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

 
The Good Lord Bird:  I have been waiting two episodes for a heist episode and it looks like it will never come because this seems very much like this will be John Brown’s last stand.  Granted we do know Onion escapes as we see him comment on Brown’s execution in the first episode.  But who else in the gang will get out of this alive.
 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  There is getting to be too many antagonists.  Ginny was introduced last season.  Then the spray painters at the beginning of this season who Morgan may or may not have killed off all of them, and know we have the people in the Purge masks.  And why did Face Dude’s wife joining up with them?  Didn’t she runaway because of Negan?  And know is sticking around to take on Ginny?  That just does not make sense.  But these are people who think it is smart to make an enclosure over the deep end of a pool.  Have they yet to figure out that is where all the water is going to collect when it rains?  A swimming pool has to be the worst encampment in the history of this extended universe.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So was the uncle playing dead all night just waiting for the nephew to show up with marks?  Seems like there would be a better way to con people than that.
 
 
Fargo:  Wait, and I really supposed to believe Rayan Givens would actually gotten the better of by some inept beat cop?  This season just gets worse.  And who attacked the Italians at the end?  Is there a new gang I town or did Chris Rock hire those white dudes?
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
A Teacher:  The concept seemed gross but I went in with an open mind because of Kate Mara and FX’s really good track record.  After watching the first three episodes I have to say… this show is really gross.  And the soundtrack is horrible too.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  Oh hey, more Mandalorians… and these ones take their helmets off.  Granted I have watched the animated series so I knew there were some out there that do that.  But now I need to know why our Mandalorian does not and others do?  It would be cool if we got a flashback to see the split in the Mandalorians but this show has yet to use that technique much except for flashes back to Mando’s childhood.  And then after Baby Yoda rudely ate some of the last of a species that his food actually fought back this week.

Around the Tubes: November 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 Happiest Season, I am Greta, Desus and Mero, Benee, Paris Jackson, Isabela Merced, Billie Holiday, Ariana Grande, El Sicario, and the Hulu Winter Schedule.

- Ready for some holiday cheer? The HAPPIEST SEASON official trailer is finally here!  The Hulu Original romantic comedy film premieres November 25 on Hulu. Meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family’s annual Christmas dinner — until you realize that they don’t even know she’s gay — is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew. HAPPIEST SEASON is a holiday romantic comedy that hilariously captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas.

- Hulu’s I AM GRETA premiered Friday, November 13th. The story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is told through compelling, never-before-seen footage in this intimate documentary from Swedish director Nathan Grossman. Starting with her one-person school strike for climate action outside the Swedish Parliament, Grossman follows Greta—a shy student with Asperger’s—in her rise to prominence and her galvanizing global impact as she sparks school strikes around the world. The film culminates with her extraordinary wind-powered voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City.

 

- SHOWTIME announced a one-hour original DESUS & MERO special will air on Sunday, November 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The special titled “DMFM: The Home of Boom Bap” will transform the DESUS & MERO studio into an old-school radio station and focus on the history of hip hop, featuring special guests including Busta Rhymes, Sheila E, City Girls, Juicy J and Cam’ron, along with calls from listeners and more with the hosts Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez). DESUS & MERO just wrapped its second season and, as previously announced, will return for season three in 2021. Each episode features the co-hosts giving their take on the day’s hot topics and chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more.  To watch and share a promo, go to: https://youtu.be/8ud45j8J_ZE.

- New Zealand’s platinum sensation BENEE unveils her eagerly awaited full-length debut album, Hey u x, today—get it HERE via Republic Records.  Fueled by one off-kilter bop after another, Hey u x sounds like the perfect lost Gen X classic made for Gen Z. Blending, bending and breaking genres like only BENEE can, the album boasts an all-star cast of collaborators, including Lily Allen, Grimes, Flo Milli, Gus Dapperton, Mallrat, Kenny Beats, Bakar and Muroki, and has already been praised by the likes of Billboard, E! Online, Los Angeles Times, NME, NYLON, PAPER Magazine, Pigeons & Planes, Stereogum, Teen Vogue, The Boston Globe, The FADER, The Guardian, UPROXX, V Magazine, Variety and many more. See the full tracklist below. The album was produced by BENEE’s longtime collaborator Josh Fountain, and its artwork was designed by Californian artist Terry Hoff.

- Today, 22-year-old singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist Paris Jackson releases her first full-length album, wilted [Republic Records].  Get wilted HERE.  Co-written and produced by Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull with engineering and instrumentation by Manchester Orchestra’s Robert McDowell, these eleven tracks stitch together a multi-dimensional pastiche of hurt, healing, loss, and love carried by hazy vocalizations and a patchwork of earthy alternative folk.

- Gearing up for a red hot holiday season, singer, songwriter, and acclaimed actress Isabela Merced release her first-ever Christmas single entitled “Caliente Navidad.” Listen HERE via Republic Records.  Watch the official lyric video HERE.  

“Last year, I was able to spend Christmas with my family in Peru, and it was by far the warmest feeling ever. It was a lot of dancing, eating, and the fun didn’t stop until the next day.”  Isabela comments, “On Christmas my family makes chocolate caliente, and cuts Paneton. Then the celebrations start with lots of dancing. One of our traditions is the alcatraz, a Peruvian dance.  My hope is everyone gets to have a Caliente Navidad, whether it’s in a warm place or just a warm Christmas surrounded by those you love.”

- The official companion soundtrack for the anticipated documentary, Billie, about legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, is now available on CD, LP and digitally for streaming and download via Verve/UMe. Billie: The Original Soundtrack collects some of Holiday’s most popular songs featured throughout the transfixing film including “God Bless The Child,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “I Loves You, Porgy” and “Strange Fruit,” along with instrumental cues.  Stream or purchase Billie: The Original Soundtrack here: https://UMe.lnk.to/BillieOriginalSoundtrack

- Noticias Telemundo has launched a new podcast series produced by its award-winning investigative unit, Noticias Telemundo Investiga. The five-part series, titled “El Sicario” or “The Hitman” and available now for streaming, takes listeners inside one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels.  Hosted by Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro and narrated by Noticias Telemundo Investiga correspondent Aldo Meza, the series details the experiences of a man who was recruited and spent months training to become a hitman for the Jalisco Cartel New Generation before he escaped. The man’s testimony is believed to be the first by someone who has spent months in the cartel’s training camp. 

- Ariana Grande returns to the top of the charts with new album Positions debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200, Billboard Top Album Sales, Billboard Pop Album, and Billboard Streaming Album charts.

- Hulu Winter Schedule: 

                                                                           SERIES

EATER'S GUIDE TO THE WORLD - Premiere Date: November 11 (binge)

NO MAN'S LAND - Premiere Date: November 18 (binge)

ANIMANIACS - Premiere Date: November 20 (binge)

THE SISTER - Premiere Date: January 22 (binge)

DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS

 

I AM GRETA - Premiere Date: November 13

RUN - Premiere Date: November 20

HAPPIEST SEASON - Premiere Date: November 25

THE ULTIMATE PLAYLIST OF NOISE - Premiere Date: January 15

DEREK DELGAUDIO'S IN & OF ITSELF - Premiere Date: January 22

FAMILY

 

THE MIGHTY ONES - Premiere Date: November 9 (binge)

TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA - Premiere Date: November 19 (binge)

THE HARDY BOYS - Premiere Date: December 4 (binge)

MADAGASCAR: A LITTLE WILD - Premiere Date: December 11 (binge)

ENDLINGS - Premiere Date: January 15 (binge)

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

 
The Good Lord Bird:  Well, I was wrong that we were getting a heist episode this week; it has got to be next week I guess.  But where everybody seems to recognize John Brown, but it took a very long time for anyone notice that Onion is really a dude.  And then he finally came out as a dude by the end.

Fear the Walking Dead:  So how tong until John takes that chick’s bike that she said she has stashed?  With June now back, could be soon.  But did they really kill off the people who were spray painting everywhere already?  So I guess they do not matter, it is the mysterious key that matters?

The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So the chick who murdered the dude’s mother realized that he was her son this week.  She just finally revealed to her sister that she was the one that “killed” their mother.  When does she let the dude she killed her mother?  But for a second there, I thought the gut at the end with the staff might turn out to be Morgan but the “next time on” spoiled who it really was… no one interesting.

Fargo:  So where did the kid and the Irishman run off to? 
You can download Fargo on iTunes.

The Mandalorian:  Ugg, ice spiders, I really hate spiders.  But Baby Yoda eating those eggs was really creepy considering their mother was right there.  And playing it for laughs made it much worse.

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.