Around the Tubes: April 1, 2023

  

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 Circus, Am I Being Unreasonable?, The Venture Bros., Game Show Network, and Joy Oladokun.

- The Emmy^® nominated docuseries THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH wraps up the first half of its eighth season covering the historic indictment of Donald Trump, the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges.  Hosts John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon, and Jennifer Palmieri – along with guest host Andrew Weissmann, who served as a lead prosecutor on Robert Mueller’s special counsel team, and is an MSNBC legal contributor and host of the MSNBC podcast Prosecuting Donald Trump – examine the legal and political fallout from the bombshell development. In addition, the program tracks the multiple investigations of the former president, including the special counsel probe into Trump's handling of classified documents and his role in the January 6 insurrection. For a preview, go to: https://youtu.be/n81HqRoVQQw.

- A new clip from the genre-bending Hulu Original comedy thriller "Am I Being Unreasonable?" is now available, featuring BAFTA TV Award Performance in a Comedy nominees Daisy May Cooper ("Nic")  and Lenny Rush ("Ollie").  NEW VIDEO: HERE  Co-produced by Boffola Pictures and Lookout Point, critically-acclaimed "Am I Being Unreasonable?" sees Nic (Daisy May Cooper, "This Country") grieving a loss that she can’t share with anyone whilst stuck in a depressing marriage. Only her son, Ollie (Lenny Rush, "Apple Tree House") who she adores, keeps her going. But when Jen (Selin Hizli, "Mum") arrives in town, her life is lit up with laughter and, through this kindred soul, her dark secret starts to bubble up.

- For the first time ever, all episodes from Adult Swim's award-winning original adult animated series are brought together in one set with The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series. Get ready to experience thrilling action-packed adventure along with acute family disfunction and binge all 82 episodes from the seven season run along with all the previously released special features. The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series will be available to purchase Digitally and on DVD from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on June 20, 2023.  The series features the voice talents of James Urbaniak as Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture, Christopher McCulloch as Hank, Michael Sinterniklaas as Dean Venture, Patrick Warburton as Brock Samson, and Paul Boocock as Dr. Venture’s deceased father, Dr. Jonas. The series was created by Chris McCulloch and Doc Hammer for Adult Swim’s late night programming block. The Venture Bros. originally premiered on August 7, 2004, and ran for 7 seasons winning numerous awards including Best Animated TV Series Award at Cineme 2003, the Chicago International Animated Film Festival.

- Game Show Network and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) announced offerings for the 2023 Upfronts will continue to include options in live viewing, integrations, and syndicated programming.  Delivering one of the top levels of live viewing and commercial retention in the industry, opportunities exist with Game Show Network’s successful original programming slate and branded entertainment opportunities in America’s most successful and long running game shows: JEOPARDY! and WHEEL OF FORTUNE as well as positions in some of the most iconic shows in syndication.    A top 20 cable network Game Show Network remains a prolific producer of content, with over 275 hours of shows in 2023 (26% over the previous year), as a result of its commitment to delivering high quality original programming and the consistency of a stripped schedule. Game Show Network has greenlit four new strip series, SPLIT SECOND, based on the format from game show legend Monty Hall, to be hosted by Emmy^®-Nominated Game Show Host John Michael Higgins (“America Says”, “Pitch Perfect”), in his second series for the network, the comedic game show format BLANK SLATE, to be hosted by Mario Lopez (“Access Hollywood”), RIDDICULOUS (working title) based on the popular UK game of riddles, along with recently announced HEY YAHOO!, hosted by actor Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”, “The Flash”), which is based on the most popular searches from the powerful search engine, Yahoo.  

- Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Joy Oladokun will perform a special album release show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl on Friday, May 12 with special guests FANCY and Mon Rovia. Pre-sale tickets will be available starting this Wednesday, March 29 with general on-sale following this Friday, March 31 at 10:00am CT. Pre-sale sign up and ticket details can be found at www.joyoladokun.com.   The performance celebrates Oladokun’s highly anticipated new album, Proof of Life, which will be released April 28 via Amigo Records/Verve Forecast/Republic Records (pre-order here). With production by Oladokun, Mike Elizondo, Ian Fitchuk, Dan Wilson and Alysa Vanderhym, Proof of Life captures the human experience with a profound simplicity. Across these thirteen tracks, Oladokun celebrates the little details and simple pleasures of being alive, while also giving voice to some of life’s most complex experiences in a way only she can.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 26, 2023

  

Your Honor:   Episode 10:  I was right that the judge spilled everything at trial, but I was wrong with the fallout.  I thought everyone would go to prison.  Instead the gangster’s wife managed to take out her husband and her father in one fell swoop.  Well, she tried except apparently her father cannot kill someone at point blank range and her husband woke up.  This kind of felt like a set up for another season.  Brian Cranston did say this was the last season in an interview for it came up, though I do not believe Showtime has made any kind of announcement.  Could they possibly try a season without Cranston whose character should be in prison for a while?  Hopefully not.

 

The Mandalorian:  Some serious laps in logic this week.  Like how did the Mandalorians beat the bird dinosaur back to her nest?  And if Grogu was able to shoot off three darts in a row, why did the other kid just shoot one at a time when Grogu was looking confused at the game?  He picked the game; he should know he could shoot multiple shots in a row.

 

Wu-Tang: An American Saga:  This was probably the best of all the movie episodes but wild we got three in the final season.  But I guess that is it and next week will be the Clan spread out but reteams for the finale to record Wu-Tang Forever.  Disappointing that we will not get a Pharma Bro episode.

 

The Challenge: World Championship:   The show needs to bring back the advantage for whoever comes back from elimination because when the same people get nominated every week, it just gets boring.  Why even watch next week when it will most likely be the last remaining Argentina team goes in and probably goes home?

 

Survivor:  Another week, another young women goes home.  Frannie better watch her back next week.  Lucky for her, it looks like the one dude with the limp arm might be pulled.  I am surprised he made it this far.

Scooter's Note:  Since Showtime has been putting new episodes on streaming on Fridays for a while, I am going to start writing about those show in the following day's 57 Channels instead of waiting a week to write about them because they air linearly on Sundays starting with the season premiere of Yellowjackets.

Yellowjackets:   Everyone has been wondering when the first taste of cannibalism was going to happen, but, wow, I was not expecting it would be Shanna just popping Jackie’s ear like it’s a Skittle.  But now I fear for the safety of Tai’s wife.  I would not be threatening someone who cut off your dog’s head and to make an altar of it.  Though it seems like Tai was just as shock to see it as her wife.  A shout out to Callie for watching the greatest scene in The Challenge history and was much more interested in that than her mother coming home.

Around the Tubes: March 25, 2023

 

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 How I Met Your Father, Couples Therapy, Hey Yahoo!, Jack Johnson, Elton John, Hailee Steinfeld, Shania Twain, Claire Rosinkranz, Coi Leray, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Doc Martin.

- The 2-episode mid-season finale of How I Met Your Father will stream on Hulu Tuesday, March 28^th.  Season two will continue with additional episodes on Tuesday, May 23^rd with 1 new episode each Tuesday through the 2-episode season finale on Tuesday, July 11^th.  On Tuesday's mid-season finale, Neil Patrick Harris will reprise his role as ‘Barney’.

- COUPLES THERAPY, the TCA Award-winning documentary series following world-renowned psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik as she guides couples through real-life therapy sessions, is returning to SHOWTIME for the second installment of season three, with nine new episodes featuring four new captivating couples. All episodes will drop on Friday, April 28 across streaming and on demand for all SHOWTIME subscribers.  Episodes will also premiere on-air in back-to-back increments weekly on Friday nights at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET/PT starting April 28 on SHOWTIME.  To watch and share the latest trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/iAKBP-uIPmI

- Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, and Yahoo have announced a new series, “Hey Yahoo!” hosted by actor and director Tom Cavanagh. The half-hour original series is scheduled to premiere early this summer.  In “Hey Yahoo!” two teams of three players each compete to guess what millions of people are searching for on Yahoo Search. Contestants are given the first half of a search, and then have to fill-in-the-blank based on what they think America is searching for. For each correct answer, the dollar value of that answer is added to the team’s bank. At the end of three rounds of play, the team with the most money wins and will go on to the bonus round for a chance to add an extra $10,000 to their winnings.

- Multi-platinum musician Jack Johnson announces a new music video to accompany “Traffic In The Sky (Lee “Scratch” Perry Dub),” lead track and one of two Lee “Scratch” Perry dub remixes included in Johnson’s upcoming summer album, In Between Dub. The new video features never before seen Lee “Scratch” Perry footage from the making of studio sessions in Jamaica, along with animation from Greatwork.  “It’s exciting to hear Lee “Scratch” Perry’s interpretation of my song, and then to see Greatwork’s visual interpretation of our collaboration” said Johnson. Johnson has also released a second album track, a remix of his classic hit “Better Together,” from Nightmares on Wax. Nightmares On Wax, Warp Records’ longest serving signing, has been at the forefront of contemporary music for over 30 years, creating a unique blend of dub, electronica, jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul and techno. Listen to “Better Together (Nightmares On Wax Mix)”  here.

- UMe releases the 50th anniversary edition of Elton John’s seminal album Honky Château, out now on 2CD, 2LP, and limited-edition gold vinyl LP. Purchase HERE.  Originally released in May 1972, Honky Château was Elton’s step into global superstardom, spawning classics such as “Rocket Man,” “Honky Cat” and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.” His 5th studio album ushered in a to-this-day unparalleled hot streak of classic albums, and was the first time he recorded at the now legendary Château d’Hérouville, a residential recording studio situated 25 miles north-west of Paris. It was here where he and Bernie Taupin were to write – and the band subsequently record – some of the biggest global hits of his career. Elton, Bernie and the band - performing together on record for the first time - decamped to the Château for week’s pre-production on Honky Château in January 1972. Bernie brought his typewriter; the band set up in the dining room. Bernie would write lyrics at night and leave them on Elton’s piano for him to work on in the morning.

- Multiplatinum pop singer, songwriter and Academy® Award-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld returns with a soaring and sunny new single entitled “SunKissing” today. Listen to “SunKissing”— HERE.  Once again, Hailee releases an instant bop with “SunKissing.”  From the irresistible and chantable chorus to the infectious refrain, this upbeat anthem has all the ingredients of a summer smash.

- Five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning legend and the best-selling female artist in country music history Shania Twain announced the release of a collaboration with trailblazing female producer Malibu Babie [Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj]. Babie, who is the first and only woman to debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as a producer this century, has put her twist on Twain’s current single “Giddy Up!” with a new remix.  Listen to “Giddy Up! (Malibu Babie Remix)”—HERE.  The remix arrives on the heels of Shania’s three exclusive Spotify Singles—“Queen of Me (Acoustic)” and her covers of “Falling” by Harry Styles and “Spoonful” by Howlin’ Wolf.

- 19-year-old Southern California singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz reveals her highly anticipated debut album Just Because will be released on May 5^th via slowplay/Republic Records. In celebration of the announcement, Claire also announces she will be the main support for Dermot Kennedy on his North American tour this summer.

- multi-platinum superstar Coi Leray reups her chart-dominating smash “Players” with a verse courtesy of legendary rapper Busta Rhymes out now via Uptown Records/Republic Records. Listen to “Players (Busta Rhymes Remix)”—HERE.  Busta blesses the track with a head-spinning display of his signature lyrical virtuosity. His turbulent rhymes only bolster the track’s bounce as Coi’s instantly irresistible hook remains undeniably unshakable. From the moment you hear Busta Rhymes say "Coi Leray" on the intro, you know that this remix is an epic merging HipHop royalty of the past and present generations. Together, they lock into a dynamic volley on their very first collaboration together.

- Lakeshore Records is set to release John Wick: Chapter 4—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally March 24 with an original score by Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Joel J. Richard (John Wick, The Andromeda Strain). Bates and Richard, their scores an integral part of the success of the first three installments of John Wick, return with another masterclass in high intensity compositions that feature an array of instruments – including treated piano, mandolin, acoustic & electric guitar, bass, harmonica orchestra, synths, and found object percussion. Bates also produced songs performed by Lola Colette with Nick and Sam Wilkerson of the punk band White Reaper on drums and bass respectively, as well as tracks with In This Moment and Manon Hollander. In addition, the track co-written and produced by Bates with vocals by Avant pop phenomenon and cast member Rina Sawayama, “Eye For An Eye,” is available digitally today, March 22. The Lionsgate film directed by Chad Stahelski and starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins and Ian McShane is in theaters and IMAX March 24.  John Wick (Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.  Purchase/Stream: https://lnk.to/JW4 

- American Public Television (APT), the leading syndicator of content to U.S. public TV stations nationwide, today announced that new seasons of the popular British series Doc Martin will be made available to licensing public television stations later this year.  Season 8 and the latest new season 9 of Doc Martin will be available beginning July 1 for broadcast and streaming with Passport via pbs.org and the PBS App. The final season of the series will be offered for an expected release for local station broadcast and Passport availability this fall. The offering of seasons 9 and 10 in 2023 marks the first time these episodes will be available to public television audiences.

Previewing Yellowjackets: Season Two

 

You would have to go back to “We have to go back” for a final line of dialogue that got me so hyped for the next season as, “Who the fork is Lottie Matthews!?!?”  While we only had to wait seven months to figure out why Jack wanted to go back on Lost, it has been over fourteen months since the last episode of Yellowjackets where Nat’s banking buddy, who was looking into who exactly emptied Travis’s bank account, asked that question.   It only takes a short eight minutes into season two until we get our first look at adult Lottie in all her cult leader glory, though it is weird that her cultist refer to her as “Charlotte” (almost as weird as Lottie going from towering over Nat in high school to basically the same height in present day).  Do to their addiction to the color purple, her followers are occasionally referred to as “Purple People” and I cannot hear someone call them that and not think of the song Purple People Eater.  This cannot be a coincidence.

 

While it was not that much of a surprise when Simone Kessell (The Crossing) was cast as adult Lottie since her name was mentioned in the finale, it was really disappointing that a press release spoiled that Van, who almost died multiple times during the first season and will be played as an adult by Lauren Ambrose (Can’t Hardly Wait), made it out of the Canadian wilderness.  But unlike Lottie who we meet fairly quickly, it is a while before we see adult Van on screen, which manages to make the spoiler worse.  With the addition to the cast of the older version (and both younger version getting promoted to cast members) we do get and updated title sequence with more Lottie and Van, but thankfully the dearly departed Jackie and her throat slash / wink segment remains.

 

It does not take long to meet the other big casting news for the second season, Elijah Wood, in a The Ice Storm reunion with Christina Ricci, playing a fellow Citizen Detective alongside Ricci’s Misty.  Though, I do fear the longevity of anyone who crosses path with Misty, who is still a raving psychopath.  Early in the season, adult Misty makes a very inappropriate cookie while teen Misty gives another type of inappropriate present.  Of course, this is why Misty remains the most entertaining character on the show.

 

Those are not the only new faces this season.  Three of the background Yellowjackets are brought more to the forefront with a little more screen time and a couple lines of dialogue.  Of course all three are stuck together at the start of the episode before one starts spending a lot a time with Misty (again, I fear for anyone who spends too much time with Missy).  One of them seems like they are more of a theater kid than athlete, another I actually mistook for Laura Lee when I first saw her, and the third has to shoot to the top of the Who Is Pit Girl Power Rankings.  Oh, and it should be noted that Akilah has been recast, so that is not a fourth new Yellowjacket.

 

In 1996, it has been two month since Jackie was turned into a Popsicle and now resides in a meat locker because the ground is too cold to bury her.  I cannot confirm nor deny that my Encino Man theory is correct and she is thawed out in present day.  But I will say not much time has passed in current day. Now eight months into their Canadian adventure, everyone is starting to look rough (except for some reason Mari who is still looking really good) while cabin fever is setting in.  They even had to start burning porn for warmth.  But more disturbingly, there are also some creepy rituals that people are doing just to go outside.

 

In present day, we ended the season with Nat being kidnapped right after putting a shotgun in her mouth, Tai won her state senate race which may or may not have been aided by her (or someone else) cutting off the head of her dog and putting it on an alter in the basement, and Shauna murdered someone who seems like may have just been some random dude with a mysterious back tattoo and no digital footprint. 

 

While Shauna’s bored housewife routine was the least interesting part of the first season, it may end up being one of the more entertaining storylines this season.  Her daughter Callie, who gets more screen time in the first two episodes this season than maybe all of last season, is the big surprise of this season.  Obviously she is not as messed up as her mother who experienced extreme trauma at that age, but that girl is a little messed up too.  Then throw in Jeff, who we now know is actually kind of a good husband and a a big doofus.

 

Sure, the show sometimes stumbles under the weight of expectations after becoming a surprise hit in its first season and it is even more annoying this season that the show continues to lean into the supernatural without actually confirming nor deny the existence of some sort of supernatural element (what happens at the end of episode two will be extremely eye rolling if they want us to think what happens is just a coincidence), but you still have to be highly entertained whenever Misty does her Misty things.  While slow and plodding at times (each episode of the six I saw are very close to being an hour long), there is still always at least multiple highly entertaining things that happen each episode that will keep the Yellowjackets subreddit buzzing for a full week until the next episode.

Yellowjackets airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime, though episodes premiere on streaming the Friday before.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 19, 2023

 

The Blacklist:  So this guy was able to find the greatest pickpockets in the world, but could not find anyone who could hit a target?  For a mastermind, that was a very big oversite.  I did recognize the guy Red tried to poison, but cannot place him at all.  This show really could use “Previously On” montages when they bring back people like this.

 

The Last of Us:  Well that was a horrible finale.  If you have to sacrifice one person to save all of humanity, you do it.

 

Your Honor:   So this is how the show is going to end?  The judge is going to get on the stand and answer all the questions truthfully, exposing all the criminality, from police corruption that killed his wife, everything he did that kept his son out of prison, and all the gangster activities was the two warring factions.  Everyone but the young mother goes to prison.

 

The Mandalorian:  Um, did we really need an episode of Andor inside of this show?  Unfortunately I really do not care about two characters I barely remember.   So all of that was just an elaborate way to zap the doctor’s brain?

 

Wu-Tang: An American Saga:  Why were they wasting an episode on RZA’s brother this late in the series?

 

The Challenge: World Championship:  Seriously, they waited until the end to do the elimination?  This show really should stick to a one challenge and one elimination per episode  But poor Jujuy, stuck with someone giving the single worse elimination performance ever.  Everyone was helping Nelson and still he did not listen.

 

Survivor:  Is a dude ever going to be voted out?  I wonder what longer streak for one gender being voted out is?

 

School Spirits:  Why does the teacher have the cheerleader’s number?

Around the Tubes: March 18, 2023

       

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 Only Murders in the Building, I've a Got Secret, Counting Crows, Fred Rogers, and Personality Crisis: Only One Night.

- Check out the first look at season three of Hulu's acclaimed original comedy series, "Only Murders in the Building." This season's first teaser will air tonight during the 95th Oscars® and shows a sneak peek at guest star and Oscar®-winner Meryl Streep in the new season. "Only Murders in the Building" season three is coming soon. 

- Embassy Row, Werner Entertainment and Game Show Enterprises Studios, GSN’s production arm, have joined forces to produce a pilot of the classic panel game show I’VE GOT A SECRET hosted by sports television personality Katie Nolan. The series is available for network and syndication.  The hour-long I’VE GOT A SECRET is a reimagining of a classic panel game show from the 1950s. With a tone that’s part game show and part comedic talk show, four celebrity panelists will try and figure out each contestant’s “secret,” drawn from pop culture both past and present, by asking them a series of yes or no questions.  

- After performing to sold-out crowds worldwide on the Butter Miracle Tour over the last two years, today, world-renowned rock band COUNTING CROWS are pleased to announce their return to the US in 2023 with the BANSHEE SEASON TOUR. After years of collaboration, cult-favorite rock band and long-time friend of the band, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, will be joining as support on the upcoming run, with English singer/songwriter FRANK TURNER joining the tour for select dates. The 56-date mega tour will kick off June 13 in Omaha, NE, at the Steelhouse Omaha, with stops in major cities across the US, including Boston, Tampa, Nashville, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles, before ending at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO on September 25. Watch Adam Duritz and Chris Carrabba tour announcement HERE.  Ticket presales begin Tuesday, March 14 in select markets and the general ticket on-sale begins Friday, March 17 at 10:00 AM local time. For additional information, follow Counting Crows on Facebook and Instagram.

-  Ahead of what would have been Fred Rogers 95th birthday on March 20, GRAMMY® and Emmy winning music producer Dennis Scott will release a special deluxe version of Thank You, Mister Rogers: Music & Memories on Friday, March 17. Scott’s second edition of Fred’s original music comes with 13 additional tracks, and is being re-released by Bob Frank Distribution & The Orchard on all major digital music streaming platforms (orcd.co/ThankYouMisterRogersDeluxe) and at ThankYouMisterRogers.com. Originally released in 2019, the compilation album features recordings from music icons like Micky Dolenz, Sandi Patty, Vanessa Williams, Jim Brickman, Jon Secada, Lee Greenwood, Rita Wilson, Tom Bergeron, The Cowsills, Jaci Velasquez, Kellie Pickler, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. The new deluxe reissue will have 13 additional tracks, and feature a newly recorded version of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” by singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso Parker Hastings, along with recording artist interviews, and track commentary.  Thank You, Mister Rogers: Music & Memories has already won several awards including the Parent’s Choice Award, National Parenting Products Award, Family Choice Award, Hot Diggity Award, and was a nominee of American Association of Independent Music's Libera Award.

- “Vegetarian, gay, straight; I just wanted to bring those walls down and have a party,” proclaims David Johansen, influential ’70s glam punk lead singer of the New York Dolls.  For the first time ever, PERSONALITY CRISIS: ONE NIGHT ONLY reveals the many faces of Johansen when it premieres on SHOWTIME on Friday, April 14, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. From Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Pretend It’s a City), co-director Emmy nominee David Tedeschi (The 50 Year Argument) and executive producers Academy Award^® winning filmmakers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, present this wildly entertaining portrait, available for streaming and on demand to SHOWTIME subscribers that same day.   To watch and share the trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/qu8oFJ-eu2c

 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: March 12, 2023

 

The Blacklist:  I am trying to do the math on the new agent.  Just how old was her mom when she had her?   Though I guess there were some time jumps so maybe it has been more than ten years on the show since season one.  But the Whaler really looked like Lizzy’s mother, for a second I thought she returned.

 

The Last of Us:  Yippie, another lets meet another dead person of the week.  They really leaned into the video aspect this week with Joel getting antibiotics and his health meter instantly getting full. But where exactly did the rest of the resort people go as one of the buildings got burned down?  The resort just seemed to turn into a ghost town the moment Joel arrived even though there were at least twenty people at dinner.

 

Your Honor:   Wait, the baby mama is only seventeen?  For some reason I thought she was in college.  But I am beginning to think that trail is what will bring all the corrupt people in New Orleans down.

 

Quantum Leap:  Oh yeah, other leaper is back.  That guy was missing for too many episodes.  But where was he the whole episode?

 

The Mandalorian:  Why did Mando send Grogu to Bo-Katan?  Little dude has made much bigger creatures go to sleep with the force.  Why waste all the time traveling to the moon when he could have easily dispatched the eye robot?  But I could not tell is Mando put the Dark Saber back on his suit.  Doesn’t Bo-Katan have a claim to it?  The eye robot won it in battle from Mando and she won it in battle from the eye-robot.  If she refused it from Mando because it has to be won in battle, kind of seems like this satisfies the prophecy.   

 

Wu-Tang: An American Saga:  Yet another very special episode.  I wonder just how many more of these will we get.  Will Method Man get one?  He was conspicuously absent from this episode and really has not been in the season that much. 

 

The Challenge: World Championship:  Some questionable non-winners included in this cast.  I do not even remember Justine.  Ben was “medically separated” from his season and still seems hurt.  Neither Australia player even made the finals.  No comment on Argentina because for some reason The Mount is not airing that season until halfway through this season.  Then I do not like that the Global MVP’s are paired with “Legends” ( I had to put that in quotation marks because, c’mon… Theo? Nelson?  Kacee?).  Hopefully the MVP’s do not let the “Legends” dominate the game and let the same boring alliances from the main show dominate.

 

Survivor:  Here is the problem with modern Survivor.  All the smart players what to sit next to someone annoying at Final Tribal so it will be easier for them to win.  So when the annoying people used to go out first, now we have to spend an entire season them with them.  I was just flabbergasted that the one dude whose name I have not bothered to learn yet sided with the two most annoying people this season.

 

School Spirits:  I was not expecting high art, but the acting was somehow worse than I was expecting.  Okay, I do have to admit the gay homosexual dying from a nut allergy was pretty funny.  That chick really should have laughed at that.

 

Around the Tubes: March 11, 2023

      

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 Yellowjackets, Tiny Beautiful Things, The Black Crowes, Smokey Robinson, Chelsea Cutler, MisterWives, Claire Rosinkranz, Donna Summer, The Circus, Hulu, and Catching Lightning.

- SHOWTIME has released the official trailer for season two of the Emmy-nominated drama YELLOWJACKETS. The season two trailer also marks the release of Florence + The Machine’s exclusive new single “Just A Girl,” a cover of No Doubt’s iconic song from 1995, which is now available to download and stream. The single is produced by Florence Welch and Mark Bowen of IDLES. Season two of YELLOWJACKETS will debut on demand and on streaming Friday, March 24 for all SHOWTIME subscribers, before making its on-air debut on Sunday, March 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Season one, which has a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and received seven Emmy nominations, averaged over 5 million weekly viewers across platforms and was the second-most streamed series in SHOWTIME history. YELLOWJACKETS is produced for SHOWTIME by studio Entertainment One (eOne).  “I’m such a huge fan of Yellowjackets and this era of music, and this song especially had a huge impact on me growing up, so I was thrilled to be asked to interpret it in a ‘deeply unsettling’ way for the show,” said Florence Welch about “Just A Girl” and YELLOWJACKETS.  “We tried to really add some horror elements to this iconic song to fit the tone of the show. And as someone who’s first musical love was pop punk and Gwen Stefani it was a dream job.” 

- Check out the trailer and key art for Hulu Original limited series "Tiny Beautiful Things," based on Cheryl Strayed's best-selling book starring Kathryn Hahn, Sarah Pidgeon, Quentin Plair, and Tanzyn Crawford. "Tiny Beautiful Things" will premiere on Hulu with all 8 episodes April 7. Based on the best-selling collection by Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things follows Clare (Kathryn Hahn) a floundering writer who becomes a revered advice columnist while her own life is falling apart.

- In celebration of the culmination of their 2021-22 reunion tour, The Black Crowes are pleased to announce The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker Live, an ode to the band reuniting and following an epic two-year anniversary tour with over 100 dates worldwide. The forthcoming album includes the best performances from the “Shake Your Money Maker Tour” of each track off the original album, and all their hits LIVE. Available everywhere digitally, on CD and vinyl, via Silver Arrow, the record will include two bonus tracks of The Black Crowes covering “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” by The Rolling Stones and “Rock & Roll” by the Velvet Underground. The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker Live is set for release on March 17 with a special live video of the fan-favorite hit and the first song in their anniversary tour set “Twice As Hard,” available today. Watch HERE.    Chris Robinson said, “The Black Crowes are proud to present an audio document of our Shake Your Money Maker Tour from the last 2 years. From where it all began to where we’re going and all that was in between. Hail hail rock ‘n roll!”  Pre-Order The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker Live HERE  

- Today, legendary GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson has released his new single “How You Make Me Feel” across all streaming platforms. A traditional and timeless R&B love song, “How You Make Me Feel,” stays true to the Smokey that we have come to know and love today - LISTEN HERE.  “How You Make Me Feel” marks the second single from Smokey’s highly anticipated and buzzworthy studio album GASMS, which is set for release April 28, 2023 via TLR Music Group/ ADA Worldwide. The new nine-track album is Smokey’s first solo album in almost a decade set for release and is set to feature all new original songs written and produced by Robinson himself. See track listing below.  Pre-Order/ Pre-Save GASMS HERE

- Platinum-Certified singer, songwriter, and producer Chelsea Cutler reveals her new song “Stay Anything” today—listen HERE. The song is the latest addition in Chelsea’s catalogue of tracks in which she wrote, recorded, and produced herself.  Translating an ebb and flow of emotion into sound, “Stay Anything” contrasts acoustic guitar with icy production. Chelsea’s voice flutters with nostalgia on the verses, grasping onto the threads of a fleeting relationship. During the chantable chorus, she pleads, “Just stay with me, stay anything you want.” The track echoes with heartfelt honesty, as she once again cuts deep lyrically and vocally.

- For International Women's Day, MisterWives share their incendiary live cover of No Doubt's 1995's battlecry, "Just a Girl," along with a video made from fan-submitted footage taken from their Summer tour, where the cover became a staple, as well as footage from Global Extreme. The audio take on this particular night was extra charged; it was from their Boston show on June 24, 2022 -- the night Roe v. Wade was overturned. The crushing irony of the song was paramount: women had more rights in 1995 than they do now, and MiserWives is fighting back by encouraging donations to the ACLU and the National Network of Abortion Funds, as well as making donations of their own.  Frontwoman and human rights activist, Mandy Lee, says, "I never would have believed women would have less rights in 2023 than they did when Just A Girl was released in 1995. An anthem I was raised on that stood up to a male dominated world of oppression and inequality rings louder almost 30 years later with the devastating overturning of Roe v. Wade. Covering this song last Summer, while our fundamental rights were being stripped away, was a catharsis I don’t think I’ve ever had that intense while performing. One of collective despair, fear and rage and a catalyst to use those emotions for relentless action. Whether that be through protest, voting, and donating to organizations that provide access to abortion care, we must continue the fight to protect and liberate all bodies and their autonomy." In a post on Instagram, the band added, "May we continue to put our love and rage into fighting for all bodies and their autonomy."  WATCH & SHARE: MISTERWIVES' LIVE COVER OF "JUST A GIRL"

-  19-year-old Southern California singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Claire Rosinkranz unveils her new single “Never Goes Away” via slowplay/Republic Records.  LISTEN TO “NEVER GOES AWAY” HERE & WATCH THE LYRIC VIDEO HERE  Claire initially penned the intimate “Never Goes Away” in the car on the way to a writing session. Delicate guitar underlines her glassy delivery in between finger-snaps. On the track, she deals with the permanence of a post online and offers up a word to the wise.

-  Mercury/UMe releases a digital-only 40th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of Donna Summer’s all-time classic solo album, She Works Hard For The Money. Originally released June 13, 1983, when musical tastes were changing by the minute, She Works Hard For The Money sealed Summer as a creative multi-genre force to be reckoned with following her amazing string of chart-topping disco and dance hits that helped define the sound of the 1970s. The 13-track Deluxe Edition features the original 9-song She Works Hard For The Money album plus four bonus tracks consisting of two club mixes and two instrumental tracks (full track listing below). These bonus tracks have not previously been available for digital download or streaming. Listen to or purchase Donna Summer’s She Works Hard For The Money – Deluxe Edition HERE.

- The Emmy^® nominated docuseries THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH continues its eighth season this Sunday with a behind-the-scenes look at the busiest week to date in the new Republican-led House.  Hosts John Heilemann, Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri embed with House freshmen Maxwell Frost (D-Florida) and Mike Lawler (R-New York) as they navigate a supercharged week dominated by GOP-led hearings into the Biden administration, the precarious standoff over the debt ceiling, and fallout from Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to give Tucker Carlson the Capitol security footage from the January 6 attack.  For a preview, go to: https://youtu.be/62WCle2ZkLw.  

- On March 12, Hulu is turning 15 and to celebrate, we are painting the town green! Since 2008, every decision we’ve made at Hulu starts with the viewer, and this milestone is no exception. The month-long celebration will feature buzzworthy content premieres and finales, exclusive partnerships, and special promotions to give back to the 48 million Hulu subscribers and thank them for coming along for the ride – some since day one. Even our favorite Hulu characters and talent are joining in on the well wishes!  “Celebrating 15 years as an industry-leading streaming service is truly remarkable! Hulu has navigated the ever-changing landscape by delivering our subscribers enthralling and award-winning content, characters and storylines that have defined the cultural zeitgeist, while also driving innovation and advertising experiences,” said Hulu President Joe Earley. “We are incredibly grateful to the millions of subscribers, fans, creators, talent, content partners, advertisers, and Hulugans who have made it all possible, and never stopped having fun along the way!”

- SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films today announced CATCHING LIGHTNING, a riveting four-part documentary series chronicling infamous mixed martial arts fighter ‘Lightning’ Lee Murray and his role in one of the largest cash heists in history. Directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Pat Kondelis (OUTCRY, DISGRACED), CATCHING LIGHTNING tells the surreal tale of Great Britain’s Securitas Depot robbery in 2006, in which nearly £53 million in cash (more than $92 million USD at the time) was stolen, with new interviews, striking revelations and never-before-heard aspects of the heist. The series premieres on Friday, April 7 on all streaming and on-demand platforms for SHOWTME subscribers before making its on-air debut on Sunday, April 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.  To watch the trailer from CATCHING LIGHTNING, go to: https://youtu.be/qq6hBgDIZS4.