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(SPOILERS for Disney+’s Loki and the MCU will be found below.)

It’s about damn time that Loki‘s now atoning for his time crimes on Disney+. The show’s premiere episode began the entertaining-yet-complicated process of explaining the multiverse, which apparently is where the MCU wants to be, big time, going into the future. Sure, we already had to know that this would happen, given that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the title of the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring sequel to come. And to a lesser extent, Kevin Feige linking up the MCU and the FOX superhero universes in WandaVision may have been a move in the same direction.

Yet what matters, for the moment, is that Loki is here to explain all the multiverse stuff, and Luke Wilson is doing a lot of that heavy expositional lifting. He’s not done yet, either, nor are the other Time Variance Authority’s employees, who are adding useful and not-so-useful bits along the way. Marvel fans received a shock with that Infinity-Stone joke (that many fans felt was a gut punch regarding Black Widow), and the show ended with a mystery. Why on Earth Midgard did this series take a side trip to Oklahoma?

Let’s review what led up to this moment, and that includes a conversation between Loki and Wilson’s TVA Agent, Mobius, who’s seeking to protect the Sacred Timeline, which Loki disturbed by snatching the Tesseract at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It’s very important to remember that the Loki in this Disney+ show — and he is referred to as a “Variant” — is not the same Loki who Thanos killed in Avengers: Infinity War, so there are no time shenanigans at least for that detail. Yet we’ve long since known that Loki is capable, as the God of Mischief, of replicating himself all over the place, so how does that tie into the show’s trip to 1858 Salina, Oklahoma?

That’s part of the mystery here. Mobius tells Loki that “fugitive variants” have been killing Minutemen at various points in time. He adds, “The variant we’re hunting is… you.” That can be taken in a few ways. It’s clear that Mobius, who engages with Loki in a buddy-cop dynamic, wants time-criminal Loki to help track down an even worse time-offender, one who is killing TVA representatives. That’s a risky proposition. It’s also possible, however, that Mobius is as crafty as Loki is, and he’s perfectly aware that he needs to beat Loki at his own game while hiding an ulterior motive.

Before we can think about those possibilities for too long, the episode’s final scene blips to Oklahoma around the time of the oil rush, where Minutemen noted that there’s an “anachronistic” (out of time and place) artifact in the field, which is “early third millennial,” for what it’s worth. A Minuteman wonders if some “jackass” used a time machine to come back and steal oil, and then a mysterious figure (obviously, a variant) drops a lantern and sets the oil field on fire, torching the group.

Weird. All of it. Oklahoma is now part of the MCU (and that’s canon, so the Sooner State is really on the map now), and who knows if the state will mean anything at all in the grand scheme of Loki. Yet it’s a dramatic note with which to end the premiere, which earlier detailed variant-murders in 1548 France. There’s no telling whether a variant purposefully used the Oklahoma setting because it’d be really easy to kill TVA agents who are standing atop oil. Yet this was an effective way for the variant to easily nab the TVA device that would have “reset” the timeline.

As for whether there’s any other significance to this venue, that’s still left in the open. I would guess that Loki doesn’t want to dive deep into the history of Salina (and any Civil War implications), and that this is more of a case of wanting to bring a firefight into the show because that’s a big visual moment. Also, yeah, Salina was the first place in Oklahoma where oil was discovered (by accident) in 1859. If I was a variant who wanted the TVA to mistake me for a “jackass” who simply wanted to steal oil before its official discovery, then sure, I’d make a trip to Salina, too. Yes, it appears that this was simply a ruse to fool the TVA and easily dispense with several agents, but hopefully, we’ll receive clearer answers next week.

Disney+’s ‘Loki’ will stream new episodes on Wednesdays.

In The Eyes of Tammy Faye, an unrecognizable Jessica Chastain plays Tammy Faye Bakker, the flamboyant televangelist who built an evangelical empire with her husband Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield) until it all came crashing down. “We’re not doing anything wrong?” Tammy Faye says in the trailer above. “Is that a question?” Jim replies, knowing full well that he’s doing something wrong, including committing fraud and a rape accusation. The Eyes of Tammy Faye will cover all that, as well as Tammy Faye’s acceptance of LGBT advocacy. “How sad that we as Christians, who are to be the salt of the earth, and we who are supposed to be able to love everyone, are afraid so badly of an AIDS patient that we will not go up and put our arm around them,” she once said.

Hopefully Baby Billy shows up to sing “Misbehavin’.” Here’s more:

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. In the 1970s and 80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker, rose from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network and theme park, and were revered for their message of love, acceptance and prosperity. Tammy Faye was legendary for her indelible eyelashes, her idiosyncratic singing, and her eagerness to embrace people from all walks of life. However, it wasn’t long before financial improprieties, scheming rivals, and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire.

Directed by Wet Hot American Summer and Stella icon Michael Showalter, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which also stars Cherry Jones, Fredric Lehne, Louis Cancelmi, Sam Jaeger, Gabriel Olds, Mark Wystrach, and Vincent D’Onofrio, opens on September 17.

All hail motherf*cking Jean Smart! The three-time Emmy winner, who should be the namesake of an award for actors who make everything they’re in better just by virtue of their name being in the credits, has yet another reason to celebrate as her new(ish) HBO Max series Hacks has been renewed for a second season. HBO announced the series’ renewal on Tuesday, just ahead of the final two episodes of season 1.

Hacks, which premiered on HBO Max on May 13, 2021, has been a bit of a surprise hit for the streaming network. It’s about Deborah Vance (Smart), an aging mainstay of the Las Vegas comedy scene whose agent sends her Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a twenty-something comedy writer, to help freshen up her act. The beauty of the show is in the delicate, and sometimes contentious, relationship that exists between a mentor and their mentee. Or, as our Jason Tabrys described it: It’s “a funny and complicated story about assholes gradually becoming smaller assholes and better friends.”

In addition to Smart and the supremely talented Einbinder, Hacks—which was created by Broad City alums Lucia Aniello, Paul Downs, and Jen Statsky—has an all-star supporting cast that includes Kaitlin Olson, Christopher McDonald, Mark Indelicato, Poppy Liu, and Johnny Sibilly. According to HBO Max, “the critically-acclaimed comedy has been a top performer on the platform since its debut, consistently ranking in the top 10 most viewed titles out of all available content.”

Meanwhile, Smart is hinting that there might be some even more delicious drama on the horizon as the show enters its second season. “I am absolutely thrilled we are picked up for a second season,” she said in a statement about the renewal, “and I told Hannah it’s ‘No more Miss Nice Guy; from now on it’s Bette and Joan! And guess who’s BETTE??!!’”

A couple days ago, Deafheaven shared a mysterious teaser, which featured a brief snippet of new music and the date August 20, 2021. Well, the group didn’t let the suspense build for long: Today, they’ve announced the release of their new album Infinite Granite, which is set for release on August 20 via Sargent House.

Alongside that news, they’ve also shared a new single, “Great Mass Of Color.” The track is an aesthetic departure for the group, as it sees the post-hardcore group venturing into softer territory more than ever before. Vocally, singer George Clarke focuses on his clean vocals more than he usually does, and the instrumentation is more akin to soaring post-rock.

When the band released their live album 10 Years Gone last year, they wrote in a statement, “We’re thankful we were able to do this project and that fans have stuck with us as we make new music for 2021. Thank you for helping us move forward and I hope you enjoy this record as a small interim in the Deafheaven story. We’ll see you soon.”

and check out the Infinite Granite art and tracklist below.

1. “Shellstar”
2. “In Blur”
3. “Great Mass Of Color”
4. “Neptune Raining Diamonds”
5. “Lament For Wasps”
6. “Villain”
7. “The Gnashing”
8. “Other Language”
9. “Mombasa”

Infinite Granite is out 8/20 via Sargent House. Pre-order it here.

After nearly 30 years on the air as a late-night—beginning with Late Night and leading up to Conan with a memorably short-lived pitstop at The Tonight Show along the way—Conan O’Brien is getting ready to say goodbye. As the former SNL and The Simpsons writer barrels toward his June 24th finale, he’s gathering up some of his all-time favorite guests to help him bid adieu.

On Tuesday night, O’Brien’s TV career came full circle when he sat down with Sarah Silverman, one of his most frequent guests over the years and one of his earliest, too. As the two reminisced about the many times they’ve sat down together with cameras rolling over the past 28 years, O’Brien shared a photo of their very first interview from 1993—when Silverman was a 22-year-old comedian just getting her start, and O’Brien was a 30-year-old host still finding his way. Both comedically and sartorially speaking…

“Why was I dressed like Tom Jones?,” O’Brien asked sidekick Andy Richter—but also the universe in general. “What was that jacket? I’m dressed like The Riddler or something.”

The conversation took a surprisingly emotional turn as both host and guest, clearly moved, talked about what the other meant to their career. As Conan explained:

“I was 30 when you first came on the show. I had just turned 30 when we started doing the Late Night show [and] it takes a while to figure out who you are, comedically. And so, it’s not that you were trying to be someone else, it’s just that you’re trying to figure out how to be you on television.”

For her part, Silverman told O’Brien:

“I love your show so much. I do. I love it so much. I mean, the first time I ever was recognized on the street was from your show. Because you’d always have me on. I’ve been on your show for so many years. I grew up on your show. I honestly feel like my whole death reel could just be clips from your show [and] I’d be happy.”

O’Brien’s response? “I say aim higher.”

You can watch the full clip above.

Earlier this week, CNN reported that Rudy Giuliani, former-president Donald Trump’s personal lawyer “relentlessly pressured and coaxed the Ukrainian government” into investigating made-up claims of election fraud. “During the roughly 40-minute call, Giuliani repeatedly told Yermak that Zelensky should publicly announce investigations into possible corruption by Biden in Ukraine, and into claims that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election to hurt Trump,” it reads, adding, “These separate claims are both untrue.”

It’s more baseless nonsense from a cartoon character of a man, and during Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue, host Jimmy Kimmel called the audio the “second most damaging tape of Rudy Giuliani this year.” Presumably the most damaging tape is the scene from Borat 2. You know the one. He continued, “You remember Trump’s ‘perfect call’ with the Ukrainian president? The one he got impeached for? Well, a few weeks before that call, in July of 2019, Rudy dialed up a senior Ukrainian official to put the squeeze on, and now audio from that call has leaked, most likely from Rudy’s head.”

After playing the call, Kimmel joked, “What is in his mouth? It’s like a hard candy in there. So, there you go, he lays it all out. Nothing subtle about that.” All Giuliani does is “dig up dirt, whether it’s on Joe Biden, or Hunter Biden, or just trying to get out of his grave every morning. He’s a dirt digger and he could be in trouble for this. Even his teeth are trying to distance themselves from his mouth.”

You can watch the monologue above.

(SPOILERS for Disney+’s Loki and the MCU will be found below.)

Avengers: Endgame included multiple hero deaths, including the end of Tony Stark, along with Natasha Romanoff, who sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone. She’d done so during a trip to Vormir with Clint Barton, and the pair soon discovered that (as was the case already with Gamora) someone wasn’t going to make it out of that situation alive. And since all of the Infinity Stones needed to be retrieved before Thanos’ snap could be reversed, Black Widow made sure she’d be the one to die, after the two fought over who would do so, and Joe Russo ultimately defended the scene as proof that “she’s a better fighter than he is.”

I’m still not sure that explanation works too well. We already knew that Black Widow was more of a badass than Hawkeye, right? Still, Natasha sacrificed herself for her new family (we’ll finally meet her old family in her solo prequel film, which follows the events on Captain America: Civil War, due out on July 9) and to revive half of the universe from dusting. And Hawkeye could go back to his family after all was said and done, so all good? Nope. People are still emotional over Natasha’s death and for understandable reason. That brings us to what is an otherwise humorous joke in the Loki premiere.

Loki finds himself absolutely aghast to have to turn over the Tesseract (Time Stone) to a rather clueless office worker upon arrival at the Time Variance Authority (TVA). He grows even more irritated when that worker opens up a desk drawer, and there’s a bunch of Infinity Stones — which are rendered powerless, like all magic — inside the TVA’s confines. The other workers even use them as paper weights, the worker explains.

The joke here, of course, is that the Avengers went through all that trouble to gather up the Infinity Stones to defeat Thanos, when those things were sitting (and valueless) inside of the TVA. This outcome, however, feels like a gut punch (the collection includes at least three Soul Stones, which are orange) to many fans, who aren’t thrilled at the implication that Black Widow (and, to an extent, Gamora, although Thanos directly killed her) essentially died for no reason. Is this revelation a case of “too soon”? Perhaps, but c’mon, the TVA had to know the value of those stones, and they just let them sit there — to preserve the “sacred timeline” — in a drawer. Also, Black Widow’s on people’s minds with her movie coming out soon, and yeah, this kind-of stings.

Let’s just say that many fans aren’t happy. Tweets like “nat died for the soul stone only for the tva to have 3 in a desk drawer” are all over the place.

Let’s hope that Natasha is somehow vindicated from this slight when Black Widow lands (in theaters and on Disney+) on July 9.

On Friday, Nigeria gave Twitter a punch to the gut when it put a ban on the social media network. Yes, that’s right: No one in the entire West African country is allowed to tweet because of what Nigerian Information Minister Lai Mohammed called “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.” The ban came just one day after the platform deleted a tweet from Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, in which he reportedly threatened secessionists. Trevor Noah dedicated a few minutes of Tuesday night’s The Daily Show to talk about the ban and what it means for the country, but there was one part of the assembled clip reel of news reports that he just couldn’t let go.

At the very beginning of the segment, The Daily Show featured a clip from CNN in which anchor Michael Holmes discussed the ban, but did so in a way that seemed… suspiciously superfluous. Here’s how Holmes introduced the story: “Nigeria is a country plagued by kidnappings, extremists, and bandits. But the government wants to crack down on a new type of criminal: Twitter users.”

Noah, for one, didn’t like this added bit of color commentary—which was in no way germane to the story. Nor is it something that you’d normally hear a reporter do when revealing news about a country. Even a country “plagued” with problems. (Aren’t we all?) In discussing this double standard, Noah had just one question for Holmes:

“Ok, as an African, allow me to say: What the f*ck? I mean, yes, that’s all true, but still: What the f*ck? You never hear a foreign news anchor talking about the United States that way. ‘America is a country plagued by school shootings, extremists, and failing infrastructure. But the government wants to raise the price of postage stamps!’”

You can watch the full segment above, beginning around the 4:50 mark.

(Via The Wrap)

The Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns will continue their Western Conference semifinal matchup with Game 2 on Wednesday evening. Phoenix prevailed in Game 1, overcoming a second-half deficit with stellar play and pulling away in what became a 122-105 win in their home building.

As often, Devin Booker and Chris Paul were tremendous in Game 1, scoring 21 points each (on strong efficiency) and combining for 19 assists. Phoenix holds a sizable advantage in the backcourt against Denver, particularly with the Nuggets operating without Jamal Murray. However, that wasn’t the only source of effectiveness for the Suns in Game 1, as Deandre Ayton (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Mikal Bridges (23 points) showcased their immense talent. While it may be aggressive to suggest that Ayton outplayed Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the fact that it was a close battle is a good sign for the Suns, leaving the Nuggets in a more urgent position as Game 2 arrives.

Jokic was crowned as the 2020-21 NBA MVP on Tuesday and deservedly so. He operated below his normal efficiency level despite 22 points and nine rebounds in Game 1, but the bigger issue for Denver was their defense, particularly in the second half. The Suns scored 65 points, despite a slow pace, after halftime, and it will be a challenge for the Nuggets to right the ship in their coverages for Game 2 and beyond. In addition, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone noted post-game that Michael Porter Jr. didn’t return in the fourth quarter due to a tweaked back, and Jokic needs all the help he can get as Denver tries to avoid an 0-2 deficit.

From a betting standpoint, Game 1 went Over the total of 222.5 points and Phoenix covered the closing point spread of six points as a favorite.

Game 2 TV Info

Tip Time: Wednesday, June 9; 9:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 2 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Suns (-400), Nuggets (+300)
Spread: Suns -6 (-110), Nuggets +6 (-110)
Total: Over 222 (-113), Under 222 (-109)
Money Line: Suns (-240), Nuggets (+195)

The Utah Jazz have drawn first blood in their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite going down huge early and trailing by double-digits by halftime, a supernova performance from Donovan Mitchell lifted Utah to a 112-109 win, even thought Mike Conley was out with an injury.

The first quarter began with Utah getting scorching hot before going ice cold. The Jazz jumped out to a 7-0 run early on in the game before going on to miss 21 shots in a row. In that time, the Clippers opened things up, ripping off a 22-2 run — powered by nine first quarter points from Luke Kennard — to quiet the crowd and give themselves a little breathing room in the unfriendly confines of Salt Lake City.

Not only did Los Angeles extend its lead in the second, it did so in one of the most unconventional ways you can. Playoff basketball is known as a place where rotations have to be tightened, but instead, Tyronn Lue dug deep into his bench and played 11 players in the first half. Some, like Ivica Zubac and Patrick Beverley, returned to the rotation after getting played off the floor against Dallas last round. Others, like DeMarcus Cousins, just straight up did not take the floor against the Mavericks.

The result: The Clippers found itself up, 60-47, at the half. Los Angeles was powered by a fairly egalitarian effort, with 11 points from Kennard, nine from Reggie Jackson, seven (with three rebounds and three assists) from Kawhi Leonard, and six from Cousins, Nic Batum, and Marcus Morris. The team knocked down 11 of their 23 attempts from three (45.5 percent), which the Jazz were bricklayers, going 7-for-27 (26.9 percent) from downtown. Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson led the way, combining for 22 points, but it came on 8-for-24 shooting from the field.

Utah came out of the half and caught fire, stirring the crowd into a frenzy with a 12-2 run right out of the gate to cut the Clippers’ lead to three. Four points from Leonard opened the lead back up, but the Jazz just kept coming. Each time they’d get on the doorstep, though, the Clippers managed to have an answer to give themselves a little breathing room.

Ultimately, the dam broke thanks to Royce O’Neale. A missed jumper by Leonard was pulled down by Mitchell, who pushed the ball in transition and into the waiting arms of O’Neale. Utah’s 3-and-D wing did the of the work from there, gliding in and kissing the ball off the backboard to give the Jazz their first lead since the first quarter.

The teams traded the lead back-and-forth to end the half, with things being so razor close that things were all tied up at 79.

The Jazz drew first blood in the fourth quarter, opening up a six-point lead early on in the frame.

While the Clippers would continue to threaten, the tables were turned from the start of the third quarter — every time L.A. would inch closer, Utah seemed to have an answer. It helped to have Mitchell, who came up huge time and time again down the stretch.

And yet the Clippers had a chance. George hit a three on the penultimate possession of the game to slice Utah’s lead in hald, followed by a Mitchell brick. Opting to not call a timeout, Los Angeles brought the ball up and tried to get off a game-tying triple. Both teams scrambled, the ball found Morris in the corner, and Gobert showed off his defensive excellence by blocking his attempt to get off a shot.

Mitchell was the man of the night, scoring 45 points on 16-for-30 shooting with a 6-for-15 clip from three. Clarkson and Bogdan Bogdanovic each had 18, while Gobert scored 10 points, pulled in 12 rebounds, and blocked three shots. For Los Angeles, Leonard’s 23 and seven rebounds led the way, George had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds — although he shot a paltry 4-for-17 from the field — and Kennard provided much-needed offense off the bench, going for 18 points.

Game 2 between the Jazz and Clippers will take place in Salt Lake City on Thursday evening at 10 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.