Month: December 2021

Miranda Lambert hasn’t really sat on her laurels during the pandemic at all. Earlier this year she released the Marfa Tapes, a collaborative project with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, and for the holiday season she teamed up with her tried and true trio, the Pistol Annies (featuring Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe), and released Hell Of A Holiday. But even though the year is almost drawing to a close, country’s brightest star isn’t quite done yet. In conjunction with the Queer Eye reboot, where a group of fabulous gay men travel around the country and help struggling people rejuvenate their lives, Lambert has released what can only be described as a country LGBQT anthem.

The song is titled “Y’All Means All,” a phrase that has been popularized in the south as an expression of queer acceptance, and features the men from Queer Eye cavorting in the accompanying lyric video. Since the south is a place where there has historically been less acceptance of queerness, and country music is an even less accepting microcosm of southern culture, it’s great to see Miranda emphatically asserting which side of the debate she’s on. The playful tune is a perfect palette cleanser to head into the new year. Check it out about.

While it was a mostly quiet year for Vampire Weekend, fans got a bit of new Ezra Koenig material via a song in Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave. Koenig didn’t appear in the episode’s credits, but the vocals were unmistakably his and he did nod to the track at the time. Now, he has talked about the song and its origins more extensively.

Koenig chatted with Mark Hoppus on his After School Radio show on Apple Music and said the song was meant to be something like a watered-down version of Frank Ocean and Bon Iver:

“Basically through the producer, Akiva [Schaffer] from Lonely Island, and I’d met Tim Robinson before over the years. He’d come to a show. I was a huge fan. He’d always been cool. And then, Akiva hit me up just saying, ‘Hey, the guys need a song for the next season of the show. Could you do it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ Anything for that show.

We got on the phone with them and they basically wanted not a bad pop song, but kind of a… They played me references and stuff for what they were looking for, and they already had some lyrics. So, it’s not like they were wanting a song that sounds like me or Vampire Weekend, they just wanted to know if we’d have fun with it. The best way I could describe the kind of music that they were looking for is pop music that came two or three levels after Frank Ocean and Bon Iver. The kind of not so great pop music that was very influenced by that music. I don’t even know how to describe it. I don’t know if there’s a name for it, but I was like, ‘OK.’ So we got the assignment and then I did it with my boy, Ariel [Rechtshaid].”

The main takeaway from Koenig’s appearance on Hoppus’ show, though, was that Vampire Weekend apparently has nearly an album’s worth of new songs.

Becky Hammon, the WNBA legend and longtime assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, is reportedly on the verge of becoming a head coach for the first time in her career. According to a report by Shams Charania and Chantel Jennings of The Athletic, Hammon is going to return to the WNBA and take over the Las Vegas Aces.

The report was confirmed by ESPN, with both reports indicating that the Aces will give Hammon a record-setting contract over five years. During her playing days, Hammon established herself as one of the best players in franchise history from 2007-14, although that was when the Aces were based out of San Antonio. Her number was retired by the franchise in 2016, and remains the only number it has ever retired.

Following her retirement, Hammon joined the Spurs’ coaching staff, becoming the first woman to serve as a full-time assistant coach in NBA history and the second, behind Lisa Boyer’s stint as a volunteer assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2001, to serve as an assistant coach in any capacity. She became the first woman to coach in the NBA Summer League in 2015, and in 2020, Hammon again made history when she served as the Spurs’ head coach following a Gregg Popovich ejection.

Hammon’s name has popped up in a number of NBA head coaching searches in recent years, and earlier this year, she was reportedly a finalist for the Portland Trail Blazers’ job, which ultimately went to Chauncey Billups. In August, Hammon told Dime’s Katie Heindl what she was looking for in a head coaching job as her name continued to be mentioned for various vacant positions.

“Support from the organization, support from the community,” Hammon said. “You’ve got to build a culture where people enable other people to be great. And you help that by everybody jumping in and helping wherever you can help. I’m somebody who’s leadership style is very relationship oriented in the sense that, I want to know the guy’s stories. I want to spend time with them. I want to get to know them as people, because I want to coach the whole person.”

ESPN reports that Hammon will remain with the Spurs until this NBA season ends, while The Athletic brings word that her hiring means that the Aces’ current coach, Bill Laimbeer, will step aside. After the news of Hammon’s hiring hit Twitter, several Las Vegas players took to social media to celebrate the news.

Hammon will take over one of the best teams in the league. Last season, the Aces finished second in the WNBA with a 24-8 record in the regular season, with Wilson earning a All-WNBA Second-Team nod and Plum winning the Sixth Woman of the Year award. The team earned a double bye in the WNBA playoffs, but fell to the Phoenix Mercury in five games. It came on the heels of a 2020 campaign in which the team made the WNBA Finals for the second time in franchise history — their first Finals appearance, in 2008, came with Hammon serving as its starting point guard.

Jimmy Fallon’s got a new game show called That’s My Jam coming to NBC, and in a sneak preview last night, audiences got a glimpse of what’s in store when the show airs beginning next week/year. The show, which is inspired in part by comedy bits from Fallon’s version of The Tonight Show, pairs celebrity teams to compete in musical challenges from the previous show such as “Mixtape Medley Showdown,” “Slay It, Don’t Spray It,” and “Wheel of Musical Impressions.” (Remember Drop The Mic and Lip Sync Battle? Shows like this always have viral promise.)

In the sneak peek, the teams consist of Alessia Cara partnered with Josh Groban and Chance The Rapper paired with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so the stage is already set for some hilarious shenanigans. Competing in a Musical Genre Challenge after Chance pulls the lever on a massive video screen, he spins the wheel again and ends up with Country Rock as the genre for a remix of hip-hop staple, Nelly’s “Hot In Herre.”

As the band strikes up a suitable instrumental, Chance gets really into character, affecting an Elvis-inspired “country” voice (which he even uses on the ad-libs!) and goes for broke to the delight of the studio audience, his fellow competitors, and of course, the host, who sings along with that signature Jimmy Fallon grin plastered across his face. Watch the hilarious clip above.

Bands like The War On Drugs, Spoon, and The National are still pumping out high-quality music that stands alongside their finest work. If it was up to Sufjan Stevens, though, those groups wouldn’t even exist anymore: On his list of “least favorite albums of 2021” (most entries in which aren’t actually anything even approximating albums), he asserts that bands should break up after a decade together.

In the post he shared on his website yesterday, he wrote, “Any band that is still together after 10 years—Please. Break up. Do your solo albums. Move on.” He gave that “album” a grade of F-.

Some other music-related entries on the list include, “Musicals—Please stop singing and dancing. F-,” and, “The 90s revival—Please. It was bad enough the first time around. F-.” He also wrote, “J Balvin—Black face. F-,” perhaps in reference to his recent “Afro-Latino Artist Of The Year” award. The only actual album included on the list is Adele’s 30, of which Stevens wrote, “Girl, please. We know you’re 33. It’s on your Wikipedia page. B+.”

It’s worth noting the whole post feels pretty tongue-in-cheek, so it’s likely he’s having fun by over-inflating some things he maybe halfheartedly believes or is just making some silly claims that aren’t rooted too deeply in reality.

Meanwhile, he also recently shared a list of his favorite 2021 albums, and again, he didn’t quite understand (or willfully ignored) the assignment, as his definition of “2021” is pretty loose. Instead, it would seem he’s referring to albums he heard in 2021, as his picks include Can’s 1973 album Future Days and Todd Rundgren’s A Wizard, A True Star from the same year. He did include Sam Evian’s Time To Melt, though, which actually was released this year.

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

For a long time, Week 17 of the NFL season was full of landmines in the handicapping world. Much of that stemmed from various teams not exactly facing urgent situations and acting accordingly. However, the 2021 season has an extra week, leaving Week 17 with a relatively “normal” landscape with the distinct exception of the ongoing COVID-19 challenges around the league. That is the new norm at the moment but, for the most part, this week’s slate is interesting and we’ll look to build on a 4-1 performance in this space from Week 16.

The Week 17 card awaits but, before we unveil the five selections, here is a look at the season-long results.

• Last Week: 4-1
• 2021 Season: 45-34-1

Come get these winners.

Baltimore Ravens (+4.5) over Los Angeles Rams

I’m going to hate this if Lamar Jackson can’t play. I kind of hate it even if he can. This is an all-or-nothing spot for Baltimore, though, and they are undervalued in the market after four straight losses.

Atlanta Falcons (+14.5) over Buffalo Bills

The Falcons are heavily fraudulent as a 7-8 team. Atlanta is dead-last in the NFL in DVOA and, while that is only one metric, it is breathtaking to think that the Falcons could measure below the Lions, Jaguars, Jets, Texans and Giants. As such, it isn’t crazy that the Falcons are double-digit underdogs on the road here, but grabbing 14.5 points is the move. It’s gross, but perhaps Matt Ryan can kick down the backdoor if needed.

Washington Football Team (+3.5) over Philadelphia Eagles

This is by far the most on-brand selection on the board this week. Washington looked like the worst team in the history of the league a week ago in a thrashing against Dallas. Philadelphia needs this game for playoff chances. It’s got everything. Heck, even the line shifted nearly a full touchdown from the look-ahead. It’s an overreaction, though, and Washington absolutely should not be more than a field goal underdog at home.

Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders UNDER 44.5 points

Carson Wentz may play after the NFL shifted its protocols, but the Colts likely won’t be opening up the playbook too much without practice time this week. The issue may be that Jonathan Taylor can erupt against anyone, but this feels like a game in which the Colts simply grind it out on both sides of the ball. Las Vegas also hasn’t scored more than 17 points in four games. Keep this thing ugly.

Minnesota Vikings (+7) over Green Bay Packers

Green Bay just keeps winning and overcoming metrics that don’t support the team’s win-loss record. Make no mistake, the Packers are good, but there are holes in the defense and a full touchdown is friendly to Minnesota. It’s a situation in which we’re simply grabbing a good number, but the Vikings’ penchant for close losses may also help us in this spot.

2021, man. Reality kicked us in the butt again this year, and surely, next year must be better. At the moment, though, we can gather some inspiration from TV, which isn’t something that we can always say, especially when a character like Saul Goodman rolls back into town (and he will, while bearing gifts of his own). Nope, this year is all about the curmudgeon: that wild species that really couldn’t give a sh*t. Often, they don’t want to be in the same room as you, and perhaps they’re a bit misunderstood because these creatures can appear as the loner breed (who can hatch by necessity or merely by disposition) or the not-as-bad-as-they-wanna-be type who’s so loathsome that everyone flees their presence. Then there’s the straight-up, i-cant-stand-the-thought-of-you variant. This type has no problem telling you to f*ck off, right to your face.

Is there a little softness inside the curmudgeon? Sure, that’s entirely possible. More dramatically than not on TV, though, they barely tolerate the presence of others. At times, these cranky types are utterly unlikable people. In other instances, the wilier beasts are charismatic (despite their ill-tempered ways) and draw people to them, much to their own chagrin. And what transpires with some of my favorite curmudgeons is fascinating: their stories bend and grow and they both inspire and beat down other characters in transformative ways, for worse and better. We love to see it. It’s fun!

Granted, writers must be fantastic to pull these characters off. They’re not merely giving us Jack Nicholson’s As Good As It Gets character, who simply decided that he wanted to “be a better man,” and that was enough for some to accept his “growth.” That was too easy. You gotta make these characters work for it, and give them real texture and lives and give them room to grow before being judged accordingly. Well, TV writers did it for 2021. Curmudgeons ruled the year of popular and/or prestige TV offerings. So, let’s do a quick-and-dirty ranking for those stand-out examples, who fueled word-of-mouth followings and ascended to the top of our Best TV Shows list this year. And what’s one more ranking list to top of the year? F*ck off and witness the loathing.

8. Charles In Only Murders In The Building: Bless Steve Martin for co-creating this role for himself to inhabit. His Charles is all caged up within his own world and has, in effect, imprisoned himself. He’s a contentedly miserable guy (although Martin’s playing this guy for laughs), eccentric to the max, and shackled to rituals like that daily omelette that he tosses into the trash. And he seems alright with this, until the whole murder thing happens and propels him to take a step back and really examine himself. He grows in his interactions with Mable and Oliver and realizes how life could really be, but boy, does that season finale throw a wrench into things. If you haven’t watched yet, I won’t spoil (because there will be Season 2 coming), but let’s just say that there’s a fresh obstacle in place that will prevent Charles from lofty pursuits like self-actualization.

7. Bucky Barnes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Christ, this guy has been through everything, and there’s a twist with poor Bucky: his curmudgeonly ways source from decades of being warped into super-soldier mode. We’d all be pretty f*cked up after being programmed by HYDRA and being forced to blindly kill targets, including Tony Stark’s parents. That went down in Captain America: Civil War, and Bucky was never truly able to undo that animosity towards him. It’s no wonder that he needs some serious therapy in this Disney+ show because his crankiness coexists alongside vulnerability. That dichotomy is part of why Marvel fans love Bucky so much, and why Sebastian Stan told us that he wants Bucky to have a “nice warm bed as a 200-year-old man with a family.” And you know what? Bucky would love that ending but can’t shake the grump.

6. M.O.D.O.K. in (duh) M.O.D.O.K.: Like Martin, Oswalt had a hand in crafting the ways of this character, given that Oswalt co-wrote with Jordan Blum. Moving past the source material, they made M.O.D.O.K. a bad dude that must balance his family life. The problem is this: he’s insufferable and basically the Kevin James-type husband, and although his co-workers must put up with him, his wife has had enough. M.O.D.O.K. scrambles to keep all the pieces of his life together, and it doesn’t work. I love that Oswalt and Blum didn’t take the easy route here while examining a villain’s family life. They didn’t simply make this about a dad pressuring his son to to follow in his footsteps. Been there, done that. Instead, this is a series that happens to be about a supervillain but really beats the stuffing out of him and family-sitcoms, too. Oh and also, it’s a blast to watch a comic book hero or villain do anything beyond try to save the world.

5. Denise in Master Of None: Aziz Ansari directed this season and largely refrained from putting his character on camera, and the end result was a completely different mood. Lena Waithe’s character took center stage, and we received a meditation about a tough egg to crack, who’s understated but still incorrigible. Denise might seem cool, but privately? She chooses to grumpily and painstakingly eat a hamburger in a car (and evade discussions) rather than have dinner with her wife. Even when things are good, and even when Denise has other partners (and it seems to be good with them), there’s always a sense that she’s holding back, and that’s the case with all of her relationships except for one: Aziz’s Dev.

Here’s the thing, though: Denise is the only one who’s able to bring the real Dev out and to make the process feel authentic, even though he presents a different, more upbeat face to the rest of the world. Their dynamic previously got the spotlight during a Season 2 Thanksgiving episode, and it really got fleshed out this year. Dev needs a polar opposite like Denise to make him reflect on how he can work on himself, and it’s heartbreaking to see, but Denise showcases the best of Dev. She’s a terrible spouse but a terrific friend, and this is a curmudgeon that you want on your side.

4. Geralt in The Witcher: Granted, I’m using a GIF here that shows Geralt in his least curmudgeonly moment of the whole series, but I have a method to my madness because it boils down to this: There’s something about the Geralt-Jaskier relationship and that monstrously beautiful “Toss A Coin” song that made Geralt’s grunt-filled nature hit home. As a Witcher, he’s feared and ostracized for his mutant powers and potions and leather pants that reek of onions commingling with destiny. He’s more than underappreciated for slaying monsters, and he’s coped by shutting people out, but the Bard pushes his way into Geralt’s heart, to a point, before Geralt torpedoes the friendship. Yet when they meet again in Season 2, Geralt’s striking a different vibe. Because fate demanded it, he’s grown to be a father figure to Ciri, and Jaskier really lets Geralt have it. And somehow, an apology emerges, but don’t worry, Geralt will always be Geralt, and he won’t truly abandon his crotchety ways anytime soon.

3. Logan Roy in Succession: What else can I say here on Logan that hasn’t already been said in one of our own Brian Grubb’s Report Cards? I’ll give it a shot. Logan is the modern, cable news-pushing version of Shakespeare’s King Lear. He’s both malignant and magnetic, to the point where everyone is dying to actually hear Brian Cox tell them to f*ck off on the street. We never got to know the younger Logan (although we’ve seen a few glimpses while the series’ intro song plays), but there’s gotta be plenty there that’s worth watching, too. As Cox told us, he wants to see what made Logan slide from ambition to disillusionment, and everything that made him what he is today: the monster who everyone fears and is incrementally tearing Kendall’s soul to pieces. This show really came to a boil with Logan shutting down the three-piece coup, and the power-play spectacle is addictive. Season 4 can’t come soon enough.

2. and 1. Helen in Mare Of Easttown and Deborah in Hacks

Brian Cox rules, but he can’t measure up to the lady who owned a doubleheader in 2021. Jean Smart, the undisputed queen of abrasive characters, gave us two varieties of curmudgeon in 2021. First, she gave us an irresistibly cranky Delco mother to Kate Winslet’s Curmudgeon Jr., and we really got to see where Kate’s detective received at least part of her disposition. Somewhere in all of this, too, Easttown (like all small towns) had an effect on all who resided there. Yet Smart’s cocktail-swilling grandma gave us plenty of laughs, despite the murder business hanging over the whole joint.

Then came Hacks, a show that made me cackle with glee at every turn. Seriously, it was the best day when I realized that I thought I was watching the season finale, only to discover that two more episodes awaited. That was Christmas in June, for real. As Vegas stand-up legend Deborah Vance, Jean is cranky and hilarious and captivating and frankly a bit insane. She, like Hannah Einbinder’s Ava, is navigating how to survive in a world where she’s newly considered an outcast, and she simply doesn’t have the warm and fuzzy ways to “nice” her way into a resolution. Deborah’s story has reached a pivotal point between seasons, but watching these two exchange blows and nods of respect — knowing that they need each other — is really something. Hannah Einbinder’s Ava holds her own, and Jean ends up giving as good as her character takes.

The Summer of Jean Smart is still real, and I’m thrilled to watch her pull that acerbic heft out and wield it with aplomb. We’ve could have seen this coming, with Jean’s recent turns in Watchmen, Dirty John, and Fargo positioning her for a prestige-TV takeover, but her starring turn in Hacks is a celebration. Jean Smart could teach a master class in curmudgeonry. All hail the Queen.

While The Beatles are widely considered to be the best and/or most important band of the ’60s, there are plenty of folks out there who would instead pledge their allegiance to The Beach Boys. Well, it was argued on Twitter that the former is a better group than the latter, which has prompted both bands to trend due to the discussion surrounding that claim.

Last night, journalist Emily Brooks tweeted, “My husband is out with a hot take: The Beach Boys are better than The Beatles. Immediately upon hearing this I was shook. He told me, ‘Put it out in the Twitterverse, I bet I get love.’”

That got a reply from beloved The Roots drummer Questlove, who wrote, “Welp: if it weren’t for Pet Sounds we woulda never had Sgt Peppers [shrugging emoji].” Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon responded to that tweet with an emoji of a hand pointing to the left, indicating support for Questlove’s view.

Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson has addressed that Pet Sounds/Sgt. Pepper’s point before. In a recent interview, for example, he was asked what his favorite album is, and he said, “I’d have to say Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Obviously, I love The Beatles and we have always had a mutual love and respect for each other. They say that it was birthed from hearing Pet Sounds… I don’t know… but I just love that album.”

Meanwhile, while it would be fair for Paul McCartney to choose The Beatles in this debate, he has nothing but love for the Beach Boys. In fact, in a 2007 interview, McCartney said of a Pet Sounds highlight, “‘God Only Knows’ is one of the few songs that reduces me to tears every time I hear it. It’s really just a love song, but it’s brilliantly done. It shows the genius of Brian. I’ve actually performed it with him and I’m afraid to say that during the sound check, I broke down. It was just too much to stand there singing this song that does my head in, and to stand there singing it with Brian.”

On a related note, in an interview with Uproxx earlier this month, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s Glenn Howerton said, “I don’t like the f*cking Beatles, man. […] I got a bit of a chip on my shoulder about The Beatles because I feel like they made a lot of really cool music, and they were obviously incredibly innovative and all that. But I think there were a lot of bands that were around that same time that just don’t get enough play. And I’m just f*cking sick of hearing about The Beatles. Like, Jesus Christ, just shut the f*ck up.”

Check out some more Beatles vs. Beach Boys tweets below.

2021, get outta here! If you feel like I do, the past few years are largely worth forgetting, and 2022 must be better. However, one cannot deny that the content gods have been good to us, and Netflix knows exactly what we need to push us into new frontiers. To that end, the streamer is preparing to karate-chop our way into the future with more Cobra Kai to prove that The Karate Kid franchise ain’t quitting anytime soon. In addition, the Queer Eye gang is happy to attest that stylishness isn’t going out of style, ever.

In addition, Netflix also has a few new limited series (including one to park the kids in front of) and the directorial debut of Maggie Gyllenhaal, who’s recruited not only Dakota Fanning but Olivia Colman for an intense and introspective ride on the beach. We’ll see you on the flip side, but before that happens, there’s a whole lot of TV offerings to stuff into your queues.

Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.

Cobra Kai: Season 4 (Netflix series streaming 12/31)

The O.G. All Valley Karate Tournament confrontation took place 30 years ago, and Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence can’t get over it. Likewise, their respective dojos, Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang, attempt to join forces against John Kreese’s ownership of Cobra Kai, but of course, getting along will prove to be a bumpy road. Kreese has called in reinforcements in the form of his old Vietnam War buddy and co-founder of the Cobra Kai dojo, Terry Silver, who returns to the franchise. Who will win the spirit of karate in the Valley, and can Hawk and Tory keep their bully spirits alive while Johnny’s messing around with a crane kick? Robby’s also all in with enemy territory, and training methods are crossing like crazy, for better or worse.

Queer Eye: Season 6 (Netflix series streaming 12/31)

The Lone Star state is ground central (Austin, Texas, specifically) for the fearless ambassadors storming forth to give heroes some TLC. Surely, more Emmys are on the way after everyone sees the magic of this season, all while making the Land of Boots much more fabulous than usual. Pandemic be damned, there’s plenty of stylishness that takes priority, even if everyone’s dealing with masking and testing to the max.

Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer (Netflix series streaming 12/29)

The first installment (The Vanishing At The Cecil Hotel) in this series arrived through the game changing ways of director Joe Berlinger, who’s navigating from within the true crime genre. In this new installment, the Times Square Killer gets the spotlight, along with the the social and systemic forces that facilitated this serial murderer. In the process, all the danger and depravity of 1970s and early 1980s midtown Manhattan will make those few blocks a character of their own.

The Lost Daughter (Netflix film streaming 12/30)

Olivia Colman portrays Leda, a vacationer who becomes obsessed with a young mother and daughter who also hang on the beach while their extended family isn’t so idyllic. Leda also becomes consumed with her own past, which arrived with a difficult bout of young motherhood, and she falls into an impulsive act that rocks her inner world. Maggie Gyllenhaal finally becomes a first-time director here with her adapted script of the Elena Ferrante novel of the same name. Expect to also see plenty of Dakota Johnson, along with Jessie Buckley, Ed Harris, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Stay Close (Netflix series streaming 12/30)

This suspenseful thriller series revolves around a group of four supposedly close people who all harbor dark secrets. That includes a working mother, a faded documentary photographer, a detective who can’t get over his coldest case, and an old friend of the working mom. They can’t escape the past while moving toward the future, but the thrills won’t wait for them to catch up.

Anxious People (Netflix limited series streaming 12/30)

This dramedy revolved around a failed bank robber who tries to heist a bank, except the catch here is that it’s a cashless institution. In the process, he takes a group of people hostage, and the whole joint ends up falling to pieces because a pair of dysfunctional cops can’t get it together. In the aftermath, the hostages tell the tale, and everyone’s got a different version. It’s a trippy puzzle, overall, especially when it comes to the hostages’ secret.

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 12/28
Word Party Presents: Math!

Avail. 12/29
Anxious People
Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer

Avail. 12/30
Kitz
Hilda and the Mountain King

Avail. 12/31
Cobra Kai: Season 4
The Lost Daughter
Queer Eye: Season 6
Seal Team

Avail. 1/1
Chief Daddy 2 – Going for Broke
The Hook Up Plan: Season 3
300
1BR
Annie (1982)
Big Fish
Braveheart
Cadillac Records
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Doing Hard Time
Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother’s Fight To Save Her Daughter
First Sunday
Free Willy
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Geronimo: An American Legend
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Girl, Interrupted
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Godzilla (1998)
Gremlins
Happy Feet
Hell or High Water
Hook
I Know What You Did Last Summer
I Love You, Man
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Interview with the Vampire
Just Go With It
Kung Fu Panda
Linewatch
The Longest Yard (2005)
The Lost Boys
Midnight in Paris
Monsters vs. Aliens
Nacho Libre
The NeverEnding Story
Paranormal Activity
The Patriot
Road Trip
Runaway Bride
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Stand by Me
Superman Returns
Taxi Driver
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (1990)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator Salvation
The Town
Troy
True Grit (2010)
The Wedding Singer
Wild Wild West
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Woo

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 1/1
Snowpiercer

Leaving 1/5
Episodes: Seasons 1-5

Leaving 1/6
A Ghost Story
Ballerina
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax

Normani holds one of the most sought-after and long overdue albums in music. Fans of the former Fifth Harmony member have been waiting for a solo effort from her since her arrival as a solo act in late 2018. Three years later, after multiple false starts, award show performances, and the sensation that was “Motivation” and its music video, Normani will close 2021 without her long-awaited debut. As disappointing as that might be to some, there are great signs of it arriving in 2022. During an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which was guest-hosted by Ciara, Normani delivered an update about her first full-length project.

Normani announced that her debut is “almost done” and also spoke about the difficulties of perfecting the project. “People really underestimate how hard it is and how much effort we put into one project, one body of work,” she said. “Coming out of a girl group, there was a lot that I had to figure out about myself and fears that I had to deal with head-on … When you give your baby out to the world, which is our music, that’s the deepest part of me.”

She continued, “You give people the opportunity to kind of pick it apart and have an opinion on it, but I believe in what I’m doing now.”

During the conversation, Normani also took a moment to show Ciara some love for how she influenced her. “From literally the earliest memories that I have, you were a part of that and you really helped shape the artist and the woman that I felt like could be,” Normani said. “You opened my mind to those possibilities. Black girl magic!”

You can watch Normani’s sit-down with Ciara in the video above.