros. have already announced their entire slate of movies will get a simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max release.   So we should see some of these movies no matter how long the vaccine rollout takes.  Many people know Lin-Manuel Miranda for Hamilton, but before the cultural phenomenon, there was In the Height.  And unlike the Disney Ploose version of Hamilton which was just the stage play, this is a full blown adaption.

7.  The Book of Boba Fett (December):  There was some confusion as if this would be its own thing or if it would be the third season of The Mandalorian, but it turns out to be a mini-series and the first of the many live action spin-off from the first show.  Boba was awesome in his limited run and Ming-Na Wen is always a welcome addition to any cast.  Plus this show will be run by famed director Robert Rodriquez who directed the big Boba Fett return.  Maybe we will finally learn how he got out of the Sarlac Pit and what he has been up to since then and now.  This is likely the only new Star Wars live action show we get this year, but animated show The Bad Batch (a spin-off of the Clone Wars which will also feature the voice of Wen) and anthology show Visions are also supposed to air this year but no date for either.

6.  Marvel Television on Disney Ploose:  The MCU was a sprawling cinematic universe that spanned ABC, Netflix, Hulu, and Freeform.  Granted none of the shows really had any influence on the movies and Marvel TV studio was shut down, all the existing shows were canceled.  All of this was to consolidate the televised show onto Disney Ploose (sorry sister site Hulu who was planning a whole Adventure into Fear series of shows when this decree when down).  Now all these new shows for The Ploose supposedly will be tied directly into the MCU and the first couple features characters from the movies.  We have dates for WandaVision (1/15) and Falcon and Winter Soldier (3/19) but just loose dates after that including Loki (May).  Later this year is the show I am most excited for, Hawkeye which features the titular character mentoring Hailee Steinfeld and Lucky the Pizza Dog.  The other show that is supposed to happen this year is the lone show based on a new character Ms. Marvel.

5.  Nine Perfect Strangers (TBA):  Big Little Lies was such a success for David E. Kelly and Nicole Kidman; they made a second season and went on to do another mini-series together, The Undoing.  They are teaming yet again for a Hulu show Nine Perfect Strangers which like Big Little Lies is based on a book by Lynn Moriarty.  While not one of the titular characters, Kidman plays the director of the resort than the nine strangers come to relax.  But the list of actual strangers is pretty impressive: Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Michael Shannon, Grace Van Patten, Samara Weaving, Luke Evans, and Melissa McCarthy (okay have not heard of the last two actors of the nine).  Manny Jacinto (BORTLES!!!!!!!) and Tiffany Boone also work at the spa with Kidman.  Pretty interesting cast.

4. The Suicide Squad (August 6):  A wise man once said, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice… won’t be fooled again.  Yet I am cautiously optimistic about DC’s second attempt at the franchise which is sort of a sequel and sort of not (added only a “The” to the title only adds to the confusion).  James Gunn was quickly picked up by DC after being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy (but quietly rehired) giving him free reign on a sequel even if it does not quite jive with the original.  Back is the best part of the first film Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.  Also returning are Viola Davis (Amanda Walker), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), and, um… Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang).  Idris Elba was originally cast to replace Will Smith as Deadshot but ends up playing the much lesser known Bloodsport.  He is not the only D-list villain in the movie, but unlike Elba, I would be fairly surprised if Pete Davidson’s Blackguard, David Dastmalchian’s Polka Dot Man, Michael Rooker’s Savant (Gunn has already killed him once), Nathan Fillion’s T.D.K.,  Daniela Melchoir’s Ratcatcher 2, or Fluta Borg’s Javelin make it to the end of the movie.  I would have had John Cena’s Peacemaker on that list, but he was already announced to be starring in a HBO Max spin-off show.  It is still unknown which of the numerous villains is the main antagonist and which are in the titular group, but Sylvester Stallone and Taika Waititi are both cast as yet to be announce characters.  At the very least, this has to be better than the first one.  Right?

3. Last Night in Soho (April 23?) – Edgar Wright is one of my favorite working directors so anything he does goes to the top of my list.  This movie is being listed as a psychological thriller but seems to be much more serious than his previous horror movies like Shaun of the Dead.  The movie star Anya Taylor-Joy after her much buzzed about show The Queen’s Gambit.  No trailer yet which makes me think this will not make its April date (is had already been pushed back once) but hopefully it will get released by the end of the year.

2.  Only Murders in the Building (TBA):  Steve Martin and Martin Short gave us one of the funniest movies in the history of cinema in The Three Amigos and who better to replace Chevy Chase in that threesome than Selena Gomez?  The trio star as three strangers with a true crime obsession who get wrapped up in one.  And of course, then hilarity ensues.

1.  No More President Donald Trump (January 20):  I cannot think of a more incompetent person to lead our country through a pandemic and yet Donald Trump somehow performed worse than I ever expected.  Thankfully there were over eighty million Americans who agreed with me and will be showing him the door in a couple weeks.  Hopefully Joe Biden can do a better job at the vaccine roll out because the rate it is happening under trump, it would take a full decade.  And it is not only Trump who will be leaving; also gone will be all his incompetent flunkies.  I look most forward to a new Postmaster General so I no longer will have to wait weeks to receive a package that was sent through the USPS.

Here is also a list of everything I will be watching as I wait to go back outside again once everyone gets vaccinated.

Mondays
8:00 - The Neighborhood (CBS, January 4)
9:00 – Snowpiercer (TNT, January 25)

Tuesdays
8:00 – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC, January 5)
9:00 – Black’ish (ABC, January 26)
9:30 – Mix’ish (ABC, January 26)
10:00 – Nurses (NBC, January 5)
10:00 – Big Sky (ABC, January 26)

Wednesdays
8:00 - The Challenge: Double Agents (MTV, already started) 

      8:00 – The Goldbergs (ABC, January 13)

Thursdays
Search Party (HBO Max, January 14)
8:00 - Mr. Mayor (NBC, January 7)
8:00 – B Positive (CBS, January 7)
8:30 – Superstore (NBC, January 14)

Fridays
Wandavision (Disney Ploose, January 15)
The Falcon and Winter Soldier (Disney Ploose, March 19)
8:00 – The Blacklist (NBC, January 22)

Sundays
9:00 – Shameless (Showtime, January 10)
9:00 – The Waling Dead (AMC, February 28)
10:00 – Your Honor (Showtime, already started)

The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2020

The movie business is being upended by the global pandemic but the music business is just humming along after pretty much converting to digital last decade. There are some major releases that do not even get physical releases now. Amazon said they would not be storing any CD's or vinyl records in their warhouses to save space for essiental product and that was met mostly with a shrug. I was a little surprised that Alicia Keys delayed her album that was supposed to come out last week for two months, just days after announcing it was coming at all. No one really knows how long we will be stuck inside, but there actually is a bunch of noteworthy albums coming out this spring to keep us entertained until the quarantine is listed. I am certainly not renting The Hunt for twenty bucks, that is like three and a half months of Hulu. Here are the ones I am most looking for:


1. Gaslighter - Dixie Chicks (My 1): Has it really been fourteen years since the last Dixie Chicks album? I guess it does not seem that long because Natalie Maines released a solo album while Emily Robison and Martie Maguire released two albums under the name Court Yard Hounds in between. The title track lead single makes it sound like they have not skipped a beat and are just as angry as they were during the Bush era. And to think, most people actually miss the Bush era compared with what is going on now.

2. Women In Music Pt.III - Haim (April 24): Ha, WiMP III. Clever title. Haim sprinkled three quality single across 2019 and those are finally culminating with their third album. Okay, the fourth song that was released with the album announcement was the weakest, but I am still looking forward to it.

3. Gigaton - Pearl Jam (This Week): Well that was a weird first single. Maybe we should have guessed end times were upon us when Pearl Jam released a song with a dance-able bass-line. While they will likely never reach the heights of those first three classic albums, late period Pearl Jam has been pretty solid.

4. Pick Me Off the Floor - Norah Jones (May 8): Thanks to that massive first (and technically only) hit, Norah Jones has has the luxury of doing pretty much what ever she wants since. This time around she worked with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and if it is like past collaborations, it should end up being pretty good.

5. Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple (TBD): Not quite Dixie Chicks long but it has been way took long Fiona Apple has released an album. Nothing is know but the title, based on a television quote of all things (but still not as weird as when she wrote poem length album titles) but just the thought of an album from Fiona will at very least put her on the list.


Here is everything else that is at least worth a spin on Spotify:

Last Week
After Hours - The Weeknd
3.15.20 - Childish Gambino

Tomorrow
Local Honey - Brian Fallon
Love Is An Art - Vanessa Carlton
Stain Cloud - Waxahatchie
Aporia - Sufjan Stevens
Walking Proof - Lilly Hiatt
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition) - Ol' Dirty Bastard

April 3
Migration Stories - M. Ward
The Mike & Micky Show Live - The Monkees
Born to Sing: 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition - En Vogue

April 10
The Way it Feels - Maddie and Tae
LIFERS - Local H

April 17
Italian Ice - Nicole Atkins
One World - Billy Ocean
The Rainbow Children (Reissue) - Prince
One Night alone... (Reissue) - Prince

April 24
Notes On A Conditional Form - The 1975
Three. Two. One. - Lennon Stella
First Rose Of Spring - Willie Nelson
MTV Unplugged Live at Hull City Hall - Liam Gallagher

May 1
Hate For Sale - The Pretenders

May 8
Petals for armor - Hayley Williams
Recover - The Naked and Famous
That’s How Rumors Get Started - Margo Price

May 15
Alicia - Alicia Keys
Reunions - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Van Weezer - Weezer

May 29
Imploding The Mirage - The Killers

June 5
What's Your Pleasure - Jessie Ware
Surface Sounds - KALEO

June 12
Canyons - Gone West


TBD
Brother Sister - Watkins Family Hour
Ariana Grande
Daryl Hall and John Oats
Lorde
The Cure


Of course this could be the quarter Dr. Dre releases Detox.