Around the Tubes: August 28, 2021

      

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 Yellowjackets, The Unusual Suspects, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Naughty By Nature, The Beach Boys, John Mellencamp, POV, and other Showtime TCA announcements.

- SHOWTIME will premiere its new survival drama YELLOWJACKETS on Sunday, November 14 at 10 pm ET/PT. Created and executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), the 10-episode, one-hour drama series starring Melanie Lynskey (Castle Rock), Oscar^® and Emmy^® nominee Juliette Lewis (Camping), Emmy nominee Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Tawny Cypress (Unforgettable) is currently in production in Vancouver. Equal parts survival epic, psychological horror story and coming-of-age drama, YELLOWJACKETS is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.

- Now streaming on Hulu - U.S. Exclusive: The Unusual Suspects (APC).  In Sydney's glamorous suburbs, Sara Beasley, a rich business woman, lives along Evie, her nanny who holds her family together. What Sara ignores is that Evie has a daughter of her own, left behind in the Philippines. Roxanne Waters, a self-made Filipina socialite, is married to Jordan who bought her a precious necklace... just before being arrested for fraud. Together with Amy, Roxanne's nanny and friend, and Birdie, a retired lawyer, the five women will join forces to find a way to achieve their dreams - by planning a heist.

- Beloved Platinum-selling band, Toad the Wet Sprocket, has released their latest album, STARTING NOW, which is available everywhere you find great music now. This latest project, being released through the band's own independent label, Abe's Records, is a collection of material exploring how we manage to find hope after life's uncertainties that often force a change and challenge us to survive on a new path.  LISTEN:             STARTING NOW.  PURCHASE:      STARTING NOW 

- Grammy Award winning, legendary Hip-Hop group Naughty By Nature are set to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of their self-titled album released in 1991. Few bands in music can boast about an almost 30 year career that has been both consistent and history making. Naughty By Nature, initially called New Style, began performing at talent shows and were discovered by fellow New Jersey native and then emerging Hip-Hop artist, Queen Latifah. Eventually signing the group to her management company Flavor Unit Management, Latifah helped them land a deal with Tommy Boy Records. Following the release of their self-titled debut album in 1991, Naughty By Nature quickly assaulted the music charts with the instant classic #1 hit “O.P.P.” The group quickly became crossover stars, bridging the gap between their Hip-Hop roots and the mainstream music world. To date, their success and longevity as a Hip-Hop band has been unparalleled. The trio went on to produce their follow-up albums that have become part of America’s Hip- Hop legacy: 19 Naughty III (1993), Poverty’s Paradise (1995) and Nature’s Fury (1999).  Inevitably, a break-up in 1999 would lead to the group members each following different, yet equally successful, personal endeavors. As a producer, Kay Gee went onto produce award winning music with artists including: Luther Vandross, Notorious B.I.G, Jaheim, Next and Zhane. As an actor, Treach found success in film and television offering critically-acclaimed performances on HBO’s original series The Sopranos and OZ, along with Jason’s Lyric, Soul Food, the Hip-Hop cult-classic Juice and several other films. As the marketing genius behind the group, Vin Rock developed Naughty Gear, one of the first Hip-Hop inspired clothing lines. When he got a hold of the worldwide web, he mastered it with www.NaughtyByNature.com, further developing and expanding the reach of the Naughty brand. 

- The Beach Boys new box set, Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971, is out now via Capitol/UMe, in honor of 50 years of the band’s timeless and often underappreciated albums, Sunflower and Surf’s Up. The expansive 5CD box set chronicles and explores in depth this metamorphic and highly influential 1969-1971 period of the band’s legendary career. Assembled by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd, the team behind 2013’s GRAMMY® Award-winning SMiLE Sessions, the comprehensive collection features newly remastered versions of Sunflower and Surf’s Up and boasts 135 tracks, including 108 previously unreleased tracks, live recordings, radio promos, alternate versions, alternate mixes, isolated backing tracks and a cappella versions, culled from the album sessions.  Housed in a book style package, the set is rounded out with a 48-page book loaded with unreleased and rare photos, lyric sheets, tape box images, recording artifacts, insightful new liner notes by noted radio veteran and Beach Boys aficionado Howie Edelson, and new and archival interviews from Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, and others. Feel Flows is also available in abbreviated versions including 4LP on both black vinyl and limited edition Translucent Blue and Translucent Gold color vinyl, 2LP black vinyl and 2CD editions.  Stream/order Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971

- John Mellencamp and Republic Records release the live album to accompany the The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 documentary available now on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) YouTube channel.  Stream The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 live album HERE and watch The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 documentary HERE.  The album features live versions of some of John Mellencamp’s most popular songs including “Pink Houses,” “Small Town” as well as a cover of “Oklahoma Hills” written by Woody Guthrie. See full tracklist below. The Good Samaritan Tour 2000 documentary is available on Turner Classic Movie’s (TCM) YouTube channel starting today. Next month, John Mellencamp will also appear as a guest programmer on TCM. Look out for more information soon.

- THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH returns for an eight-episode run this fall, kicking off on Sunday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. The acclaimed weekly docu-series, now in its sixth season and nominated this year for two Emmy Awards, is hosted by John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, Alex Wagner and Jennifer Palmieri. With Covid-19 resurgent, Afghanistan in chaos, Joe Biden's sweeping domestic agenda on the line in Congress and the Republican Party still in thrall to Donald Trump and his Big Lie about 2020 election fraud, THE CIRCUS once again will take viewers behind the scenes and beyond the headlines at a moment when American politics is more convulsive than ever — and the stakes for the country have never been higher.

- POV Shorts, the newest series from American Documentary, debuts its fourth season on Monday, September 6, 2021 on PBS and streaming online at POV.org. With 13 new short nonfiction films packed into seven unique episodes, POV Shorts continues to program innovative and diverse stories that capture longing for community and identity and difficult reconciliations with family history. In just its 3rd season, POV Shorts was named the ‘Best Short Form Series’ at the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards.

- SHOWTIME has announced a pilot order for the drama series COERCION, written and directed by Oscar and Emmy^® nominee Susannah Grant (Unbelievable, Erin Brockovich) and starring Sydney Chandler (Don’t Worry Darling, Pistol). The series, produced by wiip, is inspired by the life of Rebecca Bender, a national leader on and survivor of sex trafficking.  Bender is now one of the nation’s foremost experts on the subject and a leading consultant for federal law enforcement on how to spot it, prosecute it and protect the victims in its web. The series picks up with her escape from this world after six years, her struggles to return to a “normal” life, and her emergence as a confident, funny and impassioned advocate for justice.

- SHOWTIME has announced a pilot order for the comedy series THE WOOD, based on the feature film written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa (THE CHI, Dope). Famuyiwa will direct the pilot and executive produce with Justin Hillian (THE CHI, Snowfall), who will write the script. The project is a production of Paramount Television Studios.  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, fondly referred to by locals as the City Of Champions. 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 has picked up a second season of its half-hour comedy series FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS. Created by Kevin Iso (High Fidelity) and Dan Perlman (That’s My Bus!), who both star, FLATBUSH MISDEMEANORS  is a raw comedy of city life following Dan and Kevin, who play characters struggling to thrive in their new surroundings in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The show explores two long-time friends seeking to climb out of their heads and connect with others. Season one cast also includes  Kristin Dodson (The Shivering Truth), Hassan Johnson (The Wire), Kareem Green and Kerry Coddett.

- SHOWTIME has announced that DESUS & MERO, the network’s first-ever late night talk show, will return for a fourth season in 2022. Currently in its third season, DESUS & MERO airs weekly on Sunday and Thursday nights at 11 p.m. ET/PT from New York City through December 12. Each episode of DESUS & MERO, which won a WGA Award earlier this year for Comedy/Variety Talk Series, features co-hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero giving their take on the day’s hot topics and chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more, with recent guests including President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Lil Nas X, Matt Damon, YoYo Ma, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Eddie Murphy, Idris Elba, H.E.R. and Glenn Close. 

- SHOWTIME announced that the Peabody Award-winner and two-time Emmy-nominated documentary series VICE will premiere RETURN OF THE TALIBAN: A VICE SPECIAL REPORT, a one-hour special on the current Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on Friday, September 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Acclaimed VICE correspondents Hind Hassan, Ben Soloman, Seb Walker and Isobel Yeung will report from the ground in Afghanistan and surrounding areas – including exclusive footage and interviews captured before and after the takeover – and provide a deeper look at the militant group that seized control of the country in 11 days, following the U.S. military withdrawal.

- After breaking network viewership records with its debut, SHOWTIME has picked up a second season of the hit series YOUR HONOR, starring Oscar^® nominee and Emmy, Screen Actors Guild^® and Tony Award-winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) in his performance as Michael Desiato, a respected New Orleans judge whose teenage son is involved in a hit-and-run that leads to a high-stakes game of lies, deceit and impossible choices. BAFTA^® winner Peter Moffat (The Night Of, Undercover) serves as showrunner, executive producer and writer of multiple episodes. Premiering as a limited series, the first season of YOUR HONOR was the most-watched debut season on SHOWTIME ever (6.6 million weekly viewers) and is currently the network’s most-watched series. Production on 10 episodes for the upcoming season is scheduled to resume next year for a 2022 return to the network. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.  

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 22, 2021

 

 

The White Lotus:  If there was one thing I really did not need to see in my life was what Armand did to that suitcase.  No wonder he died, that must have really angered the island Gods.  But that death should have been obvious considering days before the announced the show had been renewed for a second season in a different resort.  Why not run it back with Armand unless he would not be around for a second season?

 

Reservation Dogs:  This episode was severly missing the rapping twins.

 

Nine Perfect Strangers:  Man, I think you may have to Ferris Bueller / Parker Lewis wars of the early nineties to witness a show so poorly timed that it really hurt a show quite like Nine perfect Strangers premiering mere days after The White Lotus, another show about annoying rich people going to exotic resort.  The first episode just seemed lifeless despite having quite of few very hilarious people (Bortles!!!!).  I did enjoy the show more after watching second episode and third episodes with a bombshell that ended the third one.  Maybe that is why the firt episode was so restrained but the characters got more and more bombastic.  Hopefully the further away we get from The White Lotus, the easier it is to enjoy the show on its own merits.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Yet another agent deactivated without explanation sending everyone to the internet to figure out what happened.  But unlike Nan, not clear reason why Lauren is no longer on the show except some long, vague message from Lauren and on unverified rumor.  This show used to love the drama and now is apparently just editing it out, well except for some drunken Smashley rant.

 

At what point do the rookies realize they are being picked off systematically?  Two eliminations, only rookies have gone in even though there has been a rookie in the agency each week.  If I counted correctly, after four rookies going home, they are now deadlocked at fifteen veterans and fifteen rookies.  If the rookies do not start playing soon, it is going to be too late real soon.

  

In the Dark:  I am not sure what was more shocking, that Gene is now captain or he turned out to be black.  But I think it is pretty clear now that the woman who gets her head smashed into the car is not actually Jess, but whoever’s identity she stole which is why they never show a good shot of her.

 

Titans:  Booooo, how disappointing that Dove is leaving.  But will she return after Wonder Girl’s inevitable return?  I would like to point out that Scarecrow was actually working with Red Hood.

 

Around the Tubes: August 21, 2021

     

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 Lorde, Lyn Lapid, Just Stef, James Blake, Pen15, Snowpiercer, and DC's Legends of Tomorrow.  

- GRAMMY® Award-winning multiplatinum artist LORDE releases her highly anticipated third studio album,Solar Power – listen HERE. The album is already garnering stellar reviews. Solar Power  includes 12 tracks and is produced by Jack Antonoff who she collaborated with on her chart-topping last album, Melodrama.  The artist will take to the stage today to headline the “GMA” Summer Concert Series, performing tracks from the album at their first in-person Central Park show in nearly two years.  Then starting August 23^rd, LORDE will join “The Late Late Show with James Corden” for a week-long residency during the show’s first week back from summer hiatus.

-  After amassing over 4 million song views and 1 million likes on TikTok before officially releasing the song, singer and songwriter Lyn Lapid delivers her new fan favorite single “In My Mind” today—listen HERE!  Dedicated to the “‘quiet kids’ such as [herself]”, Lyn first teased “In My Mind” on TikTok last week, and the video quickly garnered over 3 million views in just a few days with her fans lovingly dubbing the song the “quiet kids song.” “In My Mind” hinges on a jazz-y groove as Lyn adopts a fittingly smoky delivery. Her voice wraps around airy guitar and a steady beat, as it builds towards a swooning refrain and she reveals, “People say I’m quiet most of the time, If only you knew what goes on in my mind.” Once again, Lyn’s dynamic vocals and sharp songwriting instantly enchant listeners.

- After generating millions of streams on the original, first-generation Argentinian-American vocal dynamo Just Stef drops a showstopping Acoustic version of her debut single “Miss U Miss Me” today via The Heavy Group/Republic Records. Listen to “Miss U Miss Me (Acoustic)”—HERE. She also shared an accompanying performance video. Watch it—HERE.  Backed by stripped and shimmering piano and soft strings, her raw vocal talents shine through, echoing on the instantly unforgettable hook. In the visual, she plays the piano as she sings into an old school freestanding microphone. The tight closeups capture her palpable emotion and showcase her undeniable energy.

- GRAMMY® Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer James Blake released “Life Is Not The Same,” the second track from his forthcoming new album, Friends That Break Your Heart, due out September 10, 2021 – available for pre-order HERE, via Republic Records. The song is a collaboration with hit producer duo Take A Daytrip.

- Pack your bags and join your favorite middle-schoolers on vacation in the official trailer for the “Pen15” animated special which launches Friday, August 27^th only on Hulu.

- What will it take to survive? All aboard the most elite train in the world, as the epic journey continues with more secrets, plot twists, and reveals as Warner Bros Home Entertainment releases Snowpiercer: The Complete Second Season on Blu-ray and DVD on November 9, 2021. Strap yourself in for a thrilling ride with all 10 episodes from the second season, plus enjoy the captivating 21 minutes of extra features. Snowpiercer: The Complete Second Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray, which includes a Digital. Snowpiercer: The Complete Second Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital

- Your favorite Super Heroes are back, and this time, they’re out of this world! The fate of the universe is in their hands as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment releases DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season on Blu-ray and DVD on November 9, 2021. Buckle up for a wild ride with all 15 rollicking one-hour episodes from the sixth season, plus enjoy the epic extra content including several featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD ($29.98 in Canada) and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray ($39.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. Only). DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete Sixth Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 15, 2021

 

The White Lotus:  This show has not been the murder mystery that was set up in the first scene.  There may not even sure there was an actual murder. I think the couple in the first scene just said someone died.  Since the show does not even seem to be trying, I think the person who dies will be the old dude with the cough.  I actually thought he was going to keel over after having sex with Stiffler’s mom.  I might give a close second to Armand who has already been close to OD’ing.

 

Reservation Dogs:  This is another in a long line of shows where the main characters are the least interesting characters.  The rapping twins are number one and two followed by the cop and the spiritual guide being fourth.  Then the doctor would round out the top five.

 

Stargirl:  So evil chick is going to recruit a new Evil Doers of America team?  Cool.  But the team she laid out did not seem that impressive.  And what was with the kids at the start of the episode?  What happened to them?  Are they just in that gem too?

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  That was a pretty good twist, I personally did not suspect anything until she noticeably did not stomp her feet.  But does she want to be captured?  She was not muzzled and yet she did not try anything.  That is pretty suspicious.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Poor Nam, gets stuck with a head case last season and gets sent home off screen this season without explanation sending everyone to the internet to figure out what happened. It turns out that a bunch of people came down with COVID symptoms and production got shut down after the first challenge and everyone had to quarantine for ten more days.  Then poor Nam was the only one still positive and got sent home.  Which begs the question why didn’t the show mandate vaccinations?  Seems like a pretty simple solution especially for a season where you are flying so many people to one spot from across the globe. 

 

Then poor Michele, gets a strong partner who gets sent home, gets thrown in eliminations thanks to a new twist and has to go against one of her few allies in the game, and it seems like they are doing away with skulls this seasons so it seems likely she will be thrown in a few more time because that is what sees like happens whenever there are skull-less seasons. Shame, because she is already the most entertaining new cast member since Nany.

 

In the Dark:  Really, a blind chick an escape from a police station that easily?  So now what?  Back to Canada?  Get caught again?  Try and leverage the tape?

 

Titans:  Well that was a stupid episode.  Really Hawk, how do you get ambushed like that?  And why not have Connor freeze the bomb?  And if you are trying to lower your heartrate, how about not having Lyla Garrity sit on your lap and start taking off her clothes?  That seems like the best way to get your heartrate up.  And why did they need to bomb disabler to be at 0%?   If I am down to my last 100 heartbeats, I am fine with something that has a five percent failure rate.  But I will just call it now, Red Hood is working with Scarecrow and he provided the cocktail that Nightwing found.  But is that some sort of invincibility potion?  Was Red Hood thrown in the Lazarus Pit?  Will it be the same thing that brings back Wonder Girl who seems about as dead as Red Hood going by the previews?

Around the Tubes: August 14, 2021

     

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 Tassia Zappia, Chelsea Cutler, Claire Rosinkranz, JP Cooper, Detainee 001, Back to Life, POV, and Buried.

- Earning critical acclaim and enchanting fans around the world, Melbourne singer songwriter Tassia Zappia shares a cheeky and catchy new single entitled “Like Ohh” via Republic Records. Listen to “Like Ohh”— HERE.  Tassia comments about the new single, “During a writing trip to LA I met a new guy and we really hit it off. After I went back home to Australia, I just couldn't get him off my mind. “Like Ohh" is a sexy, playful song about craving a person knowing you may never see them again. I had the best time making this with my collaborators Lauren Christy, Jon Levine and Entente.”

- Platinum Certified singer, songwriter, and producer Chelsea Cutler drops her latest single, “You Can Have It,” from her highly anticipated sophomore album—listen HERE!  “You Can Have It” illuminates another side of the songwriter, as delicately plucked acoustic guitar shifts into a head-nodding beat, and she delivers upbeat verses before a sun-kissed, soaring refrain, “Anything that you want, that I got, that’s for you.” Chelsea co-wrote the song with James Alan and co-produced it with Kevin White of Rice N’ Peas.

- Tallying hundreds of millions of streams and attracting universal acclaim from Billboard, Ones To Watch, EUPHORIA. Magazine, and more, Gen Z singer-songwriter Claire Rosinkranz only increases the momentum of her rapid rise by unveiling the music video for her latest single “Hotel” today. Watch the music video for “Hotel”—HERE.  It is available on her tastemaker-praised sophomore EP, 6 Of A Billion – listen HERE!

- Acclaimed British singer and songwriter, JP Cooper, has dropped his uplifting new single “Call My Name”, today and announced his new album titled SHE, which will be released on October 15^th.  You can listen to “Call My Name” HERE and the video is also available to watch HERE.

- SHOWTIME Documentary Films today announced the new documentary feature DETAINEE 001, directed by Emmy^®-winner Greg Barker (The Final Year, Sergio, Manhunt, Legion of Brothers). The film unpacks the mysteries surrounding the young American man, John Walker Lindh, found on the battlefield in Afghanistan alongside the people who were supposed to be his enemy. The story reveals how society views the “enemy from within” and the shifting allegiances during the war on terror. SHOWTIME will premiere DETAINEE 001 on Friday, September 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement was made by Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.  To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/aCk7P6voen0.

- SHOWTIME announced that the six-part second season of the critically acclaimed comedy series BACK TO LIFE, created by and starring Daisy Haggard (EPISODES, Breeders), will premiere on Monday, September 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with new episodes airing each week. All episodes of season two will be available on that day to stream and on demand for subscribers on SHOWTIME. From the producers of Fleabag, BACK TO LIFE follows Miri Matteson (Haggard) who, after 18 years behind bars, returns home and stumbles back into adult life in the coastal town she once knew. Miri continues to reconcile with her past while trying to assimilate and make a new life for herself post-incarceration. To watch and share the trailer, please visit: https://youtu.be/1nnVxjwmbtA.

- POV Shorts, the newest series from American Documentary, debuts its fourth season on September 6, 2021 on PBS and streaming online at POV.org. With 13 new short nonfiction films packed into seven unique episodes, POV Shorts continues to program innovative and diverse stories that capture longing for community and identity and difficult reconciliations with family history. In just its 3rd season, POV Shorts was named the ‘Best Short Form Series’ at the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards.

- SHOWTIME announced it will air BURIED, a four-part documentary series, about how one woman’s long-repressed memory of her childhood best friend’s murder sparked a national debate about the power and limitations of memory in the court of law. The legal thriller spotlights the reverberations of this first criminal case based on a recovered memory and analyzes how fallible and malleable the mind can be. SHOWTIME will release all four episodes to its subscribers at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, October 10, prior to its on-air debut that night at 9 p.m. ET/PT. A co-production of MA Productions and Guendelman & Timor Productions, BURIED is executive produced by Yotam Guendelman (Shadow of Truth), Mika Timor (Coastal Road Killer), Maor Azran (Beauty and the Baker, The Amazing Race Israel) and Dan Adler (Noel) and written and directed by Guendelman and Ari Pines (Shadow of Truth, Coastal Road Killer). To watch and share the teaser, go to: https://youtu.be/MElWc1ACVvM.

The Seventeenth Annual Scooter Television Awards

 

Welcome to the 17th Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired a majority of their season between August 2020 and July 2021. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2021 STA's:

Best Scripted Show: Loki

 

Best Comedy: The Flight Attendant

 

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show: The Mandalorian

 

Best Comic Book Adaptation: Loki

 

Best Period Show: Cruel Summer

 

Best Animated Show: Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.

 

Best Reality Show: The Challenge: All Stars

 

Best Remake, Reboot, or (non-comic book) Adaptation: The Good Lord Bird

 

Best Miniseries: Mare of Easttown

 

Best Talk Show: Pardon the Interruption

 

Best New Show: The Flight Attendant

 

Guiltiest Guilty Pleasure: Cruel Summer

 

Worst Show I Made Though an Entire Season Of: A Teacher

 

Best Hour of TV: Zoey’s Extraordinary Birthday (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)

 

Best Half Hour of TV: Essential (Superstore)

 

Biggest Shocker: Lady Loki ushered in the multiverse in the MCU

 

Best Line: “Jeanette Turner, I hope you rot in hell.”  - Kate (Cruel Summer)

 

Worst Idea: Manifest possibly being saved but not Zoey’s Wallis Extraordinary Playlist

 

Worst Moment: Kate Mara acting like a teenage girl while telling a co-worker she hooked up with a student

 

Biggest Disappointment: Every other episode of Lovecraft Country

 

Best Musical Moment: Zombie (Cruel Summer)

 

Best Karaoke: Don’t Stop Me Now (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)

 

Best New Title Sequence: WandaVision

 

Best GIF:

 

via GIPHY

Best Character: Zoey Clarke (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist)

 

Best Recurring Character: Mrs. Keys (The Handmaid’s Tale)

 

Best Guest Appearance: Raylan Givens (The Mandalorian)

 

Best Cast Addition: Sean Bean (Snowpiercer)

 

Best Duo: Anna Kendrick and a sex doll (Dummy)

 

Most Entertaining Reality “Star”: Selena Gomez (Selena + Chef)

 

Most Annoying Reality:  Josh Martinez (The Challenge)

 

Most Anticipated New Show of the Next Season: Only Murders in the Building

 

Most Anticipated Reboot:  Beavis and Butt-Head

 

Show That Should Be Brought Back: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

 

Biggest Question for 2021-2022: How will Mando hook back up with Baby Yoda, or will he?

 

 

The Twenty Best Television Shows of 2020-2021

1. Loki 1.x

2. The Mandalorian 2.x

3. The Flight Attendant 1.x

 4. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist 2.x

5. Mare of Easttown 1.x

6. Hacks 1.x

7. Cruel Summer 1.x 

8. This Way Up 2.x

9. Two Weeks to Live 1.x 

10. The Good Lord Bird 1.x

11. WandaVision 1.x

12. Made for Love 1.x

13. Cosmos: Possible Worlds

14. The Challenge: All Stars 

15. Dummy 1.x

16. Superstore 6.x

17. The Capture 1.x

18. Black Monday 3.x

19. Selena + Chef 1.x / 2.x

20. The Handmaid's Tale 4.x

Shows that aired a majority of their season between August 2020 and July 2021 were eligible for this list.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: August 7, 2021

The White Lotus:  There are fewer things I need to see in my life than seeing a dude go to town on another dude’s backside.  I get everyone has their own fetish, but that just seems very unsanitary.  Maybe I would be up for it is she showers first, but even then it would have to be requested by someone way out of my league.  Now I am having trouble remembering anything else that happened this week,

 

Kevin Can Fork Himself:  Great concept that just never worked and just fizzled out in the end.  But that is some sitcom level stretch of reality for dude to hear the whole conversation in a closet on the other side of the kitchen that is being taken place in the middle of the living room.  WandaVision did a much better job weaving sitcom troupes into a drama even if the jokes on that show were not particularly funny either.

 

The Chi:   So did the mayor just bolt town?  He does not seem like a guy who would take being blackmailed very lightly especially if that means giving up all that power.  Then after Ronnie getting gunned down at the end of last season, the end of this season seemed very subdued.  It seemed a little weird they lingered on Kevin at the end.  I thought something was going to happen, but it just went to the credits.

 

Black Monday:  Ha, I knew it.  The dead Lehman Brother coming back and killing everyone one made little sense.  Really, the more he kept on talking about revenge, the more I became convinced it was not him.   It ended up being the person I guessed back in episode one and for the exact reason I guessed.  I just did not see Tiff coming back and saving every one even if I was suspicious that she died face down among a bunch of lookalikes.

 

Flatbush Misdemeanor:  This did not really feel like a finale, it seemed like it was more of a penultimate episode and everything with everything going being resolved next week.  But that is it.  I guess they better hope they get renewed.

 

Motherland: Fort Salem:  What a weird reveal to learn Raelle mother was alive at the end of the first season, wait until the second half of the second season to reunite them, and kill the mother off seconds after reuniting.  Although, is she dead?  I am not entirely sure what that black substance is and forget if Raelle got her inability to die from her mother.