Around the Tubes: September 30, 2023

 

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on  The Curse, Moonlighting, Last Stop Larrimah, Willie Nelson, Joy Oladokun, Shoresy, and Leprechaun.

- SHOWTIME today announced that its highly anticipated series THE CURSE will premiere on streaming and on demand for all SHOWTIME and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers on Friday, November 10, before making its on-air debut on SHOWTIME on Sunday, November 12, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. SHOWTIME also has unveiled an expanded look at images from the series, which will have its world premiere at the 2023 New York Film Festival on Thursday, October 12, screening the first three episodes.  THE CURSE is a genre-bending series that explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring in their new home-improvement show. The series stars Emma Stone (La La Land), Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal) and Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer). Guest stars include Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi, Emmy nominee Corbin Bernsen, and Constance Shulman. 

- For the very first time, all 67 episodes of "Moonlighting," starring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, will be available to stream, complete with the original Grammy-nominated title track recording by Al Jarreau. Each classic episode has been remastered in HD from the original film source.  When former fashion model Maddie Hayes goes broke and finds that one of her few remaining assets is ownership of the Blue Moon Detective Agency, she’s tempted to liquidate it until she meets the quirky employees and gets involved in their even quirkier cases.  All five seasons of beloved Emmy Award winning series "Moonlighting" will be available on Hulu on October 10.

- Last Stop Larrimah, premiring on HBO and Max October 8. at 9:00PM ET.  Nestled deep in the Australian Outback is the remote town of Larrimah and its 11 eccentric residents. When Paddy Moriarty and his dog Kellie left the local pub and vanished in December of 2017, a long history of infighting is unveiled as the remaining residents become suspects in an unfolding investigation that leads to Paddy being declared dead. The documentary, told in five chapters, shines a light on Larrimah's quirky history and how the town’s once close-knit and jubilant residents brought about their own fate.

-  Continuing the yearlong celebration of Willie Nelson’s 90^th birthday, UMe has added two additional titles to its extensive vinyl campaign of the legend’s UMG catalog: on November 10 Willie’s beloved 2001 kid-friendly album, Rainbow Connection, will be released on vinyl for the first time ever and his acclaimed It Always Will Be, previously released as a double LP in 2004, will be reissued on vinyl as a single LP. Both records will be available on 180-gram black vinyl as well as a special limited edition color variant, with Rainbow Connection on 140-gram translucent orange vinyl and It Always Will Be on translucent ruby vinyl.  The vinyl series, which kicked off June 23 with his 2002 collaborative album, The Great Divide, was followed by 1998’s acclaimed, cinematic, Daniel Lanois-produced Teatro on August 4 in honor of its 25^th anniversary. Willie’s 2000 ode to the blues, Milk Cow Blues, was just released September 15 as a double LP, while 1996’s stripped-back and emotionally raw Spirit will bow on October 20, just ahead of the American icon’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on November 3. The Great Divide and Milk Cow Blues join Rainbow Connection in making their vinyl debuts while Teatro and Spirit return to vinyl due to popular demand after being available in limited capacity but now long out-of-print.  All albums are available on 180-gram black vinyl in addition to a limited edition color variant on 140-gram vinyl, exclusively available at uDiscover Music and WillieNelson.com. The Great Divide and Spirit have been pressed on clear vinyl while Teatro and Milk Cow Blues are on translucent red vinyl and orange vinyl respectively. The LPs are available to purchase here: https://WillieNelson.lnk.to/90thVinyl

- A new version of Joy Oladokun’s “thrilling” (Rolling Stone) duet with Chris Stapleton, “Sweet Symphony (Living Proof Version),” is out today in celebration of the song’s one-year anniversary. Listen/share HERE.  Reflecting on the song, Oladokun shares, “A year ago I released one of the most significant songs I have ever been a part of. I teamed up with Chris Stapleton to put out ‘Sweet Symphony’ as a way to celebrate love that outlasts the many tests life throws at us. Since then, people have danced to it at weddings and sung it to their children. They’ve played it for family members and friends as a way to put words to their love. I’m so proud of this song and honored that it’s become a part of people’s lives. To celebrate, we cooked up a new version that has the same heart as the original with a new spin.”

- Created by and starring Jared Keeso, directed by Jacob Tierney and produced by New Metric Media in association with Play Fun Games, the half hour comedy sees the foul-mouthed, chirp-serving, mother-loving, fan favourite character, Shoresy (Keeso), and the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs of the Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization (The NOSHO), continue their quest to never lose again.  Joining the stellar lineup this season are Frederick Roy (son of Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy), international pop star Rêve, Catherine St-Laurent (Tu Dors Nicole) and Jordana Lajoie (THE BOYS).  Catch up on Season 1 of SHORESY with this new video.  Get ready for season 2!  Premiering exclusively on Hulu Friday, October 27.

- This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the debut of the cult-classic film Leprechaun. To celebrate the holiday horror milestone, Hulu is lucky enough to be streaming all eight of the renowned feature films.  All eight films will be available to stream this Sunday, October 1st!

Previewing Heist 88

 

Sit down kiddies, I have a story to tell: you now that phone in your hand that does just about everything you need, from banking transactions to playing games, and yes, it will even make phone calls.  But there was a time when there were not smartphones.  There was even a time when very few people even owned computers.  Even the few people that had them, these were very rudimentary computers that were not connected to the internet.

 

Heist 88 takes you back to this time; the 88 in the title being the year it takes place.  Courtney B Vance plays a criminal mastermind that recruits his cash strapped nephew and friends who work at a bank to pull off the second half of the title.  Sure, banks were some of the few places that had computers back then, but this is before secure transfer and encryption.  To transfer money, even millions of dollars, all you needed was a single conformation code and a second bank employee confirms the code via a phone call.

 

Inspired by true events, Heist 88 is a tight, just under ninety minutes.  We do not get much background on the players aside from a clunky montage where Vance goes around and sees just how struggling his potential accomplices are.  There is not even you usual epilogue of what happened to these people afterwards you usually see in these inspired by true event movies.

 

Despite some strong performances (unfortunately Keith David does not have much of a role), you can tell why Paramount decided to put it straight Showtime as it is a second tier movie, though one with a twist ending for those not familiar with the story it is based on.

 

Heist 88 airs Sunday at 9:00 on Showtime.  The film is currently able to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime.

View From the Eeeeeeeek! - Everything Coming to Paramount+ in October 2023

 

Paramount+ will debut a stacked slate of star-studded new original series, films and documentaries this October, including the highly anticipated Paramount+ Original series Frasier, starring the legendary Kelsey Grammer, who is reprising his iconic title character Frasier Crane for the first time in 20 years. Next month, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will be treated to the decades-spanning romantic limited series Fellow Travelers*, starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey. And to celebrate the spooky season, the service will premiere all-new original Halloween and horror-themed titles, including Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, Monster High 2 and Bargain, and has resurrected the fan-favorite Peak Screaming collection to haunt your screens all month long. For a closer look at all of the entertainment coming your way in October, check out this month’s edition of View from the Eeeeeeeek!

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Kevin Daniels, Kelsey Grammer, Jimmy Dunn and Jack Cutmore-Scott in Frasier   It’s been 20 years since he's been on the air, but Dr. Frasier Crane is back! In the Paramount+ Original series, Frasier, played by the legendary Kelsey Grammer, has moved back to Boston to be closer to his grown son Freddy. We spoke with Executive Producer Tom Russo to learn more about what the good doctor is up to and what we can expect from the new series. Q: Why is now a great time for us to return to Frasier? I have always felt it would be a great time to return to “Frasier,” as he’s an iconic character portrayed by the equally iconic Kelsey Grammer. Life has been so challenging for so many people these past few years - so I believe the timing is perfect to welcome back a warm and loving friend, Frasier Crane. Q: What familiar elements from the show did you want to remain untouched and what were you interested in changing? The elements we have sought to maintain from the original are the intelligent, elevated writing, which is not only funny but contains a solid dose of emotion and heart and distinctive characters embodied by wonderfully skilled actors. Much like the original show - which took a beloved character from a previous series and then surrounded him with new people in a new setting - we are doing the same thing here. Q: What’s it like working with Kelsey Grammer and this fantastic new cast? I have known Kelsey for many years, going back to my involvement with the original show as its supervising Paramount Television executive. Kelsey is more than an extraordinary actor, producer and director; he is a phenomenal husband, father and loyal friend. It is a complete joy to work with the entire cast of the show. They are marvelously talented and wonderful people. Q: Frasier is unique on the service for being filmed in front of a live studio audience. Tell us a little bit about how that impacts the energy of the show. The enthusiasm, laughter and vibrancy of the studio audience could be felt by everyone on stage, especially by the cast, crew, director and producers. This created both electricity and immediacy that are not present on a single-camera shoot. Every Tuesday evening at 6p.m. was a new opening night. Get psyched when Frasier premieres on October 12, and stream the classic series on Paramount+ today.

WATCH THE TRAILER

MOUNTAIN OF MOVIES

David Duchovny and Jack Mulhern in Pet Sematary: Bloodlines   Sometimes… dead is better. That’s the haunting lesson at the heart of Stephen King’s twisted tale Pet Sematary. In Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, a spine-tingling prequel to the 2019 film, we travel back to 1969 to learn more about the unnatural patch of ground in Ludlow, Maine where grieving families bury their dead with the hope that they will rise again. For Director Lindsey Anderson Beer, the film was a chance to better understand what would move someone to take such a terrifying risk. “Like the book, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines explores our fear of death and losing the ones we love,” said Anderson Beer. “Because Pet Sematary is such an intimate portrait of death, I wanted every scare and action scene to be extremely close and intimate. I wanted to confront death and our violent impulses to avoid it.” For Anderson Beer, horror is an ideal genre. “There are so many things I love about making horror films,” said Anderson Beer. “You allow people to confront their greatest fears, and survive them. You can reflect the human experience and societal issues in ways that are easily digestible, educational and cathartic. I love filmmaking because it truly encompasses every art form, and horror, in particular, really allows me to use every tool in a filmmaker’s audiovisual arsenal. In this case, scares come as much from the cinematography, silence and sound design as from any blood, guts or violence. It’s often more about what you don’t see than what you do. I used more sound design than score, often based on the silence of death, and using the sounds of nature as violence.” Dig up the truth in the town of Ludlow, Maine when Pet Sematary: Bloodlines premieres on October 6.

WATCH THE TRAILER

The Paramount+ “Peak Screaming” collection has been jolted back to life with more than 25 creepily curated carousels including "Big Screen’s Big Screams," "Horror Heroines," "Family Fright Night" and "A24 Horror"* with more than 400 fan-favorite horror movies, series and episodes such as Scream VI, Smile, Evil, Ghosts, A Quiet Place Part II and many more. Additionally, several new films and specials are making their debut in this year’s Peak Screaming offering: Class is back in session for the world’s most unusual students when Monster High 2 premieres on the service. Clawdeen, Frankie and Draculaura are in for some hair-raising adventures as they step into the “human world,” contend with a new frenemy – popular werecat Torelai – and sing new bops we’ll be humming all season. Watch the trailer! The critically acclaimed Korean dystopian thriller series Bargain is filled with twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat. Investigators are tracking down a ring of organ traffickers when a devastating earthquake traps them alongside the criminals in a crumbling building from which they must escape. Watch the trailer! Trick-or-treaters will be delighted by A Really Haunted Loud House. In this spooky special, Lincoln Loud and his best friend Clyde McBride undertake a Halloween adventure in which they must decide between upholding the tradition of the signature Loud Family spooktacular or attending a party hosted by the cool new kid at school. Hijinks ensue. Watch the trailer!

EXPLORE THE PEAK SCREAMING COLLECTION

DIRECTOR'S CUT

Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers Next month, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers can stream Fellow Travelers*, a decades-spanning love story, starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, created for television by Oscar® nominee Ron Nyswaner and based on the novel by Thomas Mallon. The limited series begins in the early 1950s at the height of Senator McCarthy’s inquisition against alleged communists and LGBTQ+ government officials, which gave Executive Producer and Director Daniel Minahan the opportunity to explore the dichotomy of the show’s queer storyline and the state of LGBTQ+ rights through a documentarian lens. “I was really intrigued by the idea of recreating a queer world in 1953 and imagining what that was like between the bars and the way people communicated, how they hid themselves and how they showed themselves to each other,” said Minahan. “I come from a documentary background, so research is really appealing to me.” The pop-culture zeitgeist of the entire span of the series, from the 1950s to the 1980s,  was crucial in informing the aesthetic of his direction, as well. “Which movies were people watching? Which television shows were they watching? What kind of music was popular in 1953?” asked Minahan. “All of that became a palette from which I knew I could draw .” Find a love for the ages when Fellow Travelers premieres on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan on October 27.

WATCH THE TEASER

STREAMING SOON

ORIGINALS, EXCLUSIVES, PREMIERES & EVENTS 10/5: Bargain premiere 10/5: Monster High 2 premiere 10/6: The Caine Mutiny Court Martial premiere* 10/6: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines premiere 10/10: Painkiller: The Tylenol Murders premiere 10/12: Frasier premiere 10/16: Vindicta premiere 10/17: Crush premiere 10/24: Milli Vanilli premiere 10/27: Fellow Travelers premiere* LIBRARY SHOWS October 2 Lotería Loca (Season 1) The Price is Right at Night October 3 The Young & the Restless (Season 51) October 4 Blaze and the Monster Machines (Season 6)> Ex on the Beach (Season 6)> Louis Tomlinson: All of Those Voices> Siesta Key (Season 5) October 11 Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019) (Season 3) Inside the Factory (Seasons 3-5) October 13 Raid The Cage (Season 1) October 18 Teen Mom Family Reunion (Seasons 1-2) Teen Mom: Girls Night In (Seasons 1-2) Teen Mom: Young & Pregnant Season 3) The Penguins of Madagascar (Season 2) Tyler Perry's Young Dylan (Season 3) October 25 Isle of MTV: Malta Air Disasters (Seasons 1-7) MTV Cribs (Season 19) Reno 911! It's A Wonderful Heist LIBRARY MOVIES October 1 A Royal Night Out* A Simple Plan* Airplane!* Airplane II: The Sequel* Akeelah and the Bee* Almost Famous* American Graffiti* An American Haunting Babel Bend It Like Beckham* Beowulf (2007)* Best Defense* Better Off Dead* Big Game* Birthday Girl Birthmarked* Body Cam Chocolate City* Citizen Ruth Clerks Crawl Croupier* Dance Flick Dead Presidents* Deep Impact Defiance Dirty Rotten Scoundrels* District 9 Dotty & Soul* Doubt* Eye for An Eye Face/Off Fatal Attraction Fear the Night* Firestarter (1987) First Blood* Flesh and Bone Follow Her* Getting Even with Dad* God's Waiting Room* Harlem Nights Hart's War* Home For The Holidays (1995)* Hoosiers* Igby Goes Down* In & Out* In The Bedroom* In The Heights Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Inside Llewyn Davis* Into The Wild* Iris* Jackass Number Two Jessabelle* John Grisham's The Rainmaker Just Between Friends* Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* LX 2048* Malcolm X* Mansfield Park* Mary Shelley's Frankenstein* Mean Creek Midnight Cowboy* Minority Report Moonstruck* More American Graffiti* Mr. & Mrs. Bridge* Mrs. Brown* Mulholland Drive* Notorious* Phantasm* Pioneer Woman* Planes, Trains and Automobiles Private Parts Rambo III* Rambo: First Blood Part II* Raze* Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Save the Last Dance Saving Private Ryan* Say Anything* School Ties Scrooged Semper Fi* Sexy Beast Silence Six Degrees of Separation* Sleeping with the Enemy* Smoke Signals* Smokey and the Bandit* Smokey and the Bandit II* Smokey and the Bandit Part 3* Summer of Sam* Suspiria (1977)* Teeth* The Aviator The Boys in the Band* The Contractor The Conversation* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* The Duchess The Firm The Grudge The Host* The Integrity of Joseph Chambers* The Italian Job (1969) The Italian Job (2003) The Love Guru The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Missouri Breaks* The Newton Boys* The Original Kings of Comedy The Prestige* The Queen* The Remains of the Day* The Ring Two* The Station Agent The Warriors The Wings of the Dove* Titanic Train to Busan* Universal Soldier Vampire in Brooklyn Vamps* Vanilla Sky What Lies Beneath* Who's Harry Crumb?* William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)* Young Adult October 9 The Starling Girl* October 16 Vindicta October 18 Homefront* SPORTS 10/1: NFL ON CBS Week 4 (check local listings) 10/1: Argentina Liga Profesional de Fútbol – Boca Juniors vs. River Plate 10/1: Professional Bull Riding Camping World Teams Series 10/3-10/4: UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 10/3: UEFA Champions League – Napoli vs. Real Madrid 10/4: UEFA Champions League – Newcastle United vs. PSG 10/5: UEFA Europa League Matchday 2 10/5: UEFA Europa Conference League Matchday 2 10/6: NWSL – Megan Rapinoe Sendoff Match  – OL Reign vs. Washington Spirit  10/7: Professional Bull Riding Camping World Teams Series 10/7: SEC on CBS 10/7: Serie A – Juventus vs. Torino 10/8: NFL ON CBS Week 5 Doubleheader (check local listings)  10/8: Barclays Women’s Super League – Manchester City vs. Chelsea 10/14: SEC on CBS Doubleheader 10/15: NFL ON CBS Week 6 (check local listings) 10/15: Professional Bull Riding Camping World Team Series: Road to the Championship 10/15: NWSL – Final Day of Regular Season 10/21: College Football on CBS – Air Force @ Navy 10/21: SEC on CBS 10/22: NFL ON CBS Week 7 Doubleheader (check local listings) 10/22: Serie A – AC Milan vs. Juventus  10/22: NWSL Playoffs Quarterfinals 10/24-10/25: UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 10/24: UEFA Champions League – Sevilla vs. Arsenal 10/25: UEFA Champions League – PSG vs. AC Milan 10/26: UEFA Europa League Matchday 3 10/26: UEFA Europa Conference League Matchday 3 10/28: Big Ten on CBS  10/28: SEC on CBS – Georgia vs. Florida 10/29: NFL ON CBS Week 8 Doubleheader (check local listings) 10/29: Serie A – Inter vs. Roma 10/29: Serie A – Napoli vs. AC Milan 10/30: 2023 Ballon d’Or Awards Ceremony Throughout October: NWSL competition Throughout October: Italian Serie A competition Throughout October: Concacaf Nations League qualifiers Throughout October: Argentina Liga Profesional de Fútbol competition Throughout October: Campeonato Brasileirão Série A competition Throughout October: Scottish Professional Football League competition Throughout October: Combate Global competition Throughout October: AFC Champions League Throughout October: Barclays Women’s Super League * Title is available to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers. **All Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers can live stream CBS titles via the live feed on Paramount+. Those titles will be available on-demand to all subscribers the day after they air live. Dates for library titles are subject to change.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: September 24, 2023

  

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon:  So the miracle child was born to a zombie.  Cool.  Does that explain why he is super weird?  They will probably just make him immune from zombieism.

 

The Chi:  Well, that was not the Avengers assembling that I predicted, it actually was a really embarrassing assassination attempt.  Then Emmitt tries to blame it on the gun jamming; the dude shot am missed multiple times before that.  But Victor definitely finishes him off, right?  Either Douda or Emmitt has to die next episode because Douda has to know it was Emmitt since he set up that meeting.  I guess we will have to wait awhile because the show is going on hiatus.   But I guess this ws the last we will see of Kevin, that certainly looked like a farewell.

 

Billions:  Finally, some R.E.M.  Great ending to a not so great episode. Why  was there so much about how Bobby owes Chuck when Bobby is not even in the episode?  The whole DMV thing just seemed like a forced attempted to get Chuck and Wendy at the same place and for the writers to add some forced sports references.

 

Only Murders in the Building:  Now that is how you make an entrance. Welcome back Detective Williams. Sorry you had to slum it on The Idol; hopefully she is available for the final two episodes and this was not a one off. Charles and Oliver's plan to distract her was hilarious. I did notice that they would have missed the interrogation of the first guy (though he is so insignificant I forgot his name if we ever knew it in the first place) and Bobo. I wonder if missing their interview will be important.

But maybe not because Loretta confessed. I had an inkling that it was going to happen, but thought that was going to be the cliffhanger for the penultimate episode, not this one. What pushed her over the edge was Donna talking about protecting her child at all cost which put Donna at the top of my murder board. Could she have sabotage the play to save her kid the humiliation of producing a bomb? She seemed extremely angry that the critic who wrote the bad review for the play was at the sitzprobe (I am now extremely disappointed that none of my high school musicals had sitzprobes).

So now I am thinking they pin the murder on Donna next week, but the big twist at the end is that she just poisoned Ben Glenroy and then we learn who pushed him down the elevator shaft in the final and that will be... mmm, I kind of like Tobert until he started dating Mabel. I guess I will stick with him unless someone really sticks out next week. Though, if it was him, then Detective Williams would have been wrong to say, "The killer is someone in this room." Maybe I will say Howard as a backup, he seems way too eager to be part of the podcast.

 

Ashoka:  So Erza has been hanging out with the rock people from Frozen this whole time?  Wild that him and Thrawn just let each other live in peace this whole time.

 

The Challenge: USA:  Hopefully Wes will keep his word and stay retired, but I will not hold my breath.  If only he took Johnny with him