57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 21, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: They really need to get Lauren Graham some better music to sing instead of getting stuck with crappy last decade pop trash. And while I am making requests, can someone please give the weird barista her own show?
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Homeland: Wow, that new girl is really bad at her job. First she mess up that fake interview, then she lost Carrie’s tail, and later in the same episode she watches Carrie board a plane and just leaves when she is out of sight. Really, you just saw how sneaky Carrie was maybe five hours ago. At least watch the plane take off. But Carrie working with the Russian dude cannot be good.

Supergirl: Um, clearly the show is not safe if Supergirl leaves because Dreamer is just unwatchable. And did the dude really admit that he did this because he wanted to fork Dreamer and got mad when he found out (s)he used to be a dude? So stupid.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: So that did not make much sense. So Negan was working with Carol this whole time? But why abandon the gay dude? Why kidnap Alpha’s kid? Was the kid in that shack? So is Beta the main antagonist now? Negan? Carol?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: You know when gangbanger is starting to kill people in front of you, maybe this is the time to actually go to the police. Did the dead gay FBI guy not have any files on the guy? Is law enforcement this incompitant?
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

The Plot Against America: Well that was kind of boring. Hopefully it will get more interesting when the campaign goes into high gear.

Project Blue Book: Interesting twist of the bomb not being live. But weird to have an episode the featured Russian spies and it did not involve the woman they just found out was a spy. But we did get another twist in JFK himself bringing in his own case, this time a weird one, a UFO coming out of the water.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: Some really dumb moves on the Sele Tribe. First Michelle tells Wendell her plan to get Parviti’s Fire Tokens which made her look shady. Then Wendell gave such a bad Tribal performance I thought he would be going home. Just straight up admitting your vote could be bought seemed like a bad idea. When he was battering with Parviti, I was waiting for Nick and Ben would turn on him. Maybe Wendell told them that he would try to get Parvati’s Fire token and still voter her out like… well, I will get to that, but that also made Wendell look shady.

But Denise showed how to manipulate someone with Fire Tokens. Well at least do it better. I am not sure taking out the Queen, the biggest move this season, right before the merge was the smartest play because it now puts a huge target on your back. Making things worse is she unnecessary wasted an Idol on Jeremy. I think I would rather have the Idol in my back pocket than Jeremy still in the game. Plus the other tribe did not even split the vote so the point was mute.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: So the fuzzy video of Marilyn Monroe is vague enough but crystal clear Jesus speaking is bad because it may be off? That scene was pretty confusing.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Oh yeah, so Red thinks he killed Lizzy’s mom who may or may not actually be her mom and Aram is forking someone’s wife. At least we had a filler episode to get us back up to speed. I just wish Aram would break up with the wife for good or finally reveal she is evil or something because that storyline was stale before the break.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: March 21, 2020

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 One Day at a Time, Vice, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Weeknd, POV, Into the Dark, SHIVER TV, and Freakonomics Radio.

- Pop TV’s Emmy®-winning comedy One Day at a Time will be supersized in a simulcast event with ViacomCBS sibling networks TV Land and Logo on Tuesday, March 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The highly-anticipated new season can be previewed in a new trailer released today. One Day at a Time airs following all-new episodes of the final season of Schitt's Creek, and will move to its permanent time slot April 14th – Tuesdays, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.


- Showtime has released the trailer for the Emmy®-winning documentary series Vice ahead of its premiere on Sunday, March 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The 13-episode season will deliver immersive reporting from the frontlines of global conflicts, civil uprisings and beyond, tackling complex geopolitical stories from all corners of the globe. Kicking off the season premiere, VICE's team gained unique access at Camp al-Hol in Northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands of women and children who once lived under ISIS are currently being held. Correspondent Hind Hassan investigates how a power vacuum has left brigades of radicalized ISIS women revolting against Kurdish security personnel, fighting for a resurgence of the terror group in the region. The debut episode will also give an inside look at the hidden arena of cell phone hacking, as correspondent Krishna Andavolu investigates how young video-gamers-turned-criminals are devastating their victims’ lives, stealing millions of dollars through an underground practice known as SIM swapping.


- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 6 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- The Weeknd has shared his highly anticipated new album, After Hours, out today everywhere via XO Records / Republic Records. The first two songs from the album, "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights", have already taken the world by storm, earning Platinum status and bringing The Weeknd into the Top 10 artists of all time for RIAA singles. In addition to acclaimed live TV performances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! - he made his fourth appearance on Saturday Night Live performing "Blinding Lights" and debuted new song "Scared To Live", along with the hilarious comedy skit "On the Couch". "Heartless" became The Weeknd's 4th #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, while "Blinding Lights" became his 7th #1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart, the most for any artist ever. Internationally "Blinding Lights" has been the #1 airplay song and #1 official single in multiple countries for several consecutive weeks, as well as Spotify's #1 Global Song for 30 days and counting. On Wednesday, After Hours broke Apple Music's all-time pre-add record with nearly 1,000,000 album pre-adds before release, surpassing the previous record held by Billie Eilish in 2019.

- You have never met her—or anyone quite like her—but she could be your next door neighbor, your best friend, or your new favorite artist. Hailing from a small town in Minnesota, her family eschewed social media and television, so she learned how to write poetry, play piano, and compose songs. Now, she says, “hello i am” on her debut single today. Get it HERE via LAVA/Republic Records.

- In a hidden safehouse in the Ghanaian forest, social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake on Earth. But their story takes an unexpected turn when their rescuer embarks on another rescue mission and asks the children for help. Directed by Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, The Rescue List has its national broadcast debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pov.org on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The film is a co-production of Collective Hunch and American Documentary | POV. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series now in its 32nd season.

- Looking for thrilling jump scares, feel-good moments, and everything in between? Into the Dark has got you covered! From Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, celebrate 18 holidays with an edge-of-your-seat weekend binge! About 27 hours of episodes are now available to binge-watch at home for a terrifying marathon of suspense! You can also catch the series' latest installment, Crawlers, just in time for a belated St. Patrick's Day celebration.

- TERROR TV, the only streaming channel of the genre that focuses on independent fright films first, announces a new station: SHIVER TV. This sister-channel of TERROR TV possesses a stunning catalog of indie fright films – FREE! SHIVER TV is available via ROKU for Free. The flagship channel, TERROR TV, also features a podcast, a blog featuring reviews of the movies on the station, and at least one new film each week.

- In today's episode of Freakonomics Radio, several leading economists explain the guidance their research offers for the COVID-19 crisis, and what some of the less-explored implications of this situation could be. For instance:
· What do the data indicate might come of the sudden increase in working from home, in terms of worker productivity and the future of remote work?
· Will schools being closed lead to innovations in teaching, and could this finally be the tipping point for online learning?
· Is there a small environmental silver lining in the black pandemic cloud?
Listen to the new episode at https://freakonomics.com/podcast/covid-19-effects/

Previewing Little Fires Everywhere

One thing that struck me while watching Little Fires Everywhere is the first shot of the series is that of one pretty forking big fire. Okay so it explained by the Fire Marshall that the big fire was started with little fires everywhere and accelerant. But of course being a television show, little fires everywhere is quite obvious a metaphor for probably a few different things. And is not just that someone burned down this house, they did it with someone inside. Then we promptly flash back four months where we are introduced to two very different families.

Reece Witherspoon spent a quarter century being a huge movie star but all of the sudden she has become the new queen of prestige television with what you can essentially call the Reece Witherspoon Book Club. Three years ago she turned Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies into an HBO smash hit. Last year she launch Apple+ with The Morning Show based Brian Stelter book. And now she is adapting the Celeste Ng book Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu.

Like Big Little Lies, Reece’s character in Little Fires Everywhere can best be described as grown up Tracy Flick. Again she is playing a very type-A personality trying to exude a very specific persona to the world, you know, the kind of person who weighs herself to the tenth but only has sex on certain day and does not even break that rule if it is just a little past midnight. But there is where the comparisons to her other show ends (well, okay, Joshua Jackson as her husband is as ineffectual as Adam Scott except for maybe one scene in a court room late in the season). The show, is set in 1997 mixed middle class Shaker Height, Ohio, and is really just two woman dealing with their families instead of the super-rich lives of five (six if you count Meryl Streep).

The other woman is played by Kerry Washington who is new to Shaker and needs a new place to stay with her and her teenaged child. A chance run in with Reece, who gets introduced with an Annie Lennox song, gives Kerry, who gets introduced with an Erikah Badu song, a place to stay and a new job. Needless to say there would be no show if these two strong willed women got along, but Reece’s trying so hard not to be perceived as racist, well, comes off as a little racist. Then Kerry is not very good at letting micro-aggressions go.

With only two families at the heart of the story, some of the heavy lifting is left to the five children in the two families and where Little Fires Everywhere fails to live up to Big Little Lies is that these kids are no Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, or Zoey Kravitz. The best of the bunch is Reece’s youngest of four who is just shooting daggers for the first couple episodes (and gets thrown under the bus by her siblings during the opening moments) but kind of just disappears before trotting down the hallway to 2Pac in the penultimate episode (the last of which I saw so I not sure how the season ends) in one of the show's more entertaining moments. While Reece’s two boys took me a couple episodes to tell apart. Then her eldest is trying way too hard to playing a mimi-Reese.

One person who actually does a good job playing mini-Reese is AnnaSophia Robb who shares an episode with The Chi’s Tiffany Boone who plays a younger Kerry in duel flashbacks. Robb’s performance makes me wonder why she only seems to be cast in Hulu award bait for other actors (like last year’s The Act). Please Hollywood, how about giving Robb her own show again instead of wasting her on bit parts. But this was a weird episode just because it also features Veronica Mars’ Alona Tal, Cloak and Dagger’s Aubrey Joseph, Grey Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, and Tomorrowland’s Britt Robertson all of which are in two scenes or less. Kind of a waste for actors whom I at least can recognize. I cannot imagine they will show up in the one episode I have yet to watch.

Despite opening up with arson, this really is not much of a whodunit. Reece’s youngest is an early suspect, but by the time you give episode seven, there really are not that many subjects. Really it is kind of obvious early on it will be kind of silly if it turns out to be someone else. The show actually turns into a court battle which actually is a bigger mystery of how the court will rule. But unless there are some big moments in the final episode Little Fires Everywhere will just turn out to be another in a long list of shows striving to be prestige TV that ends up being a solid B at best.

Three episodes of Little Fires Everywhere premiere tomorrow on Hulu with a new episode premiering every Wednesday after that.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 15, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: The cursing into the title screen has becoming my new favorite running bit. But I am sad that dude broke up with the weird baristas. I wish they could find a way to keep her on the show. The place where Zoey works does seem to have an overabundance of bars, how about a coffee bar?
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: So we are not getting an ending? Kind of presumptuous thinking it will get a second season. But I have already seen them promoting the Netflix release. I wonder if it will get a bounce similar to You that went from a barely watched Lifetime show to a worldwide smash hit. But this ending was a bit confusing. So the coach and her husband were at army dude’s apartment, and then she came back with the black chick to have an alibi? That does not make much sense. But I did laugh at the completely inappropriate gun theme cheer.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: Um, so when did El Cuco scratch Holly. He was never near her in the cave. Did it happen before? They were never close before that scene. But that could explain why trigger happy neck guy decline to shoot her head out when he had the chance. I know it is required for horror movies, after the bad guy is vanquished, to tease that they are still around, but that mad no sense. At least make it the cop that smashed his head in, at lead there was a chance he was scratched first.

Homeland: Is it going to be that obvious that the 80’s action movie supervillain acting Pakistani Defense Minister was behind the president’s chopper being shot down? It cannot be that obvious. It did cross my mind that since the chopper disappeared for a couple minutes that it got swapped out; helping this theory is that the body got destroyed so they cannot confirm that it was him. It also crossed my mind that the Vice-President was involved but he seemed way too shook that this probably cannot be him, maybe he is a puppet and knew but did not think it would actually happen. Hopefully there is some sort of a twist soon.

Supergirl: So Andrea is now just realizing she had a super power? Kind of silly that this show is just kind of rebooting the first half of the season post-Crisis. But I guess I should not expect actual goo storytelling from this show.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Was that supposed to be their version of The Long Night? Maybe not try that with tenth the budget. But at least I could tell what was going on.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: So it was the black chick who recognized the hockey jersey? Sure she did not realize it was a fake. But of course the gangsta wants a part of Beth money scheme more than he wants to kill her. And now it seems like we are right back to season one.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Manifest: So the plane went back in time, freaked out a bunch of pirates, and then went into the future without any one aboard noticing? What the fork?
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: They finally caught the Russian spy. Now what? That part of the show was always a drag but know that everything is on the table, maybe it will get more interesting.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: It should not have taken the merge to happen, but thankfully they finally got Rob out. Maybe this could be the best because now he has less time to amass Fire Tokens on Edge of Extinction. But they wasted way too much time on that boring buddy system. What they should have done was give us much more time with the Michelle / Wendell situation. Like, how exactly did that end. Clearly Wendell did something. Then my pre-season pick Adam, looked like a complete buffoon again this episode when he could not close the voting urn thing. Ugg, it is going to be depressing when he ends up winning.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: So this tech firm cannot even make believable CGI flames? I get that it was probably rushed and they did not expect anyone to steal it so they could go frame by frame, but c’mon. If you can make a dead guy walk and set himself on fire, flames should be easy.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: March 14, 2020

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 Outsider, Schitt's Creek, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, HAIM, LOOTE, KIANA LEDÉ, Disgraceland, Last Call for the Bayou, American Gigolo, and Friends.


- Believe the unbelievable! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release the murder crime mystery series The Outsider: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on June 9, 2020 and is priced to own at $29.99 SRP ($34.99 in Canada) for the DVD and $39.99 SRP ($44.99 in Canada) for the Blu-ray which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). The Outsider: The Complete First Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers today. In addition to all 10 exhilarating episodes from season one, Outsider: The Complete First Season features over 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes bonus content including the all-new featurette “EL CUCO. THE BABA YAGA. THE OUTSIDER.” In this never-before-seen featurette you can dive deep into the real-world origins and supernatural abilities of the being at the center of The Outsider with compelling insights from the creators and cast

- After six celebrated seasons and enough awards and nominations to make Moira Rose swoon, Pop TV is celebrating its breakout hit Schitt's Creek with the ultimate farewell for fans: an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the beloved series with the special Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell. The inside look will debut on Pop TV on April 7 at 8:30PM ET/PT immediately following the series finale, which is being supersized in a simulcast across Pop TV, Comedy Central and Logo in a special event at a new time, 8PM ET/PT. “As we celebrate the end of Schitt's Creek, we couldn’t do it without creating a special TV moment to send this historic series out on top,“ said Brad Schwartz, President, Pop TV. “This must-watch behind the scenes doc is the perfect way to honor a series that has made an impact in so many people’s lives, with enduring characters and stories filled with heart, humor and honesty that will stand the test of time.”

- As Joe Biden grows his sizable lead in the Democratic delegate race, The Circus sits down with former Democratic Party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to discuss the challenge of winning over Bernie Sanders’ supporters and the lessons she learned from 2016. Bruce Mehlman – a lobbyist, Republican strategist, and former assistant secretary of commerce during George W. Bush’s administration – lays out how the coronavirus is impacting the 2020 presidential race and Trump’s re-election bid. For a preview go to: https://youtu.be/jP64c1A7EGk

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 5 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- HAIM: The Steps:


- Mega-hit, Singer/Songwriter and Production pop duo LOOTE have dropped a lyric video today directed by Ryan Schaefer for their new single “This Is How U Feel,” which is now surpassing one million streams. It marks the second single off their forthcoming Heart Eyes EP, (out April 24) to hit one million streams in one week, following the release of their first single “All The F**king Time.” The “Heart Eyes” EP is being supported by LOOTE’S first national headlining tour kicking off April 14 in Chicago. In the “This Is How U Feel” video, the duo shares never-before-seen baby photos, hand-made notes and art, along with Halloween costumes. It’s an intimate and personally curated work for the fans. atch the video HERE.

- Continuing her rapid rise as the year’s boldest and biggest breakout R&B starlet,KIANA LEDÉ shares a brand-new single entitled“Forfeit” [feat. Lucky Daye] today. Get it HERE via Republic Records. A downtempo beat simmers between airy keys and guitar as she delivers a sultry send-off in this breakup anthem with a soulful falsetto assist from 4x Grammy Nominee Lucky Daye.

- The explosive music and true crime podcast returns for its 5th season with a two-part episode on Guns N’ Roses. Part 1 will be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network beginning today and can be heard now on the iHeartRadio app and wherever podcasts are available. Part 2 will be available on Tuesday, March 17, with new episodes to follow bi-weekly through the end of the season. Listen to Disgraceland Season 5 Episode 1.

- Every hour, an area the size of a football field erodes from Louisiana’s wetlands – a delta filled with rich estuarine life that supports a robust commercial fishing industry, fertile oil fields and millions of migrating waterfowl. An infinitely complex ecosystem, the bayous of Louisiana are the cradle of the state’s economy. Located at the base of the Mississippi, this key navigation channel allows the passage of goods worldwide. Yet each year 25-square miles of land are lost forever, displacing its marine life, damaging local oil and gas industries and threatening the citizens of New Orleans. Last Call for the Bayou follows the lives of those experiencing these catastrophic changes first-hand to discover the difficulties of life on the bayou and capture a way of life on the brink of collapse. Filmmakers Dominic and Nadia Gill bring five intimate stories to life through aerial photography, a two-man Inspire Drone team and a paraglider, all while capturing the beauty and visceral nature of Louisiana’s wetlands. Buried in these stories of destruction are individual moments of resilience, where families have remained unified and proud to call the bayou their home. Last Call for the Bayou will be available beginning on Friday, April 10 on Smithsonian Channel digital platforms. All five short-form episodes will also be available for free on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram and across multiple streaming TV provider websites, apps and free on demand channels. Additionally, the episodes are free on www.smithsonianchannel.com.

- Showtime has announced a pilot order for the drama series American Gigolo, starring Jon Bernthal (Ford v Ferrari, The Walking Dead) and written and directed by Emmy nominee David Hollander (RAY DONOVAN). Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original film, will executive produce along with Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed. Bernthal also serves as a producer. The project is a production of Paramount Television Studios. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. American Gigolo is a present-day reimagining of the iconic 1980 film. Bernthal will play Julian Kaye, who is introduced 18 years after he's been arrested for murder and struggling to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry, while seeking the truth about the set-up that sent him to prison all those years ago and also hoping to reconnect with Michelle, his one true love.

- It’s been a decade since Friends was on the air – but the series, the stars, and its global impact is larger than ever! From the taglines to the fashion – and let’s not forget the hair! Did you ever have “The Rachel” haircut? I know I did! Jennifer Aniston’s infamous hair on the iconic series influenced a decade of hairstyles, and we have a fun supercut to celebrate Rachel Greene, and her era of fabulous locks! These looks have ALL made a comeback with the 90’s fashion resurfacing - and 26 years later the show is still so loved and relevant!

Previewing Black Monday

Watching first season recap of Black Monday, I am just realizing just hoe convoluted the plot was. Really all you need to know is at the end of the season, Blair and Dawn screwed over Mo who went on the run for crashing the stock market and crashing somebody onto a car. Oh yeah, and the first season was pretty forking funny. The show comes from Seth Rogan and Evan Goldman who, after over a decade of making high concept filled with low IQ characters movies are now also making high concept with low IQ characters stories for the small screen like this and Future Man.

The first season counted down to what we already knew was going to be the financial collapse that would culminate with someone falling on a stretch Lamborghini. The episode titles even let you know how many days until then. Thankfully that devise is abandoned in season two and we just get to see the fallout of everything that happened in season one. Although I do like the bit of having all the flashback in the old school 4:3 ratio. Sure, it is not like there was widescreen yet in 1988 when the main story takes place.

A year after season one, Dawn has taken over the Jammer Group, changed it to an unfortunate acronym, and hires an entire female work force aside from the boys who stuck around from the previous iteration. She is now trying to scam the remaining Leman brother who was not crushed while taking a dump in Mo’s car. Blair is in DC trying a scheme in his own. And surprisingly Mo is on the run avoiding any schemes as the season opens. Then Keith is now finally able to be himself which is very bald and very gay. But the show is as funny as ever and you really want to check back in just to see a great scene that features Running with the Night, a very underrated Lionel Richie gem.

Black Monday airs Sunday at 10:00 with back to back episodes on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 8, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Well that was the weakest episode so far mostly because the neighbor is the weakest character. Not the greatest song selection either between opera and Miley Cyrus. Okay, I did like the island themed songs.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: Was the dude who date raped the Queen B in the dead guy’s room at the start of the episode? But my theory that the Queen B was involved in the murder was helped by her saying that they both have alibis now.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: I caught on pretty early that the boys were in the past, but I thought they said one of their names was the same as neck guy? Granted I a calling him neck guy because I am unsure of what his name is. Speaking of neck guy, he does not really want to do any of the things El Cuco is telling him, is drinking brown liquor, but still manages to shoot the head off the guy who tasted copper in his mouth (should had heeded that sign dude)?

Homeland: One thing the creators of the show said early in its run that really stuck with me was you can no longer surprised an audience with something happening, you can only surprise them anymore with when it happens. That philosophy had them burning through a season’s worth of plot in two or three episodes early on, but now, there are not many surprising developments anymore. After everything was going so well in the first part of the episode, my inner voice said, okay something bad is going to happen at the end of the episode. And there we have at the end of the episode with a chopper going down with two presidents inside. And I am just going to go ahead and say the Pakistanis were involved.

The Walking Dead: So Beta just dug a tunnel into Alexandra? Okay, that was pretty cool. But very uncool to be taken down by a child.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: I guess that is one way to avoid getting killed by the dude who you just shot, imply he knocked you up. But what exactly did his really baby momma say to convince the doctor to lie?
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Manifest: Wait, what happened to the college dude? Did he just fall through the floor? Did he crawl to the sewers? But I guess that kind of helps the idea of a death day if he can avoid what really looked to be certain date.
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: That was probably the most X-Files episode so far. Although I doubt the X-Files would had ended it as the government torturing a new family. So what was up with the bear guy? Was he in on it or just a crazy dude? And the government finally caught the lady Russian asset. The question is will they find out what she is up to?
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: They really need to change these sit out rules. It just really disadvantages the losing tribe if the other tribe gets to sit their weakest member every week.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: Um, did they really spoil the big twist they played very coy about in the “This season on”? The chick who looks more like the daughter from The Middle with a bad haircut more than any Chinese person I ever met seemed to out the whole thing to Alison Pill in a future scene. I hope that was just a huge misdirection. They certainly implied they could see the past later in the second episode.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

The Bold Type: So Jaqueline has a brunette friend and a black friend? Kind of looks like the older version of the three leads. Except Jaqueline would make more sense as the Jane so it does not quite work.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 7, 2020

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: City of Angels, The Circus, Pearl Jam, Johnny Cash, U2, The Weeknd, Phantogram, James Taylor, Morgan Harper-Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Trade, and Rust.

- Showtime has released the official trailer for the eagerly anticipated drama Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, premiering on Sunday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The series stars Tony® and Emmy® winner Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishé, Rory Kinnear, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza and Johnathan Nieves. Tony and Golden Globe® winner and three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan, the creator, writer and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series PENNY DREADFUL, continues in those same roles. Michael Aguilar (KIDDING) also serves as executive producer.


- Co-hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon, along with guest contributor Jennifer Palmieri, fan out across the country for the momentous Super Tuesday primary elections, and explore what the aftermath means for the 2020 presidential race. The Circus sits down with former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe to break down the dynamics of a two-way race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. For a preview go to: https://youtu.be/5O_QDh4Yo5U.

- Pearl Jam and Abramorama are proud to announce the Gigaton Listening Experience – a special, one night only audio-visual event in 200+ Dolby Atmos equipped theaters around the world on March 25, 2020. The immersive event takes over the big screen just two days before the release of Pearl Jam’s anxiously awaited new album, Gigaton [Monkeywrench/Republic Records], on March 27, 2020. Tickets are on sale now, get them HERE.

- In the mid-1980s as Johnny Cash found himself between labels, Mercury Records snatched up the country legend for what would end up being a prolific string of six albums in five years. The records, released from 1986 to 1991, were a diverse collection that included a notable reunion with fellow Sun Records alumni Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, star-studded collaborations with Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr. and others, inspired takes on songs from Elvis Costello, Guy Clark and Harry Chapin, the Man in Black revisiting his classic hits, and some of the finest songs ever written by Cash. Despite the quality of material, Cash’s stint with Mercury has never been revisited—until now. On April 24, Cash's often overlooked and underappreciated chapter of his body of work will be showcased with a suite of releases via Mercury/UMe including a comprehensive new box set, The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991, and a new greatest hits album, Easy Rider: The Best Of The Mercury Recordings, a newly assembled collection that compiles 24 highlights selected from Cash's Mercury catalog. Easy Rider will be released as a single CD, double LP and digital download. Pre-order The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/CompleteMercuryAlbums Pre-order Easy Rider: The Best Of The Mercury Recordings: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/EasyRiderBestOf

- Island Records and UMe today announce the release of ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ on limited edition 12” transparent blue vinyl to celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, April 18th, 2020. The Record Store Day release marks the 40th anniversary of ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ and includes the full-length version of the track, as well as the original 7” B-side ‘Touch’; plus two previously unreleased live recordings - ‘Touch’ and ‘Twilight’ - from the band’s memorable show at the Marquee in London in September 1980. ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ was produced by Martin Hannett and recorded in the spring of 1980 at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios. Released in May that year, the song was U2’s first single on Island Records.

- The Weeknd has shared a new short film titled “After Hours” ahead of the release of his album of the same name on March 20th. The film follows him as he leaves the stage of his acclaimed performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and heads into the desolate late night streets of Los Angeles before delirium sets in. This week “Blinding Lights” became The Weeknd’s 7th #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart, the most for any artist. Internationally “Blinding Lights” has been the #1 airplay song in both Germany and France for 7+ consecutive weeks, and it has recently hit #1 in Australia as well. Impressively, it has been the #1 song on the official charts in France and the UK for 3 consecutive weeks and counting.

- Phantogram releases their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Ceremony—listen HERE! The 11-track album features the band’s lead single, “Dear God,” which they debuted with an explosive performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night—watch it HERE. Ceremony marks a rebirth and embodies a dark, but hopeful, chapter for the band, which is comprised of lifelong friends Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel. In advance of the release, the band posted a revealing letter to fans unveiling how the tragic loss of Barthel’s sister, Becky, to suicide, and peers like Mac Miller, Chris Cornell, Prince, Avicii, Chester Bennington and more, impacted their lives and influenced the album—read more HERE.

- James Taylor Shares the Story of How He Wrote Carolina in My Mind:


- Hailing from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, 23 year old newcomer Morgan Harper-Jones has today revealed her second ever track, the stunning "Lie To Me". Listen to it HERE. The track follows the release of Harper-Jones’ mesmerizing debut single "Breathe" at the beginning of last month - which came accompanied by the stark and subtly moving one-take performance video that you can view HERE.

- Award-winning singer/actress Laura Dreyfuss has announced today’s premiere of her new single. “Sidelines” is available now via S-Curve Records/BMG at all DSPs and streaming services; an official music video – directed by Marysia Makowska – is streaming now via Dreyfuss' official YouTube channel. "This song is about finding your voice in an unsupportive relationship, says Dreyfuss. "It’s my way of telling someone that their negativity won’t stop me from celebrating who I am and what I’ve accomplished."

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 4 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- SHOWTIME has released every episode of the second, standalone season of its docu-series The Trade to its subscribers. All four episodes are available now for on-demand streaming or download on the SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME ANYTIME® apps, as well as for viewing via SHOWTIME On Demand. Directed by Emmy® and DGA Award winner and Oscar® nominee Matthew Heineman, THE TRADE will debut on air on SHOWTIME tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT and continue to air new episodes every Friday. This season of THE TRADE, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, delves into the shadow industries of smugglers and human traffickers who prey on the thousands of Central American migrants making the dangerous journey to the United States every year. By shedding light on those who take advantage of the migrants’ vulnerability and on law enforcement pursuing them at the border, THE TRADE brings audiences inside the rarely seen underbelly of the migrants’ world and humanizes their struggle to survive.

- Golden Globe winner and Emmy® nominee Maura Tierney (THE AFFAIR) has joined the cast of the upcoming SHOWTIME drama Rust, starring Emmy winner and Tony® and Golden Globe nominee Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom, Godless, The Looming Tower). In addition, Emmy and Tony nominee Bill Camp (The Night Of), Tony winner David Alvarez (West Side Story), Alex Neustaedter (Colony) and newcomer Julia Mayorga have been cast as series regulars. RUST is scheduled to begin production in Pittsburgh in late March. Based on Philipp Meyer’s celebrated debut novel American Rust, Rust is a compelling family drama that will explore the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania. When the woman he truly loves sees her son accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he's willing to do to protect him.

Previewing Into the Dark: Crawlers

During its first season, the first five episodes Into the Dark went with the very obvious holidays before the first curveball came in March with an Ides of March themed episode. The second season started with the five same holidays but we finally get a deviation this month as the anthology goes with the more obvious March holiday this time around with a St. Patrick Day themed episode with an even bigger surprise being that they managed to do one without involving leprechauns.

Instead this installment Crawlers features, well, not exactly anything that crawls or at least we do not see them crawl. This episode stars Giorgia Whigham who played the snarky teenager in the second season of The Punisher. Adding that kind of character to that kind of show could have easily ruined that show, but Whigham added much needed levity to the heavy show and actually improved it.

Whigham plays a drug dealing townie that is making plenty of money off of college students during the most inebriated day of the year in this small college town. But she is also a conspiracy theorist who thinks the moon landing was faked, Paull McCartney was replaced by a body double, and apparently so was Avril Lavigne (after a quick Google search it turns out stupid people on the internet think this). Oh, and tying into the theme of the episode, she also thinks St. Patrick was an alien.

She also thinks there is more to a meteorite that crashed near the quiet college four decades ago then the CIA would leave her to believe. Of course she would be right otherwise there would be no movie. Unfortunately the rest of the cast is not as compelling as her. Same for the script as I feel like I have seen the small town has to fight back from invaders movie before and done much better. But Whigham does make Crawlers watchable and they wisely also made her the narrator so even when she is not on screen, she still is around to may a wry comment on things. Now hopefully she can find something that can better use her talents.

Into the Dark Season Two Power Ranking:

1. Uncanny Annie (October)
2. A Nasty Piece of Work (December)
3. Crawlers (March)
4. Pilgrim (November)
5. My Valentine (February)
6. Midnight Kiss (December)

Into the Dark: Crawlers premieres tomorrow exclusively on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 1, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: So is Zoey going to curse going into the title card every week because if so, I am all for it. Not the greatest week for music, I had to look up the song her mother sang. Too bad they did not have Zoey sing The Humpty Dance, that would have been great.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: I think Queen B know, mostly because I think she killed the dude. Other than that, the most boring episode so far which is saying a lot.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: Wow, people got jokes. Both car rides had a funny moment which may have been the first two moments of levity on the show. But I guess that was needed since there was the creeping impending doom of child rape and murder that almost happened. But I wonder if the old man got scratched. Kind of looked like it but I could not tell for sure. But in the most Stephen King ending, out heroes are going to chase El Coco into a cave for a final showdown… except there is two episodes left so maybe not the final one.

Homeland: So it was the Taliban leader’s kid that sold him out. And then he kicked the kid out of the compound. That is going to come back and bite him. The kid already tried to kill him once. And just a soon as he was captured, Saul gets released. Well that was a big ado about nothing. But Carrie’s Russian plot just gets hotter. I really doubt Russia dude is turnable, you do not capture an American spy and not have big plans for her.

Supergirl: So where was Saturn Girl? In the real timeline, she went back to the future with Mon-El and Toyman Jr. but in the fake timeline, both of them stayed and she was nowhere to be found. But what a complete waste of an episode. They solved the Lena problem with Crisis only for Lex to explain why she should be mad at Supergirl. They could have fixed it here but Supergirl decides to stick with this timeline. If you are not going to fix the storyline, stop acting like you might.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: So they ended the mid-season with the group on an island surrounded by a lake of zombie. And yet everyone survived it… well, I guess a couple people are still stuck in the cave. But we did not see the dead bodies so they may still get out. Then Alpha rewards Negan with sex which may be the grossest thing that has happened on a zombie show.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: Beth finally learns that the gangbanger is still live. So did dude just shake down the info from his baby momma? But we will have to wait a week to find out what stupid reason he does not kill her for shooting him because no way they or going to kill off the lead. Meh.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: I never realized that Dr. Hynek inspired Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But I guess they needed a little something extra if the big twist to their hearing was that they called a crazy person to the stand to show they need to counteract the crazy people out there. But future Hynek surely implied that he proved the existence of intelligence life outside out planet.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: So Adam wanted Parviti out to weaken Rob. Michelle thought it would be better to get rid of Ethan to weaken Rob. But you know what would have been a better way to weaken Rob? How about sending Rob to Edge of Extinction? Sending another of his buddies to Edge only helps Rob because they can start feeding him stuff. But at least Ethan gave his Fire Token to Parviti so as long as she is in the game, I guess Ethan will award his stuff to her… well if he is still in the game, the Promo Monkeys made it seem like he might die next week.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Almost Family: So Julia’s father is that the super alpha male she was raised by but her mother actually got knocked up by a homosexual? And that is not the only homosexual in the family because Edie’s one night stand with her soon to be ex-husband? Oh and Roxie new husband killed Julia at his reception? I know things are not looking good for a second season with Fox burning the last two episodes on a Saturday a month after the previous episode aired but I really hope Quibi or something else picks the show up.
You can download Almost Family on iTunes.

The Bold Type: Okay, Jane getting an infection from a facial not on her face was gross enough, but was somehow less gross than Kat getting asked to go through the back door by the bartender. I really need to stop watching this crap.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 29, 2020

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 Parasite, Viking Women: The Real Valkyries, Two-Mara, The Rescue List, Outcry, Bob Marley, Caroline Rose, MILAN RING, Kiana Ledé, Ren Harvieu, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Hunna, Hayley Kiyoko, The Circus, and Big Deal.

- This year's historic Best Picture winning film Parasite, from NEON, will be available on Hulu beginning Wednesday, April 8. Parasite made waves this awards season with both critics and audiences alike. Visionary director Bong Joon Ho, took home four Oscar wins including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. Additional accolades include the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast and the Palme D’or, which is the top prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.


- Smithsonian Channel is set to kick off Women’s History Month with two exciting new projects – first, the second annual WOMEN IN HISTORY social video initiative on March 1, and the following day, the premiere of Viking Women: The Real Valkyries. Each aims to shine a light on incredible, pioneering women that may not have gotten their fair due in history books. Connect with Smithsonian Channel on Twitter (@SmithsonianChan), Facebook (Smithsonian Channel) and Instagram (@Smithsonian_Channel) to catch all of the Women in History videos beginning March 1, and tune-in to Smithsonian Channel on March 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT for the premiere of Viking Women: The Real Valkyries. Together in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Channel will rollout a new series of videos throughout the month of March, each spotlighting a different woman who has made a profound impact in the worlds of art, science, history, culture and more under the hashtag #BecauseOfHerStory. From the trailblazing leader of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, Jacqueline Cochran, to pop culture icon Dolly Parton and Hawaiian Queen Liliʻuokalani, each video will feature the story of a different extraordinary woman during Women’s History Month. Produced alongside various Smithsonian Institution museums, galleries and exhibits, this social media campaign is set to highlight the stories of women throughout American history that deserve celebration and recognition, told through personalized illustrations, historical artifacts and their own words. To learn more, click here.

- Two-Mara is a five episode comedic digital series from the mind of Sarah Skeist, starring Skeist as Kate Mara and Jewells Blackwell as Rooney Mara. Each episode of Two-Mara is a piece of video content from the (fake) Mara sisters' (fictitious) YouTube channel. Well-meaning and earnest Kate tries her best to bond with her sister while the brooding, mischievous Rooney strives to derail, sabotage, and wreak havoc on her sister's plans. Blackwell had always dreamed of being cast in the kinds of roles that Rooney Mara plays, so Skeist took it upon herself to write her a role she’d be perfect for: Rooney Mara. And naturally, Skeist would play her sister, Kate. “I gave myself permission to write as weird as what is actually in my head,” Skeist says, “And Two-Mara is it.” Based on a thorough 15 minutes of research into the actresses’ filmography and interview styles, Skeist wrote absurd, clown versions of the sisters that take on lives of their own. What began as an intentionally silly idea ended up telling a deceptively poignant story: “Two-Mara is a deranged love song to our sisters—biological or chosen— about the ways in which we both punish and seek approval from the people we love.”

- In a hidden safehouse in the Ghanaian forest, social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake on Earth. But their story takes an unexpected turn when their rescuer embarks on another rescue mission and asks the children for help. Directed by Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, The Rescue List has its national broadcast debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pov.org on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The film is a co-production of Collective Hunch and American Documentary | POV. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series now in its 32nd season.

- Showtime has released the official trailer and poster art for the new documentary series Outcry, which will have its world premiere at the South By Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals in Austin on Saturday, March 14, ahead of its television premiere on Showtime on Friday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis, Outcry examines the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley, his controversial conviction and the quest for truth and justice as the case unfolds.


- The legendary Bob Marley’s 75th birthday celebrations continue with the announcement of Bob Marley: Legacy; a 12-part mini-documentary series, featuring a collection of intimate conversations and interviews with his family, friends and fans, woven together with his original music, remixes and covers. This unique YouTube series provides fans a refreshing and cinematic journey through the life, legacy and relevance Bob Marley still holds in this present day. The first episode, ‘75 Years A Legend’ debuts today, on Bob Marley’s official YouTube page. The Iron Lion Zion EP was also revealed today. Featuring a 7” and 12” version of the timeless classic and fan favorite, alongside two special dub mixes, a remix and ‘Smile Jamaica’ (From Songs Of Freedom). Iron Lion Zion EP is available worldwide from today. Listen HERE.

- Caroline Rose: Feel the Way I Want on Late Night with Seth Meyers:


- Sydney-based singer, songwriter, producer and multi-talented performer MILAN RING returns with a brand new single and video, "Switch Off". Watch and listen to it HERE. Produced in Los Angeles in collaboration with The Social Experiment (well known and loved for their ongoing work with Chance The Rapper), "Switch Off" features Milan Ring’s soulful guitar and signature vocals. The track was mixed by Milan in her Sydney studio and is her debut release on tastemaker label Astral People Recordings / [PIAS].

- Embodying the same undeniable attitude on the track, the “Mad At Me” music video sees Kiana Ledé surrounded by the ultimate girl gang serving the same levels of sass. Last year she turned heads with her second EP Myself. Not only did it put up millions of streams, but it also incited tastemaker buzz. Billboard named her among its coveted “Emerging Artists” spotlight and praised “her buttery vocals.” Vibe touted her as “NEXT” and she’s been featured on Refinery29, ROLLACOASTER Magazine, Complex, and more.

- With new album Revel In The Drama due for release on April 3rd via Bella Union, today Ren Harvieu has shared new track “Strange Thing". Listen to it HERE. Commenting on the track, Harvieu says “Strange Thing is a serenade to the outsiders of this world. The ignored, misunderstood, awkward self-conscious sparkling diamonds.. Don’t think you're not being seen because I see you. I am you.”

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 3 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- The Hunna unveils their new single and official visual for, "Cover You (Feat. Travis Barker)" off of their highly anticipated forthcoming album. The video, directed by Jordan Wozy [Machine Gun Kelly, Yungblud], sees love blossom in the thick of a mosh pit (filled with real fans of The Hunna) while the band plays on. Adding to the celebration, the band also announces an upcoming US and UK tour as well as the pre-order for I'd Rather Die Than Let You In , out May 15th - HERE.

- This March, in celebration of Women’s History Month, Fuse will honor Future Women’s History makers who are currently using their voice to drive positive change and whose impact on the world will be talked about in the future. The first to be honored in this extraordinary class is Singer, Hayley Kiyoko. Hayley is being honored for using her music to openly and unapologetically share her truth as a queer artist, thus paving a way for her LGBTQ peers. Hayley is the first woman to be honored in the Fuse’s Future Women in History class. Check out this clip highlighting her attributes and accomplishments:


- The Circus travels to South Carolina, where candidates are competing in the first southern primary election of the 2020 cycle. McKinnon catches up with Tom Steyer, whose campaign has the largest operation in the state, to discuss his standing in the race and what it means for Joe Biden's effort to slow Bernie Sanders' momentum. For a preview go to: youtu.be/RBsLdbO9YC0.

- Three-time Emmy nominee Molly Shannon (The Other Two) has signed on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot Big Deal, starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). If the project is picked up to series, Shannon would appear as a series regular. Bayer co-created Big Deal with Emmy nominee Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer), who will also executive produce. Emmy winner Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, BLACK MONDAY, Big Mouth) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer, The Lovebirds), who will direct, as well as Annapurna’s Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle and Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: February 23, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: I wonder if they will eventually “cure” Zoey’s dad. It would be weird to hire Peter Gallagher only to have him sit there motionless every episode aside from a two minute musical number every week. But it turns out the pretty impressive 40 million YouTube viewers NBC has been hyping for the Pilot episode was less impressive when you learn those viewers only averaged about 8 minutes each and only a couple million watched the full episode. Still hard to tell if the show was a success. Live rating were not good but NBC calls it the highest Live +35 rating ever (granted that stat is maybe five years old). Did that count all 40 million YouTube viewers? Just how much do you have to watch be considered a viewer. Hopefully people are watching via somewhere NBC cares about (I am watching next day via Hulu) because I really need this show to go at least six seasons and a movie. If you have not watch the second episode, it is on YouTube now and as I write this Saturday, it has 11 million views, but who knows how many finished.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: Since the first episode, I thought the Queen B would end up being the person who died. But now I wonder if she is the killer. I mean if the coach killed the dude, would she really call one of her students? I guess dude could have killed himself being distraught over the coach ghosting him, but that would be kind of boring. I kind of hope the Queen B killed the dude and set the coach up for the fall.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: So is everyone finally on board to the evil entity thing now? Because it is time to start figuring out how to stop it.

Homeland: Well that was pretty bold of Saul to meet with a Taliban leader with only four bodyguards. Boy did that backfire bad. But were the Pakistani’s tracking him or the Taliban? I guess it was the latter if Saul did not really inform anyone. But why was none of the bodyguards guarding the back door, or at least his backside. Seems pretty sloppy for the military even of a car just got bombed. Then I thought that new officer was being groomed as the new Carrie, but she screwed up pretty big. I mean, not forking a Taliban sympathizer big, but that was a pretty big mistake.

Supergirl: Wow, the show just blatantly ripped off the horrible nineties movie The Lawnmower Man.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

Good Girls: So the FBI dude just let gangbanger dude just freely roam a hotel room unattended? Of course he was going set you up. I really hoped gangbanger was dead because the show really needed a soft reboot. Worse is he really should kill Beth for shooting him, but we know he will not because she is the lead.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: Is everyone just going to let Rob run this game? They know his wife is on Extinction where she would undoubtedly feeding him Fire Tokens and other advantages, this would have been the perfect week to vote him out and use Danni’s irrational Parvati hatred to split the vote just in case. I know people are anti-big moves for fear they will put a target on their back but that would have been the easy movie. Although Rob knows very well sometimes a split vote can go wrong.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Stumptown: They are just giving everyone daddy issues now. The cop has to go up against his father in court and Grey sees his father for the first time in decades and Dex tried to do the same but ran into her mentally decaying aunt instead.
You can download Stumptown on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 22, 2020

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, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Auteur, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Maggie Miles, and The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth.

- Based on Celeste Ng’s 2017 bestseller, Little Fires Everywhere follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. The story explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster. The 8-episode series will premiere on Wednesday, March 18th with three episodes.


- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 2 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- Showtime has announced that it is developing and has ordered multiple scripts of the half-hour series THE Auteur, starring Academy Award nominee Jude Law (The Young Pope) and directed by Academy Award winner Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, The Mandalorian), who will also write with Peter Warren (Ghost Team). The project, produced by Showtime and Legendary with Endeavor Content serving as studio, is based on the graphic novel by Rick Spears, James Callahan and Luigi Anderson.

- Coldplay and Apple Music announce the release of a brand new EP and companion short film titled Coldplay: Reimagined, featuring stripped-back performances of "Cry Cry Cry," "BrokEn" and "Champion of the World" from their latest album, Everyday Life. Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland enlist long-term collaborators Rik Simpson, Dan Green, and Bill Rahko (The Dream Team) to produce the exclusive EP. Whether it's adding a powerful choir to the doo-wop of "Cry Cry Cry" and the gospel of "BrokEn," or the string-abetted catharsis of "Champion of the World," every twist offers a new perspective on the reimagined songs. As a companion to the EP, Apple Music has released an exclusive short that takes fans inside the studio with Martin and Buckland for a close and unvarnished look. "Today we tried to strip back some of these songs which were already quite stripped back," Chris Martin says with a smile in the opening moments of the Apple Music film. "We did that by removing two band members." The Coldplay: Reimagined EP and the companion short film is available worldwide exclusively on Apple Music. Listen to the exclusive EP and watch the Coldplay:Reimagined short HERE. Listen to Everyday Life on Apple Music HERE.

- This week, Pearl Jam have unveiled the music video for their new single “Superblood Wolfmoon.” Watch it HERE. The song is the latest single to be released from the group’s anxiously awaited new album, Gigaton, arriving March 27, 2020 via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records, Pearl Jam teamed up with D.I.Y. animator Keith Ross—renowned for his homegrown @TinyConcert Instagram channel. The channel has become popular for “bite-sized animated music videos” drawn with a ballpoint pen and harnessing the punk energy and imagination of the songs.

- Rising alt artist Maggie Miles releases her latest single “WHATDOISAY?,” a hard hitting pop-infused track that perfectly captures a heavy mind on the move, contemplating everything at once, looking for the answers. The song comes from her debut full-length album, out on May 22nd. She is currently on tour with upcoming shows in Bowling Green, Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, New York and D.C., with stints in Nashville of course, her new hometown, at the High Watt this Thursday, February 20 and Whiskey Jam the following Thursday, February 27. “WHATDOISAY?” premiered via tastemaker outlet Variance Magazine, who said Maggie “showcases a Maggie-Rogers-meets-Clairo level of pop on the new song.”

- Coming up next on The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth, hosted by John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon … Ahead of the Nevada caucuses, co-host Mark McKinnon catches up with Senator Elizabeth Warren the morning after her takedown of Michael Bloomberg on the debate stage. youtu.be/JVfWO4VHJwg

57 Channels and Only This Is On: February 16, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Finally watched the premiere because I did not want to wait six weeks to watch the second episode. It was really good. It is nice to have Jane Levy back doing something fun after spending most of her post-Suburgatory years being a scream queen.


Dare Me: There are fewer things I need to see in my life than a bag full of used tampons. Then I saw a promo for next week claiming someone might die. “Might?” Gee, that is really going to get me to turn in to see if someone might die. I have thought that the mean girl was going to die at the end but after she sort of got date raped, I am a bit unsure.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: What a great scene with the private investigator giving her boogieman theory. But the thing is, it is the only theory that makes sense. How else do explain one person being in the same place at the same time? But that was not even the best scene, which belongs to the neck guy getting beat up by his dead mother. Just pure Stephan King right there. Now the PI is in big trouble diving to the middle of with the neck guy. Granted the last guy committed suicide by cop so he might just do the same to himself before he does anything to her.

Manifest: Really, this disappearing thing dates back hundreds of years and for some reason it involves magical tarot cards. This show just gets sillier and sillier.
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 15, 2020

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 Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Pearl Jam, The Weeknd, Tears For Fears, Brain Games, Lucifer, Love Fraud, Spy Wars with Damian Lewis, More Women of a Certain Age, Visible: Out on Television, and The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign On Earth.

- Republic Records announces the release of a series of official soundtrack EPs in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. The series is produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Going live this morning, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 1 (Music from the Original TV Series) is available now at all digital retailers in advance of the show’s highly anticipated two hour premiere this Sunday, February 16th, beginning at 8pm ET on NBC. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- Fans can experience the activation by heading to moon.pearljam.com via their mobile device and pointing their phone camera at the moon to trigger the song snippet and pre-order the song. Pearl Jam’s highly anticipated 11th studio album, Gigaton, which will be released on March 27, 2020. The app will be available today through February 18th when “Superblood Wolfmoon” will be available at all digital retailers.

- The Weeknd has announced the name of his upcoming album, After Hours, coming soon via XO Records / Republic Records. The album has been led by his two Platinum singles "Heartless", which previously hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Blinding Lights" along with outstanding live performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "Blinding Lights" also soundtracked the Mercedes-Benz EQC campaign which The Weeknd starred in and served as creative director for. Last week he also scored his first ever UK #1 song with "Blinding Lights" and also earned his 10th #1 song on Billboard's Rhythmic Songs chart. On March 7th, The Weeknd will be making his third appearance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

- Spring 2020 sees the 35th anniversary of Tears For Fears iconic ten million-selling album Songs From The Big Chair. The 35th celebrations will include the release of a limited picture disc version of the album and a reissue of the much sought after super deluxe 4CD/2DVD boxset which currently changes hands for hundreds of dollars. Songs From The Big Chair was Tears For Fears second album and spawned classic worldwide hit songs such as the US #1 singles “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” and “Shout” as well as “Head over Heels” and “Mother’s Talk.” Upon its first release, Songs From The Big Chair spent 30 weeks in the UK top ten-album chart, a whole year in the top 30 and only left the charts 18 months later. The story was very much the same all over the world, the album spent five weeks at #1 in the US, and much like the UK, it was in the Billboard Chart for 18 months.

- The Emmy-nominated Nat Geo’s Brain Games featured Jack Black as mentalist Lior Suchard was getting into his mind during the music themed episode which aired this week. Seen in the clip here: screenrant.com/jack-black-brain-games-mentalist-clip watch as Jack Black and his Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass learn how music affects the brain. Wonder what song he was channeling?? Well, it was none other than Don McLean’s "American Pie"!

- Your date with the Devil is soon to arrive, as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings you Lucifer: The Complete Fourth Season on DVD May 12, 2020. Put on your devilish grin as you indulge in all 10 hell-raising episodes from the fourth season and fulfill your deepest desires with tantalizing deleted scenes included in the bonus features. Lucifer: The Complete Fourth Season will be available at all major retailers and is priced to own at $24.98 SRP ($29.98 in Canada). Lucifer: The Complete Fourth Season will also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers on May 11, 2020. Lucifer: The Complete Fourth Season will also be available on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive Collection. The Blu-ray release includes all the bonus features on the DVD and is also arriving May 12, 2020. Warner Archive Blu-ray releases are easily found at wb.com/warnerarchive and on your favorite online retailer sites.

- Showtime has released the trailer for the upcoming docu-series Love Fraud, premiering on Friday, May 8 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The series marks the first foray into episodic television for Emmy winners and Academy Award® nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. Love Fraud had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the first time in the festival’s history a television series screened on opening night. To watch and share the trailer, visit: youtu.be/FZmO_BphMQE

- Smithsonian Channel is set to investigate some of the most shocking and explosive cases of espionage over the last 50 years. Spy Wars with Damian Lewis features the incredible true stories of spy wars fought in the shadows, from the turbulent years of the Cold War to the Iran Hostage Crisis and the discovery of a complex web of sleeper agents living in the U.S. – a major inspiration for the plot of The Americans. Each episode of this new eight-part series sees host Damian Lewis revealing these remarkable tales of the secretive world of government intelligence, surveillance and international conspiracy plots with interviews from the experts and eyewitnesses that lived through them. Spy Wars with Damian Lewis premieres Sunday, March 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel.

- Caroline Rhea (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) will headline More Women of a Certain Age, a new comedy special premiering Saturday, March 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Carol Leifer (Seinfeld), Carole Montgomery (Comics Unleashed), Julia Scotti (America’s Got Talent), Tammy Pescatelli (Finding The Funny) and Thea Vidale (Last Comic Standing) round out the lineup for the hour-long special. Filmed at the Bell House in Brooklyn, the special features six of the funniest women in stand-up for a night of uninhibited, outrageous comedy. More Women of a Certain Age is the second installment of the hit comedy showcase from Montgomery and producer Dave Goldberg. Women of a Certain Age became the network’s highest-rated premiere of a stand-up special in 2019. To watch and share a trailer from More Women of a Certain Age go to: youtu.be/RusGk64Urqk.

- Visible: Out on Television investigates the importance of TV as an intimate medium that has shaped the American conscience, and how the LGBTQ movement has shaped television. The five-part documentary series combines archival footage with interviews with key players from the movement and the screen, and is narrated by Janet Mock, Margaret Cho, Asia Kate Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Waithe. Each hour-long episode will explore themes such as invisibility, homophobia, the evolution of the LGBTQ character, and coming out in the television industry. The five-part docuseries premieres Friday, February 14, 2020.

- Coming up this Sunday on The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign On Earth hosted by John Heilemann, Alex Wagner, and Mark McKinnon: At the biggest rally of Amy Klobuchar’s campaign, The Circus speaks with the Minnesota senator backstage about her surge in momentum ahead of an expectation-defying finish in New Hampshire. For a preview go to youtu.be/0m3B5JxukpI.

Previewing Utopia Falls

John Landgraf of FX coined the term “Peak TV” when he counted 400 scripted television shows that year and since then it has only gotten peakier and will explode even more this year with the launch of HBO Max, Peacock, and something called Quibi which apparently you will only be able to watch on your phone. I do not think anyone even bothers to count how many shows are being aired anymore (the best I could find is 1400+). So with so many different options, there are shows for every little niche you can think of.

But watching Utopia Falls, a Canadian import coming to Hulu today, I have to ask, who exactly this show is for. Having watched every episode, the best I can describe this show is “Hunger Games meets Fame”; feel free to put that in your promos Hulu. I just do not know who would see that and think, cool, I have to watch them. At best, there may be a couple people who read that and think, what the fork, that sounds so stupid I have to watch to see if that is what the show really is.

But seriously, Utopia Falls takes place hundreds of years in a dystopian future where a city within a dome has been split up into four sections, Progress, Industry, Nature, and Reform (which seems to be the lowest rank). The dome is to protect them from the poisonous outside world that was turned into a wasteland from endless wars. Then for the past seventy-three years twenty-four exemplars from the sectors are chosen, but instead of a fight to the death, Hunger Games style, they compete in a talent competition, be it dance, singing, or playing a musical instrument. See, I told you, Hunger Games meets Fame. I was not joking.

Like any good dystopian future, everyone wears very boring clothing and hair styles but there has not been any civil unrest in five decades. Of course most of them have weird names but unlike other YA adaptation, these are just dumb, like Tempo, Apollo, Bohdi, Mags, and Sage and their last names are numbers. Then most everyone is hot and ambitiously ethnic with some weird parentage. The vaguely Asian chick has a black and white mother. The Latina has a redhead mother. If it is ever explained how the parentage does not make any biological sense, I missed it.

Though they are currently living in Utopia, as the title suggests, that will not last long. While celebrating their selection as an Exemplar, two happen upon a secret library outside the city limits which houses a library of media from present day that had been long lost. And really, there are very few things more entertaining that watching a bunch of people who clearly were hired for the dancing ability try to act like they have never heard hip-hop before. Oh, and did I mention, the Alexa of this library is voiced by the disembodied voice of Snoop Dogg?

So despite never hearing rap music before, one dude is able to spit verses an hour later. The Exemplars become so versed in modern music, before long they are debating Old School and New School. And yet the person that claims there was no good rap before N.W.A. (umm, I think someone got their old school/new school and East Coast/West Coast debates mixed up) starts rapping The Message less than five. So I really cannot call this show at all good with its paint by numbers dystopian YA trope presented with bad acting, yet I am kind of hoping it gets renewed.

All episodes of Utopia Falls are now streaming on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: February 9, 2020

The Outsider: So the weird Fear Demon is now haunting the cop’s wife, kind of like apparently it did with the kid early on. But it seemed to vaguely suggest she was just seeing thing. Is this a Freddy Kruger situation? And can it just haunt anyone the person who body it snatches come in contact with? But then why haunt a child and a woman to threaten the cop instead of just haunting him? I guess it is kind of scarier this way.

Stumptown: Yeah Dex, all those Twister knockoffs should have been a very huge warning sign. But I am beginning to wonder just how long that cassette that is stuck in her car is? Should start replay songs at some point. A cassette tape is at most forty-five minutes, unless that crappy broke tape deck and auto flip.
You can download Stumptown on iTunes.

Vikings: Oh wow, the Russians won and Ivar (it looks like) killed Bjorn. That was totally unexpected. Though I do not believe this is the end of the Vikings Empire like the promo for the second half of the season suggested. They did already announce a sequel. But I wonder how that is ending up on Netflix. The show was successful enough that it ran for fairly long on History and then Hulu has the streaming rights so it is weird that Netflix would swoop in for a continuation about those two.

Briarpatch: Well that was mostly boring.