57 Channels and Only This Is On: July 10, 2021

 

Westworld:  One of the big questions going into the season was if the Man in Black was still alive after Charlotte slit his throat at the end of last season.  Dude hitting hole in one after hole in one like he was Kim Jung Un pretty much confirmed he was a robot.  But shocker, it turns out the real William is being kept alive by Charlotte mostly out of spite I guess.  I wonder if Maeve will actually free him by the end of the season. 

I am just glad we are going back to the park, or a park.  I found it bizarre that a show called Westworld spent I believe one episode in Westworld last season.  I wonder what other parks fake William created.  And just who dropped the can that Caleb picks up in the Next Time On promo.  Did they recreated Deloras or has she been recast?

 

The Chi:  Well, the mayor’s exile did not last very long.  If he was funding Trig’s whole operation, why not just counter blackmail him in a mutual assured destruction before leaving town?  But it is nice to see that teenagers today are familiar with the great Method Man / Mary J. Blige (or, more likely, a middle aged writer forced the teenager to learn the song).  Oh and I am taking the way under on Emmitt’s celibacy.

 

The Man Who Fell to Earth:   Oh, so the old alien was in Cambodia, the show just yadda yadda’ed how the other two got there.  But it really just felt like the writers new the first season was not great and wrote in a soft reboot of what a second season might be.  But honestly, I would be fine if there were not a second season.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  I cannot believe the show actually made me feel sympathetic towards Bunny, but there are fewer people more sympathetic than life long Knicks fans. Then they made me realize how much of an antagonist she was again by threatening flogging to the courtyard party and unretiring, only to be sympathetic once again at the end when she was not invited into the party. And now we know how she got the tye-dye hoodie. Probably a bad look that the three amigos were the ones that put it on her.

While the new president went to the top of the murder board for the trio, I am still highly suspicious the cat guy. He did not have a black eye at the meeting, but had one the day of the memorial. The murderer also did not look like a very pregnant lady.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  Why didn’t Tally just use one of those song spells on the hunters?   And are these hunters that bad if they are setting up everyone in a mansion?

 

The Challenge: All Stars: Meh, always disappointing whenever Wes wins.

 

The Challenge: USA:  They did some bad casting for this show.  Survivor is the only show I watch and most of them were headscratchers, am not even sure Desi was on the show, even though her chyron says she was.  I am not entirely sure why Love Island was included at all especially considering it is not even on CBS anymore.  Then it just seems extremely unfair that there were six people from the same Big Brother season, four of which were very closely aligned (and inexplicable that when two were sent in first, they did not send in the other two to make sure at least half the alliance went home, that will come back and hunt everyone).

 

Then instead of needing stars or skulls from elimination wins you need $5,000 to run TJ’s finale which can easily be accomplished by win a daily.  If you do not win a daily, you will have to win a few eliminations (or just beat someone who won at least one daily or won a couple eliminations since you win all of the loser’s money).  I guess we will see how this plays out, I am guessing it will not have much of an effect because there will be plenty of chances to win money.  The more interesting twist is the algorithm which forces you to not have the same partner twice until you have partnered with everyone.  That should shake up some alliances… hopefully.

 

Ms. Marvel:  Well, that ending was confusing.  I get the dagger to bangle sent Kamala back in time, but how did she get back to her present.  And just how did the evil lady close that rift when her henchwoman just died?  And how did her powers transfer to Kamal?  And if Kamal the big bad now that they will have to take down in the finale?  Or has Damage Control been the big bad this whole time?

 

The Old Man:  Those night scene in the desert were The Battle of Winterfell dark. Thankfully nothing happening besides two people talking. And my interest in the show really dipped when the dogs got dropped off at the kennel. Hopefully they do not spend too much time in Morocco but I have a feeling we will spend the rest of the season there.

 

Around the Tubes: July 9, 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 Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons, James Bay, Noah Kahan, John Legend. POV, and NYC Point Gods.

-  Check out the NEW trailer for Hulu Original Docuseries "Victoria's Secret: Angels and Demons," directed by Matt Tyrnauer.  Coming to Hulu Thursday, July 14.  Investigated with journalistic rigor by director Matt Tyrnauer, this documentary tells the searing and provocative story of the Victoria’s Secret brand and its longtime CEO, the larger-than-life, enigmatic billionaire Les Wexner. The underworld of fashion, the billionaire class, and Jeffrey Epstein are all revealed to be inextricably intertwined with the fall of this legendary brand in "Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons." 

- Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay presents his highly anticipated third full-length album, Leap, out now via Mercury/Republic Records.  On the release of the album Bay said: ”I am so happy Leap is finally out. It’s been a weird and winding road to get here over the past few years (as it has been for everyone), but all things considered it’s been a wonderful journey making this music. I got the opportunity to write more songs and was able to fully realize what this album was supposed to be. I can’t wait to take these songs around the world.”  The record includes the heartfelt and hypnotic new single “Save Your Love,” which highlights his dynamic vocals and was produced by FINNEAS.

- Singer and songwriter Noah Kahan is back with his new honest and heartfelt single “Stick Season” out now via Mercury Records/Republic Records—listen HERE. For Noah, the song represents his homecoming, a lyrical homage to painful but necessary transitions brought to life by the imagery of the change of seasons in his home state of Vermont.  On the song, Noah says, “I wrote ‘Stick Season’ without knowing it would become, in my opinion, the most important song of my career. It allowed me to finally cross over into the style of songwriting that I have loved my entire life, and the second I finished writing it, I felt a level of comfort and honesty that I had never previously felt since I began my journey in music. Being able to tell a story, and being able to relate back to my home in New England in such an honest way, made me believe in myself again.”

- Multi-platinum, 12-time GRAMMY Award-winner John Legend today debuted the video for “Honey” featuring Muni Long, the second single from his forthcoming album.  The Christian Breslauer-directed visual is set in the aftermath of the retro house party featured in the video for “Dope” (the lead single from the upcoming LP).  We find Legend passed out on the living room floor dreaming about the dance party that took place the night before.  After a (CGI) bee sting wakes him up, honeycomb walls lure him to a secret room where he finds Muni in a vintage bathtub full of sweet glittery golden honey.  The warm morning backlight glows off her skin as she uses her beauty to pull him closer.  Watch the steamy scene unfold in the official video HERE.  Listen to the song HERE.  Upon the song’s release, Billboard said, “John Legend and Muni Long officially have a contender for song of the summer,” while Rolling Stone called the track “seductive” and “sultry.”  “Honey” was produced by Ryan Tedder, Steven Franks, Lindgren and Tommy Brown, with Legend and Long serving as co-writers along with Melanie Joy Fontana, HARV, Gregory Heinn, Lindgren, Franks, Tedder and Brown. While Long and Legend previously worked together as songwriters, “Honey” is their first collaboration as recording artists.

- The 35th anniversary season of POV, America’s longest running documentary series, opens with the heart rendering observational film Wuhan Wuhan, about the first wave of COVID-19, in the city where the mysterious virus was first discovered.  Directed by Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, This is Not a Movie), and produced by Diane Quon (Minding the Gap), Donna Gigliotti (Hidden Figures, Shakespeare in Love), and Peter Luo (Crazy Rich Asians, Marshall), the documentary goes beyond the statistics and salacious headlines to provide a human experience to the early months of the pandemic through the stories of frontline medical workers, patients, and ordinary citizens.  Wuhan Wuhan makes its national broadcast and streaming premiere on PBS television series POV, Monday, July 11, 2022 at 10pmET/9C and is available to stream free through August 11, 2022 at pbs.org, and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

- POV Shorts, the best and boldest independent non-fiction short films curated by POV (America's longest-running documentary series), announced today the acquisition of six new short documentary films: Chilly and Milly, Coming Home, Freedom Swimmer, My Duduś and You Can't Stop Spirit that premiered at the 2022 Palm Springs International ShortFest, and Shut Up and Paint an official selection of the 2022 Tribeca Festival.  The six films will air on PBS stations, and stream on POV.org, as part of the upcoming fifth season of POV Shorts. The full season lineup will be announced at a later date.

- SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films has released today the official trailer and poster art for its upcoming documentary NYC POINT GODS, an in-depth look at the legendary point guards of New York City who honed their craft and developed their legendary showmanship in the 1980s and ’90s. NYC POINT GODS  will be available across the network’s streaming and on demand platforms for all SHOWTIME subscribers on Friday, July 29 and will premiere on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  To watch and share the trailer, go to: https://s.sho.com/3NNo7xT. 

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

 

Westworld:  So is Neo-Delores (am not going to bother learning her new name) some sort of descendant of whoever the robot was modeled after (Ford’s mother I think).  Is this taking place in robot heaven, where Teddy’s conscience went off to?  But then, how did Neo-Delores get there?  Season three was pretty bad, yet, I did not have the premiere.  But this season is early.

 

The Man Who Fell to Earth:   Oh wow, the FBI dude got shot by his subordinate.  I did not see that coming.  And I am not sure exactly why she did it.  But I kind of checked out early in the episode because way too much torture for me.  But is he dead-dead?  When you shoot someone, then walk up to do another shot up close is usually to make sure their dead.  But I guess the question, will some alien technology bring him back.  Speaking of murder, also was not expecting the daughter to jut push her father off the side of the cliff.  I found the horse murder to be a bit sympathetic because it was sick, but then she just goes full psychopath,  But I guess the old alien is not in Cambodia.

 

Irma Vep:  It was not until I listen to a podcast that I realized that Irma is not an actual vampire, just a thief pretending to be one.  I feel so stupid, but then again, I zone out whenever the director is on screen.

 

In the Dark:  Are the cops stupid, they were clearly talking about drugs on the tape, yet they somehow did not think to at the very least drug test the nerd.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  I kept on seeing people talking about Easter Eggs in the title sequence and even after knowing they were there, I never noticed one until the second episode of the second season when I noticed Bunny walking her bird instead of the dog she usually walks a dog.  Ha, good one title sequence creators.  As for the episodes themselves, the new episodes were dominated by stunt casting, which mostly worked in season one.

 

But, oof, off to a bad start so far this year (well aside from Shirley McLaine trying to cut the cheese, I cannot believe that is something I just wrote).  I do not understand what Amy Schumer is trying to do.  Usually celebrities play a meaner version of themselves, like Sting hating dogs and telling Tim Kono to kill himself, but she seems to being playing much nicer than her public persona.  Maybe she just playing nice to get Oliver to sign over the rights of the podcast and there will be a heel turn eventually.  Then Cara Delavigne just cannot act (and that kiss was very awkward).  Surprisingly, Michael Rappaport, who I will never forgive for ruining his season of Justified, was the least annoying.  But I did love how Mabel spent most of her interrogation mocking him.

 

As for the mystery of who killed Bunny, nothing happened that swayed me from my way too early prediction last season that Tina Fey did it to give her true crime podcast some content.  Though Cara Delavigne does seem shady but I feel like she is the Teddy Dimas of the season, someone who did something illegal, but not necessarily murder.  She probably is the forger.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  In the aftershow, they mention how the actor playing Raelle got in a car accident.  So that explains why she randomly just disappeared.  I guess she may just be in bed for a couple episode.  I did recognize her mom, but have little clue who that bad dude was.

 

The Challenge: All Stars: Kaylah definitely cheated and the shoe really needs to put up curtains in the puzzles because even when they put up blinders, someone like Kaylah is going to blatantly cheat.  But I feel like I jinxed Kellyanne by rooting for her as she keeps bombing, even in the paddle boarding which dominated earlier in the season.  But back to back wins may actually get her back in the hunt.

 

Ms. Marvel:  Were we really supposed to care for the new mentor who just showed up, gave a huge exposition dumb right before he (presumably) died?  But I did get a laugh when his apprentice said, “I always wanted to say that.”

 

The Old Man:  The first two episodes were very strong, but Amy Brenneman is really dragging the show down.  Maybe he should have not just killed her in her dream.  I do not even understand that whole divorce threat and how that would stop him from killing her.

 

Around the Tubes: July 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 Lucifer, ALF, Pearl Jam, Smash Mouth, Glass Animals, POV, The Wood, and Confirmed.

- After six hell-raising seasons Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and DC mark the end of an epic era with the final installment of the action-packed series with the release of Lucifer: The Sixth and Final Season on DVD September 13, 2022. Lucifans can purchase the final set to add to their collection which, in addition to all 10 fiery episodes from season six, also contains deleted scenes and a gag reel. Lucifer: The Sixth and Final Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD ($29.98 in Canada) and will also be available on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive Collection. Warner Archive Blu-ray releases are easily found at www.warnerarchive.com and on your favorite online retailer sites.  Put on your devilish grins – as Lucifer: The Complete Series will also be available, containing all 93 exhilarating episodes from the phenomenal series, as well as countless hours of bonus features from all six epic, not-to-be-missed seasons. Lucifer: The Complete Series is priced to own on DVD for $112.99 SRP ($134.99 in Canada).

- All 102 episodes of the classic '80s live-action series ALF are now streaming exclusively on Shout! Factory TV and are available on their own FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel on Amazon Freevee. 26 episodes of ALF: The Animated Series and 21 episodes of the animated series ALF Tales will also be coming soon.  The FAST channel is dedicated specifically to ALF content and will only be available on Amazon Freevee upon launch. The collaboration is part of a growing relationship between Shout! Factory TV and Amazon Freevee, which has included The Carol Burnett Show, Johnny Carson TV, and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Channel, and will expand with future content when the Shout! Factory TV Channel is added.

-  Pearl Jam proudly present the Gigaton (Tour Edition) on Friday July 8. It features 11 live songs recorded during the band’s triumphant return to the road in 2021 alongside the group’s critically acclaimed chart-topping eleventh full-length, Gigaton, originally released in 2020. It will be available on all DSPs now and as in limited-edition LP/CD combo only in Independent Record Stores across the country—HERE. Members of the Pearl Jam Ten Club may order it as a standalone CD, beginning July 8 HERE.  Pearl Jam roared back on the stage last year and performed music from Gigaton for the first time during a string of unforgettable shows. Now, the (Tour Edition) consists of energetic and emotionally charged renditions of new favorites, including “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” “Superblood Wolfmoon,” “Retrograde,” and more. Upon arrival, Gigaton bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart and the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200.

- There could be no better way to continue the Summer of Smash Mouth than with “4th Of July,” the first all-new, all-original Smash Mouth track to feature new lead singer Zach Goode at the helm. Today, UMe releases “4th Of July,” Smash Mouth’s exciting, fresh take on everyone’s favorite height of the summer holiday on all digital formats. Here, the vocal talents of the New York City-born, Los Angeles-based Goode shine through on a zesty, fun-in-the-sun song that celebrates what enjoying summertime is all about. Listen to Smash Mouth’s “4th Of July” HERE now.  “4th of July was always my favorite holiday when I was a kid,” says Smash Mouth bassist and founding member Paul DeLisle. “Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all cold-weather affairs. The 4th of July is the only major holiday landing smack dab in the middle of summer. It needs a theme song, right?” (Right!)

- On the two year anniversary of critically acclaimed third album Dreamland, record breaking, BRIT and GRAMMY Award-nominated, Billboard Award-winning, global sensations Glass Animals announce their special Dreamland: Real Life Edition, for fans who have been on this incredible journey with the British band who took the world by storm this year, released on August 5th. Remaining on the Global Weekly Spotify Chart for 75 weeks straight, Dreamland is the album that brought us the global smash hit “Heat Waves”, leading to a 5 billion global streaming band with over 38M monthly listeners. Glass Animals returned to the UK for their first Glastonbury in five years last weekend, playing to thousands of fans on the Other Stage, confirming their place as “one of the biggest British bands in the world” (NME) and honouring the Dreamland they have lived in, ever since its release during the pandemic summer of 2020. Available in all formats with a limited edition glow in the dark vinyl featuring new colorway artwork alongside a deluxe tracklist CD and cassette, the Dreamland: Real Life Edition includes collaborations with Arlo Parks, Denzel Curry, Albert Hammond Jr., Bree Runway and Diplo.  PRE-ORDER DREAMLAND: REAL LIFE EDITION HERE

- The 35th anniversary season of POV, America’s longest running documentary series, opens with the heart rendering observational film Wuhan Wuhan, about the first wave of COVID-19, in the city where the mysterious virus was first discovered.  Directed by Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, This is Not a Movie), and produced by Diane Quon (Minding the Gap), Donna Gigliotti (Hidden Figures, Shakespeare in Love), and Peter Luo (Crazy Rich Asians, Marshall), the documentary goes beyond the statistics and salacious headlines to provide a human experience to the early months of the pandemic through the stories of frontline medical workers, patients, and ordinary citizens.  Wuhan Wuhan makes its national broadcast and streaming premiere on PBS television series POV, Monday, July 11, 2022 at 10pmET/9C and is available to stream free through August 11, 2022 at pbs.org, and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

- SHOWTIME has announced the cast for the pilot of the network’s new comedy series THE WOOD, based on the coming-of-age feature film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa (THE CHI, Dope). Famuyiwa is directing the pilot and executive producing with Justin Hillian (THE CHI, Snowfall), who is writing the script. Executive producing along with Famuyiwa and Hillian are Gunpowder & Sky’s Van Toffler and David Gale. The pilot, currently in production in Inglewood, Calif., is a production of Paramount Television Studios. Guest stars Richard T. Jones (The Rookie) and Tamala Jones (Castle) will reprise their original roles as Slim and Tanya from the film.  THE WOOD is an honest look at friendship and dating from the perspective of three young Black males born and raised in the gentrifying L.A. suburb of Inglewood. The trio’s struggles to balance fatherhood, ambition and loyalty force them to question if they are growing apart, or closer together. With a knowing nod back to the characters of the 1999 film on which it is based, this romantic comedy showcases the humor and heart of young Black men and women trying to navigate life, love and likes on the ’Gram. 

- SHOWTIME Documentary Films today announced it will air CONFIRMED (w/t), a new docuseries from Emmy^® nominated director Dawn Porter (The Way I See It, John Lewis: Good Trouble). The four-part series traces the modern history of the Supreme Court, and the people, decisions and confirmation battles that have shaped the United States. Produced by Trilogy Films and Sony Pictures Television, the docuseries will air in early 2023. 

Prevewing We Hunt Together: Season Two

 

The first season of We Hunt Together was a twist on the murder mystery; we knew who the killer was, but the real mystery was if the detectives would able to catch her or her accomplice.  But the end of the season, Freddy eluded the police when her accomplice took credit for all her crimes.  The second season starts ten months after Baba died with Freddy as a minor celebrity with her own documentary, magazine cover, and a six figure book deal.  Now she grants charity loans to small business opened by victims of abuse.

 

Oh yeah, and she has attracted a new serial killer who wears a bird mask and sends her cryptic messages.  So for the second season, the show reverts back to a murder mystery but with the added mystery of will Freddy be impressed with the bird man killing in her name our will she actually help to bring him down.

 

We do get to learn more of Freddy’s early life this season as she grows closer to the brother of her friend that died mysteriously (and one of the many people that are potential bird men).  We also get to go home and spend more time with the detectives this season.  Oh, and there is one of their weirdest needle drops that I can think of at the end of episode one.

 

We Hunt Together premieres today, with all six episodes now available on streaming and on demand for Showtime subscribers.  It will make its on-air debut with its first two episodes on Sunday, July 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT and next two episodes Sunday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Subsequent episodes will air Sundays starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 26,2022

 

The Time Traveler’s Wife:  So we are supposed to believe there are five fetuses just stuck in time somewhere?  Gross.  Plus it does not make any sense.  Henry did not manifest his powers until he experienced a traumatic experience when he was about ten, but these fetuses could do it before they are even fully formed.  Huh?  And Ygritte plan is to just fork younger Henry’s until one stick just seems just as dumb. 

 

The First Lady:  So the show ends with Eleanor losing her husband and getting a new job, Betty opening up a rehab facility and Michelle, well Michelle is dealing with a douchebag moving into her house.  I said it before, but way too soon to include Michelle on this show.  But it turns out that Eleanor ignores her children so much to the point I was surmised when the only child we saw said she had six.  We rarely saw any Ford children besides Susan, but they did show up.

 

The Man Who Fell to Earth:   Oh yeah, I remember those nun from the episode where the FBI guy birth the cow.  I do not remember why he went there, chasing the alien, I guess.  I know we are supposed to think the FBI guy is evil, but shooting a nun in the back was a little too cold.  And that nun bleeding in the shape of angel wings was a bit much.

 

I Love That for You:  They got me with Joanna admitting she was lying only to be revealed that they cut the feed.  But I was correct that they were going to keep the ruse even if they found out she was lying.  But no way are they going to let her leave for HSN because they could just extort her to stay.  I would also like to say, great INXS deep cut.  They are considered an eighties band, but they did have some great music they put out in the following decade.  I will stand by Welcome to Wherever You Are. 

 

In the Dark:  They said it was an hour to the cabin, but was the sister lawyer really able to get the case files about the queenpin, make it to the prison, get though the visitation hurdle, convince the queenpin not to kill her brother, and then have the queenpin get in contact with her henchmen in time?  That is just a completely absurd jump of logic.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  Ooops, I forgot to search for a recap on YouTube before watching the new season, that Previously On was not nearly enough information.

 

The Challenge: All Stars: Ugg, I really hate when they leave the episode on a cliffhanger.  I was going to say especially since there was obviously not going to be a women’s elimination since Veronica broke her toe while walking down the steps (?) but the next time on has KellyAnne and Kahlah with helmets on while holding on the stick.  T.J. can be very trollish, but would he really wait until he is just about to blow the whistle before saying, just kidding, you are both safe?  Sure, I would find that hilarious, just do not make us wait a week to see it.

 

Obi Wan Kenobi:  My two favorite lines in the episode, if not the entire series, were, "This ends today." I had a good laugh at that. No it doesn't. I am not one to whine about stakes, but that was just a trollish line from the writers. The other was, "Goodbye Darth." So Obi Wan is just on a first name basis with an evil sith lord already. Okay.  But the Third Sister just turned out to be completely useless and made little sense and was just one of way too many people this season who were inexplicably defeated but for some reason were not finished off.  After this and Boba Fett, hopefully Andor puts the Star Wars universe back on track.

 

Ms. Marvel:  Brown Jovi was great, but why do you not have them play Livin’ on a Prayer during the fight sequence?  Why not have Brown Jovi soundtrack the whole series?

The Old Man:  Just by seeing her in the cast list, I assumed Maeby was the daughter before seeing she was in the CIA.  Thankfully they did not wait that long to make that reveal.  I am also glad that they confirmed fairly quickly that the Old Man stole the Warlord's wife because that was my first thought as to why the warlord wants the Old Man.  Now I just need for them to reveal why the Warlord waited 30 years to seek his revenge and why the CIA is helping.

 

Around the Tubes: June 25, 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 Hulu movies, The Territory, Vice, James Bay, Marcus King, Kira Kosarin, KISS, The Black Beauty Effect, The Day the Music Died: The Story of Son McLean's "America Pie," and Syndrome K.

- The studios that brought you some of the biggest blockbusters and award-winning movies bring the big screen to your screen on Hulu. Stream classics like the "Predator" Franchise, new releases like "The Bob’s Burgers Movie," as well as new indie releases including "Minamata," and highly anticipated Hulu Original films "Not Okay" and "Prey," all summer long.  Hulu, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures present: "Get the Big Screen on Your Screen"

- THE TERRITORY provides an immersive look at the tireless fight of the Amazon’s Indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land.  Partially shot by the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.  The film will be released in theaters in select cities on Friday, Aug. 19, including New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Seattle and Austin, with a continued nationwide rollout to follow. THE TERRITORY premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition and won the Special Jury Award for Documentary Craft as well as the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award, followed by many other awards, including the True/False True Life Fund Recipient 2022, CPH:DOX Special Jury Mention, the Movies That Matter Activist Documentary Award, the Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Documentary, the Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival Audience Award, the Provincetown International Film Festival John Schlesinger Documentary Award, the International Wildlife Film Festival Best Sustainable Planet Category Award and Best of Festival Award, the DocsBarcelona Amnesty International of Catalonia Award, and the MountainFilm Minds Moving Mountains Award.

- SHOWTIME announced that VICE will return to air starting Sunday, July 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Currently airing its third season, the midseason finale will air this Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, followed by a brief hiatus. Season three will come back with eight all-new episodes airing on Sundays, leading to the season finale on September 18. Known for delivering immersive reporting from the frontlines of global conflict, civil uprisings and more, VICE continues to cover groundbreaking stories from its team of global correspondents.  Watch and share the latest VICE trailer here:  https://youtu.be/N16hCKaP4d4.  In this Sunday’s midseason finale, VICE News' Alec Luhn reports from Moscow and Dagestan on how propaganda has convinced a majority of Russians to support Putin's bloody and costly invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, VICE News’ Ben C. Solomon travels to Kharkiv and Donbas to explore how the frontline has evolved since the start of the war in Ukraine.

-  Three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated and BRIT Award-winning multi-platinum singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Bay reveals a new single entitled “Everybody Needs Someone.” Listen to “Everybody Needs Someone”—HERE. It’s the latest track to be released from his highly anticipated third full-length album, Leap, out July 8th via Mercury/Republic Records. Pre-order and pre-save Leap—HERE.  On the new track Bay said: “In these last couple weeks before Leap arrives, I want to share one more song with you. It’s called “Everybody Needs Someone. I love this song so much. I know in hindsight that despite lots of fun work and touring back in 2019 I wrote this song because I was feeling lost and alone. The feeling came like a quiet tidal wave. It really threw me around for a while. But thanks to the people closest to me in my life, I made it through that time. They know how to hold me up when I’m down. I hope you all love this song too. So excited for you to have it. x”

- Marcus King today announced the release of “Lie Lie Lie,” the latest preview track from his forthcoming solo album, Young Blood. The track premiered today with FLOOD Magazine. Shuffling rock drums, wild soloing and fuzzed out psychedelic guitar riffing combine into a towering sonic inferno. At the core of the blaze are King’s vocals, which share a revelation.  “‘Lie Lie Lie’ for me captures the spirit of this record.” King shared. “You can feel how natural the vibe was in the studio. This track showcases each player’s energy, it shines a light on the production and the SOUND of Easy Eye Sound. At the two-and-a-half-minute mark the band locks into a groove that becomes a sonic representation of why I do what I do! I LIVE for that feeling!”  Accompanying the song release, King released a live video, created at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio, it features acclaimed musicians including Chris St. Hilaire on drums and Nick Movshon on bass. Watch it HERE.

- Gaining momentum with the steady release of new music, 24-year-old singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Kira Kosarin unveils a new music video for “goodbye & thank u” via Republic Records today. Watch the “goodbye & thank u” music video – HERE.  The song sees Kira nostalgically say goodbye to a chapter in her life before welcoming a new one.  “I wanted to write an ode to the first home that I moved into on my own, because it felt like a main character in my life through my early 20s. Those walls saw me live through so many firsts, held me through so many ups and downs and watched so many people come and go,” she says. “When I found that outgrowing and saying goodbye to an apartment could feel as bittersweet, intense, poignant, and heartbreaking as any other breakup - I poured all that emotion into this song and I hope it carries people through bittersweet and grateful goodbyes of all kinds.”

- On September 9, rock icons KISS will release the next installment of their popular Off The Soundboard official live bootleg series with KISS – Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977, recorded during the Alive II tour at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, IA on November 29, 1977.  This is the latest in a series of live releases by the band and will be available to stream and download, with a 17 song 2-LP standard black vinyl set, single CD, and a limited-edition 2-LP set pressed on 180g purple vinyl available exclusively through the Official KISS online store. All configurations of KISS – Off The Soundboard: Live In Des Moines 1977 are available to pre-order, HERE.

- Comcast NBCUniversal and FaceForward Productions announced their partnership for the upcoming docuseries The Black Beauty Effect, releasing this fall exclusively on the Black Experience on Xfinity channel, a first-of-its-kind destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. From creator and executive producers Andrea Lewis (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Black Actress), Emmy-nominee CJ Faison (Giants & Junebug), and Jackie Aina and Kahlana Barfield Brown, the docuseries will closely examine the social change, past and present, within the beauty industry, through the lens of the successful Black women who have led the charge.  The Black Beauty Effect is a three-part docuseries capturing the current evolution, revolution, and disruption taking place within the beauty industry. Black beauty influencers, celebrities, and entrepreneurs have taken up the torch passed down from their pioneering predecessors. Each hour-long episode examines a different aspect of beauty – hair, skin, and makeup – through the lens of some of the beauty industry’s most iconic game-changers. The Black Beauty Effect peels back the gorgeous glow we see in advertisements to tell the ugly truths that have plagued the beauty industry for far too long.

-  Paramount+ recently announced that THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED: THE STORY OF DON McLEAN’S “AMERICAN PIE” will premiere exclusively on the service Tuesday, July 19, both in the U.S. and internationally where the service is available. Additionally, the documentary will have a special Academy qualifying run in New York City and Los Angeles starting on July 8 and will screen in Showcase Cinemas and associated theaters globally on July 14 and July 17.  With a narrative running deeper than a catchy tune and cryptic verses, “American Pie” is a musical phenomenon woven deep into the history of American culture, entertaining audiences around the world for over 50 years. In THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED: THE STORY OF DON McLEAN’S “AMERICAN PIE,” McLean will, for the first time, powerfully reveal and share the secrets behind his iconic song. In addition, the documentary highlights cultural moments in America’s history that are as relevant now as they were in 1971 when the song was released. The film tells stories of the people who were a part of this moment from the beginning and shows the point of view of a new generation of artists who are motivated by the same values and ideas that inspired the song’s creation.

- Freestyle Digital Media,  the digital film distribution division of Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has acquired North American rights from Insanely Practical Productions the second documentary film directorial effort from filmmaker Stephen Edwards’  (acclaimed composer of “Requiem for My Mother”, and musical contributor to award-winning films such as “Nomadland”, “Dallas Buyer’s Club”), captivating new documentary “Syndrome K.” “Syndrome K” will be available to rent and own on U.S. digital HD internet, and satellite platforms on August 16^th, 2022 through Freestyle Digital Media.  The last film to be narrated by acclaimed screen icon Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas,” “Field of Dreams”), “Syndrome K” shines a light on the truly amazing story of three Roman Catholic doctors, who created a highly contagious f ake disease during the Nazi Occupation of Rome to save Roman Jews in a Vatican-affiliated hospital from deportation to Auschwitz during WWII.

Previewing The Chi Season Five

 

There are plenty of benefits to the shorter seasons of six to twelve episodes.  But one thing that we typically lose in the shrinking of seasons from the twenty-two episodes strung out across nine months are less holiday episodes.  NBC experiments this year with special Christmas episodes of Young Rock and Mr. Mayor but usually these short seasons rarely acknowledge holidays.  Or they just do what The Chi is doing and airing a Christmas episode less than a week after Independence Day.  But hey, The Hallmark Channel celebrates Christmas in July every year.

 

And with record highs already across the nation, watching a show taking place in snowy Chicago may be just the reprieve we need this summer.  There is no big mystery that starts this season, no who shot the mayor, who killed Coogie, or what happened to Kiesha.  Well, unless you count how long will Emmitt say celibate for.  Yes, that is an actual storyline this season, but a mystery much easier to solve than previous ones on the show. 

 

Other low stakes questions being asked this season include will Jada stay will her younger man or get back with her baby daddy?  Will Papa and Jake make up after Papa goes hard on him in front of the whole school?  Will Kevin embrace his inner geek to get a girl?  Can Trig turn his community action into real change while running for city council?  Or more importantly, why is Trig rocking afro puffs this season?

 

The Chi airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.  New episodes are released early on Friday streaming and On Demand so you can watch the premiere now.