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The Boston Celtics spoiled LeBron James’ return from his ab injury on Friday night, storming back from an early deficit to dominate the second half and run away to a 130-108 win over the Lakers.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 37 points and 11 rebounds in his best performance of the season, stepping up in a marquee spot on national television.

On the other side, Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined for 54 points and 12 boards, but didn’t get an awful lot of help from the supporting cast as they continue to struggle putting together four quality quarters, even with the return of James to the lineup. Among those struggling to make a significant impact was Russell Westbrook, who had just 12 points and six assists on 5-of-13 shooting.

On the other side of the court was the Lakers old point guard, Dennis Schroder, who continued his strong play of late with 21 points and six assists on 8-of-14 shooting, getting to exact a bit of revenge on the team that let him walk this offseason in favor of trading for Westbrook. After the game, everyone was feeling good about themselves in Boston and the broadcast’s graphics team decided to get spicy during Schroder’s postgame interview by eschewing the traditional stat line on the screen for “Y’all paying Russell Westbrook $44 million lol.”

It needs to be made clear that this was not something Schroder said, but just was what they threw up on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast. Schroder, of course, is in Boston on a bargain of a contract at $5.9 million after he misplayed his free agency by passing on a reported $84 million extension from L.A. last season (albeit, he claims that offer never made it to him) and ended up as the point guard who got left out this summer after Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie, Devonte’ Graham, and Mike Conley all worked their contracts out. He’s on a prove it deal and is certainly adding value to his name early this season, and Friday night surely felt good for him against his former team — and the broadcast crew certainly enjoyed it a lot.

Across the major sports leagues, vaccination rates are well above 90 percent for players, but in each there are some notable holdouts. In the NBA, NHL, and MLB, those who have refused to get the vaccine will soon find themselves unable to play games in Canada when they take away the exception for athletes traveling into country.

“As of January 15th, there will no longer be an exemption in place for professional and amateur athletes,” minister of public safety Marco Mendicino said on Friday, via CBC.

Up until now, unvaccinated players were able to travel to Canada for games, but faced significant restrictions, being limited to their hotel and travel to the arena for games. That will no longer be the case come January 15, as those players without valid (and legitimate) vaccination records will be barred from entry to the country. That will obviously have a larger impact on the NHL, where seven of the league’s franchises play in Canada, meaning unvaccinated players could miss a significant portion of the season (and, of course, postseason games potentially).

In the NBA, this only applies to Raptors games (and in MLB with the Blue Jays) but for teams in the Eastern Conference that face Toronto twice, if those games fall in the second half of the season and they haven’t gotten their roster fully vaccinated, they could find themselves shorthanded. Should Toronto make the play-in and/or the playoffs, that would become an even bigger storyline depending on who they face — for example, Bradley Beal of the Wizards would be ineligible to play.

We’ve seen how vaccine mandates in San Francisco and New York have impacted teams, with the Nets playing without Kyrie Irving, while Andrew Wiggins decided to get vaccinated in order to be able to play this season with the Warriors. In those places, the mandates only apply to players who live and work in those cities, but for the Raptors, come January 15, players who aren’t vaccinated will be left at home for road trips to Toronto.

The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a hot start to the season but have unfortunately been bitten by the injury bug in recent weeks. They’ve played the last two games without their starting frontcourt as rookie sensation Evan Mobley is currently on the shelf with an elbow injury, while Jarrett Allen is out with a non-COVID illness.

In the backcourt, they’re down another starter as Collin Sexton suffered a torn meniscus earlier this month with an indefinite timetable initially given on his return. On Friday, the Cavaliers provided an unfortunate update to that timetable, as Sexton will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair the damage in his knee.

Sexton was averaging 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game to start the season, and while he was scuffling as a three-point shooter out of the gates, his impact and ability to create a basket was very important for a Cavs team without a ton of on-ball creation. Without Sexton, the burden will continue to fall on Darius Garland and Ricky Rubio to handle the majority of the creation load, particularly while Mobley is out, who was their best connector in the frontcourt.

For Sexton, it’s a brutal injury as he not only is missing out on a season, which is devastating to a player at any point, but is doing so heading into his first free agency summer. Many wanted to see another year of Sexton, particularly on a more competitive team as this Cavs squad seems to be, to assess his value as a restricted free agent and now he misses out on the opportunity to impress and build a market for himself this summer.

The value of Scotch whisky is vastly different from, say, bourbon whiskey. Name recognition for brands that have had deep resonance around the world for (sometimes) centuries is going to influence the price. Moreover, scotch simply costs a lot more to make — thanks to taking longer to age, the use of more expensive grain, and having to buy (and sometimes fight for) barrels made elsewhere.

So when we talk about “value” in scotch, we’re going to look at special aging techniques that may cost more elsewhere, special releases that fly under the radar, and those little distilleries that you might not have ever heard of. To find these underappreciated, undervalued gems, we asked a handful of well-known bartenders and bar professionals to tell us their picks.

Keep scrolling to see their selections so you can add them to your home bar cart.

Springbank 10

Jonas Brewis, bartender at Estiatorio Ornos in Miami

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $80

Why This Whisky?

Springbank 10 is a fantastic value for a spirit of such complexity. I love how the light peat interacts with the bourbon and sherry cask aging. It’s a little smoky, a little fruity, utterly delicious.

I’d compare the quality of Springbank 10 to any of the front-line Macs or Glens.

Caol Ila 12

Ilan Chartor, bartender at MILA Restaurant in Miami

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $65

Why This Whisky?

Caol Ila 12 is highly undervalued. I’m not saying Caol Ila is cheap, but for how good it is, it could be way more expensive. It’s an Islay scotch, so it has mild peat with heavy white fruit components.

Oban Distiller’s Addition

John Dal Canton, assistant general manager, and beverage director at La Stella Cucina Verace in Dallas

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $119

Why This Whisky?

This scotch makes me imagine eating a super buttery caramel while standing next to an old campfire in the salt-laced sea air. I would pay $200 for this bottle any day.

Chivas Mizunara Blended Scotch

Roberto Berdecía, co-founding partner of Puerto Rico Cocktail Week

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $50

Why This Whisky?

The most under-valued bottle of Scotch whisky is Chivas Mizunara. The addition of Japanese wood made me fall in love with the flavors. I’d be willing to pay far above its cost because I recognize that wood is expensive and it is worth paying for a product with that quality.

Kilchoman Machir Bay

Nicholas Karel, director of bars, lounges, and beverages at Windsor Court in New Orleans

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $65

Why This Whisky?

For around $60 a bottle, this single malt Islay Scotch employs a unique “farm to bottle” philosophy where everything from growing the grains to distilling to bottling occurs on-site. Lightly peated, this expression named after a well-known beach in Islay, is balanced and layered with citrus, vanilla, and butterscotch notes.

I could see myself easily spending $100 for the depth and flavors found in this bottle.

Highland Park 12

Adam Jacobs, lead Bartender at The London West Hollywood in Beverly Hills, California

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $60

Why This Whisky?

Highland Park 12 Year is a steal. This scotch is great for everyone because it doesn’t have those aggressive peaty flavors that scare beginners away. It does have a nice, complex smokiness and a finish of honey and vanilla that can impress even a Scotch connoisseur. Usually, around $50-$70 a bottle, it’s one of the more affordable single malts and my go-to Christmas gift every year.

The Balvenie 12-Year Doublewood

Christopher Rodriguez, lead bartender at Lucy Restaurant & Bar in Yountville, California

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $75

Why This Whisky?

The most under-valued scotch is The Balvenie 12-Year Doublewood. It is extremely smooth and mellow with a spicy finish which makes it easy to drink alone or over some light ice and water. The retail value of the bottle is around $60 but it could easily cost twice as much.

Speyburn 15

Anthony Aviles, director of operations at The Ritz-Carlton Members Beach Club in Sarasota, Florida

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $60

Why This Whisky?

Speyburn 15 doesn’t get a lot of press or love, but it’s a great sipping scotch, in my opinion. It doesn’t shove a ton of peat at your palate and instead offers up some very palatable complexities of coconut and raisin aromas with a vanilla finish. It’s also a bit more viscous and oilier in mouthfeel, making it a more luscious sipping scotch.

The average price ranges around $60-65 but I’d certainly pay more if asked.

The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch

Emily Lawson, bartender and founder of Pink House Alchemy in Fayetteville, Arkansas

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $23

Why This Whisky?

Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky is one of my favorites to enjoy in a Scotch-based cocktail and is widely undervalued in the U.S. compared to other countries. Its sharp flavor and nose make it the perfect base for mixing, I find that it makes a fantastic Scotch swizzle or penicillin cocktail. Not to mention, it’s very affordable at its $25 price tag.

Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Barrel Reserve

Nick Baitzel, beverage director of restaurant group Sojourn Philly in Philadelphia

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $59

Why This Whisky?

Glenfiddich’s 14-year-old Scotch often gets overlooked because of the age designation. I truly believe this is a great scotch to pour for whisky drinkers who may be new to scotch or may not be a fan of the peat flavors. Aged in ex-bourbon barrels, it makes for a great bridge between bourbon and scotch, making it a must-have for bourbon drinkers.

Talisker 10

Matty Carroll, beverage director for The Kitchen Restaurant Group in Boulder, Colorado

ABV: 45.8%

Average Price: $65

Why This Bottle?

I think Talisker 10-Year punches way above its weight class. It’s a lovely, balanced whisky with rich fruity malts, black pepper spice, and just the right amount of smoked peat. My favorite part: A beautiful layer of brine and sea-breeze that lifts it all up.

It retails around $60, drinks more like $80 plus.

Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch

Christopher Devern, lead bartender of Red Owl Tavern in Philadelphia

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $35

Why This Whisky?

This Scotch has so much flavor that can be appreciated neat or on the rocks. The price feels right coming in around $30. As a bartender, I find this can be a step up from a few other similarly priced blended scotches. The flavor says enough with butterscotch, cloves, honey, and some dried dark fruit notes. I would suggest this scotch for those who are still building a palate for the spirit and for those that want a superior scotch without spending too much to make craft cocktails with.

I’d be willing to pay $50 for this product for its versatility.

Hello, everyone!

At Upworthy, we’re on a mission to make the world a better place, and part of that mission includes bringing more joy into people’s lives. Sometimes that means sharing stories of hope and humanity to warm your heart, and sometimes it means sharing silly animal videos you can’t help but laugh at.

Each week, we round up 10 things from around the internet that spark joy and delight in the hopes that it brings a little lightness to your day. If you’ve had a long week and are looking for some reasons to smile, here are 10 of them:

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This pooch gives “dog sledding” a whole new meaning.

See on Instagram

Are all dogs this smart? If so, I want one.

13-year-old used his Make-a-Wish wish to feed homeless people.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation grants wishes of kids with terminal illnesses, and typical wishes range from getting to meet a hero to getting to go to Disneyland. But when Abraham Olagbegi, who was born with a rare blood disorder, got a chance to get his wish, he chose to feed people who are homeless once a month for a year. “My mom always says it’s a blessing to be a blessing so I just wanted to do something for other people to make it last long,” he said. What a sweetheart. Read the full story here.

Sikh community prepares 3,000+ meals and transports them by helicopter to stranded Canadians.

There are so many good people.

Huge gratitude for the Sikh community’s commitment to seva (selfless service). #BCFlood #BCStorm @Tarnjitkparmar https://t.co/sdrnyjGGgl

— Christine Boyle (@christineeboyle) November 17, 2021

British Columbia got hammered by a once-in-a-century weather event that caused unprecedented flooding and mudslides, cutting off Vancouver from the rest of Canada by road and rail. As we’ve seen countless times before, the Sikh community stepped up to help out, cooking thousands of meals and arranging a helicopter to deliver them. Read the full story here.

Watch this red panda trying to get into a pumpkin.

Why do red pandas always look like little kids dressed up in costume? They’re so stinking cute.

The strangers who met after a mistake text are sharing their sixth Thanksgiving together.

We are all set for year 6! 🦃 pic.twitter.com/wEQioizWGd

— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 14, 2021

Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton met in 2016 when Wanda thought she was texting her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner but reached 17-year-old Hinton instead. The two formed a sweet friendship and have been sharing Thanksgiving dinner ever since. Read the wholesome, heartwarming story here.

Adele helped arrange the most adorable surprise engagement ever.

New life goal: Get engaged in front of @adele. 💍 pic.twitter.com/ybfa922aHg

— CBS (@CBS) November 15, 2021

I mean, how can anyone top that? Meet the lucky couple and read the full story here.

Check out this dad showing his tiny baby the art in an art gallery.

See on Instagram

That guy’s a keeper.

This kid finds out he got a puppy and welp, hand me a tissue, please. 

Every kid deserves to grow up with a good pup… pic.twitter.com/XHhn3aevSi

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 19, 2021

What pure emotion. Oof. And the way the pup goes up and licks his face? It’s too much joy for one video.

Have you ever loved anything the way this pup loves the water?

“Five more minutes” 😂 pic.twitter.com/HlbNXofcvB

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden_) November 19, 2021

Dying. There is absolutely no way that doggo is getting out of the water.

This delightful musical collaboration on TikTok is exactly what TikTok should be used for.

This is the TwitterTok content I want to see pic.twitter.com/hR5gZudOyt

— Dr. Raven the Science Maven (@ravenscimaven) November 15, 2021

As we saw with the wave of sea shanty videos a while back, TikTok can be used to create unique musical collaborations between total strangers. It’s the best thing about the app, truly. And this one just takes the cake … er, muffin. So dang sweet.

Hope that brought a smile to your face! Join us at the end of each week for another roundup of joy-filled finds from around the internet.

It’s likely you’ve heard of AbleGamers, the nonprofit that’s been working for over a decade to make the gaming industry more inclusive of those with disabilities. Its founder, Mark Barlet, is a veteran with his own service-related disability who started the organization after Multiple Sclerosis nearly robbed his best friend of the ability to play games – a shared hobby that kept them digitally connected when thousands of miles away.

AbleGamers launched with a simple mission: to create a community for disabled people who loved video games and used them to interact with the world. It took years of trial and error and boots-to-the-ground networking on Barlet’s part to transform that premise into a story of how one person can create meaningful change by addressing the systemic issues inherent in a billion-dollar industry.

But that story’s already been told. What Barlet wants now is to focus on the next chapter.

“A story that I really want told is not about our history, but of our future,” he tells UPROXX. “We know who we are as an organization. [Now] we need to grow smartly into our best self.”

That inspired energy to push AbleGamers into the future comes thanks to a pandemic that helped spotlight the challenges disabled gamers face better than any convention or diversity panel ever could. The organization was able to raise $2.5 million in just one year thanks to donations from companies like Twitch and individual charity streams. During a time when the world was forced to exist online and gaming became the go-to pastime, Barlet’s team was able to draw attention to the everyday hoops the disabled community must jump through to do something as simple as playing a video game.

“COVID really gave everyone a taste of what social isolation looks like,” Barlet admits. “But the dirty, dirty secret is that for the vast majority of profoundly disabled people, 2020 looked just like 2017.”

That’s because the disabled community has been using gaming to combat social isolation for a long time. It’s why one of AbleGamers’ directional tenets is to foster inclusion and representation within the industry. They do that on the ground with individual peer counseling, hardware assistance, and an in-house engineering team that creates custom equipment solutions for gamers whose physical disabilities make it difficult to, say, hold a remote controller or operate the pedals for a racing simulator.

They also affect change at a higher level, working with major developers to get closed captioning in certain games, training creators on ways to make their titles accessible from the first line of code. A few years ago, AbleGamers rigged a controller specifically for physically-disabled gamers, one that would serve as the inspiration for the Xbox Adaptive Controller – a breakthrough in terms of gaming hardware that the organization helped Microsoft bring to market.

Social media has also been a tool Barlet’s team has been able to repurpose, using Discord servers and Facebook groups to help gamers recommend new titles and share their experiences.

“Players with disabilities are using social media to make sure that, before they make a purchase, can they play that game?” Barlet explains. “Your decision on playing a game is, ‘Do I like the content of the game?’ For so many people with disabilities that is only step one. Then it’s about deep diving and understanding the feature sets within those games.”

Barlet has been working for years to make those questions easier to answer. Ideally, one day, disabled gamers won’t even be asking them anymore, but while the group continues to educate developers on how to make new series more accessible, the past year seems to have shifted the goalposts just a bit.

Barlet is the first to admit that while AbleGamers has done a “really good job of moving the needle” at the systemic level, they “did a really terrible job as a nonprofit organization.” What he means is that fundraising was never a priority in those early days, like it is for most new nonprofits. It’s only now, thanks to huge donations from Twitch and investments from streaming stars who have spent even more time curating audiences and collecting views, that the organization has been able to hire more full-time staff and recommit itself to becoming sustainable.

In other words, Barlet no longer has to wear 50 hats, he can allocate one hat to one team member and know that they’ll be giving that job – whether it’s counseling, reaching out to disabled gamers who’ve asked for help, organizing community events, or creating new adaptive tech – their full attention. The slowdown has helped the organization to focus on its core values and invest in the long game, so to speak.

“I think what I’m proud of is this moment in time,” Barlet says. “[the last two years] have given us an opportunity to have resources that we’ve not had resources before. We can invest in actually helping individuals with disabilities in a way that we never could before.”

In an extremely Friday move, The View co-host Joy Behar slipped in a sly jab at her former co-worker Meghan McCain, who’s absence this season has been pretty palpable. Adding insult to injury, Behar threw shade at McCain while another former co-host, Abby Huntsman, stopped by the show to fill in as the The View‘s conservative voice for the day. Huntsman and McCain used to be close friends, but their relationship has been a huge question mark as of late, and it’s honestly not looking great after this latest incident.

While having a genuinely pleasant visit with her former colleagues, Huntsman reiterated a claim from her new podcast that she left The View because “there were executives here at the time and people here at the time that made too many of my days too difficult.” However, Huntsman noted that “all of them are gone now,” which is when Behar saw her opening. Via The Daily Beast:

“Well, I miss some of them,” Behar replied. “I do miss some of them. I mean, I don’t miss—the panel is perfect now.”

That line, which can really only be taken as a shot at her frequent sparring partner McCain, drew a hearty laugh from the rest of the co-hosts. Huntsman herself smiled and said, “I did miss you, Joy.”

This is the second time Huntsman has recently been involved in a veiled shot at McCain. While launching her new podcast, Hunstman made it a point to say in the first episode that “I’m never going to write a tell-all book,” which was notable because a week earlier, McCain had just released her new audiobook, Bad Republican, that spilled lots of tea about her decision to quit The View. (Not to mention, the reports that McCain is one of the “people” who made Huntsman decide to leave in January 2020 after a short stint on the daytime talk show.) In short, high drama today on The View, and we’re not going to pretend we don’t love it on a Friday afternoon.

(Via The Daily Beast)

The Great: Season 2 (Hulu series) — There ain’t no royal drama like this show does royal drama. Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult return to hate the hell out of each other again. Hoult’s depraved Peter III is a pain-in-the-ass as always, and kind of how you’d imagine Kim Jong-un as a sexy, hard-partying Russian. The comedy stays bitingly dark, too, with Fanning’s Catherine the Great wondering about her likelihood of staying alive, and of course, there’s the reality that this character overthrew her husband six months into their marriage. The great (get it?) Gillian Anderson joins this season, and the beheading joke in the trailer fits right in with the show’s usual vibe.

Cowboy Bebop (Netflix series) — Bounty hunting never looked so stylish, and from the looks of this teaser, Netflix is not messing around with their adaptation of a cult-classic anime property. John Cho stars as Spike Spiegel, who’s in stunt mode alongside Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) while dodging death and making money. The spirit of the source material appears to be honored with an action-focused, aesthetic punch, and even non-anime fans who adore ultra-stylization (as with Scott Pilgrim and Sin City) should be intrigued.

The Wheel of Time: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series) — Rosamund Pike finally goes not play a sociopath while starring in this sprawling adaptation of one of the most popular fantasy book series (by Robert Jordan) ever. Here, she portrays Moiraine, who’s a member of an exclusive, magical, all-ladies organization known as Aes Sedai. The story follows Moiraine’s dangerous quest with a group that contains the prophesied Dragon Reborn, who shall be the key to humanity’s fate. Whether that fate is to be destroyed or saved, who really knows? Sit back and surrender to the epic journey.

Here’s some regularly scheduled programming:

2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Saturday, HBO 8:00pm) — This year’s inductees include Tina Turner, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, and Todd Rundgren, and expect performances from Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, Paul McCartney, and more.

SNL (Saturday, NBC 10:29pm) — Host Simu Liu and musical guest Saweetie.

Succession (Sunday, HBO 9:00pm) — Following that shareholder’s meeting, Shiv’s feeling super confident, but you know what that means: a reality check, probably from Logan.

Fear The Walking Dead (Sunday, CBS 9:00pm) — An important figure from the past arrives to rattle Grace, who’s still in lockstep with Morgan.

Dexter (Sunday, Showtime 9:00pm) — The new season is a bloody good time, and this week, Dexter’s already exhausted by trying to cover up his crime scene.

BMF (Starz 9:00pm) — Meech uncovers a threat in the from of a disturbing alliance that must be vanquished. Meanwhile, Terry makes a life-altering choice.

Mayor of Kingstown (Paramount 9:00pm) — Jeremy Renner alongside Kyle Chandler and Dianne Wiest as a member of the power-brokering McLusky family, who are running their Michigan town. This week, a local gang leader’s upset while Mike is brokering an agreement before receiving an FBI visit.

Insecure (Sunday, HBO 10:00pm) — This Issa Rae-starring series is all about surviving, which probably refers to all the effed-up relationships in this world.

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond (Sunday, AMC 10:00pm) — The group launches a new plan while a relationship serves as leverage, and it’s action time for several characters.

Yellowjackets (Sunday, Showtime 10:00) — The plane crash survivors are starting to gain their bearings, while the present tense sees trouble with sex, revenge, and a cop.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Sunday, HBO 10:30pm) — The Larry David drops an episode titled “IRASSHAIMASE!” or “Welcome to the store!” in Japanese. Hmm.

Here’s some more streaming goodness for your weekend.

King Richard (HBO Max film) — Will Smith portrays Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena and who ended up being instrumental in pushing these gifted and legendary athletes to success. The story moves from Compton to the worldwide stage, and it aims to inspire all.

tick, tick…BOOM! (Netflix film) — Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest project happens to be his feature film directorial debut, all while adapting Rent creator Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical. This tells Jon’s story of being an up-and-coming composer who’s waiting tables while also working toward his artistic dreams, as his community struggles with the AIDs epidemic. The title, of course, refers to the ticking clock that we’ve all got going on about achieving our life’s dreams.

Tiger King: Season 2 (Netflix series) — This Joe Exotic stuff is still happening, somehow, even though he’s sitting in prison. The big-cat-owner saga keeps unfurling to show fallout from fame while more revelations surface, and that includes motivations and secrets of frenemies that include Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, Allen Glover, and James Garretson, all while Carole Baskins maneuvers in the background.

The Princess Switch 3 (Netflix film) — How on earth does Vanessa Hudgens have so much stamina to keep on bringing us the holiday spirit, year after year? This threequel sees Queen Margaret and Princess Stacy team up with another look-alike, and that would be cousin Fiona. She’s got ties to a dashing enigma of a man, and all of that leads to more identity-fudging fun and (of course) some Christmas romance.

The Shrink Next Door: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — Paul Rudd stars as the therapist from hell, who simply does not believe in boundaries, as the title of this show suggests. Will Ferrell plays his unfortunate patient, and the dark comedy series builds an unnerving tension while also charting decades of a relationship between these two men. Both Rudd and Ferrell can’t help but be funny, but their dramatic sides will shine through here, too. Fortunately, they’ve also got Kathryn Hahn and her serious wig game on board for extra clout, but when and where will Paul Rudd end up dancing in this story?

Home Sweet Home Alone (Disney+ film) — There’s no Macaulay Culkin, no Joe Pesci, and No Daniel Stern here, but this still looks like a marvelous reboot to the franchise. Archie Yates stars as Max Mercer, who’s as resourceful as Kevin McCallister when his family inadvertently leaves him behind while on vacation. Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney star as two married thieves who wanna steal a priceless heirloom, and expect Kenan Thompson to make an appearance amid all the holiday hijinks.

Kamikaze: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — This Polish show might not be on your radar yet, but it arrives with a riveting premise: what happens to one’s identity when everything that matters in your life disappears in one panicked heartbeat? Marie Reuther portrays a young woman who gets a terrible text message — her entire family is about to go down in a plane crash — that changes everything.

The DMX documentary Don’t Try To Understand is due to begin streaming on HBO Max on November 25 and today, the trailer promises that the series will offer an emotional ride. Revolving around a year in the Yonkers native’s life after being released from prison in 2019 and following his efforts to pick up the pieces of his stalled rap career (which culminated in the 2021 album Exodus), the docuseries captures him at his most vulnerable, charismatic, and generous, as he shares his story with fellow Yonkers citizens and hopes to inspire them to turn their pain into words.

Executive produced by The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and directed by Christopher Frierson, the show is part of HBO’s Music Box series, which follows influential figures in the world of music and traces their impact on pop culture at large. The first installment, Jagged, follows Canadian star Alanis Morisette at the outset of her career and is available for streaming now. Future installments will concentrate on a diverse array of talents including saxophonist Kenny G, Saturday Night Fever producer Robert Stigwood, and the late Chicago rapper Juice WRLD.

Watch DMX’s ‘Don’t Try To Understand’ trailer above.

Don’t Try To Understand begin streaming on 11/25 at 8 pm ET on HBO Max.

This year has both crawled and flown by, but there’s some good news here for you. Thanksgiving arrives next week, which means that it’s time to pre-game the holiday season and either stock up or clear out your queue in anticipation for post-feast family time, or anti-family time, whatever floats your boat. Netflix gets into the spirit with a Christmas movie starring Vanessa Hudgens, and they’ve got plenty of genre fare to binge to your heart’s delight. That includes the live-action version (starring John Cho) of the beloved anime series, Cowboy Bebop. When you’re finished there, maybe you’ll want to catch up on the latest Tiger King season.

Maybe not? In that case Lin-Manuel Miranda’s newest project is launching, there’s an artsy-craftsy special, and a horror series, and a show that’ll make you feel good about plopping your kids’ tushes in front of the TV. In other words, Netflix knows that you need lots of entertainment for the rest of the month, and they’re here to help out.

Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.

Cowboy Bebop: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 11/19)

Bounty hunting never looked so stylish, and from the looks of this teaser, Netflix is not messing around with their adaptation of a cult-classic anime property. John Cho stars as Spike Spiegel, who’s in stunt mode alongside Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) while dodging death and making money. The spirit of the source material appears to be honored with an action-focused, aesthetic punch, and even non-anime fans who adore ultra-stylization (as with Scott Pilgrim and Sin City) should be intrigued. Heck, even the most casual Quentin Tarantino fan should toss this selection into the queue.

tick, tick…BOOM! (Netflix film streaming 11/19)

Hamilton legend Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest project happens to be his feature film directorial debut, all while adapting Rent creator Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical. This tells Jon’s story of being an up-and-coming composer who’s waiting tables while also working toward his artistic dreams, as his community struggles with the AIDs epidemic. The title, of course, refers to the ticking clock that we’ve all got going on about achieving our life’s dreams.

Tiger King: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 11/18)

This Joe Exotic stuff is still happening, somehow, even though he’s sitting in prison. The big-cat-owner saga keeps unfurling to show fallout from fame while more revelations surface, and that includes motivations and secrets of frenemies that include Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, Allen Glover, and James Garretson, all while Carole Baskins maneuvers in the background.

The Princess Switch 3 (Netflix film streaming 11/17)

How on earth does Vanessa Hudgens have so much stamina to keep on bringing us the holiday spirit, year after year? This threequel sees Queen Margaret and Princess Stacy team up with another look-alike, and that would be cousin Fiona. She’s got ties to a dashing enigma of a man, and all of that leads to more identity-fudging fun and (of course) some Christmas romance.

Dogs In Space: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 11/17)

This is not the depressing 1986 film (starring Michael Hutchence) about a tragic group of friends. Rather, this story revolves around genetically enhanced canines who are out there in space and looking for a new Earth to help save humanity. If that search is successful, then the dogs get to be with their owners. If you ask me, the dogs are winning this one.

Blown Away: Christmas (Netflix series streaming 11/19)

If you’re feeling artsy-craftsy but don’t actually want to do the work to be artsy-craftsy, perhaps this trip to the hot shop will appeal to you. Contestants will compete to be the The Best in Holiday Blow, all while working towards cash prizes and (even better) charity donations.

Hellbound: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 11/19)

Need a little bit of spookiness ahead of Thanksgiving? You’ll want to check out this story about supernatural beings who appear — in very public settings — to almost randomly condemn certain humans into hell. This sparks a new religious movement against the beings, although it’s not certain upon which side this religious faction truly sits. Expect some allegorical happenings to dive into the nature of blind faith amid what truly becomes a living hell for these characters.

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 11/15
America’s Next Top Model: Season 21
America’s Next Top Model: Season 22
Kuroko’s Basketball: Last Game
Lies and Deceit
Snowbound for Christmas
Survivor: Season 16
Survivor: Season 37

Avail. 11/16
Johnny Test’s Ultimate Meatloaf Quest
StoryBots: Laugh, Learn, Sing

Avail. 11/17
Christmas Flow
Prayers for the Stolen
The Queen of Flow: Season 2
Supergirl: Season 6
Tear Along the Dotted Line
Tiger King 2

Avail. 11/18
Carlos Ballarta: False Prophet
Dogs in Space
Lead Me Home
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star

Avail. 11/19
Blown Away: Christmas
Cowboy Bebop
Dhamaka
Extinct
Hellbound
Love Me Instead
The Mind, Explained: Season 2
Procession
tick, tick…BOOM!

Avail. 11/20
Arcane
New World

Avail. 11/22
Outlaws
Vita & Virginia

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 11/17
Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List

Leaving 11/19
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World

Leaving 11/21
Beverly Hills Ninja
Machete Kills

Leaving 11/26
Broadchurch: Seasons 1-3

Leaving 11/29
Man Down: Seasons 1-4

Leaving 11/30
3 Days to Kill
A Knight’s Tale
American Outlaws
Are You The One: Seasons 1-2
Battlefield Earth
Chef
Clear and Present Danger
Freedom Writers
Glee: Seasons 1-6
The Happytime Murders
Ink Master: Seasons 1-2
Letters to Juliet
The Lincoln Lawyer
Million Dollar Baby
Peppermint
Pineapple Express
Rake: Seasons 1-4
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert
School of Rock
Stargate SG-1: Seasons 1-10
TURN: Washington’s Spies: Seasons 1-4
Waterworld