I have two lasting memories of William Shakespeare from high school. As a freshman, we watched an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet when we see Romeo in his glory when he exits the bed without any clothing. That would be scandalous by itself, but our English teacher, rewound the scene paused on Romeo’s bare bottom and singled out one of my female classmates and said this was for her. My other Shakespearean memory was when a substitute teacher was forced to show a documentary on the Baird where a literature historian called Shakespeare a “flaming homosexual.” I miss the nineties. There would be a couple fired teachers if that happened today.
The take on Shakespeare in TNT’s Will is definitely not a flaming homosexual (well someone says, “I have a queer feeling about you Shakespeare” so maybe just not yet), instead we get a father of three who, much like Captain Hook on Once Upon a Time, looks more like an like an Abercrombie model instead of the chubby balding guy we have seen in paintings. This actually a story of the struggling William as he tries to break into the playwright scene in London in 1589 while the wife and kids stay back in Stratford.
At times, the show reminds me of the definitive telling of Romeo and Juliet of my lifetime staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes as the shoe occasionally places modern music into the show (and my modern I mean seventies punk). Except Will is on a television budget which means only one song per episode for the first three episode. They must have had some extra money lying around for the fourth as they have enough in the budget for three popular songs (including, welcome to the nineties!, a Beastie Boys song).
Watching the first couple episode I kept wondering, who exactly is this show for? Are there really that many Shakespeare heads out there wondering what the writer’s life may have been like? The kind of people who would be interested what inspired him to think of the line, “What light through yonder window breaks?” If you are one be sure to tune into episode two.
What I found most interesting in the early season was a C or maybe D plot involving the lead actor at the troop Shakespeare tries to join and the handmaiden of one of the local aristocrats. I think they may are supposed to be this show’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern comic relief. That is the show I want to see. But other than that, the most notable part of Will is it pushes the level of nudity way further than any basic cable show before it. The show at time pushes the boundaries so far that I wonder if there is going to be massive edit from the version I saw and the ones that air much like on Vikings where they cut the nudity from the American version but put them in the DVD’s and foreign broadcast. But at least Vikings was interesting even without the nudity.
Will airs Mondays at 10:00 on TNT. You can download Will on iTunes.
Claws: The only downside of watching screeners before episodes air is that sometimes you have to wait over a month to see a new episode. TNT made the first three episodes available before the show aired so I had to sit on Roller being alive for a long time while I sat and stewed on how he could have survived. Except it turns out he did not, Desna is just hallucinating him. Meh.
You can download Claws on iTunes.
Fear the Walking Dead: Okay, crazy person went and killed the family that left the compound, but why let them turn into zombie?
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes
Preacher: Whenever I know does something immoral, I tend to guilt them by saying, “you are going to spend all of eternity in hell with Hitler.” So I was not surprised when Eugene bumped into him there. I just hope they do not help each other escape.
You can download Preacher on iTunes.
Casual: I would be fine if the show would take a hard left turn and focus on Leon and the assistant.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.
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 Episodes, BattleBots, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood!, and Divided.
- Showtime has released the official trailer for the fifth and final season of its acclaimed comedy series Episodes, which will premiere on Sunday, August 20 at 10:00. Episodes stars Matt LeBlanc in his four-time Emmy®-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning role playing a fictionalized version of himself.
- Let the robot shrapnel fly. Science Channel has licensed the off-network cable rights to air 16 episodes of ABC’s epic robot-fighting series BattleBots. BattleBots features the biggest, baddest, strongest, and fastest next-generation robots as they duke it out to become champions of an intense, fast-paced single elimination tournament. BattleBots premieres Wednesday, July 12 at 10pm ET/PT on Science Channel.
- Rising comedy star Tiffany Haddish takes the stage in her first stand-up special, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood! premiering on Friday, August 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. In this hour-long special filmed at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, the Los Angeles native tackles subjects ranging from her early days in foster care and being bullied on the playground to getting revenge on ex-boyfriends and introducing Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to Groupon. With her bold and unique style of comedy and refreshingly positive outlook on life, Haddish proves SHE READY for the spotlight!
- GSN’s hit series, Divided, will return for a second season, beginning Tuesday, August 15, with back-to-back episodes at 10:00 and 10:30. The show, which debuted in January 2017, was watched by nearly 11 million viewers during its initial 40-episode run. Part game show, part social experiment, the series, created by John de Mol (“The Voice”) and hosted by Mike Richards (Executive Producer of "The Price Is Right") features four strangers who must agree not only on their answers, but how their prize money should be split.
Welcome to the 12th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between July 2016 and June 2017. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2017 STA's:
Best Scripted Show: The Handmaid’s Tail
Best Sitcom: The Good Place
Best Sci-Fi Show: BrainDead
Best Comic Book Adaptation: Gotham
Best Period Show: Harlots
Best Animated Show: Star Wars Rebels
Best Reality Show (Competition): Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X
Best Remake, Reboot, or Adaptation: The Handmaid’s Tale
Best Educational Program: Brain Games
Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interruption
Best New Show: The Handmaid’s Tale
Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Supergirl
Best Musical: Hairspray
Worst Show I Made Though an Entire Season Of: Notorious
Best Awards Show: 2017 Grammy Awards
Best Hour of TV: Offred - The Handmaid's Tale
Best Half Hour of TV: If You See Something, Solve Something – Angie Tribeca
Biggest Shocker: The People of The Good Place are actually in The Bad Place
Best Line: That’s bullshirt. (Eleanor, The Good Place)
Worst Idea: Letting all the advantages in Survivor that led to the Immunity Train
Worst Moment: Every time near brain dead Quinn was on screen (Homeland)
Biggest Disappointment: Elliot was in prison the whole time. (Mr. Robot)
Best Musical Moment: Don’t You Forget About You (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Best Karaoke: Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Angela (Mr. Robot)
Best New Title Sequence: Powerless
Best Character: Offred (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Best Recurring Character: Lena Luthor (Supergirl)
Best Guest Appearance: Trevor, The Good Place
Best Cast Addition: Grown up weird Poison Ivy (Gotham)
Best Duo: Eleanor and Chidi (The Good Place)
Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Andrea Boehlke (Survivor: Game Changers)
Most Annoying Reality “Star”: Debbie Wanner (Survivor: Game Changers)
Show That Should Be Brought Back: BrainDead
Most Anticipated New Show of Next Season: Rise
Biggest Question for 2016-2017: How long can Michael keep up the new ruse on The Good Place?
If someone were to do an Adam Sandler / Drew Barrymore movie for their music video, I would have guessed The Wedding Singer, not 50 First Dates. But at least Jhené Aiko did not pick Blended.
Little Big Town is a weird group. Sure they are a county group who can make boring, clichéd country song, but they also can be weird and interesting. Girl Crush was a straight up sixties soul record and this song sound like something eighties Fleetwood Mac would have made.
Claws: Oh my goodness, that opening scene. Oh my goodness. Oh yeah, and that closing. I was spit balling that Roller was not really dead last week (the actor’s name is in the main credits so it is not entirely surprising he is not dead), but I never thought that Desna would be in on it. She did try to drown him, he did smack her around, she lit him on fire. I mean, dude got shot by Virginia. Or did he? Did she miss, did Roller and Desna plan this and loaded blanks in the gun hoping she would stick around and “save” Desna. The show has a lot of explaining to do next episode.
You can download Claws on iTunes.
Preacher: It hated the first season finale with a fiery passion. The opener was alright, but that angel killing himself montage just seemed to go on forever.
I’m Dying Up Here: Holy Richard Pryor siting! Yeah, it is weird seeing real people show up on a program like this. Makes me wonder if these characters we are watching are real people who just never made it, based on real people who went on to make it and the names were changed for legal reasons, or just completely made up.
Casual: Isn’t Tommy running an Air BnB? I have to imagine there are rules against having sex with your tenants.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.
Pretty Little Liars: Well, twin Spencer as AD was a more sensible reveal than A being Alison’s brother who ended up being CeCe Drake which made absolutely no sense. Though I still do not understand why Wren did not try to connect Spencer and her twin when he found out. Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.
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 Labyrinth, The War Show, The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam, Snap Decision, Castle Rock, and iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- David Bowie and Trevor Jones’ iconic soundtrack to Jim Henson’s mesmerizing and enduring fantasy classic, Labyrinth, will be released on limited edition green and lavender vinyl on August 4 via UMe. Limited to 1500 copies of each worldwide, the special colored vinyl variants are available exclusively at UDiscover and now available for pre-order. Additionally, a second pressing of the album on high quality 120gm black vinyl will be made available the same day due to popular demand following the incredible response from the album’s release on May 12, which marked the first time the album has been released on vinyl since its original 1986 release. Long out of print, the album was remastered at Capitol Studios and includes the faithfully replicated original jacket and artwork, including the original EMI America logo and the printed inner sleeve featuring photos of Bowie from the film. Pre-order Labyrinth here: https://UMe.lnk.to/LabyrinthLP.
- The new documentary The War Show focuses on some of the idealists who joined the early Syrian resistance. Co-director and narrator Obaidah Zytoon, a Damascus activist and radio broadcaster, turns her camera on her friends, a close-knit group of millennials who like listening to classic rock, hanging out on the beach and organizing anti-Assad protests. “We were united in hatred of subordination and love of uniqueness,” Zytoon says. Zytoon and Andreas Dalsgaard’s The War Show has its national broadcast premiere on the PBS documentary series POV (Point of View) this Monday, July 3, 2017.
- For more than a year, a serial killer known as “Son of Sam” terrorized New York City, killing six people and critically wounding seven others. On July 29, 1976, David Berkowitz began a murder spree that left law enforcement baffled and the public afraid to leave their homes. Forty years after his arrest, the latest installment of Smithsonian Channel’s immersive and critically acclaimed series THE LOST TAPES sets the scene for what would become a national media frenzy in search of an elusive murderer. The ultimate in authentic storytelling, this series features no narration or recreations – just the story as captured by media reports and home videos at the time, including rarely-seen press coverage of the murders and interviews from people who knew Berkowitz. The Lost Tapes: Son of Sam premieres Sunday, July 30 at 9:00.
- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced today the premiere of Snap Decision, a new comedic half-hour game show series hosted by actor and comedian David Alan Grier (“The Carmichael Show”). Snap Decision is produced for broadcast syndication in a joint venture with Tornante-Sinclair LLC and asks, “What can you tell about a person just by looking at them?” It will debut with four back-to-back half-hour episodes on Monday, August 7 from 9-11pm ET/PT (8-10pm CT) on GSN, and then will move into its regular Tuesdays at 9:00pm ET/PT (8pm CT) time period the following night, August 8. It will have a unique air schedule, as it can also be seen weekdays on 20 Sinclair stations nationwide beginning August 7 (check local listings for exact times and stations).
- Hulu announced that Sissy Spacek and Jane Levy have joined the cast of upcoming Hulu original drama series Castle Rock.
- Showtime Networks Inc. announced the start of an expansive project that will examine the modern history of the National Basketball Association and the league’s impact on global popular culture. Executive producers LeBron James and Maverick Carter of SpringHill Entertainment and award-winning filmmaker Gotham Chopra have begun production on a three-part documentary film series slated to premiere on SHOWTIME in 2018.
- iHeartMedia and Turner announced today that the fan-driven iHeartRadio Music Awards will return to the historic, "fabulous" Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT). The event will once again be simulcast live on Turner's TBS, TNT and truTV; on iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide; and on iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service.
- Licensed prostitutes in Nevada are banding together as "Hookers For Health Care" to oppose President Trump's impending health care legislation, that they say will have a devastating effect on working girls and their families, and result in millions of their courtesan colleagues losing their current medical coverage.
You may not know the name Jesse Peretz but if you watched MTV in the nineties, you have seen his work as he directed many Foo Fighters videos (including Learning to Fly where Dave Grohl played multiple roles) as well as Popular by Nada Surf. What those videos had in common have in common were that they were weird and fun, but that was mostly lacking here except Selena Gomez dressing up as a nerdy dad. And what was that “Coming Soon” at the end? Is there a second parter to this because that looked like a completely different video. I hope this does not become a trend.
It is a shame Edgar Wright is not a big a big a director as he should be, his trio of British films with Simonn Pegg and Nick Frost were brilliant. Scott Pilgrim should have been a massive hit (seriously, the film featured up and comers Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, and Aubrey Plaza). Ant-Man was going to be his first blockbuster but ended up leaving because of creative diferences. Maybe a movie featuring Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Kevin Spacey will finally get him widespread recognition. At the very least the Danger Mouse song from the soundtrack is cool.
Claws: The South really knows how to do a funeral. Up here we got the silly car processional. I want one of those New Orleans marching bands leading my death match (I will pass on Roller’s stripper brigade though). But goodness this show is much better than I expected. That opening scene was great, the running on the beach was hilarious. But that they only found Roller’s grills and random body parts really send up my Spidey senses. As I always say, if you do not see the body, they probably are not dead (and even then I may not be convinced). Sure dude almost drowned, got shot in the head, sank in a pool for probably minutes, got doused with gasoline, set a flame, and pushed out into the bayou. On the other hand, what exactly happened to the other body in the boat?
You can download Claws on iTunes.
Fear the Walking Dead: Last week everyone wondered just how Daniel survived the fire from last season. Except the episode started with him fleeing a zombie with a burn on his leg. Later he said he did not know how he survived. Meh.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes
I’m Dying Up Here: I thought they set the show in the seventies so they could be as racist and sexist as they could but who would have guessed it was a puppet who crossed the line? And then kept going? But oh my, dude cannot continue being a comedian after that haircut, he looks like an accountant now.
Casual: Wait, Leon and the receptionist? Did I miss something or were they keeping that from the audience as well as everyone else on the show?
You can stream Casual on Hulu.
Pretty Little Liars: I completely forgot that they yet to reveal who killed Charlotte. And that was mostly lame. Mona did it… sort of, I guess it was self-defense? And so AD just ends the game because it? She does not even punish Mona? I guess it is not the end end because we still have the two hour finale. Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.
The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: I understand why they do the thirty-five percent of your weight thing, but man, that really does put the biggest guys at a massive disadvantage. And I do not understand the stagigy of the eating challenge, I would have eaten all the deserts first and only go to the other tables as a last resort.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
- TBS's newest comedy series The Guest Book is set to premiere Thursday, Aug. 3, with back-to-back episodes starting at 10:00. The Guest Book emerged from Emmy® winner and series creator Greg Garcia's habit of writing fictitious stories in the guest books of various rental cabins in an effort to freak out the next renters. Now he is bringing those stories to life on TBS. While the house and cast of characters living in this small mountain town remain the same, each episode will feature a different set of vacationing guests.
- TBS's hit comedy People of Earth will return for its second season on Monday, July 24 at 10:30. Executive-produced by Emmy® winners Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels, along with creator David Jenkins and showrunner Norm Hiscock, the series centers on a group of alien abductees – or "experiencers" – living in the small town of Beacon, N.Y. New cast member Nasim Pedrad joins returning cast Wyatt Cenac, Ana Gasteyer, Oscar Nuñez, Michael Cassidy, Alice Wetterlund, Luka Jones, Brian Huskey, Nancy Lenehan, Tracee Chimo, ;Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Björn Gustafsson and Ken Hall.
- For the first time in 99 years a total solar eclipse will span the continental United States, the path of totality stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. The Great American Eclipse will likely be one of the most viewed events in history and Science Channel will be on the ground to capture the excitement with live coverage as it happens on Monday, August 21. In primetime, the network will premiere a one-hour special, The Great American Eclipse (wt), with same-day footage of the eclipse, on the 21st at 9:00. The announcement was made today, the Summer Solstice, by Marc Etkind, General Manager of Science Channel.
- Conan O'Brien will once again be immortalized with a set of four Pop! Vinyl figures to be available this July, when TBS's late-night series Conan returns to San Diego for Comic-Con® International. Created by Funko for TBS, a division of Turner, this year's collectible figure designs include "Conan as Spider-Man™," "Jedi™ Conan," "The Flash™ Conan" and "White Walker™ Conan." In addition, there will be a limited-edition figure entitled, "MonoConan," which will only be available through activations & giveaways taking place in San Diego. During the week of Comic-Con® International, CONAN will be taped at San Diego's historic Spreckels Theatre on Wednesday, July 19 – Saturday, July 22. Episodes will air that Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS and will be available across TBS and Team Coco's digital, mobile and VOD platforms the day after airing. Fans can keep connected with CONAN during Comic-Con and share their excitement about the new Pop! Vinyl figures by using #ConanCon on social media.
- Some of the biggest names in movie and TV comedy will be making their way to YouTube Red this Fall. From a hilarious reinvention of the traditional cop drama by renowned comedy director Rawson Marshall Thurber, to an all-new comedic scripted series from Rob Huebel, YouTube Red is building up its comedy lineup with Hollywood veterans in front of and behind the camera.
In the eight-episode, half hour comedy Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television*, the LAPD thinks it’s a good idea to form a task force partnering actors with homicide detectives so they can use their “actor skills” to help solve murders. Starring Ryan Hansen (“Veronica Mars,” “Party Down”) who plays himself and guest star Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid's Tale," “Orange Is The New Black”) as his no-nonsense partner Detective Mathers, the series features a who’s who of broadcast and cable television stars playing bizarro versions of themselves including, but not limited to, Joel McHale, Jon Cryer and Kristen Bell. Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Central Intelligence,” “We’re the Millers,” and “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”) serves as the director, writer, creator and executive producer of this super meta half hour comedy procedural which is as much about Hollywood as it is an action-comedy cop show. The series is executive produced by Thurber, Scott Stuber, Beau Bauman, Krysia Plonka and Tracey Baird.
Do You Want to See a Dead Body? is an eight-episode comedy series that follows comedian Rob Huebel (“Childrens Hospital,” “Transparent”) and his celebrity friends who begrudgingly join him on adventures that see them frolicking at the beach, getting tacos, ...oh...and seeing a dead body. Celebrity guest stars include Adam Scott, Judy Greer, Terry Crews, Craig Robinson, and John Cho along with many more. Huebel, Owen Burke, Nick Jasenovec, and Jonathan Stern serve as executive producers. The series is being produced by Abominable Pictures and Funny or Die.
- Comedian and I’m Dying Up Here star Erik Griffin (Workaholics, Blunt Talk) makes his hour-long debut in the new comedy special Erik Griffin: The Ugly Truth premiering Friday, July 7 at 9:00 on Showtime. Griffin’s hilarious special is the third standalone comedy event from the stars of the network’s newest drama series I’M DYING UP HERE, which airs on Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.
- Hulu announced Alexis Bledel will return as a series regular for the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Alexis Bledel will reprise her role in the second season of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale as a series regular. Bledel starred in season one as a guest star and received rave reviews for her heartbreaking performance. The 13-episode second season is scheduled to go back into production this fall and will premiere in 2018.
- Hulu announced a new cast of characters joining the upcoming second season of Hulu Original Freakish. See below for casting information as well as a special casting video released today.
- The critically acclaimed Showtime Documentary Film Whitney. Can I Be Me, originally scheduled to premiere Saturday, August 26 on Showtime, will now air on Friday, August 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. On August 26, Showtime will offer the much-anticipated pay-per-view boxing match between undefeated world champion Floyd Mayweather and UFC champion Conor McGregor live from Las Vegas.
To curate a list of albums coming out this summer I headed over to the Pre-Order page on Google Play and on the top line was an album by Goldfinger. That pretty much sums up music these days that one of the albums coming out over the next couple months that Google is hyping the most is by a band who it would be kind of generous to call them a One Hit Wonder. There is not much else to say about this crop of albums so lets just get to the list of albums that should at very least a stream on Spotify.
Orphan Black: I needed that "previously on" segment to be longer. This show just got way too complicated over the years.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.
Fear the Walking Dead: Well preppers are an interesting character study in an actual apocalypse, but has society ended that quickly? They were on a boat and in Mexico for maybe a month and society has already fallen? And didn’t the Mexican daddy burn up last season? I guess this could be a hallucination. And where is his daughter? She is still in the credits.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes
I’m Dying Up Here: Oh my, Let’s Make a Deal. I was going to say how seventies, but I think there was a reboot recently with Wayne Brady as host. But what a horrible show.
Casual: Oh Leon, you need to be on this show more. Oh course you are into Magic: The Gathering. And oh hey, Judy Greer: always a plus.
You can stream Casual on Hulu.
Pretty Little Liars: Last week when Hannah and Caleb got engaged, following Aria and Ezra’s engagement (still icky) and Emily and Allison bizarrely having a kid together, I felt bad for Spencer whose one night stand with a detective has gotten worse and worse. But of course Toby came back this week so they could do one huge Lairs’ sex montage. Le sigh. Only two more episode until I can start wearing my I Watched Every Episode of Pretty Little Liars and all I Got Was This Stupid T-Shirt t-shirt. Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.
The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Oh wow, I actually thought Kameron maybe could win that challenge by himself. But poor Ashley and Lolo, going into every elimination this season.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
The Handmaid’s Tale: So why exactly are they taking Offred? The easy answer is that it is because of the stunt she pulled in the stoning. But that was everyone who refused to throw a stone, they are not going to round up all the Handmaids are they? It could be because of the package, which was kind of lame, just a bunch of letters. There could be a very small chance the resistance is poising as the black van people. But my best working theory is that the driver, who is part of the eye, is getting who he thinks is his baby mama out of a dangerous situation. Wherever Offred ends up going, I just hope she runs into Rory Gilmore, my one complaint is she got hauled away early in the season and we never got to see what happened to her. And with a season of great musical cues, American Girl was another one. Remember America is not much of a thing anymore, but Offred but the show reminds us as the show goes on hiatus that Offred is still an American girl ay heart.
The show has been cruel since the beginning but they really racheted that up for the finale. Making the Handmaids stone one of their own (but “don’t throw too hard” was a great line), the Waterfords were equally harsh to each other. But number one on that list was Mrs. Waterford driving Offred over to where Offred’s daughter is being kept, Waterford talked to the daughter within sight but out of earshot completely out of spite. But here is the thing: that is secretly a gift because now Offred knows where her daughter is. I can imagine Offred will find her way there in season two.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
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 Ray Donovan, From the Ashes, Will, How it's Made, Family Feud, Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, RaeLynn, Power, Snatchers, Outrageous Acts of Science, and Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul.
- Showtime has released the first trailer for season five of its hit drama series Ray Donovan, which will premiere on Sunday, August 6 at 9:00. Starring Liev Schreiber in his two-time Emmy nominated role as L.A.’s best professional fixer, the new season of RAY DONOVAN finds Ray turning his attention back to Hollywood and his celebrity fixer firm. Also beginning on August 6, the limited event series TWIN PEAKS will move to its new timeslot on Sunday nights at 8:00.
- TNT is releasing a new trailer for its brand new drama series Will, which tells the wild, rowdy story of young William Shakespeare. Newcomer Laurie Davidson plays the title role in this period drama told in a bold, contemporary style and played to a modern soundtrack that exposes all of Shakespeare's recklessness, lustful temptations and tortured brilliance. Also starring are Olivia DeJonge, Ewen Bremner, Colm Meaney, Mattias Inwood, Jamie Campbell Bower, William Houston, Lukas Rolfe, Max Bennett and Jasmin Savoy Brown. Will is slated to launch on Monday, July 10, at 9:00 across TNT's U.S. platforms.
- From the Ashes is a National Geographic Channel documentary that captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry and what its future should be under the Trump Administration. From Appalachia to the West's Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the "war on coal" to present compelling and often heartbreaking stories about what's at stake for our economy, health, and climate. The film invites audiences to learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for people's lives in America. The film asks the question -- do we continue to invest in a 19th century form of energy production that has clear and present risks or do we move forward and if so what are the options in our energy future? What are the new jobs that will be produced in former coal-dominated states? From the Ashes premieres Sunday, June 25 at 9:00 on National Geographic Channel.
- The Science Channel series that has for more than a decade put the spotlight on how everyday items are manufactured, goes inside U.S. factories to see how some of world’s most essential and innovative products are created. The 10 episode How it's Made: American Made, premiering Thursday, June 22 at 9:00, will look at a wide variety of products that are produced in America including 3-D printers, NASCAR engines, apple pie, barber poles, and more. In addition, the new season of How it's Made premieres on the 22nd at 9:30.
- All next week (6/19-6/23), GSN will feature episodes of Family Feud where the contestants gave some epically bad responses. Tune in each night at 7:00 ET (6pm central) to catch the contestants and answers that made Steve go "Wait...what?"
- On the heels of early awards’ buzz, VH1, in partnership with Sequential Brands Group, MERRY JANE and 495 Productions, today announced the hit series Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party will return on Monday, October 16th at 10PM. Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg continue to light up the kitchen in season two by putting a personal spin on favorite dishes to create a themed meal with celebrity friends.
- Tune in to the AUDIENCE Network concert special RaeLynn airing Friday, June 16, at 9:00 via DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114 and on-demand through DIRECTV NOW. The show features a playful interview with series host Ted Stryker.
- Starz’s most watched series Power: The Complete Third Season is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. With record-breaking ratings for its premiere, season three — with its all-star cast, including Omari Hardwick (TV’s ”Being Mary Jane”), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (The Hangover), and Naturi Naughton (TV’s “Mad Men”) — finds James St. Patrick fighting to maintain his new lifestyle on the right side of the law.
- Verizon’s go90 and Stage 13, a fearless digital content brand under Warner Bros Digital Networks, today announced that the original scripted horror-comedy series Snatchers will be premiering on June 22nd exclusively on go90. Snatchers marks Stage 13’s first series launch.
- From MacGyver-like scientists to amateur stunt artists, the internet is filled with clips of crazy homemade experiments and misadventures. Science Channel’s team of top science minds are back to break down the ingenuity – and sometimes insanity – behind each week’s most out-of-this-world experiments, incredible inventions, and jaw-dropping stunts when Outrageous Acts of Science returns Wednesday, June 21 at 9:00.
- Logo today announced that Gay for Play Game Show Starring RuPaul will return with six new episodes beginning Thursday, June 29th at 9:00. The fun-filled trivia series, with Emmy award winning host RuPaul, features pop culture savvy contestants competing to win over $5,000 in cash prizes. You don’t need to be gay to play, but it sure does help!
In this era of too much television, it is impossible to keep up everything that is being made in America. And that does not even count the numerous imports streaming services buy up to bolster their libraries. Do excuse me for never have hearing of the Canadian show Cardinal until Hulu sent me a press release about it. That came with a trailer which made me go, oh, so it is The Killing: Frozen Tundra Edition and they even got the mayor to star in the show. But hey, I like a good murder mystery. I even like bad ones: I have almost made it to the end of Pretty Little Liars. But what really got me to watch was the show is only six episodes which means I could easily knock it out in a pair of two hour blocks.
So Billy Campbell (The Killing, natch) is the titular John Cardinal who was kicked of homicide but is brought back when his case of an Indian girl is reopened when the body is finally found. Just transferred from the financial division is Karine Vanasse (Pan Am) who is naturally skeptical of her new partner and is hiding a big secret herself which you learn at the end of the first season. And there is another plus of the show, at just six episode there is a big plot twist at the end of each episode and unlike show of its ilk, with just six episodes, there are no red herrings, each of these twist have big significance to the show.
And the biggest selling point of them all, unlike The Killing which had the biggest cop out in the history of television with its first season finale, solving the murder of Rosie Larson only be say ”Psyche!!!” in the final moments, everything has a natural and mostly satisfying conclusion on Cardinal. I am not up on the inner workings of Canadian television, so I do not know if there is going to be a second season or not, but there really does not need to be one. If you are looking for something to watch during the summer duldrums, you could do a lot worse than Cardinal. At the very least the frozen tundra landscape you remind you of cooler days while the temperature continues to rise in the next couple months.
All six episodes of Cardinal are streaming now exclusively on Hulu.
TNT and USA got on the scripted cable shows train before everyone else. But at the start of the decade every other cable channel got their own shows, some of the channels even carved out a niche in the prestige drama niche like AMC. With dwindling ratings, the originals had to evolve. USA fired the first shot with one of the best shows this decade, Mr. Robot, and TNT has been playing catch up ever since. I did not have much interest in their first attempt Animal Kingdom and the critics were mostly mum on the show. I really enjoyed their next new show Good Behavior, but again it never really caught on much with the critical kingmakers. Then there was Claws which is getting a lot of buzz. And it is well deserved.
What I liked most about Good Behavior is that I did not know where it was going and the few times I thought I knew where it was going, it went somewhere else and I really liked that feeling of uncertainness when on most shows today you know exactly where they are going sometimes within the first five minutes. Claws is like that in a way but when Claws goes in a surprising way, it is more like a soap opera cliffhanger than its prestige counterparts for better or worse (mostly the latter but the big cliffhanger in the third episode has a lot of explaining to do in the next episode).
Claws stars Niecy Nash (Reno 911) as the owner of a nails salon who has a tightknit employee base inkling Judy Reyes (Scrubs), Jenn Lyon (Saint George), and Carrie Preston (Crowded). Karrueche Tran, whose name I have heard before but I thought she was basically famous for being someone(s?) girlfriend who I did not care about, is the newbie who is not fitting in well with the crew. And that is really an understatement.
Oh yeah, and this nail salon is a money laundering front for Dean Norris (Under the Dome) affectionally known as Uncle Daddy by Jack Kesy (The Strain; he was the junkless rock star turned Master), who brings Nash into this operation, and being this is taking place in central Florida I spent most of the first episode wondering if Dean Norris had a couple kids with his sister, hence Uncle Daddy (the relationship becomes clearer in the second episode). And the other kid in the messed up family is Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights) who is mostly out of the fray of the business with his wife Lyon (though it is still unclear to me why they have one white child and a black one).
The weakest part of the show is when Nash goes home to her somewhere on the spectrum brother played by Harold Perrineau (Wedding Band), followed by Norris's bayou accent, and I really do not buy the nurse from Scrubs as a gangsta dressing lesbian, but everything else is just firing on all cylinder. And really do not tune in late because the beginning of the episode that I have seen so far are some of the best things I have seen on television recently.
Gotham: So much death. Granted death tends not to stick for very long. Given her I have died before, I know this is a different death, I guess that was the end Fish Mooney. Butch will likely also stay dead, or undead being the better description because Cyrus Gold is the original name of Solomon Grundy. Then there was The Riddler, being frozen in ice typically will kill someone but in comic work, you can thaw him out unharmed. The biggest question mark is Barbara. They have been teasing her as Harley Quinn since being captured by the serial killer two(?) seasons ago so that can be Harley’s origin story, except electrocution seems kind of dead dead. But again we are dealing with comic book logic.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.
The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros: Wait, the gay dude can bring his boyfriend to the elimination but no AJ Lee? Booooooooooooooooooooo. That is some hetrophobic crap right there.
You can download The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions on iTunes.
The Handmaid’s Tale: Wait, so Handmaids do not stay with the families after they are done breastfeeding? I guess you do not want attachments growing, but I was thinking they may want to have siblings that were fully related instead of having a brood of half siblings. But poor Jenine, she actually gets sent to a family that seemed to be one of the nicer rapist only to they try to kill herself and fail. I am just glad they kind of showed us how Moria got the package to Ofred because I was really puzzled there for a couple seconds. Though it is still unclear how she got into Gilliad and the package to a sympathizer in the meat shop.
You can stream The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu.
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 Putin Interviews, Claws, Family Feud, POV, First Ladies Revealed, Survivorman and Son: Mongolia, Monster Hunt, Snowpiercer, Escape at Dannemora, and Weekend Blast with Ed Lover and Monie Love.
- Showtime Documentary Films has released a new extended clip from Oliver Stone’s unprecedented conversations with Vladimir Putin, The Putin Interviews. The clip is pulled from hour four of the special, which features Stone’s most recent discussion with the Russian president this past February, following the U.S. presidential elections. In the newly released clip, Putin offers his opinion of his former Cold War foe, Senator John McCain, that sheds light on how Putin views today's global affairs in a historical context. Additionally, a new video for The Putin Interviews was released that features a behind-the-scenes look and interview with Stone, about the making of the television special.
- Turner's TNT has announced that the premiere episode of its new drama Claws will stream on Twitter following the series' launch on TNT. Set in a Central Florida nail salon and featuring an ensemble cast headed by Niecy Nash (Getting On, The Soul Man), Claws is slated to premiere Sunday, June 11, at 9:00 across TNT's platforms. Twitter will then stream an encore of the premiere episode at 10 pm. (ET), marking the platform's first ever streaming of a basic cable drama. Fans on Twitter in the United States will be able to access the stream and a curated timeline of show-related Tweets by going to claws.twitter.com, as well as via the @ClawsTNT Twitter handle.
- All next week (6/12-6/16), GSN will feature episodes of Family Feud where the contestants at some point left Steve Harvey utterly speechless. Tune in each night at 7pm ET (6pm central) to catch the contestants and answers that dumbfounded the otherwise talkative host
- The year is 2015. Syria’s brutal civil war has been ravaging the country since the government responded with force to civil protests during the Arab Spring in 2011. Regime, Kurdish, ISIS and rebel forces all occupy various parts of the city of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. A volunteer group called the White Helmets provides emergency services to traumatized residents in the rebel-occupied areas of the city. A crucial part of their efforts is rescuing survivors: After air attacks reduce buildings to rubble, the men of the White Helmets dig through the debris and pull survivors to safety. They are nothing short of heroes. The White Helmets are the subject of Last Men in Aleppo (airing July 10, 2017 on POV), the searing documentary directed by Feras Fayyad that won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film has its national broadcast premiere on July 10 at 10 p.m. (check local listings) on the PBS documentary series POV (Point of View). POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series, now in its 30th season. Last Men in Aleppo is the final film in this season’s special series highlighting the Syrian conflict and refugee crisis.
- First Ladies have played a key role in branding their husbands’ presidencies and have each left their own mark on history. Smithsonian Channel’s new series, First Ladies Revealed, examines some of the most prominent and remarkable women – trailblazers, style icons, diplomats, war heroes, and global superstars. From Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy to Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and more, the series tells the stories of some of the women who left their indelible mark on the White House and the nation. Smithsonian Channel reveals their challenges and celebrates their achievements, going beyond their public lives to tell their private stories. The series premieres Sunday, July 2 at 9:00.
- During his last expedition to Mongolia, survival expert Les Stroud was almost killed in an automobile accident. A year later, he returns there with his son Logan, now 19, and with a mind of his own and strength of character earned by beating cancer. If they're going to survive a week in remote Mongolia with no water, shelter, food or fire, they're going to have to work together. The task might be easier said than done when youth tests experience and stubbornness proves to be a genetic trait. Survivorman and Son: Mongolia kicks off Father’s Day weekend on Friday, June 16 at 10:00.
- Monster Hunt, China's highest-grossing movie of all time until just recently, is coming to DVD via FilmRise and MVD Enterttainment Group on June 13th.
- Turner's TNT has cast Jennifer Connelly, who earned an Oscar® for her performance in A Beautiful Mind, to star in the network's drama pilot Snowpiercer. She joins Tony Award® winner Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, Black-ish) in the futuristic thriller, which will be directed by Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange). Based on the acclaimed movie of the same name, Snowpiercer is a co-production of Tomorrow Studios and Turner's Studio T, along with CJ Entertainment. The project is being executive-produced by writer-showrunner Josh Friedman (Avatar 4, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles); director Scott Derrickson; Tomorrow Studios' Marty Adelstein (Aquarius, Prison Break, Teen Wolf) and Becky Clements (Good Behavior, Aquarius, Last Man Standing); and the original film's Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hun and Dooho Choi.
- SHOWTIME has given a production order to Escape at Dannemora, a new eight-hour limited series starring Academy Award® winners Benicio del Toro (Traffic) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), and Golden Globe nominee Paul Dano (Love & Mercy, There Will Be Blood). Emmy® winner Ben Stiller will executive produce and direct all eight episodes. The limited series is based on the stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled. Production will begin later this year at the actual locations in upstate New York. Escape at Dannemora is the network’s next high-profile limited series, on the heels of the launch of the new TWIN PEAKS, which generated a record number of streaming service signups for SHOWTIME. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.
- Having already kicked off “Weekend Blast with Ed Lover and Monie Love” (Saturday’s 7am-9am) this past weekend, Long Island’s party station Party 105.3FM is getting ready to premiere their brand new “Fresh, Fly, and Funny” weekday drive-time show hosted by none other than the hip hop legends themselves! The Ed Lover Show will bring not only classic hip hop music and celebrity interviews from the hottest artists and influencers of of today, but features that connect with a generation of urban trendsetters, as well as giving listeners a chance to give their own input through daily segments and contests!
What struck me during the new video from Prophets of Rage was where are the rebel rousers of today. The nineties had Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and many others but nobody seems to rage very hard against the machine these day other than the occasional strongly worded tweet.
Mount Kushmore – Snoop Dogg featuring Redman, Method Man, and B-Real
Oh my goodness, a song with Snoop Dogg,
edman, Method Man, and B-Real may have been the greatest track of 1995. Now, meh. And that has to be the worst Trump impression ever.
Wall of Glass – Liam Gallagher
It seems like I have been talking a lot this year about mediocre music from artists who had they heyday two decades ago (including everyone in this post). Liam Gallagher’s first solo track may be the most mediocre. I wonder if Oasis is going a Creedence Clearwater Revival situation where you assume they will reconcile eventually up until the point one of them dies. But unlike John Folgerty, neither of the Gallagher bothers have released anything worth caring about apart.
One of the main reasons Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip failed was too many complained that the fake Saturday Night Live show’s skits just were not funny. And that seems to hinder most shows focusing on the entertainment industry. Nashville in seasons years has yet to produce a hit in the real world as big as they pretend they are on the show. I thought Showtime solved this problem last year with Roadies where we never actually got to hear any new material from this stadium filling band, instead leaving the musical moments to their numerous real life opening acts. The only problem was that show was a rare one and done season for the premium network.
Roadies crossed my mind many times while watching Showtime’s latest offering I’m Dying Up Here. Granted this time the medium of the characters are stand up comedians and it takes place in the seventies. This new show also tries to solve the entertainment industry show problem by making these comic amateurs trying to make it in Los Angeles (when Johnny Carson moved The Tonight Show to Burbank in 1972, all the stand-up comics moved out there too). The title of this show even comes from the phrase acknowledging that the comic is not doing a good job.
So do not expect much from the stand up on the show, it is certainly not on the level of a Showtime stand up special. The first set we see even starts out with an abortion joke. And really the hardest I laughed in the first episode was when a hooker takes the wallet off an unconscious guy. And since this is the seventies and not the overly PC current day, there are plenty of sexist and racist joke helped that the cast includes a token woman comic (Ari Graynor, Bad Teacher), a token black comic (Erik Griffin, Workaholics), and a token Hispanic comic (Al Madrigal, Gary Unmarried). Homosexuals should probably happy they are not represented on the show. And that this is the seventies, the decades public hair grooming is on full display during the first two episodes.
Melissa Leo (Treme) is the club owner and kingmaker, you are not getting on Carson without here. There are even a couple of white guys in the cast including Andrew Santino (Mixology) and Stephen Guarino (Dr. Ken). Then there are the newbies who just moved to the city thinking it would be easy like Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine 2), Michael Angarano (Will and Grace), and RJ Clyer (Power Rangers). It should also be noted that I’m Dying Up Here may have the single worse title sequence ever.
Since The Tonight Show is the pinnacle for these young comics, Johnny does show up a couple times (albeit in the form of Dylan Baker) as well as Richard Pryor while two character take a trip to the very seventies game show Let’s Make a Deal. But the eye winks to the time period are not overpowering, what the show really is is a sad look at what many think is a funny profession. These comics have wives, have gotten back from Vietnam, deal with the death of ex-boyfriends, go to AA meeting just to have a crowd, and have to slum it with some really bad day job just for that preverbal shot. Sure not every one of their jokes when they are on stage lands, some may not even supposed to, but it is when they walk out of the spotlight when the show really begins.
I‘m Dying Up Here airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.
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