Month: September 2021

George Clooney is doing the streaming thing again. One year after releasing The Midnight Sky, which Clooney produced, directed, and starred in, via Netflix, the Oscar-winning triple-threat is teaming up with Amazon Studios for his latest directorial effort, The Tender Bar, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, which is an adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning author J.R. Moehringer’s memoir of the same name, will reunite Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov with Ben Affleck; in 2013, the trio won the Oscar for Best Picture for their work together on Argo (which Affleck, and his bushy beard, directed and starred in).

In the case of The Tender Bar, it will be Clooney behind the camera directing Affleck and Tye Sheridan as an uncle and his fatherless nephew. According to Amazon’s official synopsis:

The Tender Bar tells the story of J.R. (Sheridan), a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie (Affleck), is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother (Lily Rabe) struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her—and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father (Christopher Lloyd)—J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams—with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.

(Christopher Lloyd kind of came from out of nowhere there.)

The Tender Bar will get an early theatrical release in New York City and Los Angeles on December 17, 2021, then roll out nationwide on December 22. The film will drop globally on Amazon Prime Video on January 7, 2022.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

One of the best rides at the Disney parks, the Haunted Mansion, is being turned into a movie starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, and Rosario Dawson. I’m sure it will be good, or at least better than the existing Haunted Mansion movie with Eddie Murphy. But it’s lacking one key competent: the Muppets.

Muppets Haunted Mansion has Gonzo taking on “the greatest challenge of his life by spending one very daring night in the most grim grinning place on Earth… The Haunted Mansion.” (Sidenote: I know Gonzo has been teamed up with Pepe the King Prawn for years now, but I miss his adventures with Rizzo. Pepe’s cool and all, but he’s no Rizzo — Roy Kent understands.) The Disney+ special also features non-Muppets Will Arnett (as the Ghost Host), Yvette Nicole Brown, Darren Criss, and Taraji P. Henson, as well as Alfonso Ribeiro, Danny Trejo, Sasheer Zamata, Craig Robinson, Justina Machado, Chrissy Metz, Pat Sajak, John Stamos, and in one of his final roles, the late Ed Asner.

Meanwhile, Miss Piggy plays Madame Leota, which is inspired casting.

Muppet Haunted Mansion, which is shockingly the Muppets’ first Halloween special, premieres on Disney+ on October 8. This song still slaps.

The fact of the matter is that Holey Moley is America’s finest television program. Other shows are good, too, and this is not meant to take anything away from any of them, but the extreme mini-golf show that is now in its third season of mad science and primetime calamity is just operating at a higher level right now. It’s stupid to the point of brilliance, silly to the level of art. I do not think any show on television brings me such a consistent amount of pure, unfiltered joy. It’s just one hour every week of people getting blasted by cartoonish obstacles under the guise of a miniature golf competition. It’s upsetting that it took us this long to create something so simple and flawless. We should all think about this and feel bad.

The third season changed up a few things from the first two, including but not limited to:

• Adding new holes
• Having the hosts, Joe Tessitore and Rob Riggle, make fun of the contestants a little more, which is really fun
• Actually, those are the only real changes, because why would you tinker with such an efficient piece of machinery

Below, please find a ranking of the holes from season three, starting with the least chaotic and progressing to the most, complete with GIFs, analysis, and the unedited Wikipedia description of each hole. You may disagree with my order in places. That’s fine. Reasonable minds can differ on this. The important thing is that I had an excuse, as part of my real job, to make a slew of GIFs of people getting mangled by goofy obstacles. I do not take any of this for granted.

Here we go.

14. The Fishing Hole

Wikipedia Description: “Similar to Putter Ducky, in which contestants must putt past three oversized fish that swing from side to side. Afterwards, the players themselves must avoid the fish while being showered by a water cannon. If a player gets knocked into the water (by a fish), they receive a one-stroke penalty.”

Analysis: It says a lot about this show that the hole where three monstrous fish sway back and forth and wallop people into a pool comes in last on my list. And yet, here we are. Things only get weirder from here.

13. Agony of Defeat

Wikipedia Description: “Contestants must “ski jump” into the water; the player with the longest jump gets the better ball placement. The hole name is presumably a reference to the ‘agony of defeat’ clip of ski jumper Vinko Bogataj from the introduction to ABC’s long-running Wide World of Sports series.”

Analysis: This one is actually kind of disappointing. There’s no element of danger or menace or whimsy. They just launch into the water. All of which are, I know, silly complaints to make about a mini-golf show where any of this happens. But I have standards now. Expectations. There was a hole last season where contestants did a high-dive judged by Greg Louganis, a man in a gopher costume, and an increasingly unhinged Steve Guttenberg. We can do better than this.

12. Donut Hole

Wikipedia Description: “Contestants hit their ball down a ramp covered in ‘sprinkles,’ which act as walls that guide the ball down to the green. They must then jump through three swinging donuts to reach the green; if players fall into a multicolored ‘sprinkle’ foam square pit below, they incur a stroke penalty. This, Corn Hole, and The Pecker are the only holes in which the players do not get wet if they fail.”

Analysis: Do me a favor: Show this GIF to someone without telling them what it’s from. See if they can guess what else happens on the show. I sure bet they can’t!

11. The Pecker

Wikipedia Description: “Players must putt the ball down a strip of wood to the green, and a channel on the side of the wood strip gives a chance for a hole-in-one. They must then jump onto a bobbing woodpecker head and grab a red feather atop it; if they fail, it is a stroke penalty. This, Donut Hole, and Corn Hole are the only holes in which the players do not get wet if they fail.”

Analysis: This hole continues the show’s long and storied history of childish wordplay. There have also been holes named Uranus and Hole Number Two, and Tessitore and Riggle didn’t miss any opportunity to remind the viewers that those phrases have more than one meaning. I’m very proud of everyone involved here.

10. Parcade

Wikipedia Description: “Similar to Uranus, players putt their ball up the launch ramp of a pinball machine. Once at the top, the ball falls into one of five channels that are themed after prior holes: Uranus, Dutch Courage (Windmill), Putt Bunyan, Putter Ducky, and The Tomb of Nefer-Tee-Tee; it is currently unknown what happens if the ball fails to reach any one of the five channels. The ball then ends on the green. After putting, each player must cross over a pool by jumping between two pinball flippers that rise up and down. Failing to do so incurs a stroke penalty.”

Analysis: I like that this hole kind of folds the universe of the show in half, with references to previous seasons and all of it. Mostly, though, I like that maybe one or two contestants have completed the hole without wiping the hell out. Those flippers are demonic. I adore them.

9. Corn Hole

Wikipedia Description: “Similar to Hole Number Two, in which players must putt the ball down a huge piece of corn, and then walking through the same piece of corn. The giant kernels on the corn pop after 3 seconds, and if they get popped off the course into a pool full of foam squares that are designed to resemble popcorn kernels, they receive a one-stroke penalty. The hole itself rests on a slope that is themed to look like a cornhole board. This, Donut Hole, and The Pecker are the only holes in which players do not get wet if they fail.”

Analysis: There is nothing wrong with any of this. America is a great and strong nation.

8. King Parthur’s Court

Wikipedia Description: “Contestants putt down a channel and over a ramp across the water to a sword, banking their balls off to the hole. After putting, each player mounts on a mechanical horse and jousts with Sir Puttsalot, who tries to knock them off the horse into the water below. If they fall, players incur a stroke penalty.”

Analysis: The thing I enjoy here is that zero percent of the falls are graceful or violent. People just get, like, nudged gently with a big foam lance and then they wobble off their fake horse into the water. It makes me laugh every time. I feel okay about it.

7. Turfing USA

Wikipedia Description: “Players must putt the ball up and through a wave that runs alongside a pool and onto the green on the other side, guided onto the green by a small wall. After that, they must stand on a mechanically-driven surfboard in the same pool they putt past and ride it to the other side, standing up to both the sudden jerky movement of the board and water cannons. If they fall in, they incur a stroke penalty.”

Analysis: The funniest part of this hole is that maybe 40-50 percent of the contestants don’t even get to the jets. They just fall right off the board immediately because they fail to judge the abrupt speed burst at the beginning when the board starts moving. It’s honestly delightful. And it’s even better when the thing in the GIF above happens, where they just barely recover in time to get blasted with a water cannon and sent flying. It makes me giggle every time. I have a law degree.

6. The Distractor

Wikipedia Description: “Contestants must try to sink a 12-foot putt with a distraction.”

Analysis: So there’s no physical element to this hole, which is disappointing, but there’s a degree of anarchy here that tickles me. There could be anything behind that wall when it spins around. One day, maybe in season four, I want it to spin around and reveal, like, George Clooney and Helen Mirren whipping pies at each other’s faces. Try to make a put with that going on, buddy.

5. Holey Matrimony

Wikipedia Description: “Each player puts down the aisle to the green-themed like a dance floor, complete with a disco ball in the center of a checkerboard pattern. After that, players run along a quickly moving treadmill “aisle” towards a spinning ring and cake over a pool. They must jump from the treadmill onto the ring and cake to reach the green. Falling into the water incurs a stroke penalty. To add to the theming, each player dresses up in a suit or a dress depending on gender; if two men are playing, both are dressed in suits, and if two women are playing, the women have a choice of a white suit or a dress.”

Analysis: I have no notes here. Just perfect in theory and execution. Congratulations all around.

4. Hole Number Two

Wikipedia Description: “Players must putt along a narrow ridge with muddy water on one side and a row of porta-potties on the other, before attempting a 2.5-second sprint across the ridge before the porta-potty doors open and knock them into the mud. If they fall into the mud, they receive a one-stroke penalty.”

Analysis: This hole has been around since the show began and has barely changed at all over the years. And why should it? There’s already no wasted energy or motion anywhere. People run past a row of portable toilets and then a collection of people dressed like monsters whip the doors open and send them flying into a pool of brown water. You tell me how any of that can be improved. And don’t say, “Have the contestants ride tricycles,” because I already thought of that one and realized how much effort would be wasted fishing the tiny bikes out of that murky pool. We don’t have that kind of time.

3. Putt-a-saurus

Wikipedia Description: “Both contestants race each other across the ribs of a dinosaur while over a tar (mud) pit; the ribs do not reach the end of the tar pit, so at one point all players will have to jump into the mud. The first player to reach and touch the bone finish line gets the better ball placement. After cleaning themselves off-camera, players putt up a ramp themed like a dinosaur spine and down a channel to the green; there is a small ridge that players must also try to navigate around for better putting positions off the ramp.”

Analysis: The thing that launches this hole into the top-three is the guaranteed failure rate. There’s no way to do this without getting a mud bath. Look at the distance between the last dino-bone and the wall at the end. You are 100 percent ending this hole dirty and wet, even if you do everything right. I appreciate whoever came up with this. I have this image in my head of them cackling like a supervillain over their blueprints as they make the distance at the end further and further. It’s diabolical.

2. Ho Ho Hole

Wikipedia Description: “A rethemed Christmas version of Polcano, with the totem pole replaced by a candy cane “North Pole”. The hole also has an added challenge of putting through fake snow, which hinders the ball from moving as quickly.”

Analysis: It brings me more joy than you can possibly imagine that they just straight-up took the Polcano hole from season two, painted the pole like a candy cane and added a sled, and made the whole endeavor Christmas-themed even though the show airs in the summer. It’s right on that line between lazy and genius, which is where I try to remain whenever possible. Good for them.

1. Double Dutch Courage En Fuego

Wikipedia Description: “Similar to Double Dutch Courage, in which contestants must hit through two large windmills that exhale flames (the flames do not impact the hole, though they do emit smoke which makes it harder to see the blades of the windmills). The large windmills have five large, quickly rotating blades that can knock the player off the putting surface and cause stroke penalties. The hole lies past the second large windmill, on a slope.”

Analysis: A few notes:

• It is adorable that this Wiki description attempts to justify the fire in any way, as though it wasn’t clear from Day One that the whole reason the fire was added was “because we had some money left over and wanted to have fire somewhere”
• I would watch a 20-minute compilation of people getting smacked completely out of frame by these windmills blades, and I get for real disappointed — like, my entire body deflates a little — when someone makes it through successfully
• The lady in this GIF got wrecked by the second windmill, too, and I’ll post it at the bottom as a thank you for scrolling all the way through this list

What a beautiful television show. I hope it runs for 20 seasons and gets a celebrity edition. I want to see the Real Housewives try to run through these windmills. I do not ask for much.

While The Wire creator David Simon is asking Twitter for recommendations about places that can double for Dallas that are nowhere near Texas and its batsh*t new abortion restrictions, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi is busy defending the foodie reality show’s decision to continue shooting its new season in Houston.

As The Wrap noted, Lakshmi took to Twitter to respond to the backlash against Bravo for not pulling production on its upcoming 19th season out of Texas following the state’s decision to enact a near-total abortion ban and rob women of their right to choose. The way she sees it, by staying in Texas, Top Chef is helping the very same people the abortion ban is targeting.

Texans are up against so much right now- a hateful anti-abortion bill, erasure of voting rights, and a humanitarian & Constitutional crisis at the border. Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. Its govt & the majority of its ppl oppose @GovAbbott ‘s heinous bills.

Our show highlights the small businesses that hire the very same women, BIPOC ppl & low-income folks that these laws harm most. Only 11% of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal. The govt doesn’t have the right to force ppl to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

Lakshmi then shared that she was working with organizations on the ground in Texas to protect women’s rights, and shared some abortion funds to which people can donate.

She also shared some statistics about abortion, including the fact that “only 11 percent of Americans say abortion should always be illegal.”

The responses to Lakshmi’s tweets were… mixed:

Top Chef season 19, which is already shooting in Houston, is scheduled to premiere in 2022.

(Via The Wrap)

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish movies available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

10. (tie) Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal, and Greed (Netflix)

Bob Ross is beloved worldwide for his landscapes and peaceful vibes, but this new Netflix documentary reveals that things weren’t all sunsets and smiles when it came to his fortune and estate. Money will do that, even when the money comes from someone as sweet as Bob Freakin’ Ross, apparently. Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie). Kate (Netflix)

Granted, this movie sounds a whole lot like Crank (those infamous Jason Statham flicks), but it’s got Mary Elizabeth Winstead kicking enormous ass, so are we really complaining about derivative stories here? Nope. Here, Winstead stars as the title character, who’s taking revenge upon a criminal organization after being poisoned and only having 24 hours to live. Woody Harrelson’s also on board here (he makes everything better), and let’s hope that Kate gains some vengeance before the clock expires. Watch it on Netflix.

9. Annette (Amazon)

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A stand-up comedian (Adam Driver) and a world-famous opera singer (Marion Cotillard) have a child that turns out to be a wooden marionette doll, and the doll begins taunting them with its own singing voice after their marital problems lead to chaos. It sounds… weird. It sounds weird. There’s no way around that. But it does have an interesting cast and is getting solid reviews so maybe give it a run if you’re in the mood to have your mind bent a little. Watch it on Amazon.

8. The Green Knight (VOD)

Some of us have been waiting an entire year to see a glowed-up Dev Patel play a troubled, handsomely rugged knight in this trippy take on an Arthurian legend, but now that The Green Knight is finally streaming everywhere … well, we all win. Patel plays Gawain, the film’s should-be hero who must fulfill an oath and face off against a myth-like creature who demands his head. Talking foxes, blood magic, and literal giants all pop up, inhabiting a mystical, terrifying, otherworldly landscape from the twisted, creative genius of director David Lowery. Find it on your VOD outlet of choice.

7. Vacation Friends (Hulu)

Well look at that, it’s a vacation romp featuring mismatched couples, one a party animal pair played by John Cena and Meredith Hagner, the other a more straightlaced duo played by Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji. They’re all in Mexico. One assumes hijinks will ensue. Watch it on Hulu.

6. Worth (Netflix)

It’s a hell of trick, the way Michael Keaton went from being just a little more alive and electric than everyone else on the screen to how he now fades into roles where he’s at the center of slow-burn David and Goliath stories that mythologize the dogged pursuit of justice. It’s like he pointed his jets inward to melt away any sense of movie star sparkle to become the son of Pittsburgh everyman that he was born to be. One expects we’ll see that in the upcoming Dopesick, we certainly saw it in Spotlight, and from the producers of that film comes this story about the effort to compensate the families of 9/11 victims and the fight to not have that effort lose the thread of empathy and respect when confronted by such titanic loss. Watch it on Netflix.

5. Cinderella (Amazon Prime)

It is time, apparently, once again, time for a new take on Cinderella, the classic story of a girl and her evil family and how magic and some rodents make her a star. This time around, we have Camilia Cabello in the lead role and Billy Porter as her fairy godparent and Idina Menzel as the evil stepmother and, look at that, Pierce Brosnan as the king. The whole thing basically puts a series of small twists on a story you’ve seen a few dozen times, but sometimes that’s okay. The cast is strong enough to make it all worth a shot. Watch it on Amazon.

4. The Startling (Netflix)

What we have here is, on paper, a pretty decent movie. We’ve got Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd and Timothy Olyphant and a story about a grieving woman who learns to live and laugh and love again through an extended turf war with a combative bird that takes up residence on her property. No complaints so far. The tricky part is in the execution and, given some of the reviews, this all leans toward melodrama until it topples over. But it’s hard to argue with that cast, and you probably have Netflix anyway, so maybe give it a crack for yourself. Watch it on Netflix.

3. The Voyeurs (Amazon Prime)

What we have here is an old-school erotic thriller — think Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction — with White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney as one half of a curious couple who spends a not-insignificant amount of time spying on their exhibitionist-type neighbors. Things get weird and twisted and steamy, as they do in these kinds of movies, which were super popular in the 1980s and 1990s and have since just about disappeared. Might be worth it to give it a try, but think about closing your own blinds first. Watch it on Amazon Prime.

2. Cry Macho (HBO Max)

Clint Eastwood is back as an actor and director in Cry Macho. A movie with a razor-thin plot, where nothing much at all happens, but is still strangely enjoyable. There’s something irresistibly pleasant about the whole thing – which is just an excuse for Clint to star in a movie that could loosely be described as an “action” role. (Though, Clint does make sure he gets to throw a punch. With the assistance of a rooster named Macho.) Watch it on HBO Max.

1. Malignant (HBO Max)

James Wan, he of the Saw and Insidious and Conjuring movies, is back with a new horror film. This one focuses on a woman who has terrifying visions of brutal murders, which are ruining her life a little (as terrifying visions of brutal murders will do) and are also –surprise — actually happening in the real world (which is bad). None of it sounds like a good time for her. For you, though? Maybe. Watch it on Netflix.

Each week our staff of film and TV experts surveys the entertainment landscape to select the ten best new/newish shows available for you to stream at home. We put a lot of thought into our selections, and our debates on what to include and what not to include can sometimes get a little heated and feelings may get hurt, but so be it, this is an important service for you, our readers. With that said, here are our selections for this week.

Get more streaming recommendations with our weekly What To Watch newsletter.

10. (tie) Sex Education (Netflix)

This Gillian Anderson-starring series returns, so that the X-Files and The Crown actress can continue embarrassing the heck out of her TV son, Otis (Asa Butterfield), who is apparently now having casual sex. Jemima Kirke is officially on board, too, as a headteacher named Hope, who desperately wants to restore Moordale Secondary School to its former sterling reputation. Uh, good luck with that? Also, Anderson’s character is pregnant. Oh, Mom. Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie) Lucifer (Netflix)

The Devil is back for one last dance-of-a-rodeo in Season 6, and naturally, Lucifer Morningstar is still a total pain in the tush, and you’ll love him for it. Fortunately, he’s no longer attempting to be a detective. Lucifer is now God (don’t ask), and if he doesn’t get with the new program, he’s liable to trigger the apocalypse of all apocalypses. This is one last, fan-requested hurrah for a Netflix-resurrected series, and Neil Gaiman’s creation will live on in fans’ hearts and, most likely, their pants as well. Watch it on Netflix.

10. (tie) The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)

The Great British Bakeoff is back to prove that kindness is good, gluten is better, and the mythical Paull Hollywood handshake is … eh, overrated. We’ve waited a year for this comfort watch, suffering through the Jake Gyllenhaal sparked Sourdough Bread Challenge of 2020 and spending quarantine lockdowns crafting 5-ingredient recipes for every cookie imaginable. Now, we get to what real bakers – or, at least, amateurs with experience – can do. This season is more diverse than ever – from German IT guys to Italian engineers and a horse-riding teenage vegan – but the good vibes are still there. At least, until bread week drops. Watch it on Netflix.

9. Reservation Dogs (Hulu)

Taika Waititi’s follow-up to What We Do in the Shadows brings us a comedy series that’s co-written by Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo. Yes, the lead quartet in this show rocks suits that look strikingly similar to the characters of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, yet they’re four Indigenous teens who want to commit crime and simply can’t pull it off. The show was shot in and near Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and these teens hope to make it all the way to California. The cast and crew come from indigenous communities, from where Harjo and Waititi are aiming their storytelling styles as well. Watch it on Hulu.

8. Doom Patrol (HBO Max)

DC’s misfit superheroes are back for another round of being portrayed by an incredible cast. Brendan Fraser has received plenty of raves for his exasperated and fury-filled Cliff Steele/Robotman, but don’t count out the rest of the crew. There’s Matt Bomer as the bandage-wrapped Negative Man and repeat appearances from Danny the Street, but the real kudos should go to Diane Guerrero (Orange is the New Black) as Crazy Jane, which is actually a role that requires dozens of incarnations, including a very timely take on a Karen. This season, the sh*t hits the fan with a time machine. Watch it on HBO Max.

7. Only Murders In The Building (Hulu)

Selena Gomez stars alongside the legendary Steve Martin and Martin Short, and the three portray NYC neighbors who aim to unravel an apparent murder inside their apartment building. Yes, they’re all podcasting because everyone does it (duh), and before long, the killer might be after them, too. Martin hasn’t written a feature film since the Pink Panther movies and Shopgirl, and we don’t wanna come out and call this trio a “much cooler Three Amigos” update, but Martin wrote that, too, so why not? Watch it on Hulu

6. Muhammed Ali (PBS)

You’re probably thinking, “Do I really need to watch a four-part PBS docuseries on Muhammad Ali? I already know so much about him — is there really any more to learn?” Yes, yes there is. More specifically, there’s so much never before seen footage of young Ali in this that Ken Burns and his team dig up by apparently spending months digging through the archives at local news stations in Louisville, Kentucky, where Ali grew up. It’s a riveting portrait of one of the most extraordinary humans to ever walk the Earth, and it’s well worth your time. Watch it on PBS.

5. Foundation (Apple TV+)

Sorry to Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos but Apple TV+ is actually winning the space race right now. They’ve already delivered the terrific For All Mankind and now they’re taking us further, to the very borders of the galaxy for this sci-fi adaptation. The story follows a mathematician who develops a formula for predicting the end of a future Galactic Empire before devising a way to save it via a rebellion (of sorts). Yes, there’s a lot going on here, but prestige TV king Jared Harris is a pro at making us care about really complicated science – see Chernobyl – and the casting department has another ace up its sleeve in case you’re on the binge-watching fence. Four words: Lee. Pace. In. Space. Watch it on Apple TV+.

4. The Morning Show (Apple TV+)

Critics of season one of The Morning Show won’t have an easy time credibly claiming a lack of action or interest in a second season that picks up the thread from the last while also servicing even more characters and the lingering threat of COVID. This is a heavyweight fight all over again with Aniston and Witherspoon leading the way, but look for more of Billy Crudup lounging in the chaos to spark the show once more. Watch it on Apple TV+.

3. Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

There are moments in the early stages of season two that feel like they’re doubling down on the show’s signature positivity and niceness, but there’s no such thing as sweetness overload here as the show grows our affection for characters that are clearly taking a step forward in their arcs. Especially Ted, even though it seems like there may be some challenges ahead. Watch it on Apple TV+.

2. What We Do In The Shadows (FX/Hulu)

Well, well, well. Guillermo turned out to be a vampire killer, which sure as heck came as a surprise to Nandor, Nadja, and Laszlo, and Colin. The four Staten Island roommates must figure out how to handle this conundrum, along with tackling the other challenges of this season. Those include dealing with wellness cults and gym culture, along with gargoyles, werewolves who play kickball, casinos, and more. In other words, this is still one of the funniest shows on TV. Watch it on FX and Hulu.

1. Midnight Mass (Netflix)

Get ready, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor addicts, because creator Mike Flanagan’s back to cause us more horror fits. This happens to be his favorite project so far and revolves around an isolated community that lives on spooky Crockett Island, which gets even spookier due to a charismatic priest’s arrival. Naturally, a whole lot of supernatural shenanigans are afoot, but human nature can often be scarier than the ghosts that people can dream up. It’s dark, real dark. Watch it on Netflix.

Week 3 of the NFL season is upon us and with two weeks of football under our belts, we’re starting to learn some things about teams. At the very least, we are getting a baseline of the teams that are on the furthest ends of the spectrum in terms of being good and bad on both sides of the ball.

In fantasy, both of those things have to be taken into account when selecting a defense, as it’s not simply about having the best defense, but also about picking up defenses that go up against the worst opposition. We see a mix of that in this week’s consensus projection rankings, where objectively good defenses like the Broncos and Bills float up near the top, where they’ll often find themselves even against solid competition, but others that are more boom or bust, like the Cardinals, also arrive up there due to their opponent. Denver gets the gift of the Jets, which vaults them to the top spot, while Arizona gets Jacksonville, jumping them up to No. 2.

Here are the top 20 defenses based on the average of the Week 3 projections from ESPN, NFL, CBS, and FantasyPros.

1. Broncos
2. Cardinals
3. Bills
4. Panthers
5. Steelers
6. Browns
7. Patriots
8. Ravens
9. Raiders
10. Falcons
11. Cowboys
12. Packers
13. Giants
14. Vikings
15. Titans
16. Bucs
17. Bears
18. Chiefs
19. Texans
20. Seahawks

At just 19 years old, Billie Eilish is already a music industry veteran: She released the career-launching song “Ocean Eyes” when she was 13. As she has reached adulthood, Eilish has sometimes left behind her baggier, more modest looks in favor of form-fitting or revealing fashion choices, which has garnered both praise and backlash. Now Eilish has reflected on those sorts of reactions in a new Elle feature.

She addressed losing fans who didn’t want to see her change from how she was in the early part of her career, saying, “People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it’s very dehumanizing. I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs [laughs]. People are scared of big boobs.”

Eilish seems to be referring to December 2020, when she shared drawings of breasts on her Instagram Story and subsequently shed about 100k followers. At the time, she reacted by writing, “LMFAOOO y’all babies smh.”

In the feature, she also talked about the challenges of fame, saying, “I just wanted to make a song once, and then I kept making songs. I never said, ‘Hey, pay attention to my life.’ All my friends know I don’t wanna see any of [the negative chatter]. When people send me something mean, it hurts my soul.”

Read the full feature here.

Before this interview with David Chase – the creator of The Sopranos and the now co-writer and producer of its prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark – I had been told multiple times, “Hey, you know, he doesn’t suffer fools, you better be on your toes.” Look, no matter how long a person has been doing this job, there’s no way I can hear that and not feel anxious. And not to mention the whole, “Here’s the person who created one of your favorite television shows,” aspect. I do wonder if Chase’s “gruff” reputation is more a byproduct of the inherent style of doing an interview about a television show and having to be guarded — as interviewers were always digging for clues about what was coming next, as opposed to a completed movie in which we have seen the finished product. And, as opposed to The Sopranos, Chase does have to sell people a bit on this one. It’s not The Continuing Adventures of Tony Soprano, which a lot of people might be expecting and it’s clear Chase wants people to know that.

The Many Saints of Newark, directed by longtime The Sopranos director Alan Taylor, takes place in 1967, and then 1972. Its main character is Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), the father of Christopher Moltisanti, who, in the series, was heard about, but remains kind of a mystery. Set against the backdrop of the Newark riots and a budding gang war between Dickie’s crew and a Black gang led by Dickie’s old friend Harold (Leslie Odom Jr.), young Tony Soprano is very much in this film (played by Michael Gandolfini in the second half of the movie), but it’s more about the influence Dickie has on young Tony than about Tony himself.

Ahead, Chase takes us through what it’s been like making The Many Saints of Newark a reality. From the initial idea, to the marketing – which he doesn’t always see eye to eye with the studio on – to asking James Gandolfini’s son to step into his father’s shoes. Chase also talks about the phenomenon of younger people going back to watch The Sopranos, and the connection he makes to why younger people also do that with The Office. (Which is both very funny and very true.) But, first, in an interview a couple of weeks ago he had complained that Wikipedia has his birth name wrong. That it has it listed as David DeCesare, which is an old family name, but his birth name has always been David Chase. And he could never get it fixed. But, since that interview, it’s now been fixed.

First of all, congratulations on getting your Wikipedia page changed.

Yeah. Well, the movie will be good for something. So, if that’s the only thing that comes out of it, it will be good for me. Yeah. It used to drive me nuts!

I even checked it today. It’s still changed.

They’ve done it before. They’ve changed it before. Then they changed it back again.

So you’re not convinced it’ll stick?

Maybe this time. I mean, the reason I was upset about it was, for one thing, none of it was true! It made me appear like my family was ashamed of being Italian or something like that. That we’ve done the usual assimilation move.

Is there any other thing that’s been bothering you that you want to get off your chest? Because it seems like you have the power to get things done through your interviews.

I just got some off of the last few times.

Uh-oh.

But did they change it for the better? That’s the question.

I think if the Wikipedia page change sticks, it’s for the better. It makes you happy, so that’s good.

Yeah, no, it’s good. No, it’s just good that there’s no monkeyshines with my name. And those names, those were my names, my family names, and I should be proud of them. And I am. I asked HBO in the beginning, “Should I go back to our Italian family name?”

This movie reminded me of a lot of episodes of the series in that it left me wanting more. And I can’t stop thinking about it.

Wow. Well, that means a lot, I’m telling you. Because I always had this theory – not all the time and not completely – but that one of the reasons The Sopranos was successful was because it ended before an hour was up. So, in other words, yeah, people are wanting more because it’s not a movie. It feels like a movie, but it’s not a movie, because it’s only like 56 minutes long. So maybe that’s why people are so into it? But I also didn’t think that either. I also thought, “Well, it’s a good show, and they like it.” But now to hear you say that, that this movie makes you feel the same way, that really goes into my mental computer.

Well, first of all, there are plenty of hour-long TV shows I do not want more of when I’m watching it. But you said you had arguments with the studio about things that they wanted, because it puts butts in the seats. What do studios want?

But that’s not what New Line did with us. Making the movie, they were great partners, really. We did what we wanted. They had some suggestions, which were actually good ones, which some I followed and some I didn’t. But, creatively, they were really good partners. What I was complaining about was marketing. And marketing’s a different thing.

I see.

That’s what I was talking about.

You don’t want people getting an idea it’s a Tony Soprano origin story when it’s obviously not.

Marketing is marketing. These things are going to happen. But when you’re in the middle of it, you’re trying to fight your way through it.

I remember when the show ended, it felt like it was within like weeks there were already rumors of a movie. And if it would take place after or before the events of the series. Was your idea always to have this take place before?

I had some earlier kind of wisps of ideas. But yeah, once Lawrence Konner and I worked on this, this was the thing. It’s not like, wow, we’re not going to change it. But like I said, Toby Emmerich and all those guys over there were really good. They didn’t say, “Give him a dog to pet.” None of that stuff. Right? So it just was what it was. I want to say one more thing. We were talking about the marketing. This is really my first time with marketing a movie.

You didn’t have that with Not Fade Away?

I wish that there had been some marketing at all, and there wasn’t, and nobody saw it. So I really wasn’t familiar with a full-on major studio marketing campaign.

I see.

So I had to get adjusted to that and feel my way through it.

What was the biggest surprise?

About marketing?

It may be even how it differs from how HBO marketed your show back when it was on.

Look, like I said, marketing is marketing. It’s a commercial. I chose not to work in commercials. I’ve never been on Madison Avenue. Biggest surprise was just things that were emphasized that I didn’t agree with, but it’s all come out in the wash. And it’s gone come out well. I mean, we got into a thing where we’re working with each other.

Something you’ve touched on during your press tour is how you’re really surprised and delighted people in their 20s are now watching The Sopranos. It’s interesting that your show and a show like The Office came around right before the internet picked everything to death. And I know the internet picked apart the ending to The Sopranos, but that felt like looking for clues, as opposed to now that feels more like, “Here’s what the character should have done.”

Really? Oh, yeah?

Well, I think younger people are watching these shows and loving them because they’re free to kind of do things that you wouldn’t expect them to do and aren’t kind of governed by what social media might say.

Wow. That’s really interesting.

Maybe I’m wrong though. That’s why I want to ask you.

You said The Sopranos and The Office. And what I find interesting about that is both of those shows are about a group of annoyed, angry people.

Just trying to do their jobs and make some money.

Well, there must be something in that, that people see reflective of life or something that they want to see.

And aren’t getting from current things, apparently.

Yeah. Apparently. Yeah. That’s actually really interesting, those two shows.

That’s a really good point, just people going to work – very different ways of working – but experiencing daily annoyances.

I mean, I said that when we were doing the show. I said, “Everybody on this show is annoying all the time.”

That’s a good way to put it.

To the point of killing somebody in that show! But they were always annoying. Even if they weren’t involved with crime, they were annoying.

I keep thinking about Michael Gandolfini. I lost my dad four years ago to a heart attack. If someone came to me and said, “Do you want to step into the thing he was most known for? Would you take that on?” That’s really heavy. It is remarkable how great he is doing this, and I can’t get over it, because I don’t think I have the strength to do what he did.

It does take a lot of strength. It’s true. I think maybe I’m not that all keyed into that… but the way you express it, to step into your father’s masterwork? It’s pretty amazing.

And he knocks it out of the park.

Yes, he does. And he didn’t need a lot of help either. Alan directed, and there was no drama about it. He did the job for real.

You made what many people consider the greatest television show of all time. And you don’t seem satisfied with just having that. You have this white whale of a masterpiece movie…

I never said “masterpiece”…

Okay, I’m saying that part.

I said the movie.

Well, it seems like you’re disappointed with what got cut out of Not Fade Away. And now because of some family health issues you couldn’t direct The Many Saints of Newark. I feel like this is something that’s very important to you, to direct your big idea movie and have it presented to the world the way you wanted, which you haven’t gotten to do yet.

It is very important to me. It’s not necessarily a big idea. I went to film school. I didn’t go to “TV school.” And when I was coming up in the ’60s, film schools were just really starting. I mean, NYU had one, UCLA. And that’s what you studied, was film.

It’s that scene from Not Fade Away, where James Gandolfini says something like, “Oh, they have schools for making movies now. Ha ha.”

Right! Yeah, exactly, exactly. And what you studied was cinema, and it’s been a goal of mine to try to do that. I’ve seen so many amazing movies. We all have, amazing movies, that of course you want to get in the ring with that stuff and hope for the best. But in no way does that diminish my love for The Sopranos…

Oh, no, I didn’t think that…

Do I think, “Well, I was kind of halfway there”? Not at all.

I keep thinking about this. I always think of Silvio coming out of the coma right now, and people having to explain to Steven Van Zandt playing Silvio, what has happened over the last 14 years.

[Laughs] Well, Steven Van Zandt is fully aware! Too aware of what’s happened over the last 14 years.

That’s true. He is. But he’s a good actor. He could pretend he hasn’t heard yet.

No, I know. That’s a really good… That would be amazing. That would be amazing, really.

We are out of time, but I’m truly looking forward to watching this movie again…

Oh, my God.

It is like an episode, where I’m just like I just can’t stop thinking about it.

What can I say? It’s really touching. It’s really gratifying. Thank you for saying that and being so candid about it. I will think about that a lot.

‘The Many Saints of Newark’ opens in theaters and streams via HBO Max on October 1. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Along with death and taxes, one thing that remains invariably true about the universe is that someone, somewhere, is using a phone where they shouldn’t. Despite taking precautions such as locking attendees’ phones in Yondr bags, plenty of video has emerged from the Fugees’ first show on their reunion tour for the 25th anniversary of The Score. The group has reunited for the first time in 15 years for this tour, with their most recent performance together being in 2006 in Hollywood after their touted 2005 reunion tour.

However, the group announced their return for the 25th anniversary of their classic album earlier this week, following through with the kickoff performance at New York’s Pier 17. According to Stereogum, around 3,000 people were in attendance, while Rolling Stone reports the show was 45 minutes long. All of the songs played were from The Score, naturally, and perhaps inevitably, the show reportedly started around three hours late.

Stereogum’s recap details Pras and Wyclef freestyling and Wyclef using the platform to address the US’s current treatment of Haitian refugees. And despite banning phones from the proceedings (recordings of some of the performances will reportedly be used in Global Citizen’s broadcast this Saturday), plenty of fan-made recordings have leaked out. The fact that the group reunited after some of the prior comments they’ve made on the subject is a minor miracle and worth celebrating.

Watch video from the Fugees’ first performance together in 15 years below.

You can see the full tour schedule, which begins in proper on November 2, here.