Around the Tubes: 7/22/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Veep, Temple of the Dog, Wicked Tuna, Cesar and Son, Black And White, KT Tunstall, Civil Twilight, A Season with Florida State Football, and Window Warriors.

- All hail to the VEEP! As the political environment heats up leading into the upcoming conventions, HBO Home Entertainment looks to lighten the climate with the Digital HD release of this year's Emmy nominee for "Outstanding Comedy Series", Veep: The Complete Fifth Season (along with 16 additional nominations). Do our presumptive nominees have anything on President Selina Meyer? Watch and find out when every episode (and some great bonus features) are released to all leading digital platforms now.

- Temple of the Dog — the Seattle supergroup featuring Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready, and drummer Matt Cameron (who plays drums with both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) — has reunited and will tour for the first time ever since forming in 1990. The band will play five cities, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle, in November. A special ticket pre-sale for fans signed up to the Ten Club, Soundgarden, and Chris Cornell email lists begins immediately and runs through July 27th. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 12:00 PM local time on Friday the 29th. $1.50 from each ticket sold will benefit the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation and an additional $1.50 will benefit Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation. On September 30th UMe will release a special Temple of the Dog 25th anniversary reissue collection of their landmark album, newly mixed by Brendan O’Brien. The collection will be available in four configurations, including a four disc Super Deluxe, a double LP, a two CD Deluxe, and a single CD. Physical pre-orders are available today along with a detailed list of the contents of each configuration HERE.

- On the heels of the fifth season of its hit series Wicked Tuna, National Geographic Channel once again pits Gloucester’s finest against the best Southern fishermen, in the third season of the exciting spinoff series Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks, premiering Monday, July 25, at 9:00. It was an exceptional year in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with many captains bringing in record hauls for one of the most profitable seasons in recent memory. Now, winter has descended upon New England, and the prized bluefin tuna have migrated south to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Three of Gloucester’s top captains are following the fish and trying their luck against a fleet of the South’s best fishermen. It’s a risky gamble — the Outer Banks is a notoriously dangerous fishing spot, where the potential for earnings is offset by the challenges these waters pose. And in addition to the unpredictable, treacherous conditions, the Gloucester captains will have to contend with competition from experienced locals who will stop at nothing to beat them to the catch.

- Nat Geo WILD announced today that world-famous dog behaviorist Cesar Millan (@cesarmillan) and his son Andre Millan are road-tripping across America in search of dogs and their humans who need help and want to share their story in Nat Geo WILD’s new series Cesar and Son [wt]. From canine heroes to unsolvable pooch problems to issues affecting local dog communities, no pup is off limits as the Millans hit the road to help you. Visit cesarandson.com to apply.

- A&E Network’s new original comedy series, Black And White is a provocative weekly in-studio show that tackles the third rail of both comedy and politics: race. Hosted by Christian Finnegan and Sherrod Small, this new series covers the biggest headlines sweeping the nation through the fresh and hilarious points of views of these comedians and longtime friends. Black And White premieres Wednesday, July 27 at 10:30 on A&E.

- KT Tunstall returns with an explosive 11 track collection of songs on her fifth studio album KIN to be released September 9th on Caroline Records. The album will be available for pre-order at all participating retailers, here.
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Civil Twilight, originally from South Africa, and now Nashville based, are living proof of what happens when you stop worrying about being the chosen one and make music built on both the roots that grew you and the love that keeps you thriving every day. Civil Twilight debut ethereal acoustic album Story of an Immigrant streaming via Billboard
available July 15, 2016 via Wind-up Records.



- Showwtime Sports will chronicle Florida State University’s quest for the 2016 College Football National Championship with the all-access documentary series A Season with Florida State Football. The second installment of the groundbreaking series brings viewers behind the scenes and into the lives of the Seminoles with weekly 30-minute episodes throughout the 2016 season. The series premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 10:00 on Showtime, just one day after the Seminoles’ season opener against the Ole Miss Rebels (University of Mississippi) on Labor Day.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, has added actress Garcelle Beauvais (“Hollywood Today Live,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming”) as host of their new skill-based competition series Window Warriors. Window Warriors lifts the curtain on the intensely competitive and theatrical world of visual merchandising. This new series brings the worlds of art and commerce together as the country’s most talented window designers are challenged to conceive jaw-dropping displays each week. From the festive, to the luxurious, to the latest advances in digital effects and sound technology, these artists will push their creativity to the limits in the hopes of winning a $100,000 grand prize, in addition to a feature in a retail design magazine, a one-year contract to design displays for a premiere mall developer, and a career-changing opportunity to design a holiday display at a major department store.

Around the Tubes: 7/15/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Cesar 911, The Incredible Dr. Pol, Open Your Eyes, Behind the Lost Empires, Roadies, Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made, and Showtime,

- On Friday, July 15th, hit show Cesar 911 returns to Nat Geo WILD with all new episodes. Tune-in to see Cesar Millan help dog owners in some of the most unique situations as they learn how to deal with challenges of owning a difficult dog. Viewers will see Cesar employ creative methods ranging from calling in Jillian Michaels to going undercover as a UPS delivery man to help these owners give their dog a chance at a balanced, happy and healthy life. Coming up, Cesar brings in television personality and fitness expert, Jillian Michaels, to work with the owners of an energetic K-9. In The Biggest Loser one couple’s Vizsla Lab mix, Tic Tac, threatens to ruin their dream of living on the water because of his unruly behavior. To help the couple, Cesar calls in his friend Jillian to devise a fitness regime… but this time for the owners themselves!

- Nat Geo Wild's No. 2 Show, The Incredible Dr. Pol, is back with an all new season of sick, injured, oozing, kicking, and biting cases. Follow Dr. Pol and his team as they rush across the Michigan countryside making house calls to a variety of farm animals. Weather they are hard at work castrating a quartet of rowdy alpacas or treating cows with deadly gastric infections, everyone has their hands full in this nail-clipping, bridge-building, bone-repairing abscess-draining season of mending mysterious and sensational solutions. The new season of The Incredible Dr. Pol premieres Saturday, July 16 at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

- Open Your Eyes, which chronicles the amazing journey of two elderly farmers in Nepal as their eyesight is restored, is an acclaimed new documentary directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky (Beware the Slenderman, Peabody Award-winning Hear and Now) which will premiere on HBO on July 18th at 9:00. With today's news cycles seemingly dominated by stories of conflict and negativity, the film presents a remarkable story of the global community coming together to create positive change.

- New technology and the opening of previously closed societies are ushering in a golden age of archaeology, uncovering the secrets of some of history’s most famous empires. Smithsonian Channel has gained access to some remarkable discoveries, and will reveal new insights in a major new programming block: Behind the Lost Empires. The block features specials on the lost city of Pompeii, a recently discovered Roman gladiator school in the heart of Europe, China’s Han Dynasty and its infamous female Emperor Wu, and Burma, the world’s first golden civilization. Pompeii: The Dead Speak kicks off Behind the Lost Empires on Monday, August 8 at 8:00.

- This week, Showtime wrapped production on the first season of the freshman music series Roadies with an impressive roster of musical acts set to appear in the season finale, which will air on Sunday, August 28th at 10:00. The one-hour episode will feature music personally curated by series creator, executive producer, writer and music supervisor Cameron Crowe, and performances from Jim James, Eddie Vedder, Nicole Atkins, Jackson Browne, Robyn Hitchcock, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig from Lucius, and Gary Clark Jr. The ROADIES soundtrack will be released by Republic Records and Stardog Records. Previously announced tracks include “I Wish I Was Sober” by Frightened Rabbit featuring Mike McCready, “Are You Satisfied?” by Reignwolf, and “Big Love” by Lindsey Buckingham.

- Drafthouse Films and MVD Entertainment have announced the upcoming home video release of Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on August 16th. After Steven Spielberg's classic Raiders of the Lost Ark was released 35 years ago, three 11-year-old boys from Mississippi set out on what would become a 7-year-long labor of love and tribute to their favorite film: a faithful, shot-for-shot adaptation of the action adventure film, which the New York Times calls "a testament to the transporting power of movie love." They finished every scene...except one; the film's explosive airplane set piece.

- Showtime Networks Inc. and Amblin Partners have entered into an exclusive output agreement under which qualifying Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media films theatrically released through December 2021 will air across Showtime®, The Movie Channel™ and Flix®, as well as on SHOWTIME multiplex channels and streaming services. The agreement, which extends the existing relationship between DreamWorks Pictures and Showtime Networks, allows it to exhibit high-profile Amblin Partners’ features across its premium channels on-air, on demand and over the internet. The announcement was made today by Kent Sevener, Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition, Showtime Networks Inc. and Jeff Small, Co-CEO, Amblin Partners.

Around the Tubes: 7/8/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on wild_life With Bertie Gregory, Money and Violence, Los East High, Conaan, Boyz II Men, Diana Ross, Cobi, In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive, Building Star Trek, The Country Network, and Turner Channels renewals.

- Nat Geo WILD inspires people to let the wild in every day. The network is dedicated to creating content for animal lovers everywhere to enjoy, whether it’s on TV, in magazines, or in books. Now, Nat Geo WILD is bringing the wild online with the launch of its first-ever digital series, wild_life With Bertie Gregory, premiering Wednesday, Aug. 3, on the network’s YouTube Channel, as well as on NationalGeographic.com.

- Reluctant gangsters, stick-up kids, and scammers hustle for survival on the unforgiving streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn, in Money and Violence: Seasons 1 & 2, available on Digital HD on August 16, 2016 from Lionsgate. The first 3 episodes of Season 1 will be available for free the first 60 days of release.

- Los East High returns for a fourth season with an addictive mix of love, dance, sex and true-to-life drama. It’s a first ever summer season and the Bomb Squad heads off to dance camp with sexy new teammates who tempt Gina (Alex Rodriguez) and Eddie’s (Carlito Olivero) relationship, on and off the dance floor. Camila (Vannessa Vasquez) and Jesus (J.D. Pardo) rekindle their love affair and must fight the odds against them as they attempt to live a crime-free life. And when Jacob (Gabe Chavarria) misbehaves, hearts are broken and the family business is threatened in more ways than one. This season, wedding bells ring while danger lurks in the streets of East LA and the students must rise to action for what they believe in. Someone will need to risk it all to fight for her future and for true love – making this an unforgettable summer.


- Conan O'Brien will welcome an all-star lineup of guests when he returns to San Diego for a week of shows to be taped during Comic-Con® International. The roster includes the stars of the new movie Suicide Squad, the casts of the television hits Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley, "Weird Al" Yankovic and more to be announced later. Conaan's Comic-Con® International shows will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre from Wednesday, July 20 – Saturday, July 23. Each episode will air on TBS at 11 p.m. (ET/PT), with availability across TBS and Team Coco's digital, mobile and VOD platforms the following day.

- Formed at Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts by Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson (who eventually left), later joined by fellow school choir members Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Michael McCrary, Boyz II Men found their inspiration in the echoes of their school bathroom and their city’s tradition in classic a cappella and doo-wop harmonies. Inspired by New Edition, they took their name from one of the group’s songs, and then impressed the band’s lead singer Michael Bivins with an impromptu backstage audition of “Can You Stand the Rain,” leading to his agreeing to manage and produce them. UMe is marking the 25th anniversary of the release of Boyz II Men’s 1991, GRAMMY®-winning debut, Cooleyhighharmony and its multi- GRAMMY®-winning 1994 follow-up, II, with exclusive vinyl releases of both, with the latter, a two-LP set, for the first time ever on that format, on August 19.

- Diana Ross was six years into her wildly successful solo career from the Supremes when she outdid herself, releasing a self-titled project, her seventh studio album, that included two No. 1 pop smashes, “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” and the dance-floor classic, “Love Hangover.” Ms. Ross also took two more tracks from the album up the charts, “I Thought It Took A Little Time (But Today I Fell In Love),” which hit the top five of Billboard magazine’s Easy Listening (now known as Adult Contemporary) chart, and “One Love In My Lifetime,” no. 5 on the Soul charts. Diana Ross, the album, peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard 200, no. 4 on the Soul album chart and no. 5 in the U.K. Marking 40 years from its original Motown release in February 1976, UMe is reissuing Diana Ross in vinyl for the first time since then on July 15, following a 2012 two-CD expanded set on the Hip-o-Select/Motown label.

- While singing the blues in dive bars throughout Northern Minnesota, a 12-year-old Cobi dreamt one day of performing on the biggest and most renowned stages in the world. He knew that music made him feel more alive than anything else and that he wanted to bring his art to a much larger audience.



- In a never-before-seen video from In Their Own Words: The American Masters Digital Archive, singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist Lena Horne shares her disappointment in the lack of progress made toward racial equality throughout her lifetime:


- Smithsonian Channel will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with a two-hour special that will take a look at the lasting influence the original Star Trek series has had on the world. Building Star Trek will premiere Sunday, September 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.

- This past weekend, as America was celebrating Independence Day and shooting off fireworks, The Country Network (TCN) launched its broadcast in two more viewership markets: Oklahoma City and Memphis--KBZC (UHF Channel 42) and WQEK (UHF Channel 18/PSIP Channel 36) respectively. These two markets will add well over a million DMA market households to TCN's initial 40+ million DMA household-reach across digital subchannel tiers since the network was announced just over three months ago.

- Turner's powerhouse media brands TBS and TNT have renewed three original series currently airing on the networks: the critically acclaimed TNT drama Animal Kingdom, the new TBS series Wrecked and the hit TBS comedy Angie Tribeca.

Around the Tubes: 7/1/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Marvin Gaye, Dreamers, VH1 Live!, The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, Guerrilla, and Turner Classic Movies.

- UMe marks 45th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On with a special What’s Going On 10” vinyl EP that features a duet version featuring with new Motown artist BJ The Chicago Kid, available June 24.

- When DREAMERS—Nick Wold (vocals/guitar), Nelson (bass), and Jacob Wick (drums)—talk about its debut LP This Album Does Not Exist, they assume a collective tone of considerate existentialism. They seek to counter the crassness of pop, the snobbery of jazz, and the pretention of indie that zaps the fun out of any music with meaning. Yet, they want to draw you in, indiscriminate of taste, style, or ideology. This Album Does Not Exist due August 26 via Fairfax Recordings.



- VH1 this week announced a new late night talk show entitled VH1 Live! debuting Sunday, July 17th at 10:00. CNN commentator and BET News host Marc Lamont Hill will anchor the weekly series delivering VH1’s pop culture spin on the hottest entertainment news and gossip.

- Academy Award winning actor Gene Hackman has signed on to narrate Smithsonian Channel’s The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, airing July 3 at 9:00. The one-hour special, produced by Lucky 8 TV, provides new evidence and analysis proving that U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. and Purple Heart recipient Harold Schultz was one of the flag raisers in Joe Rosenthal’s iconic Iwo Jima photo on Mount Suribachi. This evidence led the United States Marine Corps to correct the historical record.

- Screen Actors Guild® Award winner Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) has joined the cast of the new six-part limited series Guerrilla in the lead role of “Jas Mitra.” Set to air on Showtime and Sky Atlantic next year, GUERRILLA centers on a couple, “Jas” and “Marcus” (casting to be revealed soon), whose passion propels them into making the leap from political activism to radical militancy. Academy Award® winner John Ridley (American Crime) will write, direct and executive produce the limited series. Golden Globe® winner Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation) will co-star and serve as an executive producer through his Green Door Pictures. Ridley will write the majority of the episodes and will direct the first two episodes and the finale, with Emmy Award nominee Sam Miller (Luther, No Good Deed) directing the other episodes.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) pays tribute the oldest film genre, and perhaps most classically American, with Shane Plus A Hundred More Great Westerns, a month-long programming special featuring more than 100 of the greatest Western movies ever made. Hosted by acclaimed actor and Academy Award® winning songwriter Keith Carradine, programming begins July 5th and airs from sun-up to sundown every Tuesday and Wednesday in July.

Shane Plus A Hundred More Great Westerns will feature themed programming including:

The Early Years (July 5) – in addition to The Great Train Robbery (1903), these pioneer Westerns include The Squaw Man (1914), the first producing-directing effort by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille
John Wayne/John Ford (July 5) – takes a look at the partnership of the quintessential Western star and director which encompassed 14 films ranging from Stagecoach (1939), the pairs first collaboration, to The Searchers (1956), which many consider the team’s greatest masterpiece
Directed by Sam Peckinpah (July 6) – provides examples of the iconic director’s work including Ride the High Country (1962) and The Wild Bunch (1969), which was noted for taking the Western into unprecedented levels of violence
Epic Westerns (July 12) – includes the Kirk Douglas vehicle The Big Sky (1952) and MGM’s How the West Was Won (1962), a multi-part, star-heavy epic originally filmed in Cinerama
Singing Cowboys (July 13) – a staple of the 1930s and ‘40s in a series of modest and innocently entertaining Westerns, many of them starring Gene Autry or Roy Rogers
Spaghetti Westerns/Clint Eastwood (July 19) – includes two TCM premieres - A Bullet for Sandoval (1970) and Red Sun (1971) - and overlaps with the “Starring Clint Eastwood” theme, which includes Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western classics A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
Western Comedies (July 26) – ranging from Go West (1925), starring Buster Keaton, to Hearts of the West, starring Jeff Bridges, as a writer who becomes a star of B Westerns
Great Barroom Brawls (July 26) – highlighting the legendary and elusive Shane (1953), directed by George Stevens and starring Alan Ladd
True Stories? (July 27) – includes far-fetched accounts of Western legends such as Billy the Kid (1941) and Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

Around the Tubes: 6/24/2016

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Ray Donovan, Difficult People, The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, Live at 9:30, Tesla, Tony Lucca, Josh Kaufman, One and Done, Casual, Penny Dreadful, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

- Showtime is giving viewers a chance to sample the season four premiere of its hit drama series Ray Donovan ahead of its linear premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 9:00. Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber in his three-time Golden Globe® and Emmy-nominated role as L.A.’s best professional fixer – the man called in to make the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls’ most complicated and combustible situations go away. The series is currently in production on 12 episodes in Los Angeles. Consumers who do not subscribe to Showtime can watch the TV-14 rated version of the season four premiere for free on YouTube and SHO.com. The episode is also available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Consumers can also sample the premiere of RAY DONOVAN for free across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites and applications and free On Demand channels.

In season two of Difficult People, premiering Tuesday, July 12 on Hulu, Julie and Billy continue to search for fame, to diminishing returns. Billy embarks on the journey of finding a boyfriend while Julie tries her best to avoid a deeper commitment to Arthur and not become her mother. Julie and Billy continue to have contempt for the word around them while remaining loyal to each other, and, as they get in their own way, learn no lessons.


- For over 70 years, the iconic flag-raising photograph at Iwo Jima has been one of the most reproduced images in history, inspiring books, movies and the Marine Corps War Memorial in Washington, DC. In a new one-hour Smithsonian Channel special, the United States Marine Corps will confirm the identity of a previously unknown flag raiser on Iwo Jima. Forensic evidence provided by Smithsonian Channel and production company Lucky 8 TV reveals that unsung hero U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. and Purple Heart recipient Harold Schultz was one of the flag raisers in Joe Rosenthal’s famed Iwo Jima photo taken on February 23, 1945. The full forensic investigation unfolds with never-before-seen evidence in The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, premiering Sunday, July 3 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Live At 9:30 is excited to announce the launch of LiveAt930.com. Hosted by Squarespace, LiveAt930.com will be the exclusive online destination for the program and feature clips, behind the scenes blogs, and much more from the groundbreaking TV music variety series. Episodes of “Live At 9:30” began airing on public television stations earlier this month. Viewers should contact their local public television station to learn more about when “Live At 9:30” will air locally. After each episode has aired on public television, it will be available in full at LiveAt930.com.

- Tesla’s third album, Psychotic Supper, the band’s third studio album, released on August 30, 1991, was the follow-up to the live Five Man Acoustical Jam, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200, featuring an aggressive change in direction from the previous disc, landing an impressive five songs on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including “What You Give,” which went to #7 and even cracked the Billboard Hot 100 at #86. Other memorable songs include “Edison’s Medicine,” which spotlights how its subject received credit for harnessing electricity over the band’s own namesake, Nikola Tesla, which climbed to #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, along with “Call It What You Want” (#19), “Song & Emotion” (#13) and “Stir It Up” (#35). Produced by Michael Barbiero (Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Anthrax) – who also helmed the band’s first two studio efforts -- the album was eventually certified platinum in 1993 by the RIAA, and was included in German magazine Rock Hard’s book of “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.” The band themselves have been quoted as considering Psychotic Supper their best record. To help mark the album’s 25th anniversary in August, UMe is reissuing the album for the first time as a two-LP standard issue vinyl set on July 22.

- Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca is set to hit the road this fall for an extensive cross-country tour (see full tour schedule below). Lucca has planned a Southeast, Northeast and Midwest series of co-headlining dates with labelmate Alex Dezen (of The Damnwells) which they are billing as the “Heads or Tails Tour.” (Joining Dezen and Lucca on their run will be Christian Lopez.) Lucca also plans to head out after that with Tyrone Wells for a series of twelve West Coast and Texas shows. For full dates and ticket information, head over to TonyLucca.com.

Josh Kaufman, Season 6 Champion of NBC’s The Voice, releases his first self-titled EP today, now available on all music platforms. The EP features a total of six songs, including his first single “Truth Be Told,” which was released on May 27. Other songs on the EP include the soulfully upbeat “All I Ask,” powerful vocal ballad “Avalanche,” jazzy foot-tapper “Paycheck,” love-inspired “The World,” and catchy radio-ready hit “Digging Deep.”

- Conan O'Brien will once again be immortalized with a set of four Pop! Vinyl figures to be available this July, when TBS's late-night series Conan returns to San Diego for Comic-Con® International. Created by Funko for TBS, a division of Turner, this year's collectible figure designs include "Superman™ Conan," "Stormtrooper™ Conan," "Ghostbuster™ Conan" and "The Joker™ Conan." In addition, the world of Conan will be put on full display through a virtual reality experience at the TBS Comic-Con® booth on the convention floor. During the week of Comic-Con® International, Conan will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre on Wednesday, July 20 – Saturday, July 23, including two rare weekend shows. Episodes will air that Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on all TBS platforms and will be available across TBS and Team Coco's digital, mobile and VOD platforms the day after airing.

- Showtime Sports continues its expansion of unscripted, timely and compelling sports programming with a documentary film featuring projected No. 1 NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons. The network is collaborating with MAGGIEVISION Productions on the Simmons story and his journey to the NBA titled One and Done. The feature length film will premiere in October just prior to the start of Simmons’ rookie NBA season. The announcement was made today by Executive Vice President & General Manager of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza.

- The Golden Globe®-nominated Hulu Original and Lionsgate Television comedy Casual from Oscar®-nominated director Jason Reitman and creator Zander Lehmann - which just premiered its second season to critical acclaim earlier this month - will return for a third season in 2017. In addition, Jason Reitman has signed a first look deal with Hulu for all television related projects. This is Hulu’s first development deal of this kind.

- The critically acclaimed SHOWTIME drama Penny Dreadful has slayed its final demon – last night’s jaw-dropping finale marked the series finale of the three-season opus envisioned by creator, writer and executive producer John Logan, it was announced today by Logan and David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. This unique mash-up of literary horror has followed Vanessa Ives (Eva Green, in her Golden Globe®-nominated role), Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) as they’ve worked together, at all costs, to vanquish the evil that relentlessly pursues them.

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Around the Tubes: 6/17/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Roadies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hell Below, Bitten, and Outside Television.

- Showtime is offering viewers an early opportunity to sample the highly-anticipated music series Roadies ahead of its linear premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 10:00. The first original series from creator, executive producer, writer and director Cameron Crowe, Roadies is a one-hour comedy featuring an ensemble cast headed by Luke Wilson (Old School, Enlightened) and Screen Actors Guild® Award nominee Carla Gugino (San Andreas). The series gives an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of roadies who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. ROADIES chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and pays homage to the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring for the successful arena-level group, The Staton-House Band. Consumers who do not subscribe to Showtime are now able to sample the TV-14 rated version of the series premiere for free on YouTube, Facebook and SHO.com. The pilot is also available for download as a free video podcast on iTunes. Consumers can also sample the premiere episode for free across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites and applications and free On Demand channels.

- Tune in to watch Red Hot Chili Peppers on AT&T Live at the iHeartRadio Theater L.A. airing exclusively via nationwide broadcast this Friday, June 17 at 9:00 on the AUDIENCE Network, DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114.

- A new Smithsonian Channel series will chart the stealthy game of undersea warfare from the greatest submarine campaigns of World War II. The six-episode Hell Below premieres Sunday, July 17 at 9:00. It profiles the strategic masterminds behind the brutal tactics of Nazi U-boats and reveals the extraordinary feats of Allied subs in the Atlantic and Pacific. Both the Axis and Allies employed unrestricted submarine warfare to bring their enemies to their knees in World War II. Submariners on both sides were a special breed of warrior, always volunteers, often fighting alone. Sub warfare evolved rapidly during the war, as German U-Boats and American submarines attacked military targets and commercial shipping. Submarine attacks created chaos and unnerved adversaries. And while the world’s oceans provided concealment and protection, the environment was unforgiving. Each hour-long episode of HELL BELOW features expert analysis and stock footage along with dramatic re-enactments filmed aboard authentic World War II era submarines, placing viewers in the heart of the action.

- Based on the "Otherworld" novels by New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong, Bitten stars Laura Vandervoort ("Smallville", "V", "Haven", Ted) as Elena Michaels, the world's only female werewolf. For three seasons, the show's rabid followers have tuned in as Elena evolved from a photographer who hides her dark secret after being bitten, to a ferocious leader of the Stonehaven pack. Bitten: The Final Season picks up several months after the harrowing battle in the season two finale. Bolstering their ranks in the wake of the carnage, the Stonehaven Pack is on the hunt for the Russian Alpha and his brethren, seeking to end a decades-old vendetta. Meanwhile, Elena struggles with Pack Alpha Jeremy Danvers' new draconian leadership style, and makes a shocking and surprising discovery about herself.

- OUTSIDE TELEVISION, America’s only national 24/7 network dedicated to the active adventure lifestyle, has big plans for the month of June. Next week, new seasons of DISPATCHES and LOCALS will premiere in addition to a new original series, MAVERICK MOMENTS. If that wasn’t enough, Outside TV has also dedicated a day’s worth of programming to celebrate International Surf Day on Monday June 20th followed by the world premiere of MAVERICK MOMENTS (9pm ET) and then season six premiere of DISPATCHES (9:30pm ET). Don’t have access to Outside TV? No worries – we’ve got you covered with a month long free preview through Sling TV which runs from June 20th to July 20th.

Around the Tubes: 6/10/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on House of Lies, Barely Famous, Winsanitty, Power, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Keith Urban, and Masters of Sex.

- This Sunday, June 12th at 9:00, our favorite corporate sharks are boarding their last flight, in grand, historic style, to Havana, Cuba for the conclusion of the Showtime comedy series House of Lies. Shot entirely on location and directed by series creator and executive producer Matthew Carnahan, this final episode, “No Es Fácil,” marks the first time an American scripted series was shot in Cuba since the restoration of diplomatic relations. Don Cheadle (Miles Ahead) headlines the stellar cast, which includes Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars), Emmy® winner Ben Schwartz (Parks & Recreation), Josh Lawson (Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues), Donis Leonard Jr. (Criminal Minds), and Emmy winner Glynn Turman (In Treatment). As we conclude the series, the Pod is assessing their personal portfolios: in their constant quest for the almighty dollar, how much is enough? How much money buys happiness and at what cost?

- Season two continues to satirize the reality TV genre by exploring the endless hypocrisy of Hollywood wealth and fame. Each episode of Barely Famous, featuring multi-hyphenate producers, actresses and writers Erin and Sara Foster, dives into the world of celebrity in a docu-style format through the eyes of the delusional, hilarious and beautiful Foster sisters. Celebrity cameos this season include Chris Martin, Chelsea Handler, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Zach Braff, Kate Upton, Cindy Crawford, Brooke Burke, Dr. Phil, Ali Larter, Lauren London, Joey Fatone and more. Check out the Supertrailer here.

- GSN has partnered with participation TV technology company iPowow on the new game show series, Winsanity, to allow viewers – for the first time ever in cable TV – to play along at home in real-time on their mobile devices against other viewers, see their results on-screen and also get a chance to win prizes throughout the season. The play along at home feature will be part of the show, beginning with the series debut on Thursday, June 9 at 9:00 on GSN. The new iPowow play-at-home game at WinsanityLive.com, allows viewers watching the show in real-time to play along for free and stack the facts in the correct order, using their smartphone, tablet or laptop.

- Anchoe Bay Entertainment gears up for the much-anticipated release of the Starz Original series Power: The Complete Second Seasonon Blu-ray™ and DVD on Tuesday, June 14th. Executive Produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and created by Courtney A. Kemp (“The Good Wife”), POWER is a drama that straddles the opulent Manhattan lifestyle of the rich and infamous and the underbelly of the international drug trade. The second season picks up where it left off: James "Ghost" St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) doubling down on his drug business to save his nightclub and dream of a legitimate future. His work troubles pale in comparison to juggling his relationship with his wife, Tasha (Naturi Naughton), and his first love Angela (Lela Loren), who's also an Assistant United States Attorney investigating his drug organization. Ghost is set further back from his dream by his business partner Tommy (Joseph Sikora) who loves the drug game, and his former mentor, Kanan (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), fresh out of jail, and looking for revenge. Season two has Ghost in a race against himself: can he get out of the drug game alive before Angela discovers who he is? The third season of POWER premieres on a new night Sunday, July 17 at 9:00 on Starz.

- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits collection will be available on vinyl for the first time in North America on July 29 as a double LP on 180-Gram Black Vinyl. The album is the biggest selling in the band’s illustrious catalog, with sales surpassing twelve million copies since its 1993 release.

Tune in to watch Keith Urban on AT&T Live at the iHeartRadio Theater NY airing exclusively via nationwide broadcast this Friday (tonight), June 10 at 9:00 on the AUDIENCE Network DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114.

- Niecy Nash and Betty Gilpin will be guest stars on the fourth season of Showtime Networks’ critically acclaimed drama series Masters of Sex Nash, who will appear in a multi-episode arc, plays Louise Bell, a local AA - chairperson running Masters’ (Michael Sheen) court-ordered daily meetings. She fervently believes in AA’s message, and uses it to push Masters to reevaluate his life. Gilpin, who will also appear in a multi-episode arc, will play Nancy, a former medical student of Barton’s (Beau Bridges), who partners with Masters adding a second MD to the practice. Production on season four recently began in Los Angeles.

Around the Tubes: 6/3/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Purity, The Look of Silence, Masters of Sex, Shameless, The Affair, Homeland, Mind of a Giant, and White Famous.

- Showtime announced the pick-up of the new limited series Purity, based on the novel of the same name from best-selling author Jonathan Franzen, and starring and executive produced by internationally-acclaimed actor Daniel Craig. Todd Field (Little Children, In the Bedroom) will write, direct and executive produce, along with executive producers Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, David Hare and Jonathan Franzen. Hare and Franzen will also serve as writers on the series. Field will direct every episode. Purity will be a 20-episode limited series set to air over the course of two years on Showtime. Production will begin in 2017.

- Joshua Oppenheimer’s Oscar®-nominated The Look of Silence is the incredible story of a man confronting his brother’s killers and demanding they accept responsibility for their crimes. Adi, an optometrist who survived the 1965 Indonesian genocide, takes this unimaginable step in a society where murderers remain in power. To break the spell of submission and terror, he forces them, and us, to reckon with his country’s dark history. A companion piece to Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, also an Oscar® nominee, The Look of Silence has been hailed as a “masterpiece” by The New York Times for bearing witness to the collapse of 50 years of silence. Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Critics Prize and Human Rights Award, 2014 Venice Film Festival. Trailer.

- Showtimw announced its fall premiere schedule, with the critically-acclaimed drama series Masters of Sex returning for a fourth season on Sunday, September 11th at 10:00, and the seventh season of the network’s No. 1 comedy series Shameless premiering on Sunday, October 2nd at 9:00. Then, on November 20th at 10:00, the third season of the Golden Globe-winning hit drama series The Affair will make its debut. The three series will be available on Showtime on-air, on demand and over the internet. Also Homeland will shift from its regular slot in the fall to a winter premiere in January 2017. The series will return to the U.S. after spending the last two seasons shooting in South Africa and Berlin. Season six is set to begin production in New York starting in August.

- Across Africa, elephants are in crisis. Each day, 96 elephants fall victim to poachers, human-elephant conflict and habitat loss. In 2013, Paul G. Allen launched the Great Elephant Census, the first pan-African aerial survey of savanna elephants in more than 40 years. Soon after surveyors began their work, they observed something that truly surprised them. In the past 40 years, in the face of growing threats, elephants have changed where and how they live in their historic ecosystems. This incredible discovery, combined with the latest studies from the top elephant researchers in the world, revealed that elephants are learning to adapt and survive in ways we’ve never seen before. We join the experts in Africa to see their work firsthand in Mind of a Giant, premiering Sunday, June 19, at 9:00 on Nat Geo WILD.

- Showtime has given a pilot order to White Famous, a half-hour comedy executive produced by Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx and Tom Kapinos. White Famous will be written by Kapinos, based on an idea by Jamie Foxx, who will guest star in a recurring role. A co-production between Lionsgate Television and Showtime, the project will focus on a talented, young African-American comedian whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross-over towards becoming “white famous.” White Famous marks a return to Showtime for Kapinos who created, wrote and executive produced seven seasons of the hit series Californication.

Around the Tubes: 5/27/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Of Men and War, Hip Hop Honors, Roadies, I Am Rebel, Barely Famous, Left Behind, Hater, and Dating Naked.

- Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects almost 30 percent of the 834,467 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans treated through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Consumed by anger and traumatic memories long after their return, soldiers often resort to drugs or suicide to end their suffering. Filmmaker Laurent Bécue-Renard provides a searing account of how the disorder has affected veterans and their families in Of Men and War, an unparalleled look at the enduring consequences of PTSD and the role treatment can play in helping soldiers reclaim their lives. The documentary, an Official Selection of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, has its national broadcast premiere during the 29th season of POV (Point of View) on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016 on PBS. American television’s longest running independent documentary series, POV is the winner of a 2013 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

- With hip hop dominating pop culture, VH1 today announced the triumphant return of Hip Hop Honors to celebrate the trailblazing first ladies of hip hop. The show will pay homage to the female pioneers, trailblazers and trend-setters who lead a movement and infiltrated the ranks of the male-dominated genre to make their voices heard and still do today. VH1’S Hip Hop Honors will air Monday, July 11th at 9:00 Live from NY. (Scooter's Note: The gender specific idea is absurd, other than Queen Latifah, who is worthy of being honored? How about honoring Nas, EPMD, Gang Starr, Geto Boys, Biz Markie, The Pharcyde, The Roots, Coolio, Black Sheep, Leaders of the New School, or even 3rd Base first. I cannot imagine anyone will be that excited to see Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, Even and whoever did the female part to Positive K's I Got a Man.)

- Showtime has debuted the new trailer for its highly-anticipated comedy Roadies, the first original series from creator, executive producer, writer and director Cameron Crowe. With an ensemble cast headed by Luke Wilson (Old School, Enlightened) and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Carla Gugino (San Andreas), the one-hour music series will premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on air, on demand and over the internet. Roadies gives an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of roadies who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. The series chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and pays homage to the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring for the successful arena-level group, The Staton-House Band.


A backyard chemist invents the world’s most infamous club drug. A crime scene photographer changes the way police fight crimes. A civil rights activist hijacks a plane, causing sweeping airport security reforms. The first dark-side hacker revolutionizes computer security. These seemingly disparate stories share a common thread: outsiders finding their voices by rebelling against the status quo. Beginning Sunday, June 5, at 9:00, National Geographic Channel will take viewers inside these relatively obscure stories with I Am Rebel. Executive produced by Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Suits,” “Covert Affairs”) using his signature style of propulsive, action-packed and character-driven storytelling, each episode of I Am Rebel is told entirely through first-person interviews and stylish and suspenseful re-creations that blur the line between feature films and documentaries. Each story reveals the lightning bolts of change that can emerge from the fringes of counterculture, effecting change that reverberates through history.

- VH1 announced Wednesday, June 29th at 10:00 will be the premiere date for the celebrity filled second season of Barely Famous, featuring multi-hyphenate producers, actresses and writers Erin and Sara Foster. Celebrity cameos this season include Chris Martin, Chelsea Handler, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Zach Braff, Kate Upton, Cindy Crawford, Brooke Burke, Dr. Phil, Ali Larter, Lauren London, Joey Fatone and more. VH1’s Barely Famous returns with six, half –hour episodes on Wednesday, June 29th at 10:00PM & 10:30PM ET/PT.

- To be trapped behind enemy lines is every soldier’s worst nightmare: a situation all fighters train for, few experience and even fewer survive. From the producers of National Geographic Channel’s critically acclaimed Locked Up Abroad and Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers, new series No Man Left Behind combines gripping personal testimony with vivid reenactments and archival footage to shed light on the stories of modern war heroes and special agents who overcame incredible odds in some of the most hostile environments on earth. Premiering in the U.S. on Tuesday, June 28, at 9:00,

- Coming off their successful collaboration on the Peabody Award-winning documentary Listen To Me Marlon, Showtime will once again team up with acclaimed filmmakers R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, The World According to Dick Cheney) and John Battsek (Searching For Sugar Man, The Tillman Story) on a feature-length documentary about the extraordinary life and times of comic legend John Belushi. For the first time, Belushi’s widow Judith Belushi Pisano has agreed to cooperate with the making of a film about the late comedian’s life, and provided the exclusive photo of John from her private collection. Directed by Cutler and produced by Battsek, the documentary is set to begin production in the fall, with long-time Belushi collaborator Sean Daniel serving as executive producer along with Bill Couturie. Cutler will also produce. The film will be produced in association with Sky Atlantic.

- Ben Shepherd returned to his garage rock roots and assembled a group of musicians that became Hater, in Seattle, playing guitar alongside Soundgarden band mate, drummer Matt Cameron, as well as ex-Monster Magnet guitarist John McBain, Devilhead vocalist Brian Wood, brother of the late pre-grunge outfit Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, and fellow Devilhead bassist John Waterman. Their self-titled debut album was recorded in between Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger,1991, and, their Grammy Award winning album Superunknown,1994. Hater was released on A&M Records on September 21, 1993, and is now being reissued on CD, and for the first time digitally and on vinyl, by UMe on July 15th.

- VH1 turns up the heat as the network’s provocative reality dating series Dating Naked returns for a third season on Wednesday June 29th at 9:00. Hosted by Rocsi Diaz, this season once again features two main daters, David and Natalie, as they search for love on a tropical island paradise. Shot on location in Bora Bora, the two explore the art of romance, free of preconceived notions, stereotypes – and clothes. Each week, two new men and women will strip down for a shot at igniting a spark with our primary daters – but in the end, only one can win their hearts. Over the course of 12 one-hour episodes the competition gets HOT as sexy new singles arrive on the island each week, vying for David and Natalie’s affections. Produced by Lighthearted Entertainment and VH1, Dating Naked season 3 premieres Wednesday, June 29th at 9:00 on VH1.​

Around the Tubes: 5/20/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER, The Return, Marvin Gaye, Squeeze, Richard Marx and Friends, Missing Dial, ALL ACCESS: Quest For The Stanley Cup, Carol Burnett's Favorite Sketches, House of Lies, and Will.

- Whether it’s emergency surgery on a squirrel monkey or X-rays on a skunk, there is no such thing as a boring day at Dr. Susan Kelleher’s exotic animal ER. Each episode, rock-star-vet Dr. K and her talented team brace for injured animals that run, fly, crawl or slither through the door. Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER premieres Saturday, May 21, 9:00 on Nat Geo WILD. This season, Dr. K has her hands full with more incredible creatures with critical cases. From an albino python with a respiratory illness to a marmoset plagued by a mystery ailment, it’s a roller-coaster ride for the staff, loving pet owners and animals. Still, no matter whether the patient is cute and cuddly or big and deadly, Dr. K understands these pets are her clients’ beloved family members. With boundless compassion for animals, Dr. K and her team perform heroic feats to save their patients and help their families.

- In 2012, California amended its “Three Strikes” law—one of the harshest criminal sentencing policies in the country. The passage of Prop. 36 marked the first time in U.S. history that citizens voted to shorten sentences of those currently incarcerated. Within days, the reintegration of thousands of “lifers” was underway. The Return examines this unprecedented reform through the eyes of those on the front lines—prisoners suddenly freed, families turned upside down, reentry providers helping navigate complex transitions and attorneys and judges wrestling with an untested law. At a moment of reckoning on mass incarceration, what can California’s experiment teach the nation? The Return the remarkable and timely new documentary film from three-time Emmy nominated filmmakers Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway that will have its national television debut on the PBS series POV this Monday, May 23 at 10:00. (Check local listings.)​ The trailer is available here.

- It’s been 45 years since the release of Marvin Gaye’s momentous album, What’s Going On, May 21, 1971, on the Motown subsidiary Tamla Records. To mark the occasion, Universal Music Enterprises is preparing a series of special vinyl releases, including a seven-LP box set, Volume 3: 1971-1981, which features on 180gm vinyl Gaye’s final seven studio albums for the label, on May 27, a follow-up to the first two installments of the collection. The albums included are: What’s Going On (1971), Trouble Man (1972), Let’s Get It On (1973), Diana & Marvin (1973), I Want You (1976), the double-LP Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981). In addition, four of the albums from the box set - Let’s Get It On, Diana & Marvin, Here, My Dear and In Our Lifetime – will be made individually for the first time in several years. Also releasing for this anniversary is a special 10” vinyl EP, available June 24, featuring the original 7” mono single versions of “What’s Going On” and “God Is Love” on one side, which are different to the later album versions, and two “Motown: Re-imagined” versions of the title song on the other side: a duet version with new Motown artist BJ the Chicago Kid and an unplugged “Coffeehouse Mix,” both using only the original instrumentation. This unique “What’s Going On” EP will also be released digitally.

- Squeeze, the seminal British pop act whose songs have tenderly and wittily chronicled life and love stretching across four decades, are launching a U.S. tour, their first as a band in four years. Squeeze will be supporting their latest album Cradle to the Grave that was released October 2015 their first album of new songs in 17 years. Following a successful, critically-acclaimed acoustic duo run in 2015 aptly titled The At Odds Couple Tour, Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford have now brought together the full band for a 19-date run. Tickets go on sale this Friday May 20, with additional dates to be announced. For up to date tour information please visit: squeezeofficial.com.

- Tune in to the AUDIENCE Network special Richard Marx and Friends airing Friday, May 20, at 9:00 (DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114). Watch as the GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter thrills the Hollywood crowd at Red Studios in Los Angeles with his band and an orchestra, performing both his hits and new fan favorites. Marx's esteemed colleagues--singer/songwriter Eric Benet and legendary rocker Kenny Loggins--drop by and join in on a few classic tunes. In the episode, Marx also joins Ted Stryker for an in-depth interview covering a wide range of topics throughout Marx's 30-year career. Richard Marx's "Greatest Hits Tour" is now underway (HERE).

- National Geographic launches a covert investigation into the disappearance of adventurer Cody Dial. Missing Dial premieres May 22 at 10:00 on the National Geographic Channel.


- Showtimw Sports is giving viewers an opportunity to sample the first episode of the anticipated new series ALL ACCESS: Quest For The Stanley Cup across multiple platforms and devices as well as on NHL Network following the series premiere on Friday, May 20 at 9:00 on Showtime.

- This June, audiences can tune in to PBS for the very best of the legendary variety series The Carol Burnett Show with Carol Burnett's Favorite Sketches. Distributed by TJ Lubinsky's TJL, the premiere provider of nostalgia pledge programs to public television stations, the special will air nationally on PBS on June 3rd at 9:00 (Check Local Listings).

- On Sunday, June 13th at 9:00, our favorite corporate sharks will board their last flight, in grand, historic style, to Havana for the conclusion of the Showtime comedy series House of Lies. Shot entirely on location and directed by series creator and executive producer Matthew Carnahan, this final episode, “No Es Fácil,” marks the first time an American scripted series was shot in Cuba since the restoration of diplomatic relations.

- TNT, a division of Turner, has given the greenlight to Will, an unconventional period drama centered on a young William Shakespeare, played by newcomer Laurie Davidson. Will is the newest of five bold original series coming to the network over the next year, a slate that also includes Animal Kingdom, Good Behavior, The Alienist and Tales from the Crypt. Today's news comes as TNT joins its fellow Turner brands as part of the Turner Upfront 2016 presentation in New York. Also announced this morning, TNT has ordered a pilot for Civil, a gripping drama about a second American Civil War. And Niecy Nash (Reno 911, Scream Queens, The Mindy Project) has just been cast in TNT's previously announced pilot for Claws, an outrageous dramedy set in a Florida nail salon.

Around the Tubes: 5/13/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on 2016 iHeartCountry Festival, Genealogy Roadshow, Winsanity, OF Man and War, AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams, Animal Kingdom, Killing Reagan, Success Magazine, The Possibility of Fireflies, and Hitler’s Folly.

- Tune in to watch the 2016 iHeartCountry Festival airing exclusively via nationwide broadcast this Friday, May 13 at 9:00 on the AUDIENCE Network DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114.

- From possible links to the accused in the Salem Witch Trials to heroes of the Wild West, PBS’ Genealogy Roadshow uncovers more family secrets in the series’ third season, which premieres Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at 8:00 p.m. ET and airs Tuesdays through June 28 (check local listings). Part detective story, part emotional journey, Genealogy Roadshow combines history and science to uncover fascinating stories of diverse Americans this season in and around Albuquerque, Miami, Houston, Boston, Providence and Los Angeles. Each story links to the larger regional (and often, national) history, to become part of America’s rich cultural tapestry. See a season three clip here.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, will debut its innovative new game show series, Winsanity, on Thursday, June 9 at 9:00 pm ET/PT. The series, hosted by actor Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), is unique in that the game play offers the opportunity for prizes to be won not only by the contestants but also by the studio audience. GSN has also partnered with participation TV technology company iPowow to allow viewers to play along at home in real-time for a chance to win prizes throughout the season.

- The “devastatingly raw” documentary OF Man and War about American soldiers grappling with traumatic memories of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their grueling recovery in a special treatment program, which first debuted at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, will have its national TV debut on the PBS series POV on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2016. Filmmaker Laurent Bécue-Renard, who spent five years with returning veterans whose minds remained on the battlefields, will be available for interviews ahead of the broadcast. The director traced the journeys of his film subjects through 14 months in residential therapy and more than four years of the veterans’ family life. Fred Gusman, founder of The Pathway Home featured in the documentary, is also available for interview.

- Steven Spielberg will present John Williams with the American Film Institute's (AFI) 44th Life Achievement Award. This marks the first time in AFI history that America's highest honor for a career in film will be bestowed upon a composer. Williams' career will be celebrated at the private Gala Tribute on June 9, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. The televised special, AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to John Williams, will air on TNT on Wednesday, June 15, at 10:00, followed by an encore presentation on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on Monday, June 12, during a night of programming dedicated to Williams. This marks the fourth year the Emmy®-winning AFI special has aired on Turner networks.

- TNT is expanding the premiere of its bold new drama series Animal Kingdom to two hours and moving the launch to a new date. The series will now debut with the two-hour opener on Tuesday, June 14, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). Animal Kingdom stars Emmy® and Tony® winner Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love, This Boy's Life, Ocean's Thirteen), Scott Speedman (The Strangers, The Vow), Shawn Hatosy (Southland, Reckless), Ben Robson (Vikings, Dracula: The Dark Prince), Jake Weary (Pretty Little Liars, It Follows), Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders, An Inspector Calls), Daniella Alonso (Revolution) and Molly Gordon (Love the Coopers, Ithaca).

- National Geographic Channel (NGC) announced today that veteran actor Tim Matheson (“The West Wing,” “Burn Notice,” “Animal House”) will star as the actor turned California governor turned president in the network’s forthcoming two-hour scripted movie Killing Reagan, joined by Cynthia Nixon (“Sex and the City,” Tony Award for “Rabbit Hole”) as first lady Nancy Reagan. The director will be Rod Lurie (“The Contender”), a self-professed political junkie, with a script written by Eric Simonson, an Academy Award winner for Best Documentary, Short Subject.

- Restaurateur and TV host Guy Fieri is one of the most commercially popular—and out of the box—chefs in the business. This has sometimes drawn the ire of his critics. But Fieri’s fast and furious rise to fame shows no signs of slowing down. And his brand, a global behemoth that spans dozens of restaurants, five books, multiple hit TV shows, a line of sauces, a collection of cookware, a brand of knives, and an upscale wine, continues to expand. In SUCCESS Magazine’s June cover story, the food world’s most down-to-earth chef shares how he tunes out the noise, puts his family first, and keeps his brand fresh. For full stories, pick up the June issue, on newsstands May 12. For more information about Success Magazine and additional personal development content, visit success.com.

- Courtney Love and Joey King will lead the cast of The Possibility of Fireflies, with Deborah Chow (“The High Cost of Living”) directing from a screenplay written by Dominique Paul, author of the original novel. The film is produced by Amy Green, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida of ARC49 Entertainment. Patrick Ewald and Shaked Berenson CEO and Co-Founder of Epic Pictures will serve as international sales representatives and UTA Independent Film Group will be representing the film domestically. The announcement was made today by Ewald and Berenson of Epic Pictures.

- PLYMPTOONS has announced the US release date of Bill Plympton’s new feature mockumentary Hitler’s Folly, a merciless satire in which Adolf Hitler is reimagined as a successful animator and artist. Hitler’s Folly will be released for free download at plymptoons.com on Friday, June 3.

Around the Tubes: 5/6/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Return, Wicked Tuna, Skin Wars: Fresh Paint, Missing Dial, Foreign Bodies, and Chelsea.

- In 2012, California amended its “Three Strikes” law—one of the harshest criminal sentencing policies in the country. The passage of Prop. 36 marked the first time in U.S. history that citizens voted to shorten sentences of those currently incarcerated. Within days, the reintegration of thousands of “lifers” was underway. The Return examines this unprecedented reform through the eyes of those on the front lines—prisoners suddenly freed, families turned upside down, reentry providers helping navigate complex transitions and attorneys and judges wrestling with an untested law. At a moment of reckoning on mass incarceration, what can California’s experiment teach the nation? The Return, winner of the Audience Award for Documentary at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, kicks off the new season of POV (Point of View) on PBS on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). Now in its 29th season, POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and the recipient of a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

- After weeks of fishing filled with treacherous conditions, multiday trips, sleepless nights and record-breaking catches, the North Atlantic bluefin season is coming to a close and the captains of National Geographic Channel’s hit series Wicked Tuna are in a fierce battle to the finish. Tempers flare and the pressure builds as captains and crews reach their boiling points in a desperate scramble for last-minute paydays. Four boats are within striking distance of the title, but only one can go home the champion.  The high-octane Wicked Tuna season five finale premieres Monday, May 16, at 9:00, followed immediately by National Geographic Channel’s only live show-after-the-show, Reel Talk Live, at 10:00 (tape delayed on the West Coast). The season’s captains and crews join host Mike Catherwood (@MikeCatherwood; “Loveline”) before a live audience to answer fan questions, reveal behind-the-scenes details and look ahead to what’s next.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the debut of the new one-hour skill-based competition series Skin Wars: Fresh Paint, the first-ever spinoff from the network’s hit series SKIN WARS. Hosted by master of transformation, RuPaul Charles, the new series will debut Wednesday, June 15 at 10:00, immediately following a new episode of Skin Wars.

- National Geographic Channel, a brand synonymous with exploration and adventure, has announced a new foray into the true-crime genre with a covert investigation that hits close to home. In July 2014, 27-year-old experienced outdoorsman Cody Dial, the son of esteemed National Geographic Explorer Roman Dial, embarked on an expedition through the Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica — a dense rain forest in a region known for illegal gold-mining and illicit activity. He never emerged. Did he get lost? Did he get hurt? Or, did something far more sinister happen? National Geographic Channel’s new six-part documentary crime series Missing Dial, premiering on Sunday, May 22, at 10:00 (and available day after air on Hulu and on VOD and TVE platforms), takes viewers inside the deeply personal and truly captivating investigation into Cody’s mysterious disappearance

- TBS's Search Party has added several key players to an already stellar cast. Oscar® nominee Rosie Perez (Pineapple Express, Fearless), Golden Globe® nominee Ron Livingston (Office Space, The Conjuring), Golden Globe nominee Parker Posey (Best in Show) and Christine Taylor (Zoolander) have been cast as recurring guest stars on the comedic mystery from TBS, a division of Turner. In addition, Brandon Micheal Hall (Broad City, The Characters) has been named a series regular.

- TNT, a division of Turner, this week announced a new series with Channel 4 titled Foreign Bodies, a comedic drama about a group of young adults venturing across China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The two companies have ordered eight episodes of the series from Eleven and Entertainment One (eOne). Foreign Bodies is scheduled to launch on E4 in early 2017, followed later in the year by its U.S. debut on TNT.

- For your streaming pleasure, Chelsea Handler debuts her highly-anticipated worldwide talk show on Netflix, appropriately titled Chelsea, on Wednesday, MAY 11TH. Chelsea marks Netflix’s first-ever talk show, with all new 30-minute episodes debuting on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 12:01am PST. True to Netflix’s platform, you can stream them anytime, anywhere, so get ready, because #chelseashow is coming!

Around the Tubes: 4/29/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Team Foxcatcher, The Wallflowers, Mygrations, Amy Grant, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Dear Mama, and Genius.

- The incredible true and tragic story of world champion wrestler David Schultz, the centerpiece of a national wrestling training program, comes to life in the riveting new Netflix original documentary feature, Team Foxcatcher. The acclaimed film recently had its world premiere during the Tribeca Film Festival, ahead of its global debut on Netflix today.


- With the release of The Wallflowers’ second album, Bringing Down the Horse, on Interscope Records, May 21, 1996, band leader Jakob Dylan transformed overnight from the scion of one of rock’s living legends to a presence in his own right (or write, as the case may be, as the chief songwriter). The album went quadruple-platinum, selling more than 4 million copies, and produced four multi-format hits in “One Headlight,” “6th Avenue Heartache,” “Three Marlenas” and “The Difference,” earning a total of five Grammy nominations and two Grammy Awards (for “One Headlight”) over two years. To help mark the album’s 20th anniversary next month, Universal Music Enterprises is reissuing the album for the first time on vinyl in a two-LP set on May 13.

- Each spring, in a desperate bid for survival, 1.3 million wildebeests race hundreds of miles north from the dry southern Serengeti plains to the lush grasses of the Maasai Mara in Kenya. It’s an incredibly dangerous journey through a landscape dominated by apex predators, including lions, leopards, hyenas and crocodiles. Tens of thousands of wildebeests won’t make it — so how will humans fare? Premiering Monday, May 23, at 9:00, National Geographic Channel’s new series Mygrations follows a team of 20 men and women in a feat that has never been attempted, as they set out on foot, unarmed and without a map or compass, to follow in the footsteps of the wildebeests. The human herd must cross hundreds of miles of scorched savannah — where water, food and shelter are hard to find but lethal predators roam unchecked — to reach the Mara River, the pinnacle of the wildebeests’ death-defying quest for life.

- Baby, Baby….can you believe it’s been 25 years since Amy Grant’s iconic album, Heart In Motion, was released?! Amy became the first Christian artist to score a #1 hit in the United States when the album’s first single, “Baby Baby”, took the country by storm. With over five million albums sold, five Top 10 radio hits and four GRAMMY(R) nominations, Heart In Motion secured Amy’s place in pop music history. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of this project, we are thrilled that the amazingly talented Tori Kelly has recorded a new version of “Baby Baby”. Hearing the timeless melody and lyric reimagined after all these years by one of today’s hottest voices is a fun and fitting tribute to Amy and the success of Heart In Motion.


- n 1973, Claude Lanzmann began work on a documentary about the murder of European Jews during WWII. Twelve years and more than 200 hours of footage later, he finished “Shoah,” a masterpiece widely considered to be the most important Holocaust film ever made. Exploring the French iconoclast’s arduous path to creating his nine-hour-plus masterpiece, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah debuts Monday, MAY 2 (9:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. Academy Award®-nominated in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject this year, the film includes previously unseen outtakes and features the 90-year-old filmmaker’s modern-day reflections on key moments in his life, as well as his hopes for the future.


- VH1, Flavor Unit and Jesse Collins Entertainment add Grammy Award winning artist Alicia Keys to the lineup of heavyweight talent that will be honoring their mothers at VH1’s special one-hour event Dear Mama, premiering Sunday, May 8 at 9:00.

- National Geographic Channel announced today that it will go straight to series with the first scripted series in the history of the network, the global anthology Genius from Fox 21 Television Studios (“Homeland,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson”), Imagine Television (“24,” “Empire”), OddLot Entertainment and EUE/Sokolow. The straight-to-series order will mark the first scripted series for the network, and Academy Award winner Ron Howard will direct the first episode. Each season of the anthology will dramatize the fascinating stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators. The premiere season will focus on scientist Albert Einstein and will be based on Walter Isaacson’s critically acclaimed book “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” adapted by writer Noah Pink. The series will be executive produced by Imagine’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Francie Calfo, and co-produced by Anna Culp; from OddLot Entertainment, Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane will executive produce and Melissa Rucker will co-produce; and Sam Sokolow and Jeff Cooney from EUE/Sokolow will also executive produce. Pink will also executive produce alongside a showrunner soon to be announced.

Around the Tubes: 4/22/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Prince, Catching the Sun, Wrecked, Genealogy Roadshow, Angie Tribeca, Ernie Ball: The Pursuit of Tone "Mike Ness', All Access: Quest For The Stanley Cup, Genius be Stephen Hawking, Penny Dreadful, Brian Lee, The Queen at 90, Kansas, and Guerrilla.

- VH1 announced yesterday the on-air plans to pay tribute to the late mega-star, Prince. Beginning yesterday at 5:30 PM ET, Prince’s iconic movie, Purple Rain, will kick of a weekend long marathon. Throughout the following days, VH1’s Sway will host news updates with artists’ memories and fan reactions.
VH1 Programming Schedule:

Friday, April 22:
12:00 PM ET/PT – “Purple Rain”
10:30P PM ET/PT – “Purple Rain”

Saturday, April 23:
9:00 AM ET/PT– “Purple Rain”
4:30 PM ET/PT – 7:00 PM – “Purple Rain”

Sunday, April 24:
1 PM ET/PT – “Purple Rain”
9PM ET/PT – “Purple Rain”

- As the solar industry nears the remarkable milestone next month of 1 million U.S. homes with solar panels, the acclaimed new documentary Catching the Sun from Executive Producer Leonardo DiCaprio will debut on Netflix in all territories this Friday, April 22 (Earth Day). Trailer: catchingthesun.tv

- TBS, a division of Turner, has set the premiere date for Wrecked, the network's new ensemble comedy about a group of strangers stranded on a deserted island following a plane crash. The latest in TBS's growing slate of daring new comedies, Wrecked is set to take off Tuesday, June 14, at 10:00) with back-to-back episodes.


- From possible links to the accused in the Salem Witch Trials to heroes of the Wild West, PBS’ Genealogy Roadshow uncovers more family secrets in the series’ third season, which premieres Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at 8:00 and airs Tuesdays through June 28 (check local listings). Part detective story, part emotional journey, Genealogy Roadshow combines history and science to uncover fascinating stories of diverse Americans this season in and around Albuquerque, Miami, Houston, Boston, Providence and Los Angeles. Each story links to the larger regional (and often, national) history, to become part of America’s rich cultural tapestry. See a season three clip here.

- After putting murderous ventriloquists, bakers and painters behind bars in its first amazing season, TBS's Angie Tribeca is ready to untangle all new webs of deceit in the gripping second season. Rashida Jones, Hayes MacArthur, Jere Burns, Deon Cole, Andrée Vermeulen and Jagger the German Shepherd will be back when the powerful police drama returns Monday, June 6, exclusively on TBS, a division of Turner.


- Tune in to AT&T AUDIENCE Network for: Ernie Ball: The Pursuit of Tone "Mike Ness' on Friday, April 22 at 8:00 (DIRECTV Ch 239/U-verse Ch 1114). Watch as renowned guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer Mike Ness sits down for the new documentary series. In the candid interview, Ness touches on a wide range of topics from how he found his "groove" to rebelling through the music of his band, Social Distortion. The interview digs deep into Ness' songwriting process.

- Showtime Sports continues its commitment to real-time, behind-the-scenes documentary series with unprecedented access to the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs in All Access: Quest For The Stanley Cup. The docu-series will be the first of its kind to nationally televise the championship of a major North American sport as it unfolds. Premiering Friday, May 20 at 9:00 on Showtime, weekly episodes chronicle the Eastern and Western Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final as the top-four NHL® teams battle for the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup®, one of the oldest and most iconic trophies in sports.

- PBS President and CEO Paula A. Kerger announced in January at the PBS portion of the Television Critics Association Press Tour that PBS, with National Geographic as its international broadcast partner, has commissioned a new six-part science series. Genius be Stephen Hawking, from production company Bigger Bang, will be presented and narrated by renowned theoretical physicist Prof. Stephen Hawking (watch a preview here). In each episode, a different group of ordinary people will be challenged to think like the greatest scientific minds in history in order to solve some of humanity’s most enduring questions. Genius will air on PBS in the U.S. Wednesdays, May 18-June 1, 2016, 8:00-10:00, and internationally on National Geographic Channel.

- Showtime is kicking off the third season of its hit drama series, Penny Dreadful, which premieres on Sunday, May 1 at 10:00, with a fan-driven art competition. Starting today through Friday, May 13th, fans can submit their artwork to The Penny Dreadful Fan Art Competition on pennydreadful.tumblr.com for the chance to win special prizes. One winner will take home the Grandeur Prize, which includes $1,000 and the opportunity to transform their creation into an official poster, product, or an upcoming Penny Dreadful comic book. On Sunday, June 19th, Showtime will announce the Grandeur Prize Winner during the final two episodes of the third season, which will air back-to-back starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT. SHOWTIME will showcase submitted fan artwork in the Penny Dreadful gallery at sho.com/1VvfxXq.

- American genre songwriter Brian Lee has teamed up with XFINITYSessions and is releasing his concert "Sessions at Willow Grove" on Earth Day 2016. The concert will be available through XFINITY on Demand starting April 22nd, 2016 and running through June 20th, 2016. The on Demand program is exclusively available through XFINITY and will be seen in over 24 million homes in the United States.

- Smithsonian Channel is celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday with a two-hour landmark program. For the last year Smithsonian Channel was granted unprecedented access to Her Majesty and the Royal Family’s lives at Buckingham Palace and across the United Kingdom and overseas. The Queen at 90, premiering Sunday, May 15 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel, includes individual contributions from many key figures in her life, including Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, The Duke of York, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, The Countess of Wessex and Peter Phillips.

- America's preeminent progressive rock band KANSAS will be touring select cities this fall celebrating the 40th Anniversary of their breakthrough album Leftoverture. To celebrate, for the first time in history, the band will be performing the album in its entirety. The tour will showcase two hours of classic KANSAS music including hit songs, deep cuts, and new songs from their soon to be released album, The Prelude Implicit. Tickets and KANSAS VIP Packages for most dates go on sale to the general public Friday, April 22, 2016. Ticket information can be found at kansasband.com.

- Academy Award-winner John Ridley (American Crime, 12 Years a Slave) will write, direct and executive produce Guerrilla, a new six-part limited series set to air on SHOWTIME and Sky Atlantic, that centers on a couple whose passion propels them into making the leap from political activism to radical militancy. Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild® Award winner Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation) will co-star and serve as an executive producer through his Green Door Pictures. Ridley will write the majority of the episodes and will direct the first two episodes.

Around the Tubes: 4/15/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Dear Mama, Comedy Knockout, The Drew, Political Idiotest, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Where Am I Now?, Haven, Ray Donovan, Episodes, and Tales from the Crypt.

- This Mother's Day VH1, Flavor Unit and Jesse Collins Entertainment will shine the spotlight on the most important women in the world -- our Moms. This is not a typical honors show though -- the stars will step aside and put their mothers center stage to celebrate the women who sacrificed so much for their success. VH1’s one-hour special event Dear Mama, will premiere Sunday, May 8 at 9:00. Anthony Anderson (ABC’s “Blackish”) will kick off VH1’s Mother’s Day celebration as this year’s host and will also honor his hilarious mom, Doris Bowman. The event will feature multifaceted superstar Queen Latifah honoring her mother Rita Owens, a single mother and former high school teacher in Newark, New Jersey. Trey, Jaden and Willow Smith will also join the mom-fest to honor Hollywood powerhouse Jada Pinkett-Smith. Additional honorary mothers will be announced soon.

- See below for the newly released trailer for truTV's new comedy competition series Comedy Knockout, hosted by stand-up comedian Damien Lemon, which premieres on Thursday, April 21 at 10:30pm ET/PT. Guest comedians this season will include Jim Norton, Sherrod Small, Kevin Barnett, Jamie Lee, Arden Myrin, Chris Distefano, Yamaneika Saunders and many more.


- Showtime will premiere The Drew, a film directed and produced by Baron Davis, that explores the history of a pro-am basketball league in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, on Friday, April 29 at 8:00. The Drew chronicles the unlikely rise of an institution, the men and women who made it possible, and the unifying, positive force it has become.


- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today a new half-hour special event, combining its hit series IDIOTEST with America’s obsession with all things politics. Political Idiotest, produced in association with Popsugar, one of the strongest media brands among millennials, will air Wednesday, April 20 at 11:00.

- Exploring the French iconoclast’s arduous path to creating his nine-hour-plus masterpiece, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah debuts Monday, MAY 2 at 9:00, exclusively on HBO. Academy Award®-nominated in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject this year, the film includes previously unseen outtakes and features the 90-year-old filmmaker’s modern-day reflections on key moments in his life, as well as his hopes for the future.

- EW.com has revealed the cover of writer and actor Mara Wilson's memoir, Where Am I Now?, coming out September 13th from Penguin, and now available for pre-order. The cover also features a glowing endorsement from Broad City's Ilana Glazer, who said: "Growing up, I wanted to be Mara Wilson. 'Where Am I Now?' is a delight."

- For the past five years, Haven, based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid" and starring Emily Rose, Eric Balfour, Adam Copeland and Lucas Bryant, has thrilled its legions of viewers with its supernatural storylines, VFX-fueled action and drama. And with plenty of dark secrets about to be revealed, along with new guest stars such as the inimitable William Shatner, Haven: The Final Season, out 4/19, is guaranteed to be unforgettable.

- Season four of the hit Showtime drama series Ray Donovan, starring Liev Schreiber in his three-time Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominated role, will premiere on Sunday, June 26th at 9:00 on-air, on demand and over the internet. That same night, Showtime will premiere the new one-hour ensemble comedy series Roadies from creator, writer, director and executive producer Cameron Crowe at 10:00. Check out the Ray Donovan trailer below:


- After four critically-acclaimed seasons, the hit Showtime comedy series Episodes begins production next week on its fifth and final season, it was announced today by Gary Levine, President of Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. The series, starring Matt LeBlanc in his four-time Emmy® nominated and Golden Globe-winning role playing a fictionalized version of himself, is created by award-winning writing partners David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik. Klarik will direct all seven episodes, which will film in London and premiere on the network in 2017.

- TNT, a division of Turner, and M. Night Shyamalan are ramping up TNT's new Tales from the Crypt horror block. The network has officially greenlit an initial 10-episode order of the fan favorite Tales from the Crypt anthology series, based on the original EC Comics. The anthology series will be at the center of each week's chilling lineup, guided by a newly reinvented Crypt Keeper, one of the most popular characters in the Tales from the Crypt universe. TNT's new Tales from the Crypt horror block is now slated to launch in 2017.

Around the Tubes: 4/8/16

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Penny Dreadful, Those Who Can't, The Mindy Project, Conan, Why Would You Do That?, The Walking Dead, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Hit The Floor, and Earth Day.

- Showtimee has released a haunting new trailer with new footage of its hit drama series Penny Dreadful, ahead of the much-anticipated third season premiere on Sunday, May 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. Starring Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green, PENNY DREADFUL is a frightening psychological thriller created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator).


- Fallen behind on truTV’s first scripted comedy series Those Who Can’t, well now is your chance to get caught up during Sunday, April 10th’s Cram-Sesh Marathon. Audiences will be able to binge on the first nine episodes from 4:30PM-9:30PM ET/PT and catch up on all the antics that happened at Smoot High in advance of the season one finale airing Thursday, April 14.

- The Mindy Project returns Tuesday, April 12 with all new episodes, only on Hulu. The Mindy Project season four returns for even more adventures! Mindy (Mindy Kaling) faces her greatest challenge yet as she struggles to balance work with being a mom, all while her tumultuous relationship with Danny gets even messier. She's joined by Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) and the rest of the staff of Shulman and Associates as they welcome some new faces (like Garret Dillahunt as Jody, a sexist Southern rascal) and tangle with old rivals like the Midwives upstairs. The Mindy Project continues to deliver its unique mix of wild comedy and heartfelt romance.

- TBS's late-night series Conan is heading back to New York City for the first time in exactly six years for a week of shows from Harlem's Apollo Theater. Host Conan O'Brien last did his show from the Big Apple in 2010 at the Beacon Theatre. This fall's visit to New York, set to take place Oct. 31 – Nov. 3, will continue O'Brien's innovative combination of international road episodes and live shows from various cities across the United States.

- Chicago-born-and-bred, Sebastian Maniscalco has tapped Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre as the backdrop for his third Showtime stand-up comedy event Why Would You Do That?, which will be filmed in front of a live audience on May 7th – one of the seven sold out shows at the theatre – to air on the network this summer on-air, online, on demand and over the internet. Directed by Joe Demaio, Maniscalco will deliver his unique brand of physical and quick-witted observational comedy in a new hour of highly anticipated skepticism, all while asking Why Would You Do That?

- This past season brought many unforeseen, exciting and pulse-pounding twists and turns. With the end of every season comes the bittersweet knowledge that we must wait with bated breath until the next ride. To keep your The Walking Dead appetite satiated, Anchor Bay Entertainment proudly continues the tradition of offering fans an opportunity to relive the ever so satisfying and stirring sixth season. The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season will be released on Blu-ray™ + Digital HD and DVD on August 23. Just like the previous award-winning home entertainment releases, The Walking Dead: The Complete Sixth Season will take fans down The Walking Dead memory lane so they can relive all of the season’s most haunting and indelible moments.

- It's a full year for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. TBS, a division of Turner, has ordered 26 episodes of its new series less than two months after star and executive producer Samantha Bee entered the late-night fray to widespread buzz and critical raves. TBS's order brings the total number of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee episodes to 39, which will take the show to the end of 2016.

- Fans won’t have to wait long for the payoff to Hit The Floor’s jaw-dropping season three finale, VH1 announced today a special one hour episode premiering this Summer. The special will deliver all the excitement, drama and passion that Ahsha & Derek are beloved for and will also explore the huge finale cliffhanger: Who shot Jelena?

- Nat Geo WILD will celebrate Earth Day by shining a light on the wildlife advocates who inspire us to take care of our world and the animals who live in it. Beginning with premieres of the best short films from this year’s Wild to Inspire competition on Friday, April 22, at 6:30, and continuing with an investigation into the new threats facing wild orangutans in Mission Critical: Orangutan on the Edge at 9:00, we will celebrate by honoring the people who get their hands dirty making the world a better place.
Full Earth Day Schedule at a Glance:
6:30/5:30c: Wild to Inspire *PREMIERE*
7/6c: Cougars Undercover
8/7c: Mission Critical: Leopards at the Door
9/8c: Mission Critical: Orangutan on the Edge *PREMIERE*
10/9c: War Elephants