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During last week’s episode of Indiecast, Steve and Ian took some time to theorize that Billie Eilish’s new album Happier Than Ever might be heading in the direction of a sophomore slump. However, the latest effort from the young superstar is a good example of an LP featuring a handful of underwhelming singles that misrepresent an otherwise pretty good album. Happier Than Ever seems to share some inspiration DNA with the new Clairo album, in that they are both reactions to fame records, but instead of going abrasive they’ve gone even quieter and more hushed. Overall, the new album from the young superstar feels very much apiece with how people listen to music now, and a thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Next up on the docket is Draw Down The Moon, the latest opus from St. Louis band Foxing. It’s the follow-up to the band’s third studio album Nearer My God — which Ian is quick to name the best album of any genre of the last five years — and goes to places even grander and enveloping. Long story short, it can either take the band to completely new heights in their career… or destroy them entirely. Only time will tell!

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is recommending No Medium, the new album from Rosali that was released a few months ago. Ian has been vibing with Lantlôs, the German “post-black metal” band that dropped their latest effort Wildhund last week.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 51 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Just when you were finally coming to terms with the fact that you’d probably only ever be able to revisit Schitt’s Creek again in reruns—bam!—Dan and Eugene Levy have announced that they’ve penned a tell-all book about what went down behind the scenes of the quirky Canadian comedy that swept last year’s Emmy Awards.

The tome is titled Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek and will be released on Tuesday, October 26 via Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. This is how the publisher describes it:

This beautifully produced, keepsake coffee-table book is the ultimate celebration of the series, the town, the characters, and the state of mind that is Schitt’s Creek. Capturing the essence and alchemy of all six seasons of what is now considered to be one of the most groundbreaking comedy television series of the last decade, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards is a gift to fans everywhere who have made the show their own.

Included are character profiles from the cast of Johnny, Moira, David, and Alexis, and all of the characters that populate the town, major moments from Moira’s endorsement of Herb Ertlinger Winery, to Patrick and David’s first kiss, to Cabaret and the Rose Family Christmas episode. Also included are special features, such as the complete, illustrated catalogs of David’s knits and Moira’s wigs, Moira’s vocabulary, Alexis’s adventures, and behind-the-scenes moments from Dan and Eugene Levy and the cast of Schitt’s Creek.

Though you’ve still got a few months until it arrives in your hot little hands, the book is available for preorder now.

(Via TV Insider)

For at least the second time this year, Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera and conservative pundit (and evil Facebook mastermind) Dan Bongino aired their grievances on Hannity. Last time, it was over Israel and Palestine; on Thursday night, they started yelling at each other over COVID and the “health crisis” on the border.

“On Tuesday in Florida, there were 16,000 new infections. Yesterday, Wednesday, there were 17,000,” Rivera said near the beginning of the… I was going to call it a “conversation,” but that would be inaccurate. There were too many interruptions for it to be considered a conversation. Remember Sports Shouting from 30 Rock? It was like that. “Ron DeSantis saved every older person,” host Sean Hannity jumped in. “This is not bash Ron DeSantis… A lot of these cases are coming here because of Joe [Biden].”

Rivera, seemingly dumbfounded, said, “This has nothing to do with Joe,” to which Hannity quipped, “Oh yes it does,” and called on Bongino to speak. It was all downhill from there, as Bongino declared that “Geraldo doesn’t know Ron DeSantis. He doesn’t know the numbers. I live here. Florida’s 26th in COVID deaths.”

Bongino told Rivera that “it’s not my fault you never know what you’re talking about. It’s not my fault you never research anything before you come on the air,” while Rivera fired back, “You are so full of crap! You are so full of it! That’s why I hate coming on with you, because you are such a cheap shot artist, a backstabbing cheap shot.” He also said he was “embarrassed” to be on the air with Bongino. At times, it was impossible to make out what the guests and Hannity were saying because they were screaming over each other.

Rivera asked Bongino if he wanted to “put your money where your mouth is” and bet $1,000 that he was right about the number of COVID cases in Florida. Bongino agreed to the terms — and now owes Geraldo a thousand bucks.

I love civil discourse.

(Via the Daily Beast)

Kid Cudi and Kanye have been friends and collaborators for years now — even recently releasing a whole joint album together as Kids See Ghosts — so it’s no surprise that Cudi would show up on Kanye’s new project, Donda. And though plenty of artists trust Kanye with creative freedom, it seems the last-minute preparations for the album are so down to the wire that Cudi hadn’t heard the final version of the pair’s collaboration on the record. “Havent heard the final this is new to me too!!” he wrote on Twitter as fans were excitedly posting clips from the live streaming event.

He later clarified that he knew he was on the album, just hadn’t heard final mixes of the track. “I knew!” he reassured a fan. “Just didnt hear final mixes.”

The song is reportedly called “Moon” and also includes vocals from Don Tolliver, although it seems like even those details might be subject to change before the album is actually finally released. Check out some clips and snippets of the song below and keep an eye out for the ever-shifting Donda release date. Hey, there’s always the Round Jacket pre-order aka the red jacket Yeezy wore at the first listening to hold the super fans over if needed.

For years now, Kanye’s clothing designs have been just as important to the rapper and producer as his music, and he cut a striking figure at a recent Donda listening event in a bright red jacket, which is part of the Yeezy Gap collection. Retail expert, Mickey Drexler, who formerly worked at Gap, raised eyebrows when he said in an interview he thought the partnership was a risky one, and actually advised Gap against partnering with Kanye. But perhaps Gap saw something Drexler didn’t, because the jacket reportedly sold out, racking up over $7 million in one night, presumably the first night of the Donda listening.

For those looking for a similar style to the jacket that sold out a pre-order link for another Yeezy jacket is now live, dubbed the “Round Jacket” and available for the surprisingly reasonable price of $200, is right here. This is a pre-order link with a slated ship date for 2022. At a second listening event last night, Kanye played a revised and refined version of the Donda album he shared in late July, but despite promises the project would be available for fans today, it’s still not quite live on streaming services. An Apple Music pre-order for a 24-track version of the album now has a date of tomorrow, August 7th, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. Either way, it seems new music is finally going to be in fan’s hands soon. And in the meantime, they can order the jacket to tide them over.

Put aside the serial rapists, sexual harassers, and child porn enthusiasts and Hollywood has some pretty darn good men. At least that’s what Diane Keaton is telling us, and she should know. She’s been working steadily within the industry for more than 50 years now and has collaborated with some legendary actors and directors—including Woody Allen, with whom she made more than a half-dozen movies over the years and was romantically involved. So, as The Wrap reports, she took it upon herself to post a fairly bizarre video to Instagram on Thursday in which she celebrates the good men of Hollywood in song, which she aptly titled “Good Men” and posted with the caption “GOOD MEN!!!” Alright, good men, got it, let’s go…

The fact that the video itself is just a series of black-and-white head shots of some of Hollywood’s most famous leading men with Keaton singing Rosemary Clooney’s “You’ll Never Know” in the background makes it sort of feel like an Oscar tribute to old white dudes who have recently died, but it’s not that (at least not in most cases). It’s assumedly Keaton making sure that while we’re bombarded with headlines about Harvey Weinstein and the like, we don’t forget the very good men who are out there. Like Warren Beatty, Michael Douglas, Richard Gere, Jude Law (meh), Martin Short (weird choice, but solid), Sam Shepard (hot!), Mel Gibson, Steve Martin… wait—back that sh*t up! Mel Gibson? The guy from Mad Max and those unhinged drunk driving videos where he spews some anti-Semitic hate? The same man who apparently asked Winona Ryder, who is Jewish, if she was an “oven-dodger.”

But listen, people are different behind closed doors and it’s entirely possible that Keaton knows a side of Gibson that is not a fountain of hate speech. And just because she specifically included him in her list of “Good Men!!!” doesn’t mean that we should ever question the Oscar winner’s opinion… even when she’s swearing up and down that Sofia Coppola was “fantastic” in The Godfather Part III (dear reader: she was not).

You can watch the full video for yourself above.

(Via The Wrap)

Post Malone hasn’t been shy about partnering with brands he supports, from Crocs shoes to Monster Energy Drink, but today his management team’s venture arm, Electric Feel Ventures, has taken a major stake in a plant-based burger company, Actual Veggies. According to the Vegconomist, the veggie burger company has only been around since last March, but they’ve already raised $2.8 million including the previous round of funding and total contributions.

The brand differs from competitors in one key way — instead of trying to look like meat or imitate its flavor, their patties are designed to look and taste like the vegetables or other ingredients they’re made from. The four offerings so far include a black bean base, a sweet potato base, a beet base, and a “green” burger that features kale, spinach, and broccoli.

“Since we launched the company, it’s been an incredible whirlwind and despite the challenges of 2020, we made it a reality,” the co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies, Hailey Swartz, told Vegconomist. “The growth we have seen over the past few months far exceeded our expectations as we expanded nationally with partners including Sprouts Farmers Market, HungryRoot, Imperfect Foods, Sunbasket, QVC, and FreshDirect. We are humbled by our new partners’ shared excitement and look forward to building off our success to further scale Actual Veggies.”

Maybe this means the plant-based offerings will be available on-site at Posty Fest this year!

Summer didn’t turn out exactly as planned this year for humanity, but fortunately there’s plenty of programming relief to distract us, so we can happily avoid crowding with the masses. To be certain, Netflix knows how to complete the assignment and offer something for everyone. This week, kids will be thrilled, and parents will be equally happy to park their progeny in front of the TV to enjoy the latest Lin-Manuel Miranda animated offering. There’s also some rough stuff on the way about some drug kingpins and a non-cooking show from Paris Hilton that promises to take your mind off everything while wondering what the heck is going on. Here are the most bingeworthy selections of early August, so that you can chill out and never need to step out your front door for some entertainment.

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

Vivo (Netflix film streaming 8/6)

Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation paired up with a dream-team of filmmakers for a musical adventure that would be amiss if it didn’t star and feature new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. He portrays a one-of-kind kinkajou (a “honey bear” of the rainforest), who dreams of delivering a heart-shattering song to the long-lost love of his owner. Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) is in the director’s seat with a co-directing assist from Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). The film also features the voices of Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, and more. Ultimately, it’s a story about the universal languages of love and music and finding family in unexpected places.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Netflix series streaming 8/4)

There’s so much blow in this trailer, which gives the documentary treatment to the excess-filled life of two childhood pals who transformed into powerful Miami drug kingpins over the course of decades. There’s a tiger and bullfighting and speedboats and money flying everywhere, it’s no wonder why “Los Muchachos” were so darn popular. They were also slippery fellows, due to their world-champ powerboat-racing status. A $2 billion empire eventually came crumbling down, but not without a valiant fight from the duo and their prosecuting opponents.

Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified: Season 1 (Netflix docuseries streaming 8/3)

UFOs are so hot right now, and Netflix is taking a crack at a docuseries ahead of J.J. Abrams’ Showtime series. Things might be coming to a head (as far as public interest goes) after the U.S. government’s so-called comprehensive report on Unidentified Flying Objects revealed zilch. This Netflix original series promises a “factual” approach to dig into the latest information and possible proof that would expose government projects that may have covered up extraterrestrial visits to Earth. The trailer looks fascinating, so here’s to hoping that the show delivers some fresh insight.

Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord (Netflix film streaming 8/3)

You’ve probably heard of Netflix’s German series, How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and here’s a documentary that delivers the inspiration. A German teenager, Maximilian Schmidt (who went by the “Shiny Flakes” nickhame) got busted in 2015 running several million euros worth of illicit substances out of his family home. This turned out to be an international drug empire, and most of the money’s still missing.

Cooking With Paris: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 8/4)

If you wanted to watch a cooking show (that follows YouTubing in the same vein from the leading lady) with not-so-wonderful cooking, then you’re in luck. Paris Hilton can’t cook too well, and she doesn’t pretend otherwise, but she has friends who can cook, so she’s aiming to brave the kitchen to screw everything up. Also, she’ll go grocery shopping, so that’s gonna be strange.

Outer Banks: Season 2 (Netflix series streaming 7/30)

This is not your typical teen drama. Last season delivered loads of intrigue and flat-out woo-woo revelations following a hurricane and buried treasure and class warfare between different factions in an overall well-to-do community. There are Kooks and Pogues, and the power’s gone for the entirety of the summer, which sounds miserable, but the mysteries won’t stop, including the whereabouts of John B.’s dad. And oh yes, there’s so much soapiness to the characters’ dynamics that you might lose your footing while slipping towards that sunken treasure. This show is bonkers!

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

Avail. 8/1
30 Rock: Seasons 1-7
Beethoven
Beethoven’s 2nd
Beowulf
Catch Me If You Can
Darwin’s Game
Deep Blue Sea
The Edge of Seventeen
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Five Feet Apart
Friday Night Lights: Seasons 1-5
Good Luck Chuck
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Hunter X Hunter: Seasons 5-6
Inception
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Losers
The Machinist
Magnolia
Major Payne
My Girl
My Girl 2
The Net
The Original Kings of Comedy
Pineapple Express
Poms
Seabiscuit
Space Cowboys
Team America: World Police

Avail. 8/3
Pray Away
Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord
Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified

Avail. 8/4
Aftermath
American Masters: Inventing David Geffen
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Control Z: Season 2
Car Masters: Rust to Riches: Season 3
Cooking With Paris

Avail. 8/6
Hit & Run
Navarasa
The Swarm
Vivo

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

Leaving 8/15
Jericho: Seasons 1-2
Wish I Was Here

Leaving 8/20
Kill the Irishman
Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom
The Founder

Leaving 8/22
1BR

After looking a bit vulnerable in spots in the group stage, the USA women’s basketball team has hit its stride in the knockout rounds. After cruising past Australia in the quarterfinals, the Americans met Serbia in the semifinals and never gave them much hope in what became a 79-59 win to advance to a seventh straight gold medal game (in search of their seventh straight gold medal).

Team USA jumped out to a 25-12 lead after one quarter and it looked like they were set to steamroll Serbia, smothering them on defense and working the ball beautifully on offense to create great looks. The offense stalled for much of the second quarter, as Serbia got within nine, but the defense never let up as even a poor shooting quarter saw Team USA extend its lead to 18 at the half. Leading the way in the first half was Sue Bird with eight points and some slick passing, as she and Diana Taurasi provided their steady, veteran hands to help Team USA jump on top early.

The second half was more of the same from the Americans, as Britney Griner imposed her will inside to lead Team USA with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Chelsea Gray relieved Bird to score 14, and Breanna Stewart was her usual dominant self with 12 points and 10 boards. It wasn’t the typical USA offensive performance we’ve come to know in this tournament, as they shot just 48 percent from the field and 28 percent from three, but they more than made up for it with their best defensive effort so far.

Serbia simply could not get anything going on the offensive end, as their three-point shot wouldn’t fall (21 percent for the game) and they had nothing for the size of the Americans inside, struggling to get anything going to the basket consistently, ultimately shooting 30 percent from the field for the game. Yvonne Anderson tried her best to carry the offense with 15 points, but needed 16 shots to get there and it was evident from the jump that the Serbians just weren’t going to have the firepower needed in this matchup.

Up next for Team USA will be a rematch of some form from the group stage, as Japan and France will play later on Friday for the right to try and overcome the Americans in the gold medal game.

The streaming game’s blockbuster-like nature reaches new heights this weekend as our home-theater situations will get a real workout. Do you want to know where you’ll find the best bang for your buck among the streaming services? This week, there’s really not much of a contest, given that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad relaunch will make its late arrival not only in theaters but on HBO Max. With the Delta variant running wild out there, this movie couldn’t be more welcome in living rooms. HBO Max has multiple other fresh offerings onboard as well, so time there will be invested well, especially since the Leto Joker won’t rain on anyone’s “damaged” parade.

However, rest assured that supervillains aren’t the only thing on the menu. Apple TV+ has an endearing new series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt with more Ted Lasso on tap, too. Netflix has some brand new docuseries and an animated movie featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Disney+ has some new series episodes and (in case you missed it) the Jungle Cruise movie. Amazon Prime has A24’s Val Kilmer documentary, and Peacock has a new Kevin Hart show. Don’t count out Paramount+ or AMC+’s newest options, either. This weekend is stuffed full of streaming content for everyone.

HBO Max

The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad confined itself to a PG-13 rating, but no one expected James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad to stay with PG-13, and in fact, this R-rated (and quite good) extravaganza is releasing simultaneously on streaming and in theaters. Enjoy the “horribly beautiful” assortment of supervillains as they undertake their latest Task Force X mission, and the cast is an enormous, eclectic, and electric. Not only do we have the returning Margot Robbie (as Harley Quinn), Joel Kinnaman (as Rick Flag), Viola Davis (as Amanda Waller), and Jai Courtney (as Boomerang), but John Cena, Idris Elba, Pete Davidson, and more joined the cast. Also: Sylvester Stallone as King Shark. Sold!

Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (HBO film on HBO Max) — All was not what it seems for this three-day music festival that was meant to revive the countercultural idealism of its 1969 predecessor. Well, things weren’t “peace and love” in 1999, but rather, a total disaster by most standards. Mosh pits, blazing heat, a distinct lack of sanitation, and an absence of free water led to riots and looting, all of which were not deterred by the scant security measures. Decades later, this documentary looks back upon a pivotal moment when rose-tinted nostalgia evaporated under the hard truths exposed by this mismanaged festival. All pre-Fyre Festival!

Tig Notaro: Drawn (HBO special on HBO Max) — On the heels of the “hot Tig” role in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, quadruple threat (comedian, writer, actor and director) Tig Notaro pulls off an innovative first. That feat would be the first-ever entirely animated stand-up comedy special, in which you’ll witness an hour of pure genius. Several artistic styles will mesh with Notaro’s voice and storytelling style, and expect anecdotes about Dolly Parton and Jenny Slate, along with other fearless touches.

Gossip Girl: Season 1 premiere (HBO Max series) — The original CW series helped to launch the careers of Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Sebastian Stan, and Penn Badgley (and the latter is now portraying an amped-up version of the same character on Netflix’s You). HBO Max is now ready to welcome another crop of mostly unknown faces playing wealthy, privileged teens who find themselves socially surveilled and at the mercy of the “Gossip Girl” narrator, who’s still voiced by Kristen Bell.

FBoy Island: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — Hoo boy this show looks like one hot mess, and that might be exactly what you need during this slightly disastrous summer. Escape to a land where a dozen self-proclaimed “FBoys” compete against a dozen self-proclaimed “Nice Guys” for the affections of three ladies. Nikki Glaser hosts, and the show aims to answer the ultimate social experiment’s question, according to the synopsis: “Can FBoys truly reform or do Nice Guys always finish last?” (Well, one of the FBoys crushes a mango with his bicep in the show’s trailer, so this is entertainment.)

Apple TV+

Mr. Corman: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — Joseph Gordon-Levitt has proven himself to choose his roles carefully after stepping away from blockbuster-land, and that makes his choice, in general, worth watching. In this series, he plays a public-school high school teaser who’s in the midst of an existential crisis. Granted, the word “existential” might make some eyes glaze over with assumptions that this show will contain a lot of naval gazing. However, Gordon-Levitt’s character is fueled by “a sinking suspicion that he sucks as a person.” That’s not only darkly funny but shows that there’s plenty of juice to mine from seemingly mundane life concerns and the fear, which many of us share, that we’ll all feel like impostors while pretending to grow up.

Ted Lasso: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — First thing’s first: Everyone who’s caught a glimpse of this Bill Lawrence co-created and developed series loves it. That’s a notable feat, considering that star Jason Sudeikis first portrayed the title character way back in 2013 for NBC Sports’ promos for Premier League coverage. Fast forward to the fresh hell that was 2020, and the show surfaced as one of the year’s lone bright spots. Ted Lasso is somehow both relentlessly and charmingly cheery, although the last season finale showed the team losing against Manchester City, which spelled bad news, since the team can no longer hang in English Premier League games. We’ll see how they can turn themselves around, and while considering that possibility, it’s best to remember that Ted Lasso (and Walt Whitman) once said, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — The legendary producer and DJ pulls back the curtain on stories of music creation, which can be good, bad, and ugly regarding how far creators will go to nail the perfect sound. In addition, Ronson shines a light on artistry and technology’s intersection, and expect guests.

Disney+

Jungle Cruise: (Disney film on Disney+) — Emily Blunt might be the star of the summer (after A Quiet Place 2‘s success) if this long-awaited potential blockbuster’s a hit, and the excellent news is that you can watch it in theaters or your living room. She punches The Rock in this movie, and he plays the shipper who’s attempting to guide her down the river through life-threatening obstacles. This movie’s based upon a Disney theme park ride, so expect plenty of ridiculousness including Jesse Plemons firing a torpedo at the duo after brandishing a German accent and Paul Giamatti with a pretty bird.

Short Circuit: Season 2 (Disney+ series) — Nope, this show still has nothing to do with that 1980s movie starring Steve Guttenberg. Rather, this show follows Walt Disney Animation Studios employees who can pitch and create their own original short films. The series aims to highlight risk-taking approaches and stories that might otherwise never see a greenlight.

Turning The Tables With Robin Roberts: Season 1 (Disney+ series) — The host jokingly described this as a “tea party,” but really, it’s a gathering of groundbreaking women throughout the entertainment industry. Those ladies include Jamie Lee Curtis and Tig Notaro, along with several other guests who present their own incredible journeys and reveal how they found true purpose. The series aims for authenticity and vulnerability as these women reveal what led them to evolve and expand their careers.

The Wonderful World Of Mickey Mouse: Batch 2 (Disney+ series) — The Sensational Six (Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto) return for more adventures that traverse locations and time periods with special guests, so tuck in and relax with some retro entertainment.

Netflix

Vivo (Netflix film) — Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation paired up with a dream-team of filmmakers for a musical adventure that would be amiss if it didn’t star and feature new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. He portrays a one-of-kind kinkajou (a “honey bear” of the rainforest), who dreams of delivering a heart-shattering song to the long-lost love of his owner. Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) is in the director’s seat with a co-directing assist from Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2). The film also features the voices of Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer, and more. Ultimately, it’s a story about the universal languages of love and music and finding family in unexpected places.

Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami: Season 1 (Netflix series) — There’s so much blow in this trailer, which gives the documentary treatment to the excess-filled life of two childhood pals who transformed into powerful Miami drug kingpins over the course of decades. There’s a tiger and bullfighting and speedboats and money flying everywhere, it’s no wonder why “Los Muchachos” were so darn popular. They were also slippery fellows, due to their world-champ powerboat-racing status. A $2 billion empire eventually came crumbling down, but not without a valiant fight from the duo and the prosecutors.

Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified: Season 1 (Netflix docuseries) — UFOs are so hot right now, and Netflix is taking a crack at a docuseries ahead of J.J. Abrams’ Showtime series. Things might be coming to a head (as far as public interest goes) after the U.S. government’s so-called comprehensive report on Unidentified Flying Objects revealed zilch. This Netflix original series promises a “factual” approach to dig into the latest information and possible proof that would expose government projects that may have covered up extraterrestrial visits to Earth. The trailer looks fascinating, so here’s to hoping that the show delivers some fresh insight.

Cooking With Paris: Season 1 (Netflix series) — If you wanted to watch a cooking show with not-so-wonderful cooking, then you’re in luck. Paris Hilton can’t cook too well, and she doesn’t pretend otherwise, but she has friends who can cook, so she’s aiming to brave the kitchen to screw everything up. Also, she’ll go grocery shopping, so hmm.

Shiny_Flakes: The Teenage Drug Lord (Netflix film) — You’ve probably heard of Netflix’s German series, How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast), and here’s a documentary that delivers the inspiration. A German teenager, Maximilian Schmidt (who went by the “Shiny Flakes” nickhame) got busted in 2015 running several million euros worth of illicit substances out of his family home. This turned out to be an international drug empire, and most of the money’s still missing.

Outer Banks: Season 2 (Netflix series) — This is not your typical teen drama. Last season delivered loads of intrigue and flat-out woo-woo revelations following a hurricane and buried treasure and class warfare between different factions in an overall well-to-do community. There are Kooks and Pogues, and the power’s gone for the entirety of the summer, which sounds miserable, but the mysteries won’t stop, including the whereabouts of John B.’s dad. And oh yes, there’s so much soapiness to the characters’ dynamics that you might lose your footing while slipping towards that sunken treasure.

Amazon Prime

Val (A24 movie on Amazon Prime) — Yep, a Val Kilmer documentary surfaced from the indie studio behind Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Ladybird, and The VVitch. That’s news in and of itself, but now, the atypical doc has arrived to celebrate the Top Gun and Batman actor. The mercurial man’s life and craft will take center stage, since he recorded hours of home-footage (like Soleil Moon Frye did, only with more aviator sunglasses) while filming his most iconic roles and being, you know, Val.

Peacock

Hart to Heart: Season 1 (Peacock series) — Kevin Hart’s doing celebrity interviews with a twist, and that twist is wine. The result, hopefully, will be unfiltered conversation with actors, musicians, and other such influential people. Will things get a little bit messy, perhaps? With any luck, yes, as we hear about these A-listers’ journey to to their current statures, along with an obligatory discussion about obstacles with a dash of humor.

Paramount+

Behind The Music: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — This revival brings back the Emmy-nominated docuseries that was once so popular on VH1 and will not be updated for a new generation. Of course, one should expect the older generations of music to be showcased here because, let’s face it, music can be considered ageless. The profiled artists this season include Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, LL Cool J, and Huey Lewis, and one can expect plenty of “vault” episodes that have bene remastered and updated with fresh interviews. MTV Entertainment co-produces this series, which only streams here.

AMC+

The Walking Dead: Origins (AMC+ limited series) — This batch of episodes will bridge the gap between zombie-apocalypse-laden seasons with the origin stories of Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Negan. Expect a lot of interwoven clips (along with cast interviews and narration) to remind everyone of these characters’ most pivotal moments as their stories head into the final season.

Ultra City Smiths: Season 1 (AMC+ series) — Fans of Robot Chicken will undoubtedly want to check out this stop-motion animated selection from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and showrunner Steve Conrad. Expect very adult-oriented humor and the voices of Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Alia Shawkat, Tim Meadows, John C. Reilly, Bebe Neuwirth, Jason Mantzoukas, and Damon Herriman.

The Beast Must Die: (AMC series on AMC+) — Jared Harris and Cush Jumbo star in this revenge-thriller series that has already been renewed for a second season. The story’s based on Nicholas Blake’s 1938 novel and revolves around a mother who’s hell-bent upon avenging her son’s death, all while a PTSD-afflicted detective’s working the case. It’s an enormously chaotic show, but it’s so crushingly executed that you’d be gripping your seat arms if you watched it in a theater.