Carice Van Houten received death threats from Game of Thrones fans after her character, Melisandre, burned Shireen to death. The same thing happened with multiple actors on The Walking Dead and Anna Gunn on Breaking Bad. Stranger Things viewers haven’t gotten that far, but some of them did demand that Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna on the Netflix series, apologize for the death of Eddie Munson. Just to reiterate, that’s asking a real person to say sorry for killing a fictional character. Very normal.
“I haven’t got a single boo [on the streets] yet,” Bower told NME, but when he and Eddie actor Joseph Quinn went to South America, “they tried to make me apologize to Joseph.” His response: “I don’t want to apologize. I’m not sorry! He’s a victim.”
Vecna innocent! Well, not really. He’s pretty evil. But his actions did lead to the death Jason Carver, the worst character in Stranger Things history, so he’s not all bad.
Bower has had positive fan interactions, too.
The day before we speak, he was boarding a plane from London to LA when a mother and her daughter recognized him. “The daughter was quite reserved, but she just blossomed and bloomed in front of me,” he explains, fondly re-enacting their interaction. “Her mum was like, ‘I’ve never seen her like this before’. This is what I love – being able to encounter people [and hear how] the show means everything to them and it makes them feel heard.”
In related Stranger Things news, the writers are back in the room.
It’s inspiring to know that one of the biggest shows on television has the same process as me taking a test in high school. “Eh, I’ll get back to this one.”
Meghan Markle just earned herself a new crown as The Queen of Spotify. Following Tuesday’s launch of her podcast, “Meghan Markle’s Archetypes,” the royal duchess has already managed to knock Joe Rogan out of the top spot on the streaming platform. “The Joe Rogan Experience” is almost always in the No. 1 spot week-to-week, but “Archetypes” managed to dethrone Rogan in the U.S. and several international markets including Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
In “Archetypes,” Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, invites cultural commentators, historians and contemporary thinkers to delve into the origin of stereotypes about women and how those shape narratives. The weekly series is produced by Meghan and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio in partnership with Spotify’s Gimlet Media.
The first episode featured a conversation with Serena Williams as the two women discussed “the double standard women face when they are labeled ‘ambitious’ and the ripple effect this has on other aspects of their life, as well as how they are perceived.” Clearly, it was a winning combination that helped Markle snatch victory from Rogan.
However, the controversial podcaster sat down with Facebook/Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, which is sure to generate headlines and possibly restore Rogan to the top spot. Or not, and we enter a bold new era where Meghan Markle becomes the undisputed champ of podcasts. The internet, right? Who knows how anything works on here.
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.
In addition to Selena Gomez being the most enjoyable part of Only Murders In The Building, she’s been quietly racking up delightful seasons of this cooking show. It’s a very simple concept: Selena is not a kitchen expert, but she really loves to cook, so she enlists actual chefs to make this happen. Cue the chaos of Selena attempting to blow out a fire with her mouth, and oh man, why haven’t you been watching this show? It’s very relaxing, other than the occasional infernos, and it gives us many more reasons to realize that she’s vastly underappreciated in Hollywood. Watch it on HBO Max.
What if there was a show from the people who made Mr. Robot and Lodge 49 and it was set at a spooky tropical resort and it starred Cristin Milioti from Palm Springs and William Jackson Harper from The Good Place and the whole thing hinged on a mystery they uncovered because one of them crashed a four-wheeler in the jungle and discovered a mangled old Motorola Razr? Well, guess what: there is. Watch it on Peacock.
The first season of Reservation Dogs was a revelation. Just a group of foul-mouthed Native American teens living on a reservation in Oklahoma and getting into trouble and being little rascals. It was also, sometimes, sweet and, also sometimes, heavy, and sometimes there was a mystical figure who would show up and giggle a lot and kind of just screw with everyone for five minutes. It’s a hard show to describe. But it’s a heck of a ride. Watch it on Hulu.
Aubrey Plaza is in everything these days, and no one is mad at that development. In this animated series (which is so FX that it hurts in a good way), she voices the mom of a teenager who discovers that she’s got demonic powers. Dad happens to be Satan, and not only that, but he’s voiced by Danny DeVito. And you thought your life was surreal, right? Watch it on FX/Hulu.
Popularly and positively referred to as Euphoria and Succession‘s love child, Industry returns for season two, focussing again on the realm of global finance through the lens of the 20-somethings who are consumed by it and the realities of survival and success in a world post panny where satisfaction seems like a hindrance. Watch it on HBO Max.
8. Legacy: The True Story of the Los Angeles Lakers (Hulu)
HULU
There is something intrinsically compelling about the purple and gold with all of their wins, losses, tragedies, and spectacles. That’s why we’re talking, once again, about a project focused on the team and their rich and wild history, following the delicious dramatization of Winning Time and a docuseries focused on Magic Johnson’s life and times. Now we have Legacy: The True Story Of The LA Lakers, a Hulu-made 10-part docuseries from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua in his latest foray into documentary filmmaking and iconic athletes; a series with a story that spans more than 40 years encompassing the entire reign of the Buss family and mononymous legends like Kareem, Magic, Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron. Watch it on Hulu.
The good news here is that Harley Quinn is back, finally, after a multi-year break due to, well, everything. The delightfully profane animated series remains one of our finest television programs, between Harley and Ivy being a couple now and chaos descending upon Gotham and this show’s version of Bane continuing to be a hopeless goofball. It really is a blast, a beam of sunshine in a world filled with bleak dramas. You deserve to have fun. Watch it on HBO Max.
Alison Brie didn’t get to portray this “Allison Brie type” role, but hey, we’re getting Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany, who has so much fun relishing this role. She’s smart and silly and she Hulks out like a pro while also being the MCU’s very green attorney for superheroes. Expect a lot of cameos, and Mark Ruffalo is on hand as Bruce Banner. There’s no word on whether we’ll eventually see the Hulk Butt like we received in Thor: Ragnarok. Admit it, that’s on your wishlist, too. Watch it on Disney Plus.
Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic book series finally lands on the small screen (while the successful Audible epic keeps cranking with a different cast). The story picks up with Morpheus (the King of Dreams) angry as hell at those who imprisoned him. Tom Sturridge takes on the lead role and guides us through space and time on a cosmic trip. Let’s hope this show is worth the extensively long wait (the project has the unenviable task of piecing together a tapestry of sometimes free-standing stories), but no matter how it turns out, we’re getting Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer. That ain’t nothing. Watch it on Netflix.
Settle in for the final season of Warrior Jason Momoa In Fur Coats, and whose Warrior Good Looks are wasted in a world where no one can see him. Baba Voss is back for one final round of post-apocalyptic fighting while nature is starting to heal itself, and a new generation begins to see again. This ratchets up the intensity with the existing battle for superiority in the kingdom, and yup, the Masturbating Queen is still around. This show is nuts! Watch it on Apple TV Plus.
Welcome to Wrexham is like Ted Lasso, if Ted Lasso was about Deadpool and Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia buying a soccer team. Other than that, it’s identical. The documentary series follows Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as they purchase and help run the Wrexham A.F.C. football club. Welcome to Wrexham looks sweet and sincere, which is a nice change of pace from getting mad at [your favorite sports team here] blowing it AGAIN. Watch it on FX/Hulu.
The good news here is that the vampires are back. The bad is that… well, there’s not really any bad news. How could there be? This show remains relentlessly fun and silly in a way that almost feels like they’re getting away with something, like someone in charge stopped paying attention and they’re just running wild in their own little sandbox. This is, to be clear, a compliment of the highest order. One of our best shows is back and still humming along in peak form. This is worth celebrating. Watch it on FX/Hulu.
On the surface, a prequel to a cultural phenomenon like Game Of Thrones seems like the easiest greenlight in the world. How could a sister project miss even with the mixed reception to the original’s finale? But House Of The Dragon is the second attempt (with one pilot failing to generate a series order) and it starts with one particular question hanging over its head: was it the world or the characters that inhabited it that made the original so widely adored? We’re about to find out as a new creative team tries to walk a line between old and new, creating fresh stories with a ring of familiarity. On their side: dragons, face-smashing combat, and Matt Smith’s good kinda bad energy. Watch it on HBO Max.
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) Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe (Paramount Plus)
PARAMOUNT
Beavis and Butt-head debuted on MTV something like 30 years ago and is still, somehow, against truly staggering odds, still going strong, with this movie sending them to the cosmos and other projects in the works down the line, too. It’s good news, to be sure, but please do imagine telling someone from like 1997 that these two would still be around in 2022 and would be going to space. It would be almost as shocking as the thing where time travel was apparently invented. Watch it on Paramount Plus.
Billy Porter directs a sweet coming-of-age story centered around a trans high school senior named Kelsa who is attempting to navigate… well, all of that. It’s all very sweet and very heartfelt and very Gen Z and it could make for some nice weekend movie if you’re feeling up for a little cry. Who isn’t, sometimes, you know? Watch it on Amazon Prime.
Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard insisted on The Bob’s Burgers Movie getting a theatrical release instead of being plopped directly on streaming. He was right to do so: The Bob’s Burgers Movie is, like the show itself, an absolute delight with lovely animation, fun fan service, and catchy songs (it’s also Disney’s first hand-drawn 2D animated movie in over a decade). If you didn’t catch it in theaters, however, you can now enjoy “Sunny Side Up Summer” at home. Might I suggest pairing it with an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka-Dot Zucchini Burger. Watch it on Hulu.
8. I Love My Dad (VOD)
MAGNOLIA
A cringe comedy about the (sometimes desperate) quest for intimacy and connection in the age of social media casts Patton Oswalt as a father trying to stay in his adult son’s life by catfishing him. Hilarity and therapy inspo surely ensue in this festival fave from writer/director James Morosini, who also stars as the son who oh so willingly falls for the well-meaning con. If you’ve loved Oswalt in other indie-flavored films like Big Fan and Young Adult where he gets to flash his acting chops, this should be exactly what you’re looking for. Watch it on VOD.
John Lasseter helped build Pixar into a dominant animation brand and now he’s trying to bring the same magic to Apple with Luck, a movie about an unlucky young girl who goes on a whimsical adventure to try to turn her fortunes around. It’s got the starpower (Simon Pegg, Jane Fonda, Pixar staple John Ratzenberger) and the financial backing from Apple, so the big question remaining is whether it has the same spark as those other films he created a few decades ago. Only one way to find out. Watch it on Apple TV Plus.
There’s truly an abundance of Princess Diana onscreen takes lately. These have been largely dramatized versions with The Crownsh*tting on the fairy tale and Kristen Stewart really going for it. Now, there’s a new documentary approach that aims to explore why the world was (and continues to be) so obsessed with Shy Di. Cameras followed her throughout courtship with Prince Charles and all the way to divorce, and then came the most tragic developments at all, and the film asks us to really consider the role of the public and the press in Diana’s ultimate fate. Watch it on HBO.
What we have here is Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg as old friends who reunite as adults and proceed to find themselves neck-deep in various hijinks, shenanigans, and tomfoolery. You can probably see where most of this is headed. It could still be a fun ride, though. Look at the turtle in the picture up there. What’s his deal? This kind of mystery has fueled the cinema for ages. Watch it on Netflix.
4. Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist (Netflix)
NETFLIX
Netflix goes deep on the story of former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o for the latest installment of its Untold series. The tale — spoiled a bit by the “The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist” right there in the title — has everything: a college football hero, an allegedly tragic tale of a girlfriend lost to tragedy, catfishing, internet hoopla, reputational damage, trauma, all of it. A wild ride whether you are familiar with the story already or not. Watch it on Netflix.
Day Shift is like a strange foil for a lot of movies lately, in that all the ingredients are in place for a lackluster stinker, but thanks to some surprisingly solid joke writing (in contrast to a lot of “funny” action movie writing today which is merely non-funny things delivered in the rough shape of jokes) and inspired action choreography, it ends up being weirdly watchable. Jamie Foxx plays a San Fernando Valley vampire hunter named Bud Jablonski (Foxx is always getting typecast as a Polish man, isn’t he?) who gets involuntarily partnered with a persnickety union rep (oh yeah, the vampire hunters have a union) played by Dave Franco. This odd couple joins forces for a rush to kill enough vampires to afford Jablonski’s daughter’s school tuition before his ex-wife can move her out of state. Meanwhile there’s a vampire who has invented a new type of sunscreen that could change everything. Admittedly it all sounds pretty stupid, but introducing a supernatural angle ends up being exactly what the action choreographers needed to break their slavish bonds to realism. Turns out, gruesome vampire murder is a lot more entertaining than the usual choppy dance fighting. Watch it on Netflix.
Samaritan isn’t necessarily a good movie, but it does benefit from two things: One, Sylvester Stallone seems to be having a nice time and is really going for it and, two, the studio that owns Samaritan didn’t delete the movie from its server and you can actually watch it on Amazon Prime if you so choose to do this. Stallone plays an old salt named Joe who works as a garbage man, but also may or may not be a former superhero vigilante named Samaritan who disappeared years and years ago and is presumed dead. After Joe saves a kid, Sam, from some bullies, Sam is convinced Joe is the long-lost Samaritan. This is a movie with some really mixed messaging about the good and evil in everyone, to the point this movie might not have realized it had a message to begin with. But in the end, Stallone is having a nice time, which makes it, at times, entertaining. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
The Predator franchise was desperate for a new vision following the lackluster response to, well, every Predator movie since 1990’s Predator 2. Enter: Prey. The Hulu film follows a Comanche warrior (played by Amber Midthunder) who has to protect her tribe from an alien predator. Prey gets back to what made the original Predator a classic — and thankfully ignores everything that made Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem unwatchable. Watch it on Hulu.
This Friday, Dreamville-signed Atlanta rapper JID will release his third studio album, The Forever Story, four years after the release of his last solo album, DiCaprio 2, and five after his debut, The Never Story. In the meantime, we’ve seen JID’s star rise with his participation in releases from Dreamville such as the 2019 group compilation Revenge Of The Dreamers III and the Gangsta Grillz mixtape D-Day earlier this year, and the 2020 Spillage Village group album Spilligion. Now, The Forever Story is on the way to solidifying his ascent, cementing him as a superstar.
In the lead-up to the album, JID has released two main singles, “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate and “Dance Now” with Kenny Mason. However, he also released an unofficial single, “2007,” which was left off the album due to sample clearance issues. When he shared the song, he revealed that it was originally the outro and is key to understanding the album’s narrative and themes. Later, he revealed the album’s tracklist — at first, with only the producer credits, then again with all the features included. The album’s guest artists are 21 Savage, Baby Tate, Ari Lennox, Earthgang, Eryn Allen Kane, Johnta Austin, Kenny Mason, Lil Durk Lil Wayne, Mustafa The Poet, Ravyn Lenae, and Yasiin Bey.
The Forever Story is out on 8/26 on Dreamville/Interscope. You can get it here and see the full tracklist below.
1. “Galaxy”
2. “Raydar”
3. “Dance Now” Feat. Kenny Mason
4. “Crack Sandwich”
5. “Can’t Punk Me” Feat. Earthgang
6. “Surround Sound” Feat. 21 Savage & Baby Tate
7. “Kody Blu 31”
8. “Bruddanem” Feat. Lil Durk & Mustafa The Poet
9. “Sistanem”
10. “Can’t Make You Change” Feat. Ari Lennox
11. “Stars” Feat. Yasiin Bey
12. “Just In Time” Feat. Lil Wayne & Kenny Mason
13. “Money”
14. “Better Days” Feat. Johnta Austin
15. “Lauder Too” Feat. Ravyn Lenae & Eryn Allen Kane
On Starz’s strip club-set drama series P-Valley, Lil Murda is an aspiring rapper who is both a member of a street gang, Hurt Village Hustlas, and a closeted gay man in a relationship with Uncle Clifford, the non-binary owner of The Pynk strip club around which much of the action revolves. Both the relationship and Lil Murda himself have been praised by fans of the show for their portrayal of a respectful, non-toxic relationship and the nuances of navigating the street rap scene as a non-straight man.
Fans have also been loving Lil Murda’s music (and the music of P-Valley overall), such as the song “Seven Pounds Of Pressure,” which have been straight-up bangers that could easily exist outside of the show as trunk-knocking favorites down South. And while Murda actor J. Alphonse Nicholson’s energetic performance can be given much of the credit, the secret sauce that brings out the flavor comes from Atlanta rap upstart Deante’ Hitchcock, who penned Lil Murda’s rhymes behind the scenes alongside longtime collaborators Brandon Philips-Tayler and David Fuller.
Hitchcock, who made his major label debut in the spring of 2020 with the impressive Better after collaborating with J. Cole’s Dreamville, is a talent on the rise. He made an even greater impression throughout the pandemic months with a string of fiery freestyles over such fan-favorite instruments as Drake’s “What’s Next,” Outkast’s “Roses,” and SpotemGottem’s “Beat Box.” He kept up his momentum earlier this year with an EP, Every Day’s The 14th, released on Valentine’s Day weekend.
Uproxx caught up with Deante’ on Zoom to talk about the process of writing for shows like P-Valley and Insecure (as well as the upcoming Netflix sci-fi comedy, They Cloned Tyrone), his future projects, and why he’s trying to be the capybara of the rap world.
First of all, how did you get involved with the making of this show?
That really came from my partner, Nikki Marshall with Warner/Chappell.
Last year we was working at this little writers’ camp for Insecure. We put some stuff together for that and before that we was working on a movie coming out this year with Jamie Foxx called They Cloned Tyrone and that’s around the time where we met shawty. She just been keeping us plugged in with little opportunities.
Do they give you a description of the character you’re going to be writing for? How does that work?
Yeah. They kind of tell you where the song is going to be, the emotion they want invoked from the song, the scene that they are going to put together for it. So, you got little tidbits to kind of build around. It’s like, “All right, we want this for this, and this how this is going to go.” So yeah, we knew how the scene was going to go. We just hadn’t seen it.
How do you get into the voice of the character?
It ain’t too crazy for real. It wasn’t just me. It was me, my partner Dave [Fuller], and my other partner B [Brandon Philips-Tayler]. My partner B produced it, me and Dave wrote on it, and then actually there was another guy that we don’t know that actually threw in some lyrics too [FM New Money / Antown Moore]. But shout out to all of them, cause they also put in to help with the record.
But for me, it’s not too hard for real. I like to write from a lot of different perspectives when I’m just doing my own writing. So I might write a song about what my little brother going through, what my girl going through, or my partner, or this, that, and the third. So different voices ain’t really too hard for me. Especially since they gave us the situation that bro was going through. They gave us all of the emotion, the story where he was in life, all that.
The reaction to the music of P-Valley has been incredible. Have you noticed that it has brought a larger audience to Deante’ Hitchcock music as well?
I ain’t even going to cap, for the most part, I don’t be paying attention to the numbers too much. When we look at Spotify and stuff like that, my manager do it all the time. He might update me throughout the year like, “Hey, this where we at, this what’s going on.” But me, myself, I don’t really be checking too much. So, I can’t say that I’ve noticed just this crazy change since I guess the finale song came out, but when shawty, Katori [Walker], the creator of the show, was tweeting about it, a lot of people have been talking about it. Like, “Oh, wow, that makes sense. That’s why it was fire.” It’s cool to see it finally out.
Yes, sir. Walk me through these camps, man. When somebody reaches out to you and says, “We want you to write for this show.” What’s the next step? How does it work? Break it down for me.
Literally, you wake up, go to camp, write, crank out music all day, go home, go to sleep, wake up, go back. So a lot of people might experience burnout from something like that dog, ‘cause it’s just like a regular job. It feels like work. But it’s fun because of the energy. Especially if you got a group of people, a good amount of people in that mug who actually love creating, who actually do their thing and fire at it. That joint feel fun, it doesn’t even feel like work. Just bouncing room to room, putting little stuff down. That’s how the energy was. It’s almost electric.
Where do you want to go with your next project?
I think I got hit in that mug, for real. If you look at the legends, the Drakes, the Jay-Z’s, the Waynes, all of them guys, the thing that separates them – because all of them are technically inclined, they’re skilled at what they do, all of them can rap their ass off, get crazy with it – but they also have songs that the world can sing. And I mean, being a rapper, a lot of people will hit me up and be like, “Bro, you be rapping your ass off.” I’m very appreciative of that. Because that’s the skillset I’ve honed for years. But bro, I want hits.
I know you do a lot of interviews and I know a lot of the questions that you get are repetitive, at times. Do you ever feel like there’s one thing that you want to talk about that nobody’s ever asked you about?
Capybaras. Bro. That’s my favorite animal of all time. Have you ever seen them interact with other creatures?
They’re the friendliest animal on the planet. Listen, I watched a video of a capybara riding on the top of a alligator. Legit. I haven’t seen a capybara get into a fight with any other animal. There’s no video proof of it at all. They done sat in a field of kittens. They done rolled with alligators, chilling with monkeys, all of that. Bro, they’re the most social animal of all time. I love them little things.
I guess you’d call them the Deante’ Hitchcocks of the animal world.
I don’t know, bro. I’m aspiring to be like them. I don’t even know if I’m there yet, bro. I’m trying.
Sylvester Stallone has spoken: his 25-year marriage is not ending because of a dog.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Stallone’s marriage to Jennifer Flavin is ending. People reports that last week, Flavin filed a “for dissolution of marriage and other relief” from the 76-year-old Rocky actor. Stallone and Flavin, 54, got married in 1997, but their relationship started in 1988. They have three children together.
After reports of the divorce surfaced, the always reliable TMZ reported that the marriage was over because of Stallone’s dog, a Rottweiler named Dwight. TMZ claimed that sources close to the couple said that Flavin did not want the dog, but the always outspoken Stallone wouldn’t budge on the matter, adding that they “had an extremely heated argument that brought up other issues.”
But Stallone quickly put the rumor to rest. Speaking straight to the source of the rumor, Stallone said, “We did not end the relationship on such a trivial argument. We just went in different directions,” he said. “I have the highest respect for Jennifer. I will always love her. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the nicest human being I’ve ever met.” Stallone told the outlet that given their two residences in California and Florida and his work schedule, Flavin thought getting a new dog would be a complicated addition to their lives.
Stallone also shut down rumors that he covered a tattoo of Flavin’s face with Dwight’s because of the end of their marriage, telling TMZ that he’s had the tattoo for 14 years and wanted to give it a fresh update. Okay, Sly! Did you ask the Property Brothers to do it?
Bupkis is a half-hour comedy loosely based on Davidson’s real life, and it was picked up to series by Peacock in April. Variety reports that Pesci will play Davidson’s grandfather, while Falco will play Davidson’s mother. Davidson is co-writing the series with his friend and collaborator Dave Sirus as well as Judah Miller. Davidson will pay an exaggerated fictional version of himself, a la Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. I suppose we’ll have to watch in order to find out if Davidson will adapt his relationships with very famous women on the show as well.
“Pete Davidson is one of the most sought-after comedians today with his smart, one-of-a-kind humor and honest point of view,” Susan Rovner, the Chairman of Entertainment Content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming told Deadline when the series was picked up this spring. “Bupkis will showcase Pete’s funny, surprising and unfiltered brand of comedy audiences have come to love as we continue to bolster our Peacock comedy slate. We can’t wait to dive in with Lorne Michaels, Broadway Video and our partners at Universal Television.”
Bupkis is Pesci’s second regular television show in his career, following a role on the short-lived NBC sitcom Half-Nelson in 1985. Pesci was retired for several years and returned to cinema and the gangster-verse in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 film The Irishman. So, it turns out that the two guys who can get Pesci to act again are Scorsese and Davidson. What a time to be alive!
To do that, I grabbed eight new Irish whiskeys from my private reserves and tasted them blind. The whole thrust of the tasting was to find the best taste of whiskey with the most nuance and depth — true winners. For the most part, we’re talking about affordable bottles for this blind tasting. The bottles generally range from $30 to $100 with a couple of high-end bottles thrown in to see how they place among the more affordable stuff (you really never know if a great mid-range bottle pops above the ridiculously priced one). Still, this is about taste and not price.
Soft and ripe pear mixed with fresh honey leads the way on the nose with supporting notes of orchard fruit and lightly spiced malts. The palate has a light sense of chocolate malts with a creamy vibe next to hints of plum pudding with winter spices lurking in the background. The end is a little watery with a bit more of that dark spice and a hint of raisin.
This is pretty fine overall. It’s nicely nuanced but a little watery overall.
Taste 2
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear sense of bran muffin and molasses with hints of old wicker and new leather next to wintry spice and maybe some fig. The taste leans into a malted vanilla shake with wintry spices mix with a hint of nutshells. The end holds onto the nuttiness and adds in a vanilla-chocolate ice cream vibe with a touch of waffle cone.
This is nice overall. It feels a little sweet for an Irish whiskey but it works nonetheless.
Taste 3
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This has a malty nose with a ginger and honey cookie vibe with a ton of raisin, apple, pear, and maybe even a hint of orange. The palate has a svelte buttercream feel that leads to a malted milkshake, a hint of cinnamon, and plenty of dates and figs. The end amps up the spice towards a woody feel with apple skins and pear cores leading to a hint of rum-raisin and honey.
This is pretty nice overall. It’s kind of “classic Irish” with all that fruit and honey.
Taste 4
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Applewood leads to apple candies made with plenty of honey next to a hint of dried flowers, dry firewood, and a whisper of dry straw. The palate amps up the apple to a spiced apple fritter with plenty of cinnamon, clove, and ginger next to a layer of creamy vanilla and more of that dry straw. The end is full of honey and spice but kind of fades out into water pretty fast.
This is great until the end. It’s just a little too washed out and fades out almost instantly.
Taste 5
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Winter spice and old holiday decorations lead the way on the nose with a dry woodiness and a hint of old candle wax, white pepper, and maybe some vanilla cream. The palate amps up that vanilla with a malted vibe as winter spices — clove, anise, cinnamon, orange rind — make an appearance and lead to a whisper of floral honey. The end fades pretty quickly, leaving you with sweet vanilla cream and woody spice and a hint of dry straw.
This is, again, perfectly nice. The finish is a little short-lived.
Taste 6
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
There’s a clear sense of almost sweet cedar next to marzipan and old leather with a hint of sour cherry and tart apple skins round out the nose. The palate starts with a foundational layer of vanilla sauce and builds layers of woody cinnamon, soft nutmeg, and sharp cloves toward dried figs and prunes with a brandy-soaked oak vibe and some stewed cherries. The end is nice and buttery toffee with another note of vanilla before the woody spices lead to apple tobacco stuffed in an old cedar box on the slow finish.
This is delightful.
Taste 7
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
Butterscotch and barley cakes lead the way on the nose with a hint of persimmon and orange rinds next to green grass, wildflowers, pear stems, and soft red cherries. The palate stews those cherries and counters them with sour currants before a sense of nougat-filled brioche comes into play with marzipan, grape must, and white pepper adding deeper layers. The end has this whisper of an old cooking pan that’s been seasoned for decades, red peppercorns, more marzipan, and a soft fresh floral honey with a hint of those stewed cherries in vanilla cream.
This is lush and delicious.
Taste 8
Zach Johnston
Tasting Notes:
This opens slightly tannic but more sweet than bitter with salted buttery toffee, apple cores, rum-raisin, black tea, marzipan, and maybe even some apple fritters with a dollop of Nutella tying it all together on the nose. The palate has a caramel apple vibe that leads to a vanilla cake filled with poppy seeds and notes of floral honey, apple chips, brandy-soaked dates and prunes, and apple wood. The end has a spiced fruit nut cake vibe with an old leather glove note before waxy cacao and dry menthol kick in and slowly fade toward old pine resin with some warmth.
This is another winner.
Part 2: The Ranking
Zach Johnston
8. The Irishman Single Malt Irish Whiskey — Taste 1
This whiskey is made from Irish barley that’s mashed and then tripled distilled. The juice is then filled in ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks for a long maturation (no age is given). Those barrels and then blended and the whiskey is proofed down for bottling.
Bottom Line:
This was okay all things considered. It’d be better if it wasn’t 80-proof as that proofing water takes over the palate. Still, this is perfectly suitable for mixing highballs or cocktails.
This new release from Bushmills celebrates the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders. The juice in the bottle is a classic Irish whiskey blend of ex-bourbon casks (aged three to five years) bottled without chill-filtration, hence its higher proof.
Bottom Line:
This was pretty good too. Overall, it really feels like a mixing whiskey that’s only a sipper when nothing else is around and you have plenty of ice.
The whiskey from former Irish Distillers Master Distiller Brian Nation marries American whiskey with Irish whiskey on the American prairies of Minnesota. The juice in the bottle is a combination of American bourbon with Irish grain whiskey and Irish pot still whiskey — all over four years old. The idea is to create the ultimate Irish-American whiskey-drinking experience.
Bottom Line:
Ah, that explains the sweetness on the palate. This was, again, fine. There was nothing that really jumped out at me. It simply felt like a solid cocktail whiskey to build upon.
The latest batch from J.J. Corey leans into the oldest barrels in their inventory. The juice is made from a 60/40 malt and grain whiskey split. The barrels range in age from seven to well over 25 years old — they’re all sourced. Those barrels are masterfully blended and then released in small, limited edition batches of only a few thousand bottles.
Bottom Line:
This is where things start to pick up in this tasting. This was far more complex than the previous three pours. Still, it was a little thin and one note in the end. That said, this will work as a sipper on the rocks or a great cocktail base.
Teeling is known for sourcing a lot of its whiskey. This is made entirely in-house at their Dublin facility in the Liberties. The juice is a classic triple distilled single pot still Irish whiskey made with 50 percent malted barley and 50 percent unmalted barley. The whiskey is then aged in ex-bourbon, new oak, and ex-sherry barrels before blending and proofing.
Bottom Line:
This was a solid sipper but needed a rock or two. I can also see this being a great cocktail base to build a subtle concoction on. Overall, it just wasn’t quite as nuanced and deep as the next three though.
3. Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Kentucky Oak Edition — Taste 6
This is classic Redbreast tripled distiller single pot still whiskey (made with a mash of malted and unmalted barley). The juice settles for several years in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before it’s vatted and then re-filled into brand new air-dried American oak barrels from the Taylor Farm in Kentucky. After four months, the whiskey is blended and barely proofed before bottling as-is.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty goddamn good whiskey. It’s very Redbreast with deep dark fruits and sweetness but has a clear sense of new American oak with big vanilla vibes. Overall, it’s not my favorite Redbreast ever, but it’s a damn good and unique one.
Try it over a rock to get the full experience or mix it into your next Manhattan.
2. Four Walls Irish Whiskey “The Better Brown” Single Barrel Aged 15 Years Cask Strength — Taste 8
This whiskey is bottled from one ex-bourbon barrel of 15-year-old Irish whiskey. The single malt whiskey was chosen to celebrate the 15 years Sunny has been on the air. After a few select single barrels were chosen, the juice was bottled at cask strength and yielded only 755 bottles.
Bottom Line:
This was a hell of a nice pour. The palate was very Northern Irish — apple and honey — with a serious depth to it. Overall, this feels like a great pour of whiskey with a single rock for a long sit on the back porch.
1. Waterford Irish Single Malt Whisky Biodynamic Luna 1.1 — Taste 7
This whiskey is made from 100 percent organic and sustainable farms in Ireland. The barley comes from three small farms that utilize “biodynamic” farming practices which take organic to the next level by integrating agriculture with animals and humans to create as natural a product as possible. The juice made from that barley is loaded into 500 barrels and left to rest for years before blending and bottling with a touch of proofing water.
Bottom Line:
This was the most interesting pour by far but also so well-balanced and nuanced. This is an easy sipper that takes you on a journey. Add a little water to really let it bloom in the glass. Otherwise, just enjoy the ride.
Part 3: Final Thoughts
Zach Johnston
Well, the most expensive bottle didn’t win the day. That’s some food for thought. Moreover, the most interesting bottle did win because there was real depth and balance that felt good on the palate and was kind of new and fresh.
That all said, the top five were all quality pours with the top three really standing out. Any of those three bottles would be a great addition to your bar cart. But given the price tag of the Four Walls pour, you’ll be forgiven for focusing on the Redbreast and Waterford first. They’re both great but completely different. So look at those tasting notes and choose the one that speaks to you. Sláinte!
Using Matt’s ham radio, under the station name M0LMK, Isabella was able to place a call to another amateur radio station … one that just so happened to be onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Talk about a long-distance call.
Matt posted a short audio clip of their sweet exchange on Twitter, where Isabella nails sounding out call signs before introducing herself.
“November, Alpha, One, Sierra, Sierra. Mike, Zero, Lima, Mike, Kilo … My name’s Isabella, I’m 8 years old,” the precocious young girl says confidently to Lindgren.
The astronaut, clearly charmed, answers back “Isabella, it’s so great to chat with you, thank you for getting on the radio and saying hello,” before signing off.
Matt later thanked Commander Lindgren, saying that “you have changed her world.”
April 23, 2016. A 2 year old sat on my knee and watched the students of Wellesley House school chat with @astro_timpeake, an event I helped organise. Today she got her chance. Thank you so much @astro_kjell, you have changed her world. #iss#NASA#ARISShttps://t.co/ImfevefePV
He revealed that when Isabella was just 2 years old, she watched students speak with world-renowned astronaut Tim Peake. Since then she had wanted to have her own conversation with a space explorer.
“Today, she got her chance,” Matt wrote.
Lindgren replied saying that he’s had a “lot of fun” talking with other ham radios worldwide, but that his interaction with Isabella “may be my favorite contact so far.”
I’ve had a lot of fun using the #ARISS amateur radio station #NA1SS on the @Space_Station to talk with ham radio operators all over the world. I’ve even (unofficially) worked stations on all continents! But this may be my favorite contact so far. Thanks Isabella and @m0lmk! https://t.co/Z2pWUbEZZr
In an interview with NPR, Matt described how reaching Lindgren had been a result of meticulous timing with a dash of luck.
“First off, you need an astronaut that is in their own time choosing to use that equipment to talk to us operators down here on Earth. As well as that, you need to have the space station within a visual line of sight,” he explained.
Luckily, the planets aligned accordingly.
In the same interview, Isabella shared that her dream is to become a communications specialist at the Mission Control Center, mostly so she can “say stuff like – hello, is everything still floating around? And are you enjoying your food?” Clearly, she’s a natural and well on her way.
The ISS seems to be regularly making random contacts with hams all over the world, so if you’ve ever toyed with the idea of reaching out to space yourself, now’s your chance. Matt hopes that NASA schedules special times for the ISS to have similar conversations with other children, “since it brings so much joy and inspiration.”
There are so many amazing hobbies out there, but amateur radio takes the possibilities, as another beloved space traveler would say, ”to infinity and beyond.”
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