Category: Trending

Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. Good Omens (Amazon Prime series)

Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett’s writing styles bounce off each other with remarkable verve as embodied by David Tennant (as demon Crowley) and Michael Sheen (as angel Aziraphale). The second season finale has already left fans asking for more, and Neil has addressed the subject as much as humanly possible and in accordance with the rules of the Hollywood strikes. Already, the second season took longer than perhaps expected due to recent global chaos, but it was worth the wait with the central hate-love relationship shifting into a new gear. These two must hold it together to keep enjoying life on earth, and of course, Armageddon is a threat to that quest.

TIE: 10. The Bear (FX series streaming on Hulu)

People still cannot quit this season, and for several reasons, not the least of which is a Cousin Richie-focused episode (and subsequent showdown) that’s worth watching multiple times. FX hasn’t yet officially greenlit a third season of this sleeper-series-turned-juggernaut, but surely, that call will be coming soon. Fingers crossed for more Will Poulter, Jon Bernthal, and Joel McHale’s a-hole Chef along with another family gathering, if you know what I mean. Additionally, Ayo Edebiri has gone on record to call Carmy/Sydney shippers “frustrating,” so read into that what you will. Sydney can do better, imo.

9. Dark Winds (AMC series streaming on AMC+)

George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford put on their producing hats here, and this is a stellar watch that I’d highly recommend binging at some point. (Mostly) Native American writers are doing the thing here as based upon Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee book series and the two 1970s Navajo cops (at a remote area near Monument Valley) who embark upon apparently unrelated crimes including a double murder case. In the process, they see things that make them think twice about their spiritual beliefs. The forces of evil swirl while the cops’ personal demons could actually be the key to emerging back into salvation territory. Are you intrigued? Good.

8. They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix movie)

The description of the three main characters here — Jamie Foxx as a pimp, Teyonah Harris as a sex worker, and John Boyega as a drug dealer — somehow isn’t even a fraction as frenetic as the story itself. The film pays homage to Blaxploitation cinema in an absurd and wildly fun way, and this is a good at-home chaser to make you feel even more giddy and discombobulated than you did after a Barbenheimer double feature. In short, the characters fall into a rabbit hole full of conspiracies after the government weaponizes Black cultural tidbits against the Black community. It is a lot.

7. The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart (Amazon Prime series)

Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey (who recently ended her long run on Fear The Walking Dead) star in this drama about a a young girl who loses her parents and heads into her grandma’s way of life on a flower farm. Alyla Browne portrays the young Alice, and this obviously isn’t the cheeriest subject matter, but its performance are earning raves in this adaptation of the bestselling Holly Ringland book.

6. Reservation Dogs (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Everyone’s four favorite Indigenous teens — and I’m being ornery because they are TV pioneers alongside Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi — are here for one final lap and some last jobs, if you will. Elora Danan, Bear Smallhill, Willie Jack, and Cheese thought they were achieving their big dream but will be attempting to return home to rural Oklahoma. There are very few places like home, after all, and the group will face off with their changing visions of the future while the elders continue to provide both comic relief and drama. Between this and Dark Winds (along with the recent The English), Indigenous representation is finally starting to receive its due on the small screen.

5. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Sony movie streaming on VOD and Amazon Prime)

The phenomenal second installment in Sony’s Spider-Verse is as thrilling as the Oscar-winning original and has a ton of Gwen, so basically, it’s even better than the original. Did I say that out loud? Almost. Miles Morales is, of course, back and sad without Gwen by his side, but he’s got plenty of distractions, and that includes the antagonistic (not to mention addictive) Spot. You will not wish for this damn Spot to be out, in other words. Just watch it!

4. Justified: City Primeval (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Raylan Givens has been a bit of a naughty dude lately (and Carolyn is no slouch in that same department), and we’ll soon see whether he’s in over his head in Detroit. Clement Mansell is still a wily and slippery antagonist, and Raylan is working through that reminder of his angry ways. Alongside all of the obligatory Marshal-ing, this show is making quite a case in the ages-old dilemma of boxer briefs vs. tighty whities. A real public service.

3. Hijack (Apple TV+ series)

This show is like a seven-episode panic attack, and it’s for audiences who liked The Bear for the stressed-out-but-loving-it aspect. Idris Elba plays a negotiator who ends up taking those skills to the sky as a passenger who must halt hijackers who take over a cockpit by means that may or may not test your suspension of belief. Does logic truly matter when it comes to a show this addictive to watch? Elba never hesitates to throw himself into “action” mode, even if movement is severely hampered here due to close confines.

2. Only Murders in the Building (Hulu series)

All hail the underappreciated Selena Gomez, who returns with the other two members of her dream team (Steve Martin and Martin Short), and Meryl Streep is also along for the homicidal ride. The principal trio is mopping up after the resolution of the search for Bunny’s murder, but there’s no time to relax when there’s more (fictional) true-crime shenanigans afoot. Somehow, the Primetime Emmys keep overlooking Selena’s vast contributions here, but at least the Daytime Emmys have not made the same mistake.

1. Heartstopper (streaming on Netflix series)

Look for a switched-up vibe from the first season of this fan-favorite Netflix series. The City of Lights/City Of Love receives plenty of focus this time around, as does prom season and all preparations for these characters to gear up for adulting. Nick and Charlie are adjusting to the whole relationship thing while the rest of the crew (Tara, Darcy, Tao, and Elle) all attempt to cope with their own challenges. Also, they have to worry about actual studies on top of the dramedy that frequently punctuates preparing to move into a new phase in life. Not an easy feat!

A trio of San Antonio Spurs icons found their way into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year. A former player, Tony Parker, got inducted, as did longtime assistant coach and current Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon. Sandwiched in between their speeches was Gregg Popovich, who has been at the helm since 1996 and is the winningest coach in NBA history.

Popovich’s speech was, unsurprisingly, excellent. As he explained, there were two reasons why he made it into the Hall of Fame, with the first being a lengthy section in which he thanked the numerous people who helped him in his life and career up to that point.

And then, Popovich got to the second reason, which he stressed was going to be much shorter than the first. He simply said the word “duh,” then walked over to the quartet of ex-Spurs players — David Robinson, Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili — who were on stage during his speech. Well, everyone in the building took this to mean the speech was over, to the point that the evening’s host, Ahmad Rashad, came out as music began to play.

The catch: Pop was decidedly not done, so he had some fun with all of this.

Popovich used his remaining time to discuss the importance of relationships, particularly with these four icons. But in a night that is inherently about great moments, this was certainly one of the most entertaining.

The James Harden trade saga with the Philadelphia 76ers appeared to come to a conclusion on Saturday … for now. A report by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN indicated that the Sixers made the decision to stop looking for a Harden trade, even though the former league MVP opted into the final year of his contract and asked for a trade. Philadelphia’s rationale appears to be that the front office can’t do a Harden deal that keeps them a championship contender, and as a result, the plan is to run it back next year.

Of course, this is James Harden we’re talking about here, and if there is one thing he’s extremely good at, it’s forcing his way out of a situation he no longer wants to be in. Each of Harden’s last two stops, in Houston and Brooklyn, ended with him wanting a change in scenery, doing what he needed to do in order to get it, and eventually, getting his way.

Philadelphia appears prepared to accept that this might get a bit bumpy, but according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Harden’s camp views things a little differently. Apparently, Harden has decided his time with the team is over, to the point that he doesn’t intend to be there when training camp starts.

No matter what signals the Sixers might send when it comes to trade talks, a source close to Harden reiterated that the 10-time All-Star and former MVP no longer wants to play for Philadelphia and has no plans of taking part in training camp. Does that mean he won’t report if a deal doesn’t go down by that point, or that he’ll make a messy spectacle of his training camp arrival like he did when he was trying to get out of Houston back in December of 2020? That part remains unclear, with Harden’s side still expressing a belief that there will be meaningful developments on the trade talk front before that time comes. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

How this all plays out is going to be fascinating, because Harden is about to turn 34 and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to get a lucrative new contract as an unrestricted free agent next summer unless he has a monster year this season. That should, in theory, help the Sixers, but Harden’s mind being made up has been a major issue for teams in the past. We’ll have to wait and see what happens when training camp rolls around, and whether the Sixers’ bet ends up being worth it.

There’s something a little bittersweet about Pau Gasol‘s enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. While Gasol is a no-brainer inductee and one of the multiple high-profile members of the Class of 2023 alongside names like Gregg Popovich and Dwyane Wade, it’s hard to imagine that Kobe and Gianna Bryant wouldn’t have been in attendance if not for their passing in 2020.

After starting his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies, Gasol was traded in February of 2008 to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was instrumental in helping Bryant win the final two championships of his career. The two became extremely close, and while getting inducted on Saturday night, Gasol brought up Kobe, saying he would not be in Springfield if not for him.

“That’s where I got to know the person who elevated my game like no other, who taught me what it took to win at the highest level, who showed me how hard you have to work and the mentality you needed to have in order to be the best, the commitment you had to make, what it meant and what it took to be a leader: Kobe,” Gasol said.

After diving into the now-famous story of the first time he met Bryant after getting traded to L.A., Gasol expressed his sadness over Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, not being there.

“I wouldn’t be here without you, brother,” Gasol said. “I wish more than anything that you and Gigi were here today with us. I miss you and love you.”

Allen Iverson is in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday evening. A member of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016, Iverson is in attendance at this year’s ceremony for a special reason, as he is inducting Dwyane Wade into the Hall of Fame. It’s an extremely cool moment for Wade, as his first NBA game came against Iverson, and because Allen Iverson is one of the coolest people to ever live, he decided to go a little over the top to celebrate the Miami Heat legend.

Iverson got to the ceremony on Saturday wearing what looked to be a pretty normal but very fashionable all-black suit. And then, you got a glimpse of his back, which was customized to look like the back of Wade’s uniform from his time as a member of the Heat.

In a conversation with Sopan Deb of the New York Times, Wade expressed why it was so important to him for Iverson to be the person to join him on stage in Springfield.

Michael Jordan was my favorite player. But as I was growing up as a kid, as Michael Jordan decided to retire from the game, Allen Iverson became the hero of our culture. I think a lot of people know I wear No. 3, but a lot of people don’t know why I wear No. 3. And so I just wanted to take this moment as an opportunity that is supposed to be about me, and I wanted to be able to shine light and give flowers to individuals that allow me and help me get here. My family, of course. My coaches, of course. My teammates, of course.

But what about those individuals that gave you the image of what it looks like and how it can be done? And Allen Iverson gave me the image of how it looks like, how it could be done coming from the broken community that I came from. So I want to give him his flowers in front of the world because he deserves it.

Outside of Wade, some gigantic names like Pau Gasol, Becky Hammon, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Gregg Popovich will enter the Hall of Fame this year.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had one major question hanging over their entire offseason: What is going to happen to James Harden? Right before the start of free agency this year, Harden picked up his player option for 2023-24 and requested a trade, with reports indicating that the Los Angeles Clippers were his preferred landing spot.

But there’s been one problem: Philly has only wanted to make a deal that keeps open their championship window, and it’s been made clear that they wouldn’t make a trade just to appease Harden if it came at the expense of their ability to compete for a title. And according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the team has decided that there’s no deal out there that would keep their championship hopes alive, and as a result, have determined that all trade talks for Harden will come to an end.

Wojnarowski noted that Philadelphia has opted to go down a road that hasn’t always ended well with Harden, as he famously raised a fuss to get his way out of both Houston and Brooklyn.

This will obviously make the next few weeks of the Sixers offseason fascinating, in part because Harden doesn’t have a ton of leverage in this situation due to his impending free agency next summer. He has, however, hinted that he might go into his bag of tricks, as he cryptically posted “it’s time to get uncomfortable” on Instagram earlier this summer.

For years, Billy Porter has built his platform on being unapologetically himself. This entails him using his platform to speak openly about his sexuality and express himself through his fashion.

With that said, he notoriously spoke out about Vogue‘s November 2020, on which Harry Styles made an appearance as the first solo man to cover the magazine, wearing a dress. Porter infamously took issue with the cover, and explained that he felt that he didn’t get his flowers for wearing a tuxedo-gown at the 2019 Academy Awards, while Styles—who is white and straight—was praised for his gender-bending fashions.

In an interview with Telegraph, Porter clarified that he didn’t take issue with Styles himself, but rather, the higher-ups within the industry.

“It’s not Harry Styles’s fault that he happens to be white and cute and straight and fit into the infrastructure that way … I call out the gatekeepers,” said Porter.

Elsewhere in the interview, Porter acknowledged that he wasn’t the first to defy gender norms in fashion, but continued to acknowledge that Styles is “white and he’s straight. That’s why he’s on the cover. Non-binary blah blah blah blah. No. It doesn’t feel good to me. You’re using my community – or your people are using my community – to elevate you. You haven’t had to sacrifice anything.”

It doesn’t seem that Porter is letting this one go anytime soon—nor should he. But he did reveal that he sent Styles flowers after initially voicing his disdain toward the Vogue cover back in 2021.

This summer, Porter has been dipping his toes within the pop realm with a trio of new dance-ready singles, including “Baby Was A Dancer,” “Fashion,” and “Broke A Sweat.”

Ron DeSantis was once the great, very white hope for the post-Trump GOP. Then Trump, who had a very bad end to 2022, came back with a vengeance — all while being repeatedly indicted. The former president may still be going to jail, which could pave the way for the current Florida governor to take his spot. But until that maybe happens, which it very well might not, Meatball Ron has to do things like stroll through crowds informing him that they want someone else.

As per Mediaite, DeSantis joined a number of other far right figures, including the big guy himself, at this weekend’s Iowa State Fair. DeSantis is trailing Trump by double digits, and to drive that home he got the pleasure of witnessing the throngs chanting “We love Trump” and “We want Trump.”

At one point DeSantis was grilling some burgers while Trump’s private jet flew encircled overhead.

There was another plane mishap on Saturday, featuring a plane that bore a sign telling the charm-handicapped governor to “be likeable.”

DeSantis may be beating other candidates — including an ex-vice president Trump almost got killed — but he could sure use a win these days. On Friday during a campaign stop also in the Hawkeye State, he got treated to some people calling him “Pudding Fingers,” a reference to one of the more embarrassing alleged tidbits about him.

(Via Mediaite)

As of late Friday, the death toll from the ongoing wildfires in Maui had reached 80. About 1,000 people remain missing, though that estimate is likely to increase. There is damage to homes, to businesses, even to a historic tree. But if you were considering flying out there to help — much less to vacation — one of Hawaii’s most famous residents is imploring you to think again.

As caught by Variety, Jason Momoa, who was born in the state capital of Honolulu, posted a stark message on his Instagram account. His message, in all-caps: “DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI.”

Momoa said the island right now “is not the place to have your vacation right now.” He added, “Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply.” Instead, he advised people to donate to causes to help people whose homes have been ravaged, leaving them displaced.

“Our community needs time to heal, grieve and restore,” he adeded. “That means the less visitors on island taking up critical resources that have become extremely limited the better.”

The actor has also been sharing images and photos of the devastation left by the fires, including what happened to the historic town of Lahania, which was leveled by the fires. On Friday, as per The New York Times, officials began allowing residents to return to retrieve what they could from the wreckage.

(Via Variety)

Back in February, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL. Now, it appears that he is in his Blink era. Last night (August 11), Brady was spotted at K-Pop girl group Blackpink‘s concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

A picture of Brady, who was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and a cap, and appeared somewhat disgruntled, was shared to pop culture fandom Twitter account, PopBase.

Brady caught wind of the picture, and seems to have had a good laugh over it.

“This is the most ‘dad takes his daughter and her friends to a concert’ picture ever taken,” he quote-replied to the post, which also included a few crying-laughing emojis.

People later reported that Brady was, in fact, in attendance with his 10-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Brady isn’t the only celebrity dad bringing his daughter to see Blackpink. Back in July, actor Hugh Grant was seen at Blackpink’s London show concert with his three daughters. He later took to Twitter to share that he is now a “rabid blink.”

On a related note, Blackpink has been celebrating their seventh year as a girl group with the fans. The Blinks had a special custom-made cake delivered to Blackpink at MetLife Stadium.

You can see some pictures above.