Around the Tubes: December 11, 2021

    

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on The Expanse, Benee, John Mellencamp, Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza, Paul McCartney and Wings, Cat Stevens, and The Hating Game.

- The Expanse season 6 episode 1 available now.  The sixth and final season of The Expanse picks up with the solar system at war, as Marco Inaros and his Free Navy continue to launch devastating asteroid attacks on Earth and Mars. As the tensions of war and shared loss threaten to pull the crew of the Rocinante apart, Chrisjen Avasarala makes a bold move and sends former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper on a secret mission that could turn the tide of the conflict. Meanwhile, in the Belt, Drummer and what’s left of her family are on the run after betraying Marco. And on a distant planet beyond the Rings, a new power begins to rise.  Series stars Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Cara Gee, Frankie Adams, Keon Alexander, Nadine Nicole, and Jasai Chase Owens reunite for the most epic season yet.

- New Zealand’s platinum sensation BENEE unveils the official video for her latest single “Doesn’t Matter” today—watch HERE. Co-directed by BENEE and New Zealand actress and director Aidee Walker, the cinematic visual co-stars BENEE, her guitarist Tiare Kelly, and her pup TUI. The lulling production underscores pensive moments, as the lyrics detail her struggles with mental health and OCD diagnosis. The video brings these feelings to life in artful and eloquent fashion, standing out as BENEE’s most confessional statement yet.

- John Mellencamp’s highly anticipated new album Strictly A One-Eyed Jack is set for release January 21 on Republic Records. Pre-order for the LP begins today HERE.  Listen to new album track “Chasing Rainbows” HERE and watch the official lyric video HERE.  The album features the previously released Bruce Springsteen duet “Wasted Days” (watch the official music video HERE) which continues to receive widespread critical acclaim:

- Republic Records releases Don’t Look Up (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film), listen HERE.  The soundtrack includes “Just Look Up” featuring Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, who star in the film—and perform the song—as pop music power couple Riley Bina and DJ Chello.  The “Just Look Up (Full Performance from ‘Don't Look Up’)” premiered today, watch it HERE. Brand-new track “Second Nature,” performed and co-written by Bon Iver, is also released today with the soundtrack. Listen to “Second Nature” HERE.

- Republic Records announces the release of the limited edition first pressing vinyl for Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack out now. It is also joined by a limited-edition red vinyl which can be found at select indie retailers today.  Experience the Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—HERE and limited edition first pressing vinyl HERE.  The album accompanies the new film from eight-time Academy Award®-nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson which opened in select New York and Los Angeles Theaters on November 26^th and will open across the country on Christmas Day December 25^th, 2021 via United Artists Releasing.

- Marking this week's 50th anniversary of the December 7, 1971 release of Paul McCartney and Wings' Wild Life, UMe announces the February 4, 2022 reissue of Wings' debut LP as a limited edition half-speed mastered vinyl pressing. Pre-Order the 50^th Anniversary Limited Edition of Wild Life HERE.  Following the eclectic charm and intimacy of 1970's solo McCartney and 1971's homespun lo-fi indie-pop progenitor RAM credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, Wild Life found Paul once again redefining his post-Beatles creative identity, this time beginning his tenure as a founding member of Wings. A rollicking left turn from its predecessors, Wild Life was recorded in barely more than a week, with more than half of the songs captured in a single take. The end result would be eight songs running the gamut from joyous freewheeling jams to proto-chamber pop to spare introspective musings — all bristling with a raw, jagged energy akin to the grungiest of garage bands—whether on the careening blues-rock rave-up of opener "Mumbo," a reggae-tinged reimagining of Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange," or the plaintive and heart wrenching ballad "Dear Friend."

-  Fifty years since its release, the original motion picture soundtrack for Hal Ashby’s 1971 classic cult film “Harold and Maude,” made up exclusively of songs by Cat Stevens, will be released on February 11^th, 2022 in new 180g 1LP / 1CD / Digital release formats via A&M/Cat-O-Log/UMe. The new edition of the soundtrack will combine Cat Stevens’ nine original songs, as well as dialogue from the film, for the first time.  Hal Ashby’s 1971 film about the unlikely friendship-turned-love story of suicidal teenager Harold Chasen (played by Bud Cort) and 79-year-old free spirit Maude (played by Ruth Gordon) is now widely praised as a bona fide cult classic. Filled with dark humor and existential drama, the film represents the potentially glorious benefits that can arise from a balanced partnership between conservative pragmatism and colorful free-spirited idealism. It reveals the deep lying synergy that exists between seemingly opposing views and how, when united, they can flourish to their mutual advantage.

- Today alongside the release of the highly anticipated film The Hating Game, Republic Records and Federal Films releases The Hating Game (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). Based on the best-selling book by Sally Thorne, The Hating Game stars Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell and is out now in select theaters and everywhere On Demand and Digital.  LISTEN TO THE HATING GAME (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) HERE.  WATCH THE HATING GAME TRAILER HERE.  The 11-song soundtrack features new music by artists Angelina Jordan, Astrid S & Dagny, bülow, Claire Rosinkranz, and Joy Oladokun, alongside fan favorite tracks by BENEE, Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler, Lyn Lapid, and more.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: December 5, 2021

Dexter: New Blood:  Well I was wrong in guessing the dude was maybe drunk when claiming his son was still alive.  He was definitely lying.  So does he not want the cops to figure out he is dead so they do not come snooping around his murder house?  Does he want to be a vigilante like someone suggested?  Then it looks like Harrison is becoming like dad.  But is he an altruistic killer like his father?  Instead of waiting until they have done something horrible to take matters into their own hand, did Harrison injure the dude to keep him from going on a shooting rampage?  Is Dexter going to teach him how to do righteous killing?  I am now beginning to think Harrison may kill the evil oil guy to impress the sheriff’s daughter.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  They kept on talking about Padre especially when regarding Alicia, I assumed it had nothing to do with fathers, but South Padre Island.  But she was milling around this whole time with antagonists of the season?  But claims she had no affiliation with the people who attacked Stand’s building?  And where did Dwight and Sherri come from? The last I remember of them, they were doing piledrivers on zombies at a wresting gym.  It looks like next week is going to fill in the gaps of what Alicia has been up to since being locked in the bomb shelter and they have quite a few answers they need to give because that reveal was just confusing. 

 

Oh, and speaking of people who just showed up randomly after being absent on screen for a while: where did Wendell come from?  Stand said he was in the building and safe last week, but that was Stand, so not the most reliable source.  Instead he just popped up this week as if we have not seen him for a season or two.  I do wonder if he will be part of Alicia’s flashback next week.  It would be weird he had this big moment losing his wheelchair and we only hear about secondhand and they do not actually show it.

 

Yellowjackets:  So no one decided to check the attic while it was still light out, just going to wait until it is dark and creepy to check it out?  But that body looks pretty old.  So the question is, did that person go up there to die or did someone kill them?  And what really killed that bear?  A pack of wolves is a reasonable answer, but too many years of watching television has taught me the most logistical answer is not always the most likely.  Could whatever killed the bear kill the person in the attic?  I am not the best at determining how long a body has been decomposing.  Somebody did carve that symbol into the trees.  Was it the dead person?  The person that killed the dead dude?

 

Then in present day, we learn that Travis survived the Canadian wilderness only to maybe be murdered twenty-five years later.  Is it by the person sending the postcards?  And what exactly was Nat right about?  Could the person Taissa hired be the one is sending out the postcards?  I just do not see how she would know that symbol and she would definitely not being killing Travis… I think. 

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  I was not expecting that globe to be such a big part of the show after we saw its creation recently.  But couldn’t running over the zombie at the right moment let one into the globe since there were some big holes in it? 

 

La Brea:  So dude is just going to watch from Seattle to Los Angeles with his one legged daughter?  I have been wondering why none of the girls on Yellowjackets have just tried walking to civilization.  Ontario north to south is only about 500 miles.  Seattle to Los Angeles more than doubles that, 1135 miles according to Google maps. Maybe more because it is probably best to stick to the coastline.  But even then, how do you know when you have reached L.A. without any visual cues?  But I figured out it would take about 16 days to walk going about twenty minutes mile pace for ten hours a day.  The Seattle to L.A. would probably to take five to six weeks minimum.  But hey, maybe they will find a prehistoric Seattle tribe that has a boat they can borrow.

 

So did Josh and Riley go to 1988 with Lily?  Did they go somewhere else?  If Lily went to a different time, how does the Lily that was in Seattle still exist?  What exactly did the scientist lady do to create these portals?  How did they build a massive building in 10,000 B.C.?  Who is Silas and is Isaiah really his grandkid?  Where are his parents?  So many questions going into season two.

 

Hawkeye:  So the Uncle has to be Mephisto, right?  Well, either that or Kingpin.  But after Ralph Boner, and the Power Broker turning out not to be the comic book accurate Power Broker, I am weary that Uncle will turn out to be who everyone assumes it to be.  But Clink came face to face with his old Ronan sword this week.  Should be interesting to see how he reacts to the knowledge of Kate’s future step-father having that.

 

The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles: Well, that was depressing.  What David did was wrong, but he had a hard time of it too.  But I really wish they did not spend an entire episode on it.  Every time you think they finally got some closure, they would show another clip of someone stoking the fires and everything went off the deep end again.  Enough already.  Schedule some fun for them to do.  It is time to move on.  If they keep needling people like this, and the whole Becky thing last season, future casts will start deciding not to do a reunion on mass.  Rumor has it they are going to skip over six seasons and do New Orleans next.  Though, I would mind them putting Julie in a room with Veronica and have them relive that time Julie almost released Veronica’s safety harness while going between two building.  Same neither have gone on the Senior Tour (though, again, rumor has it one will show up on season three).

 

Survivor:  When I saw how much time was left when they went to the final ad break, I thought that was going to be a spoiler because there seemed to be so little time left.   Except the new dumb twist (the fifth of this season?) was just a Let’s Make a Deal game that took less than a minute where Deshawn just had a one in three chance of staying in the game.  I was surprised more people did not sit out.  Especially someone like Xander who still had an Extra Vote and Idol to play with just in case.

 

Speaking of another dumb twist, surprisingly Lianna did not use her Shot in the Dark so that had no effect on the game as just one person used it.  Another surprise was Xander used his Extra Vote after holding onto it so long.  Was that going to expire too?  Why hold on to it this long only to save Ricard in case Erika flipped her vote? 

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: What a dumb move by Logan.  I would have definitely picked Devon just looking at it and it would have been the right pick because Devon has no endurance.  Then Emanuel wins but does not get to pick his team.  Instead YJ explains there are going to be two more elimination that night.  Are people going to be able to change?  All the women and Kyle are not dressed for elimination.  And then just how are they going to determine who gets sent into the Arena.  Or are all five people of each gender going to participate at the same time?

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: Do you believe in highly unlikely’s?!?!?  Prior to Nany coming on the scene, Casey was my all-time favorite contestant.  After some boring seasons in a row from Nany, Casey may have made it back to the top of that list after this week’s dominant performance.  How far she has come from arguably the weakest player in the history of the show, to come back after a decade and win her first ever daily challenge win, not part of a team. 

 

She then showed just how mature she has become in her time away from the show by winning graciously.  Just kidding.  She was drunk with power and I loved it.  But kudos to Nehemiah for coming up with the plan to throw in both people with Life Shields to keep them from saving Derrick.  You pretty much have to throw in the Life Shield winners every week now because of this. 

 

We also got a breakdown of the house with Derrick, Brad, Cohutta, Darrell, and MJ on one side with Nehemiah, Steve, Laterrian, Teck, and Melina on the other.  Except that leaves out all the other women and Tyler.  Obviously Jodi is Team Derrick and Casey threw Kendal in because she is close with Derrick.  Casey threw her lot in with Team Nehemiah this week as the winner, and Tina and Jodi have beef so you can add her to that team too.  But that still leaves Ayanna, Janelle, Jasmine, Jonna, and Tyler as question marks.

 

Guilty Party:  What exactly was in the new article that would have helped Toni?  She never found an alibi or any hole in the case about her.  Really, the best way to get Toni exonerated would be finding the real killer.  Oh, lucky for Beth, she knows the killer now because the moron just told her.  But the question going into the finale, can she find evidence that could hold up in court?

 

Around the Tubes: December 4, 2021

   

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on U2, Dead Asleep, Letterkenny, Chucky, Ariana Grande, Anthony Hamilton, From Apple Music With Love, and Best in Dough.

- Island Records, Interscope, and UMe announce the 30th Anniversary Edition release of U2’s seminal album Achtung Baby, with a special Standard and Deluxe vinyl release available now, and a 50-track digital box set available this Friday, December 3, 2021.  Thirty years ago, Bono described Achtung Baby as “the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree” while Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that “stripped-down and defying its old formulas, U2 has given itself a fighting chance for the 1990's”. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance and became one of the most significant records of the nineties and of U2’s career.  Recorded over six months at Hansa Studio in Berlin and Windmill Lane in Dublin, Achtung Baby is U2’s seventh studio album. Produced by long-time U2 collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno with Steve Lillywhite, Achtung Baby was engineered by Flood and released on November 18, 1991. Lead by The Fly, four other singles followed: Mysterious Ways, One, Even Better Than The Real Thing, and Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. Watch HERE:

- Check out the new trailer for the Hulu Original documentary "Dead Asleep," premiering Thursday, December 16th on Hulu. In a ground-breaking new spin on the true-crime genre, the documentary film “Dead Asleep,” produced in association with Sky Crime, flips the traditional thriller narrative to explore a deeper and more troubling mystery: Did a remorseful Randy Herman Jr. really commit a brutal murder in his sleep, or was it a convenient cover story? Pulse Films has secured exclusive access to Herman and his family, the defense and prosecution attorneys, journalists who covered the case, forensic psychiatrists and world experts in violent parasomnia (sleep-walking) to give viewers an inside look at the shocking twists and turns of the controversial crime.

- LETTERKENNY Season Ten premieres on Hulu Sunday, December 26th.  Get in the LETTERKENNY spirit with this new video!  The residents of Letterkenny belong to one of three groups: the Hicks, the Skids, and the Hockey Players, who are constantly feuding with each other over seemingly trivial matters that often end with someone getting their ass kicked. In season 10, McMurray and Wayne do some dickering, the Hicks attend a sausage party, the Hockey Players and Skids have a video game battle, the men of Letterkenny receive head to toe physicals…and that’s just for starters, buddy.

- The USA Network/SYFY hit series “Chucky” has been renewed for a second season.  SYFY is the home to the top two new cable series of 2021 in the 18-49 demo: “Resident Alien” followed by “Chucky” (live +7).  Across all platforms, “Chucky” has reached 9.5 million viewers in its first season.  “We’re thrilled to start pulling the strings on a second season of puppet mayhem with ‘Chucky,’” said executive producer Don Mancini. “Many thanks to our partners at USA, SYFY and UCP for their incredible support and guidance bringing ‘Chucky’ to the small screen, bigger than ever. And to the fans, Chucky sends his still-undying thanks and a message: ‘This isn’t over, not by a long shot. You better watch your backs in 2022!’”

- Republic Records has announced a December 10th release for Don’t Look Up (Soundtrack From the Netflix Film), available for pre-order HERE.  The soundtrack includes the brand-new track, “Just Look Up” featuring Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi, who star in the film—and perform the song—as pop music power couple Riley Bina and DJ Chello.  Click HERE to listen and HERE to watch the official lyric video.  “Just Look Up” was co-written by Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, 2-time Academy Award-nominated / Emmy winning composer Nicholas Britell and Oscar nominated songwriter Taura Stinson. 

- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multiplatinum singer, songwriter, producer, and actor Anthony Hamilton has set the tone for R&B in 2021 with his universally applauded tenth full-length and first album in five years, Love Is The New Black. It is available now as the flagship record under his own label My Music Box in partnership with BMG.  Listen to Love Is The New Black — HERE!!!  Upon arrival this fall, Love Is The New Black garnered rave reviews from the likes of NPR, who praised Hamilton’s “vulnerability” and called him “everyone’s little secret.” CLTURE hailed the album, writing that he “created another soundtrack for our lives.” Soul Tracks wrote that the project is as “cool, captivating and charismatic as the hue he's paying tribute to.” In total, the record has already gathered five million global streams to date.

- Apple Music is getting into the giving spirit this holiday season with the launch of From Apple Music With Love, a special countdown to the holidays. Each day at 8:00a PST from November 26 - December 3, Apple Music subscribers will receive exclusive gifts from some of the biggest and brightest names in music, stamped with love and ready for unwrapping. Gifts range from exclusive EPs in Spatial Audio, to a behind-the scenes documentary films, to special holiday playlists, radio episodes, DJ mixes, and beyond.   Today’s exclusive gift comes from Elton John: an exclusive look inside his recent collaborations album, The Lockdown Sessions. In this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, Elton and some of the musical partners from The Lockdown Sessions discuss via FaceTime the stories and process of creating this most unique of albums during lockdown. Learn more about the making of the album through his chats with Stevie Nicks, Eddie Vedder, Miley Cyrus, Charlie Puth, Brandi Carlile, Damon Albarn, Olly Alexander, and many more.  Tune in every day at 8am PST to keep counting down the holidays with an exclusive gift every day on Apple Music HERE. 

- Hulu today announced new Original series "Best in Dough", the latest addition to its delectable lineup of unscripted food series, from Alfred Street Industries, Vox Media Studios and Majordomo Media. The first season will consist of 10 episodes.  In a world where there seems to be little agreement on anything, there is one great unifier… the universal love of pizza. "Best In Dough" brings together pizza obsessed competitors from all walks of life to showcase their pizza slinging skills and battle it out for $10,000. Fire up the oven, the first ever pizza competition is on!  "Best in Dough" is hosted by Wells Adams with head judge Chef Daniele Uditi of Pizzana, and features Chef Millie Peartree, comedian and food influencer Eunji Kim and baker Bryan Ford serving as judges.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 28, 2021

 

Dexter: New Blood:  Oh no, Dexter almost foiled by another CSI guy.  Pretty naïve for him to think some other professional would not think of it.  At least he has gotten rid of the body now.  I find it interesting that Dexter claimed the father was lying about his son face-timing him, my first thought was that he was so drunk he was making up.  But speaking of disposing of bodies, what exactly does that dude do with the bodies?  It looked like he was embalming it, which means he preserving them, so where does he put them?  Then we have a true crime podcaster showing up because apparently every murder show needs a true crime podcast attach to it now.  This new one is no Mabel Mora.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  Well, that was confusing with Al and her filming and trying to figure out when everything was happening when.

 

Yellowjackets:  Oh wow, Misty is really a psychopath.  Sure they teased that in the premiere with her hunting down, killing, and eating someone.  But we actually saw it this week as she destroyed the black box.  But are black boxes not as indestructible as we were meant to believe in that a teenage girl can destroy it?  Or is it some poetic license?  There does seem to be some poetic license that they cannot find them for nineteen month.  It really cannot be that hard to find a plane in the Canadian wilderness.  But Ricci also seemed to grow up to be a psychopath because it certainly seems like she did something to Nat’s car.  But the big shock was a pair of guys survived the crash, and technically the coach, and at the very least Travis makes it out of the Canadian wilderness.  Though being the only guys surrounded by a bunch of girls may not be as great there as it would be anywhere else in society.

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  So their plan was to get locked inside the facility.  Okay.  Let us see how this plays out with two episodes left.

 

La Brea:  So we have a Back to the Future situation where if the kid does not go through the portal, his kids would die.  But if he does not go through the portal, wouldn’t his wife’s complete life change and would possibly be transported to wherever she would have been had she not met her husband?  This is kind of getting into Endgame levels of nonsensical time travel rules.  But it looks like Lily will also go through the portal, but will any of the adults also make the trip?

 

Hawkeye:  The first episode was a bit of a bore whenever Hailee Steinfeld was not on screen.  I could care less about Clint and his kids.  But at least they left town.  Thankfully things picked up o\in the second episode after they finally crossed paths.  Hopefully it keeps up that pace now.  And just put Steinfeld in every MCU movie and show from her on out.

 

The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles: Well that was rough.  I think the question is no longer if David gets booted again, but how many episodes will he last.  I would be shocked if he is still there by the end of episode three.

 

Survivor:  This was reminiscent of that time Wardog got Wentworth out and was quickly voted out the very next week.  Except Wardog had other allies in the game at the time, Ricard voted out his only ally and biggest shield.  Will Ricard quickly follow out his shield like Wardog will?  Tune in next week.  But he may need to go on an Immunity run because they were keen on getting him out last week.  Though the lack of allies may be to his advantage because it does make him look like less of a threat.  

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Holy fork, Emy is so annoying, where do they find these people?  Is it really that had to find non-annoying people?  But then again the other half of the cast is a bore.  Maybe they should bring back whoever was the casting director back from the Real World and Road Rules days because as The Senior Tour shows, there are plenty of entertain people on that show.  But this was yet another challenge that gave a steep advantage to whoever had the most people.  Granted Emerald almost lost.  Given the poor conditioning of Devin, Amanda, and Nany, Emerald may actually be at a disadvantage going into the finals if they keep all their players.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: Ooof, those teams were a bit lopsided.  I wonder how long they will continue to be allowed to pick their teams.  Plus they just recycled the Tetris pieces from the main show’s elimination round.  But at least this show has some entertaining characters.  Though Ayanna had one of the biggest heel turns in the history of the show, helping Leah complete the elimination last week to just completely throwing Sophia under the bus then getting into the driver’s seat and running over her herself.  Ouch.

Around the Tubes: November 27, 2021

  

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Ray Donovan: The Movie, Candified: Home For The Holidays, Super Pumped, Claire Rosinkranz, Licorice Pizza, Glass Animals, Taylor Swift, and Hulu Originals Winter 2021-22 Programming Slate.

- SHOWTIME has released the trailer and key art for RAY DONOVAN: THE MOVIE, set to premiere on Friday, January 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will replay across all platforms on Saturday, January 15 at 8:15 p.m. and Sunday, January 16 at 8:15 p.m. The film follows the hit drama series’ seven-season run on the network and stars Liev Schreiber in his Emmy^® nominated role. Schreiber also co-wrote the script with series showrunner David Hollander, who directed the film. Original cast members reprising their roles include Eddie Marsan as Ray’s brother Terry, Dash Mihok as Ray’s brother Bunchy, Pooch Hall as the Donovan’s half-brother Daryll, Kerris Dorsey as Ray’s daughter Bridget, Katherine Moennig as Lena, along with Kerry Condon as Molly Sullivan and Oscar^® winner Jon Voight as Mickey Donovan. During its 82-episode run from 2013 to 2020, the series earned multiple Emmy, Writers Guild and Critics’ Choice award nominations.

- It's almost here! All episodes of "Candified: Home For The Holidays" premiere this Wednesday, December 1st on Hulu. Get a taste of this sweet series with the new trailer!  The challenge - create a life-size house made of ...CANDY!  Watch as Candy Queen Jackie Sorkin and her team of candy artists design, glue, melt and shape hundreds of thousands of sweet pieces to build a fantasy come to life….just in time for the holidays.

- SHOWTIME has announced that SUPER PUMPED: THE BATTLE FOR UBER, the first installment of a new anthology series, will premiere on Sunday, February 27 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Starring Emmy^® winner Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Emmy winner Kyle Chandler (Bloodline, Friday Night Lights) and Oscar^® and Emmy nominee Uma Thurman (Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction), the first season is based on Mike Isaac’s bestselling book Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber. Brian Koppelman and David Levien (BILLIONS, Rounders) and Beth Schacter (Soundtrack) executive produce, write and serve as showrunners on the series.  SUPER PUMPED:THE BATTLE FOR UBER tells the story of one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and most destructive unicorns, Uber. The season pivots on Travis Kalanick (Gordon-Levitt), Uber’s hard-charging CEO who was ultimately ousted in a boardroom coup, and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his mentor Bill Gurley (Chandler), the plainspoken, brilliant Texan venture capitalist who bets his sterling reputation on Uber’s success – and then has to live with the consequences. Thurman stars as Arianna Huffington, the savvy businesswoman and co-founder of The Huffington Post, who was an Uber board member. The SHOWTIME series will depict the roller-coaster ride of the upstart transportation company, embodying the highs and lows of Silicon Valley. Even amid the radical upheaval generated within the global tech capital, Uber stands out as both a marvel and a cautionary tale, featuring internal and external battles that ripple with unpredictable consequences. The series also stars Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Kerry Bishé (Halt and Catch Fire, PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS), Jon Bass (Miracle Workers), Bridget Gao Hollitt (Home and Away) and Babak Tafti (Succession).

- Continuing a breakthrough 2021, 17-year-old Southern California singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz unveils a new song entitled “don’t miss me” today via slowplay and Republic Records.  Listen to “don’t miss me”—HERE.  Once again, she gets in her feels over the bounce of an unpredictable and undeniable soundscape. Uplifted by boisterous horns and handclaps, a jazz-y rhythm underscores her energetic delivery as she admits, “I can’t take my feelings, I can’t trust my heart, so I’ll never take my chances, because I know I’ll break apart.”

- Republic Records releases the highly anticipated Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack out now. The album accompanies the new film from eight-time Academy® Award-nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson which opens today in select New York and Los Angeles Theaters and across the country on Christmas Day December 25^th, 2021 via United Artists Releasing.  The soundtrack will also be available on vinyl via a limited edition first pressing on December 10^th with a special red vinyl available only at indie record stores.  Experience the Licorice Pizza Original Motion Picture Soundtrack—HERE and limited edition first pressing vinyl HERE.

- Critically acclaimed global sensations Glass Animals received a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Best New Artist. This is the first time the band has been nominated at the GRAMMY® Awards.  Frontman Dave Bayley reacted to the nomination on socials (see post here), “can’t believe it!!! when starting this little project a grammy nomination was beyond our wildest dreams. to be on the list feels wonderful after thinking we might have lost it all. this past year it was tough for anyone to look at the news, get out of bed, or do pretty much anything…much less make yourself vulnerable and release music. so to anybody who put something out: you deserve a bloody medal. we survived it because of the support from everyone who listened/shared/believed/encouraged in any way. thank you. this is because of you. and this is for you. you are all as much a part of this record as any of us ass glanimals. love forever. dave and co.”

-  Taylor Swift has made history once again presenting the definitive version of her 2012 classic, Red (Taylor’s Version).  Marking her 10th album to move over 1 Million album equivalents during its release week and arriving to worldwide critical acclaim, Red (Taylor’s Version) adds a brilliant new chapter to her legacy.  Red (Taylor’s Version) boasts a staggering 30 songs, including nine previously unreleased tracks – “Better Man (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Phoebe Bridgers], “Babe (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Message in a Bottle (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Chris Stapleton], “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” “Run (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [feat. Ed Sheeran], “The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault),” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” [10 Minute Version].

- Hulu Originals Winter 2021-22 Programming Slate (link to trailer in title name where available)

FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

THE HOUSEWIFE & THE SHAH SHOCKER - Premiere Date: November 29, 2021

THE NEW YORK TIMES PRESENTS: TO LIVE AND DIE IN ALABAMA - Premiere Date: December 3, 2021

DEAD ASLEEP - Premiere Date: December 16, 2021 - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

MOTHER/ANDROID - Premiere Date: December 17, 2021

SEX APPEAL - Premiere Date: January 14, 2022 - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

  

SERIES

TASTE THE NATION: HOLIDAY EDITION - Premiere Date: November 4, 2021 (binge)

SOLAR OPPOSITES HOLIDAY SPECIAL - Premiere Date: November 22, 2021

CITY OF ANGELS | CITY OF DEATH - Premiere Date: November 24, 2021 (binge)

CANDIFIED: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - Premiere Date: December 1, 2021 (binge)

PEN15 - Premiere Date: December 3, 2021 (binge)

CROSSING SWORDS - Premiere Date: December 10, 2021 (binge)

LETTERKENNY - Premiere Date: December 26, 2021 (binge)

HOW I MET YOUR FATHER - Premiere Date: January 18, 2022 (weekly)

PAM & TOMMY - Premiere Date: February 2, 2022 (weekly)

DOLLFACE - Premiere Date: February 11, 2022 (binge) - NEW ANNOUNCEMENT

 

KIDS

HOLLY HOBBIE - Premiere Date: November 23, 2021 (binge)

MADAGASCAR: A LITTLE WILD HOLIDAY GOOSE CHASE - Premiere Date: November 26, 2021

TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA - Premiere Date: December 9, 2021 (binge)

DRAGONS: THE NINE REALMS - Premiere Date: December 23, 2021(binge)

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 21, 2021

  

Dexter: New Blood:  So Dexter killed the son of the local serial killer?  Considering the previous seasons, I should have seen that one coming.  But does that dude, who seeming got pay off someone to take the wrap for something his son did money from his truck stop, also run the shelter?  He does charitably donate supplies to the fire department.  But running a shelter seems like it take a lot of work especially if you need to hide that you are not letting your guest leave before killing them.  But I guess that explains why so many indigenous women wind up missing in the area.  One more thing I found confusing, didn’t Dexter and Harrison drive over some blood.  It looked like Dexter intentionally drove over it, but it does not seem like that would cover it up.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  The Walking Dead is ten years old, spanning three different show, but I do not remember a zombie death as entertaining as someone giving a tombstone pile driver to smash a skull.  It is a complete absurd and logistically stupid way to kill a zombie but I loved every second of it.  I am struggling to remember anything else that happened this week.

 

Yellowjackets:  I did not want to put any predictions into my review of this show, buy I have a very strong belief that despite there not being an older version of her in the cast, Jackie is not dead.  Not only that, she is number one on my list of suspects of who sent out the postcards to everyone.  If I am right, hopefully they cast one of my nineties teen star suggestions I made in my review.  Keri Russell probably best looks the part.  Too bad Emmy Rossum is too young, as she looks like a dead ringer for older Ella Purnell.  It also look like the naked chick running in the flash… um what do you call something that flashes forward and back to the two main timeline?  But anyways, that really looked like Lottie to me.

 

The Walking Dead: World Beyond:  Hey scientist lady, how about spending less time banging the door to get someone to let you out and spend more time figuring out a way to bash in the zombie’s skull.  How can someone survive that long into a zombie apocalypse and die so easily?  But anyway.  The CRM is just going to kill everyone who is not them for no apparent reason.  Well that is stupid.

 

La Brea:  Well, that is a plot twist; the dad was having visions of the prehistoric era but memories.  That would explain why he was abandoned.   But that just opens a whole can of worms.  How did he get to modern times?  Where did he and his grandfather even come from?  Where, who, are his parents?  Does anyone else get to modern times with him?  It is weird how invested I am in this show after watching it as a joke.

 

Dopesick:  I mostly scrolled by headlines involving opioids because thankfully I and no one I know have been affected by the drug so I was kind of going in blind to the finale.  I know people still refer to it as a crisis so I figured that Oxy never went away.  But it is really infuriating that our government balked at prosecuting anyone even though they were caught red-handed lying to Congress.

 

Survivor:  We have seen a countless amount of times where someone gets targeted early in the episode only to end up winning Immunity, but this was the first time remembering when two people get targeting for split voting and they both ended up getting Immunity. But Xander finally got his bluff called, managed to not play his Idol at the merger after a good bluff, was smart enough to not use his Idol last week when Ricard poorly bluffed telling him he need his Idol.  But without Ricard pouring it on way too heavy, was feeling himself too much by not playing his Idol for Evie.

 

Xander may really regret that (he could have also used his Extra Vote to get out Liane that way and save his Idol).  So now it is Black alliance (and Ricard) with five and Xander on the bottom with Erika and Heather.  What could have been 4v4 is now down two numbers so know you have a one in three chance to properly play your Idol, and the other alliance has two Idols to play with.  So basically Xander really needs than Shan / Deshawn feud to boil over very quickly for you to have a chance.

 

The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies: Good riddance.  And TJ stop saying we will see Josh again.  Please never ask him back ever.  But of course Kyle beat Josh in the Lair, not only because he is uncoordinated and cannot even hit a swinging bell, but we still have not seen that scene from the mid-season promo of Kyle and Devin arguing about the latter possibly sending the former in.  So I guess we will have to wait two more weeks for that scene to happen for the next guys week to roll around.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: It is time for all the women to be scared of Ayanna.  It looked like she would have dominated both guys in that elimination.  Though, she was the only one smart enough to shorten the chains which makes it resistance less.  You know the old saying, work smarter not harder. She likely will have a free ride to the final because unless she comes in last again, I do not see anyone throwing her name out.  I also do not see anyone mocking the clothes of the winners again either.

 

Guilty Party:  I am with Marco, you just cannot write of naked pictures on someone’s phone as just being a source.  If that is the case, delete them immediately, you just do not keep them around.

 

Big Sky:  So is the marshal going to go back and find Ronald?  Seems like he figured it out.  And it does not seem like T-Loc is long for this world.  I am guessing the cartel will find him sooner than later, but will he turn on the kids and tell them they still have the money?

 

The Blacklist:  Turns I was right agent Park is pregnant, or was.  That was sad.