Summer is in full swing, and it is way too hot to go outside. Instead, why don’t you stay in and stream something cool from the snow-capped peaks of Paramount Mountain? In August, premium subscribers can savor the exciting season premieres of the SHOWTIME hits Billions and The Chi. Romantics in the mood for a summer fling will enjoy the Paramount+ Original movie Love in Taipei. You can avoid getting sunburn out on the links and stream CBS Sports' coverage of the PGA Tour Championship from the comfort of your home. Or you can watch things really heat up in the epic action-adventure film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts which makes its streaming debut on the service today. For a closer look at all the entertainment coming to Paramount+ in August, check out the latest edition of View from the Peak.
BEHIND THE STREAMS
Jacob Latimore and Birgundi Baker in The Chi
The Chi
In August, the SHOWTIME original series The Chi, by creator and executive producer Lena Waithe, will kick off its sixth season. The series revolves around the many residents of a neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side and explores themes of family, mental health, gentrification and economic empowerment, giving the audience a panoramic view of the city itself. Having grown up near 70th street in the Chatham community herself, it was crucial for Waithe to accurately portray the many facets of her hometown and the city has always been one of the shows’ main characters.
During production, several cast members reflected on the series’ appreciation for its namesake city. While on set, series star Alex Hibbert said “Chicago is a beautiful place. Even with all the violence going on in this world there is beauty in it, just like a rose growing out of concrete. That’s what we’re trying to show, the beauty, the depth, the melanin.” Series star Birgundi Baker also believes the show has given viewers a larger view of the city, and noted during production, “I think The Chi does a great job of showing all the different colors of Chicago. It’s really given the city a light to be seen in different colors and different ways and is a reminder of how beautiful the city is and how beautiful it has always been and how beautiful the people are.”
Feel the breeze by the Windy City when The Chi season six premieres on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan on August 4.
Daniel Breaker, Corey Stoll, Toney Goins, Damian Lewis, Asia Kate Dillon, David Costabile, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Siff, Sakina Jaffrey, Dola Rashad and Jeffrey DeMunn in Billions.
Billions
All good things come to an end and next month, the hit SHOWTIME series, Billions, will debut its seventh and final season. In season seven, conflict comes to a head when longstanding loyalties are called into question which will determine who ultimately ends up on top, and who will be taken down. In this final clash, a familiar face returns with fan-favorite hedge fund manager Bobby “Axe” Axelrod, played by Damian Lewis. “Being back on Billions is great,” said Lewis as production began. “Bobby's been away for a bit, but Bobby's back and he'll be causing some mischief as per usual. We’ve got a fantastic story for this season when we learn exactly what he has been doing.”
When it was announced that this would be the show’s last season, longtime members of the cast shared their own feelings about bringing the story to a close. “It feels surreal to be wrapping it up,” said series regular Maggie Siff, who plays Axe Capital’s performance coach Wendy Rhoades. “I think it's just dawning on me that this is the last.” Paul Giamatti, who plays Attorney General of New York Chuck Rhoades, echoed these sentiments, saying, “I’ve played this character now for seven seasons. It’s a strange thing doing it for this long. It really becomes a part of you.”
If you mess with a bull market, you’ll get the horns when Billions season seven premieres on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan on August 11.
In August, viewers will follow the romantic adventures of Ever Wong in the Paramount+ Original movie Love in Taipei. Since the film’s story is adapted from Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestselling YA romance novel Loveboat, Taipei, we sat down with the author, who also served as executive producer on the film, to get an inside look at the story.
What was it like to see your story go from novel to screenplay?
Interest for a book-to-screen adaptation began as soon as we announced the book deal, with producers and scouts calling my agent before the book even debuted.
With such a uniquely Asian American story, it was important for me to serve as an active executive producer to preserve the authenticity of the story. The first step was the challenge of condensing a 400-page novel into a 100-page script! Fortunately, our screenwriter Charlie Oh was incredible at condensing without losing connection to the characters — check out all the meet-cutes!
What has it been like to see your characters brought to life by the actors?
A writer’s life can be solitary with made-up characters in your head and a blank page before you. So it was incredibly rewarding to work with people who knew these characters as well as I did — and to see them come to life!
My novel is so deeply personal to me. And from commenting on every draft of the script, to reviewing audition tapes, to watching and alt-ing take after take scene after scene on set — I experienced myself iterating over and over.
What was very important for the filmmakers to get right about the Taipei setting?
The best part was filming in Taipei with a director and production crew that knew and loved the city. From Taipei 101 to the Lin Family Gardens to Dadaocheng Wharf, I love how much the film showcases some of the highlights of Taipei that I fell in love with as a student on the Loveboat program myself.
What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?
That people who have been traditionally marginalized can have the spotlight. That there is diversity among Asians and Asian Americans. That they can be the main characters of their own lives. And that their stories matter.
Set sail on the Loveboat when Love in Taipei premieres on August 10.
DID YOU KNOW?
Today Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the latest film in the hit Paramount Pictures franchise which opened to #1 at the domestic box office and grossed over $420M worldwide, has joined the prominent lineup of blockbuster theatrical movies on Paramount+. Rise of the Beasts adds a new faction to the Transformers franchise: the maximals, a race of evolved beast-robot hybrids hailing from a jungle planet.
Cowabunga! Ahead of the theatrical release of the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Paramount+ will be the streaming home of the amphibious franchise with a collection that includes the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, TMNT (2007), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the documentary Turtle Power and the Nick series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
After spending nearly a decade trying to find success in films, Elvis Presley had hit an extreme low point in his career—but a single one-hour special became the most-watched show of the year, restored Presley to stardom and changed the pop-culture landscape forever. The new feature length documentary Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback explores how the special came to be made, featuring expert commentary from historians and original attendees alike.
Did you know members of the press are eligible for a complimentary subscription to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME? Send a note to press@paramountplus.com to sign up today.
8/1: Mixtape premiere 8/4: The Chi Season 6 premiere* 8/5: ShoBox* 8/8: Never Seen Again Season 4 premiere 8/10: Love In Taipei premiere 8/11: All Up in the Biz* 8/11: Billions Season 7 premiere* 8/15: Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback premiere
LIBRARY SHOWS
August 2
Air Disasters (Season 17) Air Warriors (Season 9-10) Big Brother (Season 25)* Butterbean's Cafe (Season 2) Ollie's Pack (Season 1)
PAW Patrol: Moto Pups The Challenge: USA (Season 2)
August 23
The First of Us (Season 1)
August 24
Football Must Go On (Season 1)
MOVIES
August 1
Adventureland Basic Instinct* Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey* Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure* Black Snake Moan Boogie Nights* Casino* Cop Land* Cousins Danny Collins* Dead Again Dinner For Schmucks Domestic Disturbance Double Jeopardy (1999) Downhill Racer El Dorado Explorers* Fatal Instinct* Firewalker* Force Majeure* French Postcards Ghost Town Gone Baby Gone Hard Rain* I.Q.* Indecent Proposal Jacob's Ladder Jade* Jennifer 8 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius King Kong (1976) Kinky Boots* (2006) Last Holiday Need For Speed* Neil Young: Heart Of Gold Nightwatch* Orange County* Playing By Heart* Rat Race (2001) Regarding Henry* Rescue Dawn* Rosemary's Baby* Rudy Sahara* She's All That* She's Having A Baby* She's Out of My League She's the Man Shooter Shut In* Sicario Snow Day (2000) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III The Bigfoot Trap* The Color of Money The Crow* The Devil Inside* The Faculty The Fighter The Forger* The Grifters* The Honeymooners (2005) The Ladies Man The Last Airbender* The Midnight Meat Train* The Running Man The Thing Called Love: Director's Cut* The Truman Show The Uninvited The Whale* Thelma & Louise* TMNT (2007) What's Eating Gilbert Grape* Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! Without a Paddle*v Wolf* Zodiac*
August 10
The Pink Panther (2006)*
August 15
Sick of Myself*
August 16
Catch Me If You Can* War of the Worlds (2005)
August 17
Mercy
August 19
Sabotage*
August 23
Bringing Out the Dead Coneheads Machete Kills*
August 24
Organ Trail
SPORTS
8/5: NWSL – San Diego Wave FC vs. Angel City FC 8/5: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A – Fluminense vs. Palmeiras 8/5: BIG3 Basketball 8/5 - 8/6: PGA Tour – Wyndham Championship (Third and Final Round Coverage) 8/6: NWSL – OL Reign vs. Portland Thorns FC 8/6: Professional Bull Riding – PBR Team Series: Kansas City 8/6: Takeya Pickleball Showcase 8/12: 3ICE Championship 8/12 - 8/13: PGA Tour – FedEx St. Jude Championship (Third and Final Round Coverage) 8/13: BIG3 Basketball 8/13: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A – Grêmio vs. Fluminense 8/13: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A – Flamengo vs. São Paulo 8/16: UEFA Super Cup – Manchester City vs. Sevilla 8/19: BIG3 Basketball 8/19: Start of 2023 Serie A Season 8/19: NWSL – San Diego Wave FC vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC 8/19: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A – São Paulo vs. Botafogo 8/19 - 8/20: PGA Tour – BMW Championship (Third and Final Round Coverage) 8/20: Professional Bull Riding – PBR Team Series: Nashville 8/20: NWSL – Portland Thorns FC vs. North Carolina Courage 8/25: NFL ON CBS (Preseason) – Detroit Lions @ Carolina Panthers 8/26: Serie A – AC Milan vs. Torino 8/26: BIG3 Basketball Celebrity Game, All-Star Game & Championship 8/26 - 8/27: PGA Tour – TOUR Championship (Third and Final Round Coverage) 8/27: Professional Bull Riding – PBR Team Series: Austin 8/27: NWSL – Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns FC 8/27: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A – Botafogo vs. Flamengo Throughout August: NWSL competition Throughout August: Italian Serie A competition Throughout August: UEFA Champions League Qualifiers Throughout August: Argentina Liga Profesional de Fútbol competition Throughout August: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A competition Throughout August: Combate Global competition
* Title is available to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers.
Dates for library titles are subject to change. Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to CBS titles to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on-demand. Essential tier subscribers have access to these titles on-demand the day after they air.
The Walking Dead: Dead
City:I do not get why the bald dude
let the Croat that they were coming?What
exactly think what would happen?And
where did all the Croat’s people go, and more importantly, where is Hershel?It seems like he has been abandoned.Do they have a backup lair?
Cruel Summer:Well, we already know that the dude was grazed,
so pretty obviously Isabella did not kill him with the cliffhanger shot.The question is did all the drugs and alcohol
actually kill him?Since there are a
couple episodes left, I guess the obvious answer is no.My theory is that after what they did this
night, the girls decide to keep him captive (how season one), he gets loose, and
then someone kills him.
Justified: City
Primeval:It is great to have this
show back even though Raylan’s daughter is annoying (okay, ordering the dumbest
drink on the menu was hilarious, right up there with when the Crowe attempted
the 12 Foot Rule on Raylan and the time Dewey thought he had four kidneys).Hopefully he puts her on the first flight to
Florida at the start of the next episode.These are also lower tier Justified villain.He is too much of a mustache twirling villain
with no depth.
Secret Invasion:So the dad is dead-dead, burial and all.But is Fury’s wife just going to try and kill
everyone that Gravik sends?Speaking of
Gravik, how exactly do you kill someone who indestructible?Bomb?
Full Circle:Is this a comedy?I laughed a few times, there is noted comedian
Jim Gaffigan, but it still feels very much like a drama despite the multiple
comedies of errors.I feel like I would
have liked the show more if it were an over the top comedy.
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 The Chi, Secret Invasion, Solar Opposites, All up in the Biz, Yellowjackets, The Beach Boys, Taylor Swift, Babylon 5, Rick and Morty, and POV.
- In advance of the much-anticipated expanded season of THE CHI, SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for its hit drama series returning this summer. After reaching a series high in streaming last season, the first eight episodes of the extended 16-episode sixth season will stream weekly on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan beginning Friday, August 4, with the season premiere debuting on linear Sunday, August 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
- To celebrate the highly anticipated “Secret Invasion” finale on Disney+, The Walt Disney Company will offer viewers a special opportunity to watch the first three episodes of the hit series on its Hulu platform, starting tomorrow. Marking the occasion, a Skrull invasion is imminent at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend: fans attending the convention may bump into – or become – one of the menacing shapeshifters.“Secret Invasion” episodes “Resurrection,” “Promises” and “Betrayed” will stream on Hulu from Friday, July 21, through Thursday, August 17. Marvel Studios’ thrilling espionage series “Secret Invasion” is streaming on Disney+, where subscribers currently have access to the first fiveepisodes, with Episode 6, the finale, premiering next Wednesday, July 26.
- Citizens of Earth, prepare yourselves for an epic new season of “Solar Opposites,” crash landing on Hulu onMonday, August 14with 11 episodes, followed by a Valentine’s Day special coming in 2024.TRAILER:HERE“Solar Opposites” centers around a team of four aliens who are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome. Korvo (Dan Stevens) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see the pollution, crass consumerism, and human frailty while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love TV, junk food and fun stuff. In Season 4, we pack up the sci-fi and get normal… for a second. Then it’s back to classic Solar chaos, mayhem in the Wall, and some all new Silvercops adventures!
- SHOWTIME announced thatALL UP IN THE BIZ, directed by Sacha Jenkins (WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN,Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues)will premiere Friday, August 11, streaming on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME before making its on-air debut that same day at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. The documentary feature, which premiered at Tribeca Festival(R)last month, is thedefinitive story of late, great rapper Biz Markie, who is best known for his mega hit “Just a Friend.” Featuring never before seen footage, musical interludes, animation, puppetry, and interviews with Biz Markie and other prominent figures in hip hop–from Fat Joe to Nick Cannon to Tracy Morgan–ALL UP IN THE BIZis a heartwarming portrait of how one underdog’s dreams–fortified by an unwavering determination and a wicked sense of humor–would come true inside the world of hip hop and far beyond.Thefilm traces how Markie created a lane for himself in hip hop while also helping his friends, many of whom (Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, De La Soul, E.P.M.D.) would become legends in their own right. Crowned “The Clown Prince of Hip Hop,” Markie was a beatbox wiz who was known for his comical rhymes and generally whimsical ways. A native of Long Island, Markie’s gift swiftly propelled him through hip hop history; he would inspire rap icons like Rakim and Big Daddy Kane in the process. The ride had a few bumps (like the groundbreaking sampling lawsuit he was wrapped up in) but in the end, Biz Markie was recognized as the actual personification of hip hop.ALL UP IN THE BIZchronicles Markie’s extraordinary tale, from humble beginnings, often living with a foster family after the death of his mother, to pop culture ubiquity, and ultimately speaks to how an individual can chart their own destiny and shape the future of a culture.
- Universal Music Canada (UMC) and SHOWTIME announceYellowjackets Season 2 Official Soundtrack: Music from the Original Seriesfor release on September 1 in CD and digital formats. The official soundtrack from the SHOWTIME Emmy®-nominated drama series YELLOWJACKETS is available for pre-order now including instant grat access to the previously released Alanis Morrisette single, “No Return (Extended Version)” and new alternative version,“No Return (Lottie’s Dream Sequence).”This past April, seven-time Grammy® Award-winning singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette released “No Return (Extended Version)” to critical acclaim. Billboardcommended Morissette’s rendition of the track and the way in which it added, “an industrial gothic layer to the original while spiking it with her signature keening, mesmerizing vocals.” “No Return” (Main Title Theme) by YELLOWJACKETS composers, Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker, was originally released in January 2022.
- Summer isn’t quite summer without the sunshiny melodies and irresistible harmonies of The Beach Boys, andthis summer ischock full of exciting activity from “America’s Band,” from new Dolby Atmos® mixes of iconic hits, the return of their highly popular SiriusXM channel, Good Vibrations: The Beach Boys Channel, a stunning and definitive official tome, a fun coloring book, a high octane EDM remix of “Fun, Fun, Fun” by multi-platinum artist, producer and DJ, Steve Aoki, and Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, sharing her love for The Beach Boys. Starting yesterday, five of the group’s classic albums from 1963 and 1964, Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Vol. 2 and All Summer Long, are available to stream in immersive Dolby Atmos audio at Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal HiFi Plus. The albums were mixed by The Beach Boys’ longtime producer and engineer, three-time GRAMMY® award winner Mark Linett, from the original tapes, and follow the recently released, critically hailed Dolby Atmos mix of Pet Soundsmixed by producer Giles Martin. The new Dolby Atmos mixes retain the feel of the revered albums while offering a fresh perspective, putting listeners in the center of the music by revealing details with unparalleled clarity and depth.
- Taylor Swifthas made history by achieving“the biggest debut for an album this year”withSpeak Now (Taylor’s Version), registering first-week sales of716thousand album equivalents in the US and over1million album equivalents worldwide, landing her at #1 on theBillboard200. At the same time, it makes history by scoring“the biggest sales week for a re-recorded album ever,”besting even the 1 million first-week global consumption ofRed (Taylor’s Version)in 2021. Plus, it notched the“second biggest vinyl sales week in Nielsen history,” following Taylor Swift’sMidnights. In addition, Taylor is the first living artist in nearly 60 years with four of the top ten on the Billboard 200 withSpeak Now (Taylor’s Version),Midnights,Lover, andFolklore. Listen HERE.
- In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is releasing the groundbreaking original sci-fi TVseries Babylon 5 on Blu-ray for the first time ever! On December 5, just in time for holiday gift giving, Babylon 5: The Complete Series will be available at online retailers with all 110 original episodes fully remastered in HD. The highly anticipated release is one fans don’t want to miss! Babylon 5 is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski that ran for five seasons from 1994–1998. The critically acclaimed franchise debuted in 1993 with the pilot film The Gathering. The series then launched a year later and ran for five seasons and 110 additional episodes. A future-history story covering the years 2257–2262, with each year corresponding to one season, Babylon 5 was the first series to introduce viewers to the concept of a five-year arc, with a defined beginning, middle, and end, paving the way for a number of such later series.
- OOH WEE!Go on an intergalactic adventure across the multi-verse with the epic release of the Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-6 boxed set on Blu-ray™ and DVD on September 12, 2023. Get Schwifty while you binge on one of cable’s #1 watched comedies that follows the sci-fi misadventures of genius scientist Rick and his family. Rick and Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-6includes all 61 episodes from six seasons of the award-winning series, copious special features, audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, animatic sketches, and more. For a limited time, fans who purchase the set will also receive an exclusive Rick and Morty poster.
- POV, America’s longest running non-fiction series, provides a balanced, in-depth look at Kathryn, a woman paralyzed by late-stage ALS in the wryly moving family portrait, Eat Your Catfish. Reliant on round-the-clock care, she clings to a mordant wit while yearning to witness her daughter's wedding. Narrated by Kathryn and pictured entirely from her point of view, co-directors and producers Adam Isenberg, Senem Tüzen and Noah Amir Arjomand — who is Kathryn's son — deliver a brutally frank and darkly humorous portrait of a family teetering on the brink, grappling with the daily demands of disability and in-home caregiving. Eat Your Catfish makes its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10pmET/9C (check local listings) and will be available to stream at pbs.org, and thePBS App until October 22, 2023. In addition to standard closed captioning for the film, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations.
The Walking Dead: Dead
City:So no one notice Negan dispose
of a body and clean up the crime scene?Lucky for him I guess.But trying
to humanize Negan by being upset that the Croat killed someone when dude went around
at this time bashing people’s skulls in is a bit much.
Cruel Summer:Well, the girls now have motive with him
trying to mack on both girls.I wonder
if they try to entrap him in a threesome but them torture him, but one goes too
far.Crazy neighbor seems more and more
like a red herring.
Secret Invasion:Of course she was not actually dead; Emilia
Clarke is too famous to be killed off halfway through a show.But what a stupid plot twist.If you have to explain your plot twist with a
flashback, it probably is not good.It was
still stupid of her not to shapeshift to get out of there.But are they really going to do the same silly
plot twist this week, but with her father?
Full Circle:I like the moral implications of what do you
do if someone claims to have kidnapped your kid but it turns out to be the
wrong kid.What do you do?Except so many comedy of errors, this may have
been a better show if it were an actual comedy. Oof, how exactly do you competently
explain why the other kid had the exact same hoodie and same shoes?And did the other kid not have an sort of ID
probing he was not who they thought they kidnapped?And did the guy really not notice he shot a
dummy?Shouldn’t the lack of blood be a
huge clue?Then I do not understand calling
for a ransom if you are not going to take it and were just going to kill him anyway.
The Blacklist:Ten years, and over 200 episodes and it was almost
worth it to watch the absolutely laughable stupid ending.Seriously, Red gets gored by a bull and never
explains to anyone why he shut down his criminal empire?Rood riddance.
