Do we want to do a redo on 2021 yet? Too late, but there’s plenty of time for all of us to make a difference by staying at home and watching TV. Or perhaps that’s simply an excuse that happens to be altruistic as well, so all the better. Netflix knows that this year’s a lot messier than humanity collectively hoped that it would be, so let’s make the best of an unfortunate global situation. There’s plenty to distract you, too, from a sensational sports docuseries to a conspiracy-thriller film to a limited series that would feel right at home during the Halloween season. A romantic comedy trilogy wraps up, and there’s a baking show and a friend-filled adventure series, all for the taking. Relax, at least for a few hours, because we picked the most bingeworthy fare, so that you never have to step outside your door this weekend for fun.
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix film streaming 8/13)
Every so often (Warrior Nun, hint hint) a pulpy-looking Netflix series looks as though it may not last long due to its niche quality, but it’s still worth some time to peruse. And who knows? This pulpy series could find a devoted fanbase, too. There’s sex, magic, revenge, and felines on hand for an early 1990s filmmaker character, who’s attempting to make it big in Hollywood, but things get very spooky. Halloween arrives early this year here, and since time means nothing anymore, go for it.
Untold: Malice at the Palace (Netflix docuseries streaming 8/10)
The Wild Wild Country creators bring a fresh, five-part sports docuseries that will drop weekly. The episodes will cover basketball, boxing, tennis, and more, to tell stories that you’ve not heard before about pivotal moments, including playoff and the Olympics. Each episode will go beyond the headlines to reveal what really happened to those at the center of the stories. Yes, there will be a deep dive into the “Malice at the Palace” Pacers-Pistons brawl, but also Caitlyn Jenner reflecting on what it took to win gold. Also, the show shines light on the Trashers, a misfit band of hockey players who were in deep with the mob. Oh boy.
John David Washington stars as an American tourist, Beckett, who finds himself targeted by authorities following a tragic accident in Greece. Cue the international conspiracy-and-thriller vibes while Beckett desperately tries to clear his name amid political unrest throughout the country. Can he reach the American embassy in time? Who knows, but this movie’s sure to be less confusing than Washington’s most recent release, Tenet.
The insanely popular yet objectively bad trilogy comes to a close with Joey King’s Elle heading to college while facing a dilemma. Should she go to college with her best friend or throw it all away to move away with the dreamy Noah? If you started these movies, you gotta finish!
Bake Squad: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 8/12)
A batch of brilliant bakers will heat up a delicious storm here for competition’s sake and to make someone’s special day even better. The competitors were chosen by Milk Bar founder Christina Tosi, who already built her own cookie-dough empire, and now, she wants to see more dessert dreams come true.
The title character, a “writer in crisis,” returns to chaos in both her personal and professional life. She’s got friends, fortunately, who are there to help her through the process of coping. That mean that we should expect whirlwinds of adventure and emotions, from high to low and everywhere in between.
Someday, Kanye West may actually release Donda, the album for which he has already hosted two stadium-sized listening events. The album has already missed multiple expected release dates, including today, August 13. Information on that front isn’t really pouring out of West’s camp, but regardless, the album has a new projected release day: August 20.
Again, that’s not according to anybody on West’s team, but rather, the current Apple Music listing for the album. Furthermore, the page shows off a 24-song tracklist, but without any song titles, save for “Hurricane” featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby. The listing indicates that users can listen to that song now, but it doesn’t appear to be available in the US (or the UK either, per NME). The tracklist also has star icons attached to Track 1, 2 (“Hurricane”), 8, 9, 12, 17, and 19.
After dropping two career-boosting projects for fans in 2020 thanks to Poetic Pain and Platinum Hearts, Toosii returned to 2021 with plenty of music for fans. He got the ball rolling on the year with his latest full-length release, Thank You For Believing. Across the project’s 13 tracks came an early highlight in “5’5” with Latto. The track is seemingly inspired by a line from Lloyd’s hit song, “You,” which has confused fans for years as some believed the singer says “5’2” while others insist he says “fine too.” The inspiration comes alive as Toosii raps, “5’5” and she too fine” on the song. More than three months after the track’s arrival, Toosii returns with a video for it.
The New York rapper finds himself at what appears to be a 2000s-themed party as oversized t-shirts, baggy clothes, velour clothing, and more take up most of the screen time for the visual. However, through it all, Toosii grabs the attention of a certain woman at the party and successfully shoots his shot with her as he exits the party with her number. Elsewhere, he and Latto also perform the TikTok dance that’s accompanied the song for the past few months.
The new video comes after Toosii released a deluxe version of Thank You For Believing, titled Thank You For Believing (The Manifestation), with ten additional songs including “Spin Music” with Fivio Foreign which also received the visual treatment.
Press play on the nostalgic video for “5’5” in the video above.
Thank You For Believing (The Manifestation) is out now via South Coast Music Group. Get it here.
While many may remain critical of the rapper and her music, there’s no doubt that Coi Leray’s 2021 year will go down as a defining one for the New Jersey-bred rapper. With a little over four months left in the year, Leray is pushing full steam ahead and with her latest single, “Okay Yeah.” Hopping on the song’s hard-hitting beat provided by Bankroll Got It, a producer duo from the Bay Area, Leray extends her streak of consistent flexing by bragging about her wealth, shopping habits, and jewelry all while also brushing off her haters in the process.
The new track arrives a couple of months after the rapper was chosen to be a part of this year’s XXL Freshman Class. Leray found herself besides names that include Blxst, DDG, Pooh Shiesty, 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, and Toosii. While that was certainly a big moment for Leray, her inclusion in the class would turn a bit sour thanks to a baffling XXL Freshman freestyle that failed to accurately portray her talents.
The streaming game quiets down ever so slightly this weekend after last week’s arrival of The Suicide Squad. The Warner Bros. film likely reached a much larger audience on HBO Max than it did in theaters (especially since the Delta variant’s sending people back indoors), but this week, it’s a more low-key TV atmosphere with a feel-good vibe to rule our hearts. That’s why Apple TV+ wins this round with a heartwarming Sundance movie, more Ted Lasso, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s new show. Following close behind is Amazon Prime with Kit Harington’s return to the small screen and Val Kilmer’s A24 documentary. And Hulu’s crushing it with an atypical crime-comedy series and, hey, another Sundance movie for the taking.
Elsewhere, there’s no shortage of streaming content. Disney+’s latest MCU show has the premiere episode, HBO Max has a few new selections that promise to enlighten you and make you feel at least a little cooler, and Netflix has another buffet of fresh offerings for everyone to enjoy. The Star Trek franchise gets profane on Paramount+, and Peacock comes in with the new Kevin Hart talk show in addition to their vast library that’s always available. Here’s the best of the new streaming selections for this weekend.
Apple TV+
Vendome Pictures
CODA (Apple TV+ movie) — This Sundance-awarded film (of four awards, including the Directing Award, the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize) from Vendome Pictures touches down on your streaming devices. The story follows a teenager named Ruby, who happens to be the only member of a deaf family who’s able to hear. She’s not only involved with all of the usual teenage concerns but also interpreting duties for her parents and the family business. When she joins her school’s choir, things get rough after she blossoms and finds herself with a difficult choice: keep meeting all of those family obligations, or strike out on her own venture.
Ted Lasso: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — First thing’s first: Everyone who’s caught a glimpse of this Bill Lawrence co-created and developed series loves it. That’s a notable feat, considering that star Jason Sudeikis first portrayed the title character way back in 2013 for NBC Sports’ promos for Premier League coverage. Fast forward to the fresh hell that was 2020, and the show surfaced as one of the year’s lone bright spots. Ted Lasso is somehow both relentlessly and charmingly cheery, although there’s always the spectre of Led Tasso to consider.
Mr. Corman: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — Joseph Gordon-Levitt has proven himself to choose his roles carefully after stepping away from blockbuster-land, and that makes his choice, in general, worth watching. In this series, he plays a public-school high school teaser who’s in the midst of an existential crisis. Granted, the word “existential” might make some eyes glaze over with assumptions that this show will contain a lot of naval gazing. However, Gordon-Levitt’s character is fueled by “a sinking suspicion that he sucks as a person.” That’s not only darkly funny but shows that there’s plenty of juice to mine from seemingly mundane life concerns and the fear, which many of us share, that we’ll all feel like impostors while pretending to grow up.
Modern Love: Season 2 (Amazon Prime series streaming 8/13) — Who doesn’t want to watch Jon Snow Kit Harington romance Lucy Boynton? It’s the return of the popular anthology series that found inspiration in the famed New York Times column. Relationships and connections shall happen, as well as betrayals and revelations, and the cast is chock full of talent you already know and love, including Tobias Menzies, Minnie Driver, Garrett Hedlund. All rules of love shall be henceforth broken in locales including Dublin and the whole of New York, including that Big Apple. Did I mention? Jon Snow getting randy again is not to be missed.
Val (A24 movie on Amazon Prime) — Yep, a Val Kilmer documentary surfaced from the indie studio behind Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Ladybird, and The VVitch. That’s news in and of itself, but now, the atypical doc has arrived to celebrate the Top Gun and Batman actor. The mercurial man’s life and craft will take center stage, since he recorded hours of home-footage (like Soleil Moon Frye did, only with more aviator sunglasses) while filming his most iconic roles and being, you know, Val.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (Amazon Prime movie) — Here’s the exclusive global premiere of a Studio Khara picture, which is the final chapter of the Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition saga. This follows up on a multi-platform franchise about the versatile humanoid weapon that’s seeking to navigate Earth following a cataclysmic event. One of the previous Evangelion films scored an IMAX record and also managed to be 2021’s top box-office draw in Japan, so this should be quite the streaming event for fans.
Hulu
FX
Reservation Dogs: (Season 1 premiere) — Taika Waititi’s FX on Hulu followup to What We Do in the Shadowsbrings 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.
Homeroom (Hulu film) — Following a Sundance Film Festival premiere, this documentary follows Oakland High School’s class of 2020 during an enormously fraught year of COVID-19 anxieties. There’s test scores and college applications, of course, but everything is even more complicated than usual for these students, all while the district’s police force faces the threat of elimination against a growing social movement for systemic change.
Disney+
Marvel
What If…? (Disney+ series) — We’re in the multiverse after Loki‘s season finale. The MCU promises to show us a wealth of scenarios that stand separate from the existing canon (thus far). Agent Carter will take the serum and become Captain Carter. There’s a Zombie Captain America, and King T’Challa materializes elsewhere as Star Lord. Notably, Chadwick Boseman did voice work here, so you’ll be able to say a proper goodbye to his Black Panther. Let the good times and the tears roll.
Short Circuit: Season 2 (Disney+ series) — Nope, this show still has nothing to do with that 1980s movie starring Steve Guttenberg. Rather, this show follows Walt Disney Animation Studios employees who can pitch and create their own original short films. The series aims to highlight risk-taking approaches and stories that might otherwise never see a greenlight.
Jungle Cruise: (Disney film on Disney+) — Emily Blunt might be the star of the summer (after A Quiet Place 2‘s success) if this long-awaited potential blockbuster’s a hit, and the excellent news is that you can watch it in theaters or your living room. She punches The Rock in this movie, and he plays the shipper who’s attempting to guide her down the river through life-threatening obstacles. This movie’s based upon a Disney theme park ride, so expect plenty of ridiculousness including Jesse Plemons firing a torpedo at the duo after brandishing a German accent and Paul Giamatti with a pretty bird.
HBO Max
HBO Max
The Hype: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — Streetwear professionals finally get a proper reality-competition show that aims to create a collision of streetwear, culture, and business. Cardi B’s judging, along with Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Ferg, Dapper Dan, and Bobby Hundreds. All involved aim to mentor the contestants while imparting their specialized visions toward the visionary contestants. From fashion to music to art to lifestyle and everywhere in between, the creativity here should be off the hook, and maybe some of that coolness will rub off on us.
The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad confined itself to a PG-13 rating, but no one expected James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad to stay with PG-13, and in fact, this R-rated (and quite good) extravaganza is releasing simultaneously on streaming and in theaters. Enjoy the “horribly beautiful” assortment of supervillains as they undertake their latest Task Force X mission, and the cast is an enormous, eclectic, and electric. Not only do we have the returning Margot Robbie (as Harley Quinn), Joel Kinnaman (as Rick Flag), Viola Davis (as Amanda Waller), and Jai Courtney (as Boomerang), but John Cena, Idris Elba, Pete Davidson, and more joined the cast. Also: Sylvester Stallone as King Shark. Sold!
FBoy Island: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — Hoo boy this show looks like one hot mess, and that might be exactly what you need during this slightly disastrous summer. Escape to a land where a dozen self-proclaimed “FBoys” compete against a dozen self-proclaimed “Nice Guys” for the affections of three ladies. Nikki Glaser hosts, and the show aims to answer the ultimate social experiment’s question, according to the synopsis: “Can FBoys truly reform or do Nice Guys always finish last?” (Well, one of the FBoys crushes a mango with his bicep in the show’s trailer, so this is entertainment.)
Netflix
Netflix
Beckett (Netflix film) — John David Washington stars as an American tourist, Beckett, who finds himself targeted by authorities following a tragic accident in Greece. Cue the international conspiracy-and-thriller vibes while Beckett desperately tries to clear his name amid political unrest throughout the country. Can he reach the American embassy in time, and will it make sense? Who knows, but this movie’s sure to be less confusing than Washington’s most recent release, Tenet.
Brand New Cherry Flavor (Netflix limited series) — Every so often (Warrior Nun, hint hint) a pulpy-looking Netflix series looks as though it may not last long due to its niche quality, but it’s still worth some time to peruse. And who knows? This pulpy series could find a devoted fanbase, too. There’s sex, magic, revenge, and felines on hand for an early 1990s filmmaker character, who’s attempting to make it big in Hollywood, but things get very spooky. Halloween arrives early this year here, and since time means nothing anymore, go for it.
Untold: Malice at the Palace (Netflix docuseries) — The Wild Wild Country creators bring a fresh, five-part sports docuseries that will drop weekly. The episodes will cover basketball, boxing, tennis, and more, to tell stories that you’ve not heard before about pivotal moments, including playoff and the Olympics. Each episode will go beyond the headlines to reveal what really happened to those at the center of the stories. Yes, there will be a deep dive into the “Malice at the Palace” Pacers-Pistons brawl, but also Caitlyn Jenner reflecting on what it took to win gold. Also, the show shines light on the Trashers, a misfit band of hockey players who were in deep with the mob. Oh boy.
The Kissing Booth 3 (Netflix movie) — The insanely popular yet objectively bad trilogy comes to a close with Joey King’s Elle heading to college while facing a dilemma. Should she go to college with her best friend or throw it all away to move away with the dreamy Noah? If you started these movies, you gotta finish!
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami: Season 1 (Netflix series) — There’s so much blow in this trailer, which gives the documentary treatment to the excess-filled life of two childhood pals who transformed into powerful Miami drug kingpins over the course of decades. There’s a tiger and bullfighting and speedboats and money flying everywhere, it’s no wonder why “Los Muchachos” were so darn popular. They were also slippery fellows, due to their world-champ powerboat-racing status. A $2 billion empire eventually came crumbling down, but not without a valiant fight from the duo and the prosecutors.
Paramount+
Paramount+
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 2 (Paramount+ series) — This animated series from Rick and Morty writer (and Solar Opposites creator) Mike McMahan takes things to the year 2380 (after the original Star Trek beginning in 2265), where the U.S.S. Cerritos aren’t the heroes that you’re expecting. These are junior officers who are not pleased at their lack of power while confronting bizarre alien anomalies like enormous bugs. This violent show’s got a PG-13-like feel, so keep that in mind.
Behind The Music: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — This revival brings back the Emmy-nominated docuseries that was once so popular on VH1 and will not be updated for a new generation. Of course, one should expect the older generations of music to be showcased here because, let’s face it, music can be considered ageless. The profiled artists this season include Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, LL Cool J, and Huey Lewis, and one can expect plenty of “vault” episodes that have bene remastered and updated with fresh interviews. MTV Entertainment co-produces this series, which only streams here.
Hart to Heart: Season 1 (Peacock series) — Kevin Hart’s doing celebrity interviews with a twist, and that twist is wine. The result, hopefully, will be unfiltered conversation with actors, musicians, and other such influential people. Will things get a little bit messy, perhaps? With any luck, yes, as we hear about these A-listers’ journey to to their current statures, along with an obligatory discussion about obstacles with a dash of humor.
Wale concluded 2019 with the release of his well-structured sixth album Wow… That’s Crazy. The following year saw the DMV rapper released several singles as well as his EP, The Imperfect Storm and now, he’s ready to gift the world with another project. Wale previously announced that his seventh album Folarin 2 would arrive later this summer. The news came with a bold claim from the rapper which he shared on Twitter. “I understand you may feel how you feel for whatever somebody told you…but I just wanna reiterate that I’m one of the greatest of all time,” he wrote. “Catalog. Consistency. Influence. Longevity. DMV.
Nearly a month after sharing that thought, Wale returns with some heat thanks to his brand new single, “Down South.” The track features contributions from Texans Maxo Kream and Yella Beezy and is carried by production from Harry Fraud, who samples a Southern classic in Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug’s “Still Tippin.” On the track, Wale takes his talents to the South for a smooth verse that aims to separate himself from the competition while Yella Beezy and Maxo Kream stand beside with confident and hard-hitting verses of their own.
The track comes after Yella Beezy kicked off the year beside Erica Banks for their strong “Star” collab while Maxo Kream just made his return last week with his “Local Joker” video.
You can listen to the new song in the video above.
Wale is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
VanJess arrived with their first project in almost three years at the beginning of 2021 with their Homegrown EP. The project’s eight songs came attached with features from Jimi Tents, Garren, Kaytranada, Phony Ppl, and Devin Morrison. While all the aforementioned names provided strong collaborations on Homegrown, the EP’s strongest effort is a solo track. “Slow Down” grew to be a fan favorite off the project and now it’s getting a well-deserved remix with help from R&B standout act and labelmate Lucky Daye.
Lucky Daye leads the way with a brief verse to begin the song while VanJess sticks to the verses they laid for the song’s original version. During an interview with Uproxx earlier this year, VanJess’ Ivana and Jess spoke about the song and revealed what inspired them to create it. “The toxic love thing we hear about all the time and it seems trendy and that’s kind of what we’re thinking about, let’s put out a song about positive love, you know, what love is supposed to be?” Jess said. “Can we get back to that? That’s how that one had come.”
The remix arrives after Lucky Daye kicked off his 2021 campaign with an EP of his own, Table For Two, which delivered collaborations alongside Ari Lennox, Mahalia, Joyce Wrice, Yebba, Tiana Major9, and Queen Naija.
You can listen to the “Slow Down” remix in the video above.
Homegrown is out now via Keep Cool/RCA. Get it here.
Wizkid’s mainstream appeal has noticeably increased since the afro-fusion star dropped his stellar fourth album Made In Lagos last fall. The project saw the singer work with big names like H.E.R., Ella Mai, Burna Boy, and Skepta, but the album’s most popular song came through an unexpected collaboration with fellow afro-fusion singer Tems on “Essence.” The track has grown to not only run in contention for song of the summer this year, but it’s also the highest-charting African song ever, as it peaked at No. 54 on the singles chart this past week. Now, the song is due for a huge boost thanks to a new remix.
Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer. Essence remix out tonight pic.twitter.com/sN3HvPNooD
Wizkid and Tems invite Justin Bieber into the “Essence” experience for a brand new remix of the track. While some fans felt the collaboration was a bit inorganic, Wizkid and Bieber are paying no mind to the comments, showing each other love on social media. “Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer,” Bieber wrote in a Twitter post that announced the remix. In his own post, Wizkid wrote, “I promised you something special. @temsbaby & @justinbieber on da way.”
It’s been almost two years since Lizzo delivered a new track to the world, with that being a remix of “Good As Hell” with Ariana Grande. However, when you consider how monumental 2019 was for Lizzo’s career, it’s understandable why the singer may have opted for a break once everything settled down. Between her Platinum-selling third album, Cuz I Love You, which peaked at No. 4 on the albums chart and winning in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category at the 2020 Grammys, that year’s success was life-changing for Lizzo. But now she’s back with Cardi B by her side for a brand new single, “Rumors.”
On the track, which arrives with an elegant video, Lizzo and Cardi use sarcasm to laugh off their haters by labeling all the rumors about them as true. Lizzo touches on comments on her body image, her music, and a possible fling with Drake while Cardi addresses claims of having “fake ass and fake boobs” and using streaming machines to boost her music.
“Rumors” is the latest track that finds Cardi B aligned with a big-name female act within the music industry. Last summer, she teamed with Megan Thee Stallion for their No. 1 single “WAP” and earlier this year, she joined Normani for the singer’s comeback single, “Wild Side.”
You can press play on “Rumors” in the video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Major League Baseball’s Field of Dreams game finally happened on Thursday night, with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees squaring off in the middle of a corn field reminiscent of the movie the event was named after. The game was at thriller, with a two-run walk-off home run from Chicago’s Tim Anderson sealing the win against the visiting Yankees.
Much like the NHL’s outdoor game in Lake Tahoe earlier this year, this game was all about visuals. A literal cornfield was the outfield fence, and players (and Kevin Costner) emerged from the fields to take the, well, field, on Thursday.
A lot of people noticed how tall the corn was in the outfield, especially when the players emerged from the field. It’s much taller than they are! Even Aaron Judge, who is a large home run-hitting human being. He’s dwarfed by those stalks.
And there’s a good reason for that: the corn out there is a bit different than many non-agrarian baseball fans may expect. That’s usually called field corn, which grows much taller than the sweet corn you might eat fresh off the considerably shorter stalk. Which is why when some White Sox players tried to eat it on Thursday night, it did not go well at all.
Better look at the White Sox finding out feed corn is not good and spitting it out pic.twitter.com/ychd4szoyO
Joe Buck even asks “that’s feed corn, right?” as a player abruptly spits it out. Because it’s not good corn! As you can read here, there’s a pretty big difference between the corn in that outfield and the sweet corn you’d expect to find at a grocery store. It’s generally used for very different things, and needs to age on the stalk to actually be something people enjoy putting inside their bodies after a bit of additional processing. Basically, that corn is often turned into corn meal or corn flour and used for other corn-like purposes like tortilla chips and corn flakes. So it’s technically edible just, you know, not yet.
And now we all know.
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