Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an equality icon and groundbreaking member of the Supreme Court, died at 87 on Friday after a battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Multiple reports spread on Friday evening that the Supreme Court justice had died after a series of medical scares and what was officially reported as complications from cancer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court says Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.
BREAKING NEWS from @NPR : Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday at age 87 from complications of cancer. In a statement dictated to her granddaughter Clara Spera days before her death, she said, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new President is installed.”
Reaction to the news was immediate, with “no no no” trending on Twitter immediately after news of her death spread. The site’s “What’s Happening” tab actually connected the phrase with news of Ginsburg’s death. The court itself also shared a statement about her passing on Friday.
“Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said in a statement. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
The development will give President Trump the opportunity to name her replacement, and Senate Republicans have promised to try to fill the vacancy even in the waning days of his first term. The confirmation battle, in the midst of a pandemic and a presidential election, is sure to be titanic.
Ginsburg’s death, while yet to be properly processed by the legal community and nation as a whole, sets up a situation similar to Barack Obama’s final year in office where he nominated Merrick Garland for a spot on the court. Congress, led by Mitch McConnell, refused to consider the nomination until after the election. That was won by Donald Trump, who nominated conservative judge Neil Gorsuch, further swinging the court to the right later in his term with the controversial appointment of Brett Kavanaugh.
If you’d like to learn more about the remarkable life of the late Supreme Court justice, we highly suggest the 2015 biography by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the outstanding documentary, RBG, which can be currently streamed via Hulu.
Over the Denver Nuggets’ first two series this postseason, Nikola Jokic went from merely an interesting basketball weapon to one of the scariest matchups in the NBA. After falling down 3-1 in both series, Jokic sliced through the Jazz and Clippers’ defenses as if they were hardly there. In order to beat Denver, the Lakers will have to keep Jokic in check in a way nobody has since the postseason began.
Los Angeles, understandably, got a lot of credit in the second round for seamlessly sizing down to match the small-ball Rockets, but they will have to make an equally big adjustment in the opposite direction to slow down Jokic. The Serbian big man has earned that. Without the size to stop him one-on-one, the Clippers had to get creative — or at least in theory they should have. Instead, Jokic was masterful against Montrezl Harrell, Ivica Zubac, and everyone who got switched onto him.
With even less size top to bottom than the Clippers, Frank Vogel and the Lakers will have to rely — as they have all year — on the individual intelligence and defensive skill. Still, it bears walking through just how little of a fight the Lakers put up against Jokic in the regular season. Though the Nuggets lost two of three to Los Angeles in the regular season, they actually outscored LA in those matchups by 15, and one of the losses came in a closely-contested overtime battle.
In something that likely won’t come as a surprise, after hardly playing JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard against the Rockets, Vogel said this week he expects his team to “return to form” against Denver. Judging from the regular season and the teams’ matchup in the seeding games, however, that plan may be discarded quickly.
Howard, in particular, struggled to cover ground like he used to when he was competing for MVP and DPOY awards. The vet got shredded in the pick-and-roll time and again trying to account for Jokic’s shooting, as well as his mobility and play-making with the ball in his hands. These mistakes may look familiar to those who watched Jokic go to work against the Clippers. Opponents look downright demoralized when Jokic outsmarts them, and the typical length and mobility that have always served Howard well just stood no chance against a 7-foot battering ram with the handle and mind of a Hall of Fame point guard.
Even with Anthony Davis on the weak side rotating over, Denver’s passing is so crisp and proactive that they could beat Davis’ rotations. That’s why you see Davis swatting at Jokic a beat too late in nearly every clip above. When the point-of-attack defense spouts a hole, even an incredible athlete like Davis can’t make up for the mistake.
That brings us to McGee. The two-time champ is quicker than Howard but still ended up out of position all too often. When McGee dropped into the paint, it forced the Lakers (in this case Danny Green) into a scramble to rotate. That — as the Clippers learned — spells doom against Jokic, who can drill a three or put the ball on the ground to beat a broken defense.
Inevitably, Jokic is going to figure out a way to get into isolation situations against his defender. More often than not, he’ll find a way to beat them. The Lakers can’t just let that happen and watch McGee and Howard get cooked. Though the Lakers’ identity all year stemmed from elite size and rim protection, they may have to look more like the group from the five games against Houston than the 73 prior to that if they’re going to beat the Nuggets.
Jokic’s appearance is deceiving for many reasons. The jokes are all accurate about getting suckered by a guy like this in the local gym, but his bruising interior style also forces teams to think they need to play big. Fortunately for L.A., they have a star who accomplishes both goals and who just put on a defensive masterclass in the second round.
The main problem with the Lakers’ bigs is that they lack the functional strength to move Jokic off his spots in the post or as a screener and facilitator outside. That meant they had to rely on getting a hand in his face or sending double-teams to stop him. But rarely did Davis check Jokic in the regular season or the seeding game. For the Lakers to stifle the Nuggets’ offense (especially in crunch time, where Jokic is unstoppable), Davis will need to accept this matchup and win it.
This reality even prompted Lakers reporter Anthony Slater of The Athletic to promote the idea of potentially starting Markieff Morris in this series as a way to masquerade Davis as a center while keeping another pseudo-big in the lineup. That idea could benefit the Lakers, especially if Morris keeps hitting the wide-open shots Davis and LeBron James create for him. Another possibility that Stan Van Gundy introduced on The Lowe Post this week was, at least late in games, for James to defend Jamal Murray while Davis checks Jokic. That way, when the two Nuggets unleash their lethal two-man game, the Lakers can switch without sacrificing size or quickness. While he didn’t make the expected impact in the Rockets series (L.A. didn’t need him to), Kyle Kuzma is another option in this two-man defense that would allow the Lakers to switch and guard the action with just two guys.
Too often, the slow-footedness of the Lakers’ bigs put the team in a bad situation defensively, either by having to send more help or by forcing wonky rotations. By putting Davis at center and getting creative with matchups, the Lakers stand a chance against Jokic’s screen game with just two guys and force the adjustment back on the Nuggets.
Perhaps the most dangerous thing about Jokic, though, is how he elevates his teammates. The idea of stopping Jokic is inextricable from containing the Nuggets’ entire offensive system. It may feel like the Utah series was Murray’s, and the Clippers series was Jokic’s, but the sum of their talents and chemistry together has become one of the hardest things to guard in the league.
Denver doesn’t have the shot distribution of an elite offense. They’ve generated the fourth-worst expected shooting efficiency in the playoffs, according to PBP Stats, as well as the fourth-lowest proportion of total shots to come from behind the arc or at the rim. But they were second only to Dallas in generating offense off cuts this season, according to Synergy Sports play type data, and between Murray and Jokic, they have two incredible shot-makers from all three levels in the half court.
The whole team also has a sense for how to find one another in their spots. Jokic fills the highlight reels, but both he and Murray are great and confident passers. Playing with Jokic has made every Nugget ready for a pass at any time (see Torrey Craig’s mid-cut assist to Jokic above), and this team can beat even the smartest defenses. Check out how even as James and Avery Bradley switch places to get a body in Jokic’s way at the free throw line, the big man beats the switch with a laser pass.
What this all means for the Lakers is that they can’t wait for Denver to force the issue when it comes to the rotation. The idea of Morris (and Rajon Rondo) makes sense for the Lakers, but as with the team’s traditional centers, Vogel can’t afford to play inconsistent veterans too many minutes if they can’t stay on the court against the Nuggets.
Los Angeles will miss Bradley as an option on Murray, but a few things are in their favor that weren’t before. Alex Caruso is even better defensively and more consistent than he was earlier in the year; the same is true for Kuzma. And they aren’t facing the type of killer wing player that could have posed a big issue for this roster. The Lakers have a few options to switch the Jokic-Murray pick-and-roll and can also use Davis to stop Jokic one-on-one.
Keeping Jokic all the way in check is a tall order, but there are reasonable pathways to doing it for this Lakers team that may prove more tolerable than the matchup problems the Clippers would have posed. Still, the most likely outcome is that Jokic is going to get his. Whether L.A. can limit the damage could be the difference between an early return to California or a trip to the NBA Finals.
Jeopardy! is a game show about order and following the rules. Answers in the form of a question. Run categories from top to bottom. Come up with a good story to tell Alex Trebek or he’ll roast you into oblivion. It’s as close to baseball as far as unwritten rules and decorum as you’ll find in the game show world. And short of Wheel of Fortune creating some disasters when people pronounce things wrong, there’s no other game show that is more closely tied to its rules.
So when an answer in Final Jeopardy was deemed incorrect earlier in the week that seemed to go against the game’s storied rules, fans freaked out. And days later, they’re still buzzing about the fate of Betsy, a contestant whose appearance ended with what was ruled an incorrect answer on a Final Jeopardy question about “The Music Biz.”
Here’s the question: In 2019 at a 60th anniversary event in Detroit, this producer announced his retirement saying he had “come full circle.”
Everyone got the question wrong, but Betsy was ruled incorrect after writing down “Barry Gordy,” which is a slightly different spelling than the actual answer, Berry Gordy. Betsy would not have won, as she had just $2,000 and the eventual champion, Cory, was well above that and did not wager any money on the question.
Still, Twitter lit up with people talking about the differences between “Barry” and “Berry” on Tuesday night, with former show contestants and many popular fan accounts taking exception to the ruling and questioning whether the judges had made a mistake in the moment.
I have no words.
That judges’ ruling in Final Jeopardy tonight is completely inconsistent with past practice.
Good luck handling the flames tonight, @Jeopardy, you’re going to need it.#Jeopardy
This is what I’m referencing: if the judges had been as stringent in my game as they were last night, my opponents’ responses would have been found incorrect and I would be a #Jeopardy champion. pic.twitter.com/BpJLxtx8oa
Many fans brought up similar instances in the show’s past where contestants were not penalized for similar misspellings or words largely pronounced the same way.
Curious why this misspelling of Yul Brynner was accepted but Betsy’s misspelling of Berry Gordy wasn’t. pic.twitter.com/pVQdjjaYZT
Days later, fans were still talking about it. It’s sparked memes online, and many are still discussing it on Twitter, where the show’s official Twitter account has taken to responding with a form reply that’s a bit revisionist in its ruling: the claim is that the answer Betsy put down was a different name that added “incorrect information to an otherwise correct response.”
Still mad about this ridiculous revisionist “Jeopardy!” decision from Tuesday’s episode pic.twitter.com/JcjMbJg6fn
That answer didn’t cut it for most fans, who continued to talk about it on basically every tweet the Jeopardy! account has sent out since. And fans keep coming up with different reasons why Betsy should have been given a different ruling. We even got a Teen Wolf reference in discussing the incorrect answer.
The only argument in favor of ruling AGAINST the answer “Barry Gordy” would be if there were a music producer by that name frequently confused with Berry Gordy.
But indeed there is not, and incidentally, @Jeopardy, I present a frame from the end credits of TEEN WOLF TOO (1987). pic.twitter.com/WUQaYYwHx9
It’s certainly not the news the show wanted to make in its return to air, but it does mean big Jeopardy! fans will be talking about Betsy and Berry Gordy for years to come.
NXT UK is finally back. After five and a half months of running clip shows because they had no taping plan amid the pandemic, they’re doing audience-free shows from the BT Sports studio in London, and while it’s no Thunderdome, it looks pretty good. Obviously we’ll miss the ballroom ceilings and singing fans for a while to come, but at least the show is happening again.
Their relaunch episode wasn’t a big extravaganza, which took me by surprise at first, but makes sense on reflection. NXT UK is returning with no momentum whatsoever, and they need a little time to set some things up and get all the pieces running. So this episode felt relatively minor, but it set up one big match, and another important segment for next week, as well as re-starting a bunch of storylines for down the road. Of course I’m laying this out like NXT UK is on its way back to the top, when we all know that almost nobody watches this show. For the record, I still maintain that more people should, because it’s a very good wrestling show.
Ilja Dragunov started the show, reminding Sid Scala and the rest of us that he earned a shot at the NXT UK Championship right before quarantine, and he’s ready for that match anytime now. Then Noam Dar showed up with big quarantine hair, and they set up a match for the main event.
When that match came around, it turned out to be really good, which was no big surprise from these two. Ilja Dragunov brings a bananas intensity that makes him seem simultaneously heroic and unhinged. Noam Dar, of course, is great at both wrestling and coming off like an absolute dirtbag, which some would say is part of wrestling.
The actual first match on the episode featured tag team champions Gallus (seemingly a two-man team for now, with only one remaining Coffey) vs. Kenny Williams and Amir Jordan. It was a perfectly cromulent match, but several minutes into the Face In Peril sequence featuring Jordan, I did find myself wondering it this was the thing to relaunch with.
But then, after Gallus inevitably won the match, the rest of the tag team division came out and they all sort stand around sizing each other up from a distance. South Wales Subculture is there, as well as Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter, Pretty Deadly, and the Hunt. Even Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner, the half of Imperium that’s currently trapped in Florida, show up on a screen. The Grizzled Young Veterans are noticeably missing, but even without them, this is an excellent reminder of how strong the tag team wrestling is on this brand.
The only other match on the card was Isla Dawn vs. Aoife Valkyrie. Valkyrie is definitely somebody they’re setting up for a push, and I get it. She’s a got a great look and she’s very good in the ring. Of course, that means Isla Dawn is still being used as enhancement talent, but I guess it’s a job somebody’s alway got to do.
In more immediate women’s division news, we get an in-ring confrontation between NXT UK Women’s champion Kay Lee Ray, and number one contender Piper Niven. Piper reminded KLR how many times she’s beaten her in Japan and elsewhere, and Kay Lee seemed a bit shaken despite her tough demeanor. Whatever else goes on next week, that much is going to be a must-see.
Over in the men’s division, there’s going to be a tournament for a “Heritage Cup,” which will be contested and British rules similar to the match Kassius Ohno had with Sid Scala some months back. So that should be really fun. Next week, Pete Dunne will be on the show to help with the drawing that sets up the order of the tournament matches. As for the tournament itself, it’s going to feature A-Kid, Noam Dar, Flash Morgan Webster, Alexander Wolfe, Dave Mastiff, Joseph Connors, and Trent Seven, so it looks pretty strong.
With this new reality of wrestling coverage here at Uproxx, I’m not sure if I’ll be recapping every episode of NXT UK going forward. But I’ll definitely keep watching and let you know when anything really cool happens.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the hottest R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday. Check out the best new R&B music this week below.
Sevyn Streeter — “HMU”
It’s been three years since Sevyn Streeter unleashed her project Girl Disrupted. This week, the talented singer-songwriter is gearing up to release the follow-up as she shares the music video for her song “HMU.” It’s an upbeat R&B bop produced by Smash David with the visual handled by Malakai.
Xavier Omar — “All Our Time”
Xavier Omar‘s “All Our Time” featuring Jae Stephens is the second single to be released off the R&B singer’s forthcoming project If You Feel. With warm production by Bizness Boi, Xavier Omar sings of chilling with his summer boo.
Baby Rose — To Myself EP (Deluxe)
The one and only Baby Rose has released the deluxe version of her project To Myself featuring three fresh songs in the form of “Damn,” “August 5th,” and fan-favorite “Marmot.” Tonight, Baby Rose will be performing a special “socially distanced” show at a secret location in Atlanta.
Ceraadi — “BFF”
R&B duo Ceraadi have finally released the music video for their fan-favorite track “BFF.” The visual sees Saiyr and Emaza turned up on the country road and showing how much fun they have as best friends and sisters.
Nevaeh Jolie — “Screwed Up” Feat. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
R&B Singer Nevaeh Jolie tapped in with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie for 90s R&B-inspired feel-good cut, “Screwed Up.” Naveah sings a catchy hook that borrows from Mary Jane Girls’ “All Night Long,” creating the perfect cool vibe just in time for the fall season. “Screwed Up is raw and real and I hope this song makes my peeps feel playa and just catch a vibe!” she said via press release. “Shoutout to A Boogie for really making this an East coast bop!”
Sault — Untitled (Rise)
Sault is delivering a soulful spirituality with his latest release Untitled (Rise). It’s an eclectic collection of songs dripping in jazz and R&B.
Sainvil — “Boxed In” Feat. Boogie
R&B singer Sainvil drops off his new single “Boxed In” along with the music video featuring Compton’s own Boogie. The social justice anthem addresses the police killings of Black people at a disproportionate rate in America. This is the first single off Sanvil’s forthcoming EP, 2020 Was Hijacked.
Kingdom — Neurofire
Kingdom’s album Neurofire is here and features guest appearances from Semma, Kayla Blackmon, UNIQU3, and Tiara Thomas. The project also features his previously released track “No More Same” featuring Luvk.
Your Grandparents — “Tomorrow”
Your Grandparents keep coming with some of the best R&B jams of the year and this week they’re dropping off their track “Tomorrow.” The song is set to live on their forthcoming album.
Check out this week’s R&B picks, plus more on Uproxx’s Spotify playlist below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Artist Tom Ward has used his incredible illustration techniques to give us some new perspective on modern life through popular Disney characters. “Disney characters are so iconic that I thought transporting them to our modern world could help us see it through new eyes,” he told The Metro.
Tom says he wanted to bring to life “the times we live in and communicate topical issues in a relatable way.”
In Ward’s “Alt Disney” series, Prince Charming and Pinocchio have fallen victim to smart phone addiction. Ariel is living in a polluted ocean, and Simba and Baloo have been abused by humans.
Not all the news is bad though. LeFou form “Beauty and the Beast” has finally come out of the closet and his crush, Gaston, appears to be pretty accepting of the revelation.
Although, was it really such a shock?
Ward believes that his illustration of Artur from “Sword and the Stone makes” a particularly strong point. “I also think the message of Arthur from The Sword in the Stone sitting on his phone has some resonance today,” he said. “He’s too engrossed in his phone to experience other opportunities and realize his true potential in life.”
In the midst of his Twitter tirade against Universal over his own record contract, Kanye West has made an overture sure to send shockwaves throughout the music industry. Despite an ongoing feud that’s left the two artists in a constant passive-aggressive power struggle for the past decade, Kanye has offered to help Taylor Swift obtain control of her master recordings from Big Machine Records, citing his friendship with her former manager Scooter Braun as leverage. “I’M GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK,” he tweeted. “SCOOTER IS A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND.”
I’M GOING TO PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT TAYLOR SWIFT GETS HER MASTERS BACK. SCOOTER IS A CLOSE FAMILY FRIEND
Over the past few days, Kanye’ tweets have brought industry standards and practices into focus — especially with regards to the terms of their contracts, which many artists have felt are unfairly titled in favor of labels. Kanye posted his own contract — and several of its amendments — page-by-page in order to illustrate to followers how complex the language and terms can be. While doing so may have undermined his point — his contracts are very favorable, relatively speaking, and he’s had the leverage to renegotiate multiple times over the past decade and a half — it also renewed interest in the inner workings of the recording industry.
Taylor Swift knows a thing or two about trying to drum up support for a crusade for ownership of her hard work. When Taylor Swift left Big Machine for Republic in 2018, she did so without the master recordings from her first few albums. After announcing that she was never given the opportunity to purchase her masters back (an accusation that Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta denies), she went on her own quest for restitution, noting that she planned to re-record her old catalog and completely cut ties with her former manager and label.
While Kanye and Taylor have had their fair share of friction over the years — in fact, enough for both entertainers’ labels’ entire rosters — Kanye’s vow could be the catalyst in finally putting their rivalry to rest for good, if he follows through. Kanye has unfortunately been known to half-ass his plans (see: his entire 2020 presidential campaign, for instance) and he’s just as likely to reverse course in a fit of pique if Taylor wears Pumas around him. But as two of the biggest pop stars in the world, for either or both to have complete control of their music could change the way the entire industry does business in the future.
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt reenacting the famous pool scene (you know the one) was the headline, but the highlight of the virtual Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read was Shia LaBeouf as Spicoli. It’s almost too perfect. Of course Shia was a great Spicoli. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised that if Shia had access to a time machine, his first stop would be to 1982, so he could convince director Amy Heckerling and writer Cameron Crowe to cast him, and not Sean Penn, as the ever-stoned surfer dude.
Penn was actually in virtual attendance, along with Morgan Freeman, Matthew McConaughey, Henry Golding, Julia Roberts, and, uh, Dane Cook, which makes LaBeouf’s performance all the more impressive. Did I mention that he spent the entire table read in his (?) car while shirtless and smoking? His dedication to his craft did not go unnoticed. Journalist Tara Bitran spoke for all of us when she tweeted, “Shia LaBeouf did not have to go as hard as he did as Jeff Spicoli in the #FastTimesLive table read. But boy did his commitment make him a total star of the show. He even had the original Spicoli Sean Penn in fits of laughter, as well as Brad Pitt and Matthew McConaughey.”
Shia LaBeouf did not have to go as hard as he did as Jeff Spicoli in the #FastTimesLive table read. But boy did his commitment make him a total star of the show. He even had the original Spicoli Sean Penn in fits of laughter, as well as Brad Pitt and Matthew McConaughey. pic.twitter.com/yvExeHDaDk
The Fast Times virtual table read raised money for CORE and REFORM Alliance. The whole thing is worth a watch, but be sure to at least stick around to Shia’s entrance.
All eyes may be on Maya Rudolph’s widely expected appearances as Kamala Harris on an unprecedented five consecutive Saturday Night Live episodes ahead of the presidential election this fall, but another outstanding Rudolph performance has won her an Emmy this week.
Thursday brought word that Rudolph won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her role as Connie the Hormone Monstress on the Netflix adult animation show Big Mouth. In a muted year for the Emmys, and buried in the mid-week Creative Arts ceremony, it wasn’t as widely celebrated as it should have been, but still, at least the Netflix and Big Mouth Twitter accounts were thrilled.
It’s certainly well-deserved, as her pronunciation of “bubble bath” alone is worth approximately a developing nation’s gross domestic product. But it’s also a pretty spectacular run for a character that, according to Rudolph, was supposed to be a one-off until she blew the creators of the show away with Connie’s unique vocal abilities and characterization.
And as many pointed out, it seems surprising that it took this long for Rudolph to win an award like that.
Rudolph had actually been nominated for three Emmys for her work on Saturday Night Live as a guest, The Judge on the final season of The Good Place, and, of course, Connie. But it seems the Hormone Monstress is the role that stuck.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards (Sunday, 10:00pm ABC) — Without question, this shall be the most unpredictable Emmys ceremony, so please stop by for our coverage of the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted event. We still tried to predict how this will go: probably a lot of Succession, Watchmen, and Ozark love.
Antebellum (VOD film from Lionsgate) — Amid the pandemic shuffle, this film’s hoping to clean up on VOD with Janelle Monáe in a mindbending horror-thriller. Our own Mike Ryan thinks it’s a terrific movie with a twist that you may not see coming.
Ratched (Netflix series) — This isn’t the Nurse Mildred Ratched origin story that One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest viewers might be expecting, but it’s an entertaining-if-messy watch. Sarah Paulson gives it her all, and Cynthia Nixon makes an extraordinary turn as a public servant (and lover of Ratched). Overall, it’s a stylish and twisted devotional, one that has been rolled around in true Ryan Murphy fashion.
PEN15: Season 2 (Hulu series) — Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle are doing it again — playing 13-year-old versions of themselves — in this exaggeratedly surreal show that’s found a cult audience. This season may not be as funny as last year, but it’s still as good as fans expect.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (Netflix series) — The cautionary tale continues. Somehow, watching characters ooh-and-ah over cute little baby dinosaurs, who rapidly reach adulthood and terrorize all who dare to tread upon Isla Nublar, never gets old. Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow executive produce, DreamWorks animation handles the visuals, and Amblin Entertainment helped make this a rollicking adventure… with an obligatory cameo from Blue.
Becoming (Disney+ series) — LeBron James produced this docuseries that focuses upon celebrity upbringings and what it means to go home. Expect to see a variety of entertainers, musicians, and athletes in this first season, including Anthony Davis, Caleb McLaughlin, Candace Parker, and Nick Cannon.
ALL IN: The Fight For Democracy (Amazon Prime documentary) — This film digs into the insidious (and real) issue of voter suppression within the United States. Featuring insidght from Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House, all kinds of shenanigans (probably including gerrymandering) will be explored.
The Boys: Season 2 (Amazon Prime series) — This season’s gone weekly from here on out while diving deeper, and Episode 5 sees the female Supes “getting it done” while Butcher takes a trip back home, and Stormfront makes Starlight increasingly uncomfortable while crossing boundaries.
The Devil All The Time (Netflix film) — Robert Pattinson portrays an unholy preacher while Sebastian Stan steps into a crooked sheriff’s shoes, and Tom Holland’s simply trying to stay out of the line of fire while evil forces surround him. It’s a battle between the corrupt and the so-called just that should provide a nice midweek viewing break. This Antonio Campos-directed story spans the period between WWII and Vietnam and co-stars Jason Clarke, Riley Keough, Bill Skarsgård, Eliza Scanlen, and Mia Wasikowska.
Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:
Room 104 (Friday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — The fourth season of the Duplass Brothers’ bizarre playground continues to churn the weirdest of the weird inside a nondescript motel room.
Lovecraft Country (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — If you’re feeling this 1950s-set dark fantasy series at all (and why wouldn’t you?), this week’s episode finally digs into those strange phone calls that Atticus keeps making to North Korea. Hopefully, he’s paid that phone bill by now.
Love Fraud (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Richard Scott Smith’s victims embark upon a road trip to stop him for good in this critically acclaimed Sundance Film Festival limited series that feels like the lovechild of Dirty John and Tiger King.
The Vow (Sunday, HBO 10:00 p.m.) — A mother tries to pull her daughter out of the NXIVM organization, but authorities aren’t much help in that department, so parents approach the New York Times.
Desus & Mero (Sunday, Showtime 11:00 p.m.) — The illustrious guest is Janelle Monáe.
And in case you missed these selections last week:
Unpregnant (HBO Max film) — A 17-year-old Type A student, Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson), deals with a never-taken-lightly decision by taking a 1000-mile road trip with her former BFF, Bailey (Barbie Ferreira), and it’s a wild ride that neither of them suspected was afoot. The value of renewed friendships with a dash of both Thelma And Louise and Fast And Furious make this an unexpectedly funny film with costars including Alex MacNicoll, Breckin Meyer, and Giancarlo Esposito, and Betty Who.
Woke (Hulu series) — This show is the comedy series that Lamorne Morris (and the rest of us) deserves with a little bit of everything. It’s surreal, it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s got talking toast and trashcans, and it’s in good hands with director Maurice “Mo” Marable. The quest to “keep it light” never felt so real as Keef (based upon the life and work of artist Keith Knight) experiences a rude awakening and transformation to follow.
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Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
