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The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Mary And Martha

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June undertakes a risky mission in The Handmaid’s Tale latest season 3 episode. Spoilers ahead in our review…

This The Handmaid's Tale review contains spoilers. We have a spoiler free review of the season here.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 3 Episode 2 

One swallow does not a summer make, and two data points don’t form a trend, but bugger me if that wasn’t another hopeful episode of The Handmaid’s Tale. Admittedly, it involved June taking a cattle prod shock to the gut and hand-burying a murder victim in the frozen ground, but around the edge were victories.

These victories were less dramatic and more domestic than last week’s border crossing: Flowers were planted on a grave. Emily made a phone call. Luke kissed his step-daughter. And a Martha brought a Handmaid a tub of ointment. Each of these small acts though, signified unity. To a regime like Gilead, which thrives on division, unity is a weapon. 

As is empathy. Gilead relies on stamping both out and drawing stark divisions between people, for good reason. Humans instinctively mistrust outsiders. We resent what we perceive as other people’s privilege and status. If you’re trying to subjugate a population, giving everybody separate color-coded labels is a good place to start. See also: cattle prods.

(Being in the same color-coded group is no guarantee of neighborliness, of course. June’s new walking partner –read: spy –seems to have been specially selected for her loyalty to the regime. That bug was squashed with a few smart words, another of this episode’s miniature triumphs.)

June’s major victory this episode was in muddying up Gilead’s color-coding by crossing a social border. Stumbling upon Beth, Cora and Alison in the kitchen, she spied an opportunity to fight and by the end of the hour, had proved herself a useful soldier in the resistance army. Marthas don’t trust Handmaids? Now Beth trusts June. It’s a start. 

read more: The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Depicts a Seismic Shift in Gilead

There were more barriers broken in the Canadian stories, which showed characteristic emotional wisdom. Crossing that river was the simple part for Emily. Now she has to rescue herself from the ruins of what Gilead did to her. Luke too, was bound to have ambivalent feelings about Nichole, his wife’s baby but not his own, whose very presence reminds him that he failed to save Hannah. Moira’s good sense helped them both, and their final scenes were both breakthroughs.

As the Canadian storylines develop, they serve the same valve-release purpose as the flashbacks did previously, offering fresh scenery and a new chattering soundscape to give us respite from the suffocation of Gilead. 

Even in Gilead, the Lawrence house is another fresh setting. Its grandness and number of staff mark Joseph out as a man more powerful than Fred Waterford. It’s a different style of home too, rambling and disordered, the opposite to the Waterfords' chillingly perfect show house. The Waterfords’ art is a symbol of their taste and wealth, while the art on the Lawrence walls is unframed, expressive and feels handmade. What does it tell us about its enigmatic owners? 

If Beth and June are two soldiers now, they face an unpredictable and hazy enemy. Is the mercurial Commander Lawrence a threat or an ally? He’s earned a level of privacy, and uses it to fill his home with Gilead’s strays, but seems a reluctant rebel. Joseph Lawrence appears loving towards his wife but, as seen in his dismissal of Cora, callously unconcerned about others, and as seen in his explosion at June, can be ferocious.  

Mrs. Lawrence (Julie Dretzin) is another question mark. Twice this episode, she showed herself to be a friend to the cause. Is her unspecified condition alleviated by or down to those red and white pills? The Lawrence enigma is season three’s best mystery.  

read more: 25 Nerdy Design Details in The Handmaid's Tale

Until now, the world of the Marthas has also been a mystery. Unlike the Handmaids, we haven’t visited their training centres, witnessed their rituals, or learned their state-directed mantras “God bless our labors,” apparently, and “Through work we’re cleansed” – Gilead’s take on “arbeit macht frei.”

(The Mary and Martha of the title, for info, refer to the Gospel of St Luke passage about Jesus visiting the home of two sisters, one of which - Mary - sat at his feet to listen to his teachings while the other - Martha - did all the housework alone. Instead of chiding Mary for laziness though, Jesus said she had her priorities straight and God's wisdom was where it's at. I'm paraphrasing.)

The underground network that carried out June and Nichole’s escape at the end of season two was our first glimpse of the rebels hiding in plain sight. While we were being told stories of Wives and Handmaids, the Marthas’ pale green dresses have blended in to the back of shot. As June remarks while in disguise this episode, Marthas are designed to be invisible.

Who better then, to form the resistance? Godspeed you, Breaking Bad. God bless your labors. 

Keep up with all our The Handmaid's Tale season 3 news and reviews right here.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 3 episode 2 review
ReviewLouisa Mellor
Jun 18, 2019

American Dad Season 16 Episode 10 Review: Wild Women Do

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Francine and Jeff have a night on the town, but their wilder impulses soon break loose and make for a fun American Dad episode!

This American Dad review contains spoilers.

American Dad Season 16 Episode 10

“Jeff, I want to thank you for Hayley making you do this.”

American Dad is full of a lot of volatile personalities. There are certainly absurd characters on this program, but even the meeker individuals have triggers that can turn them into crazy versions of themselves under the right circumstances. Characters like Roger can be set off by something like alcohol, but Francine is consistently repressed into her housewife role. “Wild Women Do” explores who Francine really is underneath all of the micromanagement, but it also brings to light that Jeff might not be all that different either.

“Wild Women Do” begins with Stan receiving exciting news that he’s been admitted to the prestigious Shaquille O’Neal Sleep Apnea Center in order to treat his debilitating sleeping disorder. While that could easily be an episode in itself, Stan’s absence instead leaves Francine vulnerable on her much needed monthly night out. With Stan unavailable, Jeff finds himself shuffled into the role of Francine’s company for the night and winds up on a crazy evening that spirals out of control. This setup works particularly well because the episode finds one of those few character combinations in the series that really hasn’t been experimented with yet: Jeff and Francine. Clueless Jeff’s attempts to keep up with and rein in a wild Francine are particularly satisfying.

Even though “Wild Women Do” centers on Francine’s outrageous impulses, it’s also a showcase of why Jeff is such a rewarding character. Stan may be absent for much of the installment, but his scene with Jeff where he struggles to explain to him Francine’s needs and what’s required of him is excellent. The fact that he has an explicit “metaphor corner” in his office to help prove his point and Jeff still fully can’t connect the dots here is exactly why this story is such a success. He brings results regardless of who he’s with.

This season, Jeff has had to make sense of Hayley’s crazier impulses, but here he learns that Francine operates on a whole other level. Stan explains the many restrictions that he secretly places on Francine so she can think that she’s going wild, without truly cutting loose. This is a tall task for Jeff and his feeble efforts to covertly keep Francine in check are a lot of fun. It’s not surprising when Jeff botches the mission, but things take a curious turn when she convinces Jeff that he’s a wild woman at heart, too.

further reading: 25 Best American Dad Episodes

Francine and Jeff go on a drastic bender (apparently going wild mostly involves getting drunk), but they find themselves out of their league when they end up at a deranged dry cleaner’s home. Francine’s wild tendencies begin to waver when she picks up on the dangerous energy of this place, but Jeff insists that they soldier on and that he wants his first wild experience to be memorable. This works well enough for a twist on their original positions, but after some unintentional suicide takes place, the two of them are both ready to call it a night.

Roger gets to briefly enter this chaos and manages to only make things worse when he shows up as a Fixer to help clean up this murder, but he proves to be extremely useless. It’s incredible how Roger really only succeeds on spreading blood all over the residence and causing the crime scene to become even more gruesome. His exit wherein he uses a rubber stamp in the victim’s blood to mark this a job well done is possibly the best joke of the whole episode. It soon looks like Francine and Jeff are about to be arrested for their wildness, but it's eventually what saves them from jail time and helps them cover up Mr. Rick's murder. It’s impressive: a lingering homicide is the kind of thing that American Dad usually leaves open-ended in an episode. "Wild Women Do" does tie up its loose ends, and still concludes on a sweet moment of commiseration between Jeff and Francine.

It’s somewhat frustrating that Francine never gets to confront Stan about his list or that he never even learns that going wild is what saves the day in the end. It would have been a rounder conclusion if Stan attempted to solve the situation in some official CIA capacity, only for Francine and Jeff to do a better job with their wild approach. Of course there’s only so much that can fit into an episode, but it would be nice to see Francine get some outside validation.

Francine and Jeff find themselves in trouble and out of their league for a lot of this episode, but Steve also winds up in an awkward predicament by gaslighting Klaus. Steve neglects e-mails from Klaus that contain celebrity impressions. After some royalty-free Risky Business antics lead to an accident, Klaus keeps Steve hostage and forces his impressions on him as if they were inhumane torture. Once again, the episode’s B-story doesn’t really amount to much more than an amusing premise, but at least it aims high. Klaus’ terrible impressions play out before an imprisoned Steve who progressively loses it. It’s not the deepest storyline, but it’s entertaining and provides a steady stream of aggressive weirdness into the episode whenever things cool down.

“Wild Women Do” isn’t a revolutionary episode of American Dad, but it’s a funny offering that brings something fresh to the series. There’s a “chaos logic” that helps guide and justify the episode’s crazier plot points. This appears to be Marc Carusiello’s first script for the show and he absolutely kills it. It’s a polished episode and it delivers a lot of laughs, even during the quieter moments.

And apologies to stevesmith69@gmail.com and stevesmith420@gmail.com because you’re about to get Dad’ed.

Daniel Kurland is a published writer, comedian, and critic whose work can be read on Den of Geek, Vulture, Bloody Disgusting, and ScreenRant. Daniel knows that the owls are not what they seem, that Psycho II is better than the original, and he’s always game to discuss Space Dandy. His perma-neurotic thought process can be followed at @DanielKurlansky.

3.5/5
ReviewDaniel Kurland
american dad season 16 episode 10 review tbs
Jun 18, 2019

Hulu New Releases: July 2019

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We have a list of the new Hulu movies and shows arriving in July 2019.

Hulu is riding high off the release of its major blockbuster series, The Handmaid's Tale last month. So for its new releases in July 2019, Hulu is rolling out another blockbuster of sorts. Beloved P.I. dramedy Veronica Marsdidn't start its life on Hulu (that honor belongs to The CW), but it's going to darn well finish it on Hulu. Veronica Mars Season 4 premieres on July 26.

Hulu's only $5.99/month now, grab the deal here!

The end of July finds another Hulu original based on a pre-existing property arriving with Four Weddings and a Funeralpremiering on July 31. Aside from the originals, however, July is a big month for Hulu and movies. July 1 sees big ticket items like the Rocky series, Con Air, and Minority Report. Also sprinkled throughout the month are Drop Dead Gorgeous, Gone Baby Gone, and the usual offerings of cooking and food shows.

All in all, Hulu's summer momentum continues apace.

Hulu New Releases: July 2019

July 1

Forged in Fire: Complete Season 5 (History Channel)

Forged in Fire: Knife or Death: Complete Season 2 (History Channel)

Grace vs. Abrams: Complete Season 1 (A&E)

Hoarders: Complete Season 6 (A&E)

Killer in Plain Sight: Complete Season 1 (Content Media)

Married at First Sight: Complete Season 7 (Lifetime)

Mountain Men: Complete Season 2 (History Channel)

Nightwatch Nation: Complete Season 1 (A&E)

Project Runway: Complete Season 12 (Lifetime)

The Universe: Complete Seasons 4-6 (History Channel)

Veronica Mars: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Warner Bros)

What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage: Series Premiere (FOX)

88 Minutes (2007)

A Little Princess (1995)

A Year Ago in Winter (2008)

Accomplices (2010)

Airplane! (1980)

Airplanes II: The Sequel (1982)

American Gun (2005)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

The Amityville Horror (2005)

Antiviral (2013)

The Appeared (2009)

Apres Lui (2008)

Arbitrage (2012)

Are We Done Yet? (2007)

Are We There Yet? (2005)

Astro Boy (2009)

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Bad Santa (2003)

The Benchwarmers (2006)

Beyond the Gates (of Hell) (2016)

Big Fish (2003)

Brotherhood of Justice (1986)

Bull Durham (1988)

Bunny and the Bull (2010) 

The Chateau (2001)

The Childhood of a Leader (2016)

Child’s Play (1988)

Coffin Rock (2009) 

Con Air (1997)

Cooties (2014)

CSA: Confederate States of America (2005)

Curse of the Zodiac (2007)

Dans Paris (2006)

Death Bell (2009)

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

Endless Love (1981)

Errors of the Human Body (2013)

Evolution (2015)

Fainheart (2008)

Fighter (2007)

The First Wives Club (1996)

Gangster No. 1 (2000)

The Girl Under the Waves (2001)

Good Luck Chuck (2007)

Good Time Max (2008)

Hard Candy (2006)

Hellions (2015)

Hero (“Ying Xiong”) (2002)

Home of the Brave (2006)

Honey 2 (20111)

The Housemaid (2011)

The Human Stain (2003)

I Remember You (2017)

The Imperialists are Still Alive (2011)

Into The Blue (2005)

Into The Blue 2: The Reef (2009)

Johnny Mad Dog (2010)

Killing them Safely (2015)

King Kong (2005)

The Last Days (2014)

Leaving (2010)

Letters to Juliet (2010)

Man About Town (2006)

Man in the Moon (1991)

Manglehorn (2015)

Married to the Mob (1988)

Minority Report (2002)

Mission: Impossible III (2006) 

My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)

Myth of the American Sleepover (2011)

No One Knows about Persian Cats (2010)

Open Water (2004)

Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)

Operation Condor (1991)

Operation Condor II: The Armour of the Gods (1991)

The Overbrook Brothers (2010)

Paper Covers Rock (2009)

Paranoid Park (2008)

The Panic in Needle Park (1971)

The Polar Express (2004)

The Princess of Montpensier (2011)

Primal (2011)

Prime (2005)

Proof (2005)

Pumpkin (2002)

Puzzle (2011)

The Quiet American (2002)

Quigley Down Under (1990)

Rain (2009)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Rocky (1976)

Rocky II (1979)

Rocky III (1982)

Rocky IV (1985)

Rocky V (1990) 

Rules of Attraction (2002)

Rules of Engagement (2000)

Running Scared (1986)

Sangre de mi Sangre (2008)

Shanghai Surprise (1986)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Sling Blade (1996)

Someone Else (2009)

Sounds Like Teen Spirit: A Popumentary (2010) 

Spaceballs (1987)

Species (1995)

Species II (1998)

Species III (2004)

Species: The Awakening (2007)

Stalked By My Patients (2018)

Stigmata (1999)

Stung (2015)

Superbad (2007)

Swimfan (2002)

Swingers (1996)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Sum of all Fears (2002)

Terror in the Woods (2018)

The Time that Remains (2011)

The Uninvited (2009)

The Wraith (1987)

Thomas in Love (2001)

Traitor (2008)

Turtles Can Fly (2004)

Unmade Beds (2009)

Uptown Girls (2003)

Vampires (2011)

Vincere (2010)

Walk Away Renee (2012)

We Are What We Are (2011)

White Night Wedding (2008)

With a Friend like Harry (2000)

Women of Brewster Place (1989) 

July 2

The Last Word (2017) 

July 3

Phoenix (1998)

July 4

Into The Dark: Culture Shock: Episode 10 Premiere (Hulu Original)

The Brink (2019)

Woman at War (2018)

July 5

Amazing World of Gumball: Complete Season 6 (Cartoon Network)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Complete Season 13 (FX)

The Venture Bros.: Complete Season 7 (Adult Swim)

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

July 7

The Real Housewives of Orange County: Complete Season 13 (Bravo)

July 10

Bring the Funny: Series Premiere (NBC)

Harlots: Season 3 Premiere (Hulu Original)

Witness Protection (2008) 

July 12

Hollywood Game Night: Season 6 Premiere (NBC)

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

July 13

Clique: Complete Season 2 (All3 Media)

July 15

90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days: Complete Season 2 (TLC)

Beachfront Bargain Hunt: Complete Seasons 17-18 (HGTV)

Caribbean Life: Complete Seasons 6-7 (HGTV)

Chopped: Complete Seasons 30-31 (Food Network)

Cold Valley: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)

Deadly Women: Complete Seasons 11-12 (IDTV)

Food Paradise: Complete Season 11 (Food Network)

Homicide Hunter: Complete Season 8 (IDTV)

How The Universe Works: Complete Seasons 3-6 (Discovery Channel)

Kids BBQ Championship: Complete Season 2 (Food Network)

Killer Unknown: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)

Love It or List It: Complete Seasons 12-13 (HGTV)

Mythbusters: Complete Season 20 (Discovery Channel)

Mythbusters Jr: Complete Season 1 (Discovery Channel)

NASA’s Unexplained Files: Complete Seasons 1-5 (Science Channel)

Say Yes to the Dress: Complete Seasons 15-16 (TLC)

Secret Space Escapes: Complete Season 1 (Science Channel)

Shark week 2017: Complete Season 1 (Discovery Channel)

The 1990’s: The Deadliest Decade: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)

The Golden State Killer: It’s Not Over: Complete Season 1 (IDTV)

Your Worst Nightmare: Complete Seasons 4-5 (IDTV)

July 18

The Last Man (2019) 

July 19

Tokyo Ghoul: Complete Season 3A (DUBBED) (Funimation) 

July 20

Apollo 11 (2019)

July 21

The Wave (2015)

July 22

Time Freak (2019)

July 23

Planet 51 (2009) 

July 26

Light as a Feather: Complete Season 2 Premiere (Hulu Original)

Power: Complete Season 5 (Starz)

Veronica Mars: Complete Season 4 Premiere (Hulu Original)

I Trapped the Devil (2019)

The Field Guide to Evil (2019)

July 29

After Darkness (2018)

July 30

Bachelor in Paradise: Season 6 Premiere (ABC) 

July 31

Four Weddings and a Funeral: Series Premiere (Hulu Original)

Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018)

Dior and I (2015)

Leaving Hulu - July 31

July 31

A Conspiracy to Rule: The Illuminati (2017)

The Art of the Game (2018)

Bait Shop (2008)

Billboard Dad (1998)

Black Rain (1989)

Bluefin (2016)

Bully (2001)

Capote (2005)

Chocolat (2000)

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Flashdance (1983)

Ground Control (1998)

Harsh Times (2006)

Hoodlum (1997)

Imagine Me and You (2005)

Ironweed (1987)

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Larger than Life (1996)

Le Divorce (2002)

Made (2001)

Major League (1989)

Mermaids (1990)

My Five Wives (2000)

Nick of Time (1995)

Patriot Games (1992)

Passport to Paris (1999)

Possums (1998)

Rollerball (2002)

Rollerball (1975)

The Sicilian (1987)

Star Kid (1998)

Switching Goals (1999)

The Time Machine (2002)

Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2001)

Thirteen (2003)

Twice Upon a Yesterday (1999)

Under Siege (1992)

Zombieland (2009)

Editor's Note: This page is updated monthly. Bookmark it for the latest Hulu new releases!

Hulu New Releases July 2019 Veronica Mars Season 4
NewsAlec Bojalad
Jun 18, 2019

Nickelodeon to Hold SpongeBob 20th Birthday Blowout at Comic-Con

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SpongeBob SquarePants’s 20th anniversary will be the center of Nickelodeon’s grandiose Comic-Con presence this year.

SpongeBob SquarePants is turning 20 soon; a fact that Nickelodeon has spent much of the year reminding the world in celebratory jubilance. Besides the July 20 special, SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout!, the diminutive dweller of a pineapple under the sea has lined up another movie, a confirmed prequel series and even possible spinoffs. However, San Diego Comic-Con will be the backdrop for a more ephemeral experience to celebrate said birthday, with Nickelodeon promising a party unlike anything else for convention attendees.

Nickelodeon is transforming the floor of Comic-Con into SpongeBob’s undersea hamlet home, Bikini Bottom! – Well, 1800 square feet of said floor, anyway. Indeed, Comic-Con International: San Diego July 18-21, 2019 will see the channel – in addition to an array of meet-and-greets, signings and giveaways – host an interactive experience for its booth (#4113), where fans will be able to immerse themselves in an environment of familiar design elements that bring to life key SpongeBob setting such as The Krusty Krab, The Chum Bucket and Mrs. Puff’s Boating School.

The Nickelodeon booth will be teeming with activity each day of the convention, notably from a game held inside The Krusty Krab, in which fans will compete against each other in a race against the clock to complete food orders for the establishment’s ornery crustacean proprietor. Also, The Chum Bucket will tower 22 feet over a retail area with the kind of knickknacks – both for SpongeBob and Nickelodeon IP cousins like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles– one would expect to find will be sold. Additionally, Mrs. Puff’s Boating School will be available for fan photo opportunities; an overall experience that will be enhanced by the presence of costumed characters.

Pertinent to the aforementioned IP cousins, Nickelodeon will hold two panels at the Con. One will, of course, be for “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” which will, as its title suggest, celebrate the franchise’s big 2-0, with a look at the making of SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout! with executive producers Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli. The panel, to be moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s David Canfield, will also feature the presence of voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) and Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs).

The other panel, “To Shell and Back: An exclusive TMNT creator panel,” will be a cavalcade of cowabunga, centered on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesfranchise, at which three generations of creators will appear. There, fans will get to see – and interact with – co-executive producers Andy Suriano and Ant Ward (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), executive producer Ciro Nieli (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and one of the esteemed co-creators of the four Renaissance reptiles, Kevin Eastman. The moderator of this panel will be Den of Geek‘s very own editor-in-chief, Mike Cecchini.

If you’re attending Comic-Con this year, this is a must-visit experience!

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.

SpongeBob Squarepants 20th, Best Year Ever; Nickelodeon
NewsJoseph Baxter
Jun 18, 2019

Jason Bourne TV Spinoff Treadstone Cast and Details

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USA Network gave a straight-to-series order to Jason Bourne offshoot Treadstone, which may get international deal with Amazon.

Jason Bourne may be done at the cinema for now but some of the American super soldier's buddies (and enemies) are coming to television.

USA Network gave a straight-to-series order to Treadstone, a Jason Bourne spinoff covering Operation Treadstone, the fictional (or so we think and hope) CIA black ops program that turned Jason Bourne into an amnesiac killing machine.

Heroes creator Tim Kring will serve as showrunner and writer on Treadstone, which showcases the formation of the franchise's CIA black ops program, following the exploits of its sleeper agents, activated for stealthy missions around the world. Production is set to begin in 2019. There is no potential release date lined up yet. 

Treadstone Cast

While Treadstone revealed a full cast lineup back in January, it seems that some amendments have been officially added to said cast in the form of five more actors, one of whom will be part of the main cast.

Michelle Forbes has landed the series regular role of Ellen Becker, described as “a savvy CIA veteran trying to balance the demands of work and family while investigating a conspiracy with international implications.” Forbes, who any self-respecting Trekkie will remember as the rebellious Ensign Ro on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has made her presence known in numerous high-profile TV franchises such as 24, Battlestar Galactica, True Blood, Prison Break, The Killing, Orphan Black, The Returned, PlayStation series Powers, and most recently on Epix's Berlin Station. She's also fielded film roles in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Escape from L.A. and Kalifornia.

Forbes will be joined by a gaggle of recurring cast members consisting of the following:

Patrick Fugit (First Man, Outcast) will play Stephen Haynes, “a high school math teacher with a dark side that he’s struggling to keep under control.”

Michael Gaston (Strange Angel, The Man in the High Castle) will play Dan Levine, “a no-nonsense senior CIA veteran overseeing an investigation that involves some of the Agency’s darkest secrets.”

Tess Haubrich (Alien: Covenant, Wolf Creek) will play Samantha, “a nurse who must reconcile her husband Doug’s dark past.”

Shruti Haasan (Katamarayudu, Race Gurram) will play Nira Patel, "a young woman in Delhi whose waitress job serves as a cover for a dangerous double life as a trained assassin.” Haasan is an actress/singer from the Bollywood scene who’ll be crossing over into the West.

The rest of the Treadstone cast, as revealed via Deadline, consists of the following:

Omar Metwally (The Affair, Mr. Robot) will play Mr. Edwards, described as “a CIA agent who was ostracized by his colleagues after making a decision that left a fellow operative dead. His willingness to make the hard choice positions him as the most qualified agent for a stealth mission.”

Tracy Ifeachor (Quantico, Legends of Tomorrow) will portray Tara Coleman, described as “an investigative journalist who has turned her back on her career after getting too close to a dangerous truth. Now she must put the past behind her to get to the bottom of an international conspiracy.”

Hyo Joo Han (W: Two Worlds, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) will play SoYun, described as “a wife and mother who must make difficult choices that compromise her quiet family life in North Korea after she starts to learn about her own secret past.”

Gabrielle Scharnitzky (The Game, Storm of Love) will play Petra, described as “a no-nonsense Russian patriot who has committed her life to her country but has deep-seated knowledge of Russian tactics that come into play when she is betrayed.”

Emilia Schüle (Berlin Station, High Society) will play portray a Russian KGB agent who, per the description, “will stop at nothing to promote the agenda of her motherland.”

The incoming cast members join a starring duo announced back in November.

Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) stars as J. Randolph Bentley, described as “a spy dispatched by the CIA to eliminate a key target, but ends up embroiled in an international conspiracy.

Brian J. Smith (Sense8, World on Fire) plays Doug McKenna, an all-American oil-rig worker whose life changes after he discovers long buried truths about himself.”

Treadstone Details

 “As the No. 1 cable entertainment network for the past 12 years, USA Network is delivering a dynamic lineup of big, bold programming – and what could be bigger and bolder than the Treadstone mythology?" Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, told Deadline.

Treadstone was originally announced as one of four pilots that USA Network was developing in April. After giving it some thought apparently, USA Network has decided to skip that pilot business altogether and give Treadstone a full season. One factor that may have influenced that decision is Universal Cable Productions, the studio behind Treadstone, negotiating an international distribution deal with Amazon. Treadstone could follow a similar path to Syfy's Nightflyers, which is getting international distribution via Netflix.

The character of Jason Bourne was created by novelist Robert Ludlum. The character, an unwitting super soldier and spy, first debuted in the 1980 novel The Bourne Identity. The character is best known for the five-installment film series starring Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner that bears his name. The last go-around was 2016's poorly received Jason Bourne

Funnily enough, this isn't Bourne's first time on television. The Bourne Identity was adapted into a 1988 TV film. Treadstonewill at the very least have better production quality than that.

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne
NewsAlec Bojalad Joseph Baxter
Jun 18, 2019

What Would Jessica Jones Season 4 Look Like?

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If Jessica Jones Season 4 were to eventually happen, what might it look like?

This article contains Jessica Jones Season 3 spoilersWe have a spoiler free review here if you prefer. 

For many, this past weekend marked the final binge of Jessica Jones and the Marvel/Netflix shows. The third season was a marked improvement over the second, picking up speed as it went along and building on Jessica’s growth as a person. All of these morally-murky characters that we’ve come to know and love (or even hate) spent much of their final thirteen episodes meditating on what it means to be a hero, even as they were punching, kicking, clawing, and killing their way through Hell’s Kitchen.

But what if this weren’t the final season? While the details surrounding the cancelations of all of the Marvel Netflix shows remain murky, from what we understand, this show and these characters are off the table for the next couple of years. But once that clause is up, we could potentially see them all again on another platform or network.

read more: Every Marvel and MCU Easter Egg in Jessica Jones Season 3

Given how popular the show has been, particularly the critically acclaimed, Peabody-winning first season, it would be a shame to let Jessica Jones cool her heels for too long, especially just as her BFF Carol is taking flight in the MCU and Marvel is finally giving us more substantial women characters, for whom Jess blazed a trail.

Here are some of our best guesses, theories, and what we would like to see if Jessica Jones ever makes it back on the air...

The biggest challenge the show faced after Season 1 was how to follow-up a villain like Kilgrave. It’s hard for anyone to be as enigmatic as David Tennant, or for any challenge to feel as all-consuming and existential as what the Purple Man did to Jessica. It would be great to see the show instead shift to a more case-of-the-week format and lean into the noir elements, while allowing other aspects of Jessica and the team’s life to carry through the season-long arcs, like Malcolm’s attempt to be a better person again and Jessica’s continual struggle to let people in.

This might also open the door for something many have been craving: a She-Hulk procedural. If she can’t have her own show, why not have Jessica get her own lawyer (to replace the obviously compromised Jeryn Hogarth), Jennifer Walters? The final season of Jessica Jones takes place in 2017. Skip ahead some time to let Trish languish in prison and jump over all things Avengers: Endgame, and now we have a world where Bruce Banner’s cousin She-Hulk can just walk around being a lawyer without the general public afraid that she might hulk-out, even if she always had more control than her cousin.

Jessica Jones, meet Jessica Drew

That’s not to say there aren’t still some interesting villains and other adventures to tap into from the Alias comics. Jessica went up against a mob boss dealing Mutant Growth Hormone, befriended Jessica Drew AKA Spider-Woman, and we got a peek at her brief career with the Avengers. If Spider-Woman can’t be on the big screen, why not at least let her hang out with her fellow Jessica?

read more: Jessica Jones Season 3 Villain Explained - Who is Gregory Sallinger?

It would be great to someday get a proper flashback to Jessica’s Jewel days as a caped hero, or even to see her help out the Avengers in her present tense. In a classic noir case full of twists and turns, someone hired her in what seemed like a run of the mill case, in an attempt to trap Jessica into exposing Captain America’s identity, which is less relevant in the MCU but could be applied to another masked character.

The Future of Jeryn Hogarth

While Season 3 left Jeri Hogarth facing a depressing, solitary future of her own creation, if the show were to come back, it’s possible she could one day become a better person... if she lives long enough. Television loves nothing more than a last-minute redemption, so it’s littered with dark characters who use their final act in life to finally do something good. Jeryn has always done just enough right (or considered Jessica and friends just enough useful) to keep herself from going full-on villain, but she does more than just flirt with the darkness. Helping Kilgrave and Sallinger are serious black marks that she’ll need to overcome.

read more: Jessica Jones Season 3 Ending Explained

As Kith rightfully hinted at, Jeri wasn’t trying to save the supposed love of her life out of selflessness. She was doing it because she didn’t want to die alone, and she had convinced herself that Kith was her solution to that problem. There’s a reason we had never heard of Kith before: once Jeri moves on, she drops someone cold. But she did make more progress this season toward something that looked like love, and while she helped Sallinger and was harsh to Malcolm, she did eventually come around to Jessica’s side when she saw the real danger. Any redemption arc for Jeri would need to take its time and involve heavy doses of skepticism from literally everyone, so it would certainly put Jessica and Malcolm in a fun mode to watch, if done right.

The Future of Trish Walker and Hellcat

Trish, on the other hand, seems like she might already be poised for redemption, even if it currently seems logistically more difficult. That might seem strange, since she’s on the Raft serving time for several murders and quite a few other crimes, but during the series finale she finally had a genuine moment of understanding that she’s the “bad guy,” as she put it, while Costa was reviewing the charges. It’s a moment of clarity the audience and Jessica have been hoping to see all season and, in some ways, since even before that.

read more: Jessica Jones — Who is Erik Gelden?

It’s still deeply concerning that Trish sees the world in such terms of black and white, something Jessica was obviously hoping her sister would evolve on over the course of the series’ final season on Netflix. But the combination of someone who now knows how wrong they are and is forced to live with it, while reconciling it with a worldview that only accepts heroes and villains, as someone who went to such lengths to become a hero, could make for excellent storytelling. And based on their final wordless, emotional moments as Trish was taken away to The Raft, Trish could count on her sister for support as time or perhaps a more interesting solution to her imprisonment presented itself, like some kind of Suicide Squad.

Jessica Jones...reporter?

In The Pulsecomic books, Jessica shuttered Alias Investigations (sound familiar?) and went on to work for J. Jonah Jameson as a reporter. She teamed up with her old pals Spider-Man and Luke Cage and exposed Norman Osborn after he murdered a reporter at The Daily Bugle. It’s not hard to see Jessica’s skills as a PI translating to making her a great investigative reporter, but it might shock Jessica Jones audiences to picture her as a mom.

Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and...a daughter?

In the comics, Jessica eventually got back together with Luke Cage, and the pair had a daughter, Danielle, named after Iron Fist Danny Rand. One benefit of an IRL gap between Season 3 and a possible Jessica Jones Season 4 is that it would make it easier to swallow the idea that these characters have changed, and allow for some interesting use of time within the narrative.

Whatever happens with Jessica Jones, it’s been an innovative comic and show with plenty of source material and narrative promise left to explore. Here’s hoping its signature snarky twitter account one day lights up to let us know the bitch is back.  

Jessica Jones Season 3 is now on Netflix.

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones
FeatureDelia Harrington
Jun 18, 2019

Tacoma FD Season 2 Confirmed

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TruTV has ordered Tacoma FD Season 2, allowing for more rainy day firefighting adventures.

Some good news for a rainy Tacoma day! 

Deadline reports that TruTV has ordered another season of firefighting comedy Tacoma FD. Tacoma FDSeason 2 will feature 13 episodes. There is no early word on a release date, though Deadline notes it will go into production later this year and arrive in 2020. Tacoma FD's first season just wrapped up in May 2019.

Tacoma FD was created by Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe and Super Troopers movie franchise. The show is set in rainy Tacoma, Washington where the climate means there are few fires and therefore few things for the local fire department to do other than annoy one another

Heffernan and Lemme star as Chief Terry McConky and Captain Eddie Penisi respectively. They are joined in the cast by a notable comedy ensemble including Eugene Cordero (Andy), Marcus Henderson (Granny), Gabriel Hogan (Ike) and Hassie Harrison (Lucy). Heffernan and Lemme also serve as executive producers alongside David Miner and Greg Walter from 3 Arts Entertainment and Kyle Clark from Silverscreen Pictures.

The show's first season was a solid ratings performer for TruTV, becoming the number 1 rated new cable comedy among young adults. Premiering after TruTV's flagship Impractical Jokers certainly helped but Tacoma FD did the improbable of growing its ratings in week two. Not a bad job for a pleasant little hangout comedy.

Heffernan and Lemme spoke with Den of Geek's Fourth Wall Podcast earlier this year about what sets the show apart. Heffernan said:

“An important element that we learned in the TV writing world is that you need a little bit more in the world of sustained arcs over the course of a season. We talked about that, and one of them was this family dynamic. I think that's something that's maybe not in Super Troopers.”

Now they'll have a chance to sustain some more arcs in Tacoma FDSeason 2.

Alec Bojalad is TV Editor at Den of Geek and TCA member. Read more of his stuff here. Follow him at his creatively-named Twitter handle @alecbojalad

Tacoma FD Season 2
NewsAlec Bojalad
Jun 18, 2019

22 Best Hulu TV Shows You Haven't Streamed Yet

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Hulu's TV collection is vast and intimidating. Simplify things (or complicate them further) with our list of older and lesser-known gems.

Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back to see what other little-seen classics get added to Hulu.

Updated for July 2019. 

You can see a complete list of new Hulu releases here.

There are very few Internet streaming pools deeper than Hulu's current TV offerings.

And that's an excellent opportunity to find some excellent shows on Hulu you didn't know were streaming. Ok, you may be aware of some - especially if you have a Hulu subscription and a healthy appetite for television. But we're betting there are even some you may have missed along the way.

Hulu's only $5.99/month now, grab the deal here!

Here, you might find some old favorites from your childhood or something more foreign, sometimes literally if you're American. They're all worth watching, however, and you're welcome to offer up your own, obscure-ish classics. And "obscure" is in the eye of the beholder.

Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell is an omnipresent cultural meme about teenagers in the early '90s and one boy's stunning ability to stop time. It's also a TV show. One forgets that despite Saved by the Bell's outsized cultural impact, it was a relatively short-lived show, running for a high school-appropriate four seasons.

It's also pretty fun in its own early '90s after-school special kind of way. Watch it to pretend you're a teenager in the early '90s (and maybe you were! I don't have the Den of Geek demographic reports in front of me) or watch it like an anthropologist, studying the Screech, Zach and Kelly Jungian archetypes it created. 

Sealab 2021

If Adult Swim has an aesthetic it's going for, it can succinctly be described as weird. Sealab 2021 is a prime example. It's one of Archer creator Adam Reed's earlier efforts and fits in perfectly among early Adult Swim's other bizarre offerings.

further reading: The Best TV Shows Hidden on Netflix

Sealab is a Space Ghost Coast to Coast spinoff and features the animation of '70s Hanna-Barbera cartoon Sealab 2020...only naturally dubbed over with new dialogue. If you're the kind of person who would like Sealab 2021 chances are you've watched it already. But if you're an Archer fan ready to get a little weird: give it a shot.

Ally McBeal

Funny story. When I was a child I was once allowed to watch Ally McBeal with my mom...or more accurately: was allowed to be in the room while my mom watched Ally McBeal. The episode in question just happened to be the episode in which Ally hallucinates a crappily CGI-ed baby dancing to Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling." I was delighted because I had seen the baby before as an early Internet email chain meme so I wanted to watch every episode of Ally McBeal.

Sadly, I soon discovered that not every episode included the CGI dancing baby. But at least I was introduced to the wonders of David E. Kelly legal dramedies at an early age...which explains a lot.

The Mighty Boosh

This is a pretty meme-tastic list so far. Enter The Mighty Boosh, a comedy troupe with their own kind-of sketch show responsible for one of the better out-of-nowhere YouTube videos of all time. You may know it as Old Gregg. Beyond one merman with female genitalia and a penchant drinking Bailey's Irish cream from a shoe, however, The Mighty Boosh has plenty to offer.

further reading: The Best TV Shows Hidden on Amazon Prime

It features Howard Moon (Julian Barratt) and Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) pursue musical fame along with an alien shaman named Naboo and his gorilla friend, Bollo. The Mighty Boosh is a different kind of sketch show, and an excellent one.

The Little Rascals

Almost a century later, Our Gang/The Little Rascals (we'll be going with The Little Rascals from here on our since that's how Hulu classifies it) is a remarkable achievement. The Little Rascals is essentially a series of short films from Hal Roach that shows early 20th century children at their most natural. It's like a pseudo-Vaudevillian documentary ode to youth itself and it holds up like crazy.

It broke ground by including both black children and girls as equals to white children. Granted, to the modern eye there are moments of pure breathtaking racism. That's to be expected from something that's nearly a hundred years old. Hulu has a 13-episode best-of collection and it's worth watching.

The Inbetweeners

Three cheers for The Inbetweeners for reaching one of Den of Geek's most impressive achievements. The little show that could has three-peated and appeared on our Netflix, Amazon, and now Hulu "You Didn't Know Were Streaming" lists. It's no secret why. The British high school series is as screechingly hilarious as it is earnest.

further reading: The Best TV Comedies on Hulu

Hulu has the first two seasons and then you're on your own for the third and final season plus two movies. All are worth watching if you want to re-experience what true teenage awkwardness and disillusion is.

Smallville

Smallville's DNA can be found all over television right now. ArrowThe FlashLegends of TomorrowSupergirl - all owe their existence to the CW's (well it actually started on the WB and then WB and UPN merged to create The CW) first crack at depicting a comic book hero on the small screen. Early episodes of Smallville must be pretty unrecognizable to fans of those current francises.

further reading: The Smallville and Supernatural Crossover We Almost Saw

The series depicted pre-Superman Clark Kent, making his way through his youth in Smallville, Kansas and early on it struck true to its creators' promise of "no tights, no flights." Over many years (10 seasons to be exact) it would evolve into something more grandiose and epic as viewers became more comfortable accepting comic book movies on television. Both "versions" of the show are well-crafted and influential.

Stephen Fry in America

As an American, there is nothing more interesting to me than non-Americans experiencing the grandeur and weirdness of America. Stephen Fry in America is the absolute best that the very limited genre of "non-Americans looking into this whole America thing" has to offer. In the first episode, Fry explains that his motivation for traveling the continental United States in a London taxicab is due to the knowledge that he could have very easily been born in the country (his father was offered a job at Princeton University right before Fry was born and turned it down).

Watch Stephen Fry in America on Hulu with a free one month on us, right here!

His trip is therefore a personal mission to understand this strange land as it is an intellectual one. As a smart, funny man, Fry can't help but be a good host: thoughtful and engaging. There are moments in the series, however, when he can only stare in awe at all the contradictions of this country. These moments are amazing and make Stephen Fry in America a must-watch if you have Hulu.

Digimon Adventure

Digimon was never able to become anywhere near the franchise it's "mon" rival Pokemon did. That's probably because the premise is fairly limited. Digi-destined as granted one Digimon buddy to lead them through the trials and tribulations of the Digital World. There's not collecting, no training. Even the evolution system is entirely temporary. All of Digimon's cultural shortcomings don't change one immutable fact though.

further reading: Digimon Adventure Film Announced with Original Characters

The show Digimon Adventure runs circles around any season of the Pokemon cartoon. In fact, Digimon Adventure and many of the spinoffs to follow are lowkey great. Watch this one if you want to reconnect with your childhood or if you're just feeling a solid anime adventure.

21 Jump Street

Who could forget 21 Jump Street? It's the late '80s cops-posing-as teens show that brought us giant movie stars like Richard Grieco and Peter DeLuise. Also Johnny Depp. 21 Jump Street wasn't a leap forward in terms of quality for TV shows of its time. But it was was plenty good, if preachy.

Many episodes were immediately succeeded by public service announcements featuring a member of the cast talking about the main "issue" from the episode. It's like Degrassi only if everyone were armed. If that appeals to you, give 21 Jump Street a shot. And watch Phil Lord and Chris Miller's movie too, by the way. That advice applies for literally any situation.

My So-Called Life

How do you feel about unresolved cliffhangers? If the mere idea makes every pore of your body shoot out sweat like a fire protection system sprinkler in a gymnasium, maybe skip My So-Called Life. If you would prefer to not let a lack of resolution get in the way of a good time, watch it. My So-Called Life's life was tragically cut short by ABC after just one season.

further reading: The Best Action Movies on Hulu

And unfortunately the first and only season ends on a big cliffhanger. Still, it's worth watching for those who can handle that. The show was about high schoolers in a fictional Pittsburgh suburb trying to survive adolescence and the various crises of the day. It's also widely regarded as one of the best high school series of all time. 

Lip Service

Lip Service looks very good. And I'm not just saying that because most of the plot involves attractive women kissing one another. It's just a very stylish, well-directed program that makes Glasgow seem like the most wild, exciting place on Earth.

And maybe it is! Americans got our own dose of high-quality pay cable lesbian drama with Showtime's The L Word. Then the British Isles follwed up with Lip Service. Quality, legitiamtely sexy but not condescending LGBT programming is a must for the television landscape and Lip Service continues the tradition proudly. 

In the Flesh

One of these days, we're going to run out of ways to tweak the zombie genre. Until then enjoy all the diverse creative takes we have on the form. BBC Three's In the Flesh is among the most entertaining and creative entrants to the zombie canon yet. Zombie movies are almost always political or social in nature. In the Flesh takes the sublte political commentary inherent in zombie dramas and cranks it to 11.

further reading: The Best Horror Movies on Hulu

In the world of In the Flesh the zombie uprising has come and gone and thanks to new medicine the undead are now able to retain their consciousness and return to life as it was before "The Rising." Mostly anyway. The citizens of Roarton naturally have a difficult time reintigrating the reformed zombies back into their lives after spending so much time hunting them.

Homicide Hunter

Every streaming service needs its own Forensic Files-esque murder investigation show. For Netflix and Amazon Prime it's Forensic Files itself. But on Hulu there's a show that may have out-Forensic Filed Forensic FilesHomicide Hunter is an hour-long docu series that revisits the many, many, many murder investigations of retired Colorado Springs detective Joe Kenda.

further reading: The Best Sci-Fi Movies on Hulu

The perspective is limited in that it covers cases from only one location and involving the same investigator but still the sheer volume and breadth of cases is remarkable. And isolating Kenda as the sole person to tell each story is effective.

Invader Zim

Invader Zim was ahead of its time. The show ran on Nickelodeon for two seasons back in 2001. It told the story of a race of hyper aggressive aliens and one annoying grunt named Zim who was sent to Earth to subjugate humans as a lark.

further reading: Invader Zim: Inside the Return to Nickelodeon

It was rather swiftly canceled for not the now rather anachronistic reason of not reaching the demographics Nickelodeon wanted it to reach. Which is kind of funny because if you walk into any Hot Topic in present day, you'd assume Invader Zim is watched by approximately 11 billion people.

Cardinal

Slowly but surely Canada is coming to dominate this list. U.S. TV shows are so widely covered but our neighbors up North continue to churn out interesting stuff.

further reading: The Best Comedy Movies on Hulu

Take crime drama Cardinal. It stars The Killing's Billy Campbell as a detective investigating the murder of a young girl. It's a compelling story told in a deceptively simple fashion over six episodes. And yes, there is lots of snow. 

We Bare Bears

Sometimes you just need some bears. Nature's adorable rolly-polly killing machines are sadly underused protagonists in our art. I forward that almost any TV show would be improved if its main characters were bears. In this Cartoon Network series based off of a web comic, three bear brothers, Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear try to navigate the human world of the Bay Area.

We Bare Bears features the voice talents of Patton Oswalt, Bobby Moynihan, Demetri Martin and more. It's a sweet, short distraction that deserves your time and love. 

Perfect Strangers

Hulu has added it's own TGIHulu to the streams, meaning you can now stream late '80s and early '90s ABC family classics like Family MattersStep by Step and more.

further reading: The Best Romance Movies on Hulu

The one you're going to want to relive most, however, is Perfect Strangers. It's a classic odd couple pairing of a midwestern Joe and his eccentric European cousin. And of course there are the essential Leftovers implications. 

Ancient Aliens

Sometimes our "you didn't know were streaming" series just covers shows that make you didn't know were streaming because why would anyone bother to put them on the Internet? Ancient Aliens is one of those series. Ancient Aliens is corny, bizarre and flagrantly unscientific and historic.

So entirely fitting for the History Channel. It's also a strangely captivating watch. There's a reason Action Bronson has a series in which he just gets very high and watches Ancient Aliens: it's just a fun time.

Beat Bobby Flay

Cooking shows offer excellent TV comfort food. Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay offers all that traditional comfort food with one additional piece of unintentional comedy. Beat Bobby Flay is one of the most hilariously, gleefully scumbaggy shows of all time.

further reading: The Best Documentaries on Hulu

Expert celebrity chef Bobby Flay travels the country looking for individuals who are really passionate about a particular dish they cook. A dish passed down to them from generations and something they truly care about. Then he challenges them to a cooking duel to prove he can cook it better. Jerk. 

Cougar Town

Cougar Town started as a joke. Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence bemoaned the state of TV back in 2009, saying that shows needed a modern pun or quip to even be considered getting picked up. So he did exactly that, pitching a show starring Courtney Cox called Cougar Town, satirizing society's obsession with older women "cougars" dating younger men. Much to his surprise the show was picked up by ABC.

Then much to ABC's surprise Cougar Town almost immediately abandoned its Courtney-Cox-picking-up-young-men premise in favor of a simple hang out comedy in which slightly older than the sitcom usual characters stayed best friends and drank wine in Florida. 

The Bridge

The plot of FX's 2013 Texas-Mexico border drama The Bridge seems so uniquely American and taylor-made for the immigration issues the countries face today. The bridge was both a real entity and a symbol of how close the U.S. and Mexico are geographically, yet far away culturally. 

Surprisingly, however, The Bridge was a remake. The original Bridge was a Danish and Swedish creation (called Broen in Danish and Bron in Swedish). Over three seasons, the Scandavian version of The Bridge told the story of a dead body found on a bridge between Malmo and Copenhagen and the Danish and Swedish investigators forced to work together to solve the murder.

Fuck, That's Delicious

The foodie travel show is one of modern TV's most beloved institutions. Really all a show like this needs to succeed is a good host and good food. Viceland's Fuck, That's Delicious has both.

Rapper-turned-lovable-gourmand Action Bronson takes his massive frame and giant beard around the world in search of yummies. Sometimes that search takes him all the way to Copenhagen, while other times it's a quick jaunt to his backyard in New York. Wherever Bronson ends up he knows exactly how to enthusiastically celebrate local cuisine.

Hulu TV Shows - Ancient Aliens
The ListsAlec Bojalad
Jun 18, 2019

30 Best TV Comedies on Hulu Right Now

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The roster of TV comedies on Hulu is deep, diverse and most importantly, hilarious.

Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see what excllent TV comedies are being added to Hulu.

Updated for July 2019. 

You can see a complete list of new Hulu releases here.

The list of the best TV comedies on Hulu is essentially the list of the best TV comedies available for streaming anywhere, period. Every streaming service has its advantages and for Hulu, TV comedies certainly reign supreme.

Hulu has a staggering amount of good TV comedies from a diverse array of sources. In addition to hosting its own originals, Hulu has half-hour comedies from what seems like virtually every network in existence. It also includes classics from way back when like I Love Lucy to recent classics like Seinfeld to "now" classics like Rick and Morty.

Check out the list of best TV comedies on Hulu and let us know what we missed. With a roster this deep, we're bound to have missed something.

Seinfeld

Fun fact: did you know that Julia Louis Dreyfuss' Elaine doesn't appear in the Seinfeld pilot? You probably knew that because every single fact about Seinfeld is known. It's one of the most re-run, studied, poked at, watched, investigated TV shows of all time.

further reading: The Best Comedy Movies on Hulu

Still, I didn't know it until I watched the pilot recently. And that's the fun thing about Seinfeld. It's one of the most-watched and "studied" sitcoms of all time but at the end of the day it's also still a great, uproriously funny show about nothing. You've already seen approximatley 1,000 rerun episodes. Why not start it from the beginning on Hulu?

Archer

The first thing you notice about Archer is the animation. It's beautiful, classy and perfectly fitting for its hihg-minded spy comedy premise. Then you watch a little more and realize the animation almost doesn't even matter. Archer is highly verbal and completely hilarious.

further reading: Archer: Danger Island - Breaking Down that Bonkers Ending

It's like a radio play that somehow made its way to television. Thank God it did because when Archer is on, there are few other comedies that can touch it in terms of sheer laughter. If I had to teach a class on comedy to burgeoning comedy writers, an exploration of season one's "Skytanic" would be the final test. 

Saturday Night Live

Live from New York it's Saturday night! And you're alone on your couch in need of something to binge (you're a total loser, btw). Why not begin an ambitious binge watch of one of TV's oldest and most important franchsies? Saturday Night Live began way back in 1975 featuring eventual comedy megastars like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase.

further reading: The Best Comedy Movies on Amazon Prime

Since then it's been the axis of the entire comedy world. Generations have relied on SNL for their dose of political humor and Hollywood has relied on it to fill out the casts of its various high-budget comedies. Thanks to Hulu you can now revisit any era of the show whenever you want. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is just a delight. It's the story of a Brooklyn police department and the goofballs who populate it. Goofballs like Andy Samberg's excitable Jake Peralta or Andre Braugher's hilariously stoic Captain Holt.

further reading: The Best Brooklyn Nine-Nine Episodes

It comes from Parks and Rec and The Good Place creator Michael Schur and is yet another prime example of the kind of happy workplace comedies Schur can pretty much do in his sleep by this point. It's a perfectly bingeable, low-maintenance watch that's only available to stream on Hulu.

Black-ish

Half-hour comedies are currently fluorishing across televisoin. Unfortunately, the old head networks have had a hard time keeping up with teh arms race. Thank God for for Black-ish then, a whip-start, truly funny and worthwhile sitcom available for a wide audience on ABC.

further reading: The Best Comedy TV Shows on Amazon Prime

Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross star as the patriarch and matriach of a middle-class, suburban Black American family. The show deftly and hilariously covers all the anxieties and pratfalls of that situation - the concept of feeling only "black-ish." 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It all started with $200 and a camera*. FX and FXX's flagship comedy is now 12 seasons in and on pace to break multiple TV show longevitiy records after the most inauspicious of beginnings. It's Always Sunny has lasted for so long for a simple reason: it's very, very funny.

further reading: Why It's Alway Sunny in Philadelphia Gets Better with Age

Creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton understand both humor and character. And their mastery of each has created a hilarious show where a group of terrible people continue to make one antoher's lives a living hell with their hare-brained schemes and general ignorance. This is truly one of the best TV comedies Hulu...and TV.

*Charlie Day has since claimed that even that $200 budget number for the pilot was inflated. It really cost closer to $0. 

Community

Community really is the perfect brainchild of its creator, the, let's say, mercurial Dan Harmon. It's brilliant, empathetic, inconsistent, strange and hilarious. Harmon produced one good season of the show then followed it with two amazing, near pitch-perfect seasons before his clashing with NBC got him fired and led to a terrible season 4.

further reading: The Best TV Shows on Netflix

Then he came back for a good season 5 before finishing it all with a decent season 6 on Yahoo Screen. Hulu has all six seasons available to stream and when all watched in succession the episodes present an interesting case study on the vagaries on network TV politicking...not to mention a tremendously funny experience.

Angie Tribeca

Ever wish Airplane were a TV series? Well it is. It just happens to be called Angie Tribeca and have nothing to do with airplanes or airports. Angie Tribeca comes from creators Steve and Nancy Carell and airs regualrly on TBS. It has perhaps the most unique sense of humor in all of television: childish, playful, punny and weird.

further reading: Angie Tribeca Season 1: Calculating Jokes Per Minute

This bizarre series starring Rashida Jones in the title role as a detective has never encountered a pun that it didn't immediately wrestle to the ground and make sweet love to. This makes the show it's own strange beast, different from almost any other comedy on TV but a perfectly pleasant watch all the same. 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

When Mary Tyler Moore passed away in early 2017, many tributes rightfully praised her show for opening up new avenues in both television and comedy for women.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show deserves all the credit in the world for that but let's also not lose sight of how astonishingly funny and ahead of its time the show is. Watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show for yourself on Hulu and marvel at how well the humor translates to a modern era. 

Key & Peele

Sketch shows are excellent binge streaming material. Don't like the current sketch? Just wait 5-10 minutes and there will be another one you might enjoy. Not liking sketches shouldn't be a frequent issue you come across with Key & Peele, however.

further reading: The Best Comedy Movies on Netflix

Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele's Comedy Central sketch show is remarkable in its consistency. Sure, there are plenty of viral-friendly comedy hits but each and every episode features surprisingly few duds. Watch them all and then let yourself become hopelessly attached to your favorite skit like I am with continental breakfast. 

Frasier

Who eats tossed salad and scrambled eggs anyway? Frasier is kind of like the platonic ideal of half-hour '90s sitcoms. It's smart, funny and just kind of moves along as a leisurely pace. Kelsey Grammar more than has a handle on his radio psychiatrist character Frasier Crane after depicting him for the better part of two decades.

Frasier is the perfect show for people who enjoy Friends but wish the characters enunciated more clearly and had a more expanded vocabulary.

South Park

It's hard to remember life without South Park. Comedy Central's longest-running series began way back in 1997 when gas cost....actually gas prices are kind of reasonable again so the $1.29 1997 gas price isn't that astonishing. Still, South Park is among as old an important a TV institution as we have.

further reading: How South Park Became the Last Survivor of the Shock TV Era

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have moved on to other things and other mediums as they continue their EGOT destruction of the media landscape. Thankfully, the creative duo still have room in their heart for the highly political comedy about four kids in a quiet Colorado town. 

The Mindy Project

Of all the cast members of The Office, Mindy Kaling has continued the strong TV comedy tradition the best. Kaling both starred on and wrote for The Office and her deep understanding of TV comedy is apparent. The Mindy Project is admirable in its experimention. When something isn't working, Kaling and the writers change it.

When something is working, they expand upon it. The Mindy Project lives up to its title in interesting, unexpected ways. It's like Mindy Kaling's comedy thesis and it's brought her more than a passing grade.

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is still flat out funny in ways that very few black and white comedies are able to be with modern audiences. Lucille Ball's debut show feels shockingly modern for something from the '50s. And that's because I Love Lucy in many ways created the format of the TV sitcom.

Lucy lives a hectic, entertaining life with her husband Ricky Ricardo (Ball's real-life partner Desi Arnaz) and the half-hour episodes are perfect vehicles for Lucy's wild physical humor. 

The Last Man on Earth

Ok so Will Forte's character Phil in The Last Man on Earth really isn't the last man, or human being, on Earth. Still it's an apt title for a comedy that deals heavily with loneliness and isolation. For the amount of time that Phil alienates his fellow apocalypse survivors, he may as well be the last man on Earth.

further reading: What The Last Man on Earth Season 5 Would Have Looked Like

The Last Man on Earth is a smart, incredibly ambitious comedy from the minds of Forte and current comedy-writing superheroes Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Bless these brave souls who though "You know what could be funny? The near complete and utter annihilation of mankind." And they were right. 

Broad City

For awhile there it looked like every single Internet series was going to find its way to traditional television. This, of course, was from the dark days of humanity in which we didn't realize that most things on the Internet were garbage and should be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, Broad City made the jump from the web to Comedy Central and it turned out to definitively be not garbage.

further reading: Broad City: High Score

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer's series about two young women doing their thing in New York is wickedly funny and intelligent. It's one of the rare series that depicts Milennials doing their own Milennial thing without coming across as condescending or outright annoying. 

Parks and Recreation

Ahhh Parks and Rec, where to even begin? The story of Pawnee parks and recreation department deputy Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is one of TV's best ever stories, let alone comedies. The Michael Schur-created Parks and Recreation is a love letter to TV. Pawnee is like a live-action Springfield and the show creates a full, believable world despite a limited network budget.

further reading: Parks and Recreation's Top 20 Episodes

And in that world is a host of likeable and hilarious characters doing their best to better their community and only occasionally succeeding. Calling Parks and Rec TV comfort food may seem like a slight to one of the smarter comedies of the decade but it's accurate all the same.

The Venture Bros.

Rick and Morty fans are currently going through a pain that fans of its Adult Swim cousin The Venture Bros. know all too well. It takes a long time to finish an animated TV show. The time spent is almost always worth it.

The Venture Bros. is one of the shows that helped put Adult Swim on the map as a place for seriously good comedy, animated or otherwise. The show is kind of an updated take on Johnny Quest and follows the titular bros and their weird family and their many schemes that almost undoubtedly always fail.  

You’re the Worst

You're the Worst is barely a comedy. Ok, that's not fair. It's a half-hour comedy and a wonderfully funny one. But it's also an empathetic exploratoin of deeply flawed, damage people. And when you think about it - is there any other kind of person?

further reading: The Best Documentaries on Hulu

That might not make You're the Worst seem like the friendliest binge-watching experience but don't let that hold you back. The story of Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) falling in and out of love and how it effects the rest of their lives it's certainly worth your time. 

Scrubs

It's weird to think of Scrubs as an old classic now but that's what it is. It's a brightly-colored, fun, thoroughly modern show that came out way back in 2001 when Netflix was still only sending DVDs to consumers in red envelopes.

Scrubs is the story of Dr. John (J.D.) Dorian and his struggle to become a doctor. He meets plenty of helpful allies along the way with even a villain or two. Scrubs is a damn near perfect binge watching experience. It tackles serious issues of life and death within a hospital environment and J.D.'s wacky daydreams with equal skill. 

Party Down

Thank God Party Down found a streaming home somewhere because it deserves to be rattling around an Internet streaming service or two for eternity. It's a show about struggling actors and writers who moonlight for a catering business. Each episode takes place at a different party the Party Down crew is catering. Party Down was watched by virtually no one when it came out on Starz in 2009.

Since then it's gained a second life on Hulu where its 20 episodes can be streamed. This one is about as close to a must-watch as they get. It features a shockingly great cast, whip-smart humor and maybe even a feel or two. 

Peep Show

Peep Show is technically a "high-concept" undertaking. The show exclusivley utilizes point of view shots, making the viewer feel as though they are a part of the scene. It's an interesting technological tactic for a comedy and it pays off huge. More importantly, the content of the show itself is flat out hilarious.

Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb) are co-dependent friends who share a flat in London. Their complete inability to do...well, anything normal gets them into situations that are completely over their head. Peep Show is another comedy gift from Great Britain in the vein of Spaced. 

The Office (U.K.)

If you've yet to see the original U.K. version of The Office, rectify that situation immediately. Ricky Gervais' bleak and hilarious look at office life remains caustic and vital many years after its debut. The U.K. version is far, let's say, darker than the American one.

further reading: The Best Horror Movies on Hulu

There are still general lessons that coworkers can be a second family, warts and all but that's often superceded by the vague sense that Wernham-Hogg (the show's paper company equivalent of the U.S.'s Dunder Mifflin) is really hell and boss David Brent is the inappropriate, attention-starved demon sent to torture us all.

Happy Endings

Happy Endings could have been a terribly-written show and no one would have noticed. It's not terribly-written thankfully but if it were, there would have been no way to tell as the main cast is so, so, so good. Happy Endings is like a modern update of Friends only the friends are way too close to one another.

Ostensibly the show was supposed to be about how friend groups interact when one mutual friend leaves another mutual friend at the altar on their wedding day. That was pretty much scrapped from the get-go in favor of following these strange people's even stranger adventures across Chicago.

Rick and Morty

There is no such thing as limits on Rick and Morty. It's animated, so there's less of a concern about budgeting when it comes to things like sets or special effects. And its sci-fi concept about a mad scientist grandfather and his impressionable, long-suffering grandson means that creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon really get to spread out, narrative and comedy-wise.

further reading: Rick and Morty: What That 70 Episode Order Means for the Future of the Show

Thankfully they are up to the task. Rick and Morty is among the funniest shows on television and occasionally a wonderful sci-fi adventure.

The Eric Andre Show

Do you like talk shows but think they could be a touch more...oh, I don't know, batshit insane? Then The Eric Andre Show is the show for you.

further reading: The Best Sci-Fi Movies on Hulu

Eric Andre stars as the titual Eric Andre as he hosts his own low-budget public-access cable style talk show and just generally makes everyone around him uncomfortable.

The Good Place

A lot of the appeal of The Good Place can be simply explained by that delightful screenshot above. Yes, staying loyal to the Cleveland Browns is going to get me into heaven. The Good Place is the newest comedy from the brilliant comedic mind of Michael Schur (The OfficeParks and Recreation).

It's a story of mistaken identity - that in this case has cosmic implications. Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) dies and goes to heaven where she meets the dapper, excitable architect of her afterlife neighborhood Michael (Ted Danson). Problem is - heaven has the wrong Eleanor Shellstrop.

Bob's Burgers

Fox's animation block has been a wonderful outlet of creativity ever since The Simpsons debuted way back before the dawn of man. Loren Bouchard's Bob's Burgers might be the sweetest and all-around funniest animated comedy to come around for Fox's Sunday night since...maybe ever.

Bob Belcher (voiced by animation voiceover maestro H. Jon Benjamin) lives in a little seaside town and sells burgers. That's about the extent of the plot. But the Belcher family that includes his wife, Linda, daughters Tina and Louise, and son, Gene, finds a way to make every week interesting as they try to keep the business open.

Baskets

Baskets is another one of those completely hilarious half-hour comedies that's barely a comedy. Baskets is so funny because it plays everything so unexpectedly sincerely. Zach Galifianakis stars as both Chip Baskets, a failed clown who must return home to Bakersfield, and his wildly successful brother, Chip.

further reading: Louie Anderson on Baksets Demands Your Attention

Louie Anderson stars as the Baskets' mother (yes, mother), Christine. Baskets is certainly bizarre at times. It alternates between Galifianakis' characteristic broad and sarcastic comedy on a dime. At the same time, it's really a funny, absurdist look at a family in small-town America.

The Simpsons

With the amount of staggeringly good comedies on Hulu it can be easy to overlook the paterfamilias of all TV comedy: The SimpsonsThe Simpsons was here long before us all and it will be here after we're gone.

Give it a watch to reconnect with some of your old Springfield favorites. Or just keep up and watch new episodes as they're added. 

Best TV Comedy The Simpsons
The ListsAlec Bojalad
Jun 18, 2019

Best Anime On Hulu To Stream

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Attack on Titan and Cowboy Bebop highlight the list of best anime available to stream on Hulu.

Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back to see what other anime classics get added to Hulu.

Updated for July 2019. 

Isn’t it just the worst when you’re out with friends at your favorite restaurant and everyone’s discussing Assassination Classroom and you’re unable to jump in? How about when you’re waiting for the bus to arrive and people are discussing the latest Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure plot twist? Or when your cashier at the supermarket tries to make small talk and naturally namedrops the eternal equalizer, Space Dandy, and you just have to quietly look at your shoes?

Okay, so anime’s presence might not be quite at that level, but the popularity of the once-niche area of the animation industry only continues to blossom and become more mainstream. Not only are there now ample anime series that are available on popular streaming services, but this is even used as a selling point in some cases!

read more: Best Anime to Stream and Where to Stream It

Not only are more legacy titles being added to streaming services every month, but there is also a steady stream of new series that are being added

For both the obsessive anime fan and those entirely new to the form, here’s a whopping list of the 50 best anime that are currently streaming and exactly where to find them/here’s the top anime that are currently streaming on Hulu.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Hirohiko Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of Japan’s most prestigious and beloved franchises. Araki began work on the Jojo series back in the ‘80s, but it’s only been in more recent years that Jojo fever has caught on in North America. The series spans the multi-generational saga of the Joestar family, with each new series/saga in the franchise tackling a new “Jojo” throughout the lineage. This allows Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure to span a huge amount of content and the series can change its goal, location, and protagonists with each new series.

read more: The 20 Best Altered Fighting Game Characters

The third and fourth chapters in the series, Stardust Crusaders and Diamond is Unbreakable have been the most successful and compelling stories in the ongoing Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure saga. The series all feature unforgettable characters (with even more unforgettable outfits), but also some of the most creative fight sequences you’ll come across thanks to the spirit-like “Stands” that dominate the series. 

Magic powers are one thing, but the way in which some of these Stands operate will truly leave you surprised. Jojo has an uncanny ability to mix slice of life anime with breakneck action sequences and inspired serialized storytelling. The entirety of the series may be too long and intimidating for newcomers to jump in, but Diamond is Unbreakable is easily the most accessible of the seasons and an easy place to jump in for the uninitiated Jojo fans.

Space Dandy

This might be the greatest television show that I’ve ever seen—not just anime, but television, as a whole. The incredibly complex show has one of the simplest premises as the series follows a bounty hunter, Dandy, and his unusual crew on the hunt for rare alien species. Masterminded by Shinichiro Watanabe (a name that will pop up a lot here), each episode takes Dandy and company to a different planet, ostensibly making it a new show each time. One episode it’s a zombie story, the next a romantic comedy, and then an intergalactic dance competition. Another installment is focused entirely on the idea of a robot trying to learn and comprehend how to love. The show’s narrator is just as much a character on the program as any of the actual cast.

read more: Space Dandy: 5 Essential Episodes

Space Dandy goes the extra mile by having a different art director and character designer in use for each planet they visit, giving the locations and their inhabitants all a distinctly unique look. On top of that, the animation and music is just a gorgeous, psychedelic avalanche for the senses. It’s over-the-top aesthetic is very much something to get excited about. When combining that with truly avant-garde, unpredictable storytelling, Space Dandy becomes a series like no other. It demands watching and refuses defining.

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto

Sometimes overpowered characters in an anime can be exhausting because they suck all of the tension out of a scene. However, Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto harnesses this energy and makes it the entire point of its series. The premise of Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto is incredibly thin: Sakamoto is a high school student who’s incredibly popular and excels at every little thing that he does (the show’s banging opening credits song does a great job at how Sakamoto effortlessly becomes the king of everything). That might seem like a limited angle for a show, but the anime makes Sakamoto’s God-tier skills a constant delight. Rather than get annoyed at how Sakamoto is always at the top, the anime turns it into a brilliant game of tension. 

read more: The Best Shows on Hulu You Haven't Streamed Yet

The bullies and other jealous students around Sakamoto continually try to get the better of him and knock him down a peg, but it never happens. Sakamoto always has the perfect solution and his increasingly ridiculous escape plans are part of why the show’s so fun. It’s like Sakamoto is a magnet for good luck, and he can’t help it if things like his friend’s mom falling in love with him happen. Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto finds the perfect kind of energy for its comedy and it’s hard to not fall in love with Sakamoto, just like every else. 

Cowboy Bebop

Certainly one of the older shows on this list, but one that’s earned its place as legacy anime. Long before he was blowing people’s minds on Space Dandy, Shinichiro Watanabe was setting the standard with his planet-hopping space western, Cowboy BebopWhile again focusing on a ragtag group of bounty hunters and outlaws jumping around in space, there is a certain sense of tone and atmosphere conjured up by this series.

read more: Cowboy Bebop Live-Action Series Coming to Netflix

Even though it’s a mostly episodic program, there is still such a connection to it among fans due to how well each story sees execution. It’s also responsible for those countless people you see cosplaying with big hair and a navy blue suit.Additionally, the score and music is done by Yoko Kanno, and it’s just pure bliss across the board. Bebop really makes its music a priority and the quality is undeniable. Can you think of a theme song that gets you pumped up more than “TANK”? No, no you cannot.

One-Punch Man

One-Punch Man is overblown action in the best possible way. The series is about Saitama, the eponymous "One-Punch Man", a superhero that is so powerful that he kills all of his enemies in one punch. Because of this lack of a challenge, Saitama has developed a blasé look on life as he searches for someone stronger than him. The fact that this extremely overpowered person looks like this is the perfect unassuming icing on the cake.

It's encouraging to see how well One-Punch Man nails the action and humor that it goes for, and it's funny that in a year that has seen people clamoring for (and receiving) more Dragon Ball, this is the series that seems to be satisfying most of these people's desires for overblown, God-level battles (the work done in the first season finale is truly a sight to behold in both animation and fighting).

read more: Ranking the Dragon Ball Z Movies

 On the other extreme of this, the series is also very interested in the hierarchy of these superheroes, designating them classes, rules and restrictions, and through this we get a number of delightful ancillary low-level heroes that kind of out-Venture Bros the Venture Bros. Here you're getting such absurd fighters like Tank Top Vegetarian, Superalloy Darkshine, Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask, Metal Bat, Pri-Pri-Prisoner, Spring Mustache, and License-less Rider, who is simply a cyclist who uses his bike as a weapon. I dare you to watch that theme song and not want to give this adrenaline shot a peak.

Death Parade

Death Parade is a perfect mix of the playful and the macabre, resulting in a surprisingly profound series. The anime is set at a way station of sorts, and when two people die at the exact same time, they’re sent to this location to play a game against each other. Scrubbed of their memories, these two people must compete in some sort of parlor game in order to determine their future—which of them gets to have an afterlife, and which is just gone, essentially.

read more: The Best Horror Anime to Watch on Crunchyroll

There’s something intrinsically compelling about watching people play a game of air hockey, billiards, or even Twister, for the highest stakes imaginable. Each game also has twisted tricks incorporated into them, such as the balls in billiards each corresponding to a different body part that will experience pain upon being sunk.The competition at work in each episode already makes this a suspenseful show, but it gains even more poignancy with what each episode is trying to say about life and death while these games are going on. Every installment is more or less a fresh story, and yet a great deal of pathos is created each time for these new people you encounter. Endlessly compelling and always having something to say, Death Parade is a great subversion of the afterlife.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is set within a well-defined universe where a good deal of people are born with latent superpowers known as “Quirks” that become activated after a matter of time. The series follows Izuku Midoriya, a quirk-less child who is more obsessed with superheroes than anyone else, in spite of his own normal status. However, everything changes for Izuku when the world’s greatest superhero, All Might, gives his own quirk over to Izuku in a rare act that forever ties the two together.

With Izuku still trying to understand and master the abilities of his new quirk, he finds himself enrolled in U.A. High School which becomes a training ground for all of the newest superheroes in training. My Hero Academia might skew younger a little in its tone, but it has an infectious energy that’s built upon having a strong (huge) cast of characters and an addictive narrative that sees these heroes-in-training trying to brave the trials of school.

read more: My Hero Academia Episode 1 Review

There’s something so soothing about clearly established battles of Good Vs. Evil and My Hero Academia excels at painting these extremes in such exciting, new lights. The fight scenes are also on a whole other level. Just taking a glimpse of the superpowers on display in this show should give you an indication that this is far from some X-Men rip-off. This series isn’t going anywhere though and if Funimation didn’t have Dragon Ball Super on their hands, My Hero Academia would be the other big hit that they’d be banking on. They’ve only scratched the surface with the superpowers of this one.

Parasyte –The Maxim-

Parasyte: The Maxim hits the ground running and is bonkers from its very first frame. The series revolves around a number of alien parasites that have landed on Earth and start possessing hosts. Shinichi Izumi is a mild-mannered high school student whose life drastically changes when one of these parasites possesses his right hand. This sets Shinichi on a dangerous journey to wipe out the other parasites that have landed on Earth, as well as figure out how to work alongside his new alien host, and if there's a way to rid himself of this threat. 

Parasyte: The Maxim operates like a superhero series at times as Shinichi acclimates to the new strength and powers that his parasite gives him. The series also navigates tricky moral territory as Shinichi, who's now a human-alien hybrid, must fight against the aliens that are now part of his biology (think Tokyo Ghoul, but with aliens instead of vampire demons). 

read more: The Best Horror Movies on Hulu

The path that Shinichi finds himself on gives the anime a strong narrative drive, but honestly, this is just a beautiful show to watch in motion. The fluid, bewildering effects that Shinichi's parasitic hand puts to use are ridiculous and it's just crazy to watch a boy partner up with an alien version of his hand for an entire series. H.P. Lovecraft would give this madness his full stamp of approval.

Erased

If there is any show on this list that demands a binge-worthy approach to viewing, it is Erased. Think of Zodiac and all of the best engrossing serial killer stories mixed with the best sort of supernatural weirdness and you’ve got Erased in a nutshell.

read more: Best Anime on Netflix to Stream

The series looks at a character that experiences “revivals” when disasters strike, allowing him to go back in time a few minutes and prevent this wrong from happening. However, one such incident sees him flinging back in time twenty years to when he’s eight years old, stuck in his childhood trying to prevent a much bigger crime from happening that has its roots in the past. Erased builds such suspense (especially since the stakes are the lives of children) and you really just want to watch the next episode immediately after finishing one. It’s a slow burn, but telling a really nuanced, emotional story with unusual elements that it doesn’t lose itself in.

Trigun

As all sorts of flashy new anime hit the scene, there’s something to be said for an action classic from the ‘90s like Trigun. Vash the Stampede is your mysterious “Man With No Name” gunslinger archetype. The series bills him as one of the most destructive forces in the nation and while he is an impeccable shot and gunfighter, he’s also an incredibly sensitive individual who’d much rather preach the gospel of “love and peace” than empty out his chamber. With an obscene bounty of sixty billion double dollars on Vash’s head, there is never a shortage of assassins and derelicts out there who are looking to take him down.

read more: The Best Sci-Fi Movies on Hulu

Trigun offers incredible gunplay and action set pieces that are amazing to watch, but also highlight Vash’s extreme skills and ability to avoid death, whenever possible. The series only becomes more complex and fascinating when Vash’s spotty past gets explored and he attempts to fill in the blanks surrounding his retrograde amnesia. 

Trigun provides an emotional, suspenseful story about a man who wants to reject his violent talents and reclaim his past, but it’s also full of memorable villains and intense weapons that make the show even more impressive. Many chivalrous archetypes have come after Vash the Stampede’s time, but there’s a reason that he’s still such a classic character from anime (there will definitely be someone dressed up at him at the next Comic-Con you attend).

Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist

The series’ introduction (and even its lengthy title) gives you a pretty good idea of what’s going on here. In a world where pornography, lewd language, and even crude humor are made illegal, a certain group of freedom fighters try to insert sexuality back into the world. This mash-up of Bradbury with bawdy humor turns out to be an ingenious pairing. You’d have no idea that flashy terrorist acts involving nude photos raining down on the population could not only be so hilarious, but also saying something poignant at the same time.

read more: Voltron: 10 Hilarious Ways the Original Show Censored Death

There’s some exceptionally smart, informed humor coming out of this show (even their heavy “censorship” towards their language and gratuitousness is very funny while also servicing the story) and a delicious What If? scenario like nothing else. It’s also just nice to see the rampant sexuality that can so often dominate anime being portrayed in such an empowering light, too.

FLCL

FLCL is a coming-of-age story as if told by William Burroughs or Alejandro Jodorowsky. Each iteration of the series looks at a complacent pre-teen or teenager who’s lost over the future and the hurdles of adulthood.FLCL puts such relatable themes in a blender with absurdist plotting and surrealist animation and the result is one of the most unique, infamous anime series to hit the market. FLCL is a vespa-riding, alien invading, sentient guitar-playing take on adolescence and even if certain aspects of the series go over your head, it’s always a delight to watch. 

read more: The Best Romance Movies on Hulu

FLCL plays things fast and loose with it animation style and it incorporates many different aesthetics to illustrate its lost mental state. You may not always understand the show, but you’ll always be in awe of it. FLCL never slows down and even when the show doesn’t quite work, it’s still an astounding experiment that taps into deep pockets of humanity. 

Adult Swim recently co-produced two sequel series, FLCL: Progressive and FLCL: Alternative that don’t quite carry the same manic magic as the original series, but they remain faithful to the show’s unique perspective. If you ever feel lost in life, pop on some FLCL to feel better (although be careful of the show’s dangerously addictive soundtrack).

Assassination Classroom

In what’s one of the best concepts that I’ve ever come across, Assassination Classroom deals with an octopus-esque alien that declares that he’s going to destroy the planet in one year unless he can be killed. Oh, and if you don’t think he’s serious, he just blew up three quarters of the moon. The measures that have been set in place here is that a class of students—the bottom of the barrel, at that—are given the task of being trained as assassins to take him down, garnering one billion dollars in the process. The conditions however are that this alien is their teacher, and he’s unable to hurt any of his students, with them having a year to pull off their task, lest the planet be destroyed yada yada yada. 

read more: What the Hulu/Funimation Deal Means for Anime

What’s kind of amazing is the symbiotic relationship between this alien, Korosensai, and his students/would-be assassins. Each episode has him genuinely bettering them and helping them grow, and it’s this bittersweet arrangement of them deeply caring for each other, yet this terrible asterisk hanging over it all. Now in the middle of wrapping up its second season, I legitimately don’t know how this show will conclude and I couldn’t be more excited about that.

Samurai Champloo

If you’re sifting through anime, you’re likely going to come across some samurai titles. They’re a staple of the form. Samurai Champloo, unsurprisingly, is exactly that, but also so, so much more. While at its core a simple quest story involving a mysterious beauty, Watanabe’s series is an anachronistic mash-up that reimagines Edo-era Japan into a post-modern hip hop wonderland. Watanabe continues to remix these ideas by literally rewinding episodes or “scratching” them like a record with a DJ-like sensibility as these classical themes get mashed together with current aesthetics.

read more: The Best Action Movies on Hulu

Just like Watanabe has revamped other classic anime archetypes, even if you’ve never been big on samurai series before, this one is likely to rub you the right way. Part of the fun here is just how successful Samurai Champloo is at creating its tone. It’s really a different way of presenting a narrative, and a smart pairing that deserves more credit. There’s also just something about seeing an elegant sword fight set to a hip-hop soundtrack.

Attack on Titan

Look, you probably don’t need me to tell you about or push Attack on Titan on you. It’s a series that has grown into an institution and has slowly become one of the most successful cross-pond anime in recent years. The sheer fact that this selection is also on Netflix is a testament to the growth in demand. If you have been unaware of Attack on Titan though, now’s the perfect time to make the jump with the series’ third season nearing some sort of release, and the production of two live-action movies having gone on in the interim time.

read more: Attack on Titan Makes Giant Monsters Scary Again

The series is set in an alternate world where humanity has caged itself in through a series of giant successive walls as a result of the threat of Titans. These monsters are huge human-like monsters with an unstoppable hunger for humans. The series begins with the breach of one of these walls and the discovery of more powerful Titans behind it.

There’s real art going on here as the series jumps in stretches of the time and chooses to selectively focus on certain characters, building a real full mosaic in the process. There’s also just some stunning animation going on at these fighters zip through the air in their gear to take down these behemoths. The story only becomes deeper and deeper too, with fantastic twists that litter the end of both seasons. Year two takes some risks by banking more on characters than action, but there’s still a story that’s unbelievable to watch unfold. This is how you effectively build a world and tell a full, nuanced story. Plus, monsters and the biggest daddy issues this side of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Also Available on Hulu: Yu Yu Hakusho, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Rurouni Kenshin, Overlord, Dagashi Kashi, Kill la Kill, Boogiepop Phantom, Hellsing andHellsing Ultimate, Dragon Ball/Z/GT, Megalobox, Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, Lupin the Third, Inuyasha, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Attack on Titan: Junior High, Sailor Moon, Crayon Shin-Chan, Fruits Basket, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Daniel Kurland is a published writer, comedian, and critic whose work can be read on Den of Geek, Vulture, Bloody Disgusting, and ScreenRant. Daniel knows that the owls are not what they seem and his perma-neurotic thought process can be followed at @DanielKurlansky.

Best Anime on Hulu
The ListsDaniel Kurland
Jun 18, 2019

Teenage Conviction Probed on A Fatal Confession: Keith Morrison Investigates

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A Fatal Confession: Keith Morrison Investigates asks whether teen killer Daniel Villegas' confession was coerced.

One of El Paso, Texas’ highest profile capital murder cases produced one of the city's most controversial trials. Daniel Villegas confessed to the deaths of Armando "Mando" Lazo and Bobby England in 1993. He was 16 years old. Hours later, Villegas claimed the confession was coerced by an El Paso Police Department detective. When the case came to court in 1994, an 11-1 hung jury in favor of conviction ended in a mistrial. He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison. Investigation Discovery's upcoming two-hour special, A Fatal Confession: Keith Morrison Investigates, will check the facts behind the confession on Sunday, July 7.

Journalist and Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison discovered the case in 2011 and followed the story for years. An appeals court in 2013 overturned the conviction and a new trial was ordered. “The Daniel Villegas story proves that a caring and determined outsider facing the longest of odds can ignite a community, work to restore a future once lost, and inspire love along the way,” Morrison said in a statement.

"He confessed. He said he did it," reads the A Fatal Confession: Keith Morrison Investigates press statement. "He signed the papers, told the story, and took the blame. But what if it was all a mistake? What if this man was forced to confess to a drive-by shooting he knew nothing about?" 

Daniel Villegas' confession would follow him for the rest of his life. He went to prison at age 18, and his incarceration sparked "a fight for justice across the city of El Paso," according to the statement. Villegas' final trial was granted 23 years after his initial guilty verdict.

The El Paso community was shocked by the drive-by shooting of two teenagers with no gang affiliation in 1993. Teenaged Villegas had a reputation for mischief at the time of the crime but not for malice. Detective Alfonso Marquez secured a signed confession from Villegas after a few hours of interrogation. "But that same night, Villegas recanted the confession to a social worker," reads the official synopsis. "But at that point it was too late. Though he had an alibi, the confession remained the centerpiece of Villegas’ trial, and he was sentenced to life in prison."

Business man John Mimbela hired an experienced attorney and Daniel was granted a new trial in 2014. But it didn't guarantee there would be enough evidence to prove Villegas’s innocence.  “At ID we have not only the opportunity – but, also, the mission - to share stories that otherwise might not be seen on a national platform,” says Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.

The special includes interviews with key players  of the case, including family members, law enforcement, and John Mimbela and Daniel Villegas.

A Fatal Confession: Keith Morrison Investigates premieres on Sunday, July 7, at 10 p.m. on Investigation Discovery.

Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City's Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFKRead more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.

A Fatal Confession Keith-Morrison Investigates
NewsTony Sokol
Jun 18, 2019

The 100 Season 6 Episode 7 Review: Nevermind

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Clarke's sins came back to haunt her in a nostalgic episode that was both overstuffed and left us wanting for real forward progress

This The 100 review contains spoilers.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 6

Clarkes sins came back to haunt her as she fought Josephine to stay alive in her mind palace, with the help of some old familiar faces.

This episode managed to feel like it was rushing to cram everything in while also somehow leaving the viewer with the viewer with the feeling of, “oh, that was it?” After all that, the ball barely advanced down the field. Yes, we got to revisit some of the good old days and it was satisfying to watch Clarke kick Josephine’s ass, but in the end it seems our only reward was Bellamy knowing Clarke is alive. To what extent will Clarke internalize any of the very legitimate concerns she seemed to wrestle with about her role in so much death and destruction?

That’s not to say she was always wrong or shouldn’t have made some of these choices, but The 100 has far too easily given her a pass and even allowed her to let herself off the hook during previous bouts of introspection. So far this season has given Clarke a few opportunities to examine her choices as she considers what it means to do better, but it’s still unclear whether she’ll take that to heart or if characters like Raven, Murphy, and Octavia will simply be made to apologize because of Clarke’s apparent death, and then all will be forgiven until the next genocide. I firmly believe Clarke and The 100 are capable of better, of grappling with their heroin’s culpability in a meaningful way rather than writing it off as though everyone else is a short-sighting hater, which is frankly a very Josephine outlook.

On that note, the parallels between Josephine and Clarke are startling, and I hope the writing on The 100 makes more of that moving forward. This episode made their physicality clearer, since we finally got to see them side by side. Even their hair was styled in a nearly identical fashion! It’s not that difficult to see how a Clarke who pulled the lever in Mount Weather or made so many disastrous, inconsistent calls last season could make some version of Josephine’s choices, with no Bellamy, Raven, Octavia, Murphy and the others to keep her in check, and another couple hundred years to winnow away at her humanity.

A few of the nostalgic highlights from Clarke’s past were Finn, Lincoln being tortured, the deer with two heads, Clarke in her cell on the Ark, Madi, Octavia’s “we’re back bitches moment” (which Josie co-opted), and the multiple drawings of Lexa. It was great to see Monty again, and it’s good to have Blodreina able to give a voice to her very legitimate gripes with Clarke. It’s easy to let her be a whipping boy for the whole group, but the reality is that every, “I bear it so they don’t have to,” that Clarke uses to justify her actions, could apply to Octavia as well – it’s just not her show, something the writers have unfortunately made all too clear.

These memories were rather light on Bellamy, though it makes a certain amount of sense to keep Clarke’s deepest shame with everyone dead. The shrine in the woods was particularly affecting, with Jasper’s goggles, the dagger she mercy-killed Finn with and the pole he was tied to at the time, Lexa’s throne, and her father’s video message. It was nice to see Maya again, especially since Jasper’s death meant that her memory has largely fallen by the wayside.

Josephine’s deepest memory was likely meant to complicate our understanding of her, but I’m not so sure it did the trick. It was fun to see some of the earth just before destruction, like Diyoza on trial and Becca on a magazine cover, but it felt like a rushed attempt at a tragic backstory for Josephine. Having a Nice Guy ™ die by suicide right in front of you is deeply disturbing and traumatic, but we blew right past it – hopefully future episodes will unpack that a bit, or show us more of her over time. Josie helping Abby solve the puzzle of Kane’s medical condition, even briefly, felt more temporarily redemptive.

Josephine’s memory offers insight into “oblation,” the ominous way Sanctum keeps a steady supply of bodies for the Primes. It seems they’re even more dastardly than they seemed, sacrificing unworthy babies as offerings to the woods. It’s unclear if the Primes actually think the woods need the offering, or if they’re fully aware it’s horrible and just part of the Prime razzle dazzle. Either way, it totally makes sense why someone would join Gabriel. It seems Josephine killed Isaac, Kaylee’s null paramour, as much out of annoyance at “LeeLee’s” behavior as out of retaliation for his saving babies. Now we know why those two frenemies were killing one another.

If there are nulls, Primes, and people with royal blood (AKA pre-Primes), are there any other kinds of people? There just seems to be way more people running around Sanctum who aren’t “janitors or guards” but also aren’t Primes. Are nulls perhaps people who aren’t even carriers of royal blood, so they let others with recessive royal blood hang out in Sanctum too, on the off-chance it yields more hosts down the line? I need more answers about this cult, please.

Other notes

Josephine still needs to work on that Trigadeslang, she mispronounced WanHeda as WanYeda

The small touches – like Clarke’s father’s watch, her hair and costuming overall – made this time capsule episode feel all the more special.

“Go float yourself.” “I have no idea what that means.”

Pike would enjoy that they’re still using Earth skills, even on another rock a galaxy away.

It seems like Russell has no idea what happened in Clarke’s mind palace…

Read more about Season 6 of The 100 here.

3/5
ReviewDelia Harrington
Jun 19, 2019

Marvel Returning to SDCC 2019

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After skipping 2018's SDCC, it seems that Marvel is ready to put on a big show again in Hall at SDCC 2019.

Although currently unconfirmed by Disney, Deadline has revealed that Hall H at next month's San Diego Comic-Con will once again play host to Marvel, after being MIA in 2018. This news also arrives after it was confirmed that Warner Bros. is skipping a Hall H appearance this year.

What will Marvel reveal at SDCC in July? It's currently all guesswork, but it's a safe bet that we'll finally get the details on what constitutes Marvel's MCU Phase 4. The upcoming Black Widow solo movie appears to be the film furthest along, with production already underway. You'd imagine that lots of people would be curious to know more about Cate Shortland's film, taking into account the events of Avengers: Endgame earlier this year. Perhaps Scarlett Johansson might be on hand to talk about the character's future in the MCU?

It's also worth bearing in mind that Spider-Man: Far From Home will have been released by then. Maybe hot on the heels of that film bouncing into the world, news of a third instalment would be well received?

Much of the excitement will surround the possible announcement of other MCU films in the pipeline. The Eternals, Shang-Chi, Doctor Strange 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Black Panther 2 are sure to be less secretive imminently, but what other things have Kevin Feige and co been plotting? Will we hear even a smidgen about former Fox-owned characters merging with the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

There are also the upcoming Marvel TV series, which form much of the backbone of anticipation for Disney's forthcoming streaming service, Disney+. A show focusing on Loki that dips in and out of time and space, a Hawkeye series that will see potentially see Jeremy Renner hanging up his bow and arrow for good, a Falcon & Winter Soldier project where Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their roles as Bucky and Sam to team up in a post-Cap world, and a very weird-sounding Vision and Scarlet Witch series, called WandaVision.

We shall have to see what next month brings us. Meanwhile, you can check out Marvel's release schedule right here.

Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU Phase 4
NewsKirsten Howard
Jun 19, 2019

Netflix Cancels Chambers

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There will be no Chambers season 2 at the streaming service.

It's another case of "one and done" at Netflix for supernatural drama series Chambers. The show, which debuted on the streaming giant on April 26th, now joins the likes of Everything Sucks! by getting just a single season to play out its story on Netflix (via Variety). It's likely that poor viewing figures and the show's critical meh-ing combined to form a decent enough flow of reasons not to greenlight a Chambers season 2.

Uma Thurman and Tony Goldwyn fronted Chambers, in which teen Sasha (Sivan Alyra Rose) finds herself at the center of a disturbing mystery when she gets a heart transplant and experiences upsetting visions of her donor's past.

Chambers will not return for a second season,” a spokesman for Netflix confirmed in a statement. “We’re grateful to creator and showrunner Leah Rachel for bringing this story to us and to her fellow executive producers Alfonso Gomez Rejon, Steve Gaghan from Super Emotional, Winnie Kemp and Wolfgang Hammer from Super Deluxe, and Jennifer Yale. We’re also thankful to the tireless crew, and to our incredible cast, especially Uma Thurman, Tony Goldwyn and talented newcomer Sivan Alyra Rose.”

Chambers received a straight-to-series order back in January 2018. It was created by Leah Rachel, who also penned the 2012 TV series Audrey. Rachel served as co-showrunner on Chambers with Akela Cooper, who previously wrote and produced on shows like Luke Cage, American Horror Story, The 100 and Grimm.

We'll bring you more information on Chambers' future if anything further is revealed.

You can see a complete list of new Netflix releases here.

chambers season 2 netflix
NewsKirsten Howard
Jun 19, 2019

New on Netflix: July 2019 Releases

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Here's what's new on Netflix in July 2019! We've got a complete list of what's leaving, too.

The dog days of summer are soon to arrive and Netflix is going to help you through them. The Netflix new releases for July 2019 feature a surprising amount of primo Netflix original content.

Arguably Netflix's most successful original series arrives on July 4. That's right, summer comes to Hawkins in Stranger Things Season 3....or Stranger Things 3, if you will. That's not the only high profile Netflix original in July though. Netflix's first big hit says goodbye for good when Orange is the New Black Season 7 premieres on July 26. Also coming in July are the fun reality series like Queer Eye Season 4 and Last Chance U: INDY: Part 2 (July 19).

Netflix isn't neglecting its film obligations either though. Caddyshack, Taxi Driver, Cloverfield, Rain Man, and more all arrive on July 1. Later on in the month, subscribers get to enjoy Mary Poppins Returns and Inglourious Basterds (two very similar films TBH). 

It's not all good news though as the titles leaving Netflix on July 1 are all pretty strong. Now's the last call for Definitely, Maybe. Enjoy while you can!

New on Netflix: July 2019

July 1

Designated Survivor: 60 days -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Astro Boy

Caddyshack

Caddyshack 2

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke

Cloverfield

Disney's Race to Witch Mountain

Frozen River

Inkheart

Kill the Irishman

Lady in the Water

Little Monsters

Mean Dreams

Mean Streets

Megamind

Nights in Rodanthe

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Philadelphia

Rain Man

Road House

Room on the Broom

Scream 3

Starsky & Hutch

Swiped

Swordfish

Taxi Driver

The Accountant of Auschwitz

The American

The Book of Eli

The Brothers Grimm

The Hangover

The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther 2

War Against Women

Who's That Knocking at My Door?

July 2

Bangkok Love Stories: Objects of Affection -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Bangkok Love Stories: Plead -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Good Witch: Season 4

July 3

The Last Czars -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Yummy Mummies: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 4

Kakegurui: Season 2

Stranger Things 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 5

In The Dark: Season 1

July 6

Free Rein: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

The Iron Lady

Sicilian Ghost Story

July 9

Disney's Mary Poppins Returns

Kinky

July 10

Family Reunion -- NETFLIX FAMILY

Grand Designs: Season 10

Grand Designs: Season 15

Parchis: El documental -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 11

Cities of Last Things -- NETFLIX FILM

July 12

3Below: Tales of Arcadia: Part 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

4 latas -- NETFLIX FILM

Blown Away -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Bonus Family: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Extreme Engagement -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Kidnapping Stella -- NETFLIX FILM

Luis Miguel - The Series: Season 1

Point Blank -- NETFLIX FILM

Smart People

Taco Chronicles -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

True Tunes: Songs -- NETFLIX FAMILY

July 13

Sorry Angel

July 16

The Break-Up

Disney's The Princess and the Frog

Frankenstein’s Monster’s Monster, Frankenstein -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Wynonna Earp: Season 3

July 17

Pinky Malinky: Part 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

July 18

Secret Obsession -- NETFLIX FILM

July 19

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: New 2019: Freshly Brewed -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

La casa de papel: Part 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Last Chance U: INDY: Part 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Queer Eye: Season 4 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

SAINT SEIYA: Knights of the Zodiac -- NETFLIX ANIME

Typewriter -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 22

Inglourious Basterds

July 24

The Great Hack -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 25

Another Life -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Workin' Moms: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 26

Boi -- NETFLIX FILM

The Exception

Girls With Balls -- NETFLIX FILM

My First First Love: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Orange Is the New Black: Season 7 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Son -- NETFLIX FILM

Sugar Rush: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

The Worst Witch: Season 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY

July 29

The Croods

July 30

Whitney Cummings: Can I Touch It? -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

July 31

Kengan Ashura: Part l -- NETFLIX ANIME

The Letdown: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Wentworth: Season 7

Leaving Netflix: July 2019

July 1

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Blood Diamond

Body of Lies

Bull Durham

Chasing Amy

Cool Hand Luke

Definitely, Maybe

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Doctor Zhivago

Dolphin Tale

Dumb and Dumber

East of Eden

Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer: Season 1

It Takes Two

Malibu's Most Wanted

Monster-in-Law

Pan's Labyrinth

Punch-Drunk Love

Silence of the Lambs

The Boondock Saints

The Interview

The Matrix

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Revolutions

The Mummy

The Mummy Returns

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

The Terminator

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

The Wild Bunch

Turner and Hooch

Valkyrie

Wedding Crashers

July 2

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

July 4

The Indian in the Cupboard

July 9

Lion

July 10

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

July 12

Gone Baby Gone

July 14

The Immigrant

July 16

American Gangster

July 27

Pretty Little Liars: Seasons 1-7

July 30

Staten Island Summer

Check out 25 underrated TV shows on Netflix to binge watch. 

We also have a list of the must-see Comedy movies on Netflix!

Editor's Note: This page is updated monthly. Bookmark it and stay updated for what's new on Netflix each month!

Netflix New Releases July 2019 Stranger Things 3
NewsAlec Bojalad
Jun 19, 2019

Brave New World: Cast, Details and More for USA Network TV Series

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Aldous Huxley’s classic dystopian sci-fi novel, Brave New Worlds, is headed to USA Network as a TV series.

USA Network appears to be taking a dystopian peak television plunge with its latest series order, Brave New World, an adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s seminal sci-fi novel.

The small screen Brave New World project has been given a straight-to-series order for a 10-episode inaugural season by the NBCU-owned cable outlet. The network is sticking with the writer/showrunner it appointed last year – as part of a writer’s room – in David Wiener, who brings writing and executive producer experience from Amazon’s Homecoming, CBS All Access’s Strange Angel, AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead and Starz’s Flesh and Bone. Serving as director for the pilot episode is Owen Harris (Black Mirror: San Junipero). The series will be produced by Universal Content Productions and Amblin Television.

Brave New World TV Series Cast

In the latest news, a new gaggle of cast members have been announced for USA Network's Brave New World as series regulars.

Kylie Bunbury (Game Night, Pitch) will play Frannie, “Lenina’s best friend, a Beta Plus who embraces her conditioning and New London’s social order.”

Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Killjoys) will play Wilhelmina “Helm” Watson, “a hedonistic artist and New London’s premier maker of Feelies.”

Sen Mitsuji (Altered Carbon Season 2, Origin) will play Henry Foster, “an Alpha Plus in every way, who works alongside Bernard as a counselor at The Bureau of Stability.”

Joseph Morgan (The Originals, The Vampire Diaries) will play CJack60, “an Epsilon relegated to physical, tedious jobs, who is deeply impacted after witnessing a horrifying incident.”

Nina Sosanya (Good Omens, Killing Eve) will play Mustafa Mond, “a World Controller who is responsible for maintaining New London’s social structure and utopian promise.”

Jessica Brown Findlay recently landed a lead role on Brave New World, opposite Harry Lloyd, joining the likes of the recently-cast Alden Ehrenreich, reported Deadline. She will play the crucial role of Lenina Crowne, who, along with fellow future dystopian denizen Bernard Marx (Lloyd), embarks on a revelatory journey into the wild.

A notable alumna of TV’s Downton Abbey, on which she appeared from 2010-2012, Findlay has appeared in films such as Winter’s Tale, Victor Frankenstein, Morrissey biopic England is Mine, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, and co-starred as Ophelia in the 2018 Hamlet TV movie opposite Andrew Scott’s Danish prince. She recently fielded a TV run on Hulu’s Harlots.

Alden Ehrenreich was cast for a lead role in USA’s Brave New World, reported Variety. The solo acquisition will headline the series as John the Savage, a product of both the World State from which his mother fled and the Savage Reservation on which he was raised, though he’s kind of an outsider amongst the natives there as well. However, the young man – raised on the works of Shakespeare, notably The Tempest, which contains the story’s title line – will have his life forever changed when New London exiles Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne show up at his reservation.

This will be the first new role for the L.A.-born actor, Ehrenreich, since he was tasked with filling some iconic boots, playing Han Solo in the 2018 spinoff prequel, Solo: A Star Wars Story. He came into that role having put in performances in films such as war drama The Yellow Birds, Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply, the Coens’ Hail, Caesar! and Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. Interestingly, while his career has been primarily in film, his onscreen debut occurred on TV in a 2005 episode of Supernatural, "Wendigo," which was only the second episode of what will ultimately stand as a 15-season series.

Harry Lloyd co-stars as Bernard Marx, a denizen of the micro-managed future urban dystopia of New London, who, joined by Lenina Crowne, leaves the city behind for a life-changing vacation in the Savage Lands. Lloyd, known for his Season 1 role on Game of Thrones as Viserys Targaryen, has since appeared in major films like The Iron Lady and The Theory of Everything, and fielded runs on TV shows like Marcella and Counterpart. He’ll next be seen playing the role of X-Men founder Charles Xavier on FX’s Legion.

Brave New World TV Series Details

Huxley first published Brave New World in 1931 – originally intended as a parody of H.G. Wells’s dystopian efforts – depicting a far-future (in approximately 2540 AD,) in which even the most miniscule aspects of civilization and its inhabitants are controlled; a world in which genetically engineered people are born from artificial wombs, divided into castes, prohibited from privacy and families, and have designated roles in life. However, despite the strictness of this existence, people are mollified through the encouragement of a hedonistic lifestyle centered around loose consumption, abundant sex and, most importantly, a happiness-inducing drug called Soma.

As USA's official Brave New World logline reads:

As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne have only ever known a rigid social order, a perfect pharmaceutical called Soma, and a culture of instant gratification and ubiquitous sex. Curious to explore life beyond the strictures of their society, the two New Worlders embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage, who escapes with them back to New London. John’s arrival in the New World soon threatens to disrupt its utopian harmony, leaving Bernard and Lenina to grapple with the repercussions. The three become entwined in a fraught relationship that awakens them to the dangers of their own conditioning.

USA Network’s series order represents the culmination of a developmental process for the Brave New World project that’s nearly three years in the making, stemming back to May 2015 with its initial arrival on NBCU's slate for its other cable outlet, Syfy. The project originally appointed Les Bohem as writer, subsequently replacing him with Grant Morrison and Brian Taylor the following year. However, Wiener will now work with Morrison and Taylor (the latter of whom remains an executive producer for the pilot). They are joined by executive producers in UCP and Amblin Television co-presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, along with Wiener and pilot director Owen Harris.

Brave New World certainly sounds like an ambitious small screen project for USA to tackle. The network is no stranger to grandiose dystopian TV efforts, having heavily hyped the mystery-laden sci-fi series, Colony, for three seasons before cancelling it last July. However, last year saw USA announce a slate of new shows, indicating a new commitment to high-end television with offerings such as Bourne film franchise spinoff Treadstone and (Mr. Robot creator) Sam Esmail’s Briarpatch.

Brave New World has yet to announce a release date, but a shoot in the U.K. is imminent. We’ll keep you updated as things develop!

Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley book cover
NewsJoseph Baxter
Jun 19, 2019

The 100 Season 6 Episode 8 Trailer, Release Date, Cast, Latest News, and More

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Here's everything you need to know about The 100 Season 6, including episode trailers, reviews, and airdates.

The 100 Season 6 is here! There's no keeping these Sky-Teens-turned-Young-Adults down. We've got everything you need to know about The 100 season 6 right here.

Here's our review of the latest episode. We also chatted to Richard Harmon (aka Murphy) about what's going on in that brain of Murphy's.

Next up? The 100 Season 6, Episode 8: "The Old Man and the Anomaly," which will air on June 25th. Check out the promo...

And here's the official synopsis:

"Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) and Diyoza (guest star Ivana Milicevic) make their way to the mysterious anomaly in search of the Old Man. Meanwhile, Murphy (Richard Harmon) has an offer for Emori (guest star Luisa d’Oliveira)."

read more: The 100 Season 7 — Everything We Know

The 100 Season 6 Episode Guide

Click on the blue links to read our full reviews.

read more: Is Clarke Really Dead?

The 100 Season 6 Episode 1: Sanctum

"Still reeling after receiving Monty's message, a small group goes down to explore the mysterious new planet; several members of Wonkru face the consequences of their decisions."

Original air date: 4/30/19

Read our full review of "Sanctum" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 2: Red Sun Rising

"The team on the ground fights to survive the threat they face on the new planet; Raven must join forces with an unlikely ally to save everyone on board the Mothership."

Original air date: 5/7/19

Read our full review of "Red Sun Rising" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 3: The Children of Gabriel

"Clarke tries to win over the leaders of Sanctum in order to let her people stay; Bellamy, Echo and Octavia discover a new threat while on a mission to retrieve the transport ship."

Original air date: 5/14/19

Read our full review of "The Children of Gabriel" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 4: The Face Behind the Glass

"Clarke embraces the traditions of Sanctum and tries to make amends for her past actions."

Original air date: 5/21/19

Read our full review of "The Face Behind the Glass" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 5: The Gospel of Josephine

"Jordan investigates Sanctum; Octavia and Diyoza discover the threats of the new planet firsthand; Bellamy and Clarke butt heads."

Original air date: 5/28/19

Read our full review of "The Gospel of Josephine" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 6: Memento Mori

"Diyoza (guest star Ivana Milicevic) learns more about the mysterious Children of Gabriel while Abby (Paige Turco) continues searching for a way to save Kane (guest star Henry Ian Kusick)."

Original air date: 6/11/19

Read our full review of "Memento Mori" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 7: Nevermind

"Clarke’s (Eliza Taylor) past catches up to her."

Original air date: 6/18/19

Read our full review of "Nevermind" here.

The 100 Season 6 Episode 8: The Old Man and the Anomaly

"Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) and Diyoza (guest star Ivana Milicevic) make their way to the mysterious anomaly in search of the Old Man. Meanwhile, Murphy (Richard Harmon) has an offer for Emori (guest star Luisa d’Oliveira)."

Original air date: 6/25/19

The 100 Season 6 Trailer

If you had questions about what the suns on the new planet The 100 crew finds themselves on in Season 6, look no further than the latest promo, which gives a better look into the murderous madness that seems to ensue in everyone "when the stars align"...

The CW previously dropped this extended trailer for The 100 Season 6 and it shows us a totally new chapter in the story of this world and these characters, as our friends visit a new planet and learn about the wondrous and terrifying ways of this strange new world. Check it out...

If you want to chat more about The 100 Season 6 trailer, check out our breakdown and analysis.

Can we also interest you in this gorgeous, just-released poster for the upcoming season?...

The 100 Season 6 Release Date

It's official! The 100 Season 6 will arrive on April 30 at 9 pm on The CW.

The 100 Season 6 Story

At the end of last season, Monty and Harper made the ultimate sacrifice and left their friends (and the rest of us) with some big surprises: their passing, their son, and a new planet. 

There's still so little that can be revealed about the upcoming season without spoiling anything, but we know that the planet is inhabited by a peaceful society, and that Monty and Harper wanted Bellamy and Clarke to raise their son Jordan. Monty and Harper also wanted humanity as a whole to try to be the good guys this time around, and viewed this planet as a fresh start. We'll see how long that lasts, since everyone is still bringing plenty of baggage with them, like the fallout from Blodreina and the war for Eden.

read more: The 100 — Essential Episodes to Watch

We've gotten our first glimpse of that new planet, complete with two suns, courtesy of show runner Jason Rothenberg via twitter. 

How many more seasons can we expect from The 100? Speaking at the Winter Television Critics Association press tour earlier in 2018, CW prez Mark Pedowitz said of the post-apocalyptic drama: "[Showrunner Jason Rothenberg] may have a six or seven-year plan to it. I don't know if I'm allowed to even say that, that he has a plan beyond year five, but he does."

If there is a six-year plan, this could be the last for The 100. Or, it could be just another, gruesome step on the journey of this group of crazy kids just trying to hold onto their humanity.

Rothenberg told Nerdist last year:

I had this idea for how I wanted the show to end. But it was scalable and that ending could have been at the end of season three, it could be at the end of season five, it could be at the end of season eight. Those decisions are not really mine. I don’t think that this is a show that runs for 10 seasons. But I love these characters and this world so much that it’s fresh for me every year. We tell a different story every year so we don’t get bored with it. I still have an end story in mind, but I don’t know when that end is going to be and I feel very, very confident that I’ll get to tell it eventually.

The 100 Season 6 Cast

The main crew is back for The 100 Season 6: Eliza Taylor as Clarke, Bob Morley as Bellamy, Marie Avgeropoulos as Octavia, Lindsey Morgan as Raven, Paige Truco as Abby, Adina Porter as Indra, Tasya Teles as Echo, and Lola Flanery as Madi.

Monty and Harper died of old age in the Season 5 finale, and Larkin and Reist said some emotional goodbyes over social media at the time.

Notably, Henry Ian Cusick (Kane) has been cast as a series regular on The Passage, though Cusick did say he would be back in some capacity for The 100 Season 6 at this summer's TCA press tour.

“I’m going to be on Season 6 of The 100," said Cusick (via TVLine). "Who knows how long The 100 is going to go, how long this show is going to go? ... At the moment, I’m just in a very fortunate position that I’m on both, and we’ll see how it goes."

Shannon Kook was cast as Jordan Green, aka the adult son of Monty and Harper, for the Season 5 finale. He is back for Season 6.

J.R. Bourne (Teen Wolf) is joining the cast in a recurring role as Russell, the "charismatic leader" of a "peaceful society" inhab.iting the planet that Monty and and Harper found for their friends. Apparently Russell will have a "complicated relationship" with Clarke, which makes sense considering he's being descibed as, "a visionary and pioneer who will face the difficult moral choices emblematic of the hard-hitting show.”

Kayti Burt serves as a staff editor covering books, TV, movies, and fan culture at Den of Geek. Read more of her work here or follow her on Twitter @kaytiburt.

The 100 Season 6 News
NewsKayti BurtDelia Harrington
Jun 19, 2019

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson Season 2 Confirmed

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The sketch comedy series co-created by and starring Detroiters' Tim Robinson will return in 2020 for a second season.

Netflix has become the premiere streaming service for comedy. Not only is the service hosting a glut of awesome stand-up specials, beloved former series, and top-notch movies, Netflix has also bolstered their reputation as a one-stop comedy aficionado’s shop by getting into the sketch comedy game, earning high praise for 2019’s deliriously funny and strange series I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Today, Netflix has announced that the critically-acclaimed show has been renewed for a second season.

Created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, and produced by The Lonely Island and Irony Point, I Think You Should Leave Now’s insanely hilarious first season consisted of six 20-minutes or less episodes of absurdist, cringe-inducing, gut-busting sketches, mostly starring Robinson (Detroiters) but also featuring familiar faces such as Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth), Vanessa Bayer (SNL), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Sam Richardson (VEEP).

In a statement issued by Netflix, Robinson and Kanin said, “We are very excited to be working with The Lonely Island, Irony Point, and Netflix to make another season of I Think You Should Leave. We are so thankful we get to do it again!”

Frequently featuring characters who refuse to admit their lies or own faults, the first season involved sketches centered on awkward workplace drama, an intervention in a Garfield themed house, and a couple attempting to talk their way out of a babysitter's fake hit and run, and much more. Loglines cannot truly portray how odd and silly this series can be, so check out a sketch below.

The second season of I Think You Should Leave is expected to arrive in 2020. When it hits the streaming service, we just hope that sack of human garbage, Bart Harley Jarvis, is nowhere to be found. I think I speak for everyone at Den of Geek when I say that WE HOPE YOU DIE, HARLEY JARVIS.

Nick Harley is a tortured Cleveland sports fan, thinks Douglas Sirk would have made a killer Batman movie, Spider-Man should be a big-budget HBO series, and Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson should direct a script written by one another. For more thoughts like these, read Nick's work here at Den of Geek or follow him on Twitter.

Will Forte and Tim Robinson in a sketch from I Think You Should Leave
NewsNick Harley
Jun 19, 2019

How Veronica Mars Transcended Its Many Genres

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With Veronica Mars Season 4 premiering in July, we look back at what made the original show so special...

Warning: This Veronica Mars article contains spoilers for the first three seasons of the show.

Friendless, motherless, boyfriend-less, and with innocence not lost so much as ripped away and torn to pieces, the titular heroine of Veronica Mars definitely wasn’t your average TV teen. She wasn’t introduced as a high school student, for example, the first scene of the pilot placing her outside a seedy motel on a stake-out instead of in class or at her locker, and this crucial decision set the audience up for things to come. Just like the show, Veronica straddled many lines and boundaries, often unable to settle anywhere at all; middle-class in a town – Neptune, California – resolutely split between the haves and the have-nots.

read more: Veronica Mars Season 4 — Everything We Know

And for those who caught it during the 2004-05 season, it was love at first sight. The television screen was a duller place after the glory days of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, teen dramas had become unimaginative and immature, and Veronica blasted onto UPN with an infectious attitude and defiance. It’s a shame, really, that the show debuted at the same time as zeitgeist-capturing shows like Lostand Desperate Housewives. Eyes were, maybe quite rightly, drawn elsewhere, and UPN’s little experiment languished unseen and (commercially) unloved on a network not previously known for anything, let alone its quality cult television.

But critics noticed, praising the series for its strikingly brave tackling of contemporary race, class, and gender issues, all in a snarky, entertaining, and compelling package that recalled Twin Peaks, Freaks and Geeks and, yes, Nancy Drew as much as it did its petite, blonde, vampire-slaying predecessor. It was nothing less than a revelation for critics who sampled it, with big names like Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith and Stephen King all clamouring over each other to champion the series. This factor probably kept it on the air longer than it would have been otherwise, eventually lasting (almost) full-length three seasons, now soon to be four

What was all the fuss about? Surely a good show, if on the air for three whole years, would have been watched by more people? The exact reasons for its relative failure are complicated and unknowable but, for once, it doesn’t seem to be the network’s fault. Understandably proud of a great series to call their own (they had previously adopted Buffy and Roswellfrom the WB), UPN championed the series and secured its renewal when it combined with the WB. If anything, Veronica Mars wouldn’t have existed were it not for the somewhat identity-less channel—too young for cable networks like FX, HBO, and Showtime, and too dark for its more natural home on the WB.

read more: 9 Character-Driven Whodunnits to Watch

Only small tweaks were made to creator Rob Thomas’ original vision, initially conceived as a novel with a male teen sleuth called Keith Mars; a small miracle when you consider how risky a premise it was. In the pilot, we find out that Veronica’s best friend was bludgeoned to death, class tensions in Neptune largely involve spoiled rich white families versus an Hispanic biker gang, our heroine has been made an outcast due to her father’s targeting of the most powerful family in town, and Veronica was drugged and raped at an 09er (the haves) party, only to be told by the new Sheriff to "get some backbone." Not exactly rainbows and puppies.

Each of these factors shape the rest of the series, with Lilly Kane’s murder and Veronica’s rape forming the two central mysteries of Season 1. Thomas and his writers conceived the show as a "case-of-the-week" format with a central, overriding mystery woven through for Veronica to solve. It was a brilliant decision, and the show managed to make each and every episode interesting, with or without the clues relating to Lilly’s murder. The twisted nature of Neptune helped to generate new and interesting plots each week, with the best episodes centring on the downtrodden members of the community, some injustice done to them by the town’s seemingly untouchable upper-class. 

But Veronica had once belonged to that group of privileged teens, shunned by her friends as soon as the town collectively turned against her and her father. There was Duncan Kane, the ex-boyfriend and brother of Lilly (who, through an illicit affair may also have been Veronica’s half-sibling) and Logan Echolls, the "obligatory psychotic jackass" who eventually became a fan-favorite and a star of the show. Various others, like Dick Casablancas and Madison St. Claire, popped in and out of the frame throughout Veronica’s high school career but, as proven by Logan’s shifting characterisation, there were no black and white villains here, and everything was colored in grey.

read more: Veronica Mars Movie Review

If Season 1 was about Veronica’s own unsolved mysteries, the second season was much wider in ambition and scope. With the set-up of a bus crash that killed many Neptune High students on the way back from a school field trip, tensions between the different classes opened up in an increasingly volatile way. With Logan accused of murdering one of the PCH bikers, and the rich kids rendered immune from the tragedy via a private limo ride, Veronica was tasked with finding out how and what had really happened. While the arc should be praised for its good intentions, aspirations and execution, it was hard to care as much as we had about Lilly, simply because Veronica didn’t care as much.

Season 1 showed the protagonist willing to do absolutely anything to piece together the clues, and the second outing didn't measure up in quality. It was about the whole town and the social injustice inherent to places like Neptune in real-world America, but it just couldn’t generate enough adrenaline to last 22 hours. The same applies to the troubled and little-loved third season, which was the victim of both network meddling and an apparent confusion with what fans wanted. Far too much focus was given to Veronica’s relationship with Logan, rendered unrecognisable in the process, and taken from her connection with her father, once the shining beacon of safety and trust in her life. 

Sadly, the series was cancelled after only 20 episodes of the third season were aired, and before the 2014 movie, crowdfunded on Kickstarter, fans were left with the worst kind of cliffhanger. Veronica essentially ended up the same way she started, Keith-less, loveless, and having alienated most of those closest to her. It was an anticlimax to beat all that came before, with a new format eradicating the season-long mystery in favor of two shorter ones and five odd episodes to finish. For a show that so gracefully worked towards a season-ender reveal twice before, it was not only disappointing for long-time fans but failed to gather the new, casual, audience for which it was intended. 

read more: The Influence of Twin Peaks

Despite the fascinating context present in each and every episode of the show, fans were tuning in for its heroine, an ingredient more popular procedural series often seem to forget. Veronica is an enthralling character, combining vulnerability and strength, revenge and justice, in a way hardly ever attempted on mainstream television. She's complex, and never became less so (as was probably tempting) once many of her life’s mysteries were solved. She's often wrong, her anger-fueled actions usually have dire consequences to follow, and she walks a dangerous moral line, stopping at nothing to uncover the truth. Kristin Bell was magnificent in the role.

The supporting characters were also written as fully-rounded players in their own right, with a staggering number of students at Neptune High fleshed out and explored in each of the 44 episodes spent there. Some were more important than others, obviously, chief among them Weevil, Wallace, and Mac. Wallace is the first to befriend Veronica after her various pre-series ordeals, enlisting her to help him out of a debt with the PCH bikers during the pilot. Theirs is one of the few purely male-female platonic relationships on television, and is a treat for anyone tiring of the endless pushing together of characters devoid of romantic chemistry. It’s another of the big minus points of later seasons that an element of Veronica and Wallace’s relationship was lost. 

Mac may have been a reaction to network fears that Veronica was hanging out with too many boys and, with her chief companions including Duncan, Logan, Wallace, Weevil and her father, they may have had a point. Initially a guest role used for any technical issues Veronica might have had, her role expanded in Season 2, and she soon became Q to Veronica’s Bond. It was a gamble that paid off with Mac playing a vital role in the second season’s overriding mystery, even getting a love interest of her own. Sadly, she was another casualty of Season 3, when the writers paired her with anyone and everyone, creating a convoluted love triangle that fans couldn’t really invest in.

read more: Contemporary Fantasy Meets Noir in Magic for Liars

Weevil was probably the most complex and shallow character on the show, sliding from one extreme to the other over three seasons. Starting out as an antagonist for Veronica, she soon saves his bacon over some stolen credit card fraud and a grudging respect is generated between them. It never really went away, but Weevil and Veronica’s relationship couldn’t really be described as functional. He was probably the only person in Veronica’s life who straddled the moral line so often, and their similarities, along with Veronica’s occasional sense of superiority, caused problems throughout the show. It was one of the more fascinating relationships, especially when viewing them as a potentially romantic pairing.

But the third corner of the show’s love triangle was occupied by Logan Echolls, and hooking up with her dead best friend’s ex-boyfriend didn’t really help Veronica in her first season investigation. Unlike a lot of triangles on television, it was quickly clear which relationship was winning out in popularity, and Veronica and Logan’s troubled romance (dubbed LoVe by fans) became the reason a lot of viewers were tuning in each week. The writers did their fair share of messing with the pair, but writing out love rival Duncan and putting Logan back on the rails after a couple of tumultuous years allowed the crazy kids to convincingly be together, before being separated by necessity again and again. 

More important than anyone, though, was the catalyst for Veronica’s misfortune: Lilly Kane, played by Amanda Seyfried. Lilly was the most direct influence on the show from Twin Peaks, with the ghost of our heroine’s beloved companion haunting her throughout the first season, willing her to solve the most vital mystery. Vivacious, wild, and reckless, Lilly was everything Veronica didn’t dare be in the misty, watercolor flashbacks we were dealt in early episodes. Her death transformed her into a more powerful person, as well as closed-off, vengeful, and unwilling to trust. The audience’s perception of Lilly is built over time and open to interpretation, but Veronica’s love for her never wavers despite the secrets she uncovers.

read more: iZombie Season 5 Episode Guide

Veronica Marswas one of those examples of a show that started out strong, only to later lose a portion of its soul in a desperate bid for ratings. Fans might be too quick in dismissing later episodes, but the fan-funded film and this year's Season 4 revival on Hulu just proves how beloved this show remains.

It’s sad that more people didn’t watch the show when it aired, and that there's more chance that teens these days best know Kristen Bell as the voice of Anna from Frozen, though that may change come Season 4. Regardless, the title character’s influence can be seen everywhere on network television, with ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars essentially the love child of Veronica Mars and 90210, borrowing liberally from its predecessor and managing to mould it into a ratings winner that ran and ran. Veronica's story was an original and daring example of quality television, and few shows achieve as much as Veronica Mars did at its best. Fingers crossed that Season 4 lives up to what came before.

Veronica Mars Season 4 arrives on Hulu on the 26th of July. 

Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars TV Show
FeatureCaroline Preece
Jun 19, 2019

Yellowstone Season 3 Confirmed, Josh Holloway Joins Cast

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Paramount Network has ordered Yellowstone Season 3 ahead of the season 2 premiere.

Paramount Network knows a good Kevin Costner when it sees one. 

Variety reports that Paramount Network has picked up the Kevin Costner-starring series Yellowstone for season 3. The announcement comes the same day that YellowstoneSeason 2 is set to debut. Yellowstone Season 3 will feature 10 episodes, just like season 2. 

Deadline reports that Josh Holloway is joining the cast for Yellowstone Season 3. Holloway, the former Lostand Colony star, will play Roarke Carter, a charming hedge fund manager with big plans for Montana. 

Formerly Spike TV, Paramount Network was in dire need of a hit at launch. A prime candidate seemed to be the Heathersreboot, though once that ran into some friction, Yellowstone stepped up and took on the mantle. The inaugural season received impressive ratings, with Paramount citing 5.3 million viewers (a number that likely includes metrics across all platforms,) for the show’s debut. The rest of the first season managed to maintain steady viewership with a cited average of 5.1 million per episode. It was the most-watched new cable series of 2018. 

Yellowstone is a modern day Western of sorts and presents a story rarely seen on television. Yellowstone stars Kevin Costner as John Dutton, the owner of the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. John and his family must ward of threats from external sources like land developers, Indian reservations, and even Yellowstone National Park.

The rest of the Dutton family cast is filled out by Luke Grimes (Kayce Dutton), Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton), Wes Bentley (Jamie Dutton), and Kelsey Asbille (Monica Dutton). Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler), Jefferson White (Jimmy Hurdstrom), and Gil Birmingham (Chief Thomas Rainwater) make up the rest of the main cast. Neal McDonough is set to play wealthy mogul Malcolm Beck in Season 2. 

There is no word on a Yellowstone Season 3 release date yet but so far the show has been nothing if not consistent. Season 1 premiered on June 20, 2018 and season 2 premieres on June 19, 2019. See you all on June 18, 2020!

Alec Bojalad is TV Editor at Den of Geek and TCA member. Read more of his stuff here. Follow him at his creatively-named Twitter handle @alecbojalad

Yellowstone Season 3
NewsAlec Bojalad
Jun 19, 2019
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