Around the Tubes: January 22, 2022

    

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 Billions, John Mellencamp, Joy Oladokun, Kiss, Conan Gray, The Weeknd, Everything’s Gonna Be all White, Yellowjackets, and Bite Size Halloween.

- SHOWTIME has released the upcoming season six premiere episode of the hit drama series BILLIONS^® for free sampling on streaming platforms and on demand. The episodes will be available from January 21 to April 10 on Showtime.com, Sho.com, and YouTube, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME partner platforms including Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV App, Roku, Sling TV, Xfinity, Spectrum, DISH, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, Cox, ATT Uverse, Verizon Fios and more.  Starring Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Paul Giamatti, Corey Stoll and Maggie Siff. BILLIONS is created and executive produced by showrunners Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Season six is also executive produced by Beth Schacter. The series was also created by Andrew Ross Sorkin. BILLIONS will officially premiere on Sunday, January 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

- John Mellencamp’s new album Strictly A One-Eyed Jack is out now on Republic Records. Stream and purchase it HERE and listen to the new album single “Did You Say Such A Thing” HERE.  The album—written and produced by Mellencamp himself at his own Belmont Mall Studios in Bloomington, Indiana—features three collaborations with Bruce Springsteen including the first album single “Wasted Days.”

- Acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician Joy Oladokun’s new song, “Keeping the Light On,” is out today via Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records.—listen/share HERE.  Reflecting on the song, Oladokun shares, “My next body of work is about the human will to keep trying in the midst of all the tragedy that we’ve seen and perpetrated. ‘Keeping the Light On’ is my little musical way of saying it’s really hard to keep trying but I think part of life is doing so anyway and seeing what magic comes out of it.”

- KISS premiered the first unreleased live version of “Lick It Up” from KISS – Off The Soundboard: Live In Virginia Beach, being released on March 11. The original album version of “Lick It Up” was released in 1983 and is the title track from the band’s platinum selling release Lick It Up. The song quickly became a fan favorite with the promotional video featuring the band without makeup for the first time.  KISS – Off The Soundboard: Live In Virginia Beach was recorded at the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre on July 25, 2004 and is the second in a series of official live bootlegs released by the band. Available as a 3-LP standard black vinyl set, a 2-CD set, a limited edition 3-LP set pressed on 180g opaque green vinyl, and to stream and download, Live In Virginia Beach can now be pre-ordered and pre-saved, here.

- Gearing up for a massive year, platinum selling, chart topping, pop singer and songwriter pop singer songwriter Conan Gray unveils a brand-new single entitled “Jigsaw” today.  Listen to “Jigsaw” HERE via Republic Records.

- The Weeknd’s album, Dawn FM, continues it’s global domination by setting a new record on the Billboard Global 200 chart - charting 24 songs, the most ever by a solo male artist.  The compilation The Highlights also occupies the Billboard Top 10 at #6,  alongside Dawn FM, earning The Weeknd a rare two albums in the top 10.

- In honor of Black History Month, SHOWTIME Documentary Films is premiering the provocative new three-part docu-series everything’s gonna be all white, which explores the history of race in America from the perspective of people of color. From the ever-shifting classifications of racial identity, to the generational effects of racism on housing, education and healthcare, to the singular fight of Indigenous populations to reclaim their land from constant encroachment, the docu-series delves deeply into the root causes of racial inequities in this country. Directed by Emmy^® nominee Sacha Jenkins (BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF RICK JAMES), the first part of the docu-series will premiere on-air on Friday, February 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. SHOWTIME will release all three parts, along with a bonus episode, to its subscribers On Demand at 12:01 a.m. ET, prior to the on-air debut of the first episode later that night at 8 p.m. ET/PT. 

- The hit drama YELLOWJACKETS on Sunday completed its first season on SHOWTIME as the second-most streamed series in network history, behind only the recently aired DEXTER: NEW BLOOD. Buoyed by its inclusion on nearly 50 year-end “Best of” television lists, a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and snowballing buzz (yeah, we went there) on social media, YELLOWJACKETS delivered one of the biggest SHOWTIME debut seasons ever. The series has averaged over 5 million weekly viewers across platforms – the highest for a freshman series on the network since BILLIONS in 2016.  Sunday’s YELLOWJACKETS season finale amassed 1.3 million viewers across platforms on Sunday alone, more than doubling its audience from the series premiere. Streaming viewership for YELLOWJACKETS has quadrupled over the course of the season. Last week, the series received WGA Award nominations for Best Drama Series and Best New Series. In December, SHOWTIME renewed YELLOWJACKETS for a second season.

- The partnership between 20th Digital Studio and Hulu is set to include nine horror features over the next few years. The films will expand directly on the shorts from the “BITE SIZE HALLOWEEN” collection, featuring previous writers or directors, or inspired by past shorts. The films deal with topical social issues such as mental health, ecological collapse, reproductive rights, interracial adoption and online hysteria.  Horror short film APPENDAGE by writer/director Anna Zlokovic and starring Rachel Sennott (SHIVA BABY) and Eric Roberts, now playing at the Sundance Film Festival, will expand to a Hulu Original feature film with 20th Digital Studio as part of the nine-film slate currently in development.

Previewing Billions Season Six

 

I do not know what it is, but Damien Lewis always stays a season or four too long on a Showtime show.  Maybe he is just a great hang.  But he spent three seasons on Homeland even though had he blown himself up on the season finale of the first season, it may have made that one of greatest season in the history of television.  But he stuck around; the second season was fine but had some diminishing returns, though season three was one of the worst seasons in the history of television.

 

Shortly after being written of off Homeland, Lewis then showed up on Billions and once again, the show would have been much better in the long time had it written him off after a season or two.  The cat and mouse routine between his hedge fund manager Bobby Axelrod and Paul Giamatti’s District Attorney was fine for the first two season but, once again, diminishing returns for subsequent seasons.  The show would have been much better off had Chuck had a new antagonist each season (or even better, had it been a limited season where they both ended up in prison cells next to each other at the end of it).

 

Though this time it feels like it was not a creative reason as to why Lewis was written off the show because nothing really has changed for the new season except for the person sitting in Bobby’s chair and the name on the side of the building.  Dollar Bill and McPhee took off at the end of last season, but everyone else returns whether they like it or not. 

 

Sure, the show wants you to think there are big changes, the season starts with Chuck on a tractor, Wendy looks like she is working as an ice cream maker, Sacker is doing combat training, Taylor is watching The Bachelor (or maybe random engagement videos), Wags is actually exercising, and Bobby’s replacement Mike Prince is, well, that is hard to explain.

 

Okay, there is a slight difference between Bobby and Mike Prince; Bobby would cut every corner to win.  Mike Prince on the other hand is a Boy Scout (or wants you to think that) who wants to do things with honor and want you to know just how on the straight and narrow he is.  Basically the worst kind of foe for Chuck, a guy who is not going to slip up because he cannot be tempted in doing something illegal.  Or so we are led to believe, he did double cross Chuck to get Bobby out of the way.

 

While the show wants you to think there are big changes  by the opening montage, it is still the very same Billions at its course and even pull off their way overused “One week earlier” trope and even doubles down on that trope by dropping a “Two weeks ago” title card while we were already a week in the past.  And really, nothing says Billions more than starting the episode with a classic rock song and then ending it with a rap song that samples the exact same classic rock song that opened the season.

 

Billions airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.

Who the fork is Lottie Matthews!?!?!

 

Well, there went my two biggest theories for Yellowjackets: that Lottie was pit girl and that Jackie was left for dead but has come back to haunt the remaining girl and that Lottie was the Pit Girl.  The thing is, Jackie was my back up for Pit Girl and she seemed to be the consensus for the top two for most people (the person was wearing her necklace).  Stupid casting red herring.  Those predictions were basically made mostly because Ella Purnell was a full cast member while Courtney Eaton (kind of wonder if she was cast solely for her name) was just recurring.  Though Coach Ben is a cast member and I am shocked he made it this far.  But they better sign up Eaton for future seasons soon now.

 

But I guess I can just slide Lottie into my Jackie theory that she was left for dead and also stole Shauna’s wilderness baby.  But how many people stayed with her?  There were four people who kidnapped Nat, including one dude.  Javi?  Wilderness baby?  Has Lottie recruited more people to her cult?  I did not notice any of the chicks having facial scares though we saw Van worship at the altar of Lottie.  But then again, so did Misty and she apparently left.  Or did she?  Tai is still doing ritualistic killings; I am guess to help win her election.  Of course, this begs the question; Simone is just now noticing there was a draft in the basement?

 

So we do have confirmation of one other survivor who made it to 2021.  But another of my predictions, that there would be another survivor that would turn up at the reunion also turned out to be wrong.  Though we did get a surprise attendee in Allie who I believe was just a freshman in 1996.  That actress just kept on throwing heaters.  The Rewatchables Podcast has something called the Dion Waiters award for the character who puts up a lot of shots in a little amount of times and that actress really was gunning for that award.  One nit-pick about the reunion, the trophy case only had fifteen players on the team.  The show has been fast and loose with the numbers, but there were nineteen survivors, minus Coach, Travis, Javi, and Misty, plus the three that can be seen dead in the cabin, plus Allie who was not on the flight should be nineteen.

 

Misty Psycho watch:  I knew there was no way Misty was going to let the fixer go even though it seemed like she was Stockholming her.  She definitely showed she knew how to get rid of a body earlier in the episode, but lacing the cigarette that she threw away was some next level planning.  Then Nat asking Shauna if she remembered how to cut up a body was chilling  Speaking of dead bodies, Callie was weirdly stone-faced was Adam’s missing report came on television.  Besides Pit Girl’s identity, that was the big hanging thread from this season, who was that dude?  That he had no digital footprint seems like a huge thing.  But why drag that mystery into season two?  Or is there no reveal coming and he was just some dude.  There were people thinking he was working with Callie and they were the blackmailers.  Other people thought Misty sent him but she had no such reaction to his body.  Either he is nobody or part of Lottie’s cult.  Probably the latter.

 

Despite getting everything wrong so far, that is not going to stop me making more predictions for season two.  Like I previous suggested, I will slide Lottie into my Jackie was left for dead in the wilderness and also stole Shauna’s wilderness baby prediction.  Pit Girl kind of has to be Mari at this point because she is the only dark haired girl left in 2016 that we do not know is alive in 2021 yet (while I love it, the Callie is Pit Girl theory makes no sense since Van clearly looks down on the dead body in that scene).  Unless they bring one of the background girls to the forefront, by my math, there are still six unnamed Yellowjackets that are still alive as of now.

 

Then, who else joins Lottie cult?  We learned last week, Lottie is the Antler Queen.  We have always known Misty was a part of it.  It also tuned out Van’s Co-Ed Naked Soccer shirt was not a red herring, but that is really her.  That leaves four other people from the dinner scene in the premiere.  Could it be simply the four other people we knew survived: Shauna, Tai, Nat, and Travis?  Could it be the four people who abducted Nat?  Considering her shrine and her ties to Van, Tai seems like a lock.  Nat asks Shauna if she remembers how to cut up a body so they seem like a possibilities.  Unless Javi, who was last seen running away from Shauna, ended up like Jackie, seems like he would be willing to join a cult too.  Yet, I am not entirely sure.  It is going to be a long wait until season two.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 16, 2022

 

Dexter: New Blood:  So we are never going to learn just how Kurt found out that Dexter killed his son?  That is something fairly big to yada yadda.  But I guess that was a fitting to Dexter Morgan’s story.  Well, having his son kill him so he could not kill anyone else.  Not the part where Angela being so adamant for Dexter to be locked up for killing the evil people, but letting Harrison go and acting like she killed Dexter.  I just hope they do not try and spin off a Harrison show with Dexter talking to him, that actor was really boring.

 

Claws:  My prediction of a Desna and Jenn split really had a roller coaster.  First Desna let Jenn run the new show.  Expect one of the first things Jenn does was assault a rival which set them up for blackmail.  Oh, to avoid getting sued for assault, Desna just shot her son.  Huh.  She is willing to sue you for assault, maybe she will report you for murder.  But since Desna is the star, of course that did not hvppen.

 

Yellowjackets:  So Lottie said something is coming and they will not be hungry for long.  Well, that was ominous.  She also said he doesn’t belong to her about Travis to Jackie, but her visions can be fairly vague so maybe not.  But if it is those two, who does Travis belong to?  By the looks of it, everyone else.  But a letdown with the ritualistic killing because we know Travis was not going to die (though it cross my mind for a half a second that maybe Javi was posing as adult Travis, but alas).

 

I was halfway through the season by the time everyone got to watch the first episode and I was surprised with how obsessed Reddit was with whom they dubbed the “Antler Queen” was and they finally got that reveal.  Though that does not necessarily mean Lottie will still be the one wearing antlers when we get to that scene in the Pilot, but my theory that Lottie is the girl in the pit is not looking very good.  One thing that may complicate things is it looks like Misty’s wheels were spinning and maybe she does more drugging and tries to out Lottie as she looks to be the leader of the Wild Bunch clan.  I got strong leader vibes from her in that scene from the Pilot.

 

Another theory that went up in flames this week was that Jackie was sending the postcards (as well as another Reddit theory that Adam was really Javi).  While I found the reveal that Jeff was behind this the whole time because he owed Loan Sharks disappointing, I weirdly enjoyed Adult Jackie’s storyline for the first time this season.  I loved how Jeff said she could not get away with the murder because they watched too much Dateline to know she could not.  But still, all of this does not add up.  Like Nat brought up, why would Jeff murder Travis?  And who cleared out his bank account?  If Jeff cleared it out, why would he still need to blackmail Tai and Nat?  So maybe my Jackie theory is still in play. 

 

I also have a prediction that Jackie steals Shauna’s wilderness baby and if that baby is what Lottie says is coming that will make them hungry no more, I could see Jackie being the one sane person not tripping on shrooms and heads off into the wilderness to keep it from being eaten.   I do wonder if Jeff knows about the wilderness baby.  After reading Shauna’s diaries, I was expecting he would bring that up.  Did she tell him already and claims it died out there?

 

Misty psycho watch:  has she actually become friends with the person she kidnapped?  I thought maybe the reporter was just playing along hoping being nice would get her released but maybe she has been successfully Stockholmed because she did not even call for help when Nat was at the door.  That would have been fun, Misty saying she would help clean up the body if Nat did not tell anyone about the person in her basement.  But we should definitely get the reunion in the finale and hopefully we learn of another survivor or five.  Though, who else graduated with them?  Van seems like the only other Senior on the team, maybe Lottie.

 

The Book of Boba Fett:  Oh wow, bringing in the guest stars.  First Steven Root.  Then Young Nat from Yellowjackets pops up still sporting that mullet with bangs, but at least it was one color.  But maybe not wise to make her do an accent.  Which was confusing because this is Luke Skywalker’s planet and he had an American accent.  Then the guy who brought in the monster for the Hutt’s really looked like Danny Trejo and when they finally gave him a close up I realize, oh, wait, that really is Danny Trejo.

 

The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles: Poor David, could not make it to the end of another season.  But two straight seasons where a cast member did not make it to the end.  Maybe for season three, stop goading them in to these past traumas until someone breaks.  Just let them have fun.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: That was some weird editing, Darrell and Janelle were in second place while Nehemiah and Melina were dead last and wasted a lot of time going to the caves first.  Sure Darrell and Janelle went to the memory game not realizing they read the wrong directions, but then got the full memory board the very next try.  So how exactly did Nehemiah and Melina, who twisted her ankle, edge out Darrell and Janelle?  Did the bike just really gas you out for the rest of that part and just one team doing it first and the other doing it last make the difference.

 

But it seems like production did not expect everyone to take that long to run TJ’s final because they had to use headlights to provide lighting because the sun went down before anyone could finish.  It seems like production forgets these are middle aged people doing these challenges.  But the team that came in third (and only because the other team quit) ended up winning because Darrell still did not learn to read.

 

The Blacklist:  One thing that never crossed my mind was how was Dembe involved with Lizzy’s murder.  I really rather they not go back to that storyline because it was bad enough the first time.

Around the Tubes: January 15, 2022

   

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  Dollface, The Legend of Vox Machina, Attica, The Great, Betty White, Adventure Time, The Reboot, Dexter: New Blood, The Plot, Eddie Vedder, Glass Animals, and Bastille.

- Check out the official trailer and key art for the upcoming season of Hulu’s original comedy series "Dollface"!  “Dollface” returns with 10 all-new episodes Friday, February 11, on Hulu.  Season two follows Jules (Kat Dennings) and her best friends - post pandemic, post heartbreak, heading toward turning thirty. Having successfully reunited with her friends (Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky), Jules must now balance keeping their group together as the women navigate work, love, and a deeper relationship with each of themselves.

- Prime Video starts off the new year with the release of the official trailer for The Legend of Vox Machina, the upcoming highly anticipated adult animated fantasy-adventure series from Critical Role and Titmouse. The first season will consist of 12 episodes, with three episodes premiering every week starting January 28 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.   Based on the beloved characters and adventures of Critical Role’s first livestreamed tabletop role-playing game (RPG) campaign, The Legend of Vox Machina is an animated fantasy-adventure series for adults that follows Vox Machina, a band of misfits with a fondness for boozing and brawling. In a desperate attempt to pay off their mounting bar tab, these unlikely heroes end up on a quest to save the realm of Exandria from dark magical forces. From a sinister necromancer to a powerful curse, the group confronts a variety of obstacles that not only test their skills, but also the strength of their bond.

- Leading into Martin Luther King Jr. Day, SHOWTIME is releasing its Oscar-shortlisted documentary feature ATTICA for free, beginning today. Available for viewing through the end of Black History Month, ATTICA is on Sho.com and YouTube, as well as across multiple SHOWTIME streaming and on demand platforms.  SHOWTIME delves deep inside the bloodiest prison rebellion in U.S. history with ATTICA, a feature-length documentary from Emmy^®-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson (Freedom Riders, The Murder of Emmett Till) and co-director Traci A. Curry. Named one of the National Board of Review’s Top 5 Documentaries of 2021, the film recounts in vivid detail the five-day 1971 prison rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York, which took the lives of 29 inmates and 10 hostages – the deadliest single day of violence Americans inflicted on each other since the Civil War.

- Hulu has renewed The Great, from Tony McNamara (THE FAVOURITE), for a 10-episode, third season. The critically acclaimed second season debuted on Hulu on Friday, November 19, 2021 and is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 100%. The series is currently nominated for three Critics’ Choice Awards. 

- To honor and celebrate what would have been Betty's 100th birthday, on Monday, January 17, starting at 9 a.m. ET, Game Show Network will air a 4-hour marathon of $25,000 PYRAMID episodes featuring the golden girl of game shows. 

- h My Glob! Get ready embark on a magical journey through the Land of Ooo and beyond when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings the Emmy-nominated Max Original, Adventure Time: Distant Lands to Blu-ray and DVD on March 8, 2022.  Binge all four specials from the limited series and explore the unseen corners of their world with characters both familiar and brand-new. Adventure Time: Distant Lands is priced to own on Blu-ray for $19.98 SRP ($24.98 in Canada) and on DVD for $14.98 SRP ($19.98 in Canada).

- Hulu has ordered the Original comedy Reboot, from creator and executive producer Steve Levitan and 20^th Television to series.  Judy Greer will star opposite previously announced Keegan-Michael Key and Johnny Knoxville, replacing Leslie Bibb in the role of BREE.  Steeped in the irony of the television industry’s continuing inclination to “reboot” hit shows from the past, the series begins when Hulu reboots an early 2000’s family sitcom, forcing its dysfunctional cast back together. Now they must deal with their unresolved issues in today’s fast-changing world.  

- With its finale on Sunday, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD wrapped up a record-shattering season for SHOWTIME. For its 10-episode run, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD is averaging over 8 million weekly viewers across all platforms, becoming the most-watched series in SHOWTIME history. With a total of 3 million viewers on Sunday alone, this was the biggest SHOWTIME finale in more than eight years, surpassing the season-three finale of HOMELAND in 2013. The finale – written by series showrunner Clyde Phillips – also set a new SHOWTIME record with 2 million viewers from streaming and on demand platforms on Sunday.  Thanks in large part to DEXTER: NEW BLOOD and new drama series YELLOWJACKETS, SHOWTIME delivered the most signups in its history during the fourth quarter of 2021.

- After a highly competitive bidding war across multiple streaming platforms, Disney’s Onyx Collective has ordered the limited series “The Plot” from Endeavor Content. The eight-episode series will stream on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.  The series is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Korelitz’s book “You Should Have Known,” was also adapted into HBO’s “The Undoing” in 2020, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.  “The Plot” stars and is executive produced by Oscar, Emmy^Ⓡ, BAFTA and NAACP Image Award-winning actor and producer Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song,” “Green Book,” “Moonlight”). Ali will produce along with executive producers Mimi Valdés and Amatus Karim Ali through their Know Wonder production company. Know Wonder recently produced the critically acclaimed feature film “Swan Song” and the Emmy-winning documentary “We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest.”

- Eddie Vedder releases a new single entitled “Brother the Cloud.” It heralds the arrival of his highly anticipated new album, Earthling, available on February 11th via Seattle Surf/Republic Records. The digital pre-order/pre-save for Earthling just went live on all streaming platforms—HERE and physical pre-order (cd, vinyl & cassette HERE).  Listen to “Brother the Cloud”—HERE.  Earthling, which was produced by Grammy Award® winning producer Andrew Watt, is Vedder’s first album since 2011’s Ukulele Songs and his first solo tour in over a decade.

- he distinctive nature of Brandon Boyd’s forthcoming album, ECHOES AND COCOONS (pre-order at https://orcd.co/echoesandcocoons ), is as evident in the newest single “Dime In My Dryer” as in the other singles that have been released thus far - “Pocket Knife” and “Petrichor.” SPIN describes the newest track as ‘curiously textured’ and today you can hear it for yourself.  “Dime In My Dryer” is a tale of discovery of what is important in life when forced to slow down.  “It was in the relative silence of a world mostly shut down that I noticed how loud things had been in the before-times,” explains Brandon. “Not the obvious part of my life that is governed by big sounds and traveling, no, but that chatter or noise that emits from our shared experience as people. All of a sudden it would stop for brief intervals and in those gaps is where I began to see the parts of my life and my general experience that offered more signal and less noise.”

- Critically acclaimed GRAMMY® Award nominated global sensations Glass Animals have started off 2022 with a recording-breaking milestone and first in their career—today, “Heat Waves” climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, breaking the record for the longest climb to Top 5 in Hot 100 history at 51 weeks. Not to mention, “Heat Waves” rose to #3 on the Top 40 Radio Chart and #6 on the Hot AC Radio Chart this week, and over past two weeks, it peaked at #1 on Spotify US Top 50 Chart, surpassed 1 billion Spotify streams, and amassed a new peak of 969K streams on the platform in a day. In addition to their GRAMMY® Awards Nomination for Best New Artist, the band was also recently nominated for two BRIT Awards for Song of the Year (“Heat Waves”) and Best Rock/Alternative Act. They celebrated the announcement with a performance at “The BRITs Are Coming 2022”—watch HERE.

 - Bastille drops their latest single “Shut Off The Lights” from their fourth studio album Give Me The Future out February 4^th—listen to “Shut Off The Lights” HERE. To celebrate the upcoming album, today, Bastille announces their 2022 US tour dates as part of their upcoming “Give Me The Future Tour.” The US leg kicks off on May 14^th in Memphis, TN and makes stops in Los Angeles on May 20^th, New York on June 7^th, and more—see the full list of tour dates below. Tickets will be available via pre-sale starting on Tuesday, January 18^th and via general on-sale on Friday, January 21^st at 10AM local time at https://www.bastillebastille.com/.

Previewing Ray Donovan: The Movie

 

There is a running joke that once Showtime picks up a show, they will run it into the ground.  This is mostly thanks to Dexter and Weeds which premiered a year apart and both went on for eight seasons (and while the Dexter reboot just wrapped up, a Weeds reboot is also coming soon, albeit on Starz, not Showtime).  Over the next five years they would premiere shows like Homeland, Shameless, Californication, and Nurse Jackie that would go on for at least five seasons.  But the thing is, shows that premiered after that have not lasted that long.  In the past decade, there have been six one and done shows, while I’m Dying up Here, Dice, SMILF, and Kidding all got canned after two seasons.  The only shows that premiered in the past decade that Showtime let run forever like the old joke are Billion, about to start its sixth season, and Ray Donovan which went to seven season, but Showtime was trigger happy in canceling the show, ending the show without giving it the obligatory final season that most long running shows are afforded.

 

But after some outcry, the show will be able to wrap up properly with a two hour movie.  Now, the movie will be premiering almost two years to the day the finale aired.  To give you a sense as to how long ago that was, in January 2020, very few people were worried about COVID-19 back then.  By season seven, Ray and the rest of the Donovan clan had been in New York for most of the previous three seasons.  By my estimate, Ray and Mickie had tried to kill each other and reconciled a couple hundred times by then.  The season ended with a shootout between the Donovan’s and the Sullivan’s (Jimmy Sullivan raped Ray’s sister Bridget years ago resulting in Bridget taking a nose dive off a roof and the knowledge recently came to light) with Ray’s daughter’s husband Smitty dying as a result.

 

Thankfully the show starts off with a lengthy three minute recap but done like recent episode “Previously On” montage where it is just quick clips and very little dialogue.  Then in the first scene, Ray tells someone, “I killed my father.”  Wait, did I really forget Ray killed Mickie and they did not even put that part on the recap?  Well, no, and he did not kill him off screen either as Mickie shows up on screen, and like for much of the seventh season is trying to sell off papers worth multi-million dollar.  The “I killed my father” line is just a set up for the movie.

 

The movie is split up in two parts, and continues the trend of the seventh season where they flashback to the early life of the Donovan clan back in Boston.  Much how the modern day storyline picks up after the events of the shootout and starts with Smitty’s funeral, the flashback also start with a funeral, this time of Bridget’s.  The flashbacks also tie back into the events of season one as we see many things that are the catalyst of the beginnings of the series.

 

The whole Donovan clan is back.  Well, not Ray’s son who I guess is still in military school and does not even get one mention.  While not gratuitous, we do get to see a bunch of familiar faces, well in the case of some of the flashbacks; the names are familiar even if the faces are different.  While it takes some time to remember just where the last season left off (it may be wise to re-watch the finale before the movie) the movie does a good job tying up loose ends and should leave longtime fans satisfied.

 

Ray Donovan: The Movie airs Friday at 9:00 on Showtime.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 9, 2022

 

Dexter: New Blood:  I believe this was the very first time Dexter took down the Big Bad before the finale… unless he is the Big Bad and Angela takes Dexter down in the finale.  That would be a fitting end to the series… except they are definitely going to do another season eventually.  I thought we were going to get a full flashback episode like a lost episode of the original show, maybe with the whole gang returning, but alas.  Dexter cut that story short and waited to give the full story until they got into Kurt’s dollhouse. 

 

So that is where the podcaster at.  But much like how we never learned just how Kurt figured out Dexter killed his kid; we do not know how she ended up down there.  We know Kurt lured runaways to his hotel and locked them up, and he did try that once with the podcaster, was she actually dumb enough to go with him again?  Not that Kurt is very bright either.  Did he really think he would roll up on Dexter’s cabin in a large and loud tanker, spray the entire cabin with gasoline and wait for them to come out after the cabin was on fire?  Has anyone was actually there, they would have heard the tanker pull up.  Not that Dexter has a great plan either, alerting Kurt that he found his underground bunker.  What if he was close and locked them in?  And again we are treating that screw as some sort of smoking bullet.  How could that possibly tie back to Dexter?

 

Claws:  So the judge kept on bring up how Brice was not the biological father and then gives custody of the children… to his uncle who is not biologically related to the children.  Huh?  But I still think Jenn will eventually joining Uncle Daddy and Quiet Ann and eventually the whole group will turn on Desna.

 

Yellowjackets:  So Van was not the first to die and managed to survive having a wolf chew off half her face and make it back a couple of miles back to the cabin where they only have rudimentary antibiotics, most of which was used on coach’s leg.  Though there was something weird with her POV; could something mystical have kept her alive?  But we did not have to wait long to have an actual first death… assuming Laura Lee did not manage to survive that plane exploding the way Van survived being mauled.    I must say, when Nat talked to her sponsor, my first though was, oh, that is adult Laura Lee based solely on her looks.  C’mon Lottie, you saw Laura Lee encased in red a couple episodes, why are you letting her fly that plane?  Maybe give the talisman that she gave to Van that Tai stole and give it to Laura Lee.

 

We also got the big reveal that Adam was the blackmailer and has no digital footprint.  That really leans into the theory that Adam is really Javi.  Though I never bought into that theory because Javi have been very insignificant to this point, basically Shauna gave him a few pages of her diary and that was about it.  Plus the timeline does not really line up if Adam graduated in ’04, which would have made Javi about ten in 1996.  Javi at the very least looks like a middle schooler if not an underclassman.  But of course Adam could be lying about when he graduated.  If that really is Javi, then is he really behind the postcards and killed his brother?  The keep on pointing out that only family can get banking information so seems very likely he emptied the account.  But that would be a huge letdown if Javi was behind everything.

 

Psycho Misty update:  she did blow for the first time.  And a lot of it.  Aswesome.  Then she had to profusely apologize to her bird.  But just how long is she going to keep that reporter down there?  Until she solves Travis’s murder?  Then what?  Is she actually going to kill her or let her go?

 

But just how much time does Callie spend at her friend’s house?  She just came home to get a change of clothes.  She then eats with her parents but then Shauna said Tai could stay in her room because she was going back to the friend’s house to spend another night.  Things do seem like they are going to pick up next week with Homecoming (unless they save that for the finale).  Will we finally get to learn of some of the other survivor?  Will One Eyed Van show up?  It will be annoying if of the other survivor besides the main four decide to skip the event and we are still left guessing.  And Jeff was Homecoming King?  Was Jackie the queen then?  This may be as awkward as that dinner with Jackie’s parents.

 

The Book of Boba Fett:  Holy Hutt sighing.  But those twins are giving off big time Lannister vibes.  Do they really need to be that close to each other?  It does seem like maybe the Hutt’s are behind the assassination plot from last week and are in cahoots with the Mayor.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars: Well, there goes my prediction of Jodi and Brad winning,  I thought they might pull I out because it seemed like Brad had the much better strategy than Darrell, but on the flip side Janelle seemed to have a better strategy than Jodi and Darrelle managed not to keep hitting Janelle on the head with cinderblocks.

 

The Blacklist:  I do not think I really needed to see what happened to Ressler between the seasons, but after watching this episode… I still think I did not need to see that.

Around the Tubes: January 8, 2022

   

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 Pam & Tommy, Sex Appeal, The Weeknd, James Brown, Foxes, nd Betty White.

- Check out the all-new trailer and key art for Hulu's "Pam & Tommy." The limited series premieres with three episodes on February 2nd. New episodes stream weekly.  Set in the Wild West early days of the Internet, “Pam & Tommy” is based on the incredible true story of the Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) sex tape. Stolen from the couple’s home by a disgruntled contractor (Seth Rogen), the video went from underground bootleg-VHS curiosity to full-blown global sensation when it hit the Web in 1997. A love story, crime caper and cautionary tale rolled into one, the eight-part original limited series explores the intersection of privacy, technology and celebrity, tracing the origins of our current Reality TV Era to a stolen tape seen by millions but meant to have an audience of just two.

- Check out the official trailer and key art for the Hulu Original Film "Sex Appeal." The film premieres Friday, January 14th.  Avery Hansen-White doesn’t do things she isn’t excellent at. So when her long-distance boyfriend hints at wanting to take their relationship to the next level, she sets out to master her sexuality, employing her oldest friend, Larson, as a test subject. In this hilarious teen comedy, Avery's study results in the realization that there's more to sex, and love, than mechanics. Relationships require both head and heart.

- The Weeknd has officially dropped his latest album, Dawn FM (XO/Republic Records). The surprise release began with a compelling trailer for the project and the reveal of the album cover and track list earlier in the week. The album, deemed a “sonic experience” by The Weeknd, showcases a unique cast of features from Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Jim Carrey.  Listen to Dawn FM HERE.  As a part of the rollout, The Weeknd appeared in “103.5 Dawn FM”, a live stream experience which aired exclusively on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and in the Amazon Music app.

- Celebrating the pioneer of funk James Brown, Urban Legends, a division of UMe, Universal Music Group’s global catalog company, has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist and member of The Roots, Stro Elliot, to create Black & Loud: James Brown Reimagined by Stro Elliot, out February 4, 2022. The album, consisting of ten remixes of classic James Brown songs, will be available digitally on DSPs, physically as an LP on black vinyl, and will also have a clear vinyl color variant available as an e-commerce exclusive on the Urban Legends website HERE. Listen to the first single, "Machine No Make Sex," now HERE.

- Foxes shares her latest single "Absolute," taken from her highly-anticipated upcoming album, The Kick, due for release on February 11 2022 via [PIAS] Recordings. An ode to freedom and late-night euphoria, the disco-infused track was produced by Ghost Culture (Daniel Avery, Kelly Lee Owens).  Discussing the track, Foxes (Louisa Rose Allen) says:  “'Absolute' is about the middle of one of those nights, when everything around you feels perfectly aligned. The people, the sound and the freedom to be exactly who you are.”  Foxes’ first album in over five years, The Kick features recent singles ‘Sky Love’, ‘Dance Magic’ and ‘Sister Ray’. It was written and recorded remotely via zoom during the height of the pandemic, offering a form of escapism. Inspired by the desire for freedom that the world collectively shared over the last 18 months of lockdowns, the near-animalistic desperation to socialise, and a longing to dance again, Louisa naturally pivoted the sonics to feed that escapism and create a record that simultaneously feels close to her euphoric, dancefloor-filling pop roots that brought us hits like ‘Let Go For Tonight’, ‘Youth’ and ‘Body Talk’, while still feeling completely fresh. Unafraid of the art of the well-loved melancholic-banger, lyrically The Kick touches on themes of loss and heartbreak, narrating painful places and soundtracking new beginnings to create an album for the post-pandemic world and a summer of never leaving the party early.

- This SATURDAY, January 8 starting at 9 a.m. ET, Game Show Network will air an 8-hour marathon of MATCH GAME episodes featuring the golden girl of game shows and America's sweetheart, Betty White.  Join us to celebrate a lifetime of laughter and pay tribute to the one and only Betty White.