Around the Tubes: December 12, 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 Undoing, Letterkenny, Desus & Mero, The Curse, Kid Cudi, Anthony Hamilton, Paris Jackson, Shannon LaBrie, Greta Van Fleet, Black Pistol Fire, The L Word, and James Blake .

- Nothing stays hidden! From Emmy®, Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning director Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”, Bird Box) and the Emmy® -winning creator of “Big Little Lies,” David E. Kelley and starring Emmy®, Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Nicole Kidman (HBO’s “Big Little Lies”) and Emmy® nominee and Golden Globe and BAFTA Award winner Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”), comes the highly anticipated six-part limited series, THE UNDOING: AN HBO LIMITED SERIES from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Blu-ray and DVD March 23, 2021. Making HBO history as the first Original Series to grow viewership consistently week after week over the course of its season, the thriller will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish with all six gripping episodes from the fantastic limited series, plus three bonus features including one where the longtime friends and co-stars discuss working together for the first time. THE UNDOING: AN HBO LIMITED SERIES is priced to own at $24.98 SRP ($29.98 in Canada) for the DVD and $29.98 SRP ($39.99 in Canada) for the Blu-ray which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). Both sets have an order due date of February 9, 2021. THE UNDOING: AN HBO LIMITED SERIES is also available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers.

- LETTERKENNY kicks off post-fight with Dierks (Tyler Hynes), and the Hicks, Skids, and Hockey Players attend an American Buck and Doe. Katy () takes her scorched earth dating strategy back to Letterkenny and Gail (Lisa Codrington) gets some action of her own. Meanwhile, The Hockey Players learn about Judaism and the whole town gets really into sleepover activities like movies, board games, and girl talk. Then, a competing restaurant opens in Letterkenny and Tanis (Tiio Horn) starts her own energy drink.  All 7 episodes of Season 9 streaming Saturday, December 26

- SHOWTIME announced today that a special episode of DESUS & MERO in which the pair sit down with former President Barack Obama will air Sunday, December 13 at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT. Starting December 14, the special episode will be available for free on YouTube, Showtime.com and Sho.com, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME partner platforms. DESUS & MERO just wrapped its second season and, as previously announced, will return for season three in 2021. Each episode of DESUS & MERO features the co-hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero giving their take on the day’s hot topics and chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more.  To watch and share a preview clip from the interview, go to: https://youtu.be/RAhQzrsLS-s.

- SHOWTIME announced today it is has ordered the half-hour comedy series THE CURSE, to star Oscar winner Emma Stone (La La Land, The Favourite, Birdman), who will also serve as an executive producer on the project under her Fruit Tree banner. The series will be directed by and co-star Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You, How To with John Wilson), who will also executive produce alongside brothers Josh and Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) and their Elara Pictures banner. A24 will produce the series. Fielder co-created the series with Benny Safdie, who will also star. THE CURSE is a genre-bending scripted comedy that explores how an alleged curse disturbs the relationship of a newly married couple as they try to conceive a child while co-starring on their problematic new HGTV show.

- After ten years, one of the greatest trilogies in hip-hop gets its final chapter today…Kid Cudi unveils his anxiously awaited seventh full-length studio album and the third installment of his legendary Man On The Moon series, Man On The Moon III: The Chosen [Republic Records].  Get Man On The Moon III: The Chosen HERE  Watch “She Knows This” Video HERE

- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multiplatinum singer, songwriter, producer and actor, Anthony Hamilton makes an important statement with his new single “Mercy” [feat. Tamika D. Mallory].  Get it HERE via his own label My Music Box in partnership with BMG.  In a fiery, yet uplifting opening speech, activist, visionary, and generational voice Tamika D. Mallory declares, “You don’t want pity, but you damn sure deserve a little mercy!” Anthony responds with soulful verses over soft piano and a steady beat as he pleads, “Have a little mercy,” on the powerful and poetic refrain. Together, they deliver the perfect combination of art and activism on a timely and timeless anthem.

- Paris Jackson made her late-night television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! performing “let down” from her debut album wilted [Republic Records]. Upon its release, wilted received widespread critical acclaim and climbed to #1 on the iTunes US Alternative Albums Chart.  Filmed at the world-famous Viper Room on the Sunset Strip, the performance illuminates the nuances of her presence and understated, yet palpable star-power.  WATCH THE PERFORMANCE HERE

- Following her successful LP Building, which received acclaim from NPR and American Songwriter, Shannon LaBrie gifts the world with a heartwarming tune, “A Joyful Noise.” The harmonious track offers a sense of hope as the unbridled year of 2020 begins to come to a close, “To me, it's the perfect song to close out a rather difficult year,” LaBrie says of the track. “There’s so much to be hopeful for, and this song keeps my eyes open and looking up!"   “A Joyful Noise” is now available and can be heard HERE.  The music video for “A Joyful Noise” premiered with Parade.com, view it HERE.

- Greta Van Fleet, the GRAMMY-winning, GOLD-certified rock'n'roll band, shared their visionary new video for the song “Age of Machine” today. The video can be viewed HERE.  The video creates a new universe filled with symbolism and open to interpretation, with whispers of reflections on modernism. It is a response, a tiny piece of art in a very large conversation - four brothers and friends who spend very little time online, filled with questions - where is technology taking us, what does it all mean, and what are we trading in exchange? The video addresses the crumbling beauty around us, but leaves the final significance to the viewer - whether that narrative be focused on climate, industrialism, intimacy, self confidence, tradition, humanity itself, or otherwise. The only clear concept in the video is that the band chooses life. 

- BLACK PISTOL FIRE return today with a new live video for the single, “Temper, Temper,” watch the ferocious live clip shot in the band’s hometown of Austin, TX on Rolling Stone Australia HERE.  “Performing with only an acoustic guitar, and with a boombox providing minimal instrumentation, McKeown takes the idea of a ‘field recording’ to the next level, as he shares this exceptionally ferocious take on the already-explosive track.”   --Tyler Jenke, Rolling Stone Australia, (12/4/2020)

- Emmy^® winner Rosie O’Donnell (SMILF), Donald Faison (Scrubs) and Emmy, Golden Globe^® and Academy Award^® nominee Griffin Dunne (HOUSE OF LIES, This is Us) have signed on to guest star in multiple episodes of the second season of the SHOWTIME drama series THE L WORD: GENERATION Q. In addition, Jordan Hull has been upped to series regular this season playing Angie, the daughter of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) and Tina Kennard (season one guest star Laurel Holloman). THE L WORD: GENERATION Q is currently in production in Los Angeles and will return to the network in 2021.

- GRAMMY® Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer James Blake has released his highly anticipated new EP, Covers EP. A collection of his favorite covers, the EP is available everywhere now and includes his eagerly awaited rendition of Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over” as well as his critically acclaimed version of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed”.  Listen to Covers EP HERE.  “Doing these covers and live performances has kept me going this year…” said Blake as he announced the EP on social media. “I chose to record a few in the studio and it turned into this EP.”

57 Channels and Only This is On: December 6, 2020

 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  Wasn’t this supposed to be a limited series?  Seemed like it left multiple treads open.  I thought maybe it was going to tie into the Rick movies, I kind of thought he would show up at the end to tie things in, but no, just a pretty unsatisfying show.  But the big bad seem to go to the Thanos School of helping because they seem to kill quite a few people in their quest to save humanity.
 
 
Fargo:  Well, why not end the season with another worthless dead.  And they saved the worst for last, the acting among all three were just so bad.  Good riddance to this season.  If they do bring back a fifth season, more small time crime and female cops please.  Those are what were missing this season.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  So is snake dude good or evil?  I remember him going between both worlds last season but only vaguely.  Maybe just an opportunist.  But who is the dude in the clock tower and how does snake dude know him?
 
 
Big Sky:  Well, we have already reached spinning our wheels because this is network television and we have to fill so many episodes to squeeze advertising dollars part of the show.  It was pretty obvious that the smart chick that escaped was going to get captured because the story is over if one of them escapes and reports her captures, the story is over.  But I did find it funny that she spent so much time trying to degrade the concrete and then just falls though the rotten wood.  And then so did creepy dude.  I also have to admit that I laughed when Drew Carey’s brother kept on shooting her with an arrow,
 
 
The Flight Attendant:  Well that brother episode was pretty worthless.  I guess that is the advantage of this sill release multiple episodes a week but not all at once model that HBOO Max seems to adapted.  The second episode was much better.  But poor boyfriend got hit by a car.  I was just thinking earlier in the episode he was not going to make it out of the season alive.  Though we will have to wait a week to see if he actually survived or not.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  You kind of had to expect that ending when they entitled the episode, The Tragedy.  Really, kind of a huge spoiler.  But I wonder just how many people Mando is going to round up in his pursuit of Baby Yoda?  He already has Boba Fett and The Calvary.  He looks to break Bill Burr out of prison next week.  Does he also round up Raylan Givens?  Asoka?  Bo Katan?  Apollo Creed?  Pillboi?  Does the Jedi that Baby Yoda summons show up to lend a hand.  Not many know Jedi are out there, I believe it is just Luke and Erza.  Though Sam Jackson claims Mace Windu survived his fall.  Gotta figure someone has to figure in by the end of the season even if it is a final scene tease.

Around the Tubes: December 5, 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 Showtime, People Puzzler, The Weeknd,  Greta Van Fleet, The Mamas & The Papas, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, David Bowie, bülow, Earcandy, In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl,  Norman Reedus, and Artists For a New Georgia.

- SHOWTIME has released over 60 hours of original content for free online sampling, on streaming platforms and on demand to celebrate the holiday season. Among these free episodes will be the premiere of the final season of SHAMELESS, as well as the premiere of the limited series YOUR HONOR, starring Oscar^® nominee and Emmy, Golden Globe^®, Screen Actors Guild^® and Tony^® Award winner Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). While full seasons of hit series such as THE L WORD^®: GENERATION Q, CITY ON A HILL, THE AFFAIR and LOVE FRAUD are already available, the premieres of SHAMELESS and YOUR HONOR will be available starting on Sunday, December 6. Additionally, new subscribers who sign up for SHOWTIME before January 11 will receive the gift of a 30-day free trial and lock in a lifetime price of $8.99 per month. The offer is available at Showtime.com, as well as through select platforms which feature the SHOWTIME standalone app.  The final season of SHAMELESS will officially premiere on Sunday, December 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the premiere of YOUR HONOR at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All free SHOWTIME content is available on YouTube and Sho.com, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME partner platforms, until January 11.

- In PEOPLE PUZZLER, hosted by Leah Remini, three contestants put their pop culture knowledge to the test to complete crosswords in a show based on the iconic puzzles in PEOPLE Magazine. The player who has won the most points after three rounds will move on to the Fast Puzzle Bonus Round where they will have the opportunity to win a cash prize.  PEOPLE PUZZLER will premiere on Monday, January 18th at 6 p.m. ET on Game Show Network and air weekdays.

- To celebrate the 1-year anniversary of its release, The Weeknd and Rosalía have teamed up for a remix of “Blinding Lights” the certified smash released as part of The Weeknd’s fourth studio album After Hours. Rosalía joined The Weeknd for the "Blinding Lights” remix while also recording the upcoming follow-up to her groundbreaking “El Mal Querer" album. The duo also released a behind the scenes lyric video for the track directed by Dylan Coughran (Travis Scott, NAV) you can check out the track HERE and watch the video HERE.

- After three years, one-million concert tickets sold across five continents, four consecutive #1 singles, a GRAMMY Award, and performances on "The Tonight Show" and "Saturday Night Live," GRETA VAN FLEET is hurtling into the future with its second album, The Battle at Garden's Gate due April 16, 2021 (Lava/Republic Records).  The album can be pre-ordered HERE.  A bold evolution from the band's 2018 full-length debut Anthem of the Peaceful Army, The Battle At Garden's Gate came together primarily on the road or while in the studio after the runaway success of 2017's "Highway Tune" led to the band packing up, leaving home, and eagerly soaking up new experiences on an extended road trip around the world. 

- On January 29, Geffen/UMe is set to release The Mamas & The Papas’ If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears on black vinyl. Also, the album will be available on opaque yellow vinyl exclusively at uDiscover Music and Sound of Vinyl. Considered one of the best pop-rock albums of all time, the 12-song 1966 debut showcases the exquisite pop sensibilities and impeccable harmonies of Cass Elliot, Denny Doherty, John Phillips and Michelle Phillips. Reaching No. 1 on the Billboard album charts within months of release and spending more than 100 weeks on the chart, the Lou Adler-produced gem opens with the No. 1 hit “Monday, Monday” and includes “California Dreamin’,” which hit No. 4 on the Billboard singles chart. Preorder here: https://TheMamasAndThePapas.lnk.to/IfYouCanBelieveVinyl.

- Following the widely acclaimed release of Tea for the Tillerman², Yusuf / Cat Stevens is celebrating the two albums that first established him as his generation’s premier acoustic troubadour and then fired him into international superstardom. Released only seven months apart in 1970, Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman are now both available in a suite of releases, including single CD and LP, a double CD Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition box sets, featuring more than 20 unreleased tracks each alongside a host of other rarities. 
Stream/purchase Tea for the Tillerman: CatStevens.lnk.to/TFTTBoxset
Stream/purchase Mona Bone Jakon: CatStevens.lnk.to/MBJBoxset

- Deram Records originally released David Bowie's self-titled debut album on June 1, 1967, the very same day as The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. While it was not a hit at the time, over the past 50 years it’s gained a reputation for being a perfect snapshot of the time and has earned plaudits for being one of the first contemporary pop albums to be sung in an English accent. Bowie himself revisited songs from this era in 2000 re-recording the likes of “Silly Boy Blue” for an album called Toy which remains unreleased.  The album will be released for the first time as picture disc on January 29th and will be made available exclusively via https://UMCUK.lnk.to/DavidBowieLP.

-  Today, award winning and multi-platinum selling artist bülow shared new music, a cover of Frank Ocean’s “Lost” via Republic Records/Universal Music Canada.  Listen to “Lost” HERE.  On the song choice, bülow commented, “I haven’t done a lot of covers but I brought the idea to IG and someone asked me to cover it. I had the song stuck in my head for months, so it was perfect."

- After igniting TikTok with over 60 million views and 16 million likes, EARCANDY unwraps the expanded edition of their debut album An EARCANDY Christmas Deluxe today—listen HERE!  The multi-talented, 11-person a cappella group added four new holiday gems to a tracklist already decked from top to bottom with holiday favorites, including “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.” The holidays just got a little sweeter thanks to EARCANDY.

- KCET, Southern California PBS station and home for award-winning, original public media programming, today announced the new weekly PBS television program IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL, a weekly music series produced in partnership between KCET and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. On May 13, the 2020 season of the Hollywood Bowl was officially cancelled for the first time in its 98-year history in an effort to protect artists, audiences and staff from the spread of COVID-19. The series, which aired in Southern California earlier this summer, will allow viewers nationwide to experience iconic moments from the LA Phil archives at the Hollywood Bowl. Six episodes featuring the “best of” live performances from the past 10 years at the Bowl’s Summer Concert Series will be hosted by LA Phil’s Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel. IN CONCERT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL premieres on Friday, January 15, at 9:00 p.m. on PBS and on the free PBS app.

- In this brand-new electrifying book of photography by Norman Reedus, he captures moments behind the scenes of TWD as only Norman could deliver. With his unique sense of humor, traveling into the Georgian woods with Norman’s cast of characters and zombies, alongside portraits of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Hideo Kojima, Lena Dunham, Diane Kruger, Dave Chapelle and many more to reveal the individuals that inhabit his life.  Norman has an indelible way of capturing the beauty and mystery in others. His photographs are beautiful and terrifying, macabre and provoking, alternately dark, and sublime.  The hardcover first edition (144 pages, 9.5" x 12") is now available exclusively on Reedus’ website Big Bald Galley for $75. Additionally, the Special Collector's Edition: Clothbound Clamshell Box which includes the hardcover book plus a signed archival photograph is also available now. Proceeds from sales are being donated to the COVID-19 Response Fund.

- Internationally renowned artists such as Alex Katz, Cindy Sherman, Marilyn Minter, Laurie Simmons, Mika Rottenberg, José Parlá, KAWS, Deb Kass, Shirin Neshat, Tony Fitzpatrick, Glenn Kaino, Renee Stout and Elizabeth Peyton are joining forces with Georgia-based artists including Cosmo Whyte, Jiha Moon, Rocio Rodriguez, Krista Clark, Holly Coulis, Sheila Pree Bright, Davion Alston and Zipporah Thompson, among others, by contributing artworks to “Artists For a New Georgia,” an online art sale benefiting the New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGPAF).  Set to be live on Artsy from Tuesday, December 8 through Tuesday, December 15, “Artists For a New Georgia” aims to get out the vote for Georgia’s two senate runoff races on Tuesday, January 5, 2021. 

Previewing Shameless: The Final Season

Back when Showtime announced that the eleventh season of Shameless would be its last, I joked: well, until it is rebooted in five to ten years.  Since then, Showtime announced that they were bringing back Dexter after canceling it seven years ago, do my joke may actually turn out to be a prophecy.   Of course there were bigger things that have happened since Showtime announced the final season that have altered the show.

Yes, the Coronapocalypse has hit the Southside.  Sure Frank thinks it is a hoax and Debbie wears her mask below her nose, rendering it useless, but I doubt this is how the writers envisioned the final season going, but they are trying to make lemon out of lemonade.  Kev and Vee even found a new revenue stream despite the city shutting down bars across the city for the third time.

Last season was the first without the main star, Emmy Rossum, but the rest of the Gallagher ramped up their antic, Lip knocked up some chick then rented out an apartment for them to live in without his baby mamma’s permission when her family gave them a house in Wisconsin.  Ian is also basking in marital bliss of his own after making an honest man out of a Mickey Milkovich.  Well, as honest as you can make a Milkovich. 

Debbie started dating her own Milkovich, but still had issues with her former girlfriend and her daughter who she also was lady forking which the city of Chicago was not too happy to find out about.  Then there was Carl who did some undercover work in hopes in getting into the police academy.  Though where the evil cop outine was pretty funny last season, it is pretty cringy watching that stuff go down now.

Sure, they may have to wear mask and Kev had to put up some social distancing markers, but like every obstacle that has come before them, it seems like the Gallagher’s are able to adapt to these times, some of which are even survive.   Sure, it is unfortunate that the show has to adapt to the new way of life in its final season, but then again, wait seven years, and we may very well see teenaged Franny and Freddy running wild on the Southside of Chicago.

 

Shameless airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

 

 

Previewing Your Honor

The first episode of Your Honor is so generic, take out the partial nudity and a couple naughty words and you probably could have mistaken it for a basic cable show from about fifteen years ago. The show follows the unfortunately even where a asthmatic runs over someone on a motorcycle while searching for his inhalers during an episode. But this is not just any asthmatic; he is the son of a judge. A very sympathetic judge, played by Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) who will stop by a house where a crime was committed to see if a testifying beat cop could possibly see what he claims he saw before arresting someone.

Oh, and the kid on the motorcycle is also not just any kid, but the son of the most vicious crime family in the history of New Orleans despite being very religious. I guess some of those Commandments, like Thou Shall Not Kill are just suggestions. You can see exactly where this is going. Well, at least for the first episode. For as clichéd as the first episode was, the second episode is packed full of surprises, none more so than where we first see the girl the judge’s kid was forking in the premiere. Though that may be the most inconsequential part of the plot.

Crime shows like this usually feature smart people keeping one step ahead of the law and/or just barely one step ahead the antagonist, but what sets Your Honor apart and keeps itself somewhat interesting is that people start getting really dumb in the second episode. Seriously, if you are driving a stolen car, how about not run a stop sign, especially if you are black in a place where cops sometime do not even wait for a reason to pull you over.

While sometimes these stupid acts keeps things entertaining and unpredictable (see The Flight Attendant who has been great at this so far), sometimes plot contrivances can be too much like when the dog finds a blood rag, somehow loses it under a cabinet and then spends multiple episodes trying to retrieve while the owner just tells him to shut up. Almost half way through the season and I am still not sure if Your Honor is good enough, but thankfully it is billed as a limited series so I will not have to spend multiple seasons trying to figure it out.

Your Honor airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 29, 2020

 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  I totally forgot Grace was pregnant.  Though I forgot who the father was.  Did Morgan hit that or did it happen before they met?  I am thinking it was the latter.  But what exactly is Strand’s game?  Is he really aligned with the evil chick or does he think it is best to stick around until everyone is out.  Pretty bold to go back after you lost the sister.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  Wait, so the evil chick is the army chick’s mom?  You think her big twist was going to be what happened last week.  But which daughter is going to turn out to be “The Asset”?
 
 
Fargo:  My biggest problem with this season is it just did not feel like Fargo.  The show and movie to me is fumblingly small time criminals being followed by the law, preferably female.  The dude tripping and blowing his own head off was the first thing to happen this season that actually felt like the Fargo I knew.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  So Dust is dark matter?  Okay, this got more complicated.  But will Lyra actually go back to that professor who seem a little too chill about learning about a parallel universe?  But did the evil people just kill off most of the witches?  Seems like they could have just flown away once the first bomb hit because, you know, they are witches that can fly away.
 
 
Black Narcissus:  So the title came from a cologne?  Alrighty.  But it turned out the Hulu thumbnail was a huge spoiler with the one nun hanging off the side of a building with the bell rope.  Though even if you did not see the thumbnail, it was pretty obvious that is where things were going once see started seeing the girl who jumped off the side of the mountain.
 
 
Big Sky:  The trucker needs to get out more if he needed to see the chick naked to realize it was really a dude.  Seemed pretty obvious to me.  Though I do not understand how the teen girls would not sell because they are too hot.  That was one thing the trucker got right, seems like someone rich, disgusting person would pay top dollar for one or both.
 
 
A Teacher:  Oh my goodness, the teacher just admitted she was forking her student to a co-worker like a teenager coyly admitting her crush in the ladies room.  So gross.
 
 
The Flight Attendant:  Well that ended up being weirder than I was expecting, and I mean that in a good way.  Though I have no idea how they can keep up the bat-shirt crazy pace for multiple seasons because something has to break at some point, but at least the first season is shaping up to be a wild ride.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  So we finally got what we all have assumed was coming for months now, Rosario Dawson as Asoka.  Does not seem like we will see much of her again (at least on this show, it seems like there have been quite a few potential spin offs they have set up in a season and a half) though I guess there is always a chance they cross path again.  But just who will answer the call when Baby Yoda (nope, not calling him by his real name, I think they made his and Mando’s real names stupid so we would still call them by what we all have so far) goes to the Jedi Temple.  I thought for sure when Mando said he left Baby Yoda back at the ship, the evil dude would have already been there to snatch the kid.  Maybe that is who will show up at the Jedi Temple.  Then maybe one of the few remaining Jedi (*cough*Luke*cough*) shows up and saves them.  But do they de-age Mark Hamill?  Recast someone more age appropriate?  Maybe I am over thinking things.

 
 

Around the Tubes: November 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 Shameless, The Weeknd, Goo Goo Dolls, and Blood Sweat and Tears.

- SHOWTIME has released the official trailer and poster art for the 11^th and final season of hit comedy series SHAMELESS. In honor of the ne’er-do-well Gallagher patriarch played by William H. Macy, the network is celebrating “Franksgiving Week” leading into America’s most stressful holiday. Starting with Monday’s surprise social media drop of the art, as well as brand-new GIF stickers of the cast, fans will receive SHAMELESS gifts on social media each day this week. The final season of SHAMELESS will premiere on Sunday, December 6^th at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

- Vevo and The Weeknd have announced a trilogy of Official Live Performances, beginning today through November 25, featuring songs from The Weeknd’s chart-topping album After Hours (XO Records / Republic Records). Directed by La Mar Taylor at Vevo’s studio in Los Angeles, CA, Part I, “Alone Again,” premieres today, November 23rd.  WATCH “ALONE AGAIN (OFFICIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE) | VEVO”  Vevo and The Weeknd first worked together in 2016 with exclusive “Vevo Presents” performances. Since then, The Weeknd has established himself as one of the world's most multifaceted artists. He has recently been named one of the most influential people of 2020 by Time Magazine, announced as the 2021’s Super Bowl Halftime Performer, and was the winner of three American Music Awards. Regarded for his creative vision, The Weeknd is known for his genre-bending music, and redefinition of storytelling, both sonically and visually.

- Multi-platinum, four-time GRAMMY-nominated rock band Goo Goo Dolls, debuts the trailer for It’s Christmas All Over, the first-ever augmented-reality movie musical, created and presented by the livestreaming platform FanTracks. It’s Christmas All Over will feature Goo Goo Dolls performing music from their brand-new holiday album of the same name (Warner Records), but goes beyond the realm of a live concert to transport viewers through an unparalleled music journey, all taking place within a surreal virtual world. This movie also marks the second time that the band has worked with FanTracks, the first being a livestream concert in October, which is currently available on-demand to subscribers on the FanTracks website.

- Jesse James Films in association with Crew Neck Productions are producing a fully authorized documentary blending music, politics, social commentary and a mystery involving one of the biggest rock bands of the late 60s/early 70s: Blood, Sweat & Tears. The film will be written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Who Is Harry Nilsson (and Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?, Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary and The Happy Days of Garry Marshall) who is diving deep into the mystery of what actually happened to the band that suddenly fell from grace at the peak of their fame.  In 1970, Blood, Sweat & Tears was one of the biggest bands in the world. They had exploded on the scene with both daring and promise, selling millions of records, winning multiple Grammy Awards including Album of the Year (beating out The Beatles’ Abbey Road) and one of the headliners at the legendary Woodstock festival. In demand for concert and TV appearances, BS&T was a darling of the mainstream and rock press, icon of the counterculture and inspiration for a generation of horn-based bands. Their future was limitless. And then it all went wrong.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 22, 2020

 
The Good Lord Bird:  If this were an action movie, we know John Brown would have been able to shoot his way out of the predicament, but alas, this was based on real events and unfortunately the racist won this battle.  Hopefully John Brown can rest in the solace than the abolitionists won the war and the Black Man Is free today.  Well, or at the very least, freer because of him.
 
 
Fear the Walking Dead:  Lucia, Sarah, and Wendell all pop back up right before the mid-season finale and it was a pretty insignificant return.  So that leaves Grace as the only person we have not seen since the group submitted to Ginny?  So June gains her hospital but loses Jon who is just going to bolt after reuniting with her?  The guy spent so much time looking for her.  Though I am sure he will run into Morgan and they will eventually deal with Ginny who is now down a hand.
 
 
The Walking Dead: Worlds Beyond:  So Silas just killed the two grifters and hid in a bathroom stall?  Alrighty.
 
 
Fargo:  Well I feel stupid.  When they started black and white, I wondered why a show already set in the fifties, a time of black and white television.  Even when the dog showed up it did not dawn on me.  It was not even until the twister that I realized, oh yeah, we were in Kansas all along.  Pretty cheap ploy for a mediocre season.
You can download Fargo on iTunes.
 
 
His Dark Materials:  Oh yeah, I forgot how convoluted this show was.  Seriously, there is a third universe where ghosts kill anyone who has gone through puberty and kids just run around willy nilly?   Were those kids from that place?  Did they come from a different universe?
 
Big Sky:  I could tell right away that Drew Carey’s brother was a bad dude, but I was not guessing he was that bad.  That is pretty bold to kill off the guy who was biggest name in the cast and front and center of all the marketing.  Make me wonder if David E. Kelley is hoping for a third season of Big Little Lies by killing off Reece Witherspoon’s ex-husband so quickly and violently.  Pretty meh premiere (c’mon, how does that hooker survive being wrapped in plastic for hours and is revives by a couple of chest thrusts), but that ending at least makes me wonder where they go from here.
 
 
The Mandalorian:  Oh joy, more midiclorans in the Star Wars universe.  But at least we now know why the evil dude is after Baby Yoda. 
 
 
The Blacklist:  The show shut down with three episodes left last season.  This was only the second episode back so I wonder if the compressed the last couple episodes they wanted to do or if next week supposed to wrap up last season’s arc because this really felt like a season finale.  I guess the “finale” will be Red vs. Lizzie but they will somehow reconcile before or during what was supposed to be this season’s “premiere.”  Although it will be sill if Lizzie forgives him because murdering her mother in front of her is something that has to be very hard to come back from.
 
 
 

Around the Tubes: November 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 1917, Mary J. Blige, Eddie Vedder, The Offspring, The Go-Go’s, Metallica, Noël Wells, Evie Irie, Paris Jackson, Verve Records, Fill The Stadium, Macho, Game Show Network marathon, Woke, and I Love You For This.

- The television premiere of the acclaimed, award-winning film 1917, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty), will air on SHOWTIME on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The movie will also be available for network subscribers across SHOWTIME platforms and distributor platforms.  Taking audiences and critics alike by storm when it opened in 2019, 1917 ultimately earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and three Golden Globe^® nominations. It went on to win three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes, including Best Picture – Drama and Best Director. The film tells the story of two young British soldiers at the height of World War I, Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) as they are given a seemingly impossible task. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow soldiers – Blake’s own brother among them. In addition to MacKay and Chapman, 1917 also stars Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.

- UMe’s Urban Legends, the label imprint and cross-platform initiative devoted to the curation and celebration of over three decades of urban catalog music and culture, and Soul In The Horn, an innovative digital movement that seeks to bridge cultural gaps by bringing together a diverse cross-section of creative talents, have teamed up to create an extraordinary one-of-a-kind 3-D experience for ardent Mary J. Blige fans that celebrates the November 29 anniversary of My Life, one of the most critically acclaimed and important R&B albums of all time.

- Following the global broadcast of Venture Into Cures, last night Eddie Vedder released a pair of singles—“Matter of Time” and “Say Hi.”  Check out the two new tracks available at all digital streaming partners HERE via Monkeywrench/Republic Records.  Additionally, he shared an animated music video for the powerful, passionate, and poetic “Matter of Time” and live video for “Say Hi,” an oft-sought after live favorite now officially available for the first time. Plus, a special pre-order just went live for the limited-edition “Matter of Time”/ “Say Hi” 7-inch vinyl, releasing soon.

- To commemorate its 20th anniversary, Conspiracy of One, the sixth album by punk rock trailblazers the Offspring, will once again be available on vinyl - the first time since its release in 2000. On December 11, Round Hill Records/UMe will release a deluxe version of Conspiracy of One pressed to yellow and red splatter vinyl, which includes spot gloss on the cover and a custom turntable slipmat featuring the Offspring's flaming skull silhouette logo. A non-deluxe, limited-edition canary yellow vinyl variant will be available on uDiscover & The Sound of Vinyl. A standard black vinyl version will be released in early 2021. Listen or pre-order Conspiracy of One HERE.  All editions will feature the bonus track "Huck It." The anthemic, sub-three-minute blast was featured on their 2000 VHS/DVD Huck It and used to soundtrack various skateboard stunts, including longtime Offspring drummer Ron Welty doing a successful board-to-board leap over two of his bandmates. "Huck It" will be released as a stand-alone digital single on November 13. A lyric video featuring footage from the Huck It VHS/DVD will also be released on November 13. In addition, the official videos for Conspiracy's first two singles - "Original Prankster" and "Want You Bad" - will be available on the Offspring's Official YouTube channel in newly remastered HD.

- On December 4, The Collection, a 5CD collection featuring the albums Frank, Back To Black and Lioness: Hidden Treasures, will be released via Island/UMe. Frank was Amy's debut album, originally released on October 20, 2003, and features the hit single "Stronger Than Me" for which Amy won an Ivor Novello Award in 2004. Back To Black, widely regarded as a masterpiece by fans and critics alike, was originally released on October 27, 2006, and has sold over 16 million copies worldwide to date. It features the singles "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," "Back To Black," "Tears Dry On Their Own" and "Love Is A Losing Game." Lioness: Hidden Treasures is a posthumous compilation album, first released on December 2, 2011, and notably features the Grammy® Award- winning duet "Body and Soul" with Tony Bennett.  In addition to these three albums, the set contains Live In London, a concert recorded at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London in 2007 and a collection of remixes from Frank and Back To Black, such as a Hot Chip remix of "Rehab," and a Kardinal Beats remix of "Love Is A Losing Game." These two discs appear on CD for the first time as part of this set. Preorder The Collection here: https://amywinehouse.lnk.to/TheCollectionPR.

- Multi-platinum Los Angeles rock band The Go-Go’s, featuring Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine and Jane Wiedlin, will see the release of their universally acclaimed, 2020 Critics Choice Award winning documentary THE GO-GO’S on DVD and Blu-ray formats (Polygram/UMe) and through digital download & rental services (Eagle Rock Entertainment) on February 5, 2021. Pre order the DVD and Blu-ray here.  The Alison Ellwood-directed THE GO-GO’S documentary, which first premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, aired over the summer on Showtime to rave reviews, achieved a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won a 2020 Critics Choice Award for “Best Music Documentary” in addition to receiving the honor of “Most Compelling Living Subjects in a Documentary.” 

- Metallica, which is known for its energetic, all-encompassing live concerts,  raised the bar for virtual performances during their Helping Hands Concert and Auction charity event on Nov.14. The band used Virtual Crowd technology to get up close and personal with fans around the world. Virtual Crowd, a fully customizable and scalable multimedia technology, allows artists to interact with their fans in real-time while showcasing high-quality production value and design — something that Metallica took to the next level with their show as they rocked out while surrounded by walls of video screens displaying faces of their fans, some of whom they engaged with during breaks in the music.  Virtual Crowd technology, created by Fireplay in partnership with Production Resource Group (PRG) and Clair Global, has been a boon for behind-the-scenes live event masterminds like Dan Braun, Metallica’s Creative Director and Scenic Designer. He was absolutely dazzled by the stunning and seamless Virtual Crowd integration into the Helping Hands event. Braun had an idea of bringing live crowds into virtual event but wasn’t sure it was possible to execute. After PRG showed him a demo of Virtual Crowd and introduced him to the Fireplay team, he was blown away. 

- Actress, filmmaker, comedian and singer-songwriter Noël Wells is excited to release her reimagined version of the Bill Withers classic “Lovely Day.” Produced by David Thomas Jones, Wells’ cover of the iconic R&B/soul song was born out of a vision of the world dancing, along with a much needed global exhale. “During this whole political season, I’ve been watching people’s roller skating videos on Instagram as a way of getting a little serotonin bump,” Wells says. “I wanted the track to feel like a glitter disco, something you can dance and skate to and feel really free.“  The track’s emotional and political expressions also continue to be universal in 2020, some 40+ years after the song’s original release. “I just love the message of the song,” she continues. “It’s pure love, and no matter what ‘out there’ might get you down, if you have someone you love and your friends and the things that matter around you, you can tune out that noise.” Stream “Lovely Day” over at Rolling Stone HERE and on YouTube HERE.

- Seventeen-year-old Sydney-born singer/songwriter Evie Irie releases the official music video for her new single “Misfit” from her recent The Pessimist EP, sister EP to The Optimist EP. Watch the music video HERE.

- Following its release on November 13^th, Paris Jackson’s debut album wilted [Republic Records] reached #1 on the iTunes US Alternative Album Chart.  The album has been heralded by press with Rolling Stone declaring it "well-crafted indie-pop," and NME referring to it as a collection of "11 intimate songs that’ll fit like your favourite sweater." The New York Post described "a dreamy wooziness, a sultry torchiness, a haunting moodiness to 'wilted'," with People Magazine most importantly noting that "Paris Jackson is blazing her own path in the music industry."  Get wilted HERE.

- This holiday season, Verve Records/UMe is boxing up some of the most classic jazz holiday titles and wrapping them in a new vinyl box set titled Verve Wishes You a Swinging Christmas. This lavish collection brings together Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (1960), Kenny Burrell’s Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (1966), Ramsey Lewis’s Sound of Christmas (1961) and Jimmy Smith’s Christmas ‘64 (1964) (also known as Christmas Cookin’) for the first time. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s the perfect swinging, syncopated backdrop to get you in the Yuletide spirit and soundtrack your festivities.  Purchase Verve Wishes You a Swinging Christmas now: https://Verve.lnk.to/SwingingChristmas

- The year 2020 has been unlike any other due to the powerful coronavirus and its effect on those in need. But the virus cannot stop a determined community of athletes and influencers from advocating for the needs of children living in desperate poverty around the globe.  Fill The Stadium (www.FillTheStadium.com) is an urgent effort with a unique goal. It seeks to help 70,000 children and their families through the critical next 12 months—roughly the same number of “seats” that typically occupy most pro-football stadiums in America. Fill The Stadium encourages those who would normally spend money to attend a pro-football game this year—but who cannot because of COVID-19—to choose instead to support struggling children who need essential food and medical care.  The Fill The Stadium lead team consists of standout professional athletes, business leaders, and pastors—and already they’ve attracted a strong assist to their God-focused cause. Steve Stenstrom is president of Pro Athletes Outreach—and as a former NFL quarterback, he knows all about getting the ball over the line for a winning purpose. Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado is CEO and president of Compassion International, a Christ-centered, church-driven ministry dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Together, they seek to Fill The Stadium.

-  Showtime Sports Documentary Films has released the trailer and poster art for the upcoming documentary MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY, an unflinching look at the remarkable life, storied career and unsolved murder of one of boxing’s greatest showmen. Premiering Friday, December 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME, the documentary debuts eight years after Camacho’s fatal shooting in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://s.sho.com/2IPqZP5.  For the first time on film, MACHO: THE HECTOR CAMACHO STORY offers a thorough examination of the unlikely sports hero. The film celebrates Camacho’s sublime boxing skills and the unbridled charisma that brought Spanish Harlem and Puerto Rican culture to the center of the sports world. Through rare and revealing interviews with his mother, Maria Matias, sisters, wife Amy and son Hector Jr., the documentary also delves into the legendary fighter’s troubled mind and spirit, his battle with addiction and the inner turmoil that ultimately lead to his demise – a mysterious roadside double homicide in November 2012.

- Celebrate Thanksgiving with a Game Show Network marathon! Gather the family ‘round to test your everyday know-how with COMMON KNOWLEDGE, fill in the blanks with AMERICA SAYS, and test your trivia prowess with MASTER MINDS while you're waiting for (or digesting) that delicious turkey.
Thanksgiving Day Marathon, Thursday November 26th:
8:00am - 11:00am – Common Knowledge
11:00am - 4:00pm – America Says
4:00pm - 6:30pm – Master Minds

- Hulu has renewed live-action/animated hybrid Original comedy series Woke, inspired by the life of award-winning artist Keith Knight, for a second season (8 episodes). The first season debuted on Hulu, Wednesday, September 9 and is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.  Starring Lamorne Morris, Woke takes an absurdist look at identity and culture through the lens of Keef  – a Black cartoonist finally on the verge of mainstream success, when an unexpected incident changes everything. With a newfound consciousness, Keef must navigate the new voices and ideas challenging him, all without setting aflame to everything he’s already built. 

- Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Cybill Shepherd (Cybill, Moonlighting) has signed on to star in the half-hour comedy pilot I LOVE THIS FOR YOU (fka BIG DEAL), starring and executive produced by Emmy nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live). Shepherd will play Patricia Kunken, the icy, enigmatic founder and CEO of a popular home shopping network. She joins the previously announced Molly Shannon (The Other Two).