Around the Tubes: February 13, 2021

  

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 Great, Genius: Aretha,  Boss Level, COVID Diaries NYC, Hulu documentaries, The Show, Greta Van Fleet,  and Bellator MMA.

- Golden Globe nominee Elle Fanning revealed an exciting first look at Empress Catherine the Great in season two of Hulu's Golden Globe and SAG nominated comedy series The Great. In season two, Catherine becomes both a mother to Russia and a child.  

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- National Geographic and Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet,” “The Color Purple”) revealed today during the network’s TCA session the highly-anticipated premiere date and official series trailer for the multiple Emmy award-winning anthology series GENIUS: ARETHA. From 20th Television and Imagine Television, this new season will premiere in the U.S. on the channel with double-stacked episodes across four consecutive nights, beginning on Sunday, March 21, at 9/8c. The premiere episodes will be available the next day on Hulu, culminating in a celebration of Aretha Franklin’s birthday, with all eight episodes available to stream by Thursday, March 25. 

- The official trailer and key art for Hulu’s action-packed Original Film BOSS LEVEL is here!  BOSS LEVEL premieres Friday, March 5, on Hulu.  Trapped in a time loop that constantly repeats the day of his murder, former special forces agent Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) uncovers clues about a secret government project that could unlock the mystery behind his untimely death. In a race against the clock, Pulver must hunt down Colonel Ventor (Mel Gibson), the powerful head of the government program, while outrunning skilled ruthless assassins determined to keep him from the truth in order to break out of the loop, save his ex-wife (Naomi Watts) and live once again for tomorrow.

- COVID DIARIES NYC, debuting TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00-9:40 ET/PT), chronicles the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The deeply personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social upheaval.  The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max. The trailer is available now on YouTube.

- Hulu's Spring Original Documentary Slate:  

kid 90 premieres Friday, March 12.  As a teenager in the ‘90s, Soleil Moon Frye carried a video camera everywhere she went. She documented hundreds of hours of footage and then locked it away for over 20 years. After all this time, kid 90 unlocks the vault and presents a true time capsule of a group of friends growing up in Hollywood and New York City in the ‘90s, balancing childhood and fame pre-internet and social media explosion. It is a deeply personal coming-of-age story that explores how “sometimes we need to look back to find our way forward.” Soleil is joined by lifelong friends and fellow child stars who provide commentary on growing up in the ‘90s; including David Arquette, Stephen Dorff, Balthazar Getty, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Brian Austin Green, Tori Leonard, Heather McComb and more.

WEWORK: OR THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF A $47 BILLION UNICORN premieres Friday, April 2.  WEWORK: OR THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF A $47 BILLION UNICORN is a feature documentary that explores the rise and fall of one of the biggest corporate flameouts and venture capitalist bubbles in recent years - the story of WeWork, and its hippie-messianic leader Adam Neumann. Utilizing interviews with journalists, experts, high-ranking former employees, and former WeWork members, WEWORK: OR THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF A $47 BILLION UNICORN takes a look at the community-centric, people-first ideal that sent the little co-working venture sky-rocketing into unicorn investment territory, and then investigates what was really going on behind the scenes.

Sasquatch premieres Tuesday, April 20.  While visiting a pot farm in Northern California in 1993, investigative journalist David Holthouse heard a story that still haunts him: On a nearby farm three men were torn limb from limb in a savage Bigfoot attack. Sasquatch follows David as he revisits the Redwoods 25 years later, in search of any evidence that might lead to the truth of what happened that night. As he pulls at the threads of this story he’ll be taken down a path that’s far more terrifying than anyone would have imagined. 

- SHOWTIME has announced that it will air THE SHOW, a 90-minute feature documentary that will provide a unique, first-ever look into the making of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. This year’s show starred The Weeknd and was executive produced by Emmy nominee Jesse Collins (BET Awards, Grammy^® Awards, Oscars^®), Roc Nation and directed by acclaimed multi-award nominated Hamish Hamilton (who has directed the Halftime Show since 2010). Directed by Emmy nominee Nadia Hallgren (Becoming), THE SHOW is produced by the Pepsi in-house content studio and Boardwalk Pictures (Cheer, Chef’s Table) and will premiere later this year.

- Hot on the heels of their fifth #1 at rock radio, GRAMMY®-winning band Greta Van Fleet today announce a luminous new single, “Heat Above.” It is the third track released from their forthcoming sophomore studio album, The Battle at Garden’s Gate, produced by Greg Kurstin (Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Adele) and due out April 16 (Lava/Republic Records).  “Heat Above" is an ethereal track that opens with a Hammond B3 seeping in slowly to set the tone for a triumphant sonic build. You can listen to the song HERE,

- Bellator MMA and SHOWTIME Sports, both leaders in the combat sports arena, have teamed up to bring live, world-class mixed martial arts events back to the premium television service for years to come. Bellator MMA and SHOWTIME Sports, both owned by entertainment giant ViacomCBS, will air live events exclusively on SHOWTIME on Friday nights and will launch with three consecutive weeks of action-packed fights beginning Friday, April 2, live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and continuing on Friday, April 9 and Friday, April 16. The upcoming live events will emanate from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., where Bellator MMA and SHOWTIME Sports have held more than 20 live combat sports events since July 2020. 

-  Under Comcast NBCUniversal’s newly launched Plan Your Vaccine awareness campaign, Telemundo, the leading media company for U.S. Hispanics, will provide news, information and resources in Spanish, through Planifica Tu Vacuna, a comprehensive interactive tool in Spanish, to help Latinos plan for their COVID-19 vaccination.  The tool’s launch marks the kick-off of Telemundo’s year-long company-wide initiative to raise awareness in the Latino community about the COVID-19 vaccines and provide critical information to help Hispanics navigate the vaccination process and overcome this unprecedented global health crisis.  Data shows Latinos make up a lower percentage of people getting vaccinated for COVID-19 despite being disproportionately affected by the virus. Comcast NBCUniversal’s customizable tool offers Spanish-language users detailed information about when and where to get a COVID-19 vaccination. It will help users track the vaccine rollout process by state, providing up-to-date local and national information including who’s eligible, vaccine availability plus state specific requirements and rules.

Previewing Into the Dark: Tentacles

Into the Dark banked a few episodes before the Coronapocalypse before shutting down productions going all the way to July before going on hiatus.  This was very unfortunate for me because August is the month I most look forward to being the month with no major holidays.  Though the first season gave us a start of school themed episode which was kind of anticlimactic but did make plenty of sense.  The anthology series is back just in time for Valentine’s Day which gave us one of the best episodes of the first season, but also one of the worst episodes of the second season.

 

The third February episode Tentacles falls in the middle of those two.    The story follows a homeless woman who goes around to open house for the free cookies and if she is lucky, no one notices she hid in the closet and finds a place to sleep for the night.  But after a chance encounter with a photographer / house flipper who has a place where she can crash, she may have some stability in her life.  Well, stability and copious amount of sex with the photographer / house flipper including a sex session so long they showed it is fast forward as to not add an extra ten to twenty minutes to the episode.

 

After a slow start (probably why they put in copious amounts of sex at the beginning) things start to get really creepy and you begin to realize what you thought the episode was about is a completely different thing leading to a pretty satisfying ending for fans of the horror genre.  But this makes the eleventh episode released in the second season and the twelfth and final episode coming next month.  So I do wonder if it is renewed, will Hulu start season three right in April or wait to launch in October like the previous season.  Hopefully it is right away, might as well produce the August and September scripts I am sure were already written, and yes I am suggesting this so I would not have to wait another year and a half for the next August episode.  Really, I mostly want weird, more obscure holidays for a potential third season.

 

Into the Dark: Tentacles premieres tomorrow only on Hulu.

57 Channels and Only This is On: February 7, 2021

 

Your Honor:  So people are people now just wearing masks in court now?  That was just ransom for a show that I do not believe has referenced the Coronapocalypse up to this point.  And the judge says the gangsters son is easily going to be convicted even while dismissing the juror?  So is he lying to her or is he really going to let the jury convict him?  But we did get the teacher back for the first time in maybe a month.  I originally said I found this relationship more interesting than the one on A Teacher, but now that show is over, it feels like this relationship just got ickier.  Granted the lady teacher wants to move to New York to be closer to her even though that relationship was severely undercooked since she disappeared for about a month.

 

Snowpiercer:  So to stave off global warming, they shot something into the atmosphere to cool the planet but it did too good of a job?  Huh?  This is why it is a bad idea to try and explain a sci-fi plot; you are just going to sound silly.

 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist:  More drugged up Zoey please.  If that is a way they get more musical numbers with her, so be it.  But what is up with the neighbor and his Aussie accent so thick that it even comes through when he sings?  Is he originally from there and moved next door as a teen?  Did he spend so much time Australia after school he picked it up?  Did they hired the actor because he was hot and when they realized he could not do an American accent they just said fork it?

 

Big Sky:  So if you are shot in the head, the frontal loab is the place to be hit?  Got it.  But just when I thought the show could not get any any weirder, here comes Dre Carey’s brother’s lawyer with her story of biting the head off a chick. And she said it to a doctor.  Oh my.

 

The Challenge: Double Agents:  Just how incompetent is Meechie that Josh just kept on hilariously throwing balls at places in te wall that had a brick wall against them and still lost?  Ugg, I really need Josh gone.  But after that performance, everyone left without a Gold Skull will want to send him in to take Josh’s.  But we finally got out first challenge this season that did not completely suck, yet they almost screwed it up with that stupid rule that they would keep going until both partners won in the final round.  I wonder if CT just gave up because no way Big T ever wins a round so why waste your energy?

 

Wandavision: Well, that was shocking.  Sure, with all the talk of her brother over the last couple episodes, it is not that surprising that Quicksilver showed up, but it was completely shocking that it was that Quicksilver who showed up.  I was not expecting mutants to show up this soon and on Disney+ and definitely was not expecting they were going to do the Fox X-Men.  But gotta love Darcy’s line about Wanda recasting her brother.  Though it would have been even better had they did the old soap opera troupe of having the announcer say, “This week, Quicksilver will be played by Evan Peters.”  

 

The Blacklist:  I feel like we have done this episode before where Lizzie needed to testify in court to keep a Blacklister behind bars.  That is the problem with a show that has gone on for this long.

Around the Tubes: February 6, 2021

 

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 Alienist, COVID  Diaries NYC, Billie Eilish, .38 Special, Emily Kinney, The Weeknd, The Go-Go's, 3 Doors Down, Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler.

- Follow the trail – find the killer! Get ready to test your investigation skills with TNT’s award-winning psychological thriller as Warner Bros Home Entertainment brings more plot twists and shocking turns with the release of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness on Blu-ray and DVD on May 18, 2021. Uncover the secrets and go on an edge-of-your-seat journey with all 8 episodes from the second season, plus enjoy the captivating extra features including a season 1 recap, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a set tour, and series overview! The Alienist: Angel of Darkness is priced to own at $24.98 SRP for the DVD and $29.98 SRP for the Blu-ray, which includes a Digital Copy (US Only). The Alienist: Angel of Darkness is also available to own on Digital via purchase from digital retailers.  It is June 1897. A year has passed since Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a pioneer in forensic psychiatry, tracked down the brutal serial killer John Beecham with the help of a team of trusted companions and a revolutionary application of the principles of his discipline. Kreizler and his friends--high-living crime reporter John Schuyler Moore; indomitable, derringer-toting Sara Howard; the brilliant (and bickering) detective brothers Marcus and Lucius Isaacson; powerful and compassionate Cyrus Montrose; and Stevie Taggert, the boy Kreizler saved from a life of street crime--have returned to their former pursuits and tried to forget the horror of the Beecham case. But when the distraught wife of a Spanish diplomat begs Sara's aid, the team reunites to help find her kidnapped infant daughter. It is a case fraught with danger since Spain and the United States are on the verge of war.

- COVID DIARIES NYC, debuting TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00-9:40 ET/PT), chronicles the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The deeply personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social upheaval.  The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max.

- Five-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist Billie Eilish has partnered with Vevo for an exclusive behind the scenes look at her self-directed “Therefore I Am” music video in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes. WATCH “THE MAKING OF ‘THEREFORE I AM’ | VEVO FOOTNOTES”  Eilish reveals that after spending an entire day trying to come up with the perfect concept, the idea to film “Therefore I Am” at a mall came to her and her manager while waiting in line at a Starbucks drive-thru. The video was filmed in one night at the Glendale Galleria Mall in Los Angeles, a familiar stomping-ground for Eilish during her early teen years, using only her mother’s iPhone.

- After performing together for more than four decades, 38 SPECIAL will commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the release of their first single, “Hold On Loosely” with a special inclusion as the featured song on an all-new episode of ABC-TV’s The Goldbergs on Wednesday, February 10 at 8 p.m. “A great ‘80’s song and the wacky Goldberg family! – a perfect match!” said Don Barnes, co-founder and lead singer, 38 Special. “We’re still blown away by the continued enthusiasm for our first big hit. I’m positive the show will stand the test of time just as our song has!”  The Goldbergs, a sitcom featuring a suburban family living in the 1980s, features a hit song from the 1980s into each episode. The inclusion of “Hold On Loosely” aligns perfectly with the 40th anniversary of the release.  “’Hold On Loosely’ was a simple view into personal relationships and how it’s important to accept each other as they are,” recalled Barnes. “So many have commented on it as great advice. Combine that with an intense guitar track and it was a formula for success. In my opinion, that’s what has kept it popular all these years.” 

- Jullian Records and actress/singer-songwriter Emily Kinney (The Walking Dead, Showtime’s Masters of Sex, ABC’s Ten Days In The Valley) are excited to announce the Friday, April 9 release of Kinney’s brand new full-length album titled The Supporting Character (pre-order). Staying busy this past year, Kinney took advantage of 2020’s endless days of social distancing and time at home to finish up one of her most personal albums to date. Produced by Benjamin Greenspan, The Supporting Character touches on themes of heartbreak, loss, family history, creativity and personal growth, and finds Kinney tackling difficult subjects with her trademark lyrical honesty.  Released this week and streaming with Entertainment Weekly, the album’s new single, “Fifteen Minutes,” is a love-turned-breakup song Kinney wrote for her boyfriend at the time that explains how she would easily trade the time she spent becoming successful for more time with the person she really loves (him). "He said he didn't get it. We broke up,” she says. Though some relationships inevitably end, Kinney finds comfort in the fact that each relationship of hers has solidified her sense of independence and has confirmed the aspects of her romantic life that are truly important to her. “I’ve observed people who constantly struggle and who are addicted to ups and downs and conflict, whereas I know that I seek stability.” Stream “Fifteen Minutes” over at Entertainment Weekly HERE and on YouTube HERE.

-  The 104-date global tour will kick off on January 14th in Vancouver at Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena with stops in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, Berlin and more, before wrapping November 16th in London at The O2.  The worldwide tour announcement comes just days ahead of the multi-platinum singer’s headlining Super Bowl performance, and also includes a handful of rescheduled dates shifting from 2021 to be a part of the After Hours World Tour in 2022.  With the addition of 39 new tour dates, The Weeknd will also release The Highlights on Friday, February 5th. The Highlights is a way to present some of The Weeknd’s most notable works in one place.  While this isn’t a “Greatest Hits” album it does provide a new listener a rich foray into some of the iconic artist’s best and favorite work. Fans can pre-save and pre-order the album HERE.

- On May 14, 2021, The Go-Go’s’ critically acclaimed 2001 reunion album, God Bless The Go-Go’s, celebrates its 20^th anniversary and will be reissued on CD, vinyl and digital formats via Eagle Records. This is the first time the original album version of God Bless The Go-Go’s will be available on LP and is pressed on 140gram, blue colored vinyl. The deluxe CD and digital versions feature new cover art and includes the bonus tracks “I Think I Need Sleep” and “King of Confusion.” Pre-order here.  Featuring Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Belinda Carlisle (lead vocals), Gina Schock (drums, percussion, vocals), Kathy Valentine (bass guitar, vocals) and Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), God Bless The Go-Go’s was the band’s first studio album in 17 years following 1984’s Talk Show and reached No. 57 on the Billboard 200 and No. 17 on the Top Internet Albums chart. The album was produced by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade (Radiohead, Hole) and features Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong on the single “Unforgiven,” Rame Jaffee (The Wallflowers and Foo Fighters) on “Here You Are,” as well as Roger Manning (Jellyfish. Imperial Drag and The Moog Cookbook) on the track “Daisy Chain.” Upon its original release, it was hailed by Uncut magazine for its “sheer, punchy exuberance” while Billboard was impressed with its “deliriously buoyant, unadulterated adult-made pop.” 

- On March 26, 3 DOORS DOWN will release a re-mastered, 20^th Anniversary Edition of The Better Life album along with the nine-song "Escatawpa Sessions" as a box set on high-quality 3LP vinyl. The "Escatawpa Sessions," recorded in the band's Mississippi hometown in 1996, features seven demo versions from The Better Life, as well as three previously unreleased tracks. The 3LP box set features a custom lithograph, a six-page booklet with never-before-seen photos and extensive liner notes, and interviews with the band and executives from their label and talent agency.  A 2CD and an expanded digital album will also be available.  The 2CD and digital album each feature four new bonus tracks including, "The Better Life (XX Mix)," a new mix by Grammy Award-winning Chris Lord-Alge, "Kryptonite (2000 Acoustic)," "Be Like That (2000 Acoustic)," and "Wasted Me (With Harp Version)." Pre-order THE BETTER LIFE 20^th Anniversary Edition now and listen to the Bonus Track "The Better Life (XX Mix)," HERE. Watch the new lyric video for The Better Life (XX Mix)" on the 3 DOORS DOWN Official YouTube Channel HERE.

- After receiving widespread critical acclaim and inciting fan anticipation around their reunion, singers, songwriters and producers Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler unveil their anxiously awaited new EP, brent ii—listen HERE.  On the release of brent ii, Jeremy says, “for chelsea and i making ‘brent ii’ was an important reminder of why we love making music, especially during such a difficult year. it has been almost 2 years since this first ep, and i think that project really set a standard for us and our fans. i’m extremely proud of ‘brent ii’ and think it shows fans a lot of personal and artistic growth from both of us, while keeping things in the same world we created with ‘brent’. i’m so incredibly proud of the 5 new songs that became ‘brent ii’.”

- In honor of Black History Month, Apple Music has launched a highly curated editorial music experience across Apple Music, Apple Music radio and Apple Music TV, celebrating the incredible community of black artists, moments and movements that have shaped music and global pop culture for generations. Check out Black History Month on Apple Music here: http://apple.co/BHM2021  All month long, Apple Music will feature curated playlists, essays, original videos, radio shows, and more from black influencers, musicians, authors, and directors including Ava DuVernay, Tracee Ellis Ross, Monica, Dame Pat McGrath (DBE, Founder/CEO Pat McGrath Labs), John Legend, Erykah Badu, Naomi Campbell, Common, Jaden Smith and many more. Apple Music TV will have four 24 hour music video takeovers featuring artists like Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams and H.E.R., among others.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 31, 2021

  

Snowpiercer:  Well, there goes my theory that the show actually took place in the same universe as the film, just that the real Mr. Wilford was on a different train. But I am a bit fuzzy on just how we got here.  So Wilford train was just circling North America waiting for the perfect time to connect to Snowpiercer?  And his train just happened to be able to latch onto other trains and powerful to stop them?  But at least the new train has some weirdos on it.  That was one of my problems with the show was that the people on the train just were not as weird as they were in the movie.

 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist:  One of the best jokes of the premiere was when Mo mocked Zoey for having to choose between the handsome guy or the more handsome guy.  And now there is a third handsome guy who seemed to be plucked from some WB teen drama from the nineties, complete with a crappy nineties one hit wonder to sing.  Hopefully he is less annoying than the dude Zoey just fired.

 

Big Sky:  There have been some pretty absurd cliffhangers where a character is left for dead only to be miraculously still alive when the next episode rolled around on television, but getting a bullet to the head, right above the eye, has to take the cake.  Seriously.  Unless he learn he had a steel plate in his head, there is no way anyone could survive it.  But I guess this is a show where a widow and a side piece can sing together at a funeral.

 

The Challenge: Double Agents:  So last week TJ got all soft when Lio Rush quit, but I thought he would redeem himself this week when we had a violent two hand push, but all we got from TJ was a stern warning.  Even his quitters do not get their votes count decree ended up being pretty toothless because the same people went in regardless of if they counted or not.

 

Search Party:  After what was a pretty weak start to the season, we finally got what is probably the best episode of the series.  The car chase around the roundabout was the funniest thing I have seen in a while.  Unfortunately that was not the turning point of the season as the season just sputtered to the end.  I may have enjoyed the ending much more if they actually killed Dory, but alas.  A potential season five with a potential ghost Dory could have been interesting. 

 

WandaVision:  Finally Kat Denning.  I do wonder if maybe instead of a full episode of what is going on in the real world, they should have sprinkled some of these scenes after the “WandaVision” sitcom was over.  Seems like we spent too much time away from the titular characters.

 

The Blacklist:  I do not buy it, no way is Lizzie actually going to fork Ressler.  I do not believe that at all.

  

Around the Tubes: January 30, 2021

  

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 Women in Blue, City on a Hill, The Mamas & The Papas, Paris Jackson, The Weeknd, The Peter Frampton Band, The Muppet Show, Cut Throat City, Laugh In, Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine.

- Filmed from 2017-2020, WOMEN IN BLUE follows Minneapolis’ first female police chief Janeé Harteau, as she works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department by getting rid of bad cops, retraining the rest, diversifying the ranks and promoting women—who statistically use less force than their male counterparts—into every rank of leadership. The film focuses on four women in Harteau’s department, each trying to redefine what it means to protect and serve. After a high-profile, officer-involved shooting forces Chief Harteau to resign, the new, male chief selects only men as his top brass. The women left behind continue to fight to police differently and to rebuild community trust.  WOMEN IN BLUE will broadcast on PBS television series Independent Lens series on Monday, February 8, 2021

- SHOWTIME will premiere the second season of its one-hour drama series CITY ON A HILL, starring Golden Globe winner and Emmy^® nominee Kevin Bacon and Screen Actors Guild^® award winner Aldis Hodge, on Sunday, March 28 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Beginning April 18, the series will move to 9 p.m. ET/PT. Additionally, SHOWTIME has released the official key art for season two, which will consist of eight one-hour episodes.
- 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.
- 22-year-old singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist Paris Jackson releases the official “eyelids” video – watch HERE. The song features vocals from Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, who co-wrote and produced the track, as well as Jackson’s first full-length album, wilted, out now – listen HERE. The video was directed and edited by Phillip Lopez (Selena Gomez, Kygo, Avicii, Lauv) and executive produced by Tara Razavi (Justin Bieber, Tyler, the Creator, G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha).
- Gravity defying artist The Weeknd and XO/Republic Records have announced a special project curated specifically for his upcoming Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show appearance. Given the vast mainstream audience of the Super Bowl, The Highlights album is a way to present some of The Weeknd’s most notable works in one place.  While this isn’t a “Greatest Hits” album it does provide a new listener a rich foray into some of the iconic artist’s best and favorite work. The project is available on February 5^th, pre-order HERE.
- Frampton Forgets the Words, the new studio album by The Peter Frampton Band, will be released April 23 via UMe. The album features instrumental tributes to some of Frampton’s favorite songs and is the follow up to his 2007 Grammy Award-winning instrumental album, Fingerprints. The first track to be revealed is their take on Radiohead’s “Reckoner,” alongside a video—watch/share HERE.  Frampton Forgets the Words was co-produced by Frampton and Chuck Ainlay and was  recorded/mixed at Frampton’s own Studio Phenix in Nashville. With his infamous 1954 Les Paul Phenix—which was lost in a plane crash in 1980 and recovered more than 30 years later —  Frampton brings virtuosic guitar playing to songs by David Bowie, George Harrison, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz and more. See track listing below.
- The long wait for Muppet fans is almost over! “The Muppet Show,” Jim Henson’s iconic variety series that started it all, will begin streaming Friday, February 19 exclusively on Disney+. In addition for the first three seasons, fans will be able to enjoy seasons 4 and 5, which have never previously been released on home entertainment.  Originally premiering in 1976, some of Hollywood’s brightest stars stopped by “The Muppet Show” for unforgettable comedy and chaos including Crystal Gayle, Steve Martin, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Alice Cooper, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Gene Kelly, and Mark Hammill.
-  CUT THROAT CITY, the “ambitious, messy, sprawling and bullet-riddled crime epic” (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times), set in the Crescent City, has topped the Netflix charts hours after its debut on Netflix. The film, the third effort from recording artist, composer and rapper RZA, was released last summer to critical and audience acclaim and is mounting a dark horse, renegade #FYC Awards campaign to support the Netflix streaming of the film.  Opening on a gritty graphic novel animation, CUT THROAT CITY finds four boyhood friends return to NOLA’s Lower Ninth Ward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As FEMA fails to provide aid to their wracked community, they reluctantly turn to a local gangster for help. When that job goes horribly awry, they must outrun–and outsmart—a system rife with corruption and filled with both malevolent and colorful characters.
- This February, the TV DVD archivists at Time Life are making ROWAN & MARTIN’S LAUGH-IN: THE COMPLETE SERIES available at retail for the very first time for classic TV aficionados and comedy lovers alike. The ultimate completist’s set, this handsomely packaged collection is comprised of 37 DVDs featuring all 140 remastered episodes from the series award-winning, groundbreaking six-year run. Included are 89 episodes never-before-released on ANY format, along with exclusive bonuses such as the rare pilot episode (September 9, 1967), the 25^th Anniversary cast reunion and more.
- SHOWTIME announced today that the provocative docu-series SUPERVILLAIN: THE MAKING OF TEKASHI 6IX9INE, profiling hip-hop artist Tekashi 6ix9ine’s epic rise to notoriety and spectacular fall to convicted criminal, will premiere on Sunday, February 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes will debut on-air every Sunday through March 7, while the entire series will release for on-demand streaming or download on SHOWTIME and across all SHOWTIME partner platforms on February 21.  In the three-part series, director Karam Gill (Ice Cold, G-Funk) examines manufactured celebrity through the lens of 6ix9ine’s controversial artistry, personal demons and mastery of social media, as a reflection of our times and the complicity of culture today. The series is narrated by Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian). SUPERVILLAIN is produced by Imagine Documentaries, Rolling Stone and Lightbox. Brian Grazer executive produces with Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein of Imagine Documentaries, Gus Wenner of Rolling Stone, Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn of Lightbox, journalist Stephen Witt and Peter J. Scalettar.  To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/rKeH1THBBEU.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 24, 2021

 

Your Honor:  So the judge was able to get a reprieve from the gangster by saying he could get his son off by preceding over his murder case.  Um, so now that he is not, why doesn’t the gangster just kill him?  Were the cops pulling over the black lady judge their bidding?  We already know the gangster has the cops in his back pocket when they kidnapped the kid he originally thought killed his son and interrogated him before he was even booked.

 

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist:  Meh, after Zoey sang the song to start the episode, I thought we were going to get another full episode of just her singing, which was my favorite episode of the first season.  But she still heard other people sing and just kept singing the same song over again.  I wonder if they are saving a full glitchy episode for later this season even though this seemed like the perfect time as the stress of her dad dying and stress from her new job overwhelmed her.

 

The Challenge: Double Agents:  Um, I thought T.J. hated quitters.  I wonder if his speech was at the behest of some producer who wanted this to be a teaching moment on mental health or if that actually came from the heart from a guy who loves seeing contestants fall from very high heights into water.  But seems right that right after being reinstated, Smashley goes right back out in her very next chance to be sent into elimination.

 

Wandavision:  I am quickly realizing a weekly half hour mystery box show may not be the best idea.  These decade parodies are already getting tiresome.  Making it worse is that I think most people can already guess the mystery: Wanda broke mentally, created a sitcom world where she and Vision can live happily ever after and S.W.O.R.D. agents, like the black lady, are trying to break her out of it.  But all will be forgiven if next episode one of the twins grows up to be a young Republican and the episode after that the other twin gets sent to live with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Aire.

 

The Blacklist:  Um, why does the FBI have easily available bombs that they can check out?  That is not something I want our intelligence agency on hand.  And is car bomb the best idea Lizzie came up with to kill Red?  Even worse, when that plan failed she thought, well, I still have this bomb, might as well use it to sneak into the hospital where Red was admitted.  Seriously, why not inject him with something if you are that close that you can plant a bomb on his hospital bed?  That was just some Bond villain level of stupidity.

 

Around the Tubes: January 23, 2021

 

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 Fake Famous, Sublime, A Life Too Short, The Lady and the Dale, Lori McKenna, Your Honor, William H. Macy, and The First Lady.

- HBO’s FAKE FAMOUS, debuting TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), from first-time director and veteran journalist Nick Bilton, explores the industry of social media influencers through an innovative social experiment. The film’s journey into this world is driven by the casting of three people in Los Angeles who all have relatively small social followings and the attempt to grow them into famous influencers. By purchasing fake followers and an army of bots to “engage” with their social media, the newly made “influencers” discover both the wonders and costs of this unlikely, immersive lifestyle.  The documentary will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max.

- Z2 COMICS continues to roll out news of some of their most ambitious projects yet, with today’s announcement of the RYAN CADY-written graphic novel chronicling the misadventures of one of the most defining bands of the last three decades, the Long Beach, reggae-punk institution, SUBLIME!  The laid-back Long Beach trio spawned an entire genre—fusing reggae grooves, punk grittiness, ska energy, back-porch folk introspection, and hip-hop swagger.   The SUBLIME: $5 AT THE DOOR graphic novel clocks in at 120 pages and will be released in a standard soft and hardcover editions in comic shops and bookstores alike in June 2021, with a special deluxe edition, and highly limited super deluxe edition available for preorder now exclusively through the Z2 website! Deluxe and super deluxe edition include a special first-time vinyl edition of the Doin’ Time EP, unavailable elsewhere, as well as exclusive prints, Lou-Dog toy and more!

- MTV Documentary Films will debut A Life Too Short, from two-time Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Tribeca Film Festival winner My Father The Mover from breakout director Julia Jansch on Friday, January 22 at 7:00PM ET on Pluto TV.  An official selection of the 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival’s Shortlist and SFFILM’s DocStories festival, A Life Too Short, produced by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, directed by Safyah Usmani, co-directed by Saad Zuberi and executive produced by Sheila Nevins and Guy Oseary, examines the startling tragedy behind the killing of Pakistani activist and social media star Qandeel Baloch. A vocal, provocative proponent of women’s rights and freedom of expression, Qandeel challenged conventional ideas with her open exclamations of women’s equality and sexuality.  Her bravery and outspokenness ended in chilling violence that reverberates around the world.  Following Qandeel’s murder, a crucial amendment to Pakistani law was passed, eliminating the possibility for families to forgive the perpetrators of “honor” killings.  The premiere of A Life Too Short will be followed by the award-winning short documentary My Father The Mover at 7:45 PM ET. The film introduces a South African teenager named Alatha whose father calls himself a Mover. Using African dance moves – electronic Gqom beats – he helps kids in Khayelitsha township to transcend hardship and "find their superpowers." The Mover is also a single father, and while he has helped many kids, he still has difficulty getting his own daughter to find her own powers.  But in a tender moment together, that is all about to change.

- This four-part documentary series from Emmy®-winning producers Mark and Jay Duplass (“Room 104”) traces the audacious story of Elizabeth Carmichael, a larger-than-life entrepreneur who took the world by storm with her promotion of a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car known as The Dale in the middle of the 1970s oil crisis. Liz's promotional zeal thrust her into fierce public and media scrutiny which uncovered a web of mystery and suspicion about the car’s technology and her own checkered past. Co-directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, THE LADY AND THE DALE mixes animation, archival footage, and interviews with Liz's family members and gender scholars, including Susan Stryker. The result is a probing exploration of family and identity seen through the lens of the rise and fall of a fearless and wily innovator, an extraordinarily resilient woman and a dedicated parent.  The series debuts with two back-to-back episodes SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), with new episodes airing subsequent Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. THE LADY AND THE DALE will premiere on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.

- Award-winning broadcaster and podcaster, Candy O’Terry and Music City Mentor, Jacy Dawn Valeras have released another episode in their joint podcast project, Country Music Success Stories with Candy O’Terry. The new podcast is a conversation with one of Candy and Jacy's all-time favorite singer/songwriters, multi-award winner Lori McKenna.  Their shared Boston roots shine through this interview with Lori which took place at 95.9 WATD, a local radio station just outside of Boston. At the core of this episode is the connection between an artist and local radio. Lori shares stories of her slow and steady rise in country music while raising her five children in her hometown of Stoughton, MA. and the joy of hearing Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Little Big Town breathe life into her songs. Subscribe to the podcast here and listen on all podcast platforms here.  Listen to an excerpt of the conversation with Candy O’Terry and Lori McKenna about writing the hit song “Humble And Kind” recorded by Tim McGraw here.

- The hit SHOWTIME drama series YOUR HONOR will return with an all-new episode on Sunday, January 31^st at 10pm ET/PT, after a repeat this coming Sunday. The ninth episode will air Sunday, February 7^th at 10pm. The following Sunday, on February 14^th at 10pm, the series concludes with the finale, directed by series star and executive producer Bryan Cranston.

- William H. Macy is more than just your favorite on-screen character, he’s creating gritty music and badass whiskey. His new single, “Whiskey Dell,” is a marriage of those passions. Under the moniker Willie Creeks, Macy’s inner outlaw, is personally writing spirited tales of fishing in the rugged Rockies while armed with his trusty 1935 Martin ukulele and a glass of whiskey from Woody Creek Distillers. “Whiskey Dell” features a driving kick, floor-rumbling bass, and a feverish energy brought to life through colorful collaboration with some extremely talented musicians. Watch the video HERE and stream the single HERE. 

 

- SHOWTIME has announced that Oscar and Emmy^® nominee and Golden Globe^® winner Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit) will star as Betty Ford and Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Susanne Bier (The Undoing) will direct and executive produce the anthology series THE FIRST LADY (w/t), starring and executive produced by Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), who will play former first lady Michelle Obama. THE FIRST LADY is a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Produced by SHOWTIME and Lionsgate Television, the series is executive produced by Oscar winner Cathy Schulman (Crash), Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Andrew Wang, Jeff Gaspin (Rhythm + Flow) and Brad Kaplan (Mr. Church) and created by author Aaron Cooley (Four Seats: A Thriller of the Supreme Court), who will write several of the episodes and executive produce.