Month: January 2023

(Spoilers for You will obviously be found below.)

You began with a bizarrely quiet rollout on Lifetime and stayed that way throughout its first season. The show turned out to be compulsively watchable, but few noticed it until the first season arrived on Netflix for late 2019 binging purposes. Netflix knew the value of what they were seeing and picked up the show for second, and third, and fourth seasons while dragging Stalker Joe in ghastly and often starkly hilarious ways.

That includes the above image, which shows Joe Goldberg in his suburban incarnation while married to Love, who was (emphasis on the “was”) arguably even crazier than he was. After he saved his own life by killing Love, he chose to abandon their son (which he believes is for the child’s good) and begin a new life in Europe for Season 4. He’s in search of Marienne but also motivated by self preservation. Joe’s now a “professor” (named Jonathan Moore) with a beard and everything, and then the stalker finds out that someone is stalking him.

How many episodes will carry us through this latest journey?

The season will consist of 10 episodes, which will arrive in two batches (five episodes apiece). The first part will arrive on February 9, and the second will roll out on March 9.

From the Season 4 synopsis:

After his previous life went up in flames, Joe Goldberg has fled to Europe to escape his “messy” past, adopt a new identity, and, of course, to pursue true love. But Joe soon finds himself in the strange new role of reluctant detective as he discovers he may not be the only killer in London. Now, his future depends on identifying and stopping whoever’s targeting his new friend group of uber-wealthy socialites…

Before this happens, you can go watch star Penn Badgley dancing on TikTok. You’re welcome.

You returns on February 9.

Recently, Britney Spears did something she does on a fairly regular basis: She deactivated her Instagram account. This time, though, some fans were left concerned about Spears’ well-being, so much so that they called the police to request wellness checks.

As Page Six notes, following Spears‘ deactivation, fans started sharing TikTok videos of themselves calling police. In one such clip, the caller said, “I was calling because I am worried about the physical safety of a resident in your area,” adding of the reason for the wellness check request, “There’s been suspicious activity online and now her account has been deleted.”

The good news is that Spears is apparently fine: A Ventura County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told the publication, “I can confirm that we did get calls into our dispatch, and essentially, I can confirm that we don’t believe that Britney Spears is in any kind of harm or any kind of danger. […] I can’t confirm or deny that deputies went to her house, but we don’t believe that Britney Spears is in any kind of harm or danger at this point.”

TMZ reports that police started receiving calls about Spears at around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, and they paid her a visit not long after. According to “sources connected to Spears,” the singer was “annoyed” by the situation.

Based on the hit book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six chronicles a Fleetwood Mac-esque band from obscurity to dominance to implosion. The 10-episode miniseries stars Riley Keough as Daisy and Sam Claflin as romantic foil/creative partner Billy Dunne, the charming one-two punch behind a 1970s rock group that burns out instead of fading away.

Here’s the official synopsis from Prime Video:

“In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by two charismatic lead singers—Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne —the band had risen from obscurity to fame. And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now, decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth. This is the story of how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers.”

The show was adapted for TV by duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer) and looks like a blend of Almost Famous and the documentary style of The Last Dance. You can almost see Daisy saying “And I took that personally.”

Fortunately, the backing tunes meet the moment. That’s not a huge surprise considering they pulled in Marcus Mumford, Phoebe Bridgers, Blake Mills, Jackson Browne, and more to write and record for the fictional band.

Daisy Jones & The Six hits Prime Video March 3rd, and they’ve even got an album blurring the lines between fact and fiction.

Last Saturday was a big night for Saturday Night Live. According to The Wrap, 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch White Lotus star Aubrey Plaza host alongside musical guest Sam Smith. Those lucky viewers were treated to a surprise monologue interruption by President Joe Biden, the return of April Ludgate and Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec, as well as the M3gan gay club scene the world needed.

The only episode with a higher rating was Steve Martin and Martin Short’s hosting gig featuring Brandi Carlile, with 5.1 million tuning in. Thus, the message sent by fans to Lorne Michaels is crystal clear: above all else they want comedians pushing 80 and sardonic actresses the internet keeps asking to step on them. It was also, sadly, the first episode without Cecily Strong in the cast.

On the musical front, Smith performed “Unholy” with Kim Petras — making her the first trans woman to perform on SNL — as well as “Gloria” — which involved a guest appearance by Sharon Stone.

It was a standout episode with a diverse slew of celebrity cameos, and its success has given Michael B. Jordan and Lil Baby another high bar to aim for when they host January 28th.

(via The Wrap)

The world lost a giant last year when Bill Russell passed away recently, leaving behind a peerless legacy of championships and off-the-court wins that pushed the cause of Civil Rights forward. Fortunately, we have a chance to hear from him one last time, because the forthcoming Netflix documentary Bill Russell: Legend features an interview with the basketball trailblazer who stood tall both literally and metaphorically.

Here’s the official synopsis for Bill Russell: Legend:

“The remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon is captured in the documentary Bill Russell: Legend. This two-part film from award-winning director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power) features the last interview with Bill prior to his passing in 2022 as well as access to his sprawling personal archives. On the court, Russell went on to lead each and every one of his basketball teams to championships – two back-to-back NCAA titles, a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and 11 championship titles in his thirteen-year career as a Boston Celtic (his last two as the first Black head coach in NBA history). Off the court Russell was a force in the fight for human rights – marching with Martin Luther King Jr., leading boycotts in the NBA over racist practices and speaking out against segregation – efforts which earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Narrated by actors Jeffrey Wright and Corey Stoll and featuring exclusive interviews with the icon’s family and friends as well as Steph Curry, Chris Paul, “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Jim Brown and more, <em>Bill Russell: Legend</em> illuminates the ways in which Russell stood tall in every sense of the word.”

It’s a slick production, which is unsurprising from a seasoned storyteller like Sam Pollard — a producer and director adept especially at delivering the full scope of a remarkable life. This one looks like it’s for more than just basketball fans. Bill Russell: Legend hits Netflix February 8th.

The final episode of Doom Patrol is called “Done Patrol,” which is, unfortunately, an accurate send-off. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series about a band of superhero outcasts has not been renewed for a fifth outting. Likewise, the teenaged superheroes of Titans will fight their final fight this season. The loss of both shows signals a further end to the current DC era, and it’s difficult to think about this move outside the context of the massive shakeup happening throughout Warner Bros. Discovery.

Perhaps the only silver lining is that these are planned finales instead of cliffhangers in the making. An HBO Max spokesperson told THR that “While these will be the final seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol, we are very proud of these series and excited for fans to see their climactic endings.” That’s a weird promise to make if the series are closing out mid-story.

Both shows offered something different for superhero fans, angling away from both the Marvel juggernaut and the CW’s particular spandex flavor, even though Greg Berlanti was involved with most of the DC incarnations. If everything stays status quo, Berlanti will still have several DC TV shows under his command — including Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights — but his involvement has been winding down for the past few years, and there’s still room for bolder changes in the forthcoming James Gunn/Peter Safran Era.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

The fourth quarter of Thursday night’s game between the Warriors and Grizzlies in San Francisco got tense and featured a stunning ejection in the final 90 seconds.

Up two, the Warriors got second life on a possession thanks to a tremendous tip-out from Donte DiVincenzo, but for some reason, with the shot clock resetting, Jordan Poole decided to hoist a 32-footer with 12 on the shot clock that rimmed out.

Stephen Curry was, understandably, very mad about Poole’s terrible shot selection given the time and situation, and hurled his mouthpiece in frustration, sending it bounding into the crowd. That has gotten him in trouble before and did again, as he got ejected for the mouthguard toss, taking the Warriors best player off the floor for the final 74 seconds of a tight game.

While there was plenty of frustration from Warriors fans and casual observers to seeing Steph tossed in that spot, this is not exactly a new rule, as Steph has twice been tossed from games for a mouthguard throw — most famously in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals, but again early in the 2017 season.

This time was unique because he wasn’t aiming it at a fan or a ref this time, instead hurling it at the court in frustration at his own teammate’s poor game management. Still, there was too much force behind the throw and it ended up going to the crowd, which despite the protests from Curry, Poole, and Draymond Green, earned him a trip to the locker room where he’d have to watch a nervy final minute with no chance to play a role.

Luckily, Poole and Klay Thompson would have his back, as Thompson hit a three to push the Warriors up 1 after Memphis tied it. The Grizzlies would tie it again, but Poole would get loose on a cut to the rim on an inbounds pass for the game-winning layup, taking some serious heat off of himself for the shot that led to Steph’s ejection.

The Sixers and Nets met on Wednesday night as part of the NBA’s Rivalry Week, and while some of the choices on the league’s schedule felt a bit forced, this has no doubt become a tense affair.

There are many layers to it, led by Ben Simmons’ departure from Philadelphia and his rift with Joel Embiid and the team’s fan base, and James Harden forcing his way out of Brooklyn after just over a year (ultimately in a trade for Simmons), the bad blood runs deep between the two sides. Wednesday’s meeting was particularly notable as it was Simmons’ first time playing against Embiid back in Philadelphia, and the Sixers fans gave him the expected reception of showering him with boos every time he touched the ball.

Embiid also seemed to relish the matchup, breaking out his beloved crotch chop celebration (inspired by Triple H) after a third quarter and-1 bucket.

Kevin Durant, who was watching at home as he keeps rehabbing his knee, was not impressed with the antics and made sure to tag the big fella on Twitter to let him know.

Naturally, Embiid had a response after the Sixers held on for a 137-133 win over the Nets, firing off a video edit of him doing crotch chops over the D-Generation X theme.

The best part is Embiid did this as he walked into the press conference room, cackling to himself as he pressed send and looking unbelievably proud of himself.

Stars, they’re just like us! There are few things more satisfying than hitting send on a tweet you know is gonna do numbers, and apparently that joy even extends to NBA All-Stars. It’s also incredible that Joel just has that video saved on his phone for just such occasions. Embiid and Durant are two of the most prominent NBA tweeters, so it comes as little surprise they’d extend their rivalry from the hardwood to the Twitter streets, with Joel getting the last laugh (quite literally) on Wednesday night.

Lil Yachty took the wock to “Poland” last fall. Today, January 25, he took us deep into his psyche with “Department Of Mental Tranquility,” a 100-second narrated skit meant to provide more context around his forthcoming album, Let’s Start Here.

“At the end of this hallway is the edge of oblivion,” Lil Yachty says to start the video as he is, yes, walking down a hallway. “The man you’re watching may not know yet. This moment will mark the first step on the journey of the rest of his life.”

Yachty arrives to a dingy place reminiscent of every Department Of Motor Vehicles (DMV). There are two sweaty, miserable-looking men. Yachty rings the bell at the desk labeled “DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL TRANQUILITY,” and a woman pops up to ask him if he knows what type of treatment he’d like to receive.

“The man arrives at the precipice,” Lil Yachty says, but now he’s wearing a suit and seated in the lobby. “He simply asked a question.” And then we back cut across the room to the original Yachty, still standing at the receptionist’s desk: “Uh, yeah. Is this where you sign up at?”

The receptionist interrupts him, “Fantastic. Let’s help you float, Mr. Boat.” She asks him a few existential questions, like if he’s ever wished to be someone else (“Daily”), how often he calls his mother, and if he’s sexually active. (The last question is particularly interesting because Yachty recently admitted he doesn’t have sex anymore.)

The video gets increasingly distressing before Yachty agrees to undergo treatment. He walks into an all-white room alone, and the video ends with the door shutting.

Yachty first announced Let’s Start Here on January 17:

Watch “Department Of Mental Tranquility” above.

Yours Are The Only Ears, aka Susannah Cutler, has been quiet since her 2018 debut album, Knock Hard, but the New York singer-songwriter is back today, January 25.

Cutler revealed her first new music since Knock Hard by dropping the introspective, lo-fi single “Dreamers” and announcing her album, We Know The Sky, will arrive on March 24.

“‘Dreamer’ is about waking up to the realization that you need to move on from a painful relationship,” Cutler said in a statement, per press release. “When someone isn’t able to see how their behavior hurts you, it’s OK to let go of them and trust that there’s something better out there for you. However, moving on and reckoning with the parts of yourself that you’ve denied can be equally painful. This song is about that process and learning to trust yourself.”

The soft track finds Cutler aptly singing about falling asleep and living “inside my dreams” but not knowing what they mean. It turns out, living inside of her head is an act of escapism from confronting someone who is hurting her.

She sings, “I want it to be / Like how I thought it was gonna be / Like how I thought it was supposed to be.”

Cutler acknowledges the person won’t change and she won’t wait around for it anymore. She promises to “be stronger tomorrow.”

According to press release, We Know The Sky is “an album that doesn’t shy away from the hard work it takes to walk past every door, and greet whoever you find in there” as Cutler is “peeling away the mask of who she thought she should be, and instead embracing the beautiful, ever-changing kaleidoscope of who she actually is.”

“Dreamer” certainly succeeds in introducing that theme. Listen above.

We Know The Sky is out 03/24 via Lame-O Records. Pre-save it here.