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We’re not sure that The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman doesn’t also have supernatural abilities like the group of gifted misfits that he babysits for Netflix. He is, at the very least, blessed with good timing. That’s because the show’s second season, which lands on July 31, feels pulled from the pages of our current news cycle, despite being set back in the mid-’60s.

Communism. Racism. Homophobia. A nuclear apocalypse caused by a time-traveling troupe of weirdos with superpowers and major daddy issues. Save for that last bit — you know, with the doomsday event caused by the circus of oddballs that is the Hargreeves family — the issues that The Umbrella Academy tackles in its second outing carry a weight of importance the first season was missing, and it’s so much better for it.

Of course, there’s still time-traveling paradoxes that cause flatulence-producing psychosis and tyrannical talking fish and aliens wearing human skin suits (all the bits comic book fans salivate over). Yet for its next act, the show is determined to get us to not only laugh at the ridiculous antics of its clan of overgrown preternaturally-talented toddlers, but to care about them and their struggles, too. We chatted with creator Steve Blackman on this season’s new trajectory, meeting more Academy ‘siblings,’ and the tons of Easter Eggs that he’s hoping fans find.

Why head back to the 1960s?

First and foremost, I wanted them to be in a new place, a new setting. So I had already planned before the end of Season 1 that they had to go back in time and thankfully, we had great source material in Gerard [Way] and Gabriel’s [Bá] work. Volume two of the graphic novels was called Dallas and there’s a section of it which was set in the ’60s around the Kennedy assassination, and right away, I knew that’s where I wanted to put them. I mean, the ’60s were a tumultuous time — lots of issues of civil rights and homophobia. There’s a lot of fear with communism. It just seemed a great time to throw this dysfunctional family into it.

Weirdly, it sounds like you’re describing 2020.

It seems very relevant now, doesn’t it?

It does. Was there any feedback from Season 1 that you took into Season 2?

A little bit. I mean, I always thought that the theme of Season 1 would be “meet the family,” and Season 2 is really “get to know the family.” I think what I learned from Season 1 is people really responded to some of the oddities. I mean, we’re always trying to subvert the genre of the superhero show, because, at the heart, this is a dysfunctional family show. But in Season 2, I felt I wanted to balance the oddness and really just dig into these weird relationships more. At the same time, I didn’t want to skirt over the social issues of the day. We’re a heightened reality show, but we wanted to deal with racism. We wanted to deal with homophobia.

How do you do that in the context of this strange superhero genre you’ve created on TV?

It had to feel organic to the storytelling. We wanted to feel it from Allison’s eyes and from Klaus and from Vanya. What I worked very hard with the writers on is to make it feel like her [Allison’s] story was organic to that time period. She fell in love with this guy who happens to be in civil rights. She finds a voice for herself. I mean, she lands not only without her physical voice, which is something, but for her first experience, she walks into a place that has a “Whites Only” sign. I thought that was a wake-up call to the viewers saying, “This is going to be a fun season, but also we’re going to deal with some serious issues this year.”

What’s it like to look back on the season now, in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and all the protests happening?

Well, it’s all very humbling. I’ve got to be honest with you. I mean, this Black Lives Matter movement is such an incredible thing to watch and to see it grow and see the push to end violence, racism, and police brutality. We finished writing the show over a year ago. So this [current] movement hadn’t begun yet, but the stories are the same. I’d like to think as a country, we’ve come further along than we have. But clearly, what we see now with George Floyd, we haven’t come as far as we wanted to and we have to do better. I think that’s where this show might feel very timely because we’re showing that things improved but not enough. We have a long, long way to go.

What’s the biggest obstacle the group is facing in trying to save the world this time around?

First of all, they don’t start out together, and that is by design. I felt that it was too easy for them to arrive together. I know they’re a lot of fun when they’re together, but it was nice to have an anchor to other storylines to show the challenge of coming back together as a family. To find each other and then to be willing to leave your old life. Klaus, Luther, and Allison have had years in specific time periods. So, there was a challenge for them to sort of leave those lives and join up with the family. And that was a fun device to sort of show that struggle. But ultimately, they’re stronger when they’re together, so they find their footing when they find each other.

And they find new powers. We see some of the kids able to do new things this season. Is that a byproduct of storytelling needs or were those abilities just waiting all along?

It’s a bit of both, to be honest with you. I think some of it is coming with the stories, but something I’m trying to do, which is slightly different than the novels is having the powers in the TV universe always evolving. Because remember, they broke apart when they were teenagers. They didn’t finish their training with their dad, and they’re still sort of discovering stuff. One of the other things we’re going to find out going forward is they’re stronger together, their powers work better when they’re together as a team than when they’re apart. But I see all their powers changing a lot, going into future seasons.

Will we be seeing other gifted kids in those seasons?

Well, we know there are 43 mothers who gave birth on that day in 1989. We’ve now met one other one [in Season 2]. And we’ve discovered that our kids thought they were the only ones. So clearly dad hasn’t told them everything. What’s wonderful for storytelling purposes is now we can meet more of them, and some of them are going to be good, and some of them are going to be bad. We could see feuds happen and new alliances. It’s exciting.

Where does The Umbrella Academy land? They’ve caused the end of the world twice now. Are they part of the problem?

Well, maybe. Here’s the problem, we fuck shit up all the time at the academy. In the DC/Marvel universes, there are these perfected characters, but these guys are not them. They struggle to do good things. Their personalities continue to get in the way, all of the emotional baggage continues to get in the way of saving the world. I think that’s the fun of the show. I think they will do better, but there’ll be a lot of new challenges along the way. Meeting these other possible “siblings” will be one part of that.

For fans looking ahead to Season 3, what’s one scene they should be paying attention to this season?

Well, I’m going to answer that in a slightly coded way. The writers and I have embedded tons and tons of Easter eggs in the show. They’re all over the place, and they may not be seen in the first viewing but as the show is released, I’m going to drop some hints, as will Netflix, of things they should be looking for. There are clues and things that allude to the past and things that allude to the future. Places where we want to go if we have another season, but I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised with what we’ve embedded in the background in scenes that they probably won’t even notice at first. I’m going to keep Reddit very busy.

Speaking of the future. Would you ever go off-book or has Game of Thrones given you too many nightmares?

Too many nightmares. I really don’t want to get ahead of [Gerard and Gabriel], only because I’m really good friends with both of them, and I really respect them. The idea is I want to work collaboratively with them, I don’t want to feel that I’ve gone so off where it’s a totally different thing.

Is there an endgame?

I think Gerard had many volumes ahead of him in his head, I think he knows really where he wants to go for many graphic novels. I think there’s always an end plan of how many seasons you want to do in a comic show. But it certainly won’t be limited by Gerard.

Of all the UA members, whose power does the world really need right now?

Such a good question. I’m going to give you two things it needs. I think you need Allison to rumor people, and I think we might need Five to go back in time and undo some stupid things that we’ve done.

‘The Umbrella Academy’ returns to Netflix on July 31.

Last Updated: July 31st

It’s really not hard to seek out pop music — the genre derives from the word “popular,” after all — but it proves much more difficult to find new and quality artists in a world saturated with Ed Sheerans and Taylor Swifts. That’s where Spotify comes in.

Spotify is a goldmine for digging deeper into the pop genre and unearthing some treasures that haven’t made it to star status (and maybe never will). This list is just one step in the discovery process, featuring some killer playlists in bedroom pop, dream pop and just straight-up pop. That being said, it’s also a means to get you back into some nostalgic tracks from pop’s Golden Age (aka the early aughts) and feature the females leading the way for future stars in the genre. These are all the best pop playlists on Spotify right now.

Charli XCX’s The Motherf*cking Future Playlist

Recently collaborating with 100 Gecs and Rico Nasty, Charli XCX has had an ear out for the stars that might be coming up behind them. Though she’s certainly busy opening up the all-female arena show, releasing new music, and traveling all around the world, she’s still managed to find time to update this extraordinary playlist, playfully dubbed “the motherf*cking future,” which features mostly women who are currently on top of their game, or artists from the past who were way ahead of their time. If there’s a great new pop song building momentum, it’s probably on here. And Charli doesn’t discriminate between indie, trendy, popular, or commercially successful — if it’s good pop music that sounds like the future, it’s here.

Insecure’s Soundtrack Playlist

Insecure‘s fourth season is here, which means there’s never been a better time to get familiar with the show’s picks. Considering Issa and her crew had the help of Solange, it’s no wonder the show quickly became known for breaking out new artists and scooping up exclusives, like “In My Room” by Frank Ocean, which debuted with some speculation about an impending album. There’s plenty of soothing R&B, mood-building rap, and more left of center sounds that are perfect for when you’re tired of your old favorites and ready for something new. Plus, the Insecure crew will update this throughout future season roll outs, even more reason to keep an eye out. It’s not quite pop, but it’s popular and mainstream enough to fit in just fine.

Pop Flash by Topsify

Of course, one of the best ways to discover new pop music is through Uproxx’s weekly Best New Pop roundup. Combing through the vast array of new releases can be daunting, so we’ve got that covered for you. All the best weekly releases and more are featured on Topsify’s Pop Flash playlist, which pinpoints the most important moments in music and offers a guiding light for pop fans who can’t find their tribe anywhere else.

US Top 40 Hits

Look, there’s no better place to shop for pop than the top of the charts — it’s just a fact. Whatever is popping off on the Billboard Hot 100 is probably going to be something that you’ll want to know about, if not put on loop and memorize the words to. This year DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, and Doja Cat have all taken their turn in the top slot, but who knows what else will be in store as 2020 goes on. Luckily, this playlist is updated every week, so you’ll be up to date, too.

Pop Rising by Spotify

If your idea of discovery is seeking out the newest hits the pop world has to offer, then Spotify’s Pop Rising playlist is the one for you. This regularly updated collection refers to itself as the hits of tomorrow, today, and showcases the singles that you’re sure to be hearing on the radio in no time. Although a lot of the artists on this playlists are big hitters like Taylor Swift, J Balvin, Cardi B, and Dua Lipa, its cover artist is usually a promising up-and-comer, like Jeremy Zucker.

Pop Cravings

With over half a million followers on Twitter, Pop Crave stands out as a reliable source for the most breaking news in pop music in culture. The Pop Crave team has cooked up a weekly updated playlist showcasing the best new music from established and up-and-coming artists. Whether they’re spotlighting the best songs from Taylor Swift’s new album or featuring breakout artists like Pink Sweat$, Pop Crave has their finger on the pulse of the latest releases.

Bedroom Pop by Spotify

This playlist is pretty straightforward — it’s more than six hours of relaxing, lo-fi bedroom pop. If you’re a diehard fan of the genre, the artists here may be familiar to you, but for the rest of us this regularly updated, 100+ track collection is chock full of hazy gems that have come out this year and includes up-and-comers like the soulful MorMor and Gus Dapperton, who recently announced his sophomore album.

#NowWatching by Ones to Watch

Ones to Watch is another music blog that’s all about discovery in the R&B/indie/pop realm. Its #NowWatching playlist is a seasonal smorgasbord of, well, the artists you should have your eye on. Each iteration of the playlist is updated throughout its featured season, with the current rotation including some names in pop you may have heard, like Billie Eilish and Oliver Tree, as well as notable newcomers Cub Sport and Charlotte Lawrence.

r/PopHeads Weekly Hot 50

Any music-obsessed individual knows that one of the best places to find breaking news about your favorite artists is in one of the many music-centered subreddits on Reddit. More infamously, there’s r/PopHeads which dissects the most up-to-date information on pop’s biggest stars like Billie Eilish and Camila Cabello. Thankfully, to keep track of all the new music, members of the group formed the r/PopHeads playlist on Spotify which rounds up 50 songs recently released by today’s pop icons.

Fresh Finds: Pop

Though pop music generally evokes some of today’s top-selling artists, many musicians who dip into the genre aren’t signed to major labels. That’s where Spotify’s Fresh Finds: Pop playlist comes in. The playlist rounds up recent releases from pop-leaning artists who either independently release their music, or are on indie labels. Spotify updates the playlist weekly, so there’s an endless flow of undiscovered talent to tap into.

Women of Pop by Spotify

Like Beyonce famously asked, “Who run the world?” The answer, of course, is girls, and this Spotify-curated playlist is all about female empowerment. The expansive collection showcases all the badass women in pop music, from idols like Camila Cabello and Kehlani to icons like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and J-Lo. It also does an excellent job of balancing new hits with classics like Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and TLC’s “Waterfalls.”

Dreampop by Spotify

Also pretty self-explanatory — the 49-track collection offers nearly three hours of ethereal dream pop jams. The playlist does feature some pretty big names in the indie-sphere like Beach House and Tame Impala; however, it’s also a great tool for discovering up-and-comers in the genre, like the delightfully lo-fi Men I Trust and DIY-bred Kevin Krauter.

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

If you’re searching for the best bourbons on the market, you’re likely to see expressions from the big brands first. Sazerac, for instance, has seven distilleries under its shingle. One of them, Buffalo Trace, has spawned 20 brands under that single distilling umbrella — from Eagle Rare to Pappy Van Winkle to Blanton’s. Then you have Campari, Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Bacardi, Brown-Forman, Casa Cuervo, and, of course, Beam Suntory (which distills too many whiskeys to list here). Even seemingly small lines are often owned and operated by industry titans.

Yet with the growth of the whiskey market, small-time, local, and fully independent bourbon distilleries have also had a chance to thrive. The craft bourbon scene is all about shining a light on local terroir and ingredients and taking the time to make something as unique and inventive as it is delicious. These are brands that carve their own lane — often by focusing on the hyper-local grain-to-glass experience.

The ten bottles below represent ten (currently) independent distilleries around America making some seriously tasty bourbon. Not every bottle on this list is available nationwide, to do so they’d likely have to sign a distribution deal with a big company. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find them if you search high and low — they might ship to specialty stores near you or use a delivery service. Whatever it takes, trust us — these expressions are worth the effort.

Wilderness Trail Single Barrel Kentuck Straight Bourbon Whiskey Bottled In Bond

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Wilderness Trail Distillery, Danville, KY
Average Price: $65

The Whiskey:

This award-winning bourbon hits a lot of popular notes that make bourbon special. The juice is aged in toasted oak that’s then heavily charred. It’s bottled-in-bond. It has a high wheat mash bill (24 percent) which is making a roaring comeback. And the barrels are moved around the rickhouses as they age, adding extra depth to the process.

Tasting Notes:

Since this is a single barrel expression, there will be variation. The bottle I tasted had a sense of bananas cooked in butter and brown sugar next to a hint of dark spice next to wood. A caramel sweetness dominated the palate as a sharper black pepper spice mingled with a hint of orchard fruits and a kick of vanilla. A sense of dried wheat lingered on the end as the sip slowly faded out.

Bottom Line:

This stuff keeps winning awards, meaning the price isn’t going to get any lower.

Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 45%
Distillery: Woodinville Whiskey Co., Woodinville, WA
Average Price: $35

The Whiskey:

This Washington state whiskey was named the whiskey of the year by the American Distilling Insitute. The grain-to-glass experience focuses on local grains with corn, rye, and barely all sourced from a single family-run farm in Washington. The distillate is made in-house at their Woodinville distillery and then trucked over the Cascade Mountains to age in the harsher Eastern Washington climate inside toasted and heavily charred oak.

Tasting Notes:

Oak carries notes of burnt sugars, rich vanilla, and creamy pudding. The spices build-out to a Christmas spice mix as a note of dark chocolate powder brings about a soft mouthfeel and clean bitterness that’s accented by the vanilla and caramel. The sip lingers nicely and sort of walks back through all the notes as it nears its close, leaving you with warmth from the spice.

Bottom Line:

This makes a killer Manhattan or Old Fashioned or even a sipper, especially at this price point.

FEW Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 46.5%
Distillery: FEW Spirits Distillery, Evanston, IL
Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This is another locally sourced grain-to-glass experience. This expression also can’t seems to stop winning awards. The high-rye mash bill brings about a whiskey that leans closer to the classics from Kentucky while still feeling bespoke.

Tasting Notes:

Apple orchards, caramel, and rich vanilla mingle with a nose of ground dark spices. Stone fruit arrives to support the slight tart apple as the caramel sweetness and vanilla dominate alongside a clear rush of dark spices. As the sip fades, the fruit is what lasts longest.

Bottom Line:

This is a great cocktail base.

Cedar Ridge Iowa Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 40%
Distillery: Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery, Swisher, IA
Average Price: $40

The Whiskey:

This grain-to-glass operation in Iowa utilizes the oceans of corn grown around their distillery. The mash bill is 74 percent locally-grown corn with small amounts of rye and malted barley supporting. From there, great attention is paid to the aging so that the final product feels both familiar and fresh.

Tasting Notes:

Christmas cake bulging with dried fruit, spices, and molasses greet you alongside a hint of that Iowa corn. The vanilla, caramel, and fruit are there but the fruit has an almost savory aspect that then veers toward slightly acidic. There’s a nuttiness on the end that’s supported by the Christmas cake spices.

Bottom Line:

A decent sipper for $40 and works well in wintry cocktails.

Garrison Brothers Small Batch Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 47%
Distillery: Garrison Brothers Distillery, Hye, TX
Average Price: $85

The Whiskey:

Garrison Brothers are creating some of the finest whiskey on the high-end of the market. Their Small Batch Bourbon is a “corn-to-cork” experience that utilizes a sweet mash (meaning each batch is new, unlike sour mashing). The recipe of food-grade corn, red and winter wheat, and malted barley is the first step to greatness. The next step is the aging in the hot Texas sun, which accelerates the transfer of sugars from barrel to booze.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot going on from notes of tart apples to wildflowers, fresh honeycombs, worn leather, green grass, and a hint of cinnamon. The palate digs into spiced cakes, creamy puddings, lemon candy, and burnt orange zest. Notes of walnuts, caramel, and a return of the apple combine for a caramel apple feel on the end with a very distant wisp of smoke.

Bottom Line:

If you can find this for less than $100, buy two. Drink one and save the other for a special occasion.

Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 44%
Distillery: Wyoming Whiskey, Kirby, WY
Average Price: $50

The Whiskey:

This wheated bourbon is another grain-to-glass experience from a much-lauded distillery. All the grains are sourced with 100 miles of the distillery. The craftsmanship of the juice is evident from the first sip.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a subtleness to the vanilla bean and caramel that leans towards both floral and creamy notes. Those florals carry through with a sense of a thick pudding spiked with sharp cinnamon and vanilla and a browned butter feel. The sweetness edges towards toffee as the vanilla and spice slowly fade, leaving a single whisper of fresh mint at the very end (especially when you add water).

Bottom Line:

This is an easy sipper all around, especially with a drop or two of water or a single rock.

Peerless Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

ABV: 54.45%
Distillery: Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company, Louisville, KY
Average Price: $65

The Whiskey:

Peerless started out by creating damn-near perfect rye. Then, last year, they branched out into bourbon and hit it out of the park again. The juice is made from a sweet mash, aged to perfection, and bottled at cask strength with no manipulation.

Tasting Notes:

This is an instant classic. There’s a clear sense of bourbon vanilla and caramel with an oakiness upfront. Those notes are supported by a chili pepper spiciness, orchard fruit, dark spices, and a hint of mint. The sip lingers just long enough to remind you that you’re drinking vanilla and caramel-forward bourbon.

Bottom Line:

This is another sipper that can work wonders in a simple cocktail like a Manhattan.

Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve Bourbon

ABV: 55 to 60%
Distillery: Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, Nashville, TN (sourced from MGP Indiana)
Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

This hallmark expression from Nelson Green Brier’s Belle Meade bourbon line is worth the hunt. The juice is a blend of seven to eleven-year-old high-rye bourbons that are sourced from only seven barrels per bottling. Since the batches are so small, the cask strength will vary slightly but that just means this is the pure juice from the barrel with no fussing.

Tasting Notes:

Tart apples dripping in salty caramel mingle with mild spice next to candied fruit and a hint of roasted peanuts. There’s a rush of red and sweet fruits that leads toward a cinnamon candy heat, washed down with a crisp vanilla-heavy cream soda next to wood, corn, pepper, and earthy nuts. Hints of pepper next to cherry and cinnamon linger as the bourbon slowly fades.

Bottom Line:

This shows how sourced juice can become anything with masterful aging and finishing techniques. Sip it, mix it, enjoy it.

Kings County Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Distillery: Kings County Distillery, Brooklyn, NY
Average Price: $55 (half bottle)

The Whiskey:

This little Brooklyn distillery puts out some much sought after (and expensive) bottles. Their well-crafted whiskeys are generally sold in half bottles, which would be annoying if the juice in those bottles weren’t so damn refined. The mash bill is a unique 80 percent corn that’s fully supported by malted barley which is then aged in small-format oak for four years.

Tasting Notes:

This is another classic bourbon that revels in refinement. The notes of vanilla, brown sugar caramel, and oak are balanced. The palate dances between those notes and hints of fruit, dark chocolate, fatty nuts, and corn pudding. The sip fades out for just the right length of time — enough for you to reminisce about all those flavor notes.

Bottom Line:

A full-sized bottle of this stuff would cost $110 if they made them. That’s a lot of money for a bottle of bourbon. Still, this works wonders as a sipper for a special occasion (or as a gift).

Balcones Texas Blue Corn Straight Bourbon Whisky

ABV: 64.9%
Distillery: Balcones Distilling, Waco, TX
Average Price: $70

The Whisky:

This is the most unique bottle on the list and worth the search (and money). Texas blue corn is used to create a truly Texan bourbon. The juice is aged in the Waco rickhouse, under the hot Texas sun, allowing the sugars from the wood to really imbue themselves into the bourbon.

Tasting Notes:

Salted butter melting on freshly baked cornbread mingles with fresh tobacco, mint, and powdered white pepper. The sip then takes a left turn into Red Hots, orange marmalade, and fire-roasted marshmallow territory with black tea bitterness cutting through. The pepper and corn return on the finish as this one takes its time to say goodbye.

Bottom Line:

This one definitely works as a cocktail base but really opens up in a highball or on the rocks.

Murda Beatz has spent the better part of 2020 lending his production services to the likes of PartyNextDoor (“Nothing Less,” “Turn Up,” and “Another Day”), Lil Wayne (“Line Em Up”), and Lil Baby (“How” and “Forget That”) for their 2020 albums. Looking to take the lead this time around for what could be a contribution to his upcoming Keep God First 2 tape, Murda Beatz returns with a new track.

Calling on Ty Dolla Sign and Polo G, Murda Beatz debuts his second single of the year with “Doors Unlocked.” A relax and breezy effort, the song finds Ty Dolla Sign and Polo G celebrating their newfound success and showing appreciation for their stress-free lives as well. With Ty Dolla Sign leading the way, he introduces his verse before offering an emphatic chorus and stepping aside for Polo G to share his own thoughts.

The track follows Murda Beatz’s “Banana Split” effort with YNW Melly and Lil Durk, both of which could land on the upcoming Keep God First 2 tape. As for Ty Dolla Sign and Polo G, the song drops simultaneously with Ty Dolla Sign’s “Yacht Club” collaboration with Strick and Young Thug while it stands as Polo G’s latest release following his a sophomore album, The Goat, which has been praised by both fans and critics.

Listen to “Doors Unlocked” above.

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

Steve-O from Jackass has a new comedy special out and, at first, I had reservations. (For the record, you can stream it from his website, starting July 30th, no middle man necessary).

Steve-O appears live onstage from Denver, with a tasteful part in his hair and clad in a snuggly red flannel, discussing the tribulations of his mid-aughts life (like getting arrested atop a giant crane and trying to puke up a giant condom filled with pot that he was choking on, all while high on drugs), mixing period footage of each incident with bad puns and the occasional special guest, like “Danger” Ehren McGehey — who lets Steve-O shave off his pubes and glue them to his face like a mustache, a la Jackass 3D. “I hope there’s no crabs in it this time, ha ha ha,” says McGehey, gamely spitting out freshly shaved pubes. Yeah, Jackass, remember that?

I’ll be honest, at first, it made me sad.

Aside from sucking the spontaneity and mischief out of bits I once (and still, actually) love, it was a bit like watching Curly from the Three Stooges try to be Johnny Carson. It’s not so much that I begrudged Steve-O the attempt at “artistic growth,” it’s just that I always found Jackass a lot funnier than Jerry Seinfeld. I wondered if the amazing video bits (like Steve-O painting bicycle shorts on his naked body and riding around LA crashing on sidewalks) needed the dad-like detachment of Steve-O’s stage persona. “Wasn’t that crazy? Wow.” It was stressful, like watching a friend try to deliver a mild-cute best man speech where you feel acutely aware of every audience reaction.

My own reaction, I think, wasn’t so much “why isn’t the clown dancing?” In fact, it was sort of the opposite. It takes a lot to be universally recognized as “the crazy one” in the Jackass gang — it’s like being “the party guy” in Motley Crüe. I firmly believe that Jackass is one of the enduring cultural products of the aughts, capturing perfectly the chaotic id, hedo-nihilism, and casual homoeroticism of the suburban American male. It’s also just plain funny, at any age, in any language. I watched Jackass 3D recently with family, and even ten years later everyone from the kids to the grandparents spent most of it doubled over laughing.

Yet Steve-O’s stunts always had a darker edge to them. They seemed to come from a person who wasn’t just wild and creative, but clearly self-destructive and desperate to be loved — in a way that was both endearing and slightly painful. It was so transparent that Jackass essentially played it up and made it part of the bits. Which is to say, Steve-O makes me feel the way he probably makes a lot of people feel: I just want Steve-O to be okay.

Everyone has a friend, a brother, a cousin, like Steve-O — that guy who everyone loves but deep down doesn’t believe it and seems to work a little too hard for everyone’s affection, usually at his own expense. And when I watch Steve-O swallow a sh*t-covered condom filled with Chris Pontius’s semen onstage to the sound of a paying, braying crowd in his new special, it’s hard to know whether I’m supporting his sobriety or enabling him.

On my first attempt at Gnarly, I had to turn it off after about 15 minutes. My fianceé and I had both gnawed our fingernails down to the nubs and were alternating between holding our breath and turning away from the screen — too intense to watch before bed. Something about Steve-O presenting footage of his own past mental breakdowns with a cheesy smile and a pocket full of puns like the host of American Funniest Videos was weirdly more nervewracking than watching him jam a fish hook through his cheek and jump into a shark-infested ocean. Is vicarious embarrassment somehow worse than vicarious death?

When I went back to it a day later I started to appreciate it more. Further along in Gnarly, Steve-O discusses his sobriety (since 2008) and his intervention at the hands of Johnny Knoxville. Little by little, it started to feel less like he was trying to relive his past exploits than trying to learn from them. Or maybe I just needed to hear that Steve-O is okay before I could fully process old videos of him torturing his neighbor while gakked out of his mind. It helped to stop thinking of it as a “comedy” special, even if that’s what Steve-O calls it. It’s more like a one-man show, or an extended AA share. “Comedy” doesn’t feel quite right (and honestly the rehashed Danger Ehren pube mustache was probably still a bad idea). At one point Mike Tyson even shows up (during footage of the Charlie Sheen Roast) as our collective id, trying to talk Steve-O out of a bit: “I don’t want to hurt you, Steve-O.”

Knowing I didn’t have to laugh with stage Steve-O so much as go on the emotional journey with him made all the difference. Which isn’t to say that the footage gets any less insane. It’s made up largely of things Steve-O couldn’t put on YouTube — so, nudity, gore, drugs. And it’s much easier to enjoy once it sounds like Steve-O has maybe gained some self-knowledge over the years, even if he’s still weirdly compelled to light himself on fire and eat his own scabs.

What can we say, that’s just Steve-O being Steve-O. And what a glorious, bizarre, weirdly endearing thing that is. I suppose it’s not that I didn’t want to watch Steve-O hurt himself, I just wanted to know he was doing it for the right reasons.

‘Gnarly’ is streaming now via Steveo.com. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

For the past month, Beyonce has been promoting her upcoming visual album, Black Is King, which is set to premiere exclusively on Disney+. The film has been described as a second look at 2019’s The Lion King remake that aims to help “today’s young kinds and queens in search of their own crowns.” Opening up about the film in an interview on Good Morning America a day before its release, Beyonce said she hoped the film would shift “the global perception of the word ‘Black,’ which has always meant inspiration and love and strength and beauty to me.” With the film just hours away from arrival, Beyonce comes through with a new music video ahead of Black Is King.

Gracing the popular The Lion King: The Gift track, “Already,” with the visual treatment, Beyonce heads to the motherland for the new video. Beginning the video with a scene from the video featuring Childish Gambino, Beyonce appears perched in a tree before the track begins. Debuting the music video with Shatta Wale, who also appears in the video and contributes a verse of his own, Beyonce dazzles the eye with her dance moves as she closes out the video.

Watch the “Already” video above.

Black Is King is out 07/31 at 3 a.m. EST/12 a.m. PST exclusively on Disney+.

The Lion King: The Gift (Deluxe) is out now via Parkwood and Columbia. Get it here.

We heard somewhere that parents should never play favorites, but if your whole shtick is adopting seven superpowered children to groom them for some kind of social study on how to save the world while repping school uniforms, you probably don’t care if you give them a complex. At least, that’s what we’re left to assume after watching The Umbrella Academy’s first season, which sees a family of powerful siblings reuniting to solve the mystery behind their father’s death and save the world from an impending apocalypse.

Reginald Hargreeves drastically lowered the fatherhood bar with his child-rearing methods on the Netflix series, training a group of children like you would a Navy SEAL and preparing them for a life of crime-fighting antics that could — and in one case definitely would — prove deadly. He even ranked them by their usefulness, refusing to give them names other than their qualifying numbers. So yeah, he’s not winning any “Dad of the Year” awards anytime soon.

But even worse than an elderly white man cultivating competitive relationships between his adopted children and traumatizing them by withholding love and affection during their formative years is the fact that Reginald Hargreeves got his whole ranking system wrong. If you’re going to assign value to a human being based on their supernatural abilities, have the damn decency to do it properly, man.

Luckily, we’ve fixed things. Here’s where the Hargreeves children should land on that Power Ranking scale.

1. Vanya (Number Seven)

None of the Hargreeves kids had a better glow-up in terms of supernatural abilities than Vanya. Over the course of the show’s first season, she transformed from an extra-ordinary groupie of this school-boy-band of superheroes to its most powerful member. So powerful, in fact, that she left Reginald Hargreeves, the deranged mastermind behind this whole outfit, shaking in his oversized monocle. Vanya’s abilities include the power to harness and weaponize energy by manipulating soundwaves to move objects with her mind, affect the weather, project bursts of force, and amplify her hearing. Sure, she abuses it as a child, killing off nannies left and right, but who could blame her after glimpsing the oatmeal they were trying to shove down her throat for breakfast? And that whole “chipped off part of the moon and accidentally caused an apocalypse” bit? That was totally Luther’s fault. Point is, Vanya deserved more respect and love from her family and if she’d gotten it, she might have been ranked higher with Dad, and you know, not destroyed the planet.

2. Number Five

Who wouldn’t like to have the ability to time travel? Maybe everyone, if we ended up stuck in an apocalypse like Number Five did for 60 years with only a charred mannequin for company. Five is arguably the most intelligent and capable member of The Umbrella Academy squad, displaying a natural talent for harnessing his abilities. He can travel through space, popping up in multiple spots in the same timeline, but it’s non-linear journeys that give him a bit of trouble, most notably when he decided to pay a visit to the future and couldn’t figure out how to return to his own time. He’s gotten a better grip on it by the end of the show’s first season, but that first bout of time travel really warped his mind — you try being a 60-something-year-old man trapped in a 13-year-old’s body — and he’s got an alarming co-dependence on an inanimate object that makes him a bit vulnerable and thus relegated to the number two spot.

3. Klaus (Number Four)

Klaus quickly became a fan-favorite character in the show’s first season thanks to his sarcastic wit, enviable style, and his inability to take anything — even the impending doomsday — seriously. He suffered more than any of his siblings in his childhood, locked away in mausoleums, and forced to commune with the dead by his cruel father-figure but despite this, and his exhausting drug addiction, he was one of the better adjusted Hargreeves when we met the family in their adulthood. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the pot brownies and white lines and copious amounts of alcohol, Klaus would’ve ranked higher on this list because his powers are ridiculously cool. Like “speaking with ghosts and manifesting spirits in the real world to do his bidding” cool. That, coupled with the ominous promise from dear old Reggie that he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential as a superhero and, well, you get why we think so highly of this doped-up basket case.

4. Allison (Number Three)

Another Hargreeves with a particularly killer superpower, Allison spends most of season one refusing to use her gifts, which include being able to manipulate people into carrying out her will by simply suggesting an action with the phrase “I heard a rumor..” She had a good reason: a recent divorce and nasty custody battle exposed how she’d been abusing her powers for decades in order to advance her career and get what she wanted in her personal life. But still, watching a young Allison convince bank robbers to shoot each other was more than enough to convince us she has the potential to be a deadly player in this f*cked up game. If she ever starts whispering sh*t into the bad guys’ ears, they better run.

5. Ben (Number Six)

Ben Hargreeves died, terribly, on a mission sometime before the events of season one but thanks to his brother’s medium-like abilities, he’s still a member of the team, even in incorporeal form. Ben has the ability to open a portal within himself and summon eldritch tentacles. In other words, a giant monster pops out of his stomach and devours his enemies on command. It’s a rather useful trick, especially when Klaus is able to physically manifest Ben and use it to eliminate trained assassins from The Commission. Honestly, if Ben weren’t dead, he’d be ranked higher than his wildly irresponsible sibling but because he relies on his brother to interact with his family and utilize his powers, he’ll have to live with the fact that Klaus will always be ranked higher. Sorry, Ben.

6. Luther (Number One)

Luther’s not a bad guy. He’s not even a bad number one, though he does f*ck up plenty in the show’s first season out of some twisted sense of duty instilled in him by his controlling, egomaniac of a father. He’s sheltered and thus hopelessly naïve, choosing to remain behind to do Reginald’s bidding while his sibling high-tailed it out of the mansion as soon as they could. He’s also fixated on earning his assumed leadership status, insisting on steering the group’s choices, making calls without input from his family members, and often mucking things up thanks to his pride and inability to compromise. All of this would be reason enough to rank him near the bottom of this crooked totem pole but he also has the most basic-white-girl ability of all time — he’s really strong, you guys. Oh, and his proportions are off. Do you think he knows?

7. Diego (Number Two)

Diego Hargreeves is a cautionary tale. An insecure boy trapped in a grown man’s body, making impulsive decisions that put others in jeopardy based on his own inability to manage his volatile emotions. He wasn’t loved as a child, which means he’s grown up searching for validation in the worst places. His inferiority complex fuels an irrational competitive relationship with Luther and an unhealthy obsession with proving himself a hero. Oh, and he can bend the trajectory of knives. He throws knives, you guys. That’s it.

Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ streams on July 31.

The first night of the NBA’s restart delivered two exciting, albeit sometimes sloppy, games as the Jazz came back from 16 down to beat New Orleans on a late bucket and the Lakers managed to edge their chief rivals in the Clippers in a 103-101 win in the nightcap after both teams traded leads in the second half.

For much of the game, LeBron James was struggling with his shot, as he was 4-for-14 to start the game with only 12 points midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists on 6-for-19 shooting as there was some understandable rust on his game. While James struggled, Anthony Davis carried the load with 34 points and eight boards, living at the charity stripe, as he was 16-for-17 from the free throw line.

However, in the closing minute, it was James that delivered as he so often does on both ends of the floor to give the Lakers the win over their rivals and ensure they enter the playoffs with the top seed in the West. In a game that was marred at times by a quick whistle from the referees, the closing minute was exhilarating. The Clippers, who had led by as many as 11 in the second half, trailed in the fourth quarter, but Paul George and Kawhi Leonard helped claw their way back in it, with George making a late pull-up three-pointer to tie the game.

On the ensuing possession, James didn’t get the call on a runner from the free throw line, but beat three Clippers to the ball as it caromed off the front of the rim for a putback to put the Lakers up two.

That bucket proved to be the game winner, as James played spectacular defense on both Leonard and George on the final possession, harassing them into a tough, leaning three from George that went begging — as did his plea for a foul.

In a game where he didn’t have his best, it was an impressive close from James. Davis was spectacular and they got excellent efforts from Kyle Kuzma, Dion Waiters, and Alex Caruso, particularly defensively, off the bench. On the Clippers side, their bench unit struggled without its leaders in Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams, but Leonard and George combining for 58 points was nearly enough to drag them to a win anyways.

It wasn’t the cleanest game, but it was certainly an entertaining one and only builds the anticipation for a hopeful conference finals showdown between the two.

While his last album arrived in 2017 with Rubba Band Business, Juicy J has been a bit more active this year when compared to recent years. Closing out 2019 by teasing a possible Three 6 Mafia reunion, the Memphis native shared his first single of the year with “Hella F*ckin’ Trauma” while also lending his talents to Jucee Front, French Montana, and IDK for their own work. Getting back into action with his own music, Juicy J returns with a new single alongside a familiar name.

Rolling through with Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J shares his latest single “Gah Damn High.” The track, driven by a hard-hitting bass, finds Juicy J living his life to the highest ability and the paired visual is living proof of that. Sitting down for an “interview,” the video begins with Juicy J detailing his quarantine experience and how he’s made the best of it all while doing yoga and painting. As the song begins, the rest of the video finds Juicy J living in his own world at home, to the dissatisfaction of his wife and his accountant. Calling to a switch in production before lending the mic to Wiz Khalifa, the “Something New” rapper closes out the track, rapping from inside his house as the camera films him from outside.

Not known for spending too much time in the headlines, Juicy J made a return earlier this week after suggesting a Verzuz battle between himself and Nas in a post on Twitter.

Listen to “Gah Damn High” above.

Wiz Khalifa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Thug made headlines earlier this week after seemingly announcing the new release date for his upcoming project, Slime Language 2. While fans were excited for the upcoming project, which would most likely be a collaborative effort between Thug and his YSL Records artists, Thug returned a short time later to reveal that the release date was posted to his account after someone hacked it. Whether or not the album will arrive on the shared release date of August 16 remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Thug joins one of his label’s artists for a new track.

Bringing Ty Dolla Sign along, Thug and Ty join YSL act Strick for “Yacht Club.” Not the most well-known act on YSL Records, Strick has worked with Young Thug on multiple occasions, with the most notable being “SLS” off 2018’s Slime Language while their most recent offering arrived on 2019’s “Nothing Cheap” off Strick’s The Machine, Vol. 1. If Slime Language 2 ends up being a compilation effort from YSL Records, fans can expect to hear more from Strick.

As for Ty Dolla Sign, the West Coast crooner recently released an animated lyrics video for his “Ego Death” track with Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex as he continues work on his upcoming third album.

Check out “Yacht Club” above.

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