Around the Tubes: April 4, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Normal People, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Showtime, Impractical Jokers: The Movie, Master Minds, Disgraceland, The Weeknd, Oh Wonder, KIANA LEDÉ, Basketball Country: In The Water, Autism: The Sequel, Robin Williams, and Hustlers

- Hulu released the official trailer for Normal People, a 30-minute drama series based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel. Normal People premieres with all 12 episodes, Wednesday, April 29th, only on Hulu.


- "Weird Al" Yankovic Turns "One More Minute" into a Social Distancing Anthem:


- Given the suspension of production operations due to the COVID-19 virus, SHOWTIME is making the following scheduling adjustments for its series BLACK MONDAY, BILLIONS and THE CHI: BLACK MONDAY will air through the sixth episode of its second season on Sunday April 12, then will return with the final four episodes of the season later this year. As previously announced, BILLIONS will premiere its fifth season on Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The first seven episodes of the season will debut starting in May, with the remainder to also air later this year. The season premiere of THE CHI will move up to Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The entire third season will air without interruption. Also, the entire season of PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS is currently scheduled to air beginning with its season premiere on Sunday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In the cases of both BILLIONS and BLACK MONDAY, the pause in new episodes will come at a natural point in the story arcs of their seasons.

- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is bringing the pranks into homes this April Fool’s Day with the early digital release of Impractical Jokers: The Movie on April 1, 2020, only five weeks after its successful theatrical debut. The film, an extension of the wildly successful Impractical Jokers series, was directed by Chris Henchy (Daddy’s Home, “Eastbound & Down”). A truTV original production and produced by Funny Or Die, Impractical Jokers: The Movie carries a suggested retail price of $19.99 for the Digital ($24.99 in Canada) and is rated PG-13.


- Master Minds, the new expert trivia game show hosted by Emmy®-nominated Game Show Host Brooke Burns (“Baywatch”; “The Chase”) and featuring Jeopardy! G.O.A.T./Trivia Legend Ken Jennings premieres next Monday, April 6 at 4 p.m. ET on Game Show Network. This engaging, fun, and educational show is family-friendly entertainment that every age group can enjoy and strives to be an uplifting respite and dose of playful competition for families who are at home together during this tumultuous time.

- The explosive music and true crime podcast Disgraceland continues its 5th season with a new episode on Little Richard. The episode will be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network beginning today and can be heard now on the iHeartRadio app and wherever podcasts are available. So far in season 5, host Jake Brennan has released an epic two part episode on Guns N' Roses and an episode focusing on Jay-Z.

- The Weeknd’s latest album, After Hours (XO/Republic Records) was released to massive critical and fan acclaim and has now been crowned the year’s biggest release, earning over 2 billion global streams and nearly 2 million in global consumption. The Grammy Award winning artist has not only captured a #1 album debut, but the single “Blinding Lights” has simultaneously captured the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his 5th #1 on the chart. In addition, After Hours has become the #1 R&B streaming album of all time, breaking the record previously held by The Weeknd’s 2016 release, Starboy. The artist now holds the #1 and #2 top streaming R&B albums of all time with After Hours and Starboy. After Hours is topping the charts across the globe, debuting #1 in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and New Zealand. The album debuted at #1 on Apple Music in over 85 countries and dominated the global Spotify Chart, capturing 7 of the Top 10. Additionally, "Blinding Lights" has been the #1 airplay song and #1 official single in multiple countries for several consecutive weeks as well as Spotify's #1 Global Song for 37 days and counting. The record has also has crossed over 5 million in Single Consumption.

- Oh Wonder launches a new series called Home Tapes, which will see the duo write, record, produce and release a string of new songs from their home studio in South London. The first arrives today in the form of twinkling and gently hypnotic track “Lonely Star”—listen HERE. It’s been a whirlwind year so far for Oh Wonder—the idiosyncratic musical partnership of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht. February saw them release their second U.K. Top 10 album, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown, and subsequently embark on their momentous “Wear Your Crown” World Tour to celebrate. The tour began with a magnificent homecoming show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire but was put on hold three days later in Paris as the world was brought to a standstill.

- Affirming herself as the boldest and brightest breakthrough R&B songstress of 2020, gold-selling Phoenix-raised and Los Angeles-based artist KIANA LEDÉ reveals her highly anticipated full-length debut, KIKI, today. The album was Executive Produced by longtime collaborator Mike Woods (Rice N' Peas) and Kiana co-wrote the entire project as well. Get it HERE via Republic Records.

- Short-form sweepstakes program GAME SHOW NETWORK DAILY DRAW, which turns network viewers into winners, will return to Game Show Network on Monday, April 6 within the 4:30pm airing of GET A CLUE. Hosted by Rob Belushi, actor and host of Game Show Network’s word giving and guessing game, GET A CLUE, the one-minute interstitial will give viewers the opportunity to win up to $500 each weeknight.

- SHOWTIME this week announced the new documentary titled Basketball Country: In The Water, a collaboration with NBA star Kevin Durant and sports business executive Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures. The film explores how one county in Maryland, Durant’s hometown, has recently produced more elite basketball players than anywhere else in the world. BASKETBALL COUNTY: In The Water will premiere on SHOWTIME on Friday, May 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. A fascinating examination of a remarkable community, BASKETBALL COUNTY: In The Water tells the story of Prince George’s County, Md., and its social, economic and cultural evolution through the lens of some of the game’s biggest stars—Durant, Victor Oladipo, Michael Beasley, Quinn Cook, Rebekkah Brunson, Marissa Coleman and many more. Since 2000, the county just outside the nation’s capital has spawned some 25 NBA players, more than a dozen WNBA players, and countless more who have competed at elite universities, highlighting the decades-long prevalence of basketball within a region of roughly 800,000 residents.

- In 2006, HBO debuted the 2007 Emmy®-winning Autism: The Musical, a poignant, heartwarming film that followed five children on the autism spectrum as they wrote and performed their own musical. We revisit the stars of this musical 12 years later in Autism: The Sequel as the original subjects, now in their early 20s, navigate what independence means to them as they manage challenges and triumphs as adults. Weaving together present-day interviews with footage of the subjects and their families shot 12 years ago, the uplifting short documentary Autism: The Sequel debuts Tuesday, April 28 at 9pm on HBO.


- While Robin Williams started performing stand-up comedy in the mid-'70s, most of America first fell in love with him as the naïve and hilarious alien from the planet Ork in Mork & Mindy. He became an instant superstar and went on to do five HBO stand-up specials and dozens of feature films. Robin performed steadily for nearly four decades-from comedy clubs to stadiums, from talk shows to USO tours-and continually amazed audiences with his frenetic energy and unbelievably quick wit. This April Fools' Day, the comedy connoisseurs at Time Life will launch The Official Robin Williams YouTube Channel, celebrating Robin's comic genius. Whether you know Robin from the stage or from the screen, as a comedian, an alien, or a genie-home audiences can subscribe to the channel and be prepared to laugh and cry at unforgettable and hilarious performances by the singular talent.

- The television premiere of the smash hit film Hustlers will air on SHOWTIME on Saturday, April 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Network subscribers will also be able to watch the movie across all platforms including SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and the SHOWTIME stand-alone streaming service. Acclaimed by critics and beloved by audiences, HUSTLERS netted star Jennifer Lopez her first Golden Globe nomination since 1998’s Selena. Inspired by a viral New York Magazine article, the film follows a crew of savvy former strip-club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. The ensemble cast of HUSTLERS includes Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Julia Stiles (DEXTER®), television personality Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) and music superstars Lizzo and Cardi B.

Previewing Into the Dark: Pooka Lives!

During my review of the My Valentine episode of Into the Dark I mentioned how I thought the Pooka cameo was the first time an episode referenced a previous one but it turns out I was wrong as that was the second time the creepy doll popped up. The first time was during the thanksgiving episode Pilgrim. Now Pooka is the first character to get a full sequel. I did see they gave My Valentine a shout out in response. But if there is a Pilgrim reference, again, I missed it.

Pooka Lives! is I guess April Fool’s Day themed, though it seems like a made up Pooka Day is the actual “holiday” here. Granted Easter is also referenced, so who knows. Yeah, sometimes they play fast and loose with the holidays. Though I wonder if this will be the last episode for a while or have there already filmed these episodes in advanced. It would be cool if someone aspiring filmmaker was able to create a Memorial Day episode from quarantine.

Pooka Lives! stars Malcolm Barrett (Timeless) who has to move back home and become a copywriter for the Pooka company after being publically scored by an influencers who decides to destroy his life. He then comes up with an internet challenge for retribution involving the creepy doll which now has countless different versions, including one that looks like Pooka forked the Donnie Darko rabbit which is truly horrifying.

The episode also stars Felicity Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) but for some reason the two nineties nerd culture stars never share the screen. This episode seemed like it was going to be another slasher flick, the second this year after there was none in the first season, but the body count ended up pretty low. Maybe they are waiting for the third one for that, because this time it ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. But I have to say this was one of the few sequils better than the original. Here is how it ranks on my Power Ranking:

Into the Dark Season Two Power Ranking:

1. Uncanny Annie (October)
2. A Nasty Piece of Work (December)
3. Pooka Lives! (April)
4. Crawlers (March)
5. Pilgrim (November)
6. My Valentine (February)
7. Midnight Kiss (December)

Into the Dark: Pooka Lives! airs tomorrow exclusively on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only Is Is On: March 29, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: You know what makes a good show: The small details. Like having some random extra with a fake baby deliver a line like, “That’s usually not a very good sign.” That just had me laughing throughout the commercial break. Just having a flash mob which Zoey, and, well me, thinks is one of her mental breaks was pretty brilliant too.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Homeland: Wait, they have lady judges in Pakistan? Who knew they were that progressive? But does the lady who was evil earlier this season, plotting with the military 80’s villain, really want peace now? Or is she the reason they changed the judge? So we were left with two cliffhangers: the Taliban leader is going to go in front of a firing squad any minute. Am I really supposed to feel bad for a dude who killed countless numbers of people, because I sort of did before remembering he was a mass murderer? Then Max is about to have his head cut off. But I really doubt after being so lucky the first half of the season, he goes out like that. So will it be the three man Russian crew (four if you count Carrie) or the American extraction team that saves him. Granted, since he did give Carrie all the information she needs to get the black box, so maybe they will shock us and kill both at the start of the next episode. Homeland season one would have killed at least one, later Homeland will probably find a way to save both.

Supergirl: Oh hey, our first Miss Tessmacher sighting in post Crisis. I believe when we last saw her, Lena essentially turned her into AI. I guess that did not happen. I predict she is back to being Lex’s mole inside Catco.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Oh yeah, Michonne inexplicably left her children earlier this season to help some random dude find his family. And of course that random dude turned out to be crazy and almost killed her. But then led her to a ship that had something of Rick’s? Huh? And now Michonne is going to keep being away from her children to look for Rick with little clues? Huh? But speaking of people who have not been on the show for a while, the dream sequences reminded me that Maggie just disappeared without any explanation.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: That is pretty brilliant to bury a body in a cemetery. Doubtful anyone would dig up the other grave and find it. What was not brilliant was leaving the phone on so the boyfriend could find it. I thought the boyfriend would find the bird when he went over to Beth’s but instead he had a chance meeting with the bird when donating bird feed. How convenient. So I guess the boyfriend will continue to be a little bit of a problem going forward.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Black Monday: There are fewer things I needed to see than Horatio Sanz’s little Horatio. But I kind of want an episode in the Rubber Room. That place sounded interesting.

Project Blue Book: Wait, are they implying that Quinn went through some portal to Antarctica? Isn’t this show supposed to be based on fact? This is going to be a hard thing to sell if there is a next season.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Little Fires Everywhere: Well that escalated quickly. Elena just went after Mia who dished I all back. But is that custody battle really going to take up the rest of the season because it seems pretty open and shut. If you give up your child, you give up your child. You just cannot put a child on layaway indefinitely. Then what is up with Reece’s eldest? What teenage boy goes limp in the middle of sex? Seems as believe able as no assigned seats in high school.
You can stream Little Fires Everywhere Hulu.

Survivor: Winners at War: There is nothing more annoying on this show than whatever name gets thrown out in the confessional right after the Immunity Challenge and before the ad break almost never is the person that gets voted out. It is essentially a spoiler at this point. So when Yul said I was going to be Wendell, I knew at that moment is was almost certain to be Yul going home. Though I am not sure it was wise for Michelle and Nick to side with the guy at the last Tribal admitted he was willing to stab everyone in the back and front and could be bought with some Fire Tokens.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: Just a reminder people, do not talk on the phone while driving. Wifey just blew right through that stop sign. But I was not entirely sure what I was seeing for most of the episode.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

The Bold Type: So Kat was fired and just like the season that ended with Jane taking another job, she will be back at Scarlett within an episode or two next season. But shouldn’t she be in prison? Especially if dude’s daughter is some high powered lawyer who already threatened her. Although the look those two had at the end of the episode seemed a little thirsty.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

The Blacklist: There was a point for sure that Red was the one killing everybody off. Although, it did turn out to be a pretty entertaining Ten Little Indians episode.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Around the Tube: March 28, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Future Man, Desus & Mero, Pearl Jam, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Loop TV, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Impractical Jokers: The Movie, Into the Dark, and The Wretched.

- Check out the official trailer for the third and final season of Hulu Original comedy series Future Man. All eight episodes of Future Man will premiere April 3, only on Hulu.


- Showtime announced that the late-night series Desus & Mero will return to air with all-new episodes filmed from the hosts’ own homes, starting on Monday, March 30 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The show will continue to air new episodes on Monday and Thursday nights. Each episode will feature hosts Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez) giving their take on the day’s hot topics and continuing to host interviews with special guests through video conference technology. Episodes will continue to be shot remotely from the hosts’ homes in New Jersey and the Bronx until further notice.


- Pearl Jam have released their anxiously awaited new album, Gigaton [Monkeywrench/Republic Records], today. Get it at www.pearljam.com. Earlier this week, the band previewed the record on a special dial-in hotline: 585-20-PEARL (585-207-3275). Phoning the line allowed fans to listen to tracks in full before Gigaton’s official arrival. Following singles “Dance of the Clairvoyants” and “Superblood Wolfmoon,” they also shared “Quick Escape” as the final instant grat on Wednesday.

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 7 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- Remember the MTV and VH1 of the 80’s and 90’s, where you could tune in anytime and get an instant playlist of iconic, well-produced music videos to discover from “Take on Me” to “Thriller” and “Like a Prayer”? Sadly, the old MTV is gone forever, but that isn’t stopping the original brat pack of MTV executives—from Andy Schuon to Liz Heller—to team up and create the newer, better MTV. Loop TV—a streaming media company focused on premium short-form video—is launching its free channel of premium music videos on Amazon Fire Stick and Amazon Fire Stick enabled Samsung TV. This “new MTV” is bringing a resurgence of the music video to the entire industry ecosystem, from A&R, to production, to distribution, to most of all consumers.

- From Director Céline Sciamma (Girlhood, Tomboy), NEON's award winning Portrait of a Lady on Fire, on Hulu now, debuted at Cannes and was the winner of Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at festival last summer. The Cannes winner was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, an Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Language Film, nominated by the Hollywood Critics Association for Best Foreign Language Film and was awarded Best Cinematography by the New York Film Critics. GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics awarded Portrait LGBTQ Film of the Year and it was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire has been hailed by critics as one of the best films of the year, earning 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Set in France, 1760, Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse’s first moments of freedom. Héloïse's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and testament to their love.


- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is bringing the pranks into homes this April Fool’s Day with the early digital release of Impractical Jokers: The Movie on April 1, 2020, only five weeks after its successful theatrical debut. The film, an extension of the wildly successful Impractical Jokers series, was directed by Chris Henchy (Daddy’s Home, “Eastbound & Down”). A truTV original production and produced by Funny Or Die, Impractical Jokers: The Movie carries a suggested retail price of $19.99 for the Digital ($24.99 in Canada) and is rated PG-13.

- Check out the new trailer for Into the Dark's April episode, POOKA LIVES! The fan-favorite villain returns this April, more murderous and terrifying than ever!


- The Wretched, opens May 1 on digital platforms and VOD. Following his parents’ separation, a rebellious teenage boy, Ben, is sent to live with his father for the summer and work at the local marina in order to gain some form of discipline. The idyllic tourist town offers little solace for him, however, as he is forced to deal with the local, privileged teens and his father’s new girlfriend. Ben’s problems grow increasingly disturbing when he makes a chilling discovery about the family renting the house next door. A malevolent spirit from the woods has taken ahold of the parents and starts playing a sinister game of house, preying upon the children and wiping away any trace of their existence. Ben’s suspicions of the supernatural horrors go unheeded and he launches a perilous crusade in order to put an end to the skin-walking witch’s reign of terror.

The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2020

The movie business is being upended by the global pandemic but the music business is just humming along after pretty much converting to digital last decade. There are some major releases that do not even get physical releases now. Amazon said they would not be storing any CD's or vinyl records in their warhouses to save space for essiental product and that was met mostly with a shrug. I was a little surprised that Alicia Keys delayed her album that was supposed to come out last week for two months, just days after announcing it was coming at all. No one really knows how long we will be stuck inside, but there actually is a bunch of noteworthy albums coming out this spring to keep us entertained until the quarantine is listed. I am certainly not renting The Hunt for twenty bucks, that is like three and a half months of Hulu. Here are the ones I am most looking for:


1. Gaslighter - Dixie Chicks (My 1): Has it really been fourteen years since the last Dixie Chicks album? I guess it does not seem that long because Natalie Maines released a solo album while Emily Robison and Martie Maguire released two albums under the name Court Yard Hounds in between. The title track lead single makes it sound like they have not skipped a beat and are just as angry as they were during the Bush era. And to think, most people actually miss the Bush era compared with what is going on now.

2. Women In Music Pt.III - Haim (April 24): Ha, WiMP III. Clever title. Haim sprinkled three quality single across 2019 and those are finally culminating with their third album. Okay, the fourth song that was released with the album announcement was the weakest, but I am still looking forward to it.

3. Gigaton - Pearl Jam (This Week): Well that was a weird first single. Maybe we should have guessed end times were upon us when Pearl Jam released a song with a dance-able bass-line. While they will likely never reach the heights of those first three classic albums, late period Pearl Jam has been pretty solid.

4. Pick Me Off the Floor - Norah Jones (May 8): Thanks to that massive first (and technically only) hit, Norah Jones has has the luxury of doing pretty much what ever she wants since. This time around she worked with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and if it is like past collaborations, it should end up being pretty good.

5. Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple (TBD): Not quite Dixie Chicks long but it has been way took long Fiona Apple has released an album. Nothing is know but the title, based on a television quote of all things (but still not as weird as when she wrote poem length album titles) but just the thought of an album from Fiona will at very least put her on the list.


Here is everything else that is at least worth a spin on Spotify:

Last Week
After Hours - The Weeknd
3.15.20 - Childish Gambino

Tomorrow
Local Honey - Brian Fallon
Love Is An Art - Vanessa Carlton
Stain Cloud - Waxahatchie
Aporia - Sufjan Stevens
Walking Proof - Lilly Hiatt
Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition) - Ol' Dirty Bastard

April 3
Migration Stories - M. Ward
The Mike & Micky Show Live - The Monkees
Born to Sing: 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition - En Vogue

April 10
The Way it Feels - Maddie and Tae
LIFERS - Local H

April 17
Italian Ice - Nicole Atkins
One World - Billy Ocean
The Rainbow Children (Reissue) - Prince
One Night alone... (Reissue) - Prince

April 24
Notes On A Conditional Form - The 1975
Three. Two. One. - Lennon Stella
First Rose Of Spring - Willie Nelson
MTV Unplugged Live at Hull City Hall - Liam Gallagher

May 1
Hate For Sale - The Pretenders

May 8
Petals for armor - Hayley Williams
Recover - The Naked and Famous
That’s How Rumors Get Started - Margo Price

May 15
Alicia - Alicia Keys
Reunions - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Van Weezer - Weezer

May 29
Imploding The Mirage - The Killers

June 5
What's Your Pleasure - Jessie Ware
Surface Sounds - KALEO

June 12
Canyons - Gone West


TBD
Brother Sister - Watkins Family Hour
Ariana Grande
Daryl Hall and John Oats
Lorde
The Cure


Of course this could be the quarter Dr. Dre releases Detox.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 21, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: They really need to get Lauren Graham some better music to sing instead of getting stuck with crappy last decade pop trash. And while I am making requests, can someone please give the weird barista her own show?
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Homeland: Wow, that new girl is really bad at her job. First she mess up that fake interview, then she lost Carrie’s tail, and later in the same episode she watches Carrie board a plane and just leaves when she is out of sight. Really, you just saw how sneaky Carrie was maybe five hours ago. At least watch the plane take off. But Carrie working with the Russian dude cannot be good.

Supergirl: Um, clearly the show is not safe if Supergirl leaves because Dreamer is just unwatchable. And did the dude really admit that he did this because he wanted to fork Dreamer and got mad when he found out (s)he used to be a dude? So stupid.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: So that did not make much sense. So Negan was working with Carol this whole time? But why abandon the gay dude? Why kidnap Alpha’s kid? Was the kid in that shack? So is Beta the main antagonist now? Negan? Carol?
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: You know when gangbanger is starting to kill people in front of you, maybe this is the time to actually go to the police. Did the dead gay FBI guy not have any files on the guy? Is law enforcement this incompitant?
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

The Plot Against America: Well that was kind of boring. Hopefully it will get more interesting when the campaign goes into high gear.

Project Blue Book: Interesting twist of the bomb not being live. But weird to have an episode the featured Russian spies and it did not involve the woman they just found out was a spy. But we did get another twist in JFK himself bringing in his own case, this time a weird one, a UFO coming out of the water.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: Some really dumb moves on the Sele Tribe. First Michelle tells Wendell her plan to get Parviti’s Fire Tokens which made her look shady. Then Wendell gave such a bad Tribal performance I thought he would be going home. Just straight up admitting your vote could be bought seemed like a bad idea. When he was battering with Parviti, I was waiting for Nick and Ben would turn on him. Maybe Wendell told them that he would try to get Parvati’s Fire token and still voter her out like… well, I will get to that, but that also made Wendell look shady.

But Denise showed how to manipulate someone with Fire Tokens. Well at least do it better. I am not sure taking out the Queen, the biggest move this season, right before the merge was the smartest play because it now puts a huge target on your back. Making things worse is she unnecessary wasted an Idol on Jeremy. I think I would rather have the Idol in my back pocket than Jeremy still in the game. Plus the other tribe did not even split the vote so the point was mute.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: So the fuzzy video of Marilyn Monroe is vague enough but crystal clear Jesus speaking is bad because it may be off? That scene was pretty confusing.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Oh yeah, so Red thinks he killed Lizzy’s mom who may or may not actually be her mom and Aram is forking someone’s wife. At least we had a filler episode to get us back up to speed. I just wish Aram would break up with the wife for good or finally reveal she is evil or something because that storyline was stale before the break.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: March 21, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on One Day at a Time, Vice, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Weeknd, POV, Into the Dark, SHIVER TV, and Freakonomics Radio.

- Pop TV’s Emmy®-winning comedy One Day at a Time will be supersized in a simulcast event with ViacomCBS sibling networks TV Land and Logo on Tuesday, March 24 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The highly-anticipated new season can be previewed in a new trailer released today. One Day at a Time airs following all-new episodes of the final season of Schitt's Creek, and will move to its permanent time slot April 14th – Tuesdays, 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.


- Showtime has released the trailer for the Emmy®-winning documentary series Vice ahead of its premiere on Sunday, March 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The 13-episode season will deliver immersive reporting from the frontlines of global conflicts, civil uprisings and beyond, tackling complex geopolitical stories from all corners of the globe. Kicking off the season premiere, VICE's team gained unique access at Camp al-Hol in Northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands of women and children who once lived under ISIS are currently being held. Correspondent Hind Hassan investigates how a power vacuum has left brigades of radicalized ISIS women revolting against Kurdish security personnel, fighting for a resurgence of the terror group in the region. The debut episode will also give an inside look at the hidden arena of cell phone hacking, as correspondent Krishna Andavolu investigates how young video-gamers-turned-criminals are devastating their victims’ lives, stealing millions of dollars through an underground practice known as SIM swapping.


- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 6 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- The Weeknd has shared his highly anticipated new album, After Hours, out today everywhere via XO Records / Republic Records. The first two songs from the album, "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights", have already taken the world by storm, earning Platinum status and bringing The Weeknd into the Top 10 artists of all time for RIAA singles. In addition to acclaimed live TV performances on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! - he made his fourth appearance on Saturday Night Live performing "Blinding Lights" and debuted new song "Scared To Live", along with the hilarious comedy skit "On the Couch". "Heartless" became The Weeknd's 4th #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, while "Blinding Lights" became his 7th #1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart, the most for any artist ever. Internationally "Blinding Lights" has been the #1 airplay song and #1 official single in multiple countries for several consecutive weeks, as well as Spotify's #1 Global Song for 30 days and counting. On Wednesday, After Hours broke Apple Music's all-time pre-add record with nearly 1,000,000 album pre-adds before release, surpassing the previous record held by Billie Eilish in 2019.

- You have never met her—or anyone quite like her—but she could be your next door neighbor, your best friend, or your new favorite artist. Hailing from a small town in Minnesota, her family eschewed social media and television, so she learned how to write poetry, play piano, and compose songs. Now, she says, “hello i am” on her debut single today. Get it HERE via LAVA/Republic Records.

- In a hidden safehouse in the Ghanaian forest, social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake on Earth. But their story takes an unexpected turn when their rescuer embarks on another rescue mission and asks the children for help. Directed by Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, The Rescue List has its national broadcast debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pov.org on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The film is a co-production of Collective Hunch and American Documentary | POV. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series now in its 32nd season.

- Looking for thrilling jump scares, feel-good moments, and everything in between? Into the Dark has got you covered! From Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, celebrate 18 holidays with an edge-of-your-seat weekend binge! About 27 hours of episodes are now available to binge-watch at home for a terrifying marathon of suspense! You can also catch the series' latest installment, Crawlers, just in time for a belated St. Patrick's Day celebration.

- TERROR TV, the only streaming channel of the genre that focuses on independent fright films first, announces a new station: SHIVER TV. This sister-channel of TERROR TV possesses a stunning catalog of indie fright films – FREE! SHIVER TV is available via ROKU for Free. The flagship channel, TERROR TV, also features a podcast, a blog featuring reviews of the movies on the station, and at least one new film each week.

- In today's episode of Freakonomics Radio, several leading economists explain the guidance their research offers for the COVID-19 crisis, and what some of the less-explored implications of this situation could be. For instance:
· What do the data indicate might come of the sudden increase in working from home, in terms of worker productivity and the future of remote work?
· Will schools being closed lead to innovations in teaching, and could this finally be the tipping point for online learning?
· Is there a small environmental silver lining in the black pandemic cloud?
Listen to the new episode at https://freakonomics.com/podcast/covid-19-effects/

Previewing Little Fires Everywhere

One thing that struck me while watching Little Fires Everywhere is the first shot of the series is that of one pretty forking big fire. Okay so it explained by the Fire Marshall that the big fire was started with little fires everywhere and accelerant. But of course being a television show, little fires everywhere is quite obvious a metaphor for probably a few different things. And is not just that someone burned down this house, they did it with someone inside. Then we promptly flash back four months where we are introduced to two very different families.

Reece Witherspoon spent a quarter century being a huge movie star but all of the sudden she has become the new queen of prestige television with what you can essentially call the Reece Witherspoon Book Club. Three years ago she turned Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies into an HBO smash hit. Last year she launch Apple+ with The Morning Show based Brian Stelter book. And now she is adapting the Celeste Ng book Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu.

Like Big Little Lies, Reece’s character in Little Fires Everywhere can best be described as grown up Tracy Flick. Again she is playing a very type-A personality trying to exude a very specific persona to the world, you know, the kind of person who weighs herself to the tenth but only has sex on certain day and does not even break that rule if it is just a little past midnight. But there is where the comparisons to her other show ends (well, okay, Joshua Jackson as her husband is as ineffectual as Adam Scott except for maybe one scene in a court room late in the season). The show, is set in 1997 mixed middle class Shaker Height, Ohio, and is really just two woman dealing with their families instead of the super-rich lives of five (six if you count Meryl Streep).

The other woman is played by Kerry Washington who is new to Shaker and needs a new place to stay with her and her teenaged child. A chance run in with Reece, who gets introduced with an Annie Lennox song, gives Kerry, who gets introduced with an Erikah Badu song, a place to stay and a new job. Needless to say there would be no show if these two strong willed women got along, but Reece’s trying so hard not to be perceived as racist, well, comes off as a little racist. Then Kerry is not very good at letting micro-aggressions go.

With only two families at the heart of the story, some of the heavy lifting is left to the five children in the two families and where Little Fires Everywhere fails to live up to Big Little Lies is that these kids are no Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, or Zoey Kravitz. The best of the bunch is Reece’s youngest of four who is just shooting daggers for the first couple episodes (and gets thrown under the bus by her siblings during the opening moments) but kind of just disappears before trotting down the hallway to 2Pac in the penultimate episode (the last of which I saw so I not sure how the season ends) in one of the show's more entertaining moments. While Reece’s two boys took me a couple episodes to tell apart. Then her eldest is trying way too hard to playing a mimi-Reese.

One person who actually does a good job playing mini-Reese is AnnaSophia Robb who shares an episode with The Chi’s Tiffany Boone who plays a younger Kerry in duel flashbacks. Robb’s performance makes me wonder why she only seems to be cast in Hulu award bait for other actors (like last year’s The Act). Please Hollywood, how about giving Robb her own show again instead of wasting her on bit parts. But this was a weird episode just because it also features Veronica Mars’ Alona Tal, Cloak and Dagger’s Aubrey Joseph, Grey Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, and Tomorrowland’s Britt Robertson all of which are in two scenes or less. Kind of a waste for actors whom I at least can recognize. I cannot imagine they will show up in the one episode I have yet to watch.

Despite opening up with arson, this really is not much of a whodunit. Reece’s youngest is an early suspect, but by the time you give episode seven, there really are not that many subjects. Really it is kind of obvious early on it will be kind of silly if it turns out to be someone else. The show actually turns into a court battle which actually is a bigger mystery of how the court will rule. But unless there are some big moments in the final episode Little Fires Everywhere will just turn out to be another in a long list of shows striving to be prestige TV that ends up being a solid B at best.

Three episodes of Little Fires Everywhere premiere tomorrow on Hulu with a new episode premiering every Wednesday after that.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 15, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: The cursing into the title screen has becoming my new favorite running bit. But I am sad that dude broke up with the weird baristas. I wish they could find a way to keep her on the show. The place where Zoey works does seem to have an overabundance of bars, how about a coffee bar?
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: So we are not getting an ending? Kind of presumptuous thinking it will get a second season. But I have already seen them promoting the Netflix release. I wonder if it will get a bounce similar to You that went from a barely watched Lifetime show to a worldwide smash hit. But this ending was a bit confusing. So the coach and her husband were at army dude’s apartment, and then she came back with the black chick to have an alibi? That does not make much sense. But I did laugh at the completely inappropriate gun theme cheer.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: Um, so when did El Cuco scratch Holly. He was never near her in the cave. Did it happen before? They were never close before that scene. But that could explain why trigger happy neck guy decline to shoot her head out when he had the chance. I know it is required for horror movies, after the bad guy is vanquished, to tease that they are still around, but that mad no sense. At least make it the cop that smashed his head in, at lead there was a chance he was scratched first.

Homeland: Is it going to be that obvious that the 80’s action movie supervillain acting Pakistani Defense Minister was behind the president’s chopper being shot down? It cannot be that obvious. It did cross my mind that since the chopper disappeared for a couple minutes that it got swapped out; helping this theory is that the body got destroyed so they cannot confirm that it was him. It also crossed my mind that the Vice-President was involved but he seemed way too shook that this probably cannot be him, maybe he is a puppet and knew but did not think it would actually happen. Hopefully there is some sort of a twist soon.

Supergirl: So Andrea is now just realizing she had a super power? Kind of silly that this show is just kind of rebooting the first half of the season post-Crisis. But I guess I should not expect actual goo storytelling from this show.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: Was that supposed to be their version of The Long Night? Maybe not try that with tenth the budget. But at least I could tell what was going on.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: So it was the black chick who recognized the hockey jersey? Sure she did not realize it was a fake. But of course the gangsta wants a part of Beth money scheme more than he wants to kill her. And now it seems like we are right back to season one.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Manifest: So the plane went back in time, freaked out a bunch of pirates, and then went into the future without any one aboard noticing? What the fork?
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: They finally caught the Russian spy. Now what? That part of the show was always a drag but know that everything is on the table, maybe it will get more interesting.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: It should not have taken the merge to happen, but thankfully they finally got Rob out. Maybe this could be the best because now he has less time to amass Fire Tokens on Edge of Extinction. But they wasted way too much time on that boring buddy system. What they should have done was give us much more time with the Michelle / Wendell situation. Like, how exactly did that end. Clearly Wendell did something. Then my pre-season pick Adam, looked like a complete buffoon again this episode when he could not close the voting urn thing. Ugg, it is going to be depressing when he ends up winning.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: So this tech firm cannot even make believable CGI flames? I get that it was probably rushed and they did not expect anyone to steal it so they could go frame by frame, but c’mon. If you can make a dead guy walk and set himself on fire, flames should be easy.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: March 14, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Outsider, Schitt's Creek, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, HAIM, LOOTE, KIANA LEDÉ, Disgraceland, Last Call for the Bayou, American Gigolo, and Friends.


- Believe the unbelievable! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release the murder crime mystery series The Outsider: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray and DVD on June 9, 2020 and is priced to own at $29.99 SRP ($34.99 in Canada) for the DVD and $39.99 SRP ($44.99 in Canada) for the Blu-ray which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). The Outsider: The Complete First Season is also available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers today. In addition to all 10 exhilarating episodes from season one, Outsider: The Complete First Season features over 40 minutes of behind-the-scenes bonus content including the all-new featurette “EL CUCO. THE BABA YAGA. THE OUTSIDER.” In this never-before-seen featurette you can dive deep into the real-world origins and supernatural abilities of the being at the center of The Outsider with compelling insights from the creators and cast

- After six celebrated seasons and enough awards and nominations to make Moira Rose swoon, Pop TV is celebrating its breakout hit Schitt's Creek with the ultimate farewell for fans: an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the beloved series with the special Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell. The inside look will debut on Pop TV on April 7 at 8:30PM ET/PT immediately following the series finale, which is being supersized in a simulcast across Pop TV, Comedy Central and Logo in a special event at a new time, 8PM ET/PT. “As we celebrate the end of Schitt's Creek, we couldn’t do it without creating a special TV moment to send this historic series out on top,“ said Brad Schwartz, President, Pop TV. “This must-watch behind the scenes doc is the perfect way to honor a series that has made an impact in so many people’s lives, with enduring characters and stories filled with heart, humor and honesty that will stand the test of time.”

- As Joe Biden grows his sizable lead in the Democratic delegate race, The Circus sits down with former Democratic Party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to discuss the challenge of winning over Bernie Sanders’ supporters and the lessons she learned from 2016. Bruce Mehlman – a lobbyist, Republican strategist, and former assistant secretary of commerce during George W. Bush’s administration – lays out how the coronavirus is impacting the 2020 presidential race and Trump’s re-election bid. For a preview go to: https://youtu.be/jP64c1A7EGk

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 5 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- HAIM: The Steps:


- Mega-hit, Singer/Songwriter and Production pop duo LOOTE have dropped a lyric video today directed by Ryan Schaefer for their new single “This Is How U Feel,” which is now surpassing one million streams. It marks the second single off their forthcoming Heart Eyes EP, (out April 24) to hit one million streams in one week, following the release of their first single “All The F**king Time.” The “Heart Eyes” EP is being supported by LOOTE’S first national headlining tour kicking off April 14 in Chicago. In the “This Is How U Feel” video, the duo shares never-before-seen baby photos, hand-made notes and art, along with Halloween costumes. It’s an intimate and personally curated work for the fans. atch the video HERE.

- Continuing her rapid rise as the year’s boldest and biggest breakout R&B starlet,KIANA LEDÉ shares a brand-new single entitled“Forfeit” [feat. Lucky Daye] today. Get it HERE via Republic Records. A downtempo beat simmers between airy keys and guitar as she delivers a sultry send-off in this breakup anthem with a soulful falsetto assist from 4x Grammy Nominee Lucky Daye.

- The explosive music and true crime podcast returns for its 5th season with a two-part episode on Guns N’ Roses. Part 1 will be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network beginning today and can be heard now on the iHeartRadio app and wherever podcasts are available. Part 2 will be available on Tuesday, March 17, with new episodes to follow bi-weekly through the end of the season. Listen to Disgraceland Season 5 Episode 1.

- Every hour, an area the size of a football field erodes from Louisiana’s wetlands – a delta filled with rich estuarine life that supports a robust commercial fishing industry, fertile oil fields and millions of migrating waterfowl. An infinitely complex ecosystem, the bayous of Louisiana are the cradle of the state’s economy. Located at the base of the Mississippi, this key navigation channel allows the passage of goods worldwide. Yet each year 25-square miles of land are lost forever, displacing its marine life, damaging local oil and gas industries and threatening the citizens of New Orleans. Last Call for the Bayou follows the lives of those experiencing these catastrophic changes first-hand to discover the difficulties of life on the bayou and capture a way of life on the brink of collapse. Filmmakers Dominic and Nadia Gill bring five intimate stories to life through aerial photography, a two-man Inspire Drone team and a paraglider, all while capturing the beauty and visceral nature of Louisiana’s wetlands. Buried in these stories of destruction are individual moments of resilience, where families have remained unified and proud to call the bayou their home. Last Call for the Bayou will be available beginning on Friday, April 10 on Smithsonian Channel digital platforms. All five short-form episodes will also be available for free on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram and across multiple streaming TV provider websites, apps and free on demand channels. Additionally, the episodes are free on www.smithsonianchannel.com.

- Showtime has announced a pilot order for the drama series American Gigolo, starring Jon Bernthal (Ford v Ferrari, The Walking Dead) and written and directed by Emmy nominee David Hollander (RAY DONOVAN). Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original film, will executive produce along with Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed. Bernthal also serves as a producer. The project is a production of Paramount Television Studios. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc. American Gigolo is a present-day reimagining of the iconic 1980 film. Bernthal will play Julian Kaye, who is introduced 18 years after he's been arrested for murder and struggling to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry, while seeking the truth about the set-up that sent him to prison all those years ago and also hoping to reconnect with Michelle, his one true love.

- It’s been a decade since Friends was on the air – but the series, the stars, and its global impact is larger than ever! From the taglines to the fashion – and let’s not forget the hair! Did you ever have “The Rachel” haircut? I know I did! Jennifer Aniston’s infamous hair on the iconic series influenced a decade of hairstyles, and we have a fun supercut to celebrate Rachel Greene, and her era of fabulous locks! These looks have ALL made a comeback with the 90’s fashion resurfacing - and 26 years later the show is still so loved and relevant!

Previewing Black Monday

Watching first season recap of Black Monday, I am just realizing just hoe convoluted the plot was. Really all you need to know is at the end of the season, Blair and Dawn screwed over Mo who went on the run for crashing the stock market and crashing somebody onto a car. Oh yeah, and the first season was pretty forking funny. The show comes from Seth Rogan and Evan Goldman who, after over a decade of making high concept filled with low IQ characters movies are now also making high concept with low IQ characters stories for the small screen like this and Future Man.

The first season counted down to what we already knew was going to be the financial collapse that would culminate with someone falling on a stretch Lamborghini. The episode titles even let you know how many days until then. Thankfully that devise is abandoned in season two and we just get to see the fallout of everything that happened in season one. Although I do like the bit of having all the flashback in the old school 4:3 ratio. Sure, it is not like there was widescreen yet in 1988 when the main story takes place.

A year after season one, Dawn has taken over the Jammer Group, changed it to an unfortunate acronym, and hires an entire female work force aside from the boys who stuck around from the previous iteration. She is now trying to scam the remaining Leman brother who was not crushed while taking a dump in Mo’s car. Blair is in DC trying a scheme in his own. And surprisingly Mo is on the run avoiding any schemes as the season opens. Then Keith is now finally able to be himself which is very bald and very gay. But the show is as funny as ever and you really want to check back in just to see a great scene that features Running with the Night, a very underrated Lionel Richie gem.

Black Monday airs Sunday at 10:00 with back to back episodes on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 8, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Well that was the weakest episode so far mostly because the neighbor is the weakest character. Not the greatest song selection either between opera and Miley Cyrus. Okay, I did like the island themed songs.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: Was the dude who date raped the Queen B in the dead guy’s room at the start of the episode? But my theory that the Queen B was involved in the murder was helped by her saying that they both have alibis now.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: I caught on pretty early that the boys were in the past, but I thought they said one of their names was the same as neck guy? Granted I a calling him neck guy because I am unsure of what his name is. Speaking of neck guy, he does not really want to do any of the things El Cuco is telling him, is drinking brown liquor, but still manages to shoot the head off the guy who tasted copper in his mouth (should had heeded that sign dude)?

Homeland: One thing the creators of the show said early in its run that really stuck with me was you can no longer surprised an audience with something happening, you can only surprise them anymore with when it happens. That philosophy had them burning through a season’s worth of plot in two or three episodes early on, but now, there are not many surprising developments anymore. After everything was going so well in the first part of the episode, my inner voice said, okay something bad is going to happen at the end of the episode. And there we have at the end of the episode with a chopper going down with two presidents inside. And I am just going to go ahead and say the Pakistanis were involved.

The Walking Dead: So Beta just dug a tunnel into Alexandra? Okay, that was pretty cool. But very uncool to be taken down by a child.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: I guess that is one way to avoid getting killed by the dude who you just shot, imply he knocked you up. But what exactly did his really baby momma say to convince the doctor to lie?
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Manifest: Wait, what happened to the college dude? Did he just fall through the floor? Did he crawl to the sewers? But I guess that kind of helps the idea of a death day if he can avoid what really looked to be certain date.
You can download Manifest on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: That was probably the most X-Files episode so far. Although I doubt the X-Files would had ended it as the government torturing a new family. So what was up with the bear guy? Was he in on it or just a crazy dude? And the government finally caught the lady Russian asset. The question is will they find out what she is up to?
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: They really need to change these sit out rules. It just really disadvantages the losing tribe if the other tribe gets to sit their weakest member every week.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Devs: Um, did they really spoil the big twist they played very coy about in the “This season on”? The chick who looks more like the daughter from The Middle with a bad haircut more than any Chinese person I ever met seemed to out the whole thing to Alison Pill in a future scene. I hope that was just a huge misdirection. They certainly implied they could see the past later in the second episode.
You can download Devs on iTunes.

The Bold Type: So Jaqueline has a brunette friend and a black friend? Kind of looks like the older version of the three leads. Except Jaqueline would make more sense as the Jane so it does not quite work.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 7, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, The Circus, Pearl Jam, Johnny Cash, U2, The Weeknd, Phantogram, James Taylor, Morgan Harper-Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Trade, and Rust.

- Showtime has released the official trailer for the eagerly anticipated drama Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, premiering on Sunday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The series stars Tony® and Emmy® winner Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishé, Rory Kinnear, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza and Johnathan Nieves. Tony and Golden Globe® winner and three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan, the creator, writer and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series PENNY DREADFUL, continues in those same roles. Michael Aguilar (KIDDING) also serves as executive producer.


- Co-hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon, along with guest contributor Jennifer Palmieri, fan out across the country for the momentous Super Tuesday primary elections, and explore what the aftermath means for the 2020 presidential race. The Circus sits down with former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe to break down the dynamics of a two-way race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. For a preview go to: https://youtu.be/5O_QDh4Yo5U.

- Pearl Jam and Abramorama are proud to announce the Gigaton Listening Experience – a special, one night only audio-visual event in 200+ Dolby Atmos equipped theaters around the world on March 25, 2020. The immersive event takes over the big screen just two days before the release of Pearl Jam’s anxiously awaited new album, Gigaton [Monkeywrench/Republic Records], on March 27, 2020. Tickets are on sale now, get them HERE.

- In the mid-1980s as Johnny Cash found himself between labels, Mercury Records snatched up the country legend for what would end up being a prolific string of six albums in five years. The records, released from 1986 to 1991, were a diverse collection that included a notable reunion with fellow Sun Records alumni Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, star-studded collaborations with Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr. and others, inspired takes on songs from Elvis Costello, Guy Clark and Harry Chapin, the Man in Black revisiting his classic hits, and some of the finest songs ever written by Cash. Despite the quality of material, Cash’s stint with Mercury has never been revisited—until now. On April 24, Cash's often overlooked and underappreciated chapter of his body of work will be showcased with a suite of releases via Mercury/UMe including a comprehensive new box set, The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991, and a new greatest hits album, Easy Rider: The Best Of The Mercury Recordings, a newly assembled collection that compiles 24 highlights selected from Cash's Mercury catalog. Easy Rider will be released as a single CD, double LP and digital download. Pre-order The Complete Mercury Recordings 1986-1991: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/CompleteMercuryAlbums Pre-order Easy Rider: The Best Of The Mercury Recordings: https://JohnnyCash.lnk.to/EasyRiderBestOf

- Island Records and UMe today announce the release of ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ on limited edition 12” transparent blue vinyl to celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday, April 18th, 2020. The Record Store Day release marks the 40th anniversary of ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ and includes the full-length version of the track, as well as the original 7” B-side ‘Touch’; plus two previously unreleased live recordings - ‘Touch’ and ‘Twilight’ - from the band’s memorable show at the Marquee in London in September 1980. ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock’ was produced by Martin Hannett and recorded in the spring of 1980 at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios. Released in May that year, the song was U2’s first single on Island Records.

- The Weeknd has shared a new short film titled “After Hours” ahead of the release of his album of the same name on March 20th. The film follows him as he leaves the stage of his acclaimed performance of “Blinding Lights” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and heads into the desolate late night streets of Los Angeles before delirium sets in. This week “Blinding Lights” became The Weeknd’s 7th #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart, the most for any artist. Internationally “Blinding Lights” has been the #1 airplay song in both Germany and France for 7+ consecutive weeks, and it has recently hit #1 in Australia as well. Impressively, it has been the #1 song on the official charts in France and the UK for 3 consecutive weeks and counting.

- Phantogram releases their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Ceremony—listen HERE! The 11-track album features the band’s lead single, “Dear God,” which they debuted with an explosive performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night—watch it HERE. Ceremony marks a rebirth and embodies a dark, but hopeful, chapter for the band, which is comprised of lifelong friends Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel. In advance of the release, the band posted a revealing letter to fans unveiling how the tragic loss of Barthel’s sister, Becky, to suicide, and peers like Mac Miller, Chris Cornell, Prince, Avicii, Chester Bennington and more, impacted their lives and influenced the album—read more HERE.

- James Taylor Shares the Story of How He Wrote Carolina in My Mind:


- Hailing from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, 23 year old newcomer Morgan Harper-Jones has today revealed her second ever track, the stunning "Lie To Me". Listen to it HERE. The track follows the release of Harper-Jones’ mesmerizing debut single "Breathe" at the beginning of last month - which came accompanied by the stark and subtly moving one-take performance video that you can view HERE.

- Award-winning singer/actress Laura Dreyfuss has announced today’s premiere of her new single. “Sidelines” is available now via S-Curve Records/BMG at all DSPs and streaming services; an official music video – directed by Marysia Makowska – is streaming now via Dreyfuss' official YouTube channel. "This song is about finding your voice in an unsupportive relationship, says Dreyfuss. "It’s my way of telling someone that their negativity won’t stop me from celebrating who I am and what I’ve accomplished."

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 4 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- SHOWTIME has released every episode of the second, standalone season of its docu-series The Trade to its subscribers. All four episodes are available now for on-demand streaming or download on the SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME ANYTIME® apps, as well as for viewing via SHOWTIME On Demand. Directed by Emmy® and DGA Award winner and Oscar® nominee Matthew Heineman, THE TRADE will debut on air on SHOWTIME tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT and continue to air new episodes every Friday. This season of THE TRADE, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, delves into the shadow industries of smugglers and human traffickers who prey on the thousands of Central American migrants making the dangerous journey to the United States every year. By shedding light on those who take advantage of the migrants’ vulnerability and on law enforcement pursuing them at the border, THE TRADE brings audiences inside the rarely seen underbelly of the migrants’ world and humanizes their struggle to survive.

- Golden Globe winner and Emmy® nominee Maura Tierney (THE AFFAIR) has joined the cast of the upcoming SHOWTIME drama Rust, starring Emmy winner and Tony® and Golden Globe nominee Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom, Godless, The Looming Tower). In addition, Emmy and Tony nominee Bill Camp (The Night Of), Tony winner David Alvarez (West Side Story), Alex Neustaedter (Colony) and newcomer Julia Mayorga have been cast as series regulars. RUST is scheduled to begin production in Pittsburgh in late March. Based on Philipp Meyer’s celebrated debut novel American Rust, Rust is a compelling family drama that will explore the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Rust Belt town in southwest Pennsylvania. When the woman he truly loves sees her son accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he's willing to do to protect him.

Previewing Into the Dark: Crawlers

During its first season, the first five episodes Into the Dark went with the very obvious holidays before the first curveball came in March with an Ides of March themed episode. The second season started with the five same holidays but we finally get a deviation this month as the anthology goes with the more obvious March holiday this time around with a St. Patrick Day themed episode with an even bigger surprise being that they managed to do one without involving leprechauns.

Instead this installment Crawlers features, well, not exactly anything that crawls or at least we do not see them crawl. This episode stars Giorgia Whigham who played the snarky teenager in the second season of The Punisher. Adding that kind of character to that kind of show could have easily ruined that show, but Whigham added much needed levity to the heavy show and actually improved it.

Whigham plays a drug dealing townie that is making plenty of money off of college students during the most inebriated day of the year in this small college town. But she is also a conspiracy theorist who thinks the moon landing was faked, Paull McCartney was replaced by a body double, and apparently so was Avril Lavigne (after a quick Google search it turns out stupid people on the internet think this). Oh, and tying into the theme of the episode, she also thinks St. Patrick was an alien.

She also thinks there is more to a meteorite that crashed near the quiet college four decades ago then the CIA would leave her to believe. Of course she would be right otherwise there would be no movie. Unfortunately the rest of the cast is not as compelling as her. Same for the script as I feel like I have seen the small town has to fight back from invaders movie before and done much better. But Whigham does make Crawlers watchable and they wisely also made her the narrator so even when she is not on screen, she still is around to may a wry comment on things. Now hopefully she can find something that can better use her talents.

Into the Dark Season Two Power Ranking:

1. Uncanny Annie (October)
2. A Nasty Piece of Work (December)
3. Crawlers (March)
4. Pilgrim (November)
5. My Valentine (February)
6. Midnight Kiss (December)

Into the Dark: Crawlers premieres tomorrow exclusively on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 1, 2020

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: So is Zoey going to curse going into the title card every week because if so, I am all for it. Not the greatest week for music, I had to look up the song her mother sang. Too bad they did not have Zoey sing The Humpty Dance, that would have been great.
You can download Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist on iTunes.

Dare Me: I think Queen B know, mostly because I think she killed the dude. Other than that, the most boring episode so far which is saying a lot.
You can download Dare Me on iTunes.

The Outsider: Wow, people got jokes. Both car rides had a funny moment which may have been the first two moments of levity on the show. But I guess that was needed since there was the creeping impending doom of child rape and murder that almost happened. But I wonder if the old man got scratched. Kind of looked like it but I could not tell for sure. But in the most Stephen King ending, out heroes are going to chase El Coco into a cave for a final showdown… except there is two episodes left so maybe not the final one.

Homeland: So it was the Taliban leader’s kid that sold him out. And then he kicked the kid out of the compound. That is going to come back and bite him. The kid already tried to kill him once. And just a soon as he was captured, Saul gets released. Well that was a big ado about nothing. But Carrie’s Russian plot just gets hotter. I really doubt Russia dude is turnable, you do not capture an American spy and not have big plans for her.

Supergirl: So where was Saturn Girl? In the real timeline, she went back to the future with Mon-El and Toyman Jr. but in the fake timeline, both of them stayed and she was nowhere to be found. But what a complete waste of an episode. They solved the Lena problem with Crisis only for Lex to explain why she should be mad at Supergirl. They could have fixed it here but Supergirl decides to stick with this timeline. If you are not going to fix the storyline, stop acting like you might.
You can download Supergirl on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: So they ended the mid-season with the group on an island surrounded by a lake of zombie. And yet everyone survived it… well, I guess a couple people are still stuck in the cave. But we did not see the dead bodies so they may still get out. Then Alpha rewards Negan with sex which may be the grossest thing that has happened on a zombie show.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Good Girls: Beth finally learns that the gangbanger is still live. So did dude just shake down the info from his baby momma? But we will have to wait a week to find out what stupid reason he does not kill her for shooting him because no way they or going to kill off the lead. Meh.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Project Blue Book: I never realized that Dr. Hynek inspired Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But I guess they needed a little something extra if the big twist to their hearing was that they called a crazy person to the stand to show they need to counteract the crazy people out there. But future Hynek surely implied that he proved the existence of intelligence life outside out planet.
You can download Project Blue Book on iTunes.

Survivor: Winners at War: So Adam wanted Parviti out to weaken Rob. Michelle thought it would be better to get rid of Ethan to weaken Rob. But you know what would have been a better way to weaken Rob? How about sending Rob to Edge of Extinction? Sending another of his buddies to Edge only helps Rob because they can start feeding him stuff. But at least Ethan gave his Fire Token to Parviti so as long as she is in the game, I guess Ethan will award his stuff to her… well if he is still in the game, the Promo Monkeys made it seem like he might die next week.
You can download Survivor: Winners at War on iTunes.

Almost Family: So Julia’s father is that the super alpha male she was raised by but her mother actually got knocked up by a homosexual? And that is not the only homosexual in the family because Edie’s one night stand with her soon to be ex-husband? Oh and Roxie new husband killed Julia at his reception? I know things are not looking good for a second season with Fox burning the last two episodes on a Saturday a month after the previous episode aired but I really hope Quibi or something else picks the show up.
You can download Almost Family on iTunes.

The Bold Type: Okay, Jane getting an infection from a facial not on her face was gross enough, but was somehow less gross than Kat getting asked to go through the back door by the bartender. I really need to stop watching this crap.
You can download The Bold Type on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: February 29, 2020

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Parasite, Viking Women: The Real Valkyries, Two-Mara, The Rescue List, Outcry, Bob Marley, Caroline Rose, MILAN RING, Kiana Ledé, Ren Harvieu, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, The Hunna, Hayley Kiyoko, The Circus, and Big Deal.

- This year's historic Best Picture winning film Parasite, from NEON, will be available on Hulu beginning Wednesday, April 8. Parasite made waves this awards season with both critics and audiences alike. Visionary director Bong Joon Ho, took home four Oscar wins including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. Additional accolades include the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast and the Palme D’or, which is the top prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.


- Smithsonian Channel is set to kick off Women’s History Month with two exciting new projects – first, the second annual WOMEN IN HISTORY social video initiative on March 1, and the following day, the premiere of Viking Women: The Real Valkyries. Each aims to shine a light on incredible, pioneering women that may not have gotten their fair due in history books. Connect with Smithsonian Channel on Twitter (@SmithsonianChan), Facebook (Smithsonian Channel) and Instagram (@Smithsonian_Channel) to catch all of the Women in History videos beginning March 1, and tune-in to Smithsonian Channel on March 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT for the premiere of Viking Women: The Real Valkyries. Together in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Channel will rollout a new series of videos throughout the month of March, each spotlighting a different woman who has made a profound impact in the worlds of art, science, history, culture and more under the hashtag #BecauseOfHerStory. From the trailblazing leader of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, Jacqueline Cochran, to pop culture icon Dolly Parton and Hawaiian Queen Liliʻuokalani, each video will feature the story of a different extraordinary woman during Women’s History Month. Produced alongside various Smithsonian Institution museums, galleries and exhibits, this social media campaign is set to highlight the stories of women throughout American history that deserve celebration and recognition, told through personalized illustrations, historical artifacts and their own words. To learn more, click here.

- Two-Mara is a five episode comedic digital series from the mind of Sarah Skeist, starring Skeist as Kate Mara and Jewells Blackwell as Rooney Mara. Each episode of Two-Mara is a piece of video content from the (fake) Mara sisters' (fictitious) YouTube channel. Well-meaning and earnest Kate tries her best to bond with her sister while the brooding, mischievous Rooney strives to derail, sabotage, and wreak havoc on her sister's plans. Blackwell had always dreamed of being cast in the kinds of roles that Rooney Mara plays, so Skeist took it upon herself to write her a role she’d be perfect for: Rooney Mara. And naturally, Skeist would play her sister, Kate. “I gave myself permission to write as weird as what is actually in my head,” Skeist says, “And Two-Mara is it.” Based on a thorough 15 minutes of research into the actresses’ filmography and interview styles, Skeist wrote absurd, clown versions of the sisters that take on lives of their own. What began as an intentionally silly idea ended up telling a deceptively poignant story: “Two-Mara is a deranged love song to our sisters—biological or chosen— about the ways in which we both punish and seek approval from the people we love.”

- In a hidden safehouse in the Ghanaian forest, social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake on Earth. But their story takes an unexpected turn when their rescuer embarks on another rescue mission and asks the children for help. Directed by Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, The Rescue List has its national broadcast debut on the PBS documentary series POV and pov.org on Monday, March 23, 2020 at 10 p.m. (check local listings). The film is a co-production of Collective Hunch and American Documentary | POV. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series now in its 32nd season.

- Showtime has released the official trailer and poster art for the new documentary series Outcry, which will have its world premiere at the South By Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals in Austin on Saturday, March 14, ahead of its television premiere on Showtime on Friday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis, Outcry examines the gripping story of high school football star Greg Kelley, his controversial conviction and the quest for truth and justice as the case unfolds.


- The legendary Bob Marley’s 75th birthday celebrations continue with the announcement of Bob Marley: Legacy; a 12-part mini-documentary series, featuring a collection of intimate conversations and interviews with his family, friends and fans, woven together with his original music, remixes and covers. This unique YouTube series provides fans a refreshing and cinematic journey through the life, legacy and relevance Bob Marley still holds in this present day. The first episode, ‘75 Years A Legend’ debuts today, on Bob Marley’s official YouTube page. The Iron Lion Zion EP was also revealed today. Featuring a 7” and 12” version of the timeless classic and fan favorite, alongside two special dub mixes, a remix and ‘Smile Jamaica’ (From Songs Of Freedom). Iron Lion Zion EP is available worldwide from today. Listen HERE.

- Caroline Rose: Feel the Way I Want on Late Night with Seth Meyers:


- Sydney-based singer, songwriter, producer and multi-talented performer MILAN RING returns with a brand new single and video, "Switch Off". Watch and listen to it HERE. Produced in Los Angeles in collaboration with The Social Experiment (well known and loved for their ongoing work with Chance The Rapper), "Switch Off" features Milan Ring’s soulful guitar and signature vocals. The track was mixed by Milan in her Sydney studio and is her debut release on tastemaker label Astral People Recordings / [PIAS].

- Embodying the same undeniable attitude on the track, the “Mad At Me” music video sees Kiana Ledé surrounded by the ultimate girl gang serving the same levels of sass. Last year she turned heads with her second EP Myself. Not only did it put up millions of streams, but it also incited tastemaker buzz. Billboard named her among its coveted “Emerging Artists” spotlight and praised “her buttery vocals.” Vibe touted her as “NEXT” and she’s been featured on Refinery29, ROLLACOASTER Magazine, Complex, and more.

- With new album Revel In The Drama due for release on April 3rd via Bella Union, today Ren Harvieu has shared new track “Strange Thing". Listen to it HERE. Commenting on the track, Harvieu says “Strange Thing is a serenade to the outsiders of this world. The ignored, misunderstood, awkward self-conscious sparkling diamonds.. Don’t think you're not being seen because I see you. I am you.”

- Republic Records releases Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 1, Episode 3 (Music from the Original TV Series) in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new NBC television series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, produced by Lionsgate and Universal Television in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment. Get it via Republic Records HERE. New EPs will be released in tandem with each new episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, which will air weekly on Sundays at 9pm ET/ PT on NBC.

- The Hunna unveils their new single and official visual for, "Cover You (Feat. Travis Barker)" off of their highly anticipated forthcoming album. The video, directed by Jordan Wozy [Machine Gun Kelly, Yungblud], sees love blossom in the thick of a mosh pit (filled with real fans of The Hunna) while the band plays on. Adding to the celebration, the band also announces an upcoming US and UK tour as well as the pre-order for I'd Rather Die Than Let You In , out May 15th - HERE.

- This March, in celebration of Women’s History Month, Fuse will honor Future Women’s History makers who are currently using their voice to drive positive change and whose impact on the world will be talked about in the future. The first to be honored in this extraordinary class is Singer, Hayley Kiyoko. Hayley is being honored for using her music to openly and unapologetically share her truth as a queer artist, thus paving a way for her LGBTQ peers. Hayley is the first woman to be honored in the Fuse’s Future Women in History class. Check out this clip highlighting her attributes and accomplishments:


- The Circus travels to South Carolina, where candidates are competing in the first southern primary election of the 2020 cycle. McKinnon catches up with Tom Steyer, whose campaign has the largest operation in the state, to discuss his standing in the race and what it means for Joe Biden's effort to slow Bernie Sanders' momentum. For a preview go to: youtu.be/RBsLdbO9YC0.

- Three-time Emmy nominee Molly Shannon (The Other Two) has signed on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot Big Deal, starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). If the project is picked up to series, Shannon would appear as a series regular. Bayer co-created Big Deal with Emmy nominee Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer), who will also executive produce. Emmy winner Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, BLACK MONDAY, Big Mouth) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer, The Lovebirds), who will direct, as well as Annapurna’s Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle and Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal.