Month: December 2020

In the years between the Lynda Carter-starring Wonder Woman (now available on HBO Max) and Gal Gadot’s debut as Diana Prince in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, NBC tried to make another Wonder Woman show, this one starring Friday Night Lights actress Adrianne Palicki as the titular heroine. But after viewing the notoriously terrible pilot, the network passed on the David E. Kelley-written series.

If it had been picked up, Pedro Pascal would have entered our lives that much sooner.

The Mandalorian star played Ed Indelicato in the pilot (think: the Commissioner Gordon to Diana’s Batman), years before getting the role of Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984. “Getting Wonder Woman 1984 blew my mind so much that anything that had ever happened to me prior, I don’t recall; I had no association,” Pascal told EW. “And that’s not to say that getting the Wonder Woman pilot from 2011 wasn’t a party for me, and I was devastated it didn’t get picked up.” He thought the show, where Diana lives in Los Angeles and works as the CEO of Themyscira Industries while also fighting crime as Wonder Woman, was a “very risky and interesting take in terms of what they were trying to do.” He had more to say:

“It’s only after [being cast] that I start to remember the association and the strangeness of being part of two different Wonder Woman experiences… You can never say this is the only Wonder Woman [because] Lynda Carter will be with us for the rest of our lives. But in terms of our current era of superhero movies, it seems like there was nothing before this Wonder Woman.”

The Wonder Woman show was cursed the second Pascal didn’t play a single dad.

(Via EW)

Actor and weed connoisseur Jim Belushi is getting through the pandemic like the rest of us: by looking for the best bingewatches out there. His quest led to an unanticipated place, however, when the Blues Brother decided that he had a hankering for some anime. He knew exactly where to turn (to nerds) and admit that he didn’t have extensive knowledge of the subject, and Twitter was here for Belushi.

“Any anime fans out there?” he tweeted. “I always loved Studio Ghibli after I worked with them – however I don’t know much else. But, I just saw ‘Your Name’ and it blew me away. What is out there? C’mon, some of you guys have to be nerds. Fess up!”

Anime streaming service Crunchyroll was quick to provide a recommendation: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

From there, the suggestions poured forth into Belushi’s replies. People were thrilled at his enthusiasm and stepped forward with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Paprika, Trigun, and more.

Before long, though, user Kelli Caplinger noted, “lol, jim belushi asking the internet ‘any anime fans out here? is akin to going to a grateful dead concert and shouting, ‘anyone got any weed?’” She wasn’t wrong. Belushi himself soon declared, “Apparently, a lot of people think anime and cannabis go together. I guess I’m set!”

The recommendations continued, as did the sentiment of anime helping bring people together during this tough time. Much respect.

Music debates are good, clean fun, and the last month brought a lot of them as various publications and people revealed what albums and songs they thought were the best of 2020 (we did, too). Now Diddy has made a pick of his own, as he has declared that in his eyes, the best songwriter working today is Partynextdoor.

In a recent interview, Diddy said, “Partynextdoor, to me, is the best writer that’s out there right now.” After taking a few seconds to re-think what he said, he stuck to his guns, declaring, “I said it, I said it.”

Partynextdoor certainly has an impressive resume. He has a writing credit on Rihanna and Drake’s “Work” and Jay Electronica, Jay-Z, and Travis Scott’s “The Blinding,” for example. On top of that, he has produced for people like Post Malone, DJ Khaled, Big Sean, and Ty Dolla Sign. Then, of course, there’s also the material he releases under his own name, like his 2020 release and second consecutive top-10 album, Partymobile.

So, while Diddy’s pick isn’t exactly inarguable, it’s at least easy to understand why Diddy has so much admiration for Partynextdoor.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Have you watched Ted Lasso yet? No? Have you had a great batch of shortbread lately? Also no? Well, it’s time to remedy both of those failings. You can stream the show on Apple+ for $4.99 a month. Our Jessica Toomer recently wrote of Ted Lasso:

…There’s an unapologetic optimism to the humor here – you’ll see slapstick spit-takes and snappy one-liners, but you’ll never see characters punching down for the sake of laughs – something we didn’t realize we were lacking in our workplace comedies until now.

As for the shortbread, the end of the year slowdown is the perfect time to try your hand at the comedy’s signature dessert. It fits with the season and you can eat as much as you want under the, “IT’S THE HOLIDAYS!!!” banner that justifies all bad eating until January 4th.

Ted Lasso started winning over his new boss, AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton, his first day on the job with a small pink box of shortbread “biscuits” (not the kind you put gravy on). The shortbread was a big hit. The tradition of Lasso bringing his boss shortbread carried on through the entire season, making it one of the best food moments in a year full of great TV food moments.

After it was revealed that Lasso was baking the shortbread himself, I knew immediately that I needed to try my hand at Ted Lasso’s shortbread. Thing is, I’ve never made shortbread and the show provides no recipe. I’ve eaten a fair bit, however. My wife is from Lancashire, in Northern England, and shortbread is a staple this time of year.

This is all to say: I wasn’t completely out of my depths.

After a little research, a rewatch of a few key scenes, and a trip to the grocery store, I decided to dive in. When it came to the recipe, I eschewed the usual forming of cookies pre-bake and went the Lasso way and made one giant cookie I cut up after it cooled. Other than that tweak, this is a pretty straightforward and easy-to-execute recipe for any beginner. And wow, these turned out to be pretty damn spectacular.

What You’ll Need in the Kitchen:

• Stand mixer or hand mixer*
• Spatula
• 12-in. x 9-in. baking pan
• Scale
• Bowls
• Sieve
• Parchment paper
• Cutting board
• Knife

*If you don’t have a stand mixer or hand mixer, you can use a wooden spoon but it’ll take a while.

Ted Lasso’s Shortbread “Biscuits”

Ingredients:

• 400g/14-oz. all-purpose flour
• 100g/3.5-oz. fine caster sugar
• 250g/8.8-oz. unsalted butter
• 10g/0.35-oz. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest of 1/2 lemon

I’m basically using a mix of recipes from British sources like Jamie Oliver, BBC Food, and the recipe my Northern English wife uses.

To make these really pop and create a lustful reaction like this…

… I’m adding salt, vanilla, and lemon zest. I’m not using a lot of any of the three, but enough to add a little something to the base of butter, sugar, and flour. It’s that bump of flavor that hits a soft spot with anyone who loves sweets and will make these shortbreads stand out — and that’s the who point.

Other than that, I got some quality butter — as that’s really the heart of this recipe. It’s super creamy, a little sour, and just a really solid butter all around.

Step 1:

First thing’s first: I preheat my oven to 325f/110c.

Next, I weigh my flour, salt, sugar, and butter. I put the weighed butter, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. I run the weighed flour through a sieve into a separate bowl and set it aside.

Step 2:

I place the mixing paddle on my stand mixer (alternatively, you can use the heavy whisks on a hand mixer or a wooden spoon) and start creaming the sugar into the butter. You want to have a pale and completely emulsified creamed butter mix. I use the medium setting on the mixer and it takes about two minutes to completely cream. You’ll have to stop a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

I add in the vanilla extract and lemon zest and hit it with the mixer paddle again for another minute or so until the flavors are mixed into the creamed butter and sugar.

Next, I add in all of the sifted flour and turn the mixer back on to a low setting and let it do its work. I stop about a minute in to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula before mixing on.

About a minute later, the mix is fully integrated, creating a sandy “dough” that just comes together in clumps when you pick it up between your fingers. It should look like the below:

Step 3:

I line my baking pan with some baking parchment paper, making sure to have more than enough to come over the sides.

Then I dump out the loose mix into the pan. I use the spatula to scrape out the excess mix holding onto the sides of the bowl. I then use the spatula to gently tamp down the mix into a solid mass. You don’t want to overdo this. You want t just bring the mix together into a semi-solid mass (as seen above).

I place the pan into the pre-heated oven and set a timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes is up, I rotate the pan 180 degrees and set the timer for another 15 minutes. These times will vary depending on the power of your oven. Generally speaking, expect to bake these from 25 to 35 minutes.

You want the edges to just be turning brown.

Step 4:

I remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. I immediately sprinkle fine white sugar over the top of the piping hot shortbread. I end up using about three big pinches. Next, I let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes.

After that rest, the shortbread should have fully set into one giant cookie. I gingerly pick up the shortbread with the long edges of the parchment paper and place the whole thing onto a cutting board.

I then use a long bread knife to slice little bars a la Ted Lasso — Lasso bars? I end up with 27 “biscuits” which is an awesome amount of shortbread to have on hand.

Final Results

Wow, wow, wow.

I normally don’t dig on shortbread but these absolutely rule. It was a real “F*ck me!” moment, just like Rebecca’s reaction in the show (they also passed my wife’s taste test). Shortbread is usually bland-but-sugary and a bit too dry and crumbly. These are the opposite of that. They aren’t chewy by any stretch but just the right amount of sandy/crumbly while still holding a butteriness.

Texture wise, there’s a really solid crumb that’s light yet holds together. They’re buttery, salty, sugary, and have just the right dose of lemon and vanilla to help them really pop.

Seriously, look at that crumb!

Look at the adhered layer of sugar over the top!

I’m not going to lie, I ate three of these immediately.

I don’t have little pink confectionary boxes for the presentation. I did try and find some … but the lockdown and all that. Anyway, I use an old stollen tin for my storage/presentation. And … I have to put these away because I’d easily eat like ten right now.

Ted Lasso was already the surprise show of the year. Now it’s provided an unexpected culinary gift too!

Because she rose to fame at such a young age, Billie Eilish has learned to take a back seat when it comes to social media. She recently unfollowed everyone on Instagram and said that she’s stopped reading comments all together after it was “ruining” her life. But every so often, Eilish takes over her Instagram Stories to interact with fans. That’s exactly what she did Monday night, but one photo she shared in particular caused a stir and led a huge number of people to unfollow her page.

Following a recent trend, Eilish asked fans to offer suggestions of photos to share on her Stories. The singer posted photos of her dogs, some never-before-seen selfies, and her reaction to viewing her Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry documentary. All was going well until the singer was asked to post a drawing that she was proud of. Eilish shared a sketchbook page filled with caricature drawings of nude women, which apparently many deemed inappropriate.

A short time after posting the sketches, Eilish’s Instagram page lost a whopping 100,000 followers. The singer wasn’t fazed, though. She instead found the situation funny and called those offended by the drawings “babies.”

Of course, people unfollowing the singer for alluding to her sexuality on her own terms highlights the double standards she faces as a woman in the limelight. Eilish has been continuously critiqued over her style and affinity for baggy clothing, with people saying she should wear more form-fitting styles. But once she does, she’s instantly shamed for her appearance.

Check out screenshots from Eilish’s story above.

If there’s one thing about Benedict Arnold that sticks from a middle school education, it’s this: he was a traitor. Maybe the country’s most notorious, at least until the current president. In his book Traitor: A History of American Betrayal from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump, author David Rothkopf makes the case that Donald Trump has “committed the highest-level, greatest, most damaging betrayal in the history of the country.” What an honor! Trump faced stiff competition from Arnold, the American military officer during the Revolutionary War who defected to the British side, but unlike the 2020 presidential election, he actually won. Although in fairness, the pair are forever synonymous with each other after a portrait of Trump resembling Arnold went viral.

Shouldn’t the eagle be attacking him? Anyway, that Twitter does not belong to an unofficial sh*tposter; it’s the Arizona Republican Party’s verified account, the same one that recently went to war against the anime community. Speaking of war: the resemblance between Trump in the portrait (which is on sale for $5,000!) and Arnold is uncanny, but as many users on Twitter are pointing out, only one of them served in the military.

Arizona’s 11 electoral votes went to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Last Updated: December 29th

While Netflix features more and better original programming, Amazon Prime holds their own in that department, and they continue to beef up their offerings. Unfortunately, between HBO Max and Peacock, Prime Video lost many of its impressive show offerings like HBO content and Parks and Rec. But on the plus side, you’ve probably already got a Prime account, so why not check out its impressive catalog.

If you’re trying to figure out what to watch next, a great place to start are the 40 best shows on Amazon Prime Video right now.

Related: The Funniest Shows On Amazon Prime Video Right Now

1. The Americans

6 seasons, 75 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

The Americans follows Russian spies (Keri Russell and Mathew Rhys) posing as a married couple living in America, and while the missions are enjoyable, and the glimpse into the 1980s is fascinating, the real pull in this show is the relationship drama, both between the married spies — who are often pulled between their love for one another and their love of country — an FBI agent (Noah Emmerich) — who is pulled between his own relationship with his family and country — and the children of the Russian spies, pulled between their family and their love of America. Well-crafted, engrossing, and hypnotic, The Americans is one of best TV shows of all time.

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2. 30 Rock

7 seasons, 138 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Few shows have as many jokes per minute as 30 Rock. The brainchild of Tina Fey, 30 Rock shows the daily madness of an SNL-like variety show, which Fey’s Liz Lemon at the helm. As she tries (sometimes failing) to wrangle her writers and her actors (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski), Lemon also attempts the ever-elusive dream of “having it all.” Her quest will feel very, very familiar to viewers, particularly women, as they try and balance work, life, love, and even a small bit of success. With Alec Baldwin turning in his best performance to date (come at me, Glengarry Glen Ross fans) as Jack Donaghy, Lemon’s boss, mentor, and eventual friend, 30 Rock has the perfect blend of weirdness, sharp writing, and genuine laughs that will make it a favorite for years to come.

3. Fleabag

2 seasons, 12 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

A co-production of Amazon and England’s BBC Three, London-set Fleabag stars the magnificent Phoebe Waller-Bridge (who also created the show) as “a young woman attempting to navigate modern life in London.” That description hardly does the series justice. It’s a hysterical, dirty, sexually devious and surprisingly thoughtful meditation on grief and loneliness that goes by so quickly (there are only six half-hour episodes in each season) that viewers will wish they savored it more before it ends. It’s truly one of the most distinctive, original comedies of the last several years — think Tig Notaro crossed with Broad City — and its Hot Priest-starring second season has paved the way for Waller-Bridge becoming one of the leading creative voices of her generation.

4. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

3 seasons, 26 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

By now, we should just know to expect great things from showrunner Amy-Sherman Palladino. The woman who gave us Gilmore Girls and Bunheads also brought a fast-paced, wit-infused drama about a 1950s housewife with a hidden talent for stand-up to Amazon, and the awards season voters ate it up. The show follows Rachel Brosnahan as she plays Midge Maisel, a Jewish housewife disillusioned with her marriage to a cheating, joke-stealing scumbag and ready to break out on her own in the comedy world.

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5. Mr. Robot

3 seasons, 32 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

USA Network’s Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a hacker with an acute social anxiety disorder who suffers from delusions and paranoia. During the day, he works as a computer programmer for a company that protects other companies from cyber threats. Elliot has other designs in mind, too, namely taking down one of the biggest corporations in America, E Corp, unsettling America’s financial system, and taking power away from the rich and giving it back to the people. Heavily influenced by American Psycho, Fight Club, the films of Stanley Kubrick, and Taxi Driver, among others, Sam Esmail’s Mr. Robot is an unnerving mindf*ck full of conspiracy theories and misdirections. Nothing is ever as it seems in Mr. Robot, and much of the fun is in trying — and mostly failing — to stay ahead of the twists.

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6. Downton Abbey

6 seasons, 52 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

From 2010-2015, you couldn’t have a conversation about favorite TV shows without someone in your friend group mentioning Downton Abbey. The British series about the inner workings of an aristocratic English family and their manner full of servants became the biggest thing to invade America from across the pond since The Beatles. Watching the crusty Crawley family navigate historic events like the sinking of the Titanic and the First World War while their servants dealt in gossip, intrigue, and scandal below stairs was as entertaining and juicy as any good British drama should be.

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7. The Office U.K.

2 seasons, 14 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

The U.K. version was the original cringe comedy, starring Ricky Gervais as clueless boss David Brent, whose desperate attempts at connecting with his underlings are a painful exercise in futility. Martin Freeman is also a stand-out, playing a role that John Krasinski inhabited in the American remake, but it’s the British sarcasm that really elevates this series and makes it worthy of a watch.

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8. Community

6 seasons, 110 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Has there ever been a sitcom as downright clever as Community? Aside from the gas leak year, Community was quicker than nearly every other comedy out there, with jokes flying fast but also taking seasons to reach a punchline. After getting caught with a phony degree, former lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) heads to Greendale Community College to get a legitimate degree. There he gets into increasingly hilarious hijinks with his Spanish study group. Between paintball wars, zombie outbreaks, and the increasingly ridiculous presence of Senor Chang (Ken Jeong), Community is never, ever boring. Quit living in the darkest timeline and get to watching.

9. Orphan Black

5 seasons, 50 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Tatiana Maslany plays several clones variations of the same woman in the sweeping conspiracy thriller Orphan Black, and she breathes so much life and so many distinct personalities into each clone that viewers often forget that one woman is playing all the characters (and it’s impossible not to pick a favorite). The supporting cast is mostly great, as well, and for a Canadian series, the production values are excellent. Unfortunately, Orphan Black suffers from a great first season that the rest of the series can’t quite live up to. It gets so bogged down in its own confusing mythology that it begins to run out of steam, although it picks up its momentum again in the fourth season before reaching its fifth season finish line.

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10. The Boys

2 seasons, 18 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Karl Urban headlines this wild, gory, vulgar ride through superhero-dom from Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and showrunner Eric Kripke. Based on a Garth Ennis comic series, the show takes a darker look at those supernaturally gifted heroes we all love to fawn over. Urban’s gruff vigilante pairs up with a nobody (Jack Quaid), who has his life ruined by a group of corrupt supes. The humor is raunchy and sharp, the action is bananas, and the cast is an eclectic mix of talent who all find time to shine on on-screen. And now that season two is here, everyone gets the chance to ramp up the crazy and get in touch with their inner Spice Girl.

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11. Luther

4 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Maybe the bleakest, grittiest cop show you’ll ever see, Luther is so intense that it may at times rattle your brain stem. It’s got the best elements of other of its ilk as it follows a genius detective who struggles to separate his personal and professional lives. But it is also pummeling great drama, and Idris Elba is a tour de force (Ruth Wilson is fantastic, too).

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12. Utopia

2 seasons, 12 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

While the 2020 US remake still works, nothing beats the original UK version of this brutal yet comedic drama. The series focuses on a group of comic book fans who get pulled into a vast conspiracy centering on death, disease, and saving humanity. From its apathetic violence, its serene cinematography, and chillingly tense tone, Utopia is quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s a shame the show didn’t make it more than two series.

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13. Bosch

6 seasons, 60 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

Titus Welliver stars in this police procedural from Amazon about a renegade detective charged with solving some hauntingly grisly murders. Harry Bosch is a former military man with a healthy respect for the rules and an unquenchable thirst for the truth. Each season, he’s presented with a case that threatens his carefully molded view of the world, often leading him to uncover conspiracies, corrupt cops, and even his own mother’s murderer. The subject matter might be dark, but Welliver is clearly having fun playing the brash, give-no-f*cks badass, which is why you should give this crime series a watch.

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14. House

8 seasons, 177 episodes | IMDb: 8.8/10

Binge watchers love their medical dramas, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a show about the ill that’s as fun as House. Hugh Laurie plays the episodic’s anti-hero, an opioid-addicted, dry-humored, uncaring genius and doctor with a knack for solving unsolvable cases. He’s joined by a rotating team of famous faces (Olivia Wilde, Jesse Spencer, and Jennifer Morrison all starred on the show at some point) but they usually just end up getting in the way of his natural prowess with mysterious illnesses.

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15. Psych

8 seasons, 120 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

For the eight seasons that Psych was on the air, it entertained a kind of cult following. Fans tuned in religiously to watch this buddy-cop drama about an eccentric police detective who claimed “psychic” abilities and his reluctant, by-the-book partner. Stars James Roday and Dule Hill have incredible chemistry on the show which pushes the worn-out, fun-cop-boring-cop trope past its usual limits.

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16. Undone

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and writer Kate Purdy reunite for this adult-animated series starring Rosa Salazar and Bob Odenkirk. The show follows the journey of Alma, a young woman involved in a car accident who slowly begins to lose her mind. She’s forced to question her perception of reality when her father (Odenkirk) reappears years after his death, pushing her to discover how he died and why she seems to have a newfound ability to travel through time. It’s a bit of a mindf*ck, in the best possible way, with Purdy and Waksberg employing rotoscoping, a realistic animation technique never before used on TV, to take viewers on a surreal trek through space and time, along with dark humor and musings on grief, trauma, and mental health.

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17. Star Trek: The Original Series

3 seasons, 80 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Frankly, any of the Star Trek shows make a good binge watch. Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and, hell, even Star Trek: Enterprise are all available to stream on Prime, and they all have their merits (except for Enterprise), but the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy-starring original series is where it all began. To admit to watching one or all of the other programs cited above, but not Star Trek: The Original Series would be a crime against yourself and the rest of sci-fi fandom. This is where Gene Roddenberry’s vision first got its start on broadcast television, after all.

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18. The Expanse

4 seasons, 48 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

This sci-fi space epic based off a series of beloved books found new life on Amazon for its fourth season after being canceled by Syfy in 2018, good news for fans who wanted more adventures for the show’s rag-tag band of anti-heroes. Set in the future when humanity has colonized the Solar System, The Expanse follows a trio of leads: United Nations Security Council member Chrisjen Avasarala, police detective Josephus Miller, and ship’s officer James Holden as they unravel a conspiracy that could break the uneasy peace. It’s full of action and thriller-like twists, but it’s the memorable, well-rounded character work that makes this a must-see.

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19. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

7 seasons, 144 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Joss Whedon has gone on to giant blockbusters since his days on The WB, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer will forever be his magnum opus. Buffy offered the perfect blend of horror, comedy, and feels, with episodes and characters that have stuck with viewers for years. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular slayer perfectly balanced the ordinary pains of growing up against the extraordinary and supernatural circumstances that come with living on a Hellmouth. The clothing and catchphrases might be deeply rooted in the ’90s, but the themes are timeless. Even if you don’t know your standard demon curse from an ancient rune, Buffy is essential. It’ll rip your heart out, but you’ll like it anyway.

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20. Vikings

6 seasons, 80 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

Loosely based on the exploits of the 9th century Viking ruler and king, Ragnar Lodbrok, Vikings doesn’t match the level of complexity in Game of Thrones — the universe is smaller, there are fewer characters, and the plotting isn’t as dense — but it’s a solid, if not sometimes spectacular drama that gets progressively better over the course of the series. There’s crunching violence, lots of axe play, and frequent battles as Ragnar extends his rule over parts of Europe. Compared to Game of Thrones, it’s less about mind games and schemes, and more about brute force — and Ragnor’s victories are seldom in doubt. Nevertheless, it’s entertaining to watch the unrelenting violence unfold and revel in the demise of Ragnor’s rivals. While Travis Fimmel is excellent in the lead role and Gustaf Skarsgård’s Floki provides the often necessary comic relief, it’s Katheryn Winnick — as Lagertha — who is the show’s biggest draw.

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21. Catastrophe

4 seasons, 24 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

The British sitcom is essentially You’re the Worst if the couple at the center of it were 10 years older. Like the FX series, it’s another anti-romcom romcom, although this one involves pregnancy, children, and culture clash (he’s an American wanker, she’s an acerbic, potty-mouthed Irish school teacher). However, the constant bickering and sexual disagreements between Rob (Rob Delaney) and Sharon (Sharon Horgan) are what makes Catastrophe so exhilarating. A more apt name for the series would be Amazon’s other series, Transparent, because the relationship between Sharon and Rob — warts and all — is the most open and honest in television, and maybe the funniest. The only downside to Catastrophe is that its four seasons are each only six half-hour episodes long, which is not enough time to spend with these characters.

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22. Scrubs

9 seasons, 182 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

Scrubs is more than “Guy Love.” Despite the show’s penchant for trafficking in absurd humor, Scrubs managed to pack in deeply emotional moments while also getting called “the most accurate television show about the medical profession.” While the final season may have been a departure from the original charm (it did give us Eliza Coupe, though, so it gets a pass), Zach Braff has never been more likable than he was as J.D., who was navigating his time at Sacred Heart from intern to physician. With hilarious moments of genuine friendship to the most cutting insults you wish you could use but fear HR repercussions, Scrubs proves that you don’t have to be an over the top soap opera or led by a genius misanthrope to keep people watching.Scrubs is showrunner Bill Lawrence at his best, and it definitely holds up to repeat viewings.

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23. American Horror Story

8 seasons, 106 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology on FX is an unpredictable tour-de-force that, when it sticks its landing, is one of the best shows on TV. The series chronicles truly terrifying, mind-warping plots across multiple seasons, connecting some, ignoring others. What grounds these outrageous storylines involving haunted hotels, murder houses, insane asylums, cults, and covens is the cast, most notably Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, and Evan Peters. Murphy relies on their visceral portrayals of individuals unhinged to sell this whacky, nightmare-inducing rollercoaster and sell they do.

24. Victoria

3 seasons, 25 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman trades in time-travel for managing a monarchy in this BBC drama that recounts the reign of Queen Victoria. Victoria’s early years were plagued with problems — she was only 18 when she took the throne and had many challengers — but the show pairs the more political machinations with the swoon-worthy tale of Victoria’s courtship with Prince Albert, who would later become her husband. If you like The Crown, you’ll like this.

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25. Counterpart

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

J.K. Simmons stars in this sci-fi thriller which blends a whole bunch of genres as it tells the story of a clueless U.N. employee, who discovers his agency is hiding a world-altering secret. Simmons plays said employee, Howard Silk, who uncovers a parallel universe that’s engaged in a covert war with our own, and he meets his A.U. self, a top spy intent on destroying him. It’s trippy stuff, apparently too trippy to last more than two seasons.

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26. Transparent

5 seasons, 41 episodes | IMDb: 7.8/10

Amazon may not stack up favorably against Netflix in the original series department, but Transparent is as good or better than most of Netflix’s original series. It sees Jeffrey Tambor decide, late in life, to transition into a woman, and we see how that decision affects her family in the most hilarious and poignant ways imaginable. It’s a light series with heavy themes, and despite the behind-the-scenes issues, Transparent managed to wrap up its run with a fun musical finale.

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27. Hannibal

3 seasons, 39 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal is a perfect series to binge-watch, as the ability to watch the episodes back-to-back evens out some of the slow pacing. Hannibal is dark, macabre, and brilliantly creative, and while it has many of the same characters viewers know and appreciate from the movie/book series, it also has an entirely different and unique tone (some would even say better). The murder scenes are equally gruesome and gorgeous, the series’ long arc is as disturbing as it is engrossing, and the acting from Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelson, and Laurence Fishburne is superb. It’s a slow, morbidly addictive burn, and viewers must stick around for Michael Pitt’s Mason Verger in season two, if only for one of the most beautifully unsettling sequences ever seen on network television.

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28. Goliath

3 seasons, 24 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Goliath is an old-school legal thriller from an old-school television writer, David E. Kelley (The Practice, Boston Legal), who is still the reigning king of legal dramas. It’s a meat-and-potatoes show driven by an entertaining storyline and compelling, flawed characters led by Billy McBride, a character played Billy Bob Thornton, who won a Golden Globe for the role. McBride is an alcoholic has-been lawyer who, in typical Grisham fashion, has a case against a big tech firm fall into his lap. On the other side of the case is McBride’s former firm, his ex-wife (Maria Bello) and his old legal partner turned nemesis (William Hurt). There’s nothing new or novel about Goliath except for the fact that it doesn’t try to be new and novel: It’s an old-fashioned, well-made, well-acted and gripping television show with bad guys, morally questionable good guys and a strong supporting cast that also includes Olivia Thirlby, Kevin Weisman (Alias), Dwight Yoakum, and Harold Perrineau.

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29. Suits

9 seasons, 131 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

A legal drama that almost never steps inside a courtroom, Suits stars Gabriel Macht and Patrick Adams as a brash, big-league attorney and his whiz-kid protégé, who is practicing illegally without a law degree. Suits, which has a tenuous understanding of the law, deals week-to-week mostly with settling disputes with cocky threats and yellow manilla folders. It’s rounded out by a fun, USA Network-perfect cast (Sarah Rafferty, Gina Torres, Meghan Markle, and Rick Hoffman) and later seasons of the series are more serialized in nature, dealing primarily with interoffice politics and relationship drama. Nothing about Suits is altering the television landscape (in fact, every episode is the same), and the show is certainly not any threat to television’s heavier dramas. However, over the course of the series, it’s become a rock-solid show, one that was willing to break out of the typical USA Network procedural format years before Mr. Robot came along.

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30. The Fall

3 seasons, 17 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

A short, intense series, The Fall tracks Superintendent Sarah Gibson (Gillian Anderson) as she hunts serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan). The elevator pitch of the series sounds a bit like Silence of the Lambs, but Gibson is no Clarice, and The Fall‘s focus on the nitty-gritty of building a case against someone accused of a horrendous series of crimes is contrasted with the slow, worrying turn of the screw as Paul befriends the woman who may be his next victim. The series falls apart a bit after awhile, but that first season is well worth the watch.

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31. Tales From The Loop

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

This mind-bending sci-fi offering from Amazon Prime Video was created by Nathaniel Halpert — one of the minds behind FX’s Legion and Netflix’s The Killing. So yeah, it’s weird. It’s also dramatically rich in ways few sci-fi series are these days. The basic premise revolves around a group of people who live in a small town built on top of “The Loop,” a machine built to unlock the mysteries of the universe. When they start experiencing strange phenomena, they’re forced to dig into the real reason the machine was created and what their role in the grander scheme of things might really be.

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32. Homecoming

2 season, 17 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Julia Roberts lands on TV for the first time with this slick thriller from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail. Like his previous show, Esmail keeps fans in the dark, so expect plenty of twists, turns, and cliffhangers with this limited series about a misguided counselor hoping to help veterans returning from war even as the corporation she works for has sinister plans. In its second season, Janelle Monae stars as a woman who’s lost her memory and goes in search of her past, one that has ties to the same corporation Roberts worked for in season one.

33. Jack Ryan

2 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

John Krasinski’s return to television marks a dramatic departure from his The Office days. He plays famed CIA analyst Jack Ryan in this series that explores the character’s beginnings as an up-and-coming agent whose confidence in his abilities often lead to him clashing with higher-ups like his boss, James Greer (a fantastic Wendell Pierce). In its first season, Ryan infiltrates a terrorist cell with nefarious plans after uncovering how the criminal communicate with each other, but when he’s thrust into the field, things get dangerous.

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34. Upload

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Greg Daniels — the genius behind shows like The Office and Parks and Rec — serves up a darker bit of comedy with this sci-fi series about death. Well, it’s about what happens after. Robbie Amell plays a man who dies and chooses to have his consciousness upload into a digital afterlife, a serene “living facility” called Lake View. But things aren’t as idyllic has he’d hoped, and his existence becomes more complicated when he ends up falling for his living customer service rep.

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35. The Night Manager

1 season, 7 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston star in this limited series from AMC. Laurie is the big bad, a criminal and arms dealer with a ruthless way of doing business. Hiddleston is the night manager of a Cairo hotel, recruited to spy on the guy and infiltrate his inner circle. He’s clearly way out of his depth and most of the edge-of-your-seat action comes from watching Hiddleston lie, cheat, and steal his way through a bogus cover and a convoluted plan hatched by higher-ups happy to sacrifice him for the greater good.

36. Utopia

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 6.3/10

John Cusack and Rainn Wilson star in this bonkers sci-fi thriller based on a UK show of the same name. Cusack plays a nefarious tech guy who’s meatless invention to solve world hunger might have brought about the next plague. Wilson is the scientist fighting for a vaccine, but all this come secondary to a group of comic book nerds played by Desmin Borges, Ashleigh LaThorp, Dan Byrd, and Sasha Lane who believe the key to stopping this impending apocalypse might be hidden in a graphic novel about an evil rabbit.

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37. Workaholics

7 seasons, 86 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Blake Anderson, Adam Devine, and Anders Holm star in this office comedy about three buddies who work 9 to 5’s at a telemarketing agency and live together on their downtime. The bros clash with their boss and coworkers while getting into all kinds of shenanigans at home, mostly because they try to extend their hard-partying days into adulthood.

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38. Mozart in the Jungle

4 seasons, 40 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Created by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Paul Weitz, Mozart in the Jungle stars Gael García Bernal as an orchestra conductor and Lola Kirke as an oboist/protégé. The cast is rounded out with beloved actors like Malcolm McDowell and Bernadette Peters, and familiar faces like Safron Burrows. Mozart is sweet and low-key. Viewers who like Canada’s exceptional Slings and Arrows will like Mozart in the Jungle because it’s essentially Slings and Arrows with classical music instead of Shakespeare. It is frothy and fun, and an absolute pleasure to watch, even if it is not exactly essential television.

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39. The Man in the High Castle

4 seasons, 40 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Loosely based on Phillip K. Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name (it also bears some resemblance to Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America), The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternative, dystopian world where Germany won World War II. Basically, the East Coast is occupied by the Germans, and the West Coast is occupied by the Japanese, and there’s a no-man’s land in between. Exec-produced by Ridley Scott and Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files), the series sees various characters working to form a resistance against their occupation by collecting “forbidden newsreels” that show the alternate history in which the Allies won the war in an effort to reveal a larger truth about how the world should be. A dark exploration of what it means to be American, The Man in the High Castle is a well-acted, tense, and often violent dystopian thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep viewers guessing.

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40. Alias

5 seasons, 105 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

This early aughts spy drama from JJ Abrams is responsible for putting Jennifer Garner on the map. In it, she plays Sydney Bristow, a gifted secret agent who discovers she’s been unknowingly working for the enemy. She then becomes a double agent for the CIA, working alongside her dad of all people, and along the way, she uncovers disturbing truths about her family, her past, and the people she’s chosen to trust.

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Recent Changes Through December 2020:
Removed: Parks & Rec
Added: American Horror Story, Utopia UK, Scrubs, Community, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Homecoming

As the film industry continues to navigate the pandemic, which has raised deep questions about the future of theater-going, Tom Hanks has confidence that the cinema experience will survive for one simple reason: franchises. More specifically, the Marvel movies. In a clear-eyed assessment of the movie industry, Hanks shared his opinion with Collider that the accelerated trend of more movies going to streaming was an inevitable outcome, and isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, the beloved actor believes theaters will still be around for a long time thanks to “event” movies like Marvel and other blockbuster franchises. Via io9:

“News of the World [Hanks’ new movie] might be the last adult movie about people saying interesting things that’s going to play on a big screen somewhere because after this, in order to guarantee that people show up again, we’re going to have the Marvel Universe and all sorts of franchises. Some of those movies are great and you want to see them writ large because watching it at home on your couch might diminish them somewhere, somehow, in their visual punch. But the sea change that was rought by Covid-19 has been a slow train coming.”

Despite being a long-time fixture in the film industry, Hanks is open to the “big curve of change” that the pandemic has rapidly sped up over the past few months. “I think there will be an awful lot of movies that will only be streamed and it will be fine to see them that way because they’ll be built and made and constructed for someones’ pretty good widescreen TV at home,” Hanks told Collider.

Obviously, not everyone in Hollywood shares Hanks’ view, and there has been a considerable amount of debate over Warner Bros.’ recent move to shift its entire 2021 film slate to HBO Max. Although, DC Films head Walter Hamada revealed that the studio plans to have at least four superhero movies in theaters every year starting in 2022, which not only signals that the HBO Max move isn’t a permanent strategy, but also adds further weight to Hanks’ prediction for the future of cinema.

(Via Collider)

We saw two versions of Derrick White last season. The first is a viable starter well worth the four-year, $73 million contract extension he inked last week. The second is a burgeoning star who would be massively underpaid if he’s here to stay.

But that second version of Derrick White blossomed amid distinct circumstances and manifested from a seven-game sample in the Orlando Bubble this summer. In 61 games before the season’s hiatus, White, coming off the bench for all but 13 contests, averaged 10.4 points (58.5 percent true shooting), 3.4 assists (1.2 turnovers), 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 24.1 minutes a night. He was a complementary handler and very good defender beset by inconsistent aggression as a shooter, driver and scorer.

When the season resumed and San Antonio was missing LaMarcus Aldridge, Bryn Forbes and Trey Lyles, White entered the Spurs’ starting five and split initiating duties with DeMar DeRozan. Before a knee injury forced him out of the regular-season finale, he started all seven games, playing 29.8 minutes, averaging 18.9 points, 5.0 assists (2.0 turnovers) and 4.3 rebounds on 63.6 percent true shooting. Per 36 minutes, those numbers bumped up to 22.9 points, 6.0 assists (2.4 turnovers) and 5.2 rebounds.

Most importantly, he spurned the hesitancy and timidness that has previously plagued him, taking 15.2 shots per 36 minutes, compared to 11.4 prior to the break. He increased his 3-point rate from .345 to .636, launching eight 3-pointers per game and netting 39.3 percent of them. As an interior scorer, he inhabited the paint with regularity and averaged 5.1 free throws. A definitive claim to the title of San Antonio’s best young player had been authored, and the question was whether it could continue outside the Bubble atmosphere.

Supplement this offensive emergence with White’s defensive chops, caretaker decision-making and resolute pick-and-roll savvy, and he resembles that of a high-level secondary creator, someone who is good enough to be a top-30 NBA player. White will not be averaging nearly 20 a game on 63.6 percent true shooting when he returns from his toe injury (which could be soon). Shooting 39.3 percent from deep and 56.3 percent on two-pointers, as he did in the Bubble, is probably outlier as well. And that’s fine. He doesn’t have to be that prolific as a scorer. Playing 32-33 minutes per night and skewing closer to his pre-Orlando efficiency could still permit him to average 18 or so points on 60 percent true shooting. If his newfound 3-point rate carries into this season and is met by significant playing time, those benchmarks are certainly attainable.

During his bubble breakout, White operated as though he knew a prosperous shooting surge was on the horizon. He let it fly beyond the arc like a guy knocking down nearly 40 percent of his eight triples each game. While he only went 3 of 11 on pull-up threes, his degree of difficulty and versatility on 45 catch-and-shoot looks conveyed self-belief and value. Timely closeouts did not deter him. He flowed into dribble handoffs and exploited even minor defensive slip-ups with a confidently taken three-ball. He relocated to openings and fired. There was no sort of record scratch moment to stall the offense. If he didn’t let it fly, White, whether as a passer, driver or scorer, ensured something productive arose.

White’s physicality and body control are the linchpins of his downhill scoring arsenal. He is not exceptionally quick or an explosive vertical leaper and does not necessarily function with the off-rhythm cadence of someone such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But he does a masterful job of leveraging his 6-foot-5 frame to dislodge defenders for space or initiate contact to draw fouls (.409 free-throw rate in the bubble). His outside shooting prowess and gumption meant he did not slither to rim all that often, but he enjoyed success when he opted for paint pressure. On the year, he finished in the 59th percentile at the basket, putting that strength, pace and body control on display.

Even if the three-point efficiency declines a bit, I expect him to be a viable secondary scorer behind DeRozan because of these tools. Despite relying on his strength and physicality, he only committed four charges last season, and that’s because of his discretion. He often works methodically, grinding down defenders, planting himself into their body and reaching his destination. His craft, timing and contortion guide him.

The driving/finishing combo and off-ball shooting alone do not alone give White secondary creator equity. His pick-and-roll guile and proclivity for keeping a dribble alive until he has reached threatening parts of the floor to capitalize from drive home his ball-handling value. Including passes, he ranked in the 93rd percentile in pick-and-rolls (86th percentile excluding them) last season, utilizing a mid-range pull-up game and patience off the bounce.

In an encouraging development, it does not appear as though Aldridge’s presence will hinder White or bar him from continued growth. Last season, 32.2 percent of his offense (5.8 per game) came via post-ups. This season, through three games, the former All-Star has transitioned to a less demanding role, accruing just four post-ups (9.3 percent frequency), while spot-ups and pick-and-rolls compose 67.5 percent of his offense. Although he’s just 2 of 11 beyond the arc, he’s hoisting a career-high 3.7 long balls per game (career-high 3-point rate of .289) and settling into a pick-and-pop shooter for his main source of offense.

The Spurs are committing to their ball-handlers and youngsters, empowering DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson to holster prominent offensive responsibilities. DeRozan, and even Murray to a degree, doing so is not groundbreaking, but the trend itself bodes well for White’s opportunity once he’s back. White is already 26, so he doesn’t really classify as a “youngster,” but he is assuredly a ball-handler who, with expanded usage, could take a season-long leap forward, the sort of occurrence generally seen from “youngsters.”

Regardless of whether White builds upon his summer showcase, which could be in flux if he is relegated to the bench again and has his minutes watered down, he will continue to be a premier defensive guard. Two seasons running now, he has been an overlooked All-Defensive Team candidate. Wiggling over screens, wielding elite body control and balance, he is, quietly, a borderline elite point-of-attack defender, (mostly) capable of guarding 1-3 and 4s in a pinch. He can absorb contact and maintain defensive positioning, has superbly quick hands and does a remarkable job of slithering back into plays to contest shots without fouling.

He has a knack for not grant a ball-handler’s wishes, refusing to let them initiate contact and rarely biting on their fakes. Even if he does, he finds a way to affect the action. Basketball is about crafting advantages offensively and achieving them against White is quite challenging. Traditional advantages that stars are accustomed to creating are not usually advantages against him.

Take the first clip below as an example. After gaining a step, Luka Doncic thinks he can simply lean into White, who aims to dart back in front, and draw a foul — a typical sequence he’d parlay into free throws. White will not let that contact occur and snags a takeaway out of it. The brief compilation is rich with White doing stuff such as that: turning his nose at preconceived notions of offensive advantages and stymieing assignments.

Off the ball, he’s an elite help-side rim protector among guards (1.3 blocks per 36 minutes last year), consistently lending a hand on the interior with awareness, punctual rotations and active hands. Guards do not generally provide a paint presence like him, but few guards are better defenders than White.

With Aldridge and DeRozan steering the ship, tallying points on the back of seemingly antiquated post-ups or mid-range jumpers, the Spurs earned the “boring” label the past couple seasons. But their stable of tantalizing, athletic, vivacious wings are roaming free these days. Both Aldridge and DeRozan are shooting threes. DeRozan is excelling as the primary ball-handler, averaging nine assists per game and setting the table for his youthful coworkers.

Soon, White will return, either in a feature reserve or starting role to further the intrigue with San Antonio. While closer in age to DeRozan than Johnson, he laid the foundation for a fourth-year ascension last season. Maybe, he doesn’t receive the usage or slips back into old ways as a mildly timid long-range gunner. Assuming he’ll produce across an entire season the way he did for seven games engenders disappointment, but the approach and mindset he had to create that production can be replicated. If he can do that, even if there’s some regression with efficiency, it will lead him to a significant step forward.

Two versions of Derrick White are possible this season. The bubble can be a blip on the radar or a launching pad toward stardom. By season’s end, the answer to that enigma will crystalize.

Netflix’s Queen’s Gambit has been one of the biggest hits for the streaming service in 2020. It’s a madly addictive television show (that even a chess idiot would appreciate), but before Netflix came along, it was originally envisioned as a movie based on the 1983 Walter Tevis novel of the same name.

Scott Frank — who created, wrote, and directed the Netflix series — revealed on NPR’s Fresh Air that the project took decades to make. Heath Ledger had originally been attached to the film and was going to make it as his directorial debut, but unfortunately, he passed away before he could bring it to the screen. The material would have been a natural fit for the Oscar-winning actor who — like the series’ lead, Beth Harmon — also struggled with addiction. A number of others have come close to directing it, as well, including Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter) and Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris).

The problem with a film adaptation, as Frank explains, is that “when you reduce the novel to a screenplay, just an hour and a half or two-hour movie, it really becomes a sports movie. Period. Is she going to win? Is she not going to win?”

Frank ultimately cast Anya Taylor Joy in the lead role as Beth Harmon, in part because “she had [big eyes] and such an amazing face. It’s just so expressive, and you can read so much into her eyes.” Interestingly, Heath Ledger had envisioned the similarly expressive Elliot Page in the role of Harmon. Page would have just come off his Oscar-nominated role in Juno, which interestingly came in the year before Ledger posthumously won his Oscar for The Dark Knight.

Scott Frank co-created The Queen’s Gambit with Scottish writer Allan Shiach, who has been attached to the property for years and spoke with The Independent in 2008 about Ledger’s version:

“We spent a lot of time over the last three months working on his vision,” Shiach said. “I did draft after draft and he gave his input and we met several times in New York and here, where he was spending a lot of his time. We had got to the stage where we had sent the script to [Elliot]. Heath was full of ideas for the other cast, mainly from his list of acting friends. We were planning to make a movie at the end of 2008.”

Frank is right that The Queen’s Gambit would not have worked as well as a movie, although it would have been amazing to see Ledger take a stab at it with Elliot Page, who could have been a very successful Beth Harmon.

In the Fresh Air interview, Frank also did suggest that he could not see a second season of the series, at least “not without ruining the first season.” Netflix viewers, alas, will have to settle for seven terrific episodes.

Source: Fresh Air