Around the Tubes: 3/16/2018

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 Little Fires Everywhere, Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet, Paul Simon, Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild, Drop the Mic, Defining Hope, and Kidding

- After a competitive bidding war that ignited Hollywood, Hulu has obtained the rights to develop Little Fires Everywhere, the highly-anticipated limited series from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller, as a Hulu Original Series. The project will be produced by Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Washington’s Simpson Street and ABC Signature Studios, and will join Hulu’s award-winning slate of original programming. Witherspoon and Washington will also star as leads in the series. Liz Tigelaar (“Life Unexpected,” “Casual”) will write and serve as showrunner and executive producer.

- In what may be Stephen Hawking’s last major television project, Smithsonian Channel explores his controversial position that the survival of the species depends on inhabiting another planet. Planet Earth has been home to humankind for more than 200,000 years, but with a population of 7.3 billion and counting and limited resources, some scientists believe it might not support human life forever. Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s most prominent scientists, believed that humans must have an interstellar escape plan in place within the next 100 years. He asserted that this is the only way to safeguard the future of the human species from the next mass extinction – by leaving Earth and making a new home on another planet. The program visits an exo-planet observatory in the heart of the Atacama Desert, reveals a plasma-powered rocket engine that could revolutionize space travel, explores the giant greenhouses of Biosphere 2 and showcases NASA’s own “robot army.” Hawking, top scientists, technologists and engineers around the globe investigate whether humans really do have what it takes to colonize another planet. Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet airs Sunday, March 25 at 8:00.

- Legendary songwriter, recording artist and performer Paul Simon has announced the final leg of Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour, culminating with four shows in the New York City area: the Prudential Center on September 15 in Newark, NJ (the city where Simon was born), and two nights at Madison Square Garden on September 20 and 21, with an additional concert to be announced soon. As previously announced, Simon and his band will embark on the artist’s final tour May 16 in Vancouver, bringing to the stage a stunning, career-spanning repertoire of timeless hits and classic songs. Tickets for the third and final leg of Paul Simon’s Homeward Bound – The Farewell Tour will go on public sale beginning Friday, March 16 @ 9am ET. Go to PaulSimon.com for ticketing information as it becomes available.

- An hour-long block of comedy, competition and hip-hop returns to TBS on Sunday, April 15 with the hit unscripted series Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild at 10:00 and Drop the Mic at 10:30. The network renewed both series after they quickly emerged as the top two new unscripted cable comedies in 2017, reaching an average of 2.7M viewers per episode across TBS’s linear, VOD, and digital platforms, and earning over 250 million social and YouTube views to date.

- The ground-breaking new documentary feature film Defining Hope (www.hope.film) from director Carolyn Jones (The American Nurse) follows eight patients with life-threatening illness, and the nurses who guide them to make critical choices along the way as they face death, embrace hope, and ultimately redefine what makes life worth living. “Defining Hope is a documentary that has evolved over the course of my career,” says director Carolyn Jones. “It’s a journey with nurses and their patients that speaks to the universality of death and leads us to a place of knowledge and power as we recognize that we have agency over the way that we die. To know what we want at the end of life, we have to figure out what makes life worth living.” Produced by Carolyn Jones Productions, the award-winning team behind The American Nurse Project, Defining Hope is presented and distributed nationally by American Public Television (APT), and is slated for release nationwide on public television stations beginning April 1, 2018 (check local listings).

- Showtime has announced that Justin Kirk (WEEDS) has been cast in a recurring role in the upcoming Showtime half-hour comedy Kidding. Kirk joins Golden Globe® winner Jim Carrey, along with Oscar®, Emmy® and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out), Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) and Judy Greer (Married). Kirk will play Peter, the new boyfriend of Jill (Greer) who is Jeff’s (Carrey) estranged wife.

Around the Tubes: 3/9/2018

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 Pitch Perfect 3 Special Edition, U2, New Wave: Dare to Be Different, Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson, Record Store Day, Bill Nye: Science Guy, Arabian Seas, and Sklars and Stripes.

- Pitch Perfect 3 Special Edition, the highly anticipated follow up to the smash-hit and platinum-selling soundtracks Pitch Perfect & Pitch Perfect 2, is available digitally now. The Special Edition contains the 15 songs from the original, standard CD, along with 7 bonus tracks (22 total). Two additional on-screen performance tracks are also included, “Bend Over” and “Don’t Speak x Hard For Me to Say I’m Sorry,” which is a new mashup from a deleted scene available on the bonus content for the home entertainment release. Pitch Perfect 3 Special Edition soundtrack from UMe/Republic is available digitally here now.

- UMC/Island/Interscope are proud to announce the release of 3 new vinyl reissues from Irish rock giants, U2: Pop (1997), Wide Awake In America (1985) and All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000).

- U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, The Cure – over half a billion records sold, but you might have never heard of them if not for a small suburban radio station on Long Island, NY called WLIR 92.7. New Wave: Dare to Be Different, premiering on Showtime on Friday, March 30 at 8:00 on-air, on demand and over the internet, is a nostalgic look back at the rogue radio station on the cutting edge of music throughout the 1980s. Program director Denis McNamara, the station crew and the biggest artists of the era tell the story of how they battled the FCC, record labels, mega-radio and all the conventional rules to create a musical movement that brought New Wave to America.


- Music legends Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson have been nominated for the Academy of Country Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year for their poignant duet “Funny How Time Slips Away.” The 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards will air live on Sunday, April 15, at 8 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. Listen to “Funny How Time Slips Away” here.

- UMe is pleased to announce details for several exclusive, limited edition vinyl releases confirmed for Record Store Day 2018. With special releases from Bobbie Gentry, Chet Faker, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, Frank Zappa, Gloria Gaynor, Marvin Gaye, Soundgarden, Sublime, The Police, The Who and more, UMe’s slate for April’s hotly-anticipated music shopping bonanza is filled with an eclectic and exciting mix that includes re-pressings of classic albums and singles, as well as several U.S. vinyl release debuts. All the special releases will be available at Record Store Day-participating record stores on Saturday, April 21. Visit RecordStoreDay.com for more details and to find your local shops.

- Bill Nye is on a mission to stop the spread of anti-scientific thought and action. Once the host of a popular kids’ show and now the CEO of the Planetary Society, he’s leading a mission to launch LightSail, a satellite propelled by sunlight, while in turn fulfilling the legacy of his late professor and Planetary Society cofounder Carl Sagan. Bill Nye: Science Guy by David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg has its national broadcast and streaming debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pov.org on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The broadcast precedes Earth Day on April 22. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series and will begin its 31st season on television and streaming in summer 2018.

- On May 6th, 1882 – on the eve of the greatest wave of immigration in American history – President Chester A. Arthur signed into law a unique piece of federal legislation. Called the Chinese Exclusion Act, it singled out by name and race a single nationality for special treatment: making it illegal for Chinese laborers to enter America on pain of imprisonment and for Chinese nationals ever to become citizens of the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act, a two-hour film for national broadcast on PBS Tuesday may 9 at 8:00, will explore in riveting detail this little known, yet deeply resonant and revealing episode in American history – one that sheds enormous light on key aspects of the history of American civil liberties, immigration, and culture – during one of the most formative periods of U.S. history.

- NBA Hall of Fame basketball star and platinum hip-hop artist Shaquille O’Neal reads the immersive Edward Hirsch poem “Fast Break” about the universal experience of playing basketball in a remarkable new 12-part television series Poetry in America that aims to bring poetry to millions of viewers. New episodes of Poetry in America will be on public television stations nationwide starting Wednesday, March 28 through Wednesday, May 2. (Check local listings as some stations will debut the series at other times during the spring.)

- The waters bordering the Arabian Peninsula are home to a host of unique marine animals, from predators like zebra sharks and giant stingrays, to camouflage kings such as the cuttlefish and sea horse. Wade into this little-seen world of ocean oddities with Arabian Seas, now streaming on Smithsonian Earth. Smithsonian Earth is available on Apple®, Roku®, Amazon, Android™ and at SmithsonianEarthTV.com. Kicking off the five-part series is the premiere episode, Carnivores of the Coral Garden, which is now available to stream for free at SmithsonianEarthTV.com. Nine miles off the coast of Oman, a zebra shark scans the ocean floor for crustaceans, while a menacing giant stingray floats by. Soon, night becomes day and new killers emerge, from toxic scorpion fish to crown-of-thorns starfish, both bringing coral devastation.

- Randy and Jason Sklar's upcoming long-form audio documentary, Sklars and Stripes, is poised for an April 5, 2018 release on Audible. The comedic audio documentary captures their experiences on the road and, as a bonus on Audible, all listeners receive a full album of the Sklars' stand-up from the tour: The Tour Tapes. The 6-hour Sklars and Stripes is exclusively available on Audible for pre-order now, and will be free with an Audible 30-day free trial or as a premium Audible credit for members.

Around the Tubes: 3/2/2018

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 Smithsonian Channel, Beyond the Opposite Sex The Maestro The Rollie Massimino Story, I Think We’re Alone Now, Snowpiercer, Animal Kingdom, and The Alienist.

- Smithsonian Channel launches into space with four premieres centered around space exploration and humans‘ impact on the solar system. The first special, Billionaire Space Club, on Sunday, March 25 at 8:00, highlights the efforts of billionaire Sir Richard Branson and others to make space travel more accessible to the average person. The Sunday block also takes viewers on a journey revealing how humans have changed the planet Earth and how they will continue to shape its future on Sunday, March 25 at 9:00 in Earth From Outer Space. The following Sunday, April 1 at 8:00, Finding Life in Outer Space explores one of the greatest mysteries of the universe – why life exists – and at 9:00, Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet featuring Stephen Hawking reveals the secrets of space travel and what the future holds for exploration and potential habitation beyond Earth. These four hour-long premieres highlight innovators and pioneers who are forging ahead with space exploration to plan for an unknown future.

- In 2004, Showtime introduced viewers to the story of Rene and Jamie with the documentary The Opposite Sex, showing two brave people going through their long-awaited gender affirmation surgeries. Beyond the Opposite Sex, premiering on Showtime on Friday, March 16 at 9:00 on-air, on demand and over the internet, is a follow-up documentary that picks up 14 years later to find that their surgeries, which had been lifelong goals, were far from the finish line of their difficult journeys.

- FOX Sports pays tribute to one of college basketball’s all-time great coaches with a new original documentary, The Maestro The Rollie Massimino Story, debuting Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 11:00 PM ET on FS1 following the Seton Hall at Villanova college basketball game. The Maestro chronicles former NCAA Champion coach Rollie Massimino’s final season with Keiser University, an NAIA Division II program, while he battled brain and lung cancer.

- Momentum Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to I Think We’re Alone Now, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Reed Morano, Emmy Award-winning director of the acclaimed series The Handmaid's Tale, the film had its world premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the festival and was awarded a Special Jury Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. I Think We’re Alone Now follows Del (Peter Dinklage) who finds himself alone in the world, literally, after the human race is wiped out. He’s content in his solitude - until he discovers Grace (Elle Fanning), an interloper on his quiet earth. Her history and motives are obscure, and worse yet, she wants to stay. A visceral psychological journey, the film explores human behavior and the undeniable need for companionship.

- Turner's TNT has tapped award-winning writer and producer Graeme Manson (Orphan Black) to serve as showrunner on Snowpiercer, a futuristic thriller based on the acclaimed movie of the same name. The series stars Oscar® winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Black-ish), Mickey Sumner (American Made), Alison Wright (The Accountant), Susan Park (Ghostbusters), Sasha Frolova (The Interestings), Sheila Vand (Argo), Katie McGuinness (Dirty Filthy Love), Roberto Urbina (Narcos), Sam Otto (Jellyfish), Tony Award® winner and Grammy® nominee Lena Hall (All My Children), Annalise Basso (Bedtime Stories) and Benjamin Haigh (The Conjuring 2).

- Turner’s TNT has cast Denis Leary (Rescue Me) in season three of the hit drama Animal Kingdom. In this bold, gritty series about a Southern California crime family, the Emmy®-nominated actor joins Emmy® and Tony® winner Ellen Barkin, the matriarch of the Cody clan, along with Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Molly Gordon and Carolina Guerra. Leary will play Billy, Deran’s (Weary) drifter dad who Smurf (Barkin) kicked out years ago.

- TNT’s The Alienist scored another impressive week’s premiere Monday night holding claim to cable’s #1 new drama series this season and continuing to show strong momentum to achieve an extraordinary 40 percent in-season growth, a trajectory that only two top dramas (in a universe of more than 500 dramas on television) managed to achieve in 2017.

- Over the last two weeks, the editorial boards of Dallas Morning News, Corpus Christi Caller Times, and Bryan-College Station Eagle endorsed Stefano de Stefano, a traditional, pro-business, pragmatic Republican and Houston-based energy attorney in the upcoming Texas Republican Primary Election for U.S. Senate. Forbes followed up with a feature article of their own.

Around the Tubes: 2/23/2018

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 Last O.G., Sublime, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the World Cup™, The Mountain Lion and Me, and Showtime news.

- Comedy superstar and multiple Emmy® nominee Tracy Morgan returns to television with TBS starring in The Last O.G., a new comedy series that he executive produces alongside creator and executive producer Jordan Peele. Beginning April 3, episodes will air Tuesdays at 10:30.


- Southern California’s reggae-punk pioneers Sublime are celebrating the 50th birthday of their dear friend Bradley Nowell with a special animated video of “Boss D.J.,” the acoustic fan favorite off of the Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell & Friends album. The band commissioned renowned animator and artist Andrew William Ralph to create and direct a “looped” animation video that will debut on their official website on what would have been Nowell’s 50th birthday, February 22. In addition to the new video, Sublime will launch a birthday fan-wall on their official website and will have a space where fans can write birthday notes and post memories using the hashtag #BradleyNowell50th as well as exclusive merchandise sold through Sublime’s webstore. For more information please visit www.sublimelbc.com. Furthermore, the classic 1996 self-titled album Sublime is being released as a limited edition double LP on color vinyl this week exclusively from The Sound of Vinyl beginning Thursday February 22. Presented on 180-gram vinyl and limited to 500 copies worldwide, the one-of-a-kind pressing features LP1 on opaque yellow and LP2 on opaque blue. Members of the The Sound of Vinyl Text Message service will receive early access to purchase the limited edition Sublime color vinyl album, one day before it is available for purchase on The Sound of Vinyl website.

- To commemorate the 21st anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fox Consumer Products is launching the first-ever Buffy Slay Day on March 10, 2018 for fans who would like to pay homage to one of the original badass chicks – who paved the way for women and girls everywhere -- Buffy! As part of the 21-hour celebration on Buffy Slay Day, fans will have a chance to reward the most important slayers in their lives with cool merchandise. Additionally, Fox Consumer Products plans to uniquely highlight the strong, empowered and celebrated program alongside a wide group of Buffy partners through the following activities: Celebrate this pivotal show and its female heroine by harnessing your inner slayer, of courage, pride, and empowerment. On Slay Day 2018, Buffy fans can reward those who help them slay in their own lives with kickass loot. A wide-range of Buffy themed prizes is up for grabs, including apparel, toy figures, books and more! Details on how to reward the slayers in your lives can be found on BuffySlays.com.

- The road to Russia will go through Austin, Texas as the FOX Sports House opens March 9-12 at the 2018 South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals. With its sights on the World Cup™, FOX Sports kicks off a celebration of soccer at one of the world’s biggest interactive showcases for sports, innovation and the arts.

- Montana filmmaker Casey Anderson has formed a remarkable relationship with one of America’s most powerful predators, a mountain lion named Mama Mo. Casey first discovers Mama Mo one winter night when tracks in the snow appear outside of his home in Paradise Valley, Montana. It sparks Casey’s year-long obsession with the adult mountain lion and her cubs who are hunting in his backyard. Astonishingly, Mama Mo lets him into her world, and Casey uses the latest high-tech tools to capture an unprecedented view into the intimate lives of mountain lions in the wild. Casey not only painstakingly tracks Mama Mo’s every move, even as she crosses into the legal hunting zone, but he even ventures deep inside the lion’s den. The Mountain Lion and Me premieres Wednesday, March 14 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Showtime will celebrate SMILF, The Chi andShameless at the South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals from Thursday, March 15 through Saturday, March 17 with art, food and music at The Showtime House at Clive Bar on Rainey Street in Austin, Texas. On Thursday, March 15, Showtime will feature a diverse lineup of female-fronted bands across multiple genres including rising teenage indie rocker Snail Mail and experimental violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives, in honor of the Golden Globe® nominated comedy SMILF. Golden Globe nominee Frankie Shaw will make a special appearance introducing headliner Princess Nokia, whose music was also featured on the show. Friday, March 16 will be dedicated to the hit drama The Chi, with food from Harold’s Chicken Shack in Chicago, a custom sneaker gallery, Chicago graffiti art and featuring live hip hop artists. Chicago-based artist Joey Purp will perform, along with Lee Fields & the Expressions, whose music is featured on The Chi. The night will culminate with a DJ set from RUN-DMC’s Darryl DMC McDaniels, introduced by THE CHI star Jacob Latimore. And finally, on St. Patrick’s Day, The SHOWTIME House will transform into an “Alibi Bar” pop up, where SXSW badge holders can party like a Gallagher with drinks served by Shameless stars Shanola Hampton and Steve Howey. Musical acts include Low Cut Connie, Tank and The Bangas and headliners WAVVES.

- Showtime Sports continues to expand its position at the intersection of combat sports and culture with a first-of-its-kind, sports talk show, Below the Belt hosted by Brendan Schaub. The twice-monthly, 30-minute show debuts on Wednesday, February 28 on SHOWTIME Sports digital platforms, days before American heavyweight Deontay Wilder defends his WBC title against Luis Ortiz. The announcement was made today by Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.

Around the Tubes: 2/16/2018

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 Word Is Bond, Hard Sun, Barry White, Noah Kahan, UB40, Vic Mensa, Shot in the Dark, Kidding, Ball Street, Twenties, and Deadlier Than the Male.

- In honor of Black History Month, Showtime will premiere the documentary, Word Is Bond, on Friday, February 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. Directed by Sacha Jenkins (Burn Motherf*cker, Burn!, Fresh Dressed) the film explores the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop. What was born on the streets of the South Bronx has now taken root globally, and the young poets of New York have helped to spawn regional dialects everywhere.


- Check out the trailer for Hulu's upcoming Hard Sun. The full six-episode season launches on Wednesday, March 7th.


- From his hitmaking '70s heyday until his untimely passing in 2003, Barry White set an unmatched standard for sexy, seductive, soulful R&B. As a vocalist, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, White created music that was unmatched in its sonic and romantic intensity, highlighted by lush, widescreen arrangements and the artist's deep, dark baritone voice. Over the course of his remarkable career, two-time Grammy Award–winner Barry White scored 106 gold albums worldwide, with 41 of those attaining platinum status, along with 20 gold and 10 platinum singles, with worldwide record sales of over 100 million records. He remains one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. On April 13, Mercury Records/UMe will release the first of a series of catalog releases of Barry White's classic work, in a yearlong celebration of the 45th anniversary of White's first release on 20th Century Records. New collections feature such White solo hits as “Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe” and “You're The First, The Last, My Everything,” along with hits by female trio Love Unlimited ("Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love," "I Belong To You") and the 40-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra ("Love's Theme," "Satin Soul"), both of which benefitted from White's distinctive songwriting and production skills.

- With over 45 Million streams on Spotify and a rapidly climbing single on the Triple A charts, rising singer and songwriter, Noah Kahan recently released his debut EP, Hurt Somebody. Produced by Joel Little (Khalid, Lorde), the five song EP includes Kahan’s most recent single and title track, “Hurt Somebody” featuring two time Grammy nominated artist JULIA MICHAELS. Kahan, who has previously performed and toured with Anderson East, The Strumbella’s, Milky Chance, and Ben Folds, was recently announced as one of Bandsintown’s “Top 5 Fastest Growing New Artists” and will be hitting the road again this month with LP – dates listed below.


- A Real Labour Of Love is the new album from UB40 Featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey, to be released March 2nd on UMe. As founding members of Britain's biggest reggae band UB40, singer Ali Campbell, second vocalist Astro and keyboardist Mickey Virtue topped the UK singles chart on three occasions and sold 70 million records as they took the ir smooth yet rootsy musical blend to all corners of the globe. Now with 'A Real Labour Of Love' the trio give us a fresh take on the legendary series of albums, putting the focus primarily on reggae tracks from the 1980s.

- une in Friday, February 16 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special Vic Mensa on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and streaming on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT the one-hour concert with was shot on location at AT&T AUDIENCE Network’s studio in Los Angeles, CA.

- FOX Sports Films is excited to announce the premiere of Shot in the Dark, February 24, 2018 on FOX. This second film in the MAGNIFY documentary series is produced by Los Angeles Media Fund, executive produced by Dwyane Wade and Chance the Rapper and directed by Dustin Nakao-Haider for Bogie Films, and in association with ZZ Productions. “Shot in the Dark” is scheduled to air at approximately 4:30 p.m. Eastern following Villanova vs. Creighton basketball.

- Showtime has announced that Judy Greer (Married) has been cast as a series regular in the upcoming Showtime half-hour comedy Kidding. Greer joins Golden Globe® winner Jim Carrey, in Carrey’s first series regular role in more than two decades, along with Oscar®, Emmy® and Golden Globe nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out) and Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon). Greer will play Jill, Jeff’s estranged wife who has recently hit a rebellious streak.

- Regina Hall (Girls Trip) and Paul Scheer (The Disaster Artist, The League) are set to join the cast of the Showtime half-hour comedy pilot Ball Street. Starring Emmy® nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor Don Cheadle (Avengers: Infinity War) and two-time Tony Award nominee and Grammy® winner Andrew Rannells (Girls, The Intern), Ball Street is directed and executive produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The pilot, which has also added Kurt Braunohler (The Big Sick) and Eugene Cordero (Kong: Skull Island), is created by David Caspe (Happy Endings) and Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl), who also serve as executive producers and showrunners. Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) will guest star as Tiff, Blair’s (Rannells) girlfriend who appreciates the finer things in life that Blair’s new job may not provide. Reuniting with Happy Endings and Marry Me producers Caspe and Cahan, Wilson will recur if the show goes to series. Production is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles this week. The pilot is a co-production of Showtime and Sony Pictures Television Studios.

- On the heels of her Emmy® win for Best Comedy Writing and the launch of her series The Chi, TBS has picked up writer and Master of None star Lena Waithe’s project Twenties to pilot. Twenties is a single-camera comedy that follows the adventures of a queer black girl, Hattie, and her two straight best friends, Marie and Nia, who spend most of their days talking shit and chasing their dreams. It's a show about friendship, finding love, and messing everything up along the way. Twenties is created, written, and executive produced by Waithe through her production company Hillman Grad Productions and executive produced by Andrew Coles, her manager, for The Mission Entertainment.

- Turner's TNT has given a series greenlight to Deadlier Than the Male (working title), an intense, morally complex thriller about three damaged people trying to start over. Lily Rabe (American Horror Story), Enrique Murciano (Without A Trace), Hamish Linklater (Fantastic Four), Chiara Aurelia (Pretty Little Liars) and Amy Brenneman (The Leftovers) star in the suspense drama. The series is being produced by Bruna Papandrea's Made Up Stories and Turner's Studio T, and executive-produced by Bruna Papandrea (Big Little Lies); Harriet Warner (Call the Midwife, Mistresses), who wrote the script; and Casey Haver of Made Up Stories. Houda Benyamina (Divines) directed the pilot. The series will begin production this summer in New Orleans.

Around the Tubes: 2/9/2018

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 Michael W. Smith, Epic Warrior Women, Cleopatra, Family Feud, and the SAG Awards.


- Michael W. Smith is excited to release his new album “A Million Lights” next Friday February 16th, followed by the release of his highly anticipated live worship album “Surrounded” the following Friday February 23rd. In support of both albums Michael will kick off a North American headlining tour on March 8th, followed by a tour of Israel and another 40-date North American tour this fall. Compassion International, a child-advocacy ministry for which Michael has sponsored over 70,000 children from Third-World-Countries, will present the U.S. tour.

- Smithsonian Channel celebrates Women’s History Month with two new series featuring the real-life stories of women who are symbols of empowerment, independence and strength. Epic Warrior Women exposes history’s most iconic female fighters from the Roman Empire to Central Asia and West Africa. Each extraordinary tale of blood, sacrifice and endurance centers on the life of one young female warrior caught up in the bloody struggles of her time. Epic Warrior Women premieres on Monday, March 19 at 8:00. Cleopatra examines the life of Egypt’s most famous ruler, the sole woman of her time to rule alone. It is a story of survival, political acumen, seduction and notoriety, revealing the reasons her name still resonates today. Cleopatra premieres Monday, March 5 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Survey says: love! Forget flowers and chocolate, enjoy your Valentine's Day with Game Show Network's marathon of romance-themed Family Feud episodes from 5 to 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 14.

- SAG Awards® Executive Producer Kathy Connell yesterday announced the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® ceremony will be held on Sunday, January 27, 2019. The Silver Anniversary celebration of the previous year’s outstanding film and television performances will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS at 8:00.

Around the Tubes: 2/2/2018

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 Castle Rock, The Trade, Our Cartoon President, Operation Odessa, Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp, Groundbreakers: Superheroes Behind Mask, The Chi, and The Alienist.

- Hulu is incredibly excited to debut its Super Bowl commercial for upcoming original series Castle Rock from J.J. Abrams and the world of Stephen King. Please see below for the link to the spot and make sure to tune in to the big game this Sunday! Castle Rock premieres Summer 2018, only on Hulu.


- From Columbus, Ohio to Guerrero, Mexico and countless cities in between, the opioid epidemic has ravaged communities on both sides of the border. This Friday, February 2 at 9:00 Showtime will debut The Trade, a timely new five-episode docu-series spotlighting the crisis through the eyes of those most affected: the growers, addicts, cartel bosses and law enforcement hopelessly caught in its web. THE TRADE is executive produced and directed by Oscar nominee and Emmy® winner Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land).


- Showtime is giving viewers an early opportunity to sample the premiere episode of the new animated series Our Cartoon President, executive produced by multiple Emmy® winner Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and R.J. Fried. The half-hour parody series follows the tru-ish misadventures of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and his merry band of advisors and family members. Along with the early episode, Showtime has unveiled the poster art for the series. Our Cartoon President is set to debut on air with two back-to-back episodes on Sunday, February 11 starting at 8:00.


- The newest addition to the Showtime Documentary Films slate, Operation Odessa will make its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The documentary will premiere on SHOWTIME on Saturday, March 31 at 9 PM ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. From the director and producers of The Seven Five, OPERATION ODESSA is a true crime documentary about a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy and a Cuban spy who sold a Soviet submarine to a Colombian drug cartel for $35 million. An early ’90s gangster epic that hopscotches from Brooklyn to Miami and Cali to Moscow, the film tells the true story of three friends who set out to hustle the Russian mob, the Cali cartel and the DEA for the score of a lifetime. What really happened to the sub, the money and the three amigos has remained a shadowy underworld myth until now.


The Great Dismal Swamp, a vast and impenetrable wilderness covering parts of Virginia and North Carolina, was a treacherous maze of waterways, full of poisonous snakes, blood-sucking insects and black bears. For centuries, rumors circulated that enslaved people had escaped to the swamp, choosing to brave the dangerous environment rather than endure the cruelty of slavery. This film uncovers groundbreaking discoveries that are helping to rewrite history by shedding light on the resistance and resilience of enslaved people who found refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp. Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp premieres Monday, February 19 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel as a part of its Black History Month programming.

- We are excited to announce an amazing campaign with our client, Comcast Xfinity, to celebrate and kickoff Black History Month. The Groundbreakers: Superheroes Behind Mask campaign features an original short, print ad and commercial and radio spot, featuring creatives behind some of America’s beloved superheroes and animated series. Premiering TODAY, Xfinity will use the power of the X1 platform to spotlight the pioneering talent behind some of America’s most beloved superhero stories and designs while chronicling the deep-rooted history and representation of the Black community.

- Showtime has renewed its hit drama series The Chi for a second season, it was announced today by Gary Levine, President of Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. Created and executive produced by Emmy Award winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma), The Chi explores the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago. Ayanna Floyd Davis (Empire, Hannibal) has signed on for season two as executive producer and showrunner. Produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, the series will go back into production in Chicago later this year.

- The Alienist scored an impressive launch last Monday night to become cable’s #1 new drama series this season in Live +3 delivery. This gripping, turn-of-the-century murder mystery has so far reached a cumulative 13.1 million total viewers in telecasts airing last week, nearly half of whom were new to the network. The premiere TNT telecast alone averaged 3.1M total viewers and nearly 1M viewers 18-49 in Live +3, and the network’s Live +35 multiplatform projection is 16 million, making it TNT’s most successful launch event since 2012. New episodes of The Alienist premiere Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT only on TNT.

Around the Tubes: 1/26/2018

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 COVER STORY: The Notorious Lottery Heist and Billions.

- Game Show Network’s one-hour documentary special COVER STORY: The Notorious Lottery Heist, premiering on January 28th at 7:00, will explore the story behind the biggest criminal conspiracy in lottery history. Imagine spending $5 and winning a $16.5 million lottery jackpot. You’d claim the prize immediately. But in December of 2011, this Iowa Lottery winner waited until the deadline was almost up before trying to make an anonymous claim, only to eventually walk away from their life changing prize when told they had to reveal their identity. The lottery commission thought this was highly suspicious and initiated an investigation. It took nearly two years before a crime was uncovered in their own backyard – a conspiracy emanating from inside the lottery itself.

- Oscar nominated actor John Malkovich will have a guest starring arc in season three of the hit Showtime drama Billions, playing Russian billionaire Grigor Andolov. Starring Oscar nominee and Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis, the third season of BILLIONS will premiere on Sunday, March 25 at 10:00.

Around the Tubes: 1/19/2018

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 Hulu, Eddie Griffin: Undeniable, The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X, CONAN, and Late Night with Seth Myers.

- This week at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, Hulu announced: Hulu officially confirms a new order for Catch-22 Limited Series Event from George Clooney, Paramount Television and Anonymous Content. ER makes its streaming debut on Hulu today in a new deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. All 331 episodes are now streaming. The Handmaid’s Tale S2 will premiere on April 25th with two new episodes. Hulu picks up March of The Penguins 2: The Next Step to Hulu Documentary slate. Hulu adds a second installment of National Treasure – titled Kiri – to the Hulu Originals slate. All four parts will premiere on April 4th. Fourth and final season of Casual will premiere on July 31st.

- Celebrating his 30-year anniversary in comedy, veteran comedian Eddie Griffin takes to the stage in the hilarious new special Eddie Griffin: Undeniable, premiering on Showtime on Friday, February 9 at 10:00 on-air, on demand and over the internet. Filmed at the Berklee Performing Arts Center in Boston, Massachusetts, Griffin offers his prolific and entertaining point of view on the state of the world, tackling politics, racism, relationships, religion and humanity as a whole. Ultimately reflecting on his long-standing career, he pays tribute to close friends and late comedians Charlie Murphy, Bernie Mac, Dick Gregory and Richard Pryor (among others) with flawless impersonations. With his quick wit and animated delivery, Griffin does not mince words in this comedy event.


- A historic voice in the 1960s civil rights movement, Malcolm X was and continues to be a fascinating yet controversial figure. During his life, he gave voice to the anger and frustration that African Americans experienced during the tumultuous 1950s and 60s in the United States, gaining a reputation for his fiery rhetoric and spellbinding speeches. THE LOST TAPES: MALCOLM X relives the pivotal years of this trailblazing activist using rarely seen footage and audio tapes, including never-before-seen footage of Nation of Islam rallies and recordings made at the Audubon Ballroom on the day of his assassination. The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X premieres Monday, February 26 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- TBS’ CONAN will travel internationally for the eighth time in three years for CONAN Without Borders: Haiti, a primetime special premiering Saturday, January 27 at 10:00 on TBS. After hearing President Trump’s disparaging remarks about Haiti, O’Brien immediately decided to announce his intentions to visit the island nation. On January 14, he tweeted “Still reeling from @realDonaldTrump’s very negative Yelp review of Haiti, which means I’ll love it. Headed to Haiti later this week to explore and make some new friends. Stay tuned for my report.”

- Jillian Jacqueline: “Reasons” on Late Night with Seth Myers:

Around the Tubes: 1/5/2018

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 COVER STORY: The Press Your Luck Scandal, The Coronation, The Alienist, and The Circus.

- Hulu, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation today announced a new deal to create and premiere a brand-new version of the iconic family friendly cartoon franchise Animaniacs. Under the two-season straight-to-series order, Steven Spielberg will return as executive producer of the series, with Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series, and Amblin Television Co-Presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank also serving as executive producers. The series marks the first Hulu Original made for families, and with the legacy of these beloved characters, is intended to provide a co-viewing opportunity and experience for families to enjoy together. New episodes are set to premiere on the premium streaming service in 2020.

- Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the premiere of its new documentary special, COVER STORY: The Press Your Luck Scandal, premiering Sunday, January 14 at 7:00. Additionally, the original scandalous Press Your Luck episodes featured in the special will air following the show at 8 and 8:30 pm ET. The COVER STORY special will explore the story of Michael Larson, an air conditioning repairman from Ohio who cracked the game board algorithm and walked away with over $110,000 in cash and prizes. There was a one-in-six chance that each spin he took would erase his winnings, but Larson managed to evade the dreaded Whammy and accumulate the record breaking amount. Audiences went wild, but game show producers wanted to know how he did it. Had he cheated? Or did he simply outsmart the smartest minds in Hollywood?

- In partnership with the BBC and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Smithsonian Channel shares the compelling story of the Crown Jewels and the ancient ceremony for which they are used in The Coronation. On June 2, 1953, after 16 months of planning, The Queen set out from Buckingham Palace to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, in a ceremony that was watched by millions of people throughout the world. A ceremony dating back more than a thousand years was to herald the dawn of a new Elizabethan age. As part of the film, to mark the 65th anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen's Coronation, The Queen shares memories of the ceremony, as well as that of her father King George VI in 1937. The special airs in the U.S. exclusively on Smithsonian Channel on January 14 at 8:00.

- The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills will take visitors inside the opulent Gilded Age of the new TNT series, The Alienist, through multiple costume creations, photography, illustrations, and more from award-winning costume designer Michael Kaplan, the visionary behind the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Blade Runner, Fight Club and Flashdance.
Visitors will have the exclusive opportunity to preview the series’ costumes and other artifacts before its TNT debut on January 22. An unflinching psychological thriller amidst the underbelly of New York City’s “Gilded Age,” The Alienist follows Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl, Rush), a brilliant and obsessive “Alienist” in the controversial new field of treating mental pathologies, who holds the key to hunting down a never-before-seen ritualistic killer murdering young boys. Based on the award-winning, fan-favorite novel by Caleb Carr, with standout performances from Luke Evans (The Girl on the Train) and Dakota Fanning (American Pastoral), The Alienist is a gripping, turn-of-the-century murder mystery like none other: the story of the emergence of the world’s most powerful city that will stop at nothing to bury its darkest secrets.

- Showtime has ordered a third season of the groundbreaking political documentary series The Circus, returning on April 15 at 8:00 on Showtime, with a run of new episodes to air in the spring and another in the fall. Hosted by John Heilemann (NBC/MSNBC, Game Change,), Mark McKinnon, and Alex Wagner (CBS News and The Atlantic), who joins the show as a permanent host this season, The Circus will continue to provide viewers with the same fast-paced, real-time, backstage perspective and eye-catching production qualities for which the show has been celebrated. In the year ahead, the series will explore the stories behind the headlines and pull back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes drama unfolding in Washington and across the country in the run-up to the most consequential mid-term elections in our lifetimes.

Around the Tubes: 12/22/2017

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 Pitch Perfect 3, The Chi, The Path. The Looming Tower, Our Cartoon President. The Numbers on Great-Grandpa's Arm, Little Steven, The Velvet Underground, Culture Club, POV, Silicon Valley: The Untold Story, and Family Feud.

- Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in Pitch Perfect 3, the next chapter in the beloved series. Featuring a cappella mash-ups and medleys from the upcoming Universal Pictures' film, the soundtrack from UMe/Republic is available on all formats here on December 15. Pitch Perfect 3 hits theaters nationwide on December 22. Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson headline the returning cast of Pitch Perfect 3, the follow-up to summer 2015's blockbuster hit that took the honor of highest-grossing live-action movie-musical opening of all time and a #1 soundtrack debut. The eagerly awaited next chapter is led by series producers Paul Brooks of Gold Circle Entertainment and Max Handelman & Elizabeth Banks of Brownstone Productions. The film is directed by Trish Sie (Step Up All In).

- Showtime is giving viewers an early opportunity to sample the series premiere of the highly anticipated new drama The Chi. The series was created and is executive produced by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Master of None), and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma) and Elwood Reid (The Bridge, Hawaii Five-O) who also serves as showrunner. The Chi explores the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago. Showtime is releasing The Chi ahead of its on-air debut Sunday, January 7 at 10:00. Consumers can watch The Chi series premiere for free now on YouTube, Facebook and SHO.com, as well as across multiple television and streaming providers’ devices, websites, applications and authenticated online services and their free On Demand channels. In addition, the episode is available for free on computers through the SHOWTIME stand-alone service’s website showtime.com.

- Hulu released the season three trailer and key art for The Path. The first two episodes of the 13-episode season will launch on Wednesday, January 17th.


- Check out the behind the scenes featurette and first look photos of Hulu Original Limited Series The Looming Tower. The Looming Tower will premiere Wednesday, February 28 only on Hulu.


- On the heels of the State of the Union address, Showtime will premiere its new animated series Our Cartoon President. Executive produced by multiple Emmy® winner Stephen Colbert and his Late Show executive producer, Chris Licht, this new 10-episode parody will follow the tru-ish misadventures of the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and his merry band of advisors and family members. R.J. Fried will serve as executive producer and showrunner. Tim Luecke will serve as lead animator and co-executive producer. Matt Lappin will serve as consulting producer. The half-hour series will debut Sunday, February 11 at 8:00 on Showtime, before the 9:00 season premiere of Homeland.


- When 10-year-old Elliott asks his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack, about the number tattooed on his arm, he sparks an intimate conversation about Jack’s life that spans happy memories of childhood in Poland, the loss of his family, surviving Auschwitz, and finding a new life in America. Directed and produced by Emmy® winner Amy Schatz, the short film The Numbers on Great-Grandpa's Arm weaves in haunting historical footage and hand-painted animation to tell a heartbreaking story of Jewish life in Eastern Europe before and during the Holocaust. The film, presented with the Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, debuts Saturday, JAN. 27 (6:00-6:20 pm ET/PT), International Holocaust Remembrance Day, exclusively on HBO.

- Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul are celebrating the season with a very special holiday single. “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight),” is out today, Friday, December 15th, at all digital music retailers and streaming services.

- To celebrate the Velvet Underground’s 50th anniversary, Verve Records/UMe is releasing The Velvet Underground, a limited-edition career-spanning box that collects all four of the pioneering band’s studio albums, Velvets collaborator Nico’s debut LP, Chelsea Girl, and a reconstruction of the fabled “lost” 1969 album, making it available on vinyl for the first time. The six albums housed in a special black slipcase will be pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and feature stereo mixes and meticulously reproduced original cover art. The box will also include an exclusive 48-page booklet, featuring vintage photos, lyrics and a new foreword penned by founding member Maureen “Moe” Tucker. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide, the box set, which will be released February 23, is available for pre-order now exclusively at uDiscover.

- Rock Fuel Media is excited to announce the release of Live At Wembley from multi-Platinum and '80s icons CULTURE CLUB. A state-of-the-art DVD, Blu-Ray, and CD package, is out now via Cleopatra Records. The concert will be broadcast on TV in 2018, details of which will be announced soon.


- On February 2, 2018, Zappa Records/UMe will release The Roxy Performances, a definitive seven-CD box set that collects all four public shows from December 9-10, 1973, and the December 8th film shoot/soundcheck, each presented in their entirety for the first time, along with bonus content featuring rarities from a rehearsal, unreleased tracks and highlights from the Bolic Studios recording session. This complete collection, totaling nearly eight hours, documents the Roxy shows as they happened and presents brand new 2016 mixes by Craig Parker Adams from new 96K 24 Bit transfers of the multi-track masters. The set is rounded out with a 48-page booklet that includes photos from the performances, extensive liner notes by Vaultmeister Joe Travers, essays from Zappa family friend, Australian writer Jen Jewel Brown, and American singer/songwriter Dave Alvin, who give their firsthand recollections about the shows, and a selection of archival press reviews. Those who digitally pre-order the box set will receive an instant grat download of “RDNZL.” Culled from the very first show on December 9, the track is a live version of the classic song featuring the never-before-heard 2016 mix that exemplifies the sonics of the new box set. Pre-order The Roxy Performances now.

- Capstoning a year of celebrations for the documentary showcases' 30th anniversary, PBS television series POV is excited to announce its first-ever documentary marathon. Premiering on public television’s WORLD Channel, the binge-worthy marathon will showcase films from POV’s rich and diverse history of character-driven stories over a 24-hour period. Kicking off on New Year's Eve, the marathon will also run 30 films for 30 days on the POV streaming service at pov.org, pbs.org, and the PBS Anywhere app. POV is the longest running independent documentary series on American television. The marathon will also include the television premiere of the film 500 Years by Emmy-nominated and veteran POV filmmaker Pamela Yates, which will broadcast twice on January 1, 2018 at 8/7 p.m. Eastern Time and at 9 p.m. Pacific Time on the WORLD Channel. The film will also begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 1. 500 Years had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

- Just south of San Francisco lies a region that has spawned not just new products but whole new industries, from vacuum tubes to radio, microchips to personal computers, mobile devices, apps and social media. Home to Apple and Facebook, Intel and Google, there is simply no other place on earth that can rival its remarkable record of innovation. A new Science Channel three-part documentary series will provide a comprehensive look at the century-and-a-half history of this fascinating place, and reveal how and why it became such a fertile ground for technological breakthroughs. Silicon Valley: The Untold Story premieres Sunday, January 28 at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. It is produced with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA is serving as the community and education outreach partner on the series.

- Deck the halls with a boughs of jolly with Game Show Network's Fa La La La Feud Marathon! Beginning Saturday December 23rd, gather your friends and loved ones to watch Steve Harvey and the Feud families face off in 4 binge-worthy marathons through New Year's Day. Survey says your family will be filled with holiday cheer!

Saturday, December 23rd:
2:00pm – 7:00pm ET
Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th:
2:00pm – 1:00am ET
Christmas Day, Monday, December 25th &
Boxing Day, Tuesday, December 26th:
2:00pm – 11:00pm ET
New Year's Day, Monday, January 1st:
2:00pm – 10:00pm ET

Around the Tubes: 12/15/2017

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 Homeland, The Detour, Wu-Tang Clan, Kelsea Ballerini, Herbie Hancock, Full Frontal, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Noticias Telemundo, Kidding, and The Politics of Hate.

- Showtime has announced that the seventh season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning hit drama Homeland will kick off on Sunday, February 11 at 9:00. Starring Emmy, Screen Actors Guild® and Golden Globe winner Claire Danes and Emmy and Tony® winner Mandy Patinkin, the cast of series regulars also includes returning actors Elizabeth Marvel, Linus Roache, Maury Sterling and Jake Weber, and joining the cast this season is acclaimed actor Morgan Spector (Boardwalk Empire). The network’s top-rated drama series, Homeland is currently filming in Richmond, Virginia.


- Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour is an all-too-honest look at the family dynamic. Jones stars in the acclaimed comedy with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda and Laura Benanti. Season 3 finds the Parkers on the lam in Alaska. After months of running, the family finally finds a community of misfits and decides to settle down and start rebuilding their lives. But they’re not out of the woods, as the law isn’t far behind. While Nate and Robin learn to take on new roles in the family, Delilah starts to become a young woman. And Jareb...well he’s still Jareb. Well-intentioned, bad parenting is at its best in the Land of the Midnight Sun. The third season of The Detour premieres on Tuesday, January 23rd at 10:30.


- Revolutionary hip-hop outfit Wu-Tang Clan has joined forces with PledgeMusic to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their acclaimed second release, Wu-Tang Forever. The group is commemorating the album's debut by offering fans exclusive packages, unreleased content, and limited-edition memorabilia. Fans can pre-order Wu-Tang Forever 20th anniversary packages on the group's PledgeMusic campaign page. The leaders in direct-to-fan platforms, PledgeMusic allows artists to get more personal with their fans, offering pledgers never-before-heard content and items not available anywhere else.

- Tune in Friday, December 15 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special “Kelsea Ballerini” on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT the one-hour concert was shot live on location at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN in front of an adoring, sold-out crowd on the final U.S. date of her run on Lady Antebellum’s tour.

- When Herbie Hancock’s genre-defying River: The Joni Letters, won the 2007 Grammy® Award for “Album of the Year,” beating out Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Foo Fighters and Vince Gill, it was a victory for musical exploration, inspired musicianship and the kind of creative spirit that the legendary jazz musician has carried throughout his incredible and influential five-decade career. A true milestone, the album was only the second jazz recording to win the top honors in the award’s history, with the first being Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and João Gilberto in 1965, 43 years prior. The musical tribute to the iconic Joni Mitchell, which also won “Best Contemporary Jazz Album,” soared up the charts where it peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200. In celebration of the album’s first decade anniversary, River: The Joni Letters, will be released as a 2CD/digital expanded edition with four bonus tracks on December 15 via Verve Records/UMe with the digital release to follow on December 29. Last month, the album was released on vinyl for the first time in the U.S. Pre-order River: The Joni Letters here.

- No Moore! | Full Frontal on TBS. Alabamians dealt a blow to Republicans by narrowly deciding child molester was a bridge too far.


- TBS will premiere the first five seasons of the Golden Globe-winning and critically acclaimed police comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, from Universal Television, beginning with the series pilot on Thursday, January 4, 2018 at 7pm ET/PT. The show will air consecutive episodes every Thursday from 7-11pm ET/PT on TBS. Episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine will also be available on the TBS app.

- Noticias Telemundo announced special news coverage on the conditions in Puerto Rico three months after Hurricane Maria, airing Wednesday, December 20 on “Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste” at 4 p.m./3 C and “Noticias Telemundo” newscast at 6:30 p.m./5:30 C. This special coverage will be led by “Al Rojo Vivo” host María Celeste Arrarás and Noticias Telemundo anchor José Díaz-Balart on-site in Puerto Rico, and will also be available via NoticiasTelemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s mobile app and Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp properties. “Noticias Telemundo will travel to Puerto Rico to provide a first-hand look at the state of recovery 90 days after the passage of Maria,” said Luis Fernández, Executive Vice President of Noticias Telemundo. “We’ll offer comprehensive coverage, including interviews with Puerto Rican officials, residents and celebrities, plus investigative segments and special reports.”

- This holiday season, celebrate with MythBusters as Science Channel airs every episode ever of the iconic series in chronological order. This year’s marathon is bigger than ever, starting with the very first myth – “Jet Assisted Chevy,” which premiered in 2003 – and ending with the latest myths from the new episodes MythBusters. The MythBusters Mega Merry-Thon begins Thursday, December 22 at 12am ET/PT to Wednesday, January 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by an all-new episode of MythBusters at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

- Showtime has announced that Oscar, Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominee Catherine Keener (Get Out) has been cast as a series regular in the upcoming Showtime half-hour comedy Kidding. The series stars Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey in his first series regular role in more than two decades and reunites him with Oscar winner Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), who will direct the project.

- Fresh from his recent success with the controversial 99%, Michael Perlman brings you The Politics of Hate which will be available on iTunes in December and on Amazon in January. The Politics of Hate, which partially benefits the Southern Poverty Law Center, offers the most up-to-date investigation on the rise and interconnection of the far-right across Europe and America and points to the support of Russia while examining Trump’s connection. The film features Christian Picciolini, a former leader of the American Nazi and White Supremacist Movement and the author of Romantic Violence. He candidly explores how he and hundreds of thousands of others are recruited and how he now works through his NGO Life After Hate, to pull people out of hate groups. The film also features Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center who is one of the world’s most notable experts on extremism. The film is complete with archival footage of the struggle with extremism in the U.S. from the 1920's straight through to Charlottesville.

- A2IM's CEO Richard James Burgess Speaks Out On FCC Net Neutrality Vote: "A2IM (American Association of Independent Music) is extremely disappointed in the FCC's decision today to repeal net neutrality rules. This decision will disadvantage all the small and medium-sized enterprises, including the ones that make up our membership, and will negatively affect innovation. This is a fundamentally anti-democratic action that will have unintended consequences for the American economy for decades to come." - Richard James Burgess, CEO A2IM

Around the Tubes: 12/8/2017

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 Tarantula, The Best of the Dean Marin Celebrity Roasts: Volumns 1-3!, POV, The Trade, Darius Rucker, Cash Cowboys, White Famous, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.


- In a network first, TBS is debuting a full-season binge of the highly anticipated new series Tarantula via the TBS app and TBS.com beginning, Monday, December 4th. The animated half-hour comedy is written and executive produced by Carson Mell (Silicon Valley) alongside executive producers Danny McBride (Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down), Jody Hill (Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down), Brandon James and David Gordon Green for Rough House Pictures, Claudia Katz and Gregg Vanzo for Rough Draft Animation.

- This fall, Dino goes digital with The Best of the Dean Marin Celebrity Roasts: Volumns 1-3! Never before released on any digital platform, the Roastmaster General will be available exclusively on iTunes beginning December 11, with three "Best of" compilation releases priced at $14.99; individual episodes will be available for $1.99 each. The classic TV archivists at Time Life will release additional digital content throughout 2018 and beyond.

- Capstoning a year of celebrations for the documentary showcases' 30th anniversary, PBS television series POV is excited to announce its first-ever documentary marathon. Premiering on public television’s WORLD Channel, the binge-worthy marathon will showcase films from POV’s rich and diverse history of character-driven stories over a 24-hour period. Kicking off on New Year's Eve, the marathon will also run 30 films for 30 days on the POV streaming service at pov.org, pbs.org, and the PBS Anywhere app. POV is the longest running independent documentary series on American television. The marathon will also include the television premiere of the film 500 Years by Emmy-nominated and veteran POV filmmaker Pamela Yates, which will broadcast twice on January 1, 2018 at 8/7 p.m. Eastern Time and at 9 p.m. Pacific Time on the WORLD Channel. The film will also begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 1. 500 Years had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The marathon will begin broadcasting on the WORLD Channel at 10 p.m. on Saturday, December 31, kicking off with the three-time Emmy-nominated American Promise, which received a top prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. The television marathon will continue until 10 p.m. on January 1, 2018.

- From Columbus, Ohio to Guerrero, Mexico and countless cities in between, the opioid epidemic has ravaged communities on both sides of the border. But what about the lives behind the headlines and statistics? The timely, provocative new five-episode SHOWTIME docu-series The Trade spotlights the crisis through the eyes of those most affected: the growers, addicts, cartel bosses and law enforcement hopelessly caught in its web. Directed and executive produced by Oscar nominee and Emmy® winner Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) and executive produced by Oscar and Emmy nominee Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), The Trade will world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and debut on Friday, February 2 at 9:00 on Showtime.


- Tune in Friday, December 8 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special “Darius Rucker” on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. Airing at 9:00 the one-hour concert was shot live from the iconic stage of the Apollo Theater in New York City. Darius performs hits spanning his country career---from his first country No. 1 single “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” to his most recent chart topper “If I Told You” off his just released fifth album When Was the Last Time (Capitol Records Nashville)--to crowd favorites from his career as lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish. During the concert, Darius brings Robert Randolph on stage for a duet on their “Love What You Do.” The pedal steel rock star stayed on stage transitioning into an Apollo-only-worth collaboration on “Hold My Hand.” As he celebrates this latest milestone and bucket list moment in his groundbreaking, multi-genre music career, Darius joins series host Ted Stryker for an intimate interview on the stage of the legendary Apollo Theater just before the sold-out show.

- Cash Cowboys, currently airing on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. ET/PT on POP TV, features Colorado-based family, the Huwas, who are 21st Century Colorado cowboys, as they reclaim areas destroyed by naturally occurring disasters – from hurricanes to floods, tornadoes, fires, and more. A family that has had generations of working on the farm, the Huwas apply their knowledge, skill, values and disciplined work ethic to restore the damaged earth. The heart of the series is all about cowboy culture, and the spirit of the West – just as likely to be riding a five-ton bulldozer as a one-ton rodeo bull, a 200-horsepower excavator as a horse on the range. The show is about big equipment, tough terrain, bucking bulls, mother nature, and extreme deadlines that keep them on their toes. The stakes are high, and there is no room for error.

- Academy Award® winner and executive producer Jamie Foxx, who played an over-the-top, satirized version of himself in the pilot episode of White Famous, will reprise his role for the series’ season one finale airing this Sunday, December 10 at 10:30 on SHOWTIME. The episode finds Floyd Mooney (Jay Pharoah) coming full circle as his life is once again turned upside down due to a viral internet video. As the career opportunities start pouring in, Foxx comes calling to offer Floyd a chance of a lifetime.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today that it has licensed seasons 14 and 15 of iconic game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with the show to air Monday through Friday at 3:00pm and 3:30pm ET beginning Monday, December 18. In addition, on Sunday, December 24, fans can catch a stacked marathon airing from 9:00am to 2:00pm ET.

- The King of Morocco Mohammed VI, as Chairman of the Committee Al Qods, sent a message to the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, expressing his "deep concern as well as the inquietude of the people of the Arab and Muslim States" following the information about the decision of President Trump to "recognize Al-Qods as capital of Israel and to move there the Embassy of the United States ".

Around the Tubes: 11/25/2017

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 Alienist, Wild ‘N Out, Maggie Lindemann, Lady Antebellum, The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst, Panama's Animal Highway, and Meth Storm.

- The Alienist opens when a series of haunting murders of boy prostitutes grips New York City. Newly appointed police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty) calls upon criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and newspaper illustrator John Moore (Luke Evans) to conduct the investigation in secret. They are joined by Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), a headstrong secretary determined to become the city's first female police detective. Using the emerging disciplines of psychology and forensics, this band of social outsiders set out to apprehend one of New York City's first serial killers. The limited series also stars Douglas Smith, Matthew Shear, Matt Lintz, Robert Ray Wisdom and Q'orianka Kilcher. The Alienist premieres across TNT’s television, mobile and digital platforms on Monday, January 22nd, at 9:00.


- For the 10TH SEASON of Wild ‘N Out Nick Cannon and his world class crew of comedians and freestylers will be taking their hit show to Brooklyn! Over the years Wild ‘N Out has curated one of the most impressive arsenals of comedians and entertainers in the game. Mike Epps, Kevin Hart, Kat Williams, Mikey Day, Pete Davidson, DeRay Davis and more all started as Wild ‘N Out cast members. Each episode puts two teams, comprised mostly of seasoned vets, against each other in some of the most hilarious, entertaining and sometimes outlandish games seen on TV. Nick Cannon will lead his team against a celebrity-led squad and the two teams will try to best each other in ridiculous comic throw downs. These throw downs escalate with each act, all gearing up toward the main event: the “Wildstyle battle” to decide who takes home the coveted WNO battle belt. The show premieres on Thursday, November 30th with two back-to-back episodes beginning at 11:00 on MTV.

- Multi-platinum recording artist, Maggie Lindemann continues to prove that she is one of music’s newest pop heroines. The 19 year old artist lands today with her new single “Obsessed” (via 300 Entertainment)— a glittering pop gem infused with tropical synths and saccharine melodies.

- On Friday, November 24, AT&T* AUDIENCE Network will present the broadcast premiere of a special concert and documentary event with seven-time GRAMMY award-winning trio Lady Antebellum via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and streaming on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. The two-hour show, titled Lady Antebellum: YOU LOOK GOOD WORLD TOUR starts live at 8:00 and gives viewers full access to personal interviews and a never-before-seen televised concert packed with their biggest chart-topping hits and new favorites. The show was recorded live at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena--on the last official North American stop of the tour, which spanned over 60 shows this year and coincided with the release of their sixth studio album HEART BREAK.

- For nineteen months, American families were glued to their TV screens watching the saga of the kidnapped Patricia “Patty” Campbell Hearst as she turned from an American heiress to the automatic machine gun toting urban guerilla fugitive named Tania. Hear the inside story straight from Patty herself in The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst, which features footage of her first interview following her release, first-hand audio tapes of the kidnappers and rediscovered news footage to reexamine the story that held a nation in thrall. The Lost Tapes: Patty Hearst airs this Sunday, November 26 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Smithsonian Channel’s Wild Wednesday lineup takes viewers on a journey of extremes, from the rugged beauty of South Dakota’s Badlands to the tropical jungles of Panama, to meet some of the amazing animals that call these locations home. While an extraordinary assortment of creatures migrate thousands of miles to escape to warmer weather, others must stick it out through the brutal winter. All of these animals have one thing in common: the struggle to survive. Get a closer look at the challenges these animals face on Smithsonian Channel with the premiere of Panama's Animal Highway on Wednesday, December 13 at 8:00 and America's Badlands on Wednesday, December 20 at 8:00.

- Today, 90% of the methamphetamine consumed in America comes over the border from Mexico in the form of a superdrug called ICE. As drug enforcement agents battle sophisticated cartels, poor, rural users, dealers and families are caught in the middle. Featuring extensive access to law enforcement, Meth Storm tells the story of rural, economically-disadvantaged users and dealers whose addiction to ICE and lack of job opportunities have landed them in an endless cycle of poverty and incarceration, and follows police and DEA agents struggling to stop the cartels. Debuting this MONDAY, NOV. 27 (10:00–11:40 p.m. ET/PT), this timely presentation is both a cautionary tale and a high-stakes drama told from inside the war on drugs. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

Around the Tubes: 11/17/2017

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 Chi, Rachel Platten, Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings, Tears For Fears, Survival in the Skies: Space Suits, Ella Fitzgerald, Sigrid, Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul, Meth Storm, Megnify, Teyana & Iman, and GSN marathons.

- Showtime has released the full trailer and the official poster art for the highly-anticipated drama series The Chi, created and executive produced by Emmy® winner Lena Waithe (Master of None), and executive produced by Academy Award®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner Common (Selma) and Elwood Reid (The Bridge, Hawaii Five-O) who also serves as showrunner. The series, which explores the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago, premieres on Sunday, January 7 at 10:00.


- Tune in Friday, November 10 to watch the broadcast premiere of the concert special "Rachel Platten" on AT&T* AUDIENCE Network via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and on-demand through DIRECTV NOW.Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT theone-hourconcert features the multi-platinum, EMMY award-winning pop star Rachel Platten. Shot on location in Los Angeles in ultra high-definition 4K, Rachel performs all the hits and joins series host Ted Stryker for an intimate look at her career.

- Oso Studios and Facebook today announced the premiere of Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings, an original unscripted series on minor league baseball hosted by the comedy icons. The ten-episode digital series debuts on Facebook Watch on Monday, November 20 with new episodes available weekly on Mondays. People can add the show to their watchlist by following the Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray’s Extra Innings Show Page.

- Following a sold-out summer arena tour highlighted by their triumphant UK return in front of 65,000-plus fans as s pecial guests of The Killers during British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park, Tears For Fears - Roland Orzabal [vocals, guitar, keyboards] and Curt Smith [vocals, bass, keyboards] - close out 2017 with the release of their first career-spanning Greatest Hits album, Rule The World. The collection arrives everywhere November 10, 2017 on UMe. It's available for pre-order at the band's official site now.

- Every day, pilots and astronauts face life-or-death situations when they risk their lives to test the capabilities of physics and science. With limited time, harsh conditions and the pressure of survival, they must do everything they can to make it back on the ground safely. Survival in the Skies tells the stories behind incredible pieces of space and aviation technology, from the invention of the parachute to the development of space suits. The series features stories of the people who created these amazing breakthroughs and the men and women who relied on them when their survival hung in the balance. The premiere episode, Survival in the Skies: Space Suits, airs Tuesday, November 28 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Verve Records and UMe will close out their year-long celebration of jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald’s centennial with the ultimate present for her 100th birthday – a completely unreleased live album. More than 60 years after it was recorded, Ella At Zardi’s will finally be released on CD and digital on December 1. WBGO, the global leader in jazz radio, premiered the album’s opening track, “It All Depends on You,” both on the air and at WBGO.org, with an accompanying article. The song, popularized by Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, was never released on any of Fitzgerald’s albums, making this a truly rare performance. Listen at WBGO.

- In the past nine months, Sigrid has gone from unknown to one of the most exceptional breakout artists of 2017. Sigrid’s rise has been unrivaled; from releasing her acclaimed debut Don’t Kill My Vibe EP, which has amassed over 100M global streams – to playing multiple festivals worldwide and being chosen as Apple’s Up Next Artist, all in less than a year. Now Sigrid releases the mighty ‘Strangers’, produced by Martin Sjolie, the dream pairing behind ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’. With lyrics of steel, meandering melodies and stark honesty, ‘Strangers’ embodies the natural, sincere talent Sigrid has become renowned for. Watch the lyric video to the track HERE.

- A concert special from Grammy® Award-winning superstars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul will premiere on Friday, November 17 at 9:00 on Showtime, on-air, on demand and over the internet. The special was shot over the summer in the U.S. on this year’s Soul2Soul The World Tour. Tim & Faith: Soul2Soul is directed and executive produced by the award-winning Magical Elves production team of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz (Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Katy Perry: Part of Me). The tour documentary includes live performances from their Soul2Soul tour, as well as unprecedented access to Tim and Faith, with never-before-seen interviews and behind-the-scenes footage capturing their unmatched chemistry on and off the stage.

- Today, 90% of the methamphetamine consumed in America comes over the border from Mexico in the form of a superdrug called ICE. As drug enforcement agents battle sophisticated cartels, poor, rural users, dealers and families are caught in the middle. Featuring extensive access to law enforcement, Meth Storm tells the story of rural, economically-disadvantaged users and dealers whose addiction to ICE and lack of job opportunities have landed them in an endless cycle of poverty and incarceration, and follows police and DEA agents struggling to stop the cartels. Debuting Monday, NOV. 27 at 10:00, this timely presentation is both a cautionary tale and a high-stakes drama told from inside the war on drugs. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

- FOX Sports Films is excited to present Megnify, a new feature-length documentary series, leveraging sports as a lens for examining important cultural stories. The films’ deep explorations of athletes’ on and off-the-field journeys connect to the challenges, change and unity that sports can bring to communities. “This commitment to deeper storytelling – pointing the cameras where they’re needed most -- diversifies our voice and gets audiences thinking about sports in a broader context beyond wins and losses,” says Charlie Dixon, EVP, Content at FOX Sports. “The aim is to create dialogue and hopefully affect change in the communities where these stories are told.” The first documentary in the series is “89 Blocks” (82 minutes) airing Sunday, November 26 on FOX. The film, executive produced by Time Inc.’s SPORTS ILLUSTRATED with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s UNINTERRUPTED, brings an authentic perspective to the story of the East St. Louis High School Flyers football team -- the pride and joy of a complex, at-risk Illinois community. This look at their exceptional challenges and heartwarming triumph during the 2016 season is directed by Emmy winner Josh Oshinsky.

- VH1 today announced the new series Teyana & Iman will premiere Monday, February 19 at 10PM ET/PT. The eight, 30-minute episodes will provide an intimate look into newlyweds Teyana Taylor, a trend-setting singer, dancer, model and actress, and Iman Shumpert, a professional athlete, musician, dedicated father and loving husband.

- Celebrate Thanksgiving with a GSN marathon! Gather the family ‘round to watch game show favorites The $25,000 Pyramid, The Chase, and Family Feud while you're waiting for (or digesting) that delicious turkey.
Thanksgiving Day Marathons, Thursday November 23rd:
8:00am - 12:00pm – The $25,000 Pyramid
12:00pm - 7:00pm – The Chase
7:00pm - 11:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
And the fun doesn't stop once the pumpkin pie has run out - come back on Friday, Nov. 24th and Saturday, Nov. 25th for more mini-marathons including Match Game, Cash Cab, and more Steve Harvey.
Friday November 24th Marathon:
8:00am - 12:00pm – Match Game
12:00pm -11:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
Saturday November 25th Marathon:
11:00am - 4:00pm – Cash Cab
4:00pm - 8:00pm – Family Feud (Harvey)
8:00pm - 11:00pm – The Chase

Around the Tubes: 11/10/2017

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 Shut Eye, POV, Superstition, The Detour, The Mindy Project, The Alienist, Shameless. Foo Fighters, Chuck Berry, N.E.R.D., Billy Idol, Diana Ross, Aly and AJ, Nickelback.

- Check out the official trailer for the second season of the Hulu original drama series Shut Eye. All 10 episodes of Season 2 premiere Wednesday, Dec. 6 only on Hulu.


- Iraq veterans Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, haunted by combat experiences, decided to distance themselves from their demons by taking a 2,700 mile walk from Milwaukee to Santa Barbara, seeking redemption, acceptance and a way to close the deep moral chasm opened by war. That trek is the centerpiece of Almost Sunrise, a new film by director Michael Collins and Producer Marty Syjuco, whose Emmy-nominated "Give Up Tomorrow" aired on PBS in 2012. Almost Sunrise debuts on POV and all streaming devices Monday, November 13, 2017 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).

- Superstition centers around the Hastings family, owners of the only funeral home in the mysterious town of La Rochelle, Georgia. The family also acts as the keepers of the town’s dark secrets and history. Known for its haunted houses, elevated graveyards, odd townsfolk, and rich history of unusual phenomena, the town is also a “landing patch” for the world’s darkest manifestations of fear, guided into the world by an ancient, mysterious malefactor. XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon and MVPTV’s Mario Van Peebles (“Roots,” “Bloodline,” “Hand of God,” “Empire,” “Lost”) will produce, and Van Peebles will also write, direct and star in some of the episodes. Joel Anderson Thompson (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Boomtown,” “House M.D.”) has been tapped as showrunner and Laurence Andries (“Alias,” “Six Feet Under,” “Supernatural,” “The Pacific”) will executive produce. Episode 104 - "Through the Looking Glass" - Airs Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on SYFY.

- Created, written and executive-produced by Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, The Detour is an all-too-honest look at the family dynamic. Jones stars in the acclaimed comedy with Natalie Zea, Ashley Gerasimovich, Liam Carroll, Daniella Pineda and Laura Benanti. Season 3 finds the Parkers on the lam in Alaska. After months of running, the family finally finds a community of misfits and decides to settle down and start rebuilding their lives. But they’re not out of the woods, as the law isn’t far behind. While Nate and Robin learn to take on new roles in the family, Delilah starts to become a young woman. And Jareb...well he’s still Jareb. Well intentioned, bad parenting at its best in the Land of the Midnight Sun.


- In the series finale of The Mindy Project, Streaming 11/14, Mindy’s fertility practice is in danger and Annette’s (Rhea Perlman) upcoming surgery looms large. While Mindy and Danny (Chris Messina) wait for word on the surgery, Mindy attends Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) and Tamra’s (Xosha Roquemore) dream wedding, where she and the rest of the Shulman gang try to find their own happy endings.

- Twenty-three years after its original release, Random House is republishing the Anthony Award-winning international bestseller, The Alienist, by Caleb Carr, available in bookstores nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The novel sold millions of copies after spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list. Turner's TNT will tap into the critically-acclaimed novel with the eagerly anticipated premiere of its original series, The Alienist, which is slated to premiere on Monday, Jan. 22 at 9:00 across TNT platforms.

- On the heels of Sunday’s eighth season premiere, which delivered 50 percent year-over-year growth, Showtime has given a ninth season order to Shameless. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

- Multi-Grammy-winning rock band Foo Fighters delivers an electrifying, historic performance at the famed Odeon of Herodes Atticus from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, in the latest installment of Landmarks Live in Concert for THIRTEEN’s Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special. Captured this past July, Foo Fighters – LANDMARKS Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special premieres nationwide Friday, November 10 at 10:00 on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day via pbs.org/gperf and PBS OTT apps.

- Geffen/UMe will pay tribute to the immortal spirit of Chuck Berry, who would have turned 91 last month, with the ultimate vinyl version of his landmark greatest hits compilation, The Great Twenty-Eight, as it celebrates its 35th anniversary, with The Great Twenty-Eight: Super Deluxe Edition. On December 15, the album will be released as a limited edition five-disc box set on ‘Chess Blue’ vinyl, limited to only 500 copies worldwide and available exclusively via UDiscoverMusic.com. A wide release standard black vinyl edition will be available next year on January 26, 2018.

- The beats of “Lemon,” the surprising new single from Pharrell Williams’ N.E.R.D. band, are now freely available for all music-makers to play and adapt in ROLI’s NOISE app. Breaking the mold of the traditional soundpack, “Lemon by N.E.R.D” is a “Studiopack” that deconstructs the song into easy-to-use sonic elements that anyone can build back up and take in their own creative direction. Simply touching the screen of a smartphone or tablet brings the song’s sounds to life. Explore the pack today in NOISE, the free music creation app from ROLI.

- There are many who would agree that classic jazz from the 1950s and '60s sounds best when played on the medium it was originally intended for - namely, the vinyl LP. With that in mind, UMe is proud to present three vinyl box sets via Verve Records focusing on key albums from three of jazz's biggest and most influential stars from its golden era: singers Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, together with tenor saxophone sensation, Stan Getz. Available December 8, each box set contains five of the artists' most popular and enduring albums mastered on 180-gram vinyl, and presented in authentic period sleeves that reproduce the original artwork. For those who prefer CD, the collections will be available on December 15.

- UMe and punk rock icon Billy Idol celebrate several of his best-loved works with newly remastered vinyl reissues of Idol’s first two solo LPs, Billy Idol and Rebel Yell, plus the expansive double-LP greatest-hits collection Idolize Yourself: The Very Best of Billy Idol. Each release is available beginning November 3rd on high-quality vinyl with faithfully reproduced iconic original album art.

- Diana Ross’ NEW album release, Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection, is a memorable music journey that celebrates her iconic legacy. The 15-song collection contains some of her biggest hit recordings of her career and will be released digitally on November 17 through Motown/UMe. Diamond Diana: The Legacy Collection also includes as a special gift to her fans an exciting new dance club remix of her #1 hit “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

- Today, the duo arrive with Aly and AJ's staggering next installment, I Know, a glittering ode to friendship. From the opening moments, we're greeted with effortless vocals layered over saccharine synths that build to a climactic finish, complete with booming 80's-inspired 808 drums. "I Know" is the second song from their forthcoming EP, "Ten Years," due for release November 17, 2017, their first musical release in a decade. Their new direction is startlingly honest and a bold statement sonically. With their signature sound at the core of each track, the duo have experimented with wistful synths and breathy vocals that are teaming with a restless energy that is impossible to ignore.

- After a nearly seven-year absence from Las Vegas, multi-platinum, chart-topping rock band, Nickelback, is returning to Sin City for an impressive five-night run at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Monster Truck will open all five shows. The limited run is made even more special with the announcement that these shows will be the only North American dates scheduled in 2018. Nickelback released their highly anticipated ninth studio album Feed The Machine, which debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard charts and recently completed a packed 45-city tour this past summer. Following their Vegas run, Nickelback will embark on the International leg of the Feed The Machine Tour throughout the remainder of 2018 (dates to be announced soon). The Las Vegas shows are scheduled for February 23, 24, 27 and March 2 and 3, 2018. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, November 10 at 10 a.m. PT.