TV
Damien Chazelle’s Netflix Series The Eddy Is A Mess Without the Music: Review
The Pitch: The Academy Award-winning wunderkind director Damien Chazelle has made his name largely on films all about jazz, from his 2009 indie debut Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench to 2014’s searing music-school drama Whiplash and to 2016’s widescreen musical throwback La La Land. But with The Eddy, he’s one of the lead behind-the-scenes voices on an eight-episode limited streaming series set largely in a smoky Parisian nightclub whose creative leader is a mercurial ex-jazz pianist (André Holland) with a dark past, a troubled daughter, and thugs threatening him. So, to paraphrase Barton Fink, it’s an Oscar-winning director, one of the best actors of his generation, and Netflix. Whaddya need, a road map? The Language of Music: The first thing to know about The Eddy is that, apparentl...
Jimmy Fallon Impersonates Nicolas Cage Playing Tiger King’s Joe Exotic: Watch
The idea of Jimmy Fallon impersonating Nicolas Cage playing Tiger King’s Joe Exotic reads like something an Internet algorithm made up. Alas, The Tonight Show clown king made it a reality on Tuesday night, capitalizing on the news of the forthcoming scripted series. Basically, it’s Fallon doing his best bar room gesticulation of Cage, only wearing all the Tiger King accoutrements. The bleach-blonde wig? Check. The ’90s Fleer Ultra shades? Check. The Spirit Halloween threads? Check. He even wrote a country song. Of course, this writer is well aware of the hypocrisy that he’s writing this up and promoting it. But, if you’re like him, and already convinced the world is teetering on the edge of destruction, then perhaps you’ll take joy in muting the video and simply imagining Fallon has just l...
Tier Drop Ranks Parks and Recreation Characters on Twitch
Just when we needed them the most, the greatest public servants of all time returned with the Parks and Recreation special. Even while socially distancing, Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson, Donna Meagle, and the rest of Pawnee’s favorite residents reminded us how to look out for each other and to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. So to honor the members of the Parks and Rec department, we’re ranking them all on our Twitch show Tier Drop. What’s going to make this particular ranking so challenging is how great the core cast of Parks and Rec is. Whether dorky like Ben Wyatt or baller like Tom Haverford, irritatingly perky like Chris Traeger or lovably misanthropic like April Ludgate, the Pawnee Parks Department is full of people you want to watch. And that’s sayin...
Steve Carell’s Netflix Comedy Space Force Gets First Trailer: Watch
Space Force, the upcoming Netflix comedy series from The Office co-creator Greg Daniels and Steve Carell, has received its first teaser trailer in advance of its May 29th premiere. Watch it below. Carell, who also serves as co-creator and executive producer, stars as Mark R. Naird, “a General tapped by the White House to lead a new branch of the Armed Forces with the goal of putting American ‘Boots on the Moon’ by 2024.” If you haven’t guessed by now, the series directly riffs on Donald Trump’s ludicrous Space Force idea. Assisting Carell with this mission is an all-star cast that includes John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, Noah Emmerich, Diana Silvers, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, Jane Lynch, and Fred Willard. Paul King (of Paddington 2 and...
Jerry Seinfeld Says Netflix’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Likely Over: “I Did That Tour”
Jerry Seinfeld isn’t one to linger. He’s the master of his domain, to borrow from his own words. That’s why we’re not surprised to hear he’s likely finished with Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Or that his new Netflix special, 23 Hours to Kill, might be his last. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Seinfeld digressed on the former Crackle series, saying: “We haven’t planned anything with that show, I kind of feel like if I did that tour.” He went on to stress how it’s actually a harder show to shoot than the series lets on, adding: “I don’t know, I feel like I may have done that exploration at this point.” He also feels the same about standup specials, contending: “Don’t overstay your welcome.” Again, this isn’t much of a shocker seeing how it took him 22 years to follow...
Joe Exotic Will Formally Ask Donald Trump for a Pardon
Joe Exotic and his legal team are launching a campaign to ask Donald Trump for a pardon. The formal request will come in the next few days, TMZ reports, with the hope that he’ll be able to plead his case to the president, one criminal reality star to another. The subject of Netflix’s Tiger King was sentenced to 22 years in prison, having been found guilty of trying to hire a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, his nemesis, as well 17 counts of (and this is a technical legal term) being a dick to animals. But Exotic has maintained his innocence, and his defense basically boils down to, “Would I have told everyone I would pay good money to have Carol Baskin killed if I was actually going to do it?” So far, his strategy for presidential outreach involves wrapping a bus in an eye...
Mr. Show’s Bob Odenkirk and David Cross Reuniting Over Zoom for Charity Event
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are reuniting for another Mr. Show gig. They’re calling it the Mr. Show Zoomtacular Annual Business Call Event for Charity and all proceeds will go on to benefit LIFT. The reunion goes down Wednesday, May 13th at 8:00 p.m. EST and 5:00 p.m. PST. Fans can expect a number of familiar faces, specifically Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Jay Johnston, Brian Posehn, Brett Paesel, and John Ennis. There will also be additional music from Eban Schletter. Tickets are $10 — plus a $2.20 service fee — and you can grab ’em here. To prep, revisit Mr. Show on Hulu and check out Odenkirk and Cross’ last reunion when they teamed up in 2015 for Netflix’s Bob and David. To get you motivated, revisit one of their best bits below… [embedded content]
44 Million Americans Share Passwords to Video Streaming Services: Survey
How many passwords do you have across all your streaming accounts? Now, how many of them do you share with family, friends, and loved ones? Probably a lot. Probably most of you. Especially if we’re to believe a new report by by Cordcutting.com, which states that 44 million U.S. adults are using shared passwords for streaming services. That’s a whole lot of Netflix and chilling for free, and not surprisingly, it’s gone up in 2020 for a couple of networks. For both Netflix and Amazon Prime, the amount of freeloaders have increased by 14.4% and 13.9%, respectively. Though, oddly enough, Hulu has been spared of millions of moochers as they’re seeing a decline of 17.2%. When those numbers are translated into dollars, you can almost hear the sighs and smell the sweat from the suits at Netflix an...
Reno 911! and the Thin Blue Line Between Satire and Cruelty
In a world where micro-streaming service Quibi was watched by anyone except exhausted culture writers assigned to cover it, their relaunch of the mockumentary sketch show Reno 911! would take up at least a couple days’ worth of exhaustive Twitter culture war discourse. For what it’s worth, the cast of the acclaimed Comedy Central show are all back and haven’t missed a step, sliding back into their roles as if no time has passed. Unfortunately, that same sense of nostalgic comfort is also the show’s greatest weakness; for better and for worse, the show (and its sense of humor) hasn’t changed a whit since it went off the air in 2009. In the Bush-era heyday of Reno 911!, the show perfectly fit that South Park peak of edgy, subversive humor. The sketch-based, improv-heavy nature...
Robert Rodgriguez Directed a Season 2 Episode of The Mandalorian
Robert Rodgriguez is no stranger to tales of violent outlaws and children in danger. Now, the creative mind behind the Sin City and Spy Kids franchises has confirmed his work directing a Season 2 episode of The Mandalorian. In a May 4th post on Twitter, Rodriguez shared a picture of himself and a certain green puppet. “I am truly humbled to say I have now had the very rare privilege of directing the biggest star in the universe,” he wrote. Season 2 is expected to debut in October. While Disney is usually tight-lipped about these things, the House of Mouse has been strategically leaking details about their only universally-adored Star Wars property. In March we learned that Rosario Dawson will take up the dual lightsabers of fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano, and yesterday Peyton...
The Weeknd Guests on American Dad, Performs New Song “I’m a Virgin”: Watch
Throughout his entire discography, The Weeknd dishes on his salacious, sex-fueled nights and his luxe life of fancy cars and mansions. For his latest project, however, the Canadian R&B singer is looking to change that narrative, if for just 30 minutes. Abel Tesfaye co-wrote and starred in the newest episode of Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad. Titled “A Starboy is Born” (referencing his Starboy album from 2016), it sees the artist show his true colors — and it’s a stark contrast from the rich playboy we’ve all come to know. Kidnapped by Roger the Alien, The Weeknd settles into the Smith family household surprisingly quickly, reveling in homemade lasagna, mundane house chores, and suburban pleasantries. “I miss being around boring people like this family,” he says at the dinner table. The...
