Around the Tubes: April 16, 2022

              

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Conversations with Friends, bülow, Neneh Cherry, UB40, Amy Winehouse, All Things Go Music Festival, Lyn Lapid, Ziwe, Spirit Halloween, Bushwick Bill: Geto Boy, and the American Ultimate Disc League.

Check out the trailer for Hulu's "Conversations with Friends" featuring the original song "Sidelines" by Phoebe Bridgers created for the series.  The limited series premieres all 12 episodes May 15, 2022 on Hulu.  “Conversations with Friends” follows Frances, a 21 year old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.

- This week, alternative pop singer and songwriter bülow shares new EP booty call via Republic Records/Universal Music Canada. The new EP highlights the new sound from bülow, which has been unleashed with previously released tracks “Playin’ Me Back” and “Don’t Break His Heart”. Listen to “Booty Call” HERE

- ‘Buffalo Stance’ was a career defining track from Neneh Cherry’s debut album Raw Like Sushi that grabbed everyone’s attention, making a global impact on music, fashion, and culture and still continues to do so. As Booker Prize winning author Marlon James says, Neneh created a movement of inclusivity and became a figurehead in the queer community with this track that so fiercely shined light on the struggles of inner city life, especially for the marginalised.  ‘Buffalo Stance’ means to “stand proud,” and today we see what the modern day version of that looks like in the accompanying video for Robyn’s re-imagining of the track, produced by Dev Hynes and featuring Mapei. Directed by Manchester-born India Sleem, who now resides in Brooklyn, the video stars model and actress Indya Moore, best known for their role in the hit TV series Pose, whose story is incredibly inspiring from leaving home at 14 - escaping a transphobic family, foster care, homelessness, and ultimately becoming an iconic and especially important figure amongst the LGBTQ+ community. Indya is joined by other young queer and BIPOC creatives in the video, who may not previously had the opportunity to show off their “buffalo stance” - their skills, their beauty, their power, their queerness.

- UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell & Astro will release their new album Unprecedented, June 17 via UMe.  The album will be released as a black 2LP, a limited-edition white-color 2LP, 1CD, limited-edition cassette as well as digitally.  All formats include their new single “Sufferer”, which Ali has dedicated to his beloved friend and bandmate of over four decades, Astro, who tragically passed away last November.

- UMe, Island Records, and BBC announce the release of Live at Glastonbury 2007 – the iconic performance of Amy Winehouse’s Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury 2007, coming to vinyl for the very first time on Friday, June 3rd.  Showcasing the inimitable artistry of one of the UK’s most gifted and accomplished singers of all time, this emotionally charged live set will be released as a 2LP on black vinyl, with an exclusive crystal clear edition available HERE. The 2007 performance on the festival’s legendary Pyramid Stage, 15 years ago this summer, was Amy’s second Glastonbury appearance and a performance that saw the world completely fall in love with her music. As well as a second set later that same day on the Jazz World Stage, Amy returned the following year to perform again on the Pyramid stage, cementing herself firmly in the canon of great Glastonbury performances.

- The 2022 All Things Go Music Festival returns to the iconic Merriweather Post Pavilion on October 1st, where it will host 16 artists across multiple stages. The independent festival has grown year over year and continues to support women in top billing positions with 2022 headliner and youngest GRAMMY Song Of The Year winner, LORDE - in addition to Mitski, Bleachers, King Princess, Lucy Dacus, Bartees Strange and more stacked on the bill.  Tickets go on sale Friday, April 15th at 10 am EDT and can be purchased at https://www.allthingsgofestival.com/

- After releasing a slew of viral singles over the past year, breakout songstress Lyn Lapid drops her long-awaited debut EP The Outsider today—listen HERE. The EP, dedicated to all “the outsiders” like Lyn, features 8-songs, including her new single “Pager” alongside fan favorites like “In My Mind,” “I Guess That Was Goodbye,” and the title track “The Outsider.” See the full tracklist below.  On the EP, Lyn says, “I would best describe ‘The Outsider’ as a collection of the different parts of myself that I discovered growing up, and how I learned to accept and set myself apart from the community I grew up in and the people I encountered throughout my life. The focus track of the EP, ‘Pager,’ perfectly encapsulates that sort of idea I had, and it’s the one track on the EP where I specifically talk about the kind of community I grew up in. I grew up in an academically rigorous and competitive community where careers in the fine arts were highly stigmatized and discouraged, so you can imagine the kind of reaction I got when I decided not to go to college and pursue a career as a musician; it was kinda awful, and I got a lot of backhanded comments. I knew that music was my true passion ever since I was little, and eventually I figured I could never win everyone over with the choice I made for myself. I learned to stick with the people who truly got behind me and cut ties with anyone who didn’t.”

-  SHOWTIME has released a first look at the highly anticipated second season of ZIWE, the critically acclaimed late-night variety series, starring and executive produced by Ziwe (Dickinson, Succession, The Great North). ZIWE will return with all-new interviews, musical numbers, guest stars, sketches and more starting Friday, April 29 on streaming and on demand for all SHOWTIME subscribers, before making its on-air debut on Sunday, May 1 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The season will continue to drop new episodes every Friday via streaming and on-demand platforms before appearing on air Sunday night.  The season’s first installment will include six episodes, before returning for a second installment of new episodes later this year. The trailer previews more of Ziwe’s signature, provocative interviews with season-two guests including Charlamagne Tha God, Chet Hanks, Emily Ratajkowski, Ilana Glazer, Hannibal Buress, Nicole Byer, Mia Kalifa, Adam Pally and Deux Moi, along with special appearances by Jane Krakowski and Luann de Lesseps.  To watch and share the season two trailer, go to: https://youtu.be/_m0H7DyqsJ0

-  Strike Back Studios and Hideout Pictures continue their busy production schedule in 2022 having wrapped principal photography of “Spirit Halloween.” When a new Spirit Halloween store appears in a deserted strip mall, three middle school friends who think they’ve outgrown trick or treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night. But they soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters. The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves.  After a nationwide search the production found a group young up & coming actors to round out the cast including Donavan Colan (“Zoe,” “Getaway”), Dylan Martin Frankel (“Raven’s Home,” “Life & Beth”), Jaiden Smith (“Blue Bloods,” “The Mothership”), and Marissa Reyes (“Raven’s Home”).The film also offers audiences a cast filled with beloved veteran actors including Rachael Leigh Cook (“He’s All That,” “Love, Guaranteed”), Christopher Lloyd (“The Tender Bar”, “Back to the Future Trilogy,”) and Marla Gibbs (“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, “227”).

- BUSHWICK BILL: GETO BOY, a documentary film that was previously announced as part of the SHOWTIME^® HIP HOP 50 series, is no longer airing on Friday, April 29.  The other SHOWTIME HIP HOP 50 titles for April will premiere as scheduled: LA MADRINA: THE SAVAGE LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA (Friday, April 15) and CYPRESS HILL: INSANE IN THE BRAIN (Wednesday, April 20).  HIP HOP 50 runs over the next two years and encompasses unscripted series and features, podcasts and digital shorts by and about some of the foremost names in the genre, culminating with the 50^th anniversary of the genre in 2023. Previous titles include YOU’RE WATCHING VIDEO MUSIC BOX, RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST and ROLLING LIKE THUNDER. 

- The American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) today announced its 2022 14-week regular season schedule, which begins on Friday night, April 29, and concludes on Sunday, July 31. Click here to see the entire 2022 season schedule.  The 2022 AUDL schedule will feature each of the 25 teams playing 12 regular season games. After a three-division configuration in 2021 due to the pandemic, the AUDL’s traditional four division format—the Central, East, South, and West divisions- will return, with three playoff spots in the Central, East, and West divisions and two in the South division. The postseason schedule will be broken into two rounds: a divisional wild card game, and a championship, and the winner of each division’s championship game will have the right to represent at the 2022 AUDL Championship Weekend, starting Friday, August 26 in Madison, Wis.  The AUDL’s 11th season is headlined by three expansion teams; the Colorado Summit, Portland Nitro, and Salt Lake Shred, each competing in the West division, and also includes the newly relocated Oakland Spiders from San Jose. Some teams will even have a new look and leadership, as the Dallas Legion unveiled its new logo this past February and the Chicago Union, Philadelphia Phoenix, and Toronto Rush have all undergone several front office and coaching personnel changes. 

 

Previewing The First Lady

 

There was an old adage that the best way to win an acting Oscar was to play a real person.  Both Best Actor and Best Actress winners this year and seven of the ten nominees played real people.  21 Best Actor and Actress winners of the past two decades played real people.  That seems to be finally seeping into the Emmy’s with half of the lead acting nominees going to actors playing real people last year.  That trend seems to be continuing as there was an explosion of ripped from the headline shows this year with actors from The  Dropout, Dopesick, Under the Banner of Heaven, and The Survivor very likely to get nominations, with shows like Pam and Tommy, We Crashed, The Thing About Pam  in the hunt (sorry Inventing Anna, The Girl From Plainville, Impeachment, Super-Pumped, Joe vs. Carol, and way too many more to list).  Gold Derby gives the odds of 49 potential Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and 15 of the top 20 are actresses playing real peaple.  It should be noted both Gold Derby and Variety currently Margaret Qualley in Maid as the winner, one of the few original characters.

 

Complicating things is The First Lady with three very high profile leads; Gold Derby currently predicts nominations for former Emmy winners Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson (who won last year for portraying Margaret Thatcher) with Michelle Pfeiffer slight on the outside with the eight best odds.  Though Variety thinks those three leads will get complete shut out with the lone predicted nomination for the show going to O-T Fagbenle.  Of course a bunch of the shows mentioned so far have not even premiered yet, so take all this prognostication with a grain of salt.

 

While it is easy to predict nominations for actors who have already received the award, for me, if there was one of the three leads on The First Lady to receive a nomination, it should be Pfeiffer who plays the most interesting first lady in our country’s history, Betty Ford (though when she first came on screen, I thought she was playing Nancy Reagan).  Ford transcended the position, becoming synonymous with rehab after setting up the Betty Ford Clinic.  Even though I knew in the back of my head they were both part of the administration, I was surprised to see Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld pop up quite frequently on the show.  Susan Ford at one point jokes they are having an affair because they are almost always seen together.

 

Davis plays Michelle Obama despite being currently just two year younger than the former first lady and making her 12 years older than Obama when her husband elected and plays Michelle as far back as the early 00’s (this show jumps around a lot like Dopesick and even has the date scroll on the bottom every time they change dates).  The age difference is only exacerbated by the casting of Fagbenle as Barack who is fifteen years younger than Davis and five years younger than Barack when he was first sworn in.  It should also be noted that Pfeiffer is seven years older than Ford when Nixon resigned and nine years older than Aaron Eckhart who is also a little young, and let’s be honest, way too attractive to be playing Gerald Ford.

 

Gillian Anderson currently is an age Eleanor Roosevelt was during her term as first lady (there were no term limits back then so she did get to reign for twelve years) and also has an appropriately aged Kiefer Sutherland as her husband Franklin.  The Roosevelt’s are also a blank slate for most of modern television watchers.  Most people are at the very least familiar with the Betty Ford Clinic and the Obamas were in office in the era of too much information so anyone who is at least a teenage today probably has a vivid memory of them, but the Roosevelts lived in a much different time.  Most Americans at the time did not even know FDR was confined to a wheelchair.  There is one very prominent rumor about Eleanor that is brought on the show.

 

The show does delve in the past of these three ladies; episode three is completely devoted to the origin story of how they met their husbands.  Thankfully they did cast younger actresses to play the future first ladies in their twenties.  Kristine Froseth (Looking for Alaska, her co-star Charlie Plummer plays young FDR), Eliza Scanlen (Sharp Objects) plays young Eleanor, while Jayme Lawson (The Batman) plays young Michelle.  I wish these actresses got more than one episode (at least so far, I have not watched the final three episodes yet) but unfortunately in the television business, when you can get actresses the caliber of Davis, Anderson, and Pfeiffer, you are not going to sideline them for very long.  Dakota Fanning (The Alienist), Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown), and Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) play first daughters Susan Ford, Anna Roosevelt, Malia Obama respectively.  There were times, like when Susan's prom which took place at the White House gets referenced, that I wished this was a first kids show instead.

 

Each first lady gets a third of each episode as their stories intertwine all season.  But there are times where I wonder if the show would have been better off with the episodes being an anthology with a new one devoted to each new first lady instead spreading three stories out over the course of ten episodes.  Betty Ford is the only one of the three that has held my interest throughout the season while the Obama and Roosevelt stories drag at time.  Looking at potential future season it is hard to think of anyone else compelling enough to fill even a third of ten episodes.  I am sure producers are eager to get to Hilary Clinton even though the general public is fairly sick of the former and I am not sure if the need to see JFK’s head explode yet again.  Then Nancy Reagan was an actress and Melania Trump was a model.  But if there are more seasons, maybe they should go deeper into American history where less is known about the first ladies so they can take bigger liberties and will not feel like they need to rehash the Wikipedia pages.

 

The First Lady airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: April 10, 2022

 

 

Killing Eve:  I have no idea why the crazy French assassin killed that one chick.  Simple jealousy?  But it does not seem she knew about her and Eve until she overheard them.  I also have no idea why she tried to kill the chick who gave her painkillers either.  Maybe I should pay more attention.  But with two more episodes left ever, why bother?

 

The Walking Dead:  I called it, the showdown between Daryl and Maggie was not as antagonistic as it seemed.  But what is so annoying about the mustache twirling villain, he was willing to kill an entire settlement to get his weapons back, but now he is bargaining with the actual person who stole he weapons to kill Maggie

 

Billions:  Did Mike Prince really just say “mother husker”?  But anyway.  During the whole succession thing and people trying to figure out why, my first thought was that maybe he was maybe he was dying.  Nope, the show is doing something even bigger, and more absurd, than trying to move the Olympics: he is running for president… in 2028.  Well at least the show will not be on the air by then.  Probably?

 

But the whole Wendy book thing made no sense to me.  How could a therapist think writing a book with thinly veiled caricature of her clients was a good idea?  At first I thought she was trying to get fired, but then she burned the book at the end.  So what was it all for?  It kind of felt like the writers did not have anything else for her to do but had to use her somehow.

 

Super Pumped: The Fight for Uber:  Travis was on the Trump economic team?  Yeah, definitely seems like Trump’s kind of guy and helps explain why our economy was in the toilet when Trump left office.  But I am kind of with Travis on the price surging thing, being on the side of the passengers is always the best side to be on.  But the scene with Ariana and Bill just shows what is wrong with this show, trust your actors to be able to convey those sediments, do not put subtitles on the screen.  This show is too much in all the wrong ways.  Well, except in the amount of Pearl Jam songs.

 

The Girl from Plainville:  I cannot confirm nor deny watching the REO Speedwagon scene multiple times.

 

Moon Knight:  If I am being chased by a cult who unleashes a jackal only I can see on me, I am not waiting that long to let the trained assassin living inside out. I would be perfectly fine living in glass reflections for a while if that ever happened.  But now that Steven has taken a backseat, I would be fine if he stays there for the rest of the season now.  I am kind of over his whole act after two episodes.  Give me more of the cool superhero, less of his nebbish alter ego.

 

Survivor: This season opened with a montage that showed Tori finding something.  I assumed it was the dumb phase advantage.  Except someone else on her tribe found that this week.  So what exactly does Tori find and when will she find it?  We are already six hours into the season.  We were already spoiled the results of two Tribals where they made it seem like she would go home, now we are at some buff dropping situation (I wonder if they are going to be split in two again with the odd person out once again getting the dumb turn back time advantage… except there are an even number of people this time) so it looks like she will be going to every Tribal going forward.

 

But Daniel has to go down as one of the worst Survivor contestants ever.  He played last Tribal so bad and then still managed to dig a bigger hole this week.  He even said something to the effect that he added nothing to his Tribe at the Challenge.  He did not even try to not get voted out.  Good riddance.

 

The Dropout:  I was listing to an interview with one of the producers and she said the finale changed after e-mails between Elizabeth and Sunny were released.  The original plan was to have half the episode take place at Burning Man.  The producer claims the finale was better with the change.  I whole-heartedly disagree.  Twenty minutes of watching Lizzy weirdly dancing at Burning Man sounds significantly more entertaining (it is not hard to find photos online and… oof) than what we got.  The final scene was particularly bad with the lawyer, who had to know what was going on and tried to ruin Tyler Shultz’s life, berating Lizzy after the fact.  Probably the right message, but not a great messenger.  Amanda Seyfried recently told Vanity Fair she would love to do Elizabeth again in a season two and I am all for it.  They could easily do a season on her and Sunny’s trial.  Oh, and give us a Burning Man episode.

 

Halo:  So the weird alien chick is special in some sort of way.  Although, if we told why, I missed it.  But not a good sign when your show’s most charismatic character is an AI hologram.  

 

Big Sky:  Oh no, Jinder Mahal was killed by a woman.  Oh well, I guess he can go back to his day job as jobber.  At least he is beat up by men there.  So the father is the one lacing their drugs?  I guess dude is hard up for money.  I wonder how much his white girlfriend was involved in that decision.

The Blacklist:  I did not see whoever the big bad is to kill the guy who actually kill the bartender.  Oh, and he also killed the lawyer.  So whoever is in charged seemingly does not want anyone to know where the black site is either.  But who else even knows of the black site to tell the lawyer?  I wonder if it is someone we have already met.

Around the Tubes: April 8, 2022

              

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Crush, Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, Dear Mr. Brody, Jack Johnson, The Weeknd, Oh Wonder, and Hayes Warner.

- Premiering on Hulu on April 29, CRUSH is Hulu’s latest Original Film from American High (Plan B, Sex Appeal) and also produced by Animal Pictures.  When an aspiring young artist is forced to join her high school track team, she uses it as an opportunity to pursue the girl she’s been harboring a long-time crush on. But she soon finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate and discovers what real love feels like.

- Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story premieres on Hulu April 21, 2022.  This is the story of how a story gets told, and how the media’s magnifying glass impacts the characters caught in the narrative. Siblings Ashley and Steven Stayner Jr. never knew their famous father Steven, the child victim of a shocking California kidnapping, who tragically died in an accident when they were young. In 1972, seven-year-old Steven went to school - and never came home. His mother Kay struggles to keep the media interested in the case, and to hold her family together. Then, after seven years, a miracle: Steven returns. The media can’t get enough of the story and frantically descend on the Stayner home - but this isn’t the Hollywood ending it appears to be.

- DEAR MR. BRODY, from Emmy-Winning filmmaker Keith Maitland (TOWER) available On Discovery+ April 28th.  In January 1970, hippie-millionaire Michael Brody Jr., the 21-year-old heir to a margarine fortune, announced to the world that he would personally usher in a new era of peace and love by giving away his $25-million inheritance to anyone in need. In a frenzied few weeks, Brody and his young wife, Renee, ignited a psychedelic spiral of events. Instant celebrities, the Brody’s were mobbed by the public, scrutinized by the press, and overwhelmed by the crush of personal letters responding to this extraordinary offer. Fifty years later, an enormous cache of these letters are discovered—unopened. In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed TOWER, award- winning director Keith Maitland reveals the incredible story of Michael Brody Jr.—and the countless struggling Americans who sought his help—to create a deeply moving meditation on desire, need, philanthropy, and love.

- Multi-platinum musician Jack Johnson announces the release of a new studio album, Meet The Moonlight, available June 24 through Brushfire Records/Republic Records. The album’s lead single “One Step Ahead” is available today through all digital platforms, alongside an accompanying video. View here.   Meet The Moonlight is available for a pre-order through www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/store and features an exclusive 180g milky clear vinyl.  Meet The Moonlight, Johnson’s eighth studio album and first full-length release in five years, was produced by Blake Mills (Alabama Shakes, Perfume Genius, Jim James) and recorded both in Los Angeles (at Sound City and EastWest) and The Mango Tree (Johnson’s studio in Hawaii). The creation process marks a major artistic milestone from past work, taking shape from a one-on-one collaboration with Mills (whose contributions included everything from fretless guitar to Moog synth to steel drums) and unveiled an intimate and highly experimental process that involved embedding Johnson’s elegantly stripped-back arrangements with enchanting sonic details.

- The Weekend released the music video for “Out Of Time”, the latest single from his critically acclaimed album DAWN FM. The video was directed by Cliqua and features appearances from Jim Carrey, who is also on the song, as well as South Korean model and actress HoYeon Jung. The Weeknd also saw his previous singles “Blinding Lights” and “Starboy” became certified by the RIAA. With these certifications, The Weeknd becomes only the sixth solo artist to reach 3 diamond digital single awards.  Watch the video HERE

- Oh Wonder has today dropped brand new track “Fuck It, I Love You” – the second preview of upcoming album 22 Make, which will see its release on Republic Records on July 22^nd and follows the beautiful single “Magnificent”. The band’s huge run of global dates begins this week and includes a homecoming show at London’s Brixton Academy on April 21^st.  “Fuck It I Love You” is piano-driven pop at Oh Wonder’s finest, a bridge in many ways between the worlds of accompanying albums 22 Make and 2021’s 22 Break. It was written way back in the summer of 2020 and represented a glimmer of hope for the couple, then in the throes of what seemed like the end of Oh Wonder (and Anthony and Josephine’s relationship). “We clung to the demo for months, secretly hoping that we’d get to release ‘Fuck It I Love You’ in happier times. It was almost like the song was telling us that we couldn’t break up and disband because it needed to be released. It probably kept us together!” Now though, adds Josephine, “We’re struggling for a non-explicit version.”

- Hayes Warner has unleashed the video for her latest single, “Messy.” The song is a slow burn f-you to a careless partner who posted pics of a new romantic interest before her wounds even scabbed up. Here, Warner writes with visceral and evocative emotionality—sharing the full range of her emotions honestly while also weaving in a story arc of what exactly went down. At times, Warner sings from tender heartbreak, and, at other times, she lashes out with empowered rage. The song’s rugged beat, woozy atmospherics, and ultra-catchy-but-melancholy hooks hit like a ballad banger. Warner’s video for “Messy” is an intimate portrayal of post-breakup rituals. It’s haunting, heartbreaking, and at times, kind of hilarious. 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: April 3, 2022

 

Killing Eve: They really waited way too long to give an origin story of The Twelve to get me to care. And I really do not know why the cvzy French assassin was luring fireman to kill them.

 

The Walking Dead:  So we can now conclude why Stormtrooper Daryl comes to confront Maggie, and and her crew killed a bunch of other Stormtroopers because they killed some of Negan’s people for thinking they stole their weapons, but it turned out Daryl’s ex-girlfriend stole the weapons.  Well, that is complicated.  I still think Daryl is going to side with Maggie.  As for the other Daryl storyline, if the son got caught off and needs the money in the safe to keep his control, how were the Stormtroopers doing  his bidding if he had no money?

 

Billions:   So this very swanky resort has some zen chamber that flashes lights at you, but that chamber has a window letting natural light in and an open waiting room where the next guy can be heard talking on his phone.  How does this chamber not have its own sound proof room? This was a pretty cheap plot devise to inspire Chuck to rededicate his like to taking down douchebags.  And was Taylor really asking out the bland underling?  I took it as Taylor thinking about leaving the whole company, not just the party.  Then the bland chick is showering at Prince’s. Huh?  Being this is the tenth episode, I just this week remembered that Billions still does 12 episodes a season, and with this being such a filler of an episode, maybe it would be best if the show downgraded to 10 like most other shows from this era.  Or, like other shows from this era, not run on forever.

 

Super Pumped: The Fight for Uber:  I was beginning to worry with no Pearl Jam last episode, but we finally got another song for the end credits.   Speaking of music, as weird as it to have Pearl Jam and other 90’s alt rock song primarily soundtrack a show that took place last decade, it almost make ]s sense given Travis’ age, but much weirder to have an Olivia Rodrigo song that is half a decade from being released when that scene takes place.  But of all the actors they could have gotten from Billions to be on this show, she may have been the worst choice.  She is just so monotone it is hard to root for her.  Plus, as I said before, it is hard to take the commentary on the boys club at Uber seriously coming from a writing team that has their own boys club accusations hanging over them.

 

Snowpiercer:  I still do not understand Melanie’s motivation.  What would it hurt to look and see if the Horn of Africa was habitable?  If not, just keep going.  But I was wrong the writers just did this to make her the new antagonist for Layton, instead she turned on Wilford and agreed to split the train and let everyone decide which track they wanted to go.  Huh?  I thought Snowpiercer needed Big Alice because it no longer could produce enough heat like at the beginning of the season.  Then what was that thing at the end?  At first I thought it was a flare, maybe set off by Layton to let Melanie know that it was safe, but then it froze and kind of looked like a missile.  Could that be where Wilford went off to?

 

The Girl from Plainville:  This show is paced weirdly.  I really do not like that they started with Conrad’s death and then set up a duel timeline in the second episode.  With the two timeline, it makes it hard to tell when they are because there are no physical cues to Michelle, you just have to wait to see if Conrad is referenced in the current or past tense.  It really wished this show would have been more linear.

 

Moon Knight:  I came into this show with low expectations so I actually kind of enjoyed the episode.  Plus Ethan Hawke was giving me big Vigo the Carpathian vibes.

 

Survivor:  Why did they show us that Tori eventually finds the dumb phase advantage if they are going to send her to two Tribal Councils with an edit making it like it was her or someone else going home?  Well, of course Swati was going to be the one who goes home.  But that is three Tribal and three people using their Shot in the Dark.  And the third person to not get saved.

 

The Dropout:  Okay, that scene with lawyers at the newspaper was great.  Always nice when you can toy with lawyers.  I have been trying to avoid spoilers, but I will be really interested if the other lawyer scene with the Shultz family actually happened.

 

Halo:  The first episode was a bit of a bore.  They really should have introduced Bokeem Woodbine last week, because he may be the only interesting character on the show.

 

Big Sky: So there is someone selling tainted drugs onder the Indian’s noses?  Who could it be?  It kind of has to be the local drug dealer guy.  Unless they tie it into the storyline with Wolf and Ronald and the sex traffickers are also trafficking drugs.

Around the Tubes: April 2, 2022

             

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Only Murders in the Building, Candy, Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain, The Valet, Florence + The Machine, Kae Tempest, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap: Creating Great Television in an On Demand World.

- Check out the first look at season two of Hulu's acclaimed comedy series, "Only Murders in the Building." The show's first teaser will air tonight during the 94th Oscars® and shows a sneak peek at Cara Delevingne and Oscars® co-host Amy Schumer in the new season. "Only Murders in the Building" returns on Tuesday, June 28th.

- Check out the latest teaser for "Candy" starring Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey airing tonight during the 94th Oscars® on ABC. "Candy" premieres on Hulu Monday, May 9 and will stream new episodes nightly until the finale on Friday, May 13.

-  SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for CYPRESS HILL: INSANE IN THE BRAIN, which will premiere Wednesday, April 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. As part of the network’s HIP HOP 50 banner, the documentary chronicles the legendary L.A. rap group and their decades-long career and influence.  Told through the intimate lens of photographer and director Estevan Oriol (LA Originals), CYPRESS HILL: INSANE IN THE BRAIN is a smoke-filled journey across the lives and careers of the groundbreaking, genre-defying Hip Hop group, Cypress Hill. Their unique sound, influenced by their Latin roots and West Coast upbringing, was built on a movement rooted in true authenticity: From cultivating the flower, to smoking it, to rapping about it, their influence is forever burned into the musical landscape of Hip Hop as they continue to stay relevant after 30 years. Using a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage captured by Oriol himself, as well as images of band members B Real, DJ Muggs, Sen Dog and Eric “Bobo” Correa, CYPRESS HILL: INSANE IN THE BRAIN tells the story of a brotherhood that has withstood the test of time to create a truly original, everlasting legacy.

- The Hulu Original Film "The Valet," starring Eugenio Derbez ("CODA") and Samara Weaving ("Nine Perfect Strangers"), premieres on Hulu and across Disney streaming services globally on Friday, May 20th. Check out the date announcement from @Ederbez HERE and @Hulu HERE!   SYNOPSIS: In “The Valet,” world famous movie star, Olivia (Samara Weaving) faces a PR disaster when a paparazzi snaps a photo of her with her married lover, Vincent (Max Greenfield). The hard-working valet Antonio (Eugenio Derbez) accidentally appears in the same photo and is enlisted to pose as Olivia’s new boyfriend as a cover up. This ruse with Olivia thrusts Antonio into the spotlight and unexpected chaos. In this fish out of water romantic comedy, two worlds and cultures collide as both Olivia and Antonio start to see themselves more clearly than ever before. “The Valet,” directed by Richard Wong and written by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, is the English-language remake of the hit French film.

- Glass Animals Dave Bayley teamed up with Florence + The Machine to remix her recent single “My Love.” The original, co-produced by Bayley, is taken from Florence’s forthcoming fifth LP Dance Fever, out May 13th that was produced by Florence, Jack Antonoff and Dave Bayley. Listen to “My Love” Remix by Dave Bayley of Glass Animals HERE.

- British spoken word artist, rapper, poet, novelist, and playwright Kae Tempest reveals a new song today entitled “I Saw Light” with Grian Chatten—listen HERE. The track is the final to be released ahead of their highly anticipated fourth album The Line Is A Curve out April 8^th via American Recordings/Republic Records. It is the fourth album from the Lewisham-based artist and has been produced by long term collaborator Dan Carey, alongside executive production by Rick Rubin, and features additional collaborations with Kevin Abstract, Lianne La Havas, ássia, and Confucius MC. The record also follows the critically acclaimed play Paradise, which premiered at the National Theatre in London in 2021.

- Consequence (https://consequence.net/), the largest independently owned digital pop culture publication, today launches its new digital cover stories series. The first edition, available Friday, April 1, features iconic rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.  In the exclusive profile, Red Hot Chili Peppers members Anthony Kiedis and Flea discuss the return of guitarist John Frusciante, the making of their 12th studio album Unlimited Love, and tease their upcoming stadium tour. "This [album] is the story of how we got here," Kiedis says. "Survival and just being a part of whatever moment. We were alive in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s, the 2000s ... I think anything is possible for us." Read the full story here.

- Industry veteran Neil Landau has released his latest book The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap: Creating Great Television in an On Demand World out today with Focal Press. This all-new edition of his previously released best-selling guide The TV Showrunner's Roadmap provides readers with the tools for creating, writing, pitching, selling, and eventually running their own hit streaming series. The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap is available for purchase now here.  Combining his 30+ years as a working screenwriter and professor, Landau expertly unpacks essential insights to the creation of a successful show, and takes readers behind the scenes with exclusive, enlightening interviews with showrunners from some of TV's most lauded series, including Fargo, Better Call Saul, Watchmen, Insecure, Barry, Succession, Ozark, Schitt's Creek, Euphoria, PEN15, global hit series Casa de Papel (Money Heist), My Brilliant Friend, Le Bureau, Unorthodox, and many more. Each chapter is a navigation point on the art and craft of writing for television -- with becoming a showrunner as the ultimate destination.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 27, 2022

 

 Killing Eve:   So they went through all that trouble to set up the crazy French assassin just to let her out of prison after one scene with little issue?  Why bother arresting her at all except for a cheap cliffhanger?

 

The Walking Dead:  The writers really got too cute with the nonlinear storytelling.  They should have shown the Aaron/priest scene first because then we knew what was going to happen to the red shirt on the horse.  And I am confused by the timeline.  So red shirt runs into Negann, gets a horse, goes back to get shot, then goes to Hilltop?  Huh?  Feels like something got messed up.  And this is where Negan went?  Are we really to believe this super religious dude who have a wall of evil doer’s skulls was going to is going to let Negan live there?

 

Billions:  What I really disliked about the whole Olympics plot was that its conclusion was obvious, that Prince was not going to be able to move the games to New York since that would deviate from reality too far.  I thought Prince’s attempt to remove Chuck was just as fruitless because there is no show without in a power position.  Well, despite the rousing applause, Chuck still got ousted.  So is Chuck going to go the way of Bobby and be written off the show?  Is Chuck going to be a puppet master to his replacement?  I guess he could always run for governor.  His first run did not go well.

 

Super Pumped: The Fight for Uber:  I am surprised they did not make a bigger deal of Bill getting locked out of Uber.  And while I knew Uma Thurman as Arianna Huffington was coming, I did not know she had a seat on the board at Uber.  But all the boy’s club antics of the show was kind of gross considering the accusation of Brian Koppleman’s other Showtime show Billions.

 

Snowpiercer:  So Melanie somehow had enough juice in her suit to walk to another train that apparently can pierce snow too despite being much smaller, then survived by going in and out of stasis.  Yet this is more believable than her turning on her daughter to rat out Layton’s plan to go to the Horn of Africa.  But I guess with Wilford locked up, there needs to be a new antagonist.

 

The Endgame:  The agents were once again stupid enough to think they got to the bomb in time.  If they knew the tech guy was in on it with the evil chick, they really should have known, that it was an act the caught the bomber in time.

 

Survivor:  Yet another episode where the editors spoil things, at least it was inadvertent this time.  But of course the Tribe that got zero scree time prior to the challenge was not going to go to Tribal.  But really bizarre that in the opening scene of the season they show us Tori finding the dumb phrase advantage yet she is going to be the last on the show to find it. 

 

But, wow, so much bad game play this week.  How do you explicitly tell someone you cannot risk losing your vote and then assume the other people will not risk their vote so you can get an Extra Vote?  Then what exactly happened with the vote?  Did Hai change his last minute from the guys voting for the guy and the girls voting for the girl?  It did not seem like he changed, so did they really go to Tribal without the votes correctly working out for them?  But Hai did the one smart thing and threaten to go the rocks.  Had he switched (and why would he if Daniel was adamant about not going to rocks as the only other vote) then he is clearly on the bottom of a five member Tribe and would be gone at next Tribal.  Not changing mean best case scenario, Daniel switches, his closes ally is safe, and Daniel is the new goat of the Tribe.  Worst case scenario, go to rocks with a one in four change of going home,   three and four chance of someone other than you or your only ally going home.  Really the only thing Daniel said or did this week was that he is not going to win.  I do not think anyone on this Tribe has a chance at this point.

 

The Dropout:  My biggest problem with shows about real life people is that I spend way too much time searching if such dumb, inconsequential events really happened.  Like did Tyler Shultz really drop out of college his senior year to go tour with Dispatch?  That was the most excited I have ever seen anyone talk about Dispatch before.

 

Big Sky:  Yeah, I was stupid for assuming multiple died last episode, especially since T-Lock was the only one we got confirmation of.  It turned out Ronald was the only one else who actually died yet.  But much like his brother, Wolf survived a bullet only to be killed by hand latter.  I wonder if there is a triplet out there.  Oh, and Scarlette somehow escaped after being stabbed in the neck.  Umm, okay.  Then it was bizarre that Ren mock the bomber for claiming he had information because everyone says that before dying, but then seemingly believed him after telling her that Stone was cop.

 

The Blacklist:  When the show is doing hot killer sex robot storylines, it is really time to end the show.  But I missed why Red wanted to investigate it when the guy with the ruby neckless was poisoned by his wife.