Less than one week ago, Philip Rivers decided to retire from the NFL after an impressive 17-year career. As soon as he indicated his future plans, the debate kicked into high gear on whether Rivers should be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame but, regardless of where they argument lands, Rivers was (very) good at playing quarterback and he also contributed entertainment on and off the field.
One more example arrived this week when Colts head coach Frank Reich shared a tremendous story with NBC Sports, and it involves Rivers and a sport other than football. In short, it appears that the 39-year-old recent retiree is a stunningly good free throw shooter.
“One more story from San Diego. One day—I don’t know how the subject came up—a bunch of us were talking free-throw shooting,” Reich wrote. “Philip said, I’m over 90 percent. We’re all like, No way. So we made a wager: shoot 100 free throws, and he had to make at least 80. He went out there on the hoop we had at camp, and he made 97. We were blown away. But that wasn’t enough. He figured, I’ll show you. Those guys went out there 10 straight days to shoot free throws, 100 a day. And he made, like, 946 out of 1,000. He didn’t even have to do that—he already won the bet. But that’s Philip.”
Obviously, there could be some embellishment here, if only because it is quite difficult for anyone to make 97 out of 100 free throws. In fact, even professional basketball players would have trouble reaching that particular standard, and that doesn’t even get into the wild nature of making “946 out of 1,000” at the charity stripe.
On the other hand, the best athletes in the world are often freakish with the things they can accomplish. Rivers clearly has tremendous athletic coordination in order to throw a football accurately and, given his height at about 6’5, it stands to reason that he had a basketball in his hands somewhere along the way. In the end, it might be a little bit tough to believe, but Reich managed to ignite the internet in speculation, which is fitting for the way Rivers’ football career will be litigated in the coming days.
Despite being a dizzyingly diverse nation of more than 1.3 billion people, movies set in India, probably thanks to the Bollywood formula and Slumdog Millionaire, still carry with them an oddly specific set of expectations. It’s hard not to expect exuberant expression, vivid colors, music, and a vague kind of plucky optimism driving it all. In White Tiger, director Ramin Bahrani (adapting a 2008 bestseller by Aravind Adiga) plays on those expectations to deliver something else entirely: an exploration of class, caste, culture, and capitalism that isn’t particularly sunny and definitely doesn’t have any dancing.
It’s hard not to invite Parasite comparisons when your movie is about a poor striver who schemes his way into a job driving for a rich guy, and White Tiger is the rare film that isn’t rendered unnecessary by the analogy. White Tiger uses as its framing device a letter from Balram, played by Adarsh Gourav, to Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, who has come to India to meet young entrepreneurs. As the action takes place via flashback, Balram relates the story, in the style of Portnoy’s Complaint/About Schmidt/Life Of Pi, of how he, a poor kid from the sticks, eventually came to be one of India’s foremost entrepreneurs. Like Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire, Balram learned many important lessons from growing up poor, but as he explains it, in real life, one doesn’t go from servant to master just by getting on a game show.
India is a complex place, a place essentially defined by its complexity, but luckily Balram has packed plenty of analogies to help us understand — er, to help Wen Jiabao understand. He says over and over that despite 1,000 castes, India has basically two worlds: the light and the dark; two classes — master and servant; two castes: those with fat bellies and those with thin bellies; all of which exist inside the chicken coop of Indian society. It’s like a chicken coop, Balram explains, because Indians are the only people who, chicken-like, simply watch docilely while their compatriots are beheaded and chopped apart for supper, awaiting their own inevitable fate without complaint or attempt to escape.
Balram, obviously, comes from the dark world, the servant class, a caste known for making sweets. He’s a child prodigy whose headmaster promises will one day get a scholarship to a prestigious institution in Delhi. But, subverting expectations right out of the gate, this isn’t to be a story about the lucky ones, the exceptions to the rule, those scholarship kids who go onto prosper by following the rules.
Instead, Balram’s father gets tuberculosis and dies, his family can’t afford his tuition, and Balram is forever cursed with only three years of formal education. The way we learn of Balram’s father’s illness is illustrative of how Bahrani (99 Homes, Chop Shop) plays on and subverts expectations. If you see a movie character cough blood into a handkerchief it’s pretty much a guarantee that he or she will die before the end. Bahrani’s twist is to shoot a close up of phlegmy blood spat onto an unpaved street, in the midst of a smash-cut-to-funeral montage. (Btw, is there any movie device more enjoyable than smash-cut-to-funeral? Yeah yeah, you get it, he’s dead, moving on…)
Cursed to a life serving at his grandmother’s tea shop (another possible Slumdog allusion, if you remember Jamal’s “chaiwalla” days), living in poverty and having his life dictated to him by his older relatives, Balram is determined to break out of the chicken coop. He knows the best way to climb the servant ladder is to serve the highest master, so he borrows money from his family for driving lessons (delivered memorably by a Sikh who tells him that warrior castes make the best drivers because driving is warfare and teaches Balram to yell “sister fucker!” out the window) and schemes his way into a job driving for the local lords — a family of coal magnates living high on the hog who accept only bribes and deference from people like Balram.
He ends up driving for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao), the youngest son of family patriarch (“The Stork,” played by Mahesh Manjrekar) and ostensibly the most progressive of the family — who has married an outspoken American, Pinky Madam, played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (she also produced). Just as in Parasite, their masks of surface-level tolerance and politeness frequently fall away (“she’s nice because she’s rich, hell if I had all this money I’d be nice too!”), and just as in other great class-parable stories like Parasite and Y Tu Mamá Tambien, prejudices are usually manifested in the most visceral distinctions, like bad breath and stained teeth and body odor and an itchy crotch. It’s plausible deniability, that the reason the aristocrats dislike you isn’t your low birth but your bad manners.
All the while, Balram, in an understated but unforgettable performance by Gourav, offers ironic commentary on everything from globalization (“I think the days of the white man are over, the yellow man and the brown man are the leaders of tomorrow”) to democracy to being a good servant (“a good servant must know his masters from end to end, from lips to anus”).
White Tiger subverts expectations right up until the very end, self-consciously commenting on what it doesn’t do as much as what it does. In that way White Tiger allows other stories to define it maybe more than it should.
It doesn’t quite stick the landing as well as Parasite, which manages to exist on a level of surreal and hyperreal that makes its exploration of class not just smart and enjoyable but singular and transcendent. Yet White Tiger may also surpass Parasite for subtle wit. If Bahrani hasn’t quite mastered the perfect parable, he does have an almost Napoleon Dynamite-esque flair for visual irony. And anyway, its sheer number of memorable, visually compelling scenes and clever turns of phrase make White Tiger‘s journey more important than its destination.
‘White Tiger’ hits Netflix January 22. Vince Mancini is onTwitter. You can access his archive of reviewshere.
If Bad Bunny‘s El Última Tour Del Mundo track “Booker T” is any indication, the musician is a huge wrestling fan. That’s why he’s beyond excited to announce that’s been officially booked to perform the song at WWE’s Royal Rumble 2021 this Sunday.
Speaking about the opportunity to perform at the event, Bad Bunny said it’s a “dream come true” opportunity for him. “Performing at the Royal Rumble is a childhood dream come true,” he said in a statement to Billboard. “I have been a lifelong fan of WWE and I am excited to take the stage and entertain fans around the world.”
Echoing the singer’s statement WWE Music Group senior vice president and general manager Neil Lawi expressed his excitement on behalf of company. “Bad Bunny is at the top of the music industry, and a pop culture icon with strong ties to WWE and our fans around the world,” Lawi said. “We are thrilled to provide a global platform for his first-ever live performance of ‘Booker T’ as we kick off the road to WrestleMania.”
After news of the performance was announced, WrestleMania and Bad Bunny fans alike expressed their anticipation.
If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on, it’s that being in a pandemic sucks.
However, we seem to be on different pages as to what sucks most about it. Many of us are struggling with being separated from our friends and loved ones for so long. Some of us have lost friends and family to the virus, while others are dealing with ongoing health effects of their own illness. Millions are struggling with job loss and financial stress due to businesses being closed. Parents are drowning, dealing with their kids’ online schooling and lack of in-person social interactions on top of their own work logistics. Most of us hate wearing masks (even if we do so diligently), and the vast majority of us are just tired of having to think about and deal with everything the pandemic entails.
Much has been made of the mental health impact of the pandemic, which is a good thing. We need to have more open conversations about mental health in general, and with everything so upside down, it’s more important now than ever. However, it feels like pandemic mental health conversations have been dominated by people who want to justify anti-lockdown arguments. “We can’t let the cure be worse than the disease,” people say. Kids’ mental health is cited as a reason to open schools, the mental health challenges of financial despair as a reason to keep businesses open, and the mental health impact of social isolation as a reason to ditch social distancing measures.
It’s not that those mental health challenges aren’t real. They most definitely are. But when we focus exclusively on the mental health impact of lockdowns, we miss the fact that there are also significant mental health struggles on the other side of those arguments.
For one, what about the mental and emotional distress of watching people you love die of a preventable disease? If lockdowns are hard on mental health, what do we think allowing the virus to spread unchecked (even more than we already have) and kill even more people would do? People talk about lockdowns causing economic distress as if the alternative would eliminate mental health struggles. I don’t see how a drastically increased death toll would be better.
The top five life stressors, according to University Hospitals, are:
Death of a loved one
Divorce
Moving
Major illness or injury
Job loss
Only one of those stressors comes with lockdowns (unless you count divorce from being cooped up with your spouse, but relationship troubles are even being reported from countries without lockdowns). Two of them at least, death of a loved one and major illness, would be experienced far more without public health measures.
The pandemic was always going to be a choice between a rock and a hard place. There was never a way to avoid suffering here—we were either going to have mass death or mass economic strife (or both, as we’ve found out the hard way by really screwing up the response). And both of those options come with a mental health toll.
Arguably, however, the economic struggles are preferable to the deaths in every way. The government can choose to help citizens financially, thereby easing the mental health burden of a job loss until the economy rebounds. The government can’t undo the death of a loved one, and that impact is permanent.
Then, what about the mental health impact of losing our faith in our fellow citizens?
We’ve spent the past year going through the largest mass death event of our lifetime, and half of us have spent that year trying to convince the other half that it’s actually happening. Not even trying to convince them of the best way to handle it, but simply that it’s real. The constant battling of denial and misinformation is exhausting and demoralizing. Handling the pandemic would be hard enough if we were all on the same page. But seeing and hearing people treat 400,000+ dead Americans as either not real or not a big deal is enough to make you lose your mind.
And then there’s the emotional toll of realizing that a number of your fellow countrymen see elderly/disabled/overweight/Black Hispanic people as expendable, that an unreal number of Americans would rather see hundreds of thousands of us die than wear a mask, and that a disturbing percentage are far more likely to listen to conspiracy theorists than the world’s most respected scientists. The ignorance and paranoia are hard to take. The inhumanity of it all is devastating.
So now people who already struggled with their mental health also have to process a loss of faith in humanity. That kind of existential stress is hard to quantify, but it’s real. Some of us have tried to teach our children that most people are good and kind, that selfishness and self-interest are the exceptions and not the rules. Now we’re stuck with this daily deluge of evidence that a startling number of people simply aren’t willing to sacrifice at all for the greater good, and trying to explain why that is to our kids.
As a result, we feel less safe and secure. We feel frustrated and angry. We feel sad and weary because it didn’t have to be like this. We struggle to find hope that we’ll be able to turn this thing around. Watching our fellow Americans insist that basic public health measures are tyranny, that their individual liberty is more important than collective freedom and well-being no matter what the cost, and that objective reality isn’t real—and then seeing all of this result in far more sickness and death than there needs to be—has an emotional impact every single day.
So yes, let’s keep talking about mental health in the pandemic, but let’s not pretend that people are only struggling due to lockdowns and social distancing. The inhumanity we’ve seen from far too many is taking its toll as well.
If we’ve learned one thing during the age of the streaming wars it’s this: don’t sleep on Hulu.
Sure, Netflix has the original series on lock, but Hulu’s got all of the peak TV happening everywhere else — from FX dramas to NBC comedies and OG favorites on prestige networks. Whether you’re watching for the first time or in need of a re-watch, there are plenty of shows to keep your binge-watching schedule busy. So here are the 35 best shows on Hulu right now, ranked.
Few people thought showrunner Noah Hawley could pull off a TV adaptation of the beloved crime thriller from the Coen Brothers but here we are, four seasons later with Fargo cementing itself as one of the best dramas on TV. Instead of a rote retelling of the classic crime tale, viewers were treated to a top-notch cast, shocking violence, incredible character names, and stunning visuals. While honoring the legacy of the original film in the details, Fargo managed to become a unique and essential addition to the current television landscape and it’s given names like Ewan McGregor and Chris Rock a chance to reinvent themselves for a new audience.
It’s not enough to praise Atlanta for being the most inventive show on TV — though plenty of critics have. To understand the genius of Donald Glover’s sometimes-comedy series, you simply have to watch it. The show follows Glover’s Earn, a young black man living in the titular city who’s down on his luck. He’s basically homeless when we meet him in the first episode, selling credit cards, making no money, and trying to manage the rap career of his cousin, Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry). Over the course of the first and second season, Earn wrestles with issues of race, classism, and his own sense of self-worth. It’s a show that will probably feel familiar to some and strangely alien to others, but it should be required viewing for everyone.
Few shows have as many jokes per minute as 30 Rock. The brainchild of Tina Fey, 30 Rock shows the daily madness of an SNL-like variety show, which Fey’s Liz Lemon at the helm. As she tries (sometimes failing) to wrangle her writers and her actors (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski), Lemon also attempts the ever elusive dream of “having it all.” Her quest will feel very, very familiar to viewers, particularly women, as they try and balance, work, life, love, and even a small bit of success. With Alec Baldwin turning in his best performance to date (come at me, Glengarry Glen Ross fans) as Jack Donaghy, Lemon’s boss, mentor, and eventual friend, 30 Rock has the perfect blend of weirdness, sharp writing, and genuine laughs that will make it a favorite for years to come.
Few shows have become as influential in the cultural lexicon as this Margaret Atwood adaptation. The timing of this dystopian classic, combined with its stellar cast and gripping storylines has propelled it to something more than just another TV show. America as we know it is no more, taken over by a Christian fundamentalist organization newly christened Gilead. However, things are not as idyllic as the name would suggest, as women are no longer allowed to have jobs, rights, hold property, or have any sort of agency. Instead, they are either handmaids, a select few still-fertile women who are essentially used as broodmares for powerful men, and Marthas, who work in rich households. Elisabeth Moss turns in a strong performance as Ofglen, the titular handmaid who is trying to survive and escape to her fugitive family, but Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd, and Yvonne Strahovski all deliver memorable moments as fellow women trying to survive this harsh new world.
For a show about nothing, Seinfeld has left a cultural imprint that few shows can boast of achieving. Back before shows about neurotic people were the latest trend, Jerry Seinfeld blended his own neuroses with his stand up act, creating a New York landscape that many could relate to. With stories based on the minutiae of relationships and every day living, Seinfeld embedded itself in the cultural zeitgeist like few shows have done. Even if you’ve never seen an episode, you still know about the Soup Nazi and Newman. Plus, Veep fans will enjoy seeing a pre-presidential Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the hilariously frazzled Elaine Benes. If you’ve been meaning to watch the show that has made people laugh for decades, Hulu has you covered.
Joss Whedon has gone on to giant blockbusters since his days on The WB, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer will forever be his magnum opus. Buffy offered the perfect blend of horror, comedy, and feels, with episodes and characters that have stuck with viewers for years. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s titular slayer perfectly balanced the ordinary pains of growing up against the extraordinary and supernatural circumstances that come with living on a Hellmouth. The clothing and catchphrases might be deeply rooted in the ’90s, but the themes are timeless. Even if you don’t know your standard demon curse from an ancient rune, Buffy is essential. It’ll rip your heart out, but you’ll like it anyway.
Has there ever been a sitcom as downright clever as Community? Aside from the gas leak year, Community was quicker than nearly every other comedy out there, with jokes flying fast but also taking seasons to reach a punchline. After getting caught with a phony degree, former lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) heads to Greendale Community College to get a legitimate degree. There he gets into increasingly hilarious hijinks with his Spanish study group. Between paintball wars, zombie outbreaks, and the increasingly ridiculous presence of Senor Chang (Ken Jeong), Community is never, ever boring. Quit living in the darkest timeline and get to watching.
There’s no denying that the protagonists of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are amoral psychopaths. (Looking at you especially, Dennis.) But there are few shows out there that will elicit the same belly laughs. As these raging narcissists hang around Paddy’s Irish Pub, you will be struck by the lack of self-awareness while at the same time hoping things never change. Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day shine especially bright, sucking into a vortex of kitten mittens and Nightman. Whether or not you believe in a higher power, you will thank your gods that you are better adjusted than these assholes. What might be even more miraculous than so thoroughly enjoying a show about such sh*tty human beings though is how the series manages to continue to operate at such a high level, 14 seasons later.
There’s so much to love about Joss Whedon’s space cowboy series, it still boggles our minds that the show was canceled before it could get a second season. Still, the 14 episodes available on Hulu are worth a binge. Nathan Fillion plays Mal Reynolds, captain of a clunk of metal scavenging the galaxy 500 years into the future. He’s got a motley crew on board — Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, and Morena Baccarin also star — and he regularly gets into trouble with his less-than-legal side jobs. The writing is top-notch, the world-building is fascinating, and the chemistry is off the charts.
Despite being off the air for decades, the mysteries of Twin Peaks still tormented viewers, and even after the 2017 revival, they’re left more confused than ever. After the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) peers beneath the veneer of the small town of Twin Peaks, Wash., and finds a strange darkness under the surface. If you’re a fan of bizarre mysteries and a damn fine cup of coffee, Twin Peaks is the head trip for you.
The fifth season might have been the one minor letdown in its run, but Justified came back strong in its sixth and final season, making it one of television’s best all-time complete series. Justified boasts not only the two most charismatic characters around in trigger-happy Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) and its sly villain, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), but also the quickest 42 minutes on television. No hour-long drama flies by faster than Justified, which also makes it a great series to binge-watch. Moreover, Justified not only boasts smart, economic Elmore Leonard-inspired writing and crackling dialogue (under the direction of showrunner Graham Yost), but the stories are as engrossing as Leonard’s were page-turning. It’s not a perfect series, but even its flaws are endearing. (Bonus: Justified also features nearly every major actor from Deadwood at some point in the series.)
Many sci-fi shows have come into the geeky pantheon of television, but The X-Files remains a benchmark. While the revival series wasn’t quite what fans were hoping for, seeing the unbeatable team of Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) back in action was a treat. Still, going back to the beginning is the only way to go with the show. Whether you get caught up in the monster of the week storylines or like digging into the overarching mythology, The X-Files will stick with you for years to come.
t’s been over 20 years since NBC canceled this coming-of-age comedy, but now that it’s available to stream on Hulu, why not watch (or re-watch) it, if just to have a laugh at how stupid the TV exec who trashed this show looks right now. The series acts as a primer for the contemporary generation of comedy. Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jason Segal, and Paul Feig (among others) honed their craft over the course of 18 episodes, and the only true gripe you’ll come away with after sitting through one season is that there isn’t more.
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer go head-to-head in a gripping, globe-trotting game of cat-and-mouse in this spy-thriller from BBC. Oh (who earned a history-making Emmy for this role) plays the titular Eve (Polastri), a British Intelligence operative obsessed with catching an elusive assassin named Villanelle (Comer). Villanelle is a psychopath, one with a dark past and a love for the work she does — she’s damn good at it too — and the two capable women soon find their lives entwined in ways neither of them expected.
While it started as a hilarious James Bond spoof, Archer has really evolved into a show that can stand on its own. As super spies Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) are out doing the cool derring-do for ISIS (not that ISIS), the rest of the desk jockeys are left to deal with their mess and a lack of unionization. Archer quickly banishes the idea that cartoons are just for children (seriously, this show is not for children) with enough sex, drugs, and terrible behavior that Bond himself would blush. We’re still all in, 11 seasons, one trip to outer space, and an extremely long coma later.
Many wondered how Dan Harmon would follow up the perfection that was Community at its peak, and he certainly delivered with Rick and Morty. Like a demented version of Back to the Future, Rick and Morty follows a super scientist and his less-than-genius grandson on a variety of adventures. It’s part cartoon, part “cosmic horror.” Who knew that following a vomiting scientist and his dimwitted grandson could be so brilliant? Rick and Morty is a demented work of escapism for adults that’s not to be missed. It’s also a still relatively underground show that’s waiting to burst forth into a broader audience. Get in on the goodness now.
Damon Lindelof’s hit TV series about the survivors of a horrific plane crash, who try to find a way off the island they’ve been stranded on, is much more than the sum of its parts. Sure, a polar bear makes a strange cameo, smoke monsters haunt the group, and the finale left much to be desired, but at its core, Lost was always a show that tackled the big themes: Life, death, science vs. faith. It treated us to brilliant performances by an ensemble cast and broadened the imagined horizons of the TV landscape. Without Lost, some of the most epic series we enjoy today wouldn’t be possible. Show some respect and give it another watch on Hulu.
This cult teen drama has enjoyed a handful of revivals over the years — most notably a Kickstarter movie and a Hulu-produced fourth season — but to truly enjoy this noir, Nancy Drew-like adventure, you’ve got to go back to the beginning. We meet Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as a fresh-faced teenager who’s become a social pariah following the murder of her best friend. As she investigates a death that rocked the sea-side town, graduates to college sleuthing, and juggles romantic interests, Veronica takes down bad guys and stays a step ahead of the adults around her. And she keeps kicking a** into adulthood. Come for the witty banter and thrilling games of cat-and-mouse, stay for Bell, who’s never been better.
The brains behind sci-fi thrillers like Ex Machina and Annihilation gives us another mind-bending drama, this time for the small screen. Devs focuses on a young software engineer named Lily Chan who begins digging into a secret division of the cutting-edge tech company she works for in Silicon Valley because, get this, they probably murdered her boyfriend.
Michael Chiklis stars in this Golden Globe-winning police drama about a corrupt PD unit and the officers who operate within it. Chiklis plays Detective Vic Mackey, a thuggish anti-hero with a brutal methodology when it comes to police work. He leads a team of cops who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to take down criminals in L.A.’s notoriously crime-ridden district known as The Farm. It’s a gritty, violent look at police work that feels a bit more honest than others of its ilk and loves to paint its leads in shades of grey.
What happens when a documentary crew trails a group of thousand-year-old vampires rooming together in a Staten Island mansion? This punchline of a comedy series created by geniuses Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. The show, which borrows inspiration from its film predecessor, introduces a trio of undead friends – Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Laszlo (Matt Berry) – stuck in a house with their familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) and an energy-sucking vamp named Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch). Weird sh*t goes down in every episode but the show really flourishes in season two. Vampire councils, semen-thieving witches, Haley Joel Osment as a zombie, and small-town American hero Jackie Daytona were just a few highlights.
Noah Hawley might’ve proven he could shatter expectations with his Fargo reboot but what he’s done on FX’s comic series Legion is truly mind-blowing. The show, which exists in both the Marvel universe and the X-Men series, follows David Haller (Dan Stevens), a man with incredible powers, a murky past, and a demon parasite leeching his abilities while slowly making him go insane. The series begins in an insane asylum before traveling to secret government facilities, astral planes, and the future so good luck keeping track of the action. Better to just strap yourself in, enjoy the wild ride, and not worry whether what you’re seeing is real, or just all in David’s head.
There is a rough-around-the-edges quality that makes Misfits irresistible. A rotating team of adolescents gains supernatural powers while they’re fulfilling their criminal community service requirements, but the X-Men they are not. It’s not easy to categorize them as “the good guys” considering all of the people they accidentally kill, but they certainly mean well. Fans of Game of Thrones and Preacher will see some familiar faces, but the whole cast is aces. There are rumblings of an American remake, but hopefully, that will never come to fruition. There is something so decidedly British about Misfits, but not in the stuffy way that people assume. It’s gritty, it’s crass, and to water that down for stateside sensibilities would be a crime.
Fans of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz need to return to the show that birthed the miraculous creative team of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost. Spaced captures the Gen X experience in a totally unique way. Like a hopelessly nerdy Reality Bites, the trials of Tim (Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Hynes) will feel painfully real for those of us who have had dead-end jobs, dead-end relationships, and a seemingly dead-end life. It’s not all so bad, though. Despite the sometimes dire circumstances, the show maintains a pleasant optimism. Even if The Phantom Menace let you down, at least you can rewatch the original Star Wars trilogy as many times as you want. While the show is decidedly more low key than Wright’s future film endeavors, you can see the trademark style coming through in every single frame.
While the show may have lost a little steam in the middle of its run, when Sons of Anarchy was good, it was electric. As Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) struggled to find his place as the leader of his father’s old motorcycle gang, he is often made to wonder if the violence and stress on his family is worth the adrenaline and power. Kurt Sutter is a divisive figure in Hollywood, but he caught lightning in a bottle with SoA. With an endless parade of shocking moments and killer characters, few shows will keep you on the edge of your seat in the same way. You’ll be awfully glad you aren’t a part of SAMCRO, but you won’t be able to look away all the same. Just don’t go out and buy a motorcycle on a whim. You probably can’t pull off the leather. A television binge is the safer way to go.
What can we say about this genre-defining workplace comedy that hasn’t been said before? Ricky Gervais’ mockumentary has influenced some of the greatest works on television, and despite its many predecessors, it remains the best example of what a good, mundane comedy series can do. Gervais as clueless boss David Brent, whose desperate attempts at connecting with his underlings are a painful exercise in futility. Martin Freeman is also a stand-out, playing a role that John Krasinski inhabited in the American remake, but it’s the British sarcasm that really elevates this series and makes it worthy of a watch.
The antics of this New York police precinct are endlessly hilarious, with every character getting their moment to shine. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has one of the most wonderful casts currently on television, and it hasn’t slowed down a bit from its banner freshman season. While it is technically Jake Peralta’s (Andy Samberg) show, it’s one of the few true ensemble shows on television right now. It’s not that Samberg isn’t good, he is, but the same could also be said of Stephanie Beatriz’s Rosa or Terry Crews’ Terry or almost every other character. A workplace comedy at its core, Brooklyn Nine-Nine proves that showrunner Mike Schur is on a hot streak that shows no sign of slowing down.
If you’re looking for a show that will kick you in the balls and then pass you a mimosa, You’re the Worst is that show. It might have you crying tears of laughter in one scene, then leave you wondering “this is a COMEDY, right?!” in the next. It’s that dichotomy that makes it so vital to the modern television landscape. You owe it to yourself to be introduced to the familiar toxicity of Gretchen (Aya Cash) and Jimmy (Chris Geere) before the FX comedy returns. There are few comedies that so aptly mock modern mores of adulthood while still treating its characters with compassion, even if they don’t deserve it. Plus, there are few shows that perfectly express how it feels to be clinically depressed. Come for the trash juice, stay for the insight.
Comedian Ramy Youssef stars in this semi-autobiographical dramedy, playing a version of himself, a character named Ramy Hassan. Ramy navigates life growing up in New Jersey while straddling the line between the millennial generation he’s a part of and the Muslim community he belongs to. He wrestles with the constraints of his religion and his upbringing, while searching for meaning in more modern pursuits — drinking, partying, and hooking up. It’s heartwarming, eye-opening, and never takes itself too seriously.
There are few sitcoms as endlessly inventive and bitingly funny as Peep Show. Born from the hilariously warped minds of British comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb, the series focuses on Mark and Jez, two combatant roommates who are both failing at being an adult in their own awful ways. Told from different character perspectives, viewers get an inside look into their inner monologues. You may cringe into your sofa at some of their foibles, but never stop laughing. As these two idiots try and fail to successfully navigate life, at least they have the best and sharpest jokes.
There is always a little twinge of sadness when you finish a Party Down binge. With only two short seasons, there is always a feeling of “what could have been.” A show about people who can really only be classified as “losers,” Party Down masks a sharp emotional pain beneath hilarious guest stars and “Are we having fun yet?!” If you have ever been disappointed by how your life has turned out, be it by circumstance or your own bad choices, you will painfully relate with someone on the titular catering crew. Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan have killer chemistry as two self-destructive people who see themselves as better than their circumstances but refuse to make the kind of decisions that will help them get what they want. It’s easier to coast along and mock the absurd customers than to actually try.
When Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen announced plans to create a TV series based on the DC comic book series Preacher, the gut reaction was to ask, how? The series (anti)hero is a bad-boy preacher who is imbued with supernatural abilities after being possessed by a creature named Genesis. It’s a tall order for a TV show to tackle, even one on AMC, but somehow Rogen and Goldberg were able to translate the over-the-top weirdness of the comic book (think angels, demons, drunken vampires, and a character with an a**hole for a mouth) into a strangely poignant, at times frustrating, drama. Seeing is believing with this one.
Scrubs is more than “Guy Love.” Despite the show’s penchant for trafficking in absurd humor, Scrubs managed to pack in deeply emotional moments while also getting called “the most accurate television show about the medical profession.” While the final season may have been a departure from the original charm (it did give us Eliza Coupe, though, so it gets a pass), Zach Braff has never been more likable than he was as J.D., who was navigating his time at Sacred Heart from intern to physician. With hilarious moments of genuine friendship to the most cutting insults you wish you could use but fear HR repercussions, Scrubs proves that you don’t have to be an over the top soap opera or led by a genius misanthrope to keep people watching.Scrubs is showrunner Bill Lawrence at his best, and it definitely holds up to repeat viewings.
There are few shows out there that are as consistently manic and hilarious as Broad City. The dream team of Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson make living in New York seem like a screwed up fairy tale, and yet it is still more realistic than almost every other depiction of twentysomething life in the Big Apple. Their apartments are terrible, their sex toys are plentiful, and they are there to expose the cult-like nature of the co-op. While the jokes fly fast, they still manage to work in some pathos, especially in season three, which examines the changeable nature of friendship and how some relationships aren’t made to last.
If the animation of Futurama looks familiar, it’s because Simpson’s creator Matt Groening helped craft the show. His signature brand of humor’s part of its make-up too, but the plot strays from the relatively normal world of Springfield and takes into the future when a pizza guy is accidentally frozen in 1999 and thawed out in 2999.
Remember Donald Trump? It’s been less than a week since the 45th president left office and over three weeks since most social media services either banned him or limited his access. We don’t know what he thought about Joe Biden’s inauguration, about him deep-sixing a large number of his policies, like the Muslim ban and that “1776 Project.” Many of us probably don’t even care! But Trump loves nothing more than when people are talking about him, which is surely why, as per The Hill, that he’s set up a self-important function called “The Office of the Former President.”
From the sound of it, it’s nowhere near as earth-quaking as, say, his rumored possible news network or that potential new political party, neither of which have been confirmed one way or the other. In fact, it’s pretty simple: The office will, as per The Hill, “manage Trump’s correspondence, public statements, appearance and official activities, according to a press release from the office.”
But it’s the title that caught people’s eye, perhaps making it sound far more vital and ambitious than it is. Moreover, few other presidents have ever announced such an office to manage their post-POTUS affairs. Then again, most former presidents aren’t clearly out for revenge against those they perceive have wronged them.
Then again, we as taxpayers might be paying for it.
We are paying for this. The Former President’s Act funds an office and a staff for former presidents. (This benefit is lost if a President’s service in office ends bc of removal due to impeachment, but given how it’s worded this clause may not apply to Trump even if convicted) https://t.co/L6oPan8hxZ
Whatever Trump’s next step is, at least he has his this rinky-dink office — though, of course, this being Trump, one can’t help but suspect he has some nefarious ulterior motive up his sleeve. Then again, it does have the words “former president” in the title.” Maybe that means he’s not coming back.
Tuesday, January 26 will mark the one year anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and nine others in Los Angeles. It was a day few will ever forget, from the initial shock and disbelief to the tributes and stories that poured out in the days the followed.
Bryant’s death sent shockwaves around the NBA world, as this current generation of players are the ones who were inspired by him as kids and grew up wanting to follow in his footsteps — with some getting the chance to face off with their idol in his later years on the court. Countless players remembered Bryant by recalling bits of advice he’d given them or how he was part of their biggest “welcome to the NBA” moments, a fierce competitor on the court but also a mentor willing to pass his wealth of knowledge off to the next generation.
Kyrie Irving was among those who idolized Kobe growing up and would go on to become friends with Bryant once in the league. Last January, Irving spoke about his connection with Kobe days after his death, and with the Nets off on Tuesday, he paid tribute to his late friend by donning a Kobe jersey as he headed into the arena.
It is the first of what will surely be numerous Bryant tributes that we’ll see in coming days from those in the NBA, as his death is still fresh in the minds of so many and his influence on the current NBA landscape is so immense.
Florida representative Matt Gaetz is one of the Trump minions who’s stuck by his side even after the failed MAGA riot, and for good reason: He’s helped spread false claims of voter fraud. He loves Trump, he hates that he was impeached for a second time by his body of Congress, and he really hates that there’s a good chance the Senate may vote to impeach him as well. And since Gaetz is a very online presence, with a long history of being mocked, he made his thoughts known over Twitter.
“Impeachment is the zenith of cancel culture,” Gaetz wrote. It has the simplicity of a Zen koan, albeit one that falls apart when you think about it for more than a couple seconds. Indeed, it wasn’t long before a lot of people were taking the politician to the woodshed.
Equating accountability with “cancel culture” is the zenith of white man logic. https://t.co/k8dgWilyE4
Tweeting about cancel culture as a means of feeding red meat to your base who you’ve already fed so much meat to that they stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transition of power to a rightfully elected president is the zenith of avoiding the consequences of your actions. https://t.co/JC4Tm3ZKaa
I’d say that spending months lying about voting laws and then telling supporters to “save America” by marching on the Congress and showing “strength” to get 81 million votes thrown out is the zenith of “cancel culture.”
Some pointed out that Gaetz was actually insulting his beloved Founding Fathers, who put impeachment into the Constitution.
According to our modern brain genius conservatives, the Constitution is simultaneously the greatest charter of human freedom ever produced, and also includes the zenith of cancel culture in its provisions. pic.twitter.com/gmXbMTqhQf
Budweiser beer, and its low-calorie counterpart, Bud Light, have created some of the most memorable Super Bowl commercials of the past 37 years.
There were the Clydesdales playing football and the poor lost puppy who found its way home because of the helpful horses. Then there were the funny frogs who repeated the brand name, “Bud,” “Weis,” “Er.”
We can’t forget the “Wassup?!” ad that premiered in December 1999, spawning the most obnoxious catchphrase of the new millennium.
And who amongst us hasn’t lost a bet on the Bud Bowl?
However, when you turn on the TV on February 7 to watch Tom Brady’s Buccaneers go up against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, you won’t find a 30-second TV spot from Budweiser beer.
Instead, the beer’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has decided to donate portions of its advertising budget this year to the Ad Council, a nonprofit heading a $50 million campaign to fight back against COVID-19 vaccine skepticism.
The current cost of a 30-second TV ad during the Super Bowl on CBS is roughly $5.5 million.
The decision comes at a time when shares of AB InBev have fallen 14.5% over the past year. Although at-home beer consumption has risen during the pandemic, COVID-19 has drastically reduced the sales of alcohol in bars and at sporting events.
“For the first time in 37 years, Budweiser isn’t airing a commercial during the Super Bowl. Instead, we’re redirecting our advertising dollars to support COVID-19 vaccines awareness and education,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Working with partners like the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative, we’re helping to safely bring people back together again soon.
Who knew that America’s most iconic beer would one day lead the fight against anti-vaxxers?
In the run-up to the big game, the beer brand has created a 90-second online pro-vaccination ad voiced by “The Office” star Rashida Jones. In the ad, Jones urges viewers to “turn our strength into hope” while “Lean on Me” plays in the background.
Last November, the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative, a coalition of experts in health, education, and the economy, launched the vaccine education campaign
At the time, polls showed that 40% of Americans were not confident in a potential vaccine. That level of vaccine skepticism could seriously endanger any chance of a full recovery.
“Frankly, this is the biggest public health crisis we’ve ever faced, and we don’t have time to waste,” said Lisa Sherman, the group’s chief executive. “We’re working in advance so that once those vaccines are proven to be safe and approved by all the right people, we’re ready to go.”
The Ad Council launched a similar campaign back in the 1950s when it was tasked with encouraging Americans to get vaccinated against polio.
Budweiser isn’t the only Super Bowl regular to pull its ads from this year’s broadcast. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have said they won’t be running ads during the broadcast. Although Pepsi will be sponsoring the halftime show.
Serpentwithfeet first made a name for himself with his atmospheric debut album Soil, which landed on The 2018 Uproxx Music Critics Poll. Now, the LA-based musician returns for more music this year following his Virgil Abloh collaboration “Delicate Limbs.” Sharing the touching “Fellowship” video, Serpentwithfeet announces his sophomore album Deacon.
Directed by Kordae Jatafa Henry and shot on grainy film, Serpentwithfeet’s “Fellowship” visual is a journey through a sun-soaked day with the singer’s loved one. The two frolic on the beach, share some intimate moments, and enjoy the time spent in each other’s company. Co-produced by Sampha, the song “Fellowship” itself is about love. But rather than being exclusive to romantic love, Serpentwithfeet opens his heart to express gratitude to his friends, family, and supporters.
About Deacon, Serpentwithfeet said that he wanted to created a “softer” album than his debut and purposefully chose to avoid writing about heartbreak.
“I originally approached this project wanting to make something that felt very sensuous. Something a lot softer, a lot more gentle than my previous work,” he said. “I wanted to create something that felt calm and restrained. This was my way of tapping into the energy many deacons possess.”
Watch the “Fellowship” video above and find Serpentwithfeet’s Deacon cover art and tracklist below.
Deacon is out 3/26 via Secretly Canadian. Pre-order it here.
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