Category Archives: News

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 →

First look: Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange

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Here’s your first look at Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as Doctor Steven Strange, the most mythical superhero to emerge from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without getting too heavy, Strange begins as a brilliant but egotistical surgeon. He survives a brutal car wreck but breaks the bones in his hands and loses the ability to perform surgery. He goes on to become a powerful sorcerer. You can refer to the Marvel comics or wait for the movie to fill in the gap. In any case, Entertainment Weekly scored this tantalizing first look at Cumberbatch suiting up for the role, and you can eye even more angles in the gallery below.

“We will take audiences through sort of a guide to the multiverse, other dimensions, and there are amazing things out there — wonders that are going to be hopefully visually extremely interesting and unique to this movie,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige tells EW. “But there are also very scary things in these other dimensions.”

Doctor Strange, directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Deliver Us from Evil) and also starring Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Mads Mikkelsen (the Hannibal actor has been confirmed as the film’s main villain!), hits theatres November 4, 2016. Stick it here for more pics, clips, plot details, and the eventual trailer.

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 →

The Beatles comes to streaming services just in time for the holidays (Update)

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Nearly five years to the day that The Beatles finally embraced the digital world of music by releasing their famed catalog on iTunes, the Fab Four are now officially offering their 13 studio albums and 4 essential collections on music streaming services. The most prolific streamers like Spotify and Apple Music are featuring The Beatles music today, along with other industry players including Google Play, Amazon Prime Music, Tidal, Deezer, Slacker Radio, Rhapsody, and Microsoft Groove. Back in 2011 when the band landed on iTunes, it quickly sold 2 million songs and 450,000 albums during its first week on Apple’s music store. Looking forward to finding out how the streaming community picks up on their sudden inclusion.

The Beatles dropped its catalog on Christmas Eve; a special gift to the world, indeed. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Celebrate with the band’s announcement video posted after the break.

Update (12/27): Spotify has released some streaming data re: The Beatles, including the most streamed songs around the world. Skip after the break for the intel. Continue reading The Beatles comes to streaming services just in time for the holidays (Update) →

Kid Cudi returns to his childhood high school for inspirational TED talk

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It’s been fun following Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi’s career over the years, from his humble rap beginnings to his recent exploration into rap-punk-rock fusion. He never lets his fans forget where he comes from–that’s Cleveland, Ohio if you didn’t know. Last February, he went home to give a TED talk at his old high school, Shaker Heights High, where he shared with an excitable audience his experiences growing up in the music industry. For Cudi fans, it’s a brief but intriguing trip inside the mind of the rapper turned rocker/actor. In general, though, it’s an informative speech with an aim to push everyone to make goals and reach to fulfill them. Cudi gets surprisingly candid with the crowd (at one point he even invites up an old high school friend he hasn’t seen in many years) and offers sound advice for his fans, the haters, and all.

Click here to watch the 20-minute TED talk on YouTube.

‘Serial’ podcast returns and its new case will have global consequences

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Serial is back. This morning at precisely 6am, host Sarah Koenig and her crack team at NPR’s This American Life debuted the first chapter in the second season of her wildly popular podcast. While season 1 was all about a captivating murder case, season 2 will investigate a new, compelling story surrounding U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Apparently Bergdahl left his small outpost in eastern Afghanistan and ventured into hostile territory to later be taken hostage by the Taliban; he would be the terrorist organization’s prisoner for almost five years. In May 2014, a deal was struck and the Taliban handed Bergdahl back to the United States. But things were not all peachy for the rescued solider upon his return; a celebration hosted by his hometown of Hailey, Idaho was promptly cancelled when Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers started labeling him a deserter and traitor to his country. In this season of Serial, Koenig–with the assistance of filmmaker Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker)–will explore the mystery behind Bergdahl’s decision to leave his post and the global ramifications that followed. “It’s a story that has played out in unexpected ways from the start. And it’s a story that’s still going on,” reads a post featured on the Serial site.

“Unlike our story in Season One, this one extends far out into the world,”  Koenig blogs. “It reaches into swaths of the military, the peace talks to end the war, attempts to rescue other hostages, our Guantanamo policy. What Bergdahl did made me wrestle with things I’d thought I more or less understood, but really didn’t: what it means to be loyal, to be resilient, to be used, to be punished.”

And now, without further ado, I present “DUSTWUN,” the 44-minute premiere of Serial‘s second season. You can stream it free at Serial‘s site and on Pandora, or alternatively you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. In addition to complementary posts, the Serial team will be providing interactive 3D maps, graphics, and videos to help explain the story as it unfolds. Look out for new installments on a weekly basis.

Excuse me while I fall back into the trance that is Sarah Koenig’s investigative prowess. I’ve missed you, MailChimp. See you all on the other side.

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.

Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift & The Weeknd lead 2016 Grammy nominations

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Seemingly always on the rise rapper Kendrick Lamar leads with the most Grammy Award nominations this year. His 11 nods fall within major categories including Album of the Year (To Pimp A Butterfly) and his track “Alright” landed him numerous nods in the following fields: Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. Trailing not so far behind is Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, both earning 7 nods apiece.

Let’s take a quick look at the General Field nominees, the four most prominent categories that Swift managed to dominate this year thanks to her record-breaking album, 1989. Her popular single “Blank Space” is competing for Record of the Year with D’Angelo And The Vanguard’s “Really Love,” Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” and The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” In the Album of the Year category, 1989 is up against Alabama Shakes’s Sound and Color, Kendrick’s Butterfly, Chris Stapleton’s Traveller, and The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind The Madness. “Blank Space” and “Alright” are joined by “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town, “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, and “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran in competition for Song of the Year. Last, Courtney Barnett, James Bay, Sam Hunt, Tori Kelly, and Meghan Trainor are all vying for the coveted Best New Artist award.

Click here for the full list of this year’s nominees. The 58th Annual Grammy Awards airs Monday, Feb. 15 at 8pm on CBS.

Harmonix & Oculus team up to bring ‘Rock Band’ to virtual reality in 2016

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Rock Band just made its comeback on consoles with Rock Band 4 on Xbox One and PS4, but that wasn’t enough for developer Harmonix. The company behind the original incarnations of Guitar Hero is hard at work on bringing the Rock Band experience to virtual reality via the Oculus Rift. Rock Band VR–as it’s being called for now–will suitably place the gamer on stage in front of a roaring crowd ready to hear some rock and roll. Harmonix and Oculus are keeping pretty mum on the exciting project. All we’ve got to go on is this quick clip that invites Dragonforce into the fold. Any Guitar Hero fan will remember the classic (arguably hardest) track featured in Guitar Hero III, Dragonforce’s heavy metal “Through the Fire and Flames.” The VR version of the game will come with this song in tow. The video has fun with the musicians paling around with Harmonix co-founder Alex Rigopulos and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. It’s the final 20 seconds, though, that’ll get your heart racing in anticipation of the VR title; the nostalgic track plays as you catch a glimpse of what it’ll be like to live our your rockstar dreams like never before. How cool would it be to look around and see your bandmates playing right alongside you, feeding off your stage presence and the crowd’s energy? Both the Rift headset and the game aren’t due out until next year, so there’s still plenty of time for Harmonix and Oculus to invent imaginative ways to bring Rock Band into the untapped world of virtual reality.

Kid Cudi drops his next genre-busting effort, ‘Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven’

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The sixth studio album from Kid Cudi, Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven, has finally arrived. Like WZRD (2012), Indicud (2013), and Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon (2014) before it, SB2H continues to defy the musical boundaries Cudder successfully defined for himself early in his career with the Man on the Moon records. Cudi doesn’t consider himself a hip-hop or rap artist but instead an “alternative” one. SB2H emanates alt-grunge-rock vibes with emphasis on guitar strings, not electronic beats. “I’ve ripped my heart out and carved it into tiny pieces of musical madness,” Cudi has previously said about his latest effort. And it’s true: SB2H is an emotional record that drives into the depths of the experimental rapper-turned-rocker.

The 26-track album is split into an A-side and B-side. The first half features singles including “Confused!,” “Judgemental Cunt,” and “Wedding Tux.” Sprinkled throughout are skits featuring Beavis & Butt-Head voiced by the cartoon’s creator Mike Judge; Cudi enlisted Judge to record the new bits in-studio and how cool is that? The B-side includes eight tracks, half of which are demo recordings. Longtime Cudi fans will take solace in the fact that SB2H welcomes back Cudi’s Man on the Moon producing partner Plain Pat behind-the-scenes.

Wondering about Cudi’s tour plans? He was expected to kick things off this month, but due to production issues he’s postponing until “the top of next year.” Our consolation prize? The release of a third single, “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven,” side-A’s penultimate track produced by Cudi and Plain Pat.

Dig Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven‘s album artwork above, plug in your headphones, and rock out to dat new-new Kid Cudi via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, or Google. Holding out for the physical CD? Cudi promises that’ll release Dec. 18, and you can preorder it today at Amazon. Also coming soon: vinyl and a “special limited run of cassette tapes.” Rad.

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.

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.