Category Archives: Television

iTunes shares 2015’s top-selling music, movies, TV shows, apps & more

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Thanks to its undeniable ubiquity, Apple’s iTunes storefront is a great barometer of the most popular media sold in entertainment. Let’s take a look at who and what performed well in 2015…

Included in iTunes’ top-selling albums are Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Taylor Swift’s 1989, and Adele’s 25 (which came out only weeks ago!). The top-selling song of the year is Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars’ addicting “Uptown Funk.” Hanging around in the top 20 are Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen,” The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” and of course, Adele’s “Hello.” In addition to these top-selling lists, Apple likes to share hand-picked Editor Choice awards and they include: Drake (Best Artist), Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly (Best Album), The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” (Best Song), and Bryson Tiler (Best New Artist).

Top-selling movies include Star Wars: The Digital Movie Collection, Big Hero 6, American Sniper, Inside Out, and Kingsman: The Secret Service. Apple’s featured best movies include Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside Out, the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, and Dope. In TV, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Scandal, and The Blacklist are amongst the year’s best-selling series. Apple’s featured best TV shows include Mr. Robot, Fargo, UnREAL, and Inside Amy Schumer.

Apple’s App Store is home to the largest library of apps in the world. The best app to help pass the time with friends, Heads Up!, keeps its crown as the top-selling paid app in 2015. Rounding out the top five paid apps: Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack (ad free), Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and Facetune. The top 5 best-selling free ones are always easy to nail: Trivia Crack, Facebook Messenger, Dubsmash, Instagram, and Snapchat. Don’t worry–YouTube, Facebook, Uber, and Crossy Road don’t trail far behind.

Calling all book readers! Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, E L James’ Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and John Green’s Paper Towns are among the best-selling fictional novels. Top-selling non-fiction novels include Chris Kyle’s American Sniper, Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat, and Erik Larson’s Dead Wake.

Lastly, in the realm of podcasts, NPR’s Fresh Air is the most downloaded of the year. Apple named Mystery Show Best New Podcast and WTF with Marc Maron Best Classic Podcast.

Want more? Open iTunes to view all the top-selling media across Apple’s digital ecosystem.

10 premieres to look out for in January: ‘Sherlock,’ ‘New Girl,’ ‘American Crime,’ ‘Agent Carter,’ ‘The X-Files’ & more

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Ring in the New Year with an exciting slate of new and returning programs coming to TV in the month of January. Zach Galifianakis and Chelsea Handler are the stars of two fresh comedy series premiering this month, and you can look forward to the long anticipated returns of Sherlock, Agent Carter, and yes, The X-Files. Jump after the break for the full rundown.
Continue reading 10 premieres to look out for in January: ‘Sherlock,’ ‘New Girl,’ ‘American Crime,’ ‘Agent Carter,’ ‘The X-Files’ & more →

‘Orphan Black’ season 4 kicks into gear with flashy teaser and mysterious new clone

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Clone Clubbers, perk up! Posted above is the first official teaser for Orphan Black season 4. There’s not much to glean from it, except for the fact that it features an artificial eye embedded with cameras. Someone’s watching us, but who could it be? Perhaps it’s teasing Rachel Duncan’s new prosthetic eye. Some are even theorizing that it’s hinting at Delphine’s rise from the ashes? Either way, it’s slick, and this quick clip alone is enough to get the blood pumping for a new season of The Tatiana Maslany Show.

But if that simply isn’t enough to whet your appetite, hold on to your hands, because series creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson are already teasing a brand new clone set to make her debut in the next season. In an interview with EW, Fawcett and Manson reveal her mysterious name, M.K., and describe her as “this slightly traumatized clone who has a deep past.” Click here to scan the rest of the informative exchange, and pop into the gallery below to visualize the masked clone who has “been self-aware for some time” and “knows more than [Sarah and] us.” Why the sheep mask? Dolly the sheep, but of course. Catch of glimpse of M.K. in a video posted after the fold.

Orphan Black returns in April to BBC America.

Continue reading ‘Orphan Black’ season 4 kicks into gear with flashy teaser and mysterious new clone →

Return to ‘Twin Peaks’ in this scenic, mysterious first look

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Twin Peaks, the cult mystery drama from David Lynch and Mark Frost, is primed to make its comeback 25 years after it aired his season 2 finale in June 1991. Just like Laura Palmer promised. Well, 26 years later to be exact now that Lynch and Showtime are confirming a 2017 premiere window. Still, that’s pretty eerie if you ask me and that’s just how Lynch likes it. The official logline for the new season doesn’t spill much of anything, but it’ll remind you about what’s come before.

Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential broadcast series of all time, TWIN PEAKS followed the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town who were stunned after their homecoming queen Laura Palmer was shockingly murdered. The town’s sheriff welcomed the help of FBI agent Dale Cooper, who came to town to investigate the case. As Cooper conducted his search for Laura’s killer, the town’s secrets were gradually exposed. The mystery that ensued set off an eerie chain of events that plunged the inhabitants of Twin Peaks into a darker examination of their very existence. Twenty-five years later, the story continues…

Much of the original cast is expected to return, though it’s only Kyle MacLachlan’s FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper who’s officially confirmed to reprise. Well, MacLachlan and now Michael Horse who played Deputy Tommy “Hawk” Hill during the series’ original incarnation. Horse, who still looks pretty much the same minus a few grey hairs, is featured in this first look at the long-anticipated return to Twin Peaks.

“Location sometimes becomes a character,” Horse says in the scenic clip first shared by Lynch via Twitter. “There are a lot of holy places up here, a lot of sacred places. Can’t put my finger on how I would describe it. It just touches something in the psyche. It’s almost like being in a moving painting.”

It feels good to be home, you know, “five miles south of the Canadian border, and twelve miles west of the state line,” in the bizarre wilderness that is the fictional town of Twin Peaks. The iconic waterfall and surrounding lush forest look absolutely stunning filmed in HD. Curious to see that the same number of residents reside in the town, even 25 years later; the sign counter remains stuck at 51,201. Also remaining in tact is composer Angelo Badalamenti’s memorable theme and the same credit font, now even shinier than before. The teaser ends just as it should, strange and mysterious. An unfocused man with white hair holding his arms up shakes the camera and the music goes haywire before fading out. Who could it be? Some might say it’s the return of Leland Palmer, but my bet’s on Lynch. This could be the series co-creator having fun with fans, and let’s not forget that he played FBI Agent Gordon Cole so this could hint at another character reprisal.

Stick it here for the latest Twin Peaks scoops; you can be sure I’ll be all over it like Agent Cooper would a good cherry pie and a damn fine coffee.

Status update #4 on your favorite new and returning shows

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Before we close out the year, let’s take one more look at the survival status of your favorite shows.

CBS is a fan of the high-flying Supergirl so much so that it’s granted the Greg Berlanti-produced superhero series a full season order. The DC Comics-based drama will run for 20 episodes in its debut season.

NBC can’t get enough of Raymond Reddington. The network has renewed the James Spader vehicle The Blacklist for a fourth season ensuring its comeback next fall. The high-octane drama took a daring turn into more serialized storytelling this year and it’s reaping the rewards in the creative department. Also on the Peacock’s nice list is Dick Wolf’s latest spinoff Chicago Med; the medical procedural has been given a five-episode back order bringing its first season tally to 18 hours. Remember, ChiMed debuted late in November, so this can be considered a full season order. On its naughty list is Neil Patrick Harris’ primetime variety show Best Time Ever; it won’t be coming back for more.

Fox‘s summer breakout Wayward Pines will in fact return for a 10-episode second season. The M. Night Shyamalan-produced mystery drama based on author Blake Crouch’s novels hooked viewers with its jaw-dropping twists, fun action sequences, and most of all, its homages to The Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks. Shyamalan will return to EP, but showrunner Chad Hodge is handing off the reigns to Mark Friedman (Believe).

For more, jump after the break. Continue reading Status update #4 on your favorite new and returning shows →

Netflix and the streaming services dominate Golden Globe nominations

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Popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon made a considerable splash at the Golden Globe nominations ceremony today. Netflix, the maker of original content like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, leads the TV competition including streaming services, cable and broadcast networks with a total of 8 nominations. Not so far behind is premium cable networks HBO and Starz with 7 and 6 nods, respectively, and Amazon ties FX with 5.

Speaking of the streaming services taking over, you needn’t look further than the Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy category which is utterly dominated by offerings from Netflix (Orange is the New Black), Amazon (Transparent), and Hulu (Casual). They’ll be facing off against HBO’s Silicon Valley and Veep. You’ll notice not a single broadcast network comedy enters the race here; the times, they are a-changin’. Fox’s Empire managed to squeeze into Best Drama Series where it is instantly overshadowed by HBO’s Game of Thrones, USA’s Mr. Robot, Starz’s Outlander, and yet another Netflix show, Narcos.

Actresses across the comedy TV category up for Globes include Rachel Bloom (The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jamie Lee Curtis (Fox’s Scream Queens), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (HBO’s Veep), Gina Rodriguez (The CW’s Jane the Virgin), and Lily Tomlin (Netflix’s Grace and Frankie). Leading actors include Aziz Ansari (Netflix’s Master of None), Gael Garcia Bernal (Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle), Rob Lowe (Fox’s The Grinder), Patrick Stewart (Starz’s Blunt Talk), and of course Jeffrey Tambor (Amazon’s Transparent).

In the drama department, the following actresses are vying for the shiny statue: Caitriona Balfe (Starz’s Outlander), Viola Davis (ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder), Eva Green (Showtime’s Penny Dreadful), Taraji P. Henson (Fox’s Empire), and Robin Wright (House of Cards). Leading actors nominated include Jon Hamm (AMC’s Mad Men), Rami Malek (USA’s Mr. Robot), Wagner Moura (Netflix’s Narcos), Bob Odenkirk (AMC’s Better Call Saul), and Liev Schreiber (Showtime’s Ray Donovan).

Elsewhere, ABC’s American Crime, FX’s American Horror Story: Hotel and Fargo, Starz’ Flesh and Bone, and PBS’ Wolf Hall have all been nominated for Best TV Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. Shout outs to Kirsten Dunst (Fargo), Lady Gaga (AHS: Hotel), Felicity Huffman & Regina King (American Crime), Maura Tierney (The Affair), Ben Mendelsohn (Netflix’s Bloodline), and Christian Slater (Mr. Robot) for scoring lead and supporting acting nods.

Moving onto the snubs… Where’s the love for stellar shows like HBO’s The Leftovers, FX’s The Americans, AMC’s The Walking Dead, A&E’s Bates Motel, Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, FXX’s You’re the Worst, NBC’s Parks & Rec, Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and and The Last Man on Earth? The decision to completely omit these shows and their stellar casts makes me scratch my head indefinitely.

Now let’s not forget that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) also votes on the best films of the year. Movies nominated for best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy include The Big Short, Joy, The Martian (??), Spy, and Trainwreck. Best Dramas include Carol, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight. The movies up for Best Animated Picture: Anomalisa, Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out, The Peanuts Movie, and Shawn the Sheep Movie.

Click here for the full list of Golden Globe-nominated TV series, movies, actors, actresses, screenplays, directors, scores, and songs. The 73rd Golden Globes airs live Sunday, Jan. 10 at 8pm (ET) on NBC.

Amazon’s ‘Transparent’ returns later this month

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With the holiday season upon us, many of your favorite shows broadcasting on network and cable are going into hibernation for winter. But that surely doesn’t mean there’s nothing to watch until they reemerge in the new year. Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are showing TV viewers with all kinds of grade-A content right now, including last month’s recommendations Masters of None, Jessica Jones, and The Man in the High Castle.

Joining that list this month is Amazon’s most lauded original work, Jill Soloway’s Transparent. Jeffrey Tambor walked away with an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his riveting and realistic portrayal of a transgender person going through the growing pains of coming out to his tight-knit family. Tambor truly is a tour-de-force in the role, and he’s proven to be an inspiration for the transgender community. And underneath all this lives and breaths a relatable, quirky family drama supported by a fantastic cast including Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Gaby Hoffmann, and Judith Light. Transparent effortlessly tells its important life lessons on inclusivity with healthy doses of humor and love. It’s hard not to get completely entangled and mesmerized by the trails and tribulations of the Pfeffermans.

The 10-episode second season of Transparent debuts on Amazon all at once on Friday, December 11. Feeling the itch to get things started early? Amazon is offering up the first episode, “Kina Hora,” today; watch it here. And here’s the season 2 trailer.

‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 promotional poster teases Jon Snow’s questionable fate [Update: Teaser trailer]

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It goes without saying, but… spoilers inside.

Jon Snow lives?! Ever since the climactic season 5 finale, Game of Thrones viewers have been up in arms about the fate of fan favorite, Jon Snow. For many reasons it was rough to see him bite the dust during the closing minutes of the episode. He had only recently become the fearless leader of The Night’s Watch and ultimate defender of The Wall. He had unfinished business with the terrifying White Walker nation. And, of course, there’s the lingering curiosity surrounding his birth mother. With so much going for Snow, ripping him away like that seemingly out of nowhere was a very hard pill to swallow.

And now, there’s this. But what does it mean? HBO and numerous members of the show’s cast and crew have publicly stated that Jon Snow is dead as a doornail. Is the poster teasing his presumed resurrection by The Red Woman aka Melisandre who conveniently strolled into Castle Black moments before Snow’s abrupt execution?

Like winter, answers are coming when Game of Thrones returns in April.

Update (1/3): You won’t find any new footage here in the first teaser trailer for Game of Thrones season 6, but there’s plenty of Jon Snow to go around. Is he alive, is he dead? The verdict’s still out. The best part? That’s when Bran ends with clip with, “They have no idea what’s going to happen.” This, of course, is a fun poke at GoT book fans since the TV series has finally caught up with the events unfolding in George R.R. Martin’s novels. It’s true: we know nothing…except for the fact that HBO is torturing us re: Snow’s ultimate fate. Watch the teaser after the break.

[Image via Twitter] Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ season 6 promotional poster teases Jon Snow’s questionable fate [Update: Teaser trailer] →

James Franco travels back in time to save JFK in ‘11.22.63,’ the next series from J.J. Abrams & Stephen King

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J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot (Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest) aren’t tipping toes into the world of subscription-based streaming; with 11.22.63, the ubiquitous storyteller is diving in head-first. Abrams’ latest TV series is coming to Hulu in 2016 and it’s based on Stephen King’s 2011 novel of the same name. King (Under the Dome) also serves as executive producer. Here’s the official logline, time travel included.

Hulu Original series 11.22.63 is a thriller in which high school English teacher Jake Epping travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — but his mission is threatened by Lee Harvey Oswald, falling in love and the past itself, which doesn’t want to be changed.

Movie actor James Franco, best known for stoner comedies such as This is The End and Pineapple Express, takes a dramatic turn as lead character Jake Epping and the supporting cast includes Chris Cooper (The Bourne Identity), Josh Duhamel (Battle Creek), T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy), Cherry Jones (24), Sarah Gadon, Lucy Fry, George MacKay, and Daniel Webber.

The series’ first teaser trailer rests above and packed inside the 30-second clip are more than enough tantalizing glimpses to appropriately whet your appetite. “I’m gonna tell you something that’s gonna seem crazy,” says an off-screen narrator. “If you go through there, it’s 1960.” Chills is the proper response.

Prepare for you next binge as 11.22.63 rolls out on Hulu on February 15, 2016. Happy President’s Day.

‘The Rugrats’ grow up in original storyboard artist’s modern-day interpretation

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Did you grow up with Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica, and Susie? You know–Nickelodeon’s The Rugrats? Have you ever wondered what they might have looked like all grown up? Well of course we were privy to their teenage lives thanks to the short-lived spinoff series All Growed Up. But what happens when a Rugrats animator has a say in the matter, 11 years after the final episode of the classic series aired? See above; that’s what.

Eric Molinsky was a storyboard artist at animation studio Klasky Csupo from 1999 to 2002 where he worked on such memorable Nick shows like The Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and As Told By Ginger. Flash-forward to 2015, and Molinsky has taken to Studio 360 to pen a blog post revealing his take on what the Rugrats would actually look like today. He’s put the effort into maturing the nostalgic babies because he’s frustrated with the modern-day interpretations of them making Tommy and the gang into these super hip and stylish young adults. Here’s a quote plucked from his mild rant:

“The Rugrats did not all grow up to be fashion models or self-confident hipsters. Especially not Chuckie. They probably grew up to be average if not slightly lumpy looking people — just like their parents.”

Pictured here, there’s no doubt that Tommy Pickles is his father’s son; Stu’s purple hair and signature stubble are prominently highlighted. Chuckie has held onto his awkwardness and he carries around a depressingly sad stare. Phil has let himself go a bit, gaining some fat, growing a goatee, and and plastering a rubber ducky tattoo on his left forearm (points!). Lil, meanwhile, has grown into a frumpy demeanor while maintaining her tiny pink bow.

Be sure to dive into the gallery below to see what Angelica, Susie, Dil, and Kimi would look like today according to Molinsky. It all makes sense: Angelica has inherited her mom’s uptight, blabbermouth persona; Susie has imprinted on Angelica more than she would ever like to admit; Tommy’s younger brother Dil has turned a strange corner rocking a couple of gold and silver chains; and Chuckie’s stepsister Kimi was somehow neglected by Chaz just enough to warrant her current emo phase.

Whether or not you fully embrace these interpretations of the Rugrats is entirely up to you. But coming from an actual Nick animator of the 90s, they surely produce a raw sense of nostalgia and make you think real hard about the life decisions these characters had to make along the way to get to this point. As the series has been in the can for quite some time now, it’s up to you and me to fill in the bubbles. That’s what the comments section is for–have fun with it!

Status update #3 on your favorite new and returning shows

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Many shows that premiered in the fall are about to go on a winter hiatus soon if they haven’t already, and as the seasons change it’s a good time to take our official third look at the TV landscape.

CBS isn’t ready to let go of Code Black just yet. The Marcia Gay-Harden medical procedural has received a five-episode back order, bringing its season 1 episode count to 18. Sure, it’s not a standard Back 9, but any sort of back order these days is a major sign of confidence from a network.

NBC is head over heels for Blindspot. Previously, the big ratings performer starring Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton was granted a full season order and was handed an extra episode maxing its season 1 episode count to 23. NBC has no plans to put the kibosh on this thing. In fact, the Peacock network has gone so far as renewing the crime drama for a second season! The net is also happy with Dick Wolf’s offerings; Chicago Fire and its spinoff Chicago P.D. will also be returning for fifth and fourth seasons, respectively, next TV season. And there’s the dramedy that just keeps chugging: The Mysteries of Laura headlined by Debra Messing has been given the greenlight to pump out three additional episodes in its second season; that ups its current season’s episode count to 16.

ABC clearly holds its comedic Wednesday night lineup in high regard. The Middle, The Goldbergs, and black-ish are all seeing episode count bumps to 24 half-hour installments. Modern Family is conspicuously missing from this list, but rest assured that it too will more than likely follow suit. Elsewhere, Tuesday night comedy Fresh off the Boat nabbed a full season order plus the two episode increase bringing its final season 2 tally to 24 eps. Following all of this good news, I’ve saved a sour one for last. The alphabet network is the first to make an official cancellation among the major nets this season and the loser is Wicked City. The incredibly low-rated serial killer drama has been pulled from the schedule after airing only three episodes.

Over at CBS’ sister network The CW, freshman Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and sophomore iZombie have been allotted an additional five episodes. This increases their episode counts to 18 and 19, respectively.

No surprises here: FX wants more American Horror Story and Fargo. The two critically acclaimed series from Ryan Murphy and Noah Hawley, respectively, are solid performers for the cable station and their anthological nature fosters exciting creative overhauls every year.

Jimmy Kimmel strikes again as parents prank their kids over missing Halloween candy

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Every Halloween Jimmy Kimmel tells parents to prank their children by telling them that mommy and daddy ate all their candy. You’d think that some kids might catch on to this annual, cruel joke. Some do! But for the most part, the joke lands and it lands hard. Turns out children are wired to completely freak out and cry in sadness and anger when they’re told that all of their Halloween candy is gone. Parents and Jimmy Kimmel Live audiences (myself included!) can’t help but belly-laugh at the mere sight of these ridiculous reactions. It’s schadenfreude at its finest, and it never fails to completely and utterly entertain.

Happy Halloween, kids!