Congratulations, You’ve Just Been Erased

 

Full Disclosure Notice:  Warner Bros. sent me this blu-ray for free so I could review it. 

 

In another measure of full disclosure, I feel like it is also important to mention I have never seen the original Eraser movie.  I thought about watching before checking out Eraser: Reborn, but then realized a fresh perspective from someone who is not tainted by seeing the original may be more interesting than a review that just a point by point comparison of the two.

 

Not only have I not seen the original, I barely remember it ever existed.  I think I only remember the name because it was always one of those movies that seemed to be on free weekend previews for premium cable channels.  Honestly, based on the name alone, I for some reason always thought it was a sci-fi movie (let us be honest, a sci-fi movie where someone goes around erasing people sounds pretty cool).  Then, when I first started and saw that a character loading up on guns (not really the best way to open a movie based on recent events), I then I began to think it was some sort of The Punisher type vigilante movie.  Wrong on both accords.

 

That character who was packing an entire arsenal to himself is actually a U.S. Marshall played by Dominic Sherwood (Shadowhunters) who is basically the only person in the film I recognized (sorry fans of the original, no Arnold cameo).  I am currently halfway through a re-watch of Justified and even fresh in my mind I do not remember Raylan Givens needing more than one gun at a time.  Nor did he engage in much hand to hand combat except for the time he got in a bar fight that resulted in him losing his iconic hat.  I think Sherwood gets in more fights in a single movie that Rayan got in during his six seasons.

 

So Eraser: Reborn is definitely an action movie, and an action movie in the vein of those that were made when the original was released in 1996 or even a decade earlier.  Watching the movie got me thinking of The Big Picture podcast which coined a phase “Garbage Crime.”  These are movies that will not be winning any awards, or light up the Tomato Meter, but are just light dumb crime movies that you watch when you have nothing better to watch and tired of searching.  Not necessarily a derogatory term but certainly not the most glowing nickname.  They are probably made even better if you have a buddy who also likes these types of movie to watch with.

 

Eraser: Reborn certainly fit the bill.  Sherwood is no Arnold nor is he Raylan because the movie goes over the top even though budget restraints keeps them from really going as big as the writer and director wants to go.  There is a pretty absurd action sequence with a moving shipping container and there is one of the wildest safe house in film history, quite literally.  Speaking of budgetary restraints, this movie looks like it could have been a TNT show during the ’10.  Maybe an Eraser show would fit into other current dadcore shows that Prime Video pumps out these days like Bosche and Reacher.  Someone who “erases” a new person every week sounds like a pretty good idea for a television show even without the big twists the movie has.  It already has a great catchphrase to use every week: “Congratulations, you’ve just been erased.”

 

Eraser: Reborn is available today on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital.  Or you could just wait until this fall when it is scheduled to hit HBO Max.  Just do not ask me why we could watch The Batman on HBO Max after 45 days but have to wait two to three times as long for a straight DVD movie.  Really, why even make straight to DVD movies anymore?  Just put them straight on streaming.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: June 5, 2022

 

The Time Traveler’s Wife:  Oh wow, an episode of The time traveler’s Wife that is about, you know, the time traveler’s wife.  Though I am not sure if Ygritte could actually pull off a teenager.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  So Alicia is dead?  My big take away from her “waking up” was that she actually looks healthy… she must be dead.  But I am guessing they left it vague in case this is a Maggie situation where the actress wanted to leave only to realize there is not much work out there andcomes back to the show.

 

The First Lady:  I routinely ask about the accuracy of small details in this shows based on real people, but the thought that three Secret Service  pulled Sasha out of class solely because of a school shooting a couple states away seems fairly absurd.  Then I forgot that Judy Greer was on this show.  She seemed like she was going to be an important part of the Betty Ford storyline but just seemed to disappear.  But it was nice to see that Gerald was a good sport on SNL unlike Cheney and Rumsfeld.  I wonder what Dick thought of the movie made about him.

 

The Man Who Fell to Earth:  Yeah, it became obviously fairly quickly that the lady no one else saw was not really there.  But where exactly did she come from?  Did the other alien conjure her like he just show up to him from tome to time?

 

I Love That for You:  I mentioned how Patricia and Joanna would see different types of doctors to treat their types of cancer.  Unfortunately for Joanna, that did not stop Patricia from asking to talk to her doctor.  It was really rough of Joanna to ask her dad to pretend to be her doctor.

 

Obi Wan Kenobi:  Ooo, Vader vs. Kenobi… that almost made me forget that the Inquisitor somehow beat Leia to the end of the tunnel despite Leia having a decent head start the Inquisitor not really knowing where the tunnel ended.  Almost.

 

The Challenge: All Stars:  Stupid “This Season On…”  We saw Wes complain about Johnny being brought in as a mercenary so as soon as he got selected, it was obvious whoever he went up against was going to lose.  And that was one of the dumbest eliminations ever.  All they had to do is stand between the things, like Beth and Wes did, and had everyone been smart, could have been up there forever.

 

The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans:  Is there really going to be someone who goes home right before they were going to leave anyway for the second straight season?  But how disappointing that they did not put C’mon Me My Baby Tonight on Spotify.

 

Under the Banner of Heaven:  I did not realize this was going to be the finale.  And at 90 minutes, they really could have just split the last episode into two 45 minute episode.  Though, with every episode over an hour, they really could have just done ten 50 minute episodes instead.  Or just done away with the cop and his family life and made the Lafferty’s the main characters.

Around the Tubes: June 4, 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 POV, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Neneh Cherry, Sex Pistol, Anna Bates, Rachel Bilson, Spotlights, Entitled, NYC Points Gods.

- The 35th anniversary season of POV, America’s longest running documentary series, opens with the heart rendering observational film Wuhan Wuhan, about the first wave of COVID-19, in the city where the mysterious virus was first discovered.  Directed by Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, This is Not a Movie), and produced by Diane Quon (Minding the Gap), Donna Gigliotti (Hidden Figures, Shakespeare in Love), and Peter Luo (Crazy Rich Asians, Marshall), the documentary goes beyond the statistics and salacious headlines to provide a human experience to the early months of the pandemic through the stories of frontline medical workers, patients, and ordinary citizens.  Wuhan Wuhan makes its national broadcast and streaming premiere on PBS television series POV, Monday, July 11, 2022 at 10pmET/9C and is available to stream free through August 11, 2022 at pbs.org, and the PBS Video app. In addition to standard closed captioning, POV, in partnership with audio description service DiCapta, provides real time audio interpretations for audiences with sensory disabilities.

- Beginning today and throughout June, The Marley Family, Island Records, and UMe mark the 45th anniversary of Exodus – named the “Best Album of the 20th Century” by Time magazine in 1999 – with the digital premiere of three of the four nights from Bob Marley & the Wailers’ historic run at London’s Rainbow Theatre and a consolidated, revised digital Exodus: Deluxe Edition.  Following an assassination attempt in Kingston, Jamaica, in December 1976, Bob Marley and his band moved to London – in “exodus” from their home country – and recorded tracks for what became both the Exodus and Kaya albums. Marley’s Exodus, featuring the timeless tracks “Jamming,” “Three Little Birds,” “One Love/People Get Ready,” and the epic title song, came first, which led to early positive reviews, ten early dates around Western Europe and shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London’s Finsbury Park during release week. But an injury to Bob led to the abrupt cancellation of the rest of the Exodus tour, including expected U.S. breakthrough shows scheduled for late summer, leaving June 1-2-3-4 the final performances by the Wailers that year.

- Neneh Cherry shares the TOKiMONSTA remix of Sia’s version of her hit “Manchild”. TOKiMONSTA has re-imagined Sia’s take of the Neneh Cherry classic into a technicolour mandala of futuristic melodies, house and IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) that encompass the Grammy-nominated DJ and producer’s sound. The remix arrives ahead of her upcoming album The Versions, a collaboration album of covers from her expansive catalogue by an all female lineup of some of the most exciting and revered artists of our time, due June 10^th.  LISTEN HERE

- For the first time in over 20 years, 20 of the Sex Pistol’s recordings from 1976 to 1978 are collected together to tell the story of one of the world’s most influential and extraordinary bands.  Sex Pistols: The Original Recordings (UMe) covers a historic period when the band were rarely out of the news or the charts and will be available on double vinyl, CD and limited edition double transparent green vinyl. All configurations of Sex Pistols: The Original Recordings can be pre-ordered, HERE.

-  Anna Bates, the Los Angeles-born and raised singer-storyteller, releases her debut EP Here’s To The End HERE on Neon Gold Records. Classically trained in piano from a young age, it wasn’t until as recently as 2020 that Anna Bates began to release music under her own name. After her track “Holy Smokes” went viral on TikTok, Anna packed up her Belmont dorm and moved back west to pursue a career in music. To celebrate her debut, she’s revealing the music video for “Holy Smokes” HERE.  Anna performs live on Monday June 6th @ It’s A School Night HERE.

- Actress and podcast host Rachel Bilson has announced the launch of her new podcast, Broad Ideas, now available on all major podcast platforms. On Broad Ideas, Rachel is joined by long-time best friend Olivia Allen to talk about sex, mental health, their belief (or lack of) in ghosts, and so much more. They’ll be joined by old friends, young friends, and some friends they haven’t met yet to have fun, casual conversations about the same kind of broad topics you'd find yourself discussing with your girlfriends. Actress and longtime friend Kristen Bell joins them as their first guest for the premiere episode, which is available now. Upcoming guests include Mandy Moore, Aubrey Plaza, Zooey Deschanel, Gina Rodriguez, Kristen Kish, Bobby Berk, and many more.  “We wanted to create a safe space where nothing is off limits, an open honest conversation on things you normally only share with your best friend. From taboo topics to bedroom secrets, we are just a couple of broads with some big ideas,” said Bilson. “Life is a lot. Anything we can do to help people laugh and cry through it. We’re here for it. We offer a space to get real. No filters or covers. We believe authenticity is the comfort people are craving,” said Allen.

- SHOWTIME has announced that the new half-hour anthology series SPOTLIGHTS: A SHOWTIME SHORT FILM SERIES will roll out Sunday, June 12 with all five episodes available on streaming and on demand for SHOWTIME subscribers. The episodes will also debut on-air weekly on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Produced for SHOWTIME by JAX Media (DESUS & MERO, Emily in Paris, Russian Doll), the episodic anthology series features the bold works of various emerging filmmakers, with each episode featuring two to three short films that vary in timely subject matter, tone and perspective. SPOTLIGHTS offers a curated approach to support emerging filmmakers, as well as mentorship opportunities for each filmmaker to engage with creatives and executives across Paramount Global. The announcement was made today by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.  To view a trailer please go to https://youtu.be/ZOzwooE5B3U.

- SHOWTIME announced today that the network has ordered the half-hour comedy series ENTITLED, starring Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Fleabag) and created by Matt Morgan (Mister Winner, The Mimic), who will both executive produce. The series is co-produced by SHOWTIME and Channel 4 in the UK, in association with All3Media International.Harry Williams, Jack Williams and Sarah Hammond of Two Brothers Pictures – the producers of the Emmy^® winning Fleabag and International Emmy nominee BACK TO LIFE – also executive produce. Tim Kirkby (The Pentaverate, Don’t Forget the Driver, Veep) will direct season one and executive produce as well. Production of the eight-episode season of ENTITLED is scheduled to begin in Manchester, England in August, with the program scheduled to premiere in 2023. ENTITLED follows Gabe (Gelman), an American widower who must get to know his British wife’s estranged family In their crumbling gothic mansion in the English countryside, they compete for his affections – and his newly inherited fortune.

- SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films is announcing NYC POINT GODS, spotlighting the enduring impact of New York City point guards who honed their craft and developed their legendary showmanship on the city’s iconic playgrounds and high school gyms in the 1980s and ’90s. The documentary extends the successful collaboration between SHOWTIME and NBA superstar Kevin Durant and business partner Rich Kleiman’s Boardroom. NYC POINT GODS premieres on Friday, July 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and will be available across the network’s on-demand and streaming platforms at premiere.  The gritty blight of New York City in the ’80s revealed a cultural resilience, one that ultimately birthed East Coast hip-hop and inspired a style of play on the basketball court that endures today. The elegance of the city’s elite point guards, molded by the packed streetball courts, unwritten rules of bruising pickup games, and the perseverance required to survive everyday life, has come to define an era of basketball and American culture. Their transcendent style is etched in the consciousness of all who have witnessed these prodigies. The New York City point gods’ lasting impact on the game of basketball can be seen around the world, in virtually every league.

Lucifer: The Complete Fifth Season Review

 

Full Disclosure Notice:  Warner Bros. sent me this blu-ray for free so I could review it.

You cannot keep the devil down, neither Fox, who canceled Lucifer after three seasons, but was later saved by Netflix for three more season, nor the character himself.  At the end of the fourth season, Lucifer returned to Hell as a way to protect his new nephew from demons who may escape.  In the fifth season premiere (DVD and Blu-ray out today), which picks up about two months after the finale, he even tortured the person whose murder Detective Decker is investigating.  Though, it does not take too long for the devil to make it back to the City of Angels.

 

New daddy Amenadiel is not the only family member Lucifer runs into in the fifth season, one of which will look extremely familiar.  One character you will be seeing less of is Trixie who gets demoted to “Recurring” this season.  There are still plenty of cases of the week, or, well, episode since Netflix released the episodes in two bunches.  Lucifer even does some ripped from the headline stories like a pop star attempted to by a convent.  Granted, when Katy Perry tried to do this, there was significantly less murder.

 

Lucifer: The Complete Fifth Season comes with all 16 episodes spread across four Blu-rays (four episodes per disk).  There is not much in the way of bonus features; there is just a couple deleted scenes and a gag real.  Lucifer: The Complete Fifth Season, out today, is priced to own on DVD at $29.98 SRP ($39.99 in Canada) and will also be available on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Archive Collection.  Warner Archive Blu-ray releases are easily found at www.warnerarchive.com and on your favorite online retailer sites.  Lucifer: The Complete Fifth Season is also available to own on Digital now via purchase from digital retailers.

 

For those wondering when you can complete the Lucifer series collection, while no official date has been released yet, the first two Netflix season were released about a year after the last batch of episodes of that season were released.  So it is likely the final season could be released as early as this September.  Well, “final” season unless there is a reboot which does not seem out of the question.  Like I said earlier, you cannot keep the devil down.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: May 29, 2022

 

The Time Traveler’s Wife:  There are fewer things I need to see in this life than seeing a dude perform oral sex on himself.

 

Fear the Walking Dead:  So Strand is a good guy all of the sudden, ready to make peace just by seeing Alicia?  But then is a band guy at the end when he refused to turn off the beacon?  Make up your mind.  Even more bizarre was they just yadda-yaddaed Wes escaping a horde of zombies stuck in the bunker only to just have Strand murder him moments later.

 

The First Lady:  They seem to be hinting at lesbian all season and they just came out and explicitly showed it this week.  And yes, a Wikipedia deep dive did reveal a female reporter did move into the room next door and there were rumors a plenty.  Lesbians took front and center in Michelle’s storyline where they openly implied Michelle was behind Biden’s statement which seems like a bigger stretch.  Then in the seventies, Betty was planning Susan’s prom.  Okay, she also campaigned for the ERA.  I laughed when they mentioned Regan was courting the far right but campaigning against it.  Today’s far right would consider Regan a RINO.  And probably would think he eats babies.

 

I Love That for You:  I predicted that if (when) Patricia finds out Joanna is lying about her cancer, she would continue to milk it for ratings, but Patricia actually being diagnosed with breast cancer is making me rethink that.  Things may get rough for Joanna if Patricia starts asking for help.  Luckily for her, I believe they would be seeing different types of doctors.

 

The Challenge: All Stars: How does Darrell lose that?  He was inches away but just could not get that final push. But what was really annoying is how Wes weaseled his way out of elimination for the second straight elimination that he definitely would have lost mostly because Brad was in a position of power.

 

Survivor:  Oh no, Probst said that stupid Do or Die twist was one of his favorite new twists.  They were lucky that both times they did it; the person did not die.  But the proposition of someone eventually “dying” is bad because it would be extremely lame if there is a Tribal Council where no one actually gets voted out.  Speaking of useless new twists, the Shot in the Dark was a huge dud.  They had a one in six chance and I believe it was played six times, but not one person got lucky.  Then the Turn Back Time twist got crushed by fans and players alike.  I think the only new twist introduced in “new” Survivor was the Caught Red Handed twist which was extremely literal.  I fear what dumb twists are coming next.  But it looks like they are actually casting disabled people again.  Survivor has talked a lot about diversity, even instituting a 50% people of color casting mandate, but disabled people are severely underrepresented.  There was a time where there was a deaf woman and two amputees, but then there was a large lull.  The amputee next season is reportedly a Paralympian so she will not be a pushover.

 

Oh, yeah, and Maryanne won.  She did give a much better Final Tribal performance and had the last big move of the season getting Omar out.  Though I still think Mike had a much better season as a whole.  But it was a blowout, much like every season has become a blowout ever since they switched to this forum Final Tribal format.  Maybe it is time to go back to the Q&A format just to get some more drama back into the final reveal.

 

The Flight Attendant: Rosie Perez getting on a flight for an airline she used to work for while being a wanted fugitive seemed like a really bad idea and Suspicious Minds seems like a horrible song to play at a wedding (though, I will say that is my favorite Elvis song) but after a sophomore slump, the finale was... perfectly fine.

 

I predicted Cheryl Hines was the doppelganger after the second episode because Grace became too obvious and Hines being the big bad did make sense (though, I do not understand what that thing in Cassie's pocket was that made the alarm go off).

 

I am glad the weird AA woman was not the big bad but turned out to be someone important to the story in a different way, though maybe a reveal that should have been in the penultimate episode.  Despite the sophomore slump, I am still looking forward to a potential third season.

 

Obi Wan Kenobi:  That was nice they put up a four minute “previously on” reminding us what happening episodes 1-3.  You know, if you cut the prequels down to four minutes, they are not half bad.  I thought maybe starting with Order 66; we were going to see how Grogu escaped the massacre.  But we did get a few surprise appearance, most notably a young Princess Leia.  Oh, and Flea.  I am sure I can nit-pick, but I really enjoyed this even if the prequels in full lengths were bad.

 

The Blacklist:  So no Aram or Park next season?  Will we be getting new agents?  But it looks like we already got a new Big bad as Marvin turned that assassin against Red and left him with a list of people Red informed on.

Around the Tubes: May 28, 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 The Gilded Age, The Beach Boys, Lord Huron, Amy Winehouse, Florence + the Machine, Vera Blue, The Happy Fits, Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s), and I Love That for You.

- Get ready to embark on a compelling journey through life in New York in the late 1800s, as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings The Gilded Age: The Complete First Season to DVD on July 26, 2022. Indulge in all 9 episodes from the first season of the historical drama that won fans over with its charming cast and compelling storylines with over two hours of bonus content including an all-new featurette. The Gilded Age: The Complete First Season is available to own on DVD for $24.98 SRP ($29.99 in Canada) and will also be available to own on Digital via purchase from all major digital retailers. The series is now available exclusively for streaming on HBO Max.  From Emmy^® and Academy Award^® Winning Writer Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”, Best Original Screenplay Gosford Park), and recently renewed for a second season by HBO, The Gilded Age the Complete First Season takes place during a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new.  A wide-eyed young scion of a conservative family, Marian, embarks on a mission to infiltrate the wealthy neighboring clan of her aunts Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook, dominated by ruthless railroad tycoon George Russell and his ambitious wife, Bertha, meeting new people like aspiring writer Peggy Scott, along the way. In this exciting new world that is on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?

- The Beach Boys are sharing the sterling new stereo mix of their classic 1963 tune, “Shut Down,” offering up a blast of fun and sun to help soundtrack Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer. The new mix is featured on their forthcoming remastered and expanded edition of their career-spanning greatest hits collection, Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys, due June 17 via Capitol Records/UMe. Originally released in 2003, the album soared to No. 16 in the US and stayed on the chart for 104 weeks. Now certified 4x platinum for sales of nearly four and a half million albums, the new edition has been updated in both number of songs and sonics as it expands the original 30-track best of with 50 more of the band’s most beloved songs for a total of 80 tracks that span their earliest hits to deeper fan-favorite cuts. Boasting 26 new mixes, it includes two first-time stereo mixes, plus 24 new-and-improved stereo mixes, which in some cases feature the latest in digital stereo extraction technology, allowing for the team to separate the original mono backing tracks for the first time.  Pre-order Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys and listen to “Shut Down.” https://thebeachboys.lnk.to/SoundsOfSummer

- Lord Huron released Long Lost (Deluxe Edition) as the definitive version of their critically acclaimed fourth full-length album, Long Lost. The band has expanded the tracklisting with two new songs: “Your Other Life” and “Ton Autre Vie.” Listen to Long Lost (Deluxe Edition)—HERE.  The tunes reflect two sides of the same coin. Over a dusky beat and dreamy instrumentation, Lord Huron vocalist and songwriter Ben Schneider performs “Your Other Life” in English, while Sarah Dugas sings over the same sonic backdrop in French for “Ton Autre Vie.”

- UMe, Island Records, and BBC announce the release of Live at Glastonbury 2007 – the iconic performance of Amy Winehouse’s Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury 2007, coming to vinyl for the very first time on Friday, June 3rd.  Showcasing the inimitable artistry of one of the UK’s most gifted and accomplished singers of all time, this emotionally charged live set will be released as a 2LP on black vinyl, with an exclusive crystal clear edition available HERE. The 2007 performance on the festival’s legendary Pyramid Stage, 15 years ago this summer, was Amy’s second Glastonbury appearance and a performance that saw the world completely fall in love with her music. As well as a second set later that same day on the Jazz World Stage, Amy returned the following year to perform again on the Pyramid stage, cementing herself firmly in the canon of great Glastonbury performances.

- Florence + the Machine’s much lauded new album Dance Fever debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, #2 on Top Album Sales and #7 on the Billboard 200—her fourth consecutive album in the top ten. In addition, the album debuts at #1 in the U.K., the band’s fourth LP to reach the top spot.  Last week, Florence Welch shared the deluxe version of Dance Fever featuring a cover of The Stooges’ “Search And Destroy” and acoustic versions of four album tracks—“Cassandra,” “Free,” “Morning Elvis,” and “My Love.” Listen here.

- Fresh from performing at BassInTheGrass Festival, Australian indie pop artist Vera Blue shares her new single “The Curse” today—listen HERE. The power ballad single is reminiscent of her iconic 2017’s “Mended”, with effortlessly climbing vocals, achieving the right balance of intimacy and grandiosity.  While “Mended” is a song about when a powerful love has ended, “The Curse” is what happens when true love can feel like torture. Chronicling the experience of falling in love with a friend and having to reckon what that might mean for the friendship itself, it finds the alt-pop songstress at the height of her powers, writing about a difficult subject matter with grace and ingenuity. “It’s been a long time since I’ve put out a song like this. I think it’s time to show those raw emotions again, in more of a deep, heavy way, with more sadness,” says Vera Blue.

- After wrapping up two wildly successful tours and releasing an irresistible track "Dance Alone,", lively alt/indie-pop trio The Happy Fits release its accompanying official music video today shot at the Cameo Villa, here.  The Happy Fits will also be dancing across the pond to Europe and the UK this fall. In addition to the European & United Kingdom dates, the band will be performing at festivals across the U.S. this summer including Napa's BottleRock Festival and Milwaukee's Summerfest. Find a full list of dates below, with tickets on sale now via thehappyfits.com/tour.

- SHOWTIME has announced that the documentary feature ELIZABETH: A PORTRAIT IN PART(S), directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Venus, The Duke), will air on SHOWTIME this Friday, May 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available on streaming and on demand ahead of the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee this June.  The film was a passion project for Michell, the late filmmakerwho finished the film on the day that he passed. With a reputation for making some of the most globally celebrated British films, Michell referred to this project as, “a truly cinematic Mystery Tour up and down the decades; playful, poetic, funny, disobedient, ungovernable, affectionate, inappropriate, mischievous … and in awe.”

-  SHOWTIME and QVC, a world leader in video commerce (“vCommerce”), announced today their official collaboration in support of the SHOWTIME original comedy series I LOVE THAT FOR YOU, currently airing new episodes on streaming and on-demand Fridays and on-air Sunday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.  The show’s star and co-creator – Emmy^® nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live), who portrays a home-shopping host and avid fan within the fictional series – will co-host a live one-hour multiplatform shopping show today on QVC with QVC host Jane Treacy. The show, titled Vanessa Bayer and Jane Treacy’s Must-Haves, will be broadcast live from QVC studios in West Chester, PA today at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT, and will also be available to stream live and on demand on QVC’s streaming service and on https://www.qvc.com/content/shop-live-tv.html. Additional information can be found at https://www.qvc.com/ilovethatforyou. 

The Most Anticipated Show(s) of 2022-23

 

Every May, I would scroll over the network schedules they produce during the Upfronts and make a list of the new shows coming next fall that I am most excited about.  That list has gotten smaller and smaller and this year the list is just one: Quantum Leap.  I guess unless you really love cop or doctor shows, networks are just not for you anymore.  Law and Order, FBI, and Chicago even have their own nights.  That does not count Grey’s Anatomy or NCIS which has two hour blocks or The Rookie that has two shows on different nights.

 

Of course this is because all the adventurous shows have moved to streaming.  Sitcoms used to be the one thing networks did better than streaming but there are no new sitcoms launching in September, Lopez vs. Lopez will get a late fall premiere.  Only two other sitcom got announced this year.  Not only will no new shows will be on the fall schedule, CBS and ABC both cut an hour of comedy each from their current schedules.  They both very recently had two two hour blocks of sitcoms each week, now CBS is down to two one hour blocks and ABC has one two hour block.  The previously mentioned NBC, who once had the once vaunted Must See TV Thursday comedy block, will launch with no sitcoms on their schedule for the second straight year.

 

So with very few new shows, my fall schedule looks very bare.

 

 Mondays

8:00 – The Neighborhood (CBS)

10:00 – Quantum Leap (NBC)

 

Tuesdays

9:00 – La Brea (NBC)

 

Wesnesday

8:00 – Survivor (CBS)

8:00 – DC’s Stargirl (The CW)

8:30 – The Goldbergs (ABC)

9:00 – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

10:00 - Big Sky (ABC)

 

Thursdays

8:30 – Ghosts (CBS)

 

 Fridays

8:00 – Young Rock (NBC)

 

Saturdays/Sundays

Nothing

 

 

While I am listing schedules, might as well also post my Summer Schedule which is disturbingly filling up.  Summer used to be a time to catch up on things, but there are a lot of originals coming

 

Mondays

9:00 – Ima Vep (HBO, June 6)

9:00 – In the Dark (The CW, June 6)

 

Tuesdays

Pistol (Hulu, May 31)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu, June 28)

10:00 – Motherland: Fort Salem (Freeform, June 21)

10:00 – What We Do in the Shadows (FX, July 12)

 

Wednesdays

Ms. Marvel (Disney+, June 8)

Reservation Dogs (Hulu, August 3)

She-Hulk:  Attorney at Law (Disney+, August 17)

10:00 – Grown’ish (Freeform, July 10:00)

 

Thursdays

Players (Paramount+, June 16)

Maggie (Hulu, July 7)

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Prime, September 1)

 

Fridays

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+, May 27)

Loot (Apple TV+, June 24)

 

Sundays

9:00 – Westworld (HBO, June 26)

9:00 – The Chi (Showtime, June 26)

9:00 – House of the Dragon (HBO, August 21)

10:00 – City on a Hill (Showtime, July 10)

11:00 - Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime, June 19)