Category: News

Sebastian Stan has been leaning hard into his transformation into Mötley Crüe drummer and bad boy Tommy Lee, and apparently, he kept the rocker vibes going for the Memorial Day weekend. In a new photo posted to his Instagram, Stan showed off a picture of himself as Tommy while wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron and giving the horns while holding his coffee. While the photo is clearly from the set of Pam & Tommy, Hulu’s upcoming series chronicling the infamous theft and distribution of the couple’s sex tape, we wouldn’t be surprised if Stan cooked up a few burgers while in character.

Following the smash hit, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Stan and his co-star Lily James have been turning heads with their portrayals of the doomed couple, but they’re not the only ones who made a surprising transformation. Seth Rogen also stars in the series, and the actor shockingly shaved off his trademark beard to play Rand Gauthier, the disgruntled electrician who stole the celebrity sex tape and kicked off an insane series of events involving actual mob bosses and shady dealings with the Hollywood porn scene.

But now that the character reveals are out in the open, Stan admits its a huge load off of his shoulders. “Honestly, it was freeing because I was walking around in these hoodies and hats… just paranoid of being seen,” he recently told the Just for Variety podcast. “I was like, ‘God, I hope they’re finally going to release something so you know what we look like, so we can go on with our lives.’”

(Via Sebastian Stan on Instagram)

With Showtime’s Dexter returning to Showtime later this year with a “darker” revival that may or may not return members of the original cast, I thought it would be useful to rewatch the 2013 series finale.

It’s still as bad as critics said it was when it aired opposite the final season of Breaking Bad, However, given eight years of distance between the finale (as well as the lousy final season), I found that it wasn’t as awful as I remembered (although, it still contains a laughably bad sequence in which Dexter holds a doll that we are supposed to believe is baby Harrison). It also doesn’t make sense that Debra had to die, especially after initially surviving a gunshot, but I suppose her death did give Dexter a reason to sail out into the ocean and into a hurricane. Recall that technically, Dexter killed his sister by taking her off of life support and casually wheeling her on a stretcher out to his boat during the chaos of the oncoming storm.

Dexter, who had also killed the season’s big bad, Oliver Saxon, with a ballpoint pen earlier in the episode, drove his boat out into the middle of the ocean and dumped his sister’s body, which in itself was ironic, given the fact that all she could talk about before dying was how she wanted to go hiking in the mountains. Nevertheless, Dexter decided after dumping her body that the only way to protect his son, Harrison, and his girlfriend, Hannah (who had traveled to Argentina together) would be to remove himself from their lives.

“I destroy everyone I love,” he narrates. “And I can’t do let that happen to Hannah, to Harrison. I have to protect them from me.” He then directs his boat straight into the hurricane. After the hurricane has passed, the Coast Guard finds the wreckage of Dexter’s boat in the middle of the ocean.

Later, we see that Dexter has relocated and taken up employ as a lumberjack.

The question, however, remains: How did Dexter manage to survive after his boat was destroyed in Hurricane Laura? There’s no way to know from watching the sequence. The only explanation for his survival comes from showrunner Scott Buck, who helmed last few seasons of Dexter before later showrunning the worst of the Marvel series on Netflix, Iron Fist, as well as Marvel’s Inhumans, which ran on ABC for eight episodes before it was canceled.

Here’s how Buck explained it to The Hollywood Reporter in his series finale postmortem:

He knows exactly what he’s doing there; he’s putting his boat in the path of the hurricane, which will then allow him to escape in this way. It is mentioned in an earlier episode that he does have an emergency life raft aboard that boat and you can look back and see he had a plan, he just didn’t know what it was.

The answer, therefore, is that Dexter rode out a hurricane in a life raft, managed to float ashore without being seen, and then traveled unnoticed from Miami to Astoria, Oregon. That seems, frankly, unbelievable, but not quite as unbelievable as Scott Buck’s finale assessment of the series. “I am happy with where we ended the show. This is absolutely the ending I wanted.”

When Dexter returns on Showtime later this year, it will be with someone who wasn’t happy with the way the series ended, the show’s original showrunner, Clyde Phillips.

If 2020 was a year of scary and uncertain darkness, 2021 is so far a tentative sunrise. The world is getting vaccinated, people are making plans to do things outside of the house again, and overall, it’s starting to look like our planet and its inhabitants might just be okay.

While pointing out the good parts of a historically devastating pandemic isn’t the most obvious or even appropriate thing to do, it should be noted that 2020 at least delivered a ton of great music. Also during that time, artists had a year off from live shows and have been able (whether they liked it or not) to either write new material or finish stuff they hadn’t had the chance to properly wrap up. So, 2021 has brought and will presumably continue to deliver a new wave of exemplary music.

Some of these sounds reflect on the tough year that preceded them, others try to help us all sport smiles and move forward, and others yet check different boxes. Whatever the case, there’s been a lot of music to be grateful for so far this year. That’s as important now as it’s been during any other time in recent memory, so let’s go through the best albums of 2021 so far, presented below in alphabetical order. Please note that December 2020 albums are eligible to be included here, as they came out too late for our 2020 lists.

Another Michael – New Music And Big Pop

It takes a mere 31 seconds for the opening track of Another Michael’s debut album to capture your full attention, when frontman Michael Doherty hits a falsetto so striking it is impossible to ignore. Across its ten tracks, New Music And Big Pop is imbued with a sense of liberation and raw talent that feels rare in 2021, a breath of fresh air that creates a unique lane and a promising future for the indie-folk trio. – Zac Gelfand

Arlo Parks – Collapsed In Sunbeams

With her poetic lyrics and vulnerable songwriting, UK singer Arlo Parks won over hearts with her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams. The singer has earned co-signs by the likes of Michelle Obama and Dua Lipa, and it’s no secret as to why. Over shimmering harmonies, Parks is able to share catchy-yet-moving songs that resonate, exploring subject matters like queerness, teenage depression, and anxiety, and offers earworms about why it’s important to never lose hope. – Carolyn Droke

The Armed – Ultrapop

Are they called The Armed because the band members always look so jacked? Are these even really the band members? There’s so much mystery to this enigmatic noise-rock outfit, but what’s obvious is how much fun Ultrapop is. Chaotic soundscapes abound as always but there’s more melody and hooks to be had here than on previous records. It’s like if The Go! Team did crank for three days and then made a record. – Steven Hyden

Caleborate – Light Hit My Skin

Bay Area native Caleborate is one of few stalwarts of the indie rap scene who deserves placement here, mostly because Light Hit My Skin is the perfect showcase for what feats of creativity artists can be capable of away from the commercial expectations of the major-label system. In spots, it dazzles. It also asks listeners to think — about the world around, about the art they consume, and about themselves. Plus, it sounds lush, a true accomplishment when compared to the repetitive, bare-mininum production that often defines bigger-budget releases. – Aaron Williams

Claud – Super Monster

As the first artist to officially be signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ fêted Dead Oceans imprint, Sad Factory, (now featuring the queer trio Muna as well) Claud’s sparkling sad-pop anthems are a fitting foil to Bridgers’ own terrifically depressing tunes. Super Monster is 21-year-old Claud Mintz’s first official album, but it’s by no means their initial foray into music. The artist formerly known as toast has been making delightfully left-field pop songs for the past two years or so, and they’ve honed in on that sound with confidence on this surprising, gentle debut record. – Caitlin White

DDG – Die 4 Respect

DDG’s imminent path to rap stardom is found on his mixtape Die 4 Respect. Helmed by production from the Grammy Award-nominated and legend OG Parker, a sound is developed as DDG establishes his own style of rap. Though the current star of the show is the pop-based TikTok track “Impatient” with Coi Leray, Die 4 Respect is loaded with so many hidden smashes outside of the previously released “Rule #1” featuring Lil Yachty, “Money Long” with 42 Dugg and of course, the platinum-certified “Moonwalking In Calabasas.” The melodic “Hakuna Matata” is a storytelling number about what it took to get out of his hometown of Pontiac, Michigan and “Let em Go” is the tale of how it goes when fame hits. At this point, it’s hard to deny DDG’s artistry. If you’re reading this, it’s probably not too late to give Die 4 Respect a spin. – Cherise Johnson

Girl In Red – If I Could Make It Go Quiet

Girl In Red may have gotten her start writing gentle pop songs in her bedroom, but with her debut album If I Could Make It Go Quiet, the Norwegian songwriter positions herself as a major indie pop contender. Altering between heartbreak and horniness, the album boasts smoldering hooks and towering choruses that sometimes veer into pop-punk territory. Her cutting-edge alt-pop songs about queer relationships have even made the question “Do you listen to girl in red?” become a discrete way to find out if a crush is gay. – C.D.

Guapdad 4000 – 1176

From its opening track’s clever Alice Deejay rework to its closer’s raw, gut-wrenching storytelling, the Oakland native’s latest release is 100 percent authentic to who he is. Though he’s primarily known as a comedic figure, here, he gets tender, delivering heartwarming odes to the flavors of his youth (“Chicken Adobo“) and poignant plugs to partnerships ruined by split attentions (“PlayStation“). And still, despite his commitment to peeling back the layers and hailing his Filipino heritage, he’s wiling to remain a little goofy on tracks like “She Wanna” with fellow Bay Arean P-Lo. – A.W.

Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales

It’s been so long since the R&B game heard a full project from Jazmine Sullivan and Heaux Tales satisfyingly came through at the top of 2021. The words Jazmine sings are relatable hymns found out through time and wisdom, are what make this collection of songs inspired by stories from the women in her life truly special. “This process and making the project helped me to do that by listening to the tales of other women, my girlfriends, and older women,” she told Uproxx in an exclusive interview. “Bodies (Intro)” alone is a moment that many women may have found themselves in at one point in time when it comes to making sure sexual needs are met after a cocktail or two. “Pick Up Your Feelings” reiterates a classy new mindset of what it means to have a hot girl summer. – C.J.

Joyce Wrice – Overgrown

Joyce Wrice is without a doubt one of this year’s brightest and most promising newcomers in the R&B world. The LA native shared her debut album, Overgrown, at the beginning of the year and while it flaunted her youthful spirit and cheery vocals, Wrice also injected enough maturity and wisdom in the project’s 14 songs to deliver her intended message without error: Indecision and false hope are two things she won’t deal with in love. – Wongo Okon

Julien Baker – Little Oblivions

The contradiction of Little Oblivions is that it’s the most musically inviting album that Julien Baker has yet made, and also her most lyrically devastating, observing a period of personal upheaval. The extra heft added to the guitars and rhythm section nudges her closer to a full-on rock record. Somehow, the emotional brutality of the words melds with the uplifting beauty of the music, perhaps giving Baker some peace in the process. – S.H.

Kota The Friend – To Kill A Sunrise

It’d be easy to write off Kota The Friend and Statik Selektah’s collaborative effort To Kill A Sunrise as “just another backpack rap album,” if not for the laser focus of its execution, the earnestness of Kota’s rhymes, and the intensity that emanates from each of its 10 tracks. It’s a vibe that says it’s cool to just, like, enjoy the process. Unlike J. Cole’s The Off-Season, Kota raps with nothing to prove, and the lightness and enjoyment with which he does is infectious. – A.W.

Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Confounding, canceled, and always coquettish, Lana Del Rey managed to drop an album that can stand up to the best of her career while even long-term fans were rolling their eyes at her endless social media gaffes and tone-deaf “rebuttals.” But maybe Lana does best when she’s under pressure, managing to turn in the breezy and beautiful Chemtrails Over The Country Club despite all the noise. With the finest take on folk-pop since music critics started scorning the Laurel Canyon vibes, Del Rey comes out on top again. It’s not a statement record like Norman F*cking Rockwell but a gentle, whispering one, the kind Jackson Browne and her own beloved Joni used to deliver. – C.W.

Lil Tjay – Destined 2 Win

Of all the 20-something New York rappers utilizing the singsong flow pioneered in large part by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Bronx rapper Lil Tjay is perhaps the most versatile. He illustrates as much on the wide-ranging Destined 2 Win (shout out to the power of manifestation), where he contemplates heartbreak on “Love Hurts” and turns up on the jaunty “Oh Well.” He even displays a penchant for broader ranging, tough guy taunts on “Headshot” with his longtime partner-in-rhyme Polo G. – A.W.

Manchester Orchestra – The Million Masks Of God

Manchester Orchestra have spent the better part of the last two decades as one of the biggest emo bands on the planet, known for their emotive and volatile brand of post-hardcore. The Atlanta band’s latest album, The Million Masks Of God, features the their grandest vision to date, delivering a collection of what Steven Hyden called for Uproxx “expansive and philosophical indie rock” tracks inspired by the death of guitarist Robert McDowell’s father. – Z.G.

Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime

Afrique Victime is loaded with moments where this Nigerian phenom steps out of the song in order to ram his guitar directly into your guts. He does this for emotional effect, bending and blurring notes with the furious energy that defines one of his most obvious influences, Jimi Hendrix. But you suspect that Moctar also believes that ripping off a sick solo is extremely dope, which on this record it absolutely is. – S.H.

Moneybagg Yo – A Gangsta’s Pain

While A Gangsta’s Pain is only Moneybagg Yo’s fourth album, the project is a part of more than 15 projects he’s released since 2012. Known for his braggadocious bars and nonchalant approach to seemingly anything that doesn’t benefit him, A Gangsta’s Pain, which saw help from Polo G, Jhene Aiko, and more, found the Memphis rapper effectively tap into his emotions and how the pains of yesterday affected him. It’s an illuminating look at what created the rapper and man he is today. – W.O.

Nick Cave / Warren Ellis – Carnage

Nick Cave has proven to be hard to predict: Just since March, he’s voiced a “virtual midsummer forest” in an online theater production and released two songs inspired by a letter from a fan. So, it shouldn’t have been a tremendous shock when he released Carnage, an album made alongside Warren Ellis that Cave says was made with risk-taking and “an accelerated process of intense creativity.” It’s one of the finest offerings of his already incredible career. – Derrick Rossignol

Olivia Rodrigo – Sour

Olivia, what’s left to say? Dominating 2021 from the jump with her darkly sad, magnificently constructed “Drivers License,” Rodrigo proved she wasn’t a one-trick-pony ten times over on the simple, eleven-track Sour. Veering from pop-punk to delicate electronic-laced anthems, to even folk-infused harmonies on one of the album’s sleeper cuts, “Favorite Crime,” Rodrigo proved that she has the range — and it only took her 34 minutes. All this quick, efficient pop record did was make fans want another one. And another one. And another one. – C.W.

Origami Angel – Gami Gang

The sophomore album from Washington, DC duo Origami Angel is a sprawling double LP that transcends the traditional boundaries of emo and puts on full display the band’s knack for catchy and undeniable songwriting. With tracks ranging from borderline metalcore to intimate folk punk, Gami Gang feels like nothing short of a modern punk masterpiece, fraught with intricate guitar insanity and impressive vocal hooks that show the band won’t be stopping anytime soon on their way to the big leagues. – Z.G.

Pink Sweats – Pink Planet

Unlike most, Philly singer Pink Sweats endured an extended wait between his breakout moment, his debut single “Honesty,” and the arrival of his debut album, Pink Planet. The latter appeared nearly three years after the former and while it was certainly a long wait for those who got acquainted with the singer early, Pink Planet proved to be an excellent display of Pink’s artistry as it honed in on the qualities listeners were familiar and introduced new ones that made his music more enjoyable. – W.O.

Pooh Shiesty – Shiesty Season

Pooh Shiesty’s highly-anticipated debut album Shiesty Season came with evergreen hits in the chamber. He put his hometown of Memphis on full display through his lyrics and let everyone know what time he’s on over beats crafted by eerie beats. “Back In Blood” featuring Lil Durk stars one of the most prominent lines used to assert allegiance: “Pooh Shiesty that’s my dog, but Pooh you know I’m really shiesty.” Songs such as “Neighbors” with Big30, “Ugly” featuring 1017 general Gucci Mane, and “Box Of Churches” with 21 Savage offer a peek into what can become of Pooh Shiesty musically since he’s just getting started. Though Pooh’s rise happened during the pandemic, nothing is stopping Shiesty Season from its inevitable reign. – C.J.

Rico Nasty – Nightmare Vacation

Coming in hot at the end of 2020, Rico Nasty’s long-awaited debut turned out to be everything longtime fans could have hoped for from the eclectic DMV native. With forays into the thrash-rap that helped make her name on “OH FR?” and “STFU,” floaty, cotton-candy trap on “Own It” and “Don’t Like Me,” and splashy hyperpop on “iPhone,” Rico deftly displays every facet of her weird-girl style, delivering a debut that truly has something for everyone. –

Rod Wave – Soul Fly

Rod Wave’s latest had something of a bumpy road to its release but once that road cleared, the Florida native easily coasted to an impressive chart debut, buttressed by his velvet vocals on tracks like “Richer,” “Street Runner,” and “Tombstone.” Even for fans who can’t relate to his traumatized tales of hood survival, his voice transmits every emotion needed to tap in and zone out. SoulFly is as soulful as trap music has ever been. – A.W.

Shelley FKA Dram – Shelley FKA DRAM

Three and a half years went by since Shelley (fka DRAM) dropped his debut album, Big Baby DRAM. At long last, he returned in April with his sophomore effort, Shelley FKA DRAM. It saw the Virginia native embrace the sultry love-driven ballads that appeared infrequently throughout his discography before this album. All in all, it made for an elegant and unblemished body of work that detailed the beauty behind a fearless love. – A.W.

Slowthai – Tyron

Casual American audiences might know Slowthai best from his raucous Tonight Show performance from early 2020. That uniquely high energy level can be found all over his sophomore album Tyron as well, although the UK rapper proves his versatility and also excels in tender moments, like on the James Blake-featuring “Feel Away.” – D.R.

St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home

A departure from the futuristic sounds heard on St. Vincent’s previous albums, Daddy’s Home takes a trip through the past. Trading in electrifying guitars for woozy sitars, the album leans heavily on iconography from the ‘70s in order to revisit her own complicated history. Her most personal album yet, Daddy’s Home vaguely sheds light on St. Vincent’s private life with dizzying production, dreamy chords, sultry back-up vocals, and her acerbic sense of humor to explore what it truly means to be a struggling artist. – C.D.

Sun June – Somewhere

Sun June previously told Uproxx that their second album, Somewhere, takes place at “a futuristic prom set in Albuquerque in a time where global warming has lapsed to a point of climate cooling.” Indeed, on Somewhere, there are handfuls of tender and hypnotic moments suited for a swaying embrace, the sort of calming blanket that can make any apocalypse more bearable, whether the world’s actually ending or it just feels like it. – D.R.

Taylor Swift – Evermore

Since the ever-prolific T. Swift managed to file her second album of 2020 after all the year-end lists had already been ranked, published, and debated, we have little choice but to take Evermore as a 2021 record. And since the project’s excellent bonus tracks “Right Where You Left Me” and “It’s Time To Go” were added to this year’s deluxe edition, we did technically already have new Taylor songs in 2021. Like the rest of this thick, folkish album, the songs hew close to Swift’s signature storytelling style, sprinkling in banjo twang and elevated strings that bring her closer to her best self than ever before. – C.W.

Topaz Jones – Don’t Go Tellin Your Momma

When Topaz Jones stepped away from the limelight in the wake of viral single “Tropicana,” it wasn’t just because he didn’t want to be stuck rhyming about fruit juice. Instead, he examined himself both as an artist and as a man and came back with the introspective, observational, and terrifically musical Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Mama. Like Kendrick Lamar with To Pimp A Butterfly, Jones threw out what had worked in the past, opting for something smart, experimental, and deeply personal. Tell a friend. – A.W.

Wild Pink – A Billion Little Lights

On previous Wild Pink albums, John Ross wrote sensitive story songs about millennial ennui set to surging synth-based rock, producing a rich, stirring sound that evoked a cross between Death Cab For Cutie and Lost In The Dream. For Wild Pink’s latest, Ross pursues a big, lush sonic canvas that integrates Americana instrumentation like pedal-steel guitar and fiddle into his usual heartland rock mix. – S.H.

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

Ted Cruz is at it again. After spending his spring break (spiritually) far away from Cancun, Mexico (he’s been there, done that) and lurking in the bushes at the U.S.-Mexico border, he hopped onto an international stage to not-observe Memorial Day in the U.S.. Previously, he was torched on Twitter for both trips down south, and he decided to be theatrical again, rather than honoring fallen U.S. soldiers. Instead, he quite literally inserted himself into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict while his GOP colleague, Lindsey Graham, rubbed elbows with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

It’s turning into a Cruz trademark move to head to different countries during pivotal moments for his own constituents, right? The much maligned senator from Texas filmed himself in a crumbling Israeli structure and, unsurprisingly, didn’t find a way to blame Biden for the entire conflict. He did, however, pull an attention-grabbing move in line with the GOP party stance on the issue. “I’m in Israel and I’m seeing the results of Hamas terrorism,” Cruz tweeted. “A Hamas rocket destroyed this home and killed an elderly woman’s caretaker.”

Yes, the situation with this woman’s home is tragic, although it’s worth noting that the Iron Dome over Israel is a warning system that Palestinians don’t have while attempting to evade rockets. So, Ted is almost certainly not placing himself in any danger while filming himself, which was also the case when he was lurking in border bushes. And he got dragged, big time, for spending Memorial Day in another country.

People also came for Cruz for failing to “tour” Texas homes or hospitals following the deadly ice storm earlier this year.

Obviously, there were also remarks about Ted not checking out Gaza damage, too.

“Don’t come back” was another remark, of course. It seems doubtful that anyone was genuinely wishing ill will on Ted, but if he decided to move elsewhere, few people would be mad about it.

Last year, Logic retired from music. He explained at the time, “I just wanted to retire because I’m over it man. Not even in a negative way, I’m just over it. I love music and I’m gonna continue to make music on my own. I can’t not just make music. It’s a journal for me. It’s how I express myself. It’s how I heal, but with Logic, I’m stepping away. […] You either believe me or you don’t man. I don’t give a sh*t. I’m over here doing my thing.”

His retirement didn’t last long, though. In April, he rapped on a new song, “Retired for a minute, but I guess I’m back, man.” Indeed, he is back, as he and Madlib have formed a new project called MadGic. They’ve released a couple songs together so far and now they’re back with a third, “Mafia Music.”

That’s not the only new music from Logic, as he also released a new song under his own name. It’s not in the same league as his MadGic material, though. On “Over You,” Logic sings instead of raps on the indie-leaning tune that’s closer to his 2019 Supermarket soundtrack than it is the hip-hop for which he is best known.

Listen to “Mafia Music” and “Over You” above.

Ask anyone with ears how disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn spent his Memorial Day weekend based on watching the video below, and the answer would seem pretty straightforward: He told a crowd of QAnon people that a violent overthrow of our current government could and should happen in America.

The video was taken on Sunday night in Dallas, where Flynn was speaking at an event made up mainly of QAnon conspiracy theorists. When the Q&A (QnA?) portion of the event began, an attendee asked Flynn why a coup like the one in Myanmar (which the attendee called “Minamar,” because of course he did) couldn’t happen here. Once the burst of applause for the question quieted down, Flynn’s response, at least according to the video, couldn’t be clearer: “No reason. I mean, it should happen here.”

In case you’re not caught up: Myanmar is currently under military control and in an official state of emergency due to a violent response to a fair election where some people didn’t like the outcome. So far, hundreds of people—including children—have been killed. So what we’d seem to have here is a retired Army lieutenant general who has been known to forget the words to the Pledge of Allegiance telling a group of easily influenced minds that a violent government overthrow is something that we should be doing.

Despite the video recording, Flynn is saying the media has got it all wrong. In a post to his Telegram social media page, Flynn attempted to correct his comment and swear that we did not hear what we thought we heard, saying: “Let me be VERY CLEAR—There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort.” He then added:

“I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America).”

So who are you going to believe? A video you watched with your own eyes or the convicted felon who “willfully and knowingly” made false statements to the FBI while working for Donald Trump?

(Via Raw Story)

Thank goodness for the TV gods, and I don’t say that lightly. Not only do we have a fictional god coming out way this month on the small screen, but quality shows have kept us as sane as possible during the past fifteen-or-so months. The schedule’s starting to roar toward full capacity again, which (fortunately) means that there’s more than enough shows out there to browse. The problem there, of course, is that it’s difficult to know where to begin, so we sifted through new June TV shows for the must-sees for you to fire up in your home theater.

There’s a trickster, a gentleman thief, skater ladies, zombies, a hybrid deer-boy and more. In other words, Disney+ will launch their third Marvel Cinematic Universe show, Netflix will unleash Omar Sy’s heisting ways again, HBO’s Betty ladies will give us more authentic summer vibes, and the perfect housewives will either kill their husbands or aerobicize the world. Also, Robert Downey Jr.’s adapting a DC Comic, and so far, I’ve only mentioned about half of the offerings on the below list. HBO Max, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Netflix, AMC, and Adult Swim all represent here.

Here are the biggest shows worth noticing in June:

We Are Lady Parts: Season 1 (Peacock series streaming on 6/3)

A Muslim female post-punk band called Lady Parts looks for a lead guitarist in this subversive series, which follows the ups and downs of the group as they seek a real gig. A geeky, hard-sciences Ph.D. recruit named Amina Hussain ends up being the unlikely lucky lady to pick up the ax, and she’s soon swept up into the group’s anarchic energy. Naturally, Amina’s caught between two worlds, that of her conservative friends and the irresistible lure of the band’s joyful spirit. Together, they’re fearless, rowdy, and sexual and every ultra-religious family’s nightmare. As a show, it’s silly and irreverent and inspiring; for sure, you’ve never seen women like quite this on your TV screen.

Sweet Tooth: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming on 6/4)

Team Downey (Robert Jr. and Susan) brings us this awe-inspiring story based upon a comic-book (that ran under DC’s Vertigo imprint) by creator Jeff Lemire, who whipped up a post-apocalyptic fairytale about what happens when a great sickness (which is poorly dealt with by humans) ends with a miracle. In this case, this would be the appearance of “hybrids,” babies who are born half-human and half-animal, and we’ll meet a young deer-boy, Gus, (Christian Convery), who teams up with a reluctant protector, Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), for a cross-country quest. The comic has been described as “Mad Max Meets Bambi,” and Will Forte also plays a pivotal role. You’re in for a real (sweet) treat if you surrender to this adventure.

Dom: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series streaming on 6/4)

This crime drama hails from Brazil with subtitles, but there’s a lot of Ozark and Sons of Anarchy vibes on display to make a non-dubbed effort worth the watch. Dom revolves around a middle-class Rio de Janeiro boy, Pedro, who falls into the lucrative realm of cocaine and eventually rises toward the top (or sinks toward the bottom, depending on one’s perspective) of the criminal underworld. It’s all based on a true story of the gang-related exploits that dominated the country’s aughts tabloids, given the juicy reality of Pedro’s father working for police intelligence, and yes, one should expect the lines of morality to go grey here. Dom‘s also a high-adrenaline adventure, so don’t watch this one while hoping to relax.

Loki: Season 1 (Disney+ series streaming on 6/9)

Tom Hiddleston has an absolute blast playing the mercurial trickster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we shall reap the benefits while he helps (or hinders) the Time Variance Authority during the process of cleaning up the timeline. Yep, Loki’s gotta atone after snatching the Tesseract in Avengers Endgame, and we can expect plenty of theatrics (including a possible D.B. Cooper-type incarnation) from the God of Mischief. Loki’s chronically looking out for Number One, but Hiddleston did provide a catch-up course to refresh fans, although we still don’t know Loki’s true essence here — is he the somewhat reformed version of himself, or nah? Finding out will be part of the fun.

Fresh, Fried & Crispy: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming on 6/9)

You might gain 10 pounds while watching this show, which would fit right in with Guy Fieri’s adventures. The so-called Grandfather of Food Reviews on YouTube, Daym Drops, takes a cross-country trip across the United States to find the most decadent fried foods possible. There’s deep-fried Oreos (in San Diego), extra-crispy pork chops (in Birmingham), and more on the menu, and not only does he pop into actual restaurants, but home kitchens and food trucks are also part of the hunt. Get your appetites ready.

Lupin: Part 2 (Netflix series streaming 6/11)

This (the fancy French heist show starring Omar Sy) turned out to be a smash hit for Netflix in January. The overwhelming reaction even led the streamer to hustle fast to release Part 2, so that everyone could see how the beloved gentleman burglar would take revenge (against Hubert Pelligrini) for the abduction of his son, and by the way, we could probably use a lot more heisting as well? Give it to us. Of course, after that train station switcheroo in last season’s finale, we can expect police to redouble their efforts. So, Assane reenters as the most wanted man in France, and of course, he’ll tempt fate while executing a new plan that puts himself at risk. Along the way, black tie events, high-speed car chases, speeding motorboats, thrown punches, and a trip to the catacombs are in the cards. Everyone will eventually learn that they should never underestimate our protagonist because, my god, he never runs out of energy or ingenuity. “Nothing but magic,” as we hear Omar Sy say at the end of the trailer.

Betty: Season 2 (HBO series streaming on 6/11)

Like a breath of the most refreshing, free-wheeling air possible, HBO’s Betty will soon glide back into our lives. It’s what we really need to heal our pandemic-addled minds, and somehow, director Crystal Moselle managed to gather the Skate Kitchen crew back up for a second season and film on the streets of New York City. The main players are all back — Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt — and they’re still making the act of soaring through the streets look like the coolest thing on Earth. In their defense, Betty really is the coolest show on TV these days, and we could all stand to live vicariously right about now. Yes, they are very much gathering in these highlighted scenes, yet they’re even making masks look effortlessly hope. They’ll probably still even mop up the blood when you fall of your own skateboard.

Flack: Season 2 (Amazon Prime series streaming on 6/11)

This series began on Pop TV, and Amazon picked it up for a second season for good reason. This is some damn fine guilty-pleasure escapism, even if it feels like an amalgamation of many shows and movies (includingThe Devil Wears Prada, Scandal, Sex and the City) that you’ve seen before. Anna Paquin, who portrays Robyn, who’s part of a PR agency that’s ridiculously good at hiding the most outrageous celebrity scandals imaginable. The show’s dark but breezy, and this season will see more collisions between work and home life, and as always, there will be love affairs and shady dealings and drug-induced benders and, yes, almost much everyone on this show is a terrible person, but oh, the comeuppance is a blast to watch.

DAVE: Season 2 (FX series streaming on 6/16)

One of the most absurd shows on TV is back, and rapper and comedian Dave Burd, a.k.a. Lil Dicky (based upon his own life), has got an anteater in tow. Let’s hope the taco truck is just fine, but of course, expect Dave to keep shooting for rap superstardom while recording his debut album. He might have to give up everything that’s truly important to him (love, friendship, his sense of self) up in the process. Obviously, nothing is ever simple for Dave, so expect plenty of mayhem and dancing and general bizarreness to take over the most mundane-seeming tasks of his life. Last season brought Justin Bieber in as a guest star, so let’s see if the show can up the ante.

Black Summer: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 6/17)

This zombie series’ sophomore season may as well be titled Black Winter, but that’s alright. The first season was a sleeper and ended up being the show that Fear The Walking Dead fans would have preferred before the AMC spinoff series improved dramatically this year. With that said, this is a quick-and-dirty crowd-pleaser of a series, which includes the obligatory “guy who tries to hide his flesh wound” moment while attempting to flee to safety within a crowd of survivors. How that’s handled is necessarily brutal, as is the rest of the series, and expect a new batch of episodes full of cold-blooded fresh challenges while violent militias get down with their bad selves.

Physical: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series streaming on 6/18)

Pull out the leg warmers, the Jane Fonda exercise videos, and the Rave hairspray, or maybe just turn on some Olivia Newton-John songs to get into the proper mood for this dramedy, which stars the always side-splittingly funny Rose Byrne. She portrays a 1980s California housewife, Shiela, who’s pushing toward empowerment and success while excising personal demons in the process. Her transformation’s inspired by aerobics, and soon, Shiela’s building an exercise empire. The pilot’s directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) and the rest of the season’s helmed by Liza Johnson (Dead To Me) and Stephanie Laing (Love Life), so expect the comedy to be of the biting variety.

Kevin Can Go F**k Himself: Season 1 (AMC+ series debuting on 6/20)

The title alone will reel people into sampling this series, at the very least, and also the fact that it rips apart a certain sitcom starring Kevin James and Leah Remini. Really, though, this show parodies all of those comedies with schlubby, burp-happy husbands and their often stunningly gorgeous wives who put up too many shenanigans. Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek) stars as a woman who realizes that she wasted a decade on being the perfect housewife in an awful marriage, and, well, she decides to get out of it by attempting to murder her husband. You definitely won’t be bored by this one, and here’s a heads up: this series will start the AMC+ early-streaming process on June 13

Rick and Morty: Season 5 (Adult Swim series streaming on 6/20)

The Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland-led project returns at long last (although the wait between seasons is growing shorter) with the show’s customary (and excessive) sci-fi strangeness as the title characters continue their intergalactic escapades. This season will bring some mech-parody elements and a Voltron-esque theme, and some “horny ocean man” appears to be involved while the genres will bend everywhere again. Don’t worry, the show’s habit of plentiful puns hasn’t dissipated one bit, and the episode titles indicate that there’s gonna be some dragging of the self-serious “mulitiverse” concept that’s so damn popular in comic-book worlds these days. Oh boy.

I’ll Be Gone In The Dark: Special Episode (HBO series streaming on 6/21)

The one-year anniversary of Joseph James DeAngelo’s guilty plea as the Golden State Killer fast approaches. To mark the occasion, HBO’s revisiting the dogged investigating efforts of true-crime blogger Michelle McNamara after the revolutionary docuseries of 2020. Original series director Liz Garbus will be back to produce alongside Patton Oswalt (McNamara’s husband at the time of her death) and true-crime writers Paul Haynes and Billy Jensen (who helped piece together McNamara’s research into the book) for a special episode, which contains revelations about another case that informed McNamara’s true-crime obsession. That would be the 1984 death of Kathleen Lombardo in Oak Park, Illinois. The case sparked McNamara’s initial interest (at age 14) in investigating murders; Lombardo’s murder remains unsolved to this day, and the episode highlights how important citizen sleuths are while continuing to pursue the truth.

Bosch: Season 7 (Amazon Prime series streaming on 6/25)

Everyone’s favorite loose-cannon detective (portrayed by Titus Welliver) who doesn’t shy away from extralegal tactics is back for one final lap, and hopefully, he’ll be weirdly eating pancakes again at some point before this show ends. Please let us see more crooked law enforcement members get their comeuppance, and maybe some mercenaries and drug rings here and there, and Bosch going further than he safely should to achieve justice in every instance. Oh, and after this season ends, there will (at some point) be a spinoff that will pretty much be more Bosch on the way. Welliver, Madison Lintz, and Mimi Rogers will all be on board, and Bosch will move onto some as-yet-detailed new phase of his career. Weird, right? Fans won’t be complaining.

Order up another round of Rolling Rocks: Mare of Easttown might be coming back for a second season. At least it could be if Kate Winslet has anything to say about it. Though the HBO “limited series” came to its shocking conclusion on Sunday (well, “shocking” if you were anyone but Stephen King, who annoyed Twitter when he correctly predicted the killer earlier in the day), Winslet isn’t ready to drop her Philly accent just yet.

When asked about the possibility of a second act for Mare by TVLine, Winslet didn’t mince words:

“I would absolutely love to play Mare again. I miss her. I really do. It’s the strangest thing. I feel like I’m in mourning. It was an absolutely wonderful role… There’s something very addictive about Mare, because she’s so outrageous and lovable and brilliant and real, you know? I loved playing her.”

Craig Zobel, Mare of Easttown’s executive producer and director, seems to share Winslet’s enthusiasm for continuing the character’s story. When asked to share his thoughts on a second go-around, he told TVLine that Mare Sheehan is “an amazing character, so I would be excited to see” a second 2. Of course, being a dutiful EP, he hedged his response by adding that “I also like it as a miniseries.” Good answer, Craig!

Churning out a second season of what was intended to be a limited series wouldn’t be new terrain for HBO. They did it with Big Little Lies, the 2017 “limited series” based on Liane Moriarty’s book that earned the network eight Emmy Awards. While some might argue that even that series was best left to a single chapter, asking a network to just move on from the kind of show that had enough people tuning into the finale to crash HBO Max is a big ask. Something tells us this won’t be the last we hear about Mare.

(Via TVLine)

After more than a year of delayed releases and sometimes-morbid predictions for what the future might look like, the movie theater as we know and love it (overpriced popcorn and all) seems to be bouncing back from the pandemic. Now, in an attempt to entice even more people back into cinemas, three of the country’s biggest theater chains—AMC, Regal, and Cinemark—have officially lifted their mask mandates for fully vaccinated moviegoers.

According to Variety:

“In line with CDC guidelines, masks will be optional for inoculated patrons and will be ‘strongly encouraged’ for all others. For non-vaccinated customers, masks can be removed when eating and drinking inside the auditorium. All employees at AMC, Regal, and Cinemark locations will still be required to sport a face mask.”

This is, of course, great news for Hollywood. Memorial Day weekend, which generally kicks off the summer blockbuster season, saw some record-breaking attendance numbers as John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II crept into theaters. Even Cruella, which arrived in theaters at the same time it was made available for purchase at home, scared up an impressive $28 million.

While each theater—even those within the same chain—could see slight differences in cinema sanitation procedures and seat blocking (largely based on local mandates), the general rule seems to be that everyone is welcome back… just as long as you promise to wear a mask if you’ve yet to be vaccinated. Which is where the key problem with this plan could lie. As none of these theaters have required proof of vaccination, all patrons will just have to trust that movie lovers with non-jabbed arms will abide by the honor system. And if that doesn’t work, maybe free screenings of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion for all non-vaxxed people will.

(Via Variety)

Today is June 1, which means it’s officially the start of Pride Month. There are certainly many celebrations to come over the next few weeks, and Lil Nas X is getting the party started early on Twitter with his signature sense of humor.

He started the day by announcing an opportunity for his followers, although it seems unlikely he’ll actually follow through on his promise. He wrote, “happy pride month. i will be having sex with 100 lucky fans to celebrate.” Shortly after that, he offered some advice for allies, which their LGBTQ+ friends will certainly like: “for pride month if you have friends who are part of the lgbtq+ community let them know that they are loved. give them all of your money.”

He also responded to a Pride Month tweet from the NFL, writing, “unfollowing. this is sad that y’all support that lifestyle.” A couple minutes later, he did a 180, tweeting, “after further consideration, i changed my mind, i now support the community and am now too also a homosexual.”

It seems like there will be more to come from Lil Nas X aside from cracking jokes on Twitter: A couple weeks ago, he declared he wants to do “something special” for Pride Month.