Around the Tubes: November 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 The Circus, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Benee, Elvis Costello, Evie Irie, Cinderella, and Chain Reaction.

- THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE CRAZIEST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ON EARTH finishes its fifth season with a fast-paced, behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 presidential election and its chaotic aftermath.  In a special one-hour episode, titled “Who The F*** Are We?,” hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon, along with contributor Jennifer Palmieri, crisscross the country during the close of an unforgettable presidential campaign. After a record-shattering number of ballots were cast, THE CIRCUS reports from the White House to Wilmington to the vote-counting facilities at the center of the post-election drama – and interviews a roster of some of the nation's top elected officials and political strategists to unpack the unfolding week of news.  For a preview, go to: https://youtu.be/KbMdRk10Ixk.

- Episode seven of Bob Marley's Legacy documentary series continues with "Freedom Fighter," a powerful new short featuring insight and interviews from some of the world's most respected artists, writers, activists, and filmmakers, each offering their own take on Bob's music, his message, and his unique power at uniting and articulating the long and painful journey from oppression and the struggles his brothers and sisters have endured over the years. From slavery to the Civil Rights Movement to this present day, the episode also explores current social issues from the mass incarceration of African Americans in the United States and the power and importance of modern-day activism and movements such as Black Lives Matter and The People's Budget Movement. Narrated by Public Enemy's Chuck D, the episode features interviews with rappers 2 Chainz and LL Cool J, media mogul and filmmaker Yandy Smith, human rights activist Malcolm X, American Civil Rights activist Mary Hooks, best-selling authors Aya de Leon and Jamila T. Davis, and reporter, Dani McClain. The episode also features a performance from Grammy-nominated EARTHGANG, interviews with Ferrell Scott and Corvain Cooper, who are both serving life in prison without the possibility of parole sentences for non-violent marijuana charges, as well as art director and friend of Bob Marley, Neville Garrick, Island Records Founder, Chris Blackwell and family members, Cedella Marley, Donisha Prendergast, Ky-Mani Marley, Ziggy Marley, and many more. "Freedom Fighter" is available to watch on Bob Marley's Official YouTube Channel. Watch HERE.

-  On Election Day, Stevie Wonder released a strong message with the “The Universe is Watching Us – What Happens Next…” visual to provide light, positivity and hope for this critical Election.  Watch “The Universe is Watching Us – What Happens Next…”: HERE  This powerful message follows the release of his recently released songs “Can’t Put It In the Hands of Fate” feat. Rapsody, Cordae, Chika and Busta Rhymes and “Where Is Our Love Song” feat. Gary Clark Jr., which are available now on all digital and streaming platforms. All of Stevie’s proceeds from the record royalties of “Where Is Our Love Song” are donated to Feeding America. 

- New Zealand’s platinum sensation BENEE uncovers a new song entitled “Happen To Me”—listen HERE! It’s the last track to be revealed from her anxiously awaited full-length debut, Hey u x, out next Friday November 13^th—pre-order it HERE now.  BENEE recently cited the tune as her “favorite on the album” in an interview with Vogue Australia. On the track, warm guitar wraps around a driving beat as she confesses, “I understand why people leave/But leaving seems scary to me,” in an ethereal timbre. It culminates on the catchy refrain, “I think about these things too much/My mind likes to wind itself up/And I don’t get a lot of sleep/’Cause what if they happen to me?” The track displays the songstress at her most vulnerable and vital.

- Personally curated by Elvis Costello, The Complete Armed Forces is the definitive statement of the legendary songwriter and musician’s revered and essential 1979 album, featuring the classic hits “Accidents Will Happen,” “Green Shirt,” “Oliver’s Army” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding.” Leaving no musical stone unturned, no lyric notebook unrifled through and no detail left out, this new super deluxe edition vinyl box set is a thorough excavation of Costello’s vault from this metamorphic period of his early beginnings, painting as complete a picture as possible of the events that led to the making of the album, its creation, and the wild success that followed for him, and his band The Attractions, and ignited his career. Armed Forces is explored across nine pieces of vinyl (3 12-inch LPs, 3 10-inch LPs and 3 7-inch singles), including a new 2020 remaster of the album, B-sides, alternate versions and outtakes, demos, and a slew of live recordings – including 23 unreleased live tracks taken from three especially riotous concerts.  The Complete Armed Forces, available now via UMe, can be streamed in its entirety at all streaming services and purchased exclusively via Elvis Costello's official online store and UMG’s online stores uDiscover and Sound of Vinyl, in two vinyl versions – 180-gram black vinyl and limited edition 180-gram multi-color opaque vinyl. Stream and order here: https://elviscostello.lnk.to/ArmedForces

- Rounding out a breakthrough year earmarked by millions of streams and widespread acclaim, seventeen-year-old Sydney-born singer/songwriter Evie Irie presents The Pessimist EP day. Get it HERE via Republic Records.  The project includes fan favorites “Over Him” and “Worst Enemy,” which have already tallied over 1 million total streams and counting. It also features the brand new single “Misfit” described by Evie as, “a snapshot of a high-schooler in a bathroom stall, sitting on the toilet eating their cafeteria food alone, turn what their diary would feel like and how the food would taste in that moment, into a song, that would be Misfit.”

- Polydor Records/UMe has announced the forthcoming release of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella: The Musical (Original London Cast Recording). The album features cast from the highly anticipated new theatre production, which was originally meant to have opened in October 2020, along with appearances from some surprise guest vocalists.  Andrew said, “50 years ago I couldn’t get Jesus Christ Superstar on stage as nobody wanted to produce it, so it appeared on record first. It’s so strange to find history repeating itself half a century later with the album of the complete score of my new Cinderella. I can’t get Cinderella on stage because I’m not allowed to, so I have gone back to my roots and recorded the album first.”  Recording for began in March 2020 and continued through lockdown with Andrew recording artists remotely and producing the majority of the score from his home. Once it was feasible, the recording process proceeded via socially distanced studio sessions in London.  The first song from the album is “Bad Cinderella” performed by Carrie Hope Fletcher, who will star as Cinderella in the production which is due to open in London’s West End Spring 2021. “Bad Cinderella” launches across all DSPs today, here: http://cinderella.lnk.to/badcinderella.

- Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, has greenlit an all-new edition of the popular word association game show CHAIN REACTION. Actor and TV personality Dylan Lane, who originally hosted the show’s network premiere 14 years ago, returns to host the new half-hour series, which is slated to premiere in early 2021 and air Monday through Friday.  Based on the Sony Pictures Television format, the classic game show – which originally debuted in the 1980s – features two teams competing against one another to complete chains of words, after the first and last words of the chain are revealed. Each word in the chain is related in some way to the word directly above and below it. By making inferences based on the revealed words and the revealed letters in incomplete words, contestants try to fill in the word chains to win money. 

Previewing Moonbase 8

 
After being elected, President Donald Trump raised some eyebrows when he announced a new division of the military called the Space Force.  Netflix rushed a comedy into production by the same shortly after.  Near the end of his first term (and as I write this, looks to be his only term, hopefully by the time you read this it will be official) he announced more space themed initiatives for his second term including putting a man on Mars and establishing a permanent base on the moon.  Seriously.  Though please note these absurd plans were did not inspire the new Showtime comedy Moonbase 8.

Though in this fictitious series, NASA is building a base on the moon, but the main characters are still stranded in the Nevada desert preparing for the day they will be chosen to be sent there.  Watching the show, you can tell right away why Nasa would keep this crew grounded.  John C. Reilly is the captain, Fred Armisen is the resident doctor, Tim Heidecker is.. um, I guess just the religious guy, and Super Bowl champion Trais Kelse is basically there  to give the program good press.

Unfortunately Kelse turned out to be the funniest character on the show and he is gone by the end of the first episode.  I was hoping the fourth member of the team would turn into a Spinal Tap drummer situation but for reasons never explained, Kelse was never replaced on the fake base.  A rotating guest of stars may have saved what ends up being a fairly mediocre comedy with a few chuckle and no actual laughs.  It got a little interesting in an episode that takes a surprising dark turn but that quickly reverted back into the tone of the rest of the six episodes total.

In a measure of full disclose, I have never been much of a fan of the comedy stylings of Reilly or Armisen and before the show, was not familiar with the oeuvre of Heidecker but found him the least interesting of the three.  So your mileage might very if you are fans of the three.  But if not, Moonbase 8 likely will not change your impressions of them.

Moonbase 8 airs Sundays at 11:00 on Showtime.

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

 
The Good Lord Bird:  I knew going in that Fredrick Douglass was going to pop up but I was not expecting Harriet Tubman show up.  I guess I should get around to watching her recent movie soon.  But this week just seemed like a set up for what I am guessing will be a pretty wild heist episode next week.

Fear the Walking Dead:  If a zombie apocalypse is not enough, now they have to worry about The Plague?  But what was the face dude’s wife doing where she is just hanging out with walkie talkie?  Was she with the people in that building?  Someone else?  I was going to assume we would get an episode long flashback of what she has been doing this whole time but the previews seems like we will finally see what is up with that other dude whose name I forgot.   

The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  There have been plenty of zombie kills in th decade long history of the extended universe, but I believe this is the first time someone beat a zombie to death with their bare hands.  That should be pretty alarming to the rest of the group.

Fargo:  Really, they are ordering child murder now?  I know there has always been violence in the franchise but it has almost been comedic, some of these characters are just overtly mean.  But the guy ends up not doing it… only to be murdered himself because the Irish dude was able to leave, come back, find out where he was and catch the dude.  This season is becoming a drag.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.

The Mandalorian:  So far this year, Timothy Olyphant as a Marshall on this show, a Fed on Fargo, and as Timothy Olyphant on The Good Place.  Thank goodness he does not seem to care about being typecast because Timothy Olyphant - lawman is one of the best characters on television.  I was a bit disappointed that once he gave up his helmet, he did not pick up a Raylan Givens hat.  Almost as disappointed as when Chubbs got an infected hand and instead of cutting it off and using a wooden hand, stupid Baby Yoda healed him. 

Around the Tubes: October 31, 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 Moonbase 8, U2, Benee, Taylor Swift, Paris Jackson, Smoke: Marijuana + Black America, Couples Therapy, The Circus, Macho, My Phycadelic Love Story, and The Curve. 

- SHOWTIME will release the premiere episode of its new comedy series MOONBASE 8 for free online sampling, on streaming platforms and on demand beginning at midnight on Sunday, November 8. Simultaneously, all episodes of the series will release for on-demand streaming or download on the SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME ANYTIME^® apps and partner on-demand platforms for SHOWTIME subscribers. Starring Emmy^® nominee Fred Armisen (Portlandia), Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!) and Golden Globe^® and Academy Award^® nominee John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), MOONBASE 8 will officially premiere on Sunday, November 8 at 11 p.m. ET/PT and continue airing new episodes weekly.  The first episode will be available for free on YouTube 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 premiere will be available for free on the SHOWTIME stand-alone service’s website www.showtime.com.

- The 20th Anniversary multi-format anniversary edition reissue of U2's global smash hit album All That You Can't Leave Behind - featuring a brand new 12-track remaster of the record and a 51-track Super Deluxe box set - is out now!  To celebrate the release, Live In Boston - the concert film capturing the band's June 2001 Elevation Tour performance - will be available to watch via live stream here. Tune in at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET TODAY to catch the film plus a Q&A with Adam Clayton and The Edge, hosted by the BBC's Jo Whiley. Also available on-demand here for 48 hours throughout the weekend.  A three-track EP titled "Trilogy," featuring two previously unreleased remixes unearthed in the band's Dublin archives, will be available on all DSPs on Friday 13th November.

- New Zealand’s platinum sensation BENEE reveals her new single, “Plain” feat. Lily Allen & Flo Milli—listen HERE! It stands out as the latest song to be unveiled from her anxiously awaited full-length debut, Hey u x, out November 13^th—pre-order it HERE now.  Sending a message to an ex, dreamy guitar fades in and out of the background as BENEE croons, “What a shame your girl’s so plain, she’s got nothing on me. Hope she stays the hell away, I don’t want to see her.” The song features a gorgeously melancholic cameo from Lily Allen, while Flo Milli raps over the bouncy beat with a razor-sharp rhyme of her own. The track unites three dynamic and diverse female voices on one understated, yet undeniable send-off.

- Taylor Swift has garnered a total of 12 new certifications from the RIAA. Among them, her critically-acclaimed, 5 star 2020 album, folkore, has achieved gold and platinum status.  folklore arrived this summer to widespread acclaim and audience excitement. It became the top-selling record of 2020 worldwide and is the only album this year to cross 1 million albums in pure sales in the U.S. Taylor notably completed “the longest consecutive run at #1 since 2016” with six straight weeks atop the Billboard 200. Additionally, folklore returns to No. 1 this week on the Billboard 200 chart, marking eight nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart. What’s more Taylor has achieved 48 cumulative weeks at No. 1 across all of her chart-topping albums which marks a record amongst women.

-  22-year-old singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist Paris Jackson makes her solo debut with a song and music video entitled “Let Down.” This notably marks her inaugural solo release for Republic Records. It also paves the way for her first full-length album, Wilted, arriving on November 13, 2020.  Written by Paris herself and produced by Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull, “Let Down” tells a story of heartbreak through alternative-folk and singer-songwriter sounds and influences.  Watch the music video for “Let Down” HERE.  Get “Let Down” HERE.
 
- BET announces a new original documentary titled “Smoke: Marijuana + Black America,” set to premiere on Wednesday, November 18^th at 10pm ET/PT. Narrated and executive produced by multi-platinum rapper and entrepreneur, Nasir “Nas” Jones, the two-hour special examines marijuana’s cultural, social, economic and legal impact on American society and the Black community. Told through the lens of aficionados, policy makers, advocates and innovators in the booming legal cannabis industry, SMOKE features testimony from a range of notable individuals including Senator Kamala D. Harris, Senator Cory Booker, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Representative Barbara Lee, former NBA player and cannabis investor Al Harrington, WNBA star Cheyenne Parker, former NFL star Ricky Williams, rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill), award-winning music artist Ty Dolla $ign, son of Notorious B.I.G. C.J. Wallace, Columbia University PhD Professor Carl Hart and others.

-  SHOWTIME Documentary Films announced today an original COUPLES THERAPY special will air on Sunday, December 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The one-hour documentary, entitled COUPLES THERAPY: THE COVID SPECIAL, features renowned therapist Dr. Orna Guralnik as she and her patients grapple with the realities of the COVID-19 shutdown and its impact on their lives and relationships. The critically acclaimed docu-series COUPLES THERAPY, which allows viewers an authentic and visceral look at weekly sessions, will return for a second season in 2021.  To watch and share a trailer of COUPLES THERAPY: THE COVID SPECIAL, go to: https://youtu.be/DeJ_yzzQ7Wg  When stay-at-home orders hit New York in March of this year, Dr. Guralnik was deep in therapy with many couples in crisis. Suddenly, these couples found themselves facing a radical new reality – they were literally trapped together, during a time of global, cultural and political unrest. COUPLES THERAPY: THE COVID SPECIAL follows the couples’ struggles through remote therapy sessions, as they push Dr. Guralnik to the limits of her insight and skill. Some couples are forced into conflict they can no longer avoid; some rise above to discover renewed love and connection. All emerge with their relationships profoundly changed.

- THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE CRAZIEST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ON EARTH continues its fifth season this Sunday, taking stock of the presidential race and diving deep into the battle for the U.S. Senate. With less than a week before Election Day, former Vice President Joe Biden is on the trail and leading in battleground-state polls, while President Trump criss-crosses the country to mobilize support.  Meanwhile, hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon, along with guest contributor Jennifer Palmieri, go inside key races that will help determine control of the Senate, following the Supreme Court confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.  For a preview, go to: https://youtu.be/6PmAhMp02Bc.

- Showtime Sports Documentary Films today announced it will air MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY, an unflinching look at the remarkable life, storied career and unsolved murder of one of boxing’s greatest showmen. Premiering Friday, December 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, the documentary debuts just two weeks after the eighth anniversary of Camacho’s fatal shooting in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.  For the first time on film, MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY offers a thorough examination of an unlikely sports hero. The film celebrates Camacho’s sublime boxing skills and the unbridled charisma that brought Spanish Harlem and Puerto Rican culture to the center of the sports world. Through rare and revealing interviews with his mother, Maria Matias, sisters, wife Amy and son Hector Jr., the documentary also delves into the legendary fighter’s troubled mind and spirit, his battle with addiction and the inner turmoil that ultimately lead to his demise – a mysterious double homicide on a roadside in November 2012.

- SHOWTIME has released the trailer and poster from MY PSYCHEDELIC LOVE STORY, the newest documentary from Academy Award^®-winning filmmaker Errol Morris (Wormwood, The Fog of War). The film, which was the Closing Night selection at AFI Fest earlier this month and will screen at DOC NYC next month, is a psychedelic head trip crossed with a possible CIA conspiracy and wrapped in a fascinating love story told by the late Joanna Harcourt-Smith about her time with Timothy Leary. In MY PSYCHEDELIC LOVE STORY, Morris and Harcourt-Smith will reexamine this chaotic period of her life and explore the dark side of the Leary saga: his period of exile, reimprisonment and subsequent cooperation with the authorities. The film will premiere on Sunday, November 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/WJAsSX_V86I.

- Anticipated documentary thriller The Curve is now streaming for free, ad-free, on YouTube in its entirety (thecurvedoc.com/watch) until the end of Election Day.  The movie – which is the first major creative, poetic and interpretive feature film to tackle to the COVID-19 pandemic – marks a major victory for filmmaking in the post-lockdown era. Radically different from anything else released this year, the hybrid film sets a new milestone for non-fiction filmmaking.  A rallying cry for a beleaguered film industry, released in unprecedented fashion, it sends a clear message to cinematic doom-mongers: storytelling must and will continue, regardless of circumstance. The film also serves as a damning condemnation of the failings of the Trump administration, emerging at a crucial moment in U.S. history. 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: October 25, 2020

 
Lovecraft Country:  With wildly different episodes all season with different genre themes, it was weird ending it with a pretty straight forward ending.  Strong idea, but the whole show just kind of fell flat.

Fear the Walking Dead:  So is Daniel secretly working with Morgan and pretending his mental capacity this whole time?  But what I did not understand about that plan to empty the zombie room was why not just kill them while there were in that pen?  Why wait to do that after they broke free?

The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So ethically ambiguously sister told her sister than she got their mother killed.  But when does she tell nerdy dude she killed his mother?   But I was wrong that the adults would make the kids go right back to find out the evil chick killed everyone.  And why?  They were using too much power?  Is that what the final scene was about.

Fargo:  Really, they needed to kill off Doctor Senator?  He was the best character this season.  Meh.  But really an inconsequential episode up to this point.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 

Around the Tubes: October 24, 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 Ariana Grande, Your Honor, Run, Stephan Colbert, Eater’s Guide to the World, The Reagans, The Circus, Doom Patrol, Snowpiercer, Beastie Boys, Nelly Furtado, The Offspring, Noah Kahan, Kristin Chenoweth, Ziwe, Regina Hall, and Supervillian.

- ARIANA GRANDE NEW SINGLE “positions” OUT NOWLISTEN HERE: https://arianagrande.lnk.to/positionsWATCH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO HERE: https://arianagrande.lnk.to/positionsvideo
- SHOWTIME announced that the new limited series YOUR HONOR, starring Oscar^® nominee and Emmy^® winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), will premiere on Sunday, December 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. BAFTA^® winner Peter Moffat (The Night Of, Undercover) serves as showrunner, executive producer and writer of multiple episodes. The series is executive produced by Emmy nominees Robert and Michelle King (The Good Fight, The Good Wife, Evil) and Liz Glotzer (Evil, The Good Fight). Emmy-nominated and BAFTA-winning director Edward Berger (PATRICK MELROSE) executive produces and directs the first three episodes.  

- Check out the official Hulu trailer for RUN. The Original Film will premiere on Friday, November 20, only on Hulu. 

- Emmy and Peabody Award-winning late night host Stephen Colbert will return to SHOWTIME to host another live election night special. STEPHEN COLBERT’S ELECTION NIGHT 2020: DEMOCRACY’S LAST STAND: BUILDING BACK AMERICA GREAT AGAIN BETTER 2020. Airing Tuesday, November 3 at 11 p.m. ET, the one-hour special will feature the celebrated host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert reacting in real-time to election results as the state-by-state returns come in.  Guests will include Charlamagne Tha God and hosts Alex Wagner, John Heilemann and Mark McKinnon of THE CIRCUS.

Check out the official trailer and for upcoming original series Eater’s Guide to the World, narrated by Maya Rudolph.  All 7 episodes premiere Wednesday, November 11^th, only on Hulu!

- SHOWTIME has released the trailer and poster art for the upcoming docu-series THE REAGANS. Directed by Matt Tyrnauer (Where’s My Roy Cohn?, Studio 54), the four-part series contextualizes the legacy of Ronald and Nancy a generation later while exploring the palace intrigue of the Reagan White House years. THE REAGANS will premiere on Sunday, November 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/8dI1OIkiEaM.
- THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE CRAZIEST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ON EARTH continues its fifth season this Sunday as the presidential candidates brace for the final dramatic weeks before Election Day. Hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon, along with guest contributor Jennifer Palmieri, dive into a dizzying week of news that includes rising Covid cases across the country, Senate battles over the Supreme Court confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, and the final debate between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. For a preview, go to: https://youtu.be/BWMEvL2uBuU.
- Get ready to embrace the strange. DC’s favorite misfit heroes are back to save the world once again with the release of Doom Patrol: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray and DVD on January 26, 2021 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride with all 9 episodes from the second season of the original DC series, plus enjoy the captivating extra features including two behind-the-scenes featurettes. Doom Patrol: The Complete Second Season is priced to own at $29.98 SRP for the DVD ($39.99 in Canada) and $39.99 SRP for the Blu-ray ($44.98 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). Both sets have an order due date of December 22, 2020.
- Attention all passengers - the revolution is coming! Get ready for more secrets, plot twists, and reveals as Warner Bros Home Entertainment takes you on an epic journey with the release of “Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season” on Blu-ray and DVD on January 26, 2021. Strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride with all 10 episodes from the first season, plus enjoy the captivating extra features, behind-the-scenes interviews, featurettes, and more! “Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season” is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray, which includes a Digital Copy. Both sets have an order due date of December 22, 2020. “Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season” is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.
- Beastie Boys Music, a 20-song collection covering the GRAMMY® Award winning and multi-platinum selling Beastie Boys’ recording career is available now. The collection is a companion piece to the critically acclaimed, Emmy® nominated documentary Beastie Boys Story, and the group’s best seller Beastie Boys Book, which ascended to #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers List—topping both the Nonfiction Print Hardcover and Nonfiction Combined Print & E-Book Best Sellers charts.  Beastie Boys Music is available digitally, on CD and as a 180gram 2LP vinyl set and can be ordered here.
- Grammy® winning singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado first spread her artistic wings and soared into America by taking a bold approach to pop music with her debut release of Whoa, Nelly! on October 24, 2000. At the time, she signalled a new era by coupling her multicultural musical heritage with an unabashed willingness to write songs about her strengths and vulnerabilities. On October 23, Dreamworks/UMe celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the RIAA-certified double-platinum album with a new digital-only Expanded Edition, available for pre-save here: https://nellyfurtado.lnk.to/WoahNellyDlx.
- To commemorate its 20^th anniversary, Conspiracy of One, the sixth album by punk rock trailblazers the Offspring, will once again be available on vinyl — the first time since its release in 2000. On December 11, Round Hill Records/UMe will release a deluxe version of Conspiracy of One pressed to yellow and red splatter vinyl, which includes spot gloss on the cover and a custom turntable slipmat featuring the Offspring's flaming skull silhouette logo. A non-deluxe, limited-edition canary yellow vinyl variant will be available on uDiscover & The Sound of Vinyl. A standard black vinyl version will be released in early 2021. Listen or pre-order Conspiracy of One HERE.
- Singer and songwriter Noah Kahan teams up with mxmtoon for his new single “Pride” out now.  LISTEN TO “PRIDE” FEAT. mxmtoon HERE!  “Pride,” which was produced by chart-topping artist and producer Alexander23, illuminates another side of Kahan’s sound, as it explores the regrets and broken promises of a failed relationship through the lens of social media. Highlighting the strength of the renowned songwriter’s craft, Noah is joined by songstress and internet sensation mxmtoon, as the two turn out a duet of hummable harmonies with a lyrical dialogue examining this aspect of modern-day relationships.
- GRAMMY® nominated and Dove Award-winning recording artist Ty Herndon has released a duet with Emmy and Tony award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth, titled, “Orphans of God.” The single, which also features award-winning pianist and composer Paul Cardall on piano will be featured on Herndon’s upcoming Christmas album, Regifted, set for release on Friday, November 27. Both the single and album are released via BFD/The Orchard. “Orphans of God” can be heard here, and Regifted can be heard here.
- SHOWTIME has placed a straight-to-series order for an untitled variety series starring and executive produced by rising star Ziwe. The series will feature interviews, sketches and more – including unscripted and unpredictable real-world rendezvous between everyday people and Ziwe, a writer, comedian and performer. The announcement was made by Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. In addition to writing for DESUS & MERO^® and OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT on SHOWTIME and Dickinson, Ziwe hosts an online show, in which she invites friends and celebrities alike as guests and, armed with a smiling and biting wit, overtly baits them into comically uncomfortable conversations about race. The show is seen by rapidly rising audiences on YouTube and Instagram. She has also been a voice performer as Kamala Harris among other roles for OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT, as well as Tooning Out the News, and she appears in her own Pop Show, which she created and performs at Brooklyn's Union Hall with original pop songs off her album Generation Ziwe. Ziwe’s comedy career began as an intern for Comedy Central, and a year later she wrote for The Onion and The Rundown with Robin Thede.

 

- Regina Hall (BLACK MONDAY, Girls Trip) has signed a first-look deal with SHOWTIME, where she will develop and produce television projects under her production company, Rh Negative. Already in development is a one-hour comedy special featuring Hall as star and executive producer. The announcement was made today by Amy Israel, Executive Vice President, Scripted Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.  “Regina is an undeniable and brilliant force in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera,” said Israel. "She is one of the most dynamic and fearless actors of our generation and in her work on BLACK MONDAY, she hilariously destroys every scene she’s in. We are thrilled at SHOWTIME to continue and expand our relationship with Regina as a producer and eager to get to work on what promises to be an ambitious slate.”
- SHOWTIME today released a first look from the provocative SUPERVILLAIN, profiling hip-hop artist Tekashi 6ix9ine’s epic rise to notoriety. Through an exclusive interview with the incendiary rapper after his release from prison earlier this spring, director Karam Gill (Ice Cold, G-Funk) examines the culture of manufactured celebrity through 6ix9ine’s mastery of social media. SUPERVILLAIN is produced by Imagine Documentaries, Rolling Stone and Lightbox.  Brian Grazer will executive produce with Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein of Imagine Documentaries, Gus Wenner of Rolling Stone, Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn of Lightbox, journalist Stephen Witt, and Peter J. Scalettar. The three-part docu-series is set to premiere early 2021.  To watch and share the teaser, visit: https://youtu.be/Tg3KX2Dk8gM.  
- Following the final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, People For the American Way (PFAW) President Ben Jealous released the following statement:  "If there was any doubt left about Donald Trump’s unfitness for office, he removed it with his whining and dishonest performance tonight -- including his deeply offensive remark suggesting migrants have 'low IQs.'  Kudos to Joe Biden and to moderator Kristen Welker for showing respect for the American people in the way they addressed the issues that really matter in this election, like health care, the pandemic, and our national reckoning with racial inequity.  Biden was the clear winner tonight on the issues and demonstrated his integrity, honesty and commitment to our democracy. The only thing that remains is for us to get out and vote for Biden and Kamala Harris, and take the first step toward healing our country after four disastrous years of the Trump administration.”  What transpired during the debate showed the American people that it’s more important than ever to vote to ensure that our country has a path to health care, pandemic relief and racial equality. But voter suppression is a real issue, and to combat it, PFAW created Defend the Black Vote to galvanize Black voter turnout especially among young Black men by providing resources to battle misinformation targeting this community. 
- A unique evangelical grassroots campaign is providing strategic support for Joe Biden in swing states to help propel him to victory.  The Evangelicals For Biden Campaign, launched a month ago, has achieved impressive results thus far:

• 175,000+ faith voters across the country have taken our Evangelicals For Biden Pledge.
• 7.6 million opens on our emails.
• 18 million+ impressions of our ads.
• Over 350,000 clicks throughs to our content.
• 100,000+ views and 20,000+ engagements of our Facebook content.
• 20,000+ diversions away from QAnon & pro-Trump opposition pages to our content.

With 12 days before the election, Evangelicals For Biden (EFB) is already the biggest independent evangelical grassroots campaign ever to support a Democratic presidential candidate. 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: October 18, 2020

 
Lovecraft Country:  This episode would have hit much harder had HBO now already aired a show less than a year ago that featured the Black Wall Street Massacre.  But I missed what happened to the aunt and when did she become a computer?  That is the downside to having the episode seem like an anthology, nothing seems like it matters when it is happening until something later happens that makes you realize that it did matter.
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  So who saved Morgan?  I am predicting the burn faced dudes wife.  But I feel we missed a lot.  How did Morgan survive this long with a bullet in his shoulder and some evil chick looking for him. 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  Can wimpy dude just learn that the Hispanic sister killed his mom (and sibling) because the longer they string it along, the more annoying it gets.  And if none of them learn how to kill an “Empty” soon, this is going to be a very short trip.  But I wonder what is going to happen when the adults catch up to them.  Will they head home to learn everyone is dead or keep going toward New York?
 
Fargo:  Deafy is getting the short straw this time around.  Previous seasons the law seemed almost as important as the criminals but Deafy just seems like an afterthought.  It did not help that he did not even show up until the third season.  Chris Rock, who seemed like he was positioned as the lead, also does not seem as important as the marketing would have me believe.  And what exactly did he smell?  Weren’t all the bill washed first before given to the mortician?  Can you not wash puke out of money?
You can download Fargo on iTunes.