Network TV: That Medium That You Are Hardly Watching, Movies I've Seen
It’s been the best of times and the worst of times. While I love the Upfronts I hate when inevitably a show I love gets the axe. While there is still time before the official upfronts presentations and therefore there are some shows whose fates are still swaying in the wind, here are the losers (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and the winners (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) of the Spring Upfronts so far.
NBC
Renewed Series
“A.P. Bio,” “Superstore,” “The Good Place,” “Good Girls,” “Will & Grace,” “This Is Us,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Blindspot”, “The Blacklist”
Canceled/Ending Series
The Brave
Great News
Taken
Rise
Law & Order True Crime - During the Paley Center for Media’s Fall Previews I attended the panel for this as this was the only series NBC offered up. Dick Wolff was on the panel (with Edie Falco and the actors who played the Melendez Bros.) and Wolff said his primary reason for doing the series was because he didn’t think the Melendez Bros. got a fair trial and that they did not deserve the sentence they received as he believes they were sexually, physically and emotionally abused by their father. He says because the DA’s office had such a rough go at that time with the O.J Simpson trail and the Rodney King verdict that they pinned everything on sending the Melendez Bros. to jail in order to show that they can convict people.
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“Champions,” “Timeless,”
New Series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Originally passed by NBC and picked up by FOX, the show was cancelled by FOX and picked up by NBC after Hulu and Netflix passed on it.
Manifest”
When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible. From Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke comes an emotionally rich, unexpected journey into a world grounded in hope, heart and destiny.
The cast includes Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina and Parveen Kaur.
Abby’s
From the producers of “The Good Place” comes a hilariously aspirational new comedy about the best bar in San Diego, home to good prices, great company and, of course, Abby. This unlicensed, makeshift bar nestled in her backyard is the opposite of everything annoying about today’s party scene. There are rules at Abby’s: no cell phones (not even to “look something up”), earning a seat at the bar takes time and losing a challenge means drinking a limey, sugary “not-beer” drink. As the oddball cast of regulars will tell you, hanging out at Abby’s is a coveted honor. But once you’re in, you’re family.
The cast includes Natalie Morales, Nelson Franklin, Kimia Behpoornia, Jessica Chaffin, Leonard Ouzts and Neil Flynn.
The Enemy Within
In this fast-paced, spy-hunting thriller, Erica Shepherd (Jennifer Carpenter) is a brilliant former CIA operative, now known as the most notorious traitor in American history serving life in a Supermax prison. Against every fiber of his being but with nowhere else to turn, FBI Agent Will Keaton (Morris Chestnut) enlists Shepherd to help track down a fiercely dangerous and elusive criminal she knows all too well. For Keaton, it’s not easy to trust the woman who cost him so much. While Shepherd and Keaton have different motivations for bringing the enemy to justice, they both know that to catch a spy… they must think like one.
The cast includes Jennifer Carpenter, Morris Chestnut, Raza Jaffrey and Kelli Garner.
I Feel Bad
Emet is the perfect mom, boss, wife, friend and daughter. OK, she’s not perfect. In fact, she’s just figuring it out like the rest of us. Sure, she feels bad when she has a sexy dream about someone other than her husband, or when she pretends not to know her kids when they misbehave in public, or when she uses her staff to help solve personal problems. But that’s OK, right? Nobody can have it all and do it perfectly. From executive producer Amy Poehler comes a modern comedy about being perfectly OK with being imperfect.
The cast includes Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Aisling Bea, Zach Cherry, Johnny Pemberton and James Buckley.
“The Village”
Welcome to the Village, an apartment building in Brooklyn that appears like any other from the outside but is quite unique inside. The people who reside here have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors. Sarah’s a nurse and single mom raising a creative teen; Gabe’s a young law student who got a much older and unexpected roommate; Ava must secure the future of her young, U.S.-born son when ICE comes knocking; Nick’s a veteran who’s returned from war; and the heart and soul of the building, Ron and Patricia, have captivating tales all their own. These are the hopeful, heartwarming and challenging stories of life that prove family is everything - even if it’s the one you make with the people around you.
The cast includes Moran Atias, Dominic Chianese, Warren Christie, Frankie Faison, Jerod Haynes, Daren Kagasoff, Michaela McManus, Lorraine Toussaint and Grace Van Dien.
New Amsterdam
Inspired by Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in America, this unique medical drama follows the brilliant and charming Dr. Max Goodwin, the institution’s newest medical director who sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care. How can he help? Well, the doctors and staff have heard this before. Not taking “no” for an answer, Dr. Goodwin must disrupt the status quo and prove he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated hospital - the only one in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers and the President of the United States under one roof - and return it to the glory that put it on the map.
The cast includes Ryan Eggold, Freema Agyeman, Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Anupam Kher and Tyler Labine.
CBS
Renewed Series
The Big Bang Theory,” “Blue Bloods,” “Bull,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “MacGyver,” “Madam Secretary,” “Mom,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Ransom,” “SEAL Team,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Young Sheldon”, “Criminal Minds”, “Elementary”, “Instinct”, “Celebrity Big Brother”, “Big Brother”, “Man With a Plan”, “Life in Pieces”
Canceled Series
“Me, Myself & I,” “Wisdom of the Crowd,” “Living Biblically”, “Kevin Can Wait”, “Superior Donuts”, “Scorpion”, “9JKL”
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Code Black,”
New Series
“F.B.I.”
Explores the inner-workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The cast includes Missy Peregrym, Jeremy Sisto, Zeeko Zaki, Connie Nielsen and Ebonee Noel.
“Murphy Brown”
In a revival of the 1988 sitcom, Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) returns to a world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate.
The cast includes Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, Grant Shaud, Nik Dodani and Jake McDorman.
Untitled Damon Wayans, Jr. Project
A 30-something couple, tired of their mundane life, start to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves when a young pop star who is drawn to their super normal suburban life, moves in.
The cast includes Damon Wayans, Jr., Amber Stevens West, Felix Mallard, Stephnie Weir and Chris Parnell.
“Welcome to the Neighborhood”The nicest guy in the Midwest moves his family into a tough neighborhood in L.A. where not everyone appreciates his extreme neighborliness.
The cast includes Cedric The Entertainer, Josh Lawson, Sheaun McKinney, Tichina Arnold, Dreama Walker, Marcel Spears and Hank Greenspan.
CBS ALL ACCESS
Renewed
Star Trek : Discovery
The Good Fight
New Series
$1 : Mystery/thriller set in a small Rust Belt town in post-recession America, where a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder. The path of the dollar bill, and point of view in each episode, paints a picture of a modern American town with deep class and cultural divides that spill out into the open as the town’s secrets get revealed.
CAST: John Carroll Lynch, Nathaniel Martello-White, Philip Ettinger, Chris Denham, Kirrilee Berger, Gracie Lawrence, Nike Kadri, Joshua Bitton, Hamilton Clancy, Ashlie Atkinson (recurring), Leslie Odom Jr. (recurring), Jeff Perry (recurring), Sturgill Simpson (recurring), Aleksa Palladino (recurring)
STRANGE ANGEL
Inspired by the true story of Jack Parsons, a mysterious and brilliant man in 1940s Los Angeles, who by day helps birth the entirely unknown discipline of American rocketry and by night is a performer of sex magic rituals and a disciple to occultist Aleister Crowley.
The book it’s based on
CAST: Jack Reynor, Rupert Friend, Bella Heathcote, Laine Neil, Elena Satine (recurring), Karl Makinen (recurring)
Reynor and poor man’s Orlando Bloom Friend
Tell Me A Story -Reimagines “beloved fairy tales into dark and twisted psychological thriller”. So like real deal Grimm’s Fairy Tales stuff or Anne Rice’s Snow White stories. It has been announced that Billy Magnussen (who gave a hilarious performance in “Game Night” will star in one of the episodes.
ABC
Renewed
"American Housewife", "black-ish", "Fresh Off the Boat", "For the People", “The Goldbergs,” “The Good Doctor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” "How to Get Away with Murder", “Modern Family,” “Roseanne”, Speechless, Station 19, Splitting Up Together
-Very happy about the renewal of "Splitting Up Together".
Adapted from a Danish series, "Splitting Up Together" stars Jenna Fischer (The Office) and Oliver Hudson (Nashville), as Lena and Martin who decide to divorce but for financial reasons still share a home. The series follows their journey of learning how to parent as divorcees, facing the single life and reconciling what went wrong in their relationship. Supremely sweet show and it's from the creator of the excellent, but short-lived "Selfie" and "Suburgatory".
Canceled
"Deception", "The Crossing", "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World", “The Mayor,” “The Middle,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Scandal,” “Ten Days in the Valley”, "Alex, Inc", "Designated Survivor", "Quantico", "Marvel's Inhumans"
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Newly Series
“The Rookie”
At an age where most are at the peak of their career, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) casts aside his comfortable, small town life and moves to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a “young” cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.
The cast includes Nathan Fillion, Afton Williamson, Eric Winter, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, Titus Makin, Alyssa Diaz and Mercedes Mason.
“Take Two”
An entertaining private investigator procedural with a unique balance of comedy and drama. Sam Swift (Rachel Bilson), the former star of a hit cop series is fresh-out-of-rehab following a bender of epic proportions. Desperate to restart her career, she talks her way into shadowing rough-and-tumble private investigator Eddie Valetik (Eddie Cibrian) as research for a potential comeback role. Though lone wolf Eddie resents the babysitting gig, high-spirited Sam proves herself to be surprisingly valuable, drawing on her acting skills and 200 episodes of playing a detective.
The cast includes Rachel Bilson, Eddie Cibrian, Aliyah O’Brien, Xavier de Guzman and Alice Lee.
”Schooled” (fka Untitled “Goldbergs” spinoff)
The spinoff will be set in 1990-something and follow the hilarious teachers of William Penn Academy - led by Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) - who, despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, are heroes to their students.
“A Million Little Things”
They say friendship isn’t one big thing, it’s a million little things; and that’s true for a group of friends from Boston who bonded under unexpected circumstances. Some have achieved success, others are struggling in their careers and relationships, but all of them feel stuck in life. After one of them dies unexpectedly, it’s just the wake-up call the others need to finally start living. Along the way they discover that friends may be the one thing to save them from themselves.
“A Million Little Things” stars David Giuntoli as Eddie, Ron Livingston as Jon, Romany Malco as Rome, Allison Miller as Maggie, Christina Moses as Regina, Christina Ochoa as Ashley, James Roday as Gary, Stephanie Szostak as Delilah and Lizzy Greene as Sophie.
Fox
Renewed
“The Gifted,” “9-1-1,” “The Orville,” “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” “Empire,” “The Resident,” “Star”, Lethal Weapon,
Also renewed on Fox is “Lethal Weapon” but without co-star Clayne Crawford who was fired due to misconduct on the set. He issued an apology on his Instagram when the story broke but to no avail. They have hired Seann William Scott of “American Pie” fame. The rumor is that he will play Riggs’ brother.
Clayne’s message to fans and the show
Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill) who recurred on the show posted a message of support for Crawford.
“Gotham”.
~Gotham is returning for its 5th and final season which will have young Bruce (David Masouz) becoming Batman.
David has grown so much.
S1 pic of Sean Pertwee (Alfred Pennyworth), Sean’s son Freddy and Masouz
S4 pic
Canceled
“New Girl,” “The X-Files”, “The Last Man on Earth”, “The Mick”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, "Lucifer", "The Exorcist".
-I sat by unmoved as my friends suffered under the cancellations of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". I didn't understand their pain until death came to me with the axing of "The Exorcist"!!
A big ol' Foster Farms chicken when it comes to horror, I watched the pilot as part of Fox's previews nights that they began doing outside of the Paley Fall previews. I was surprised at how much I loved the pilot and impressed with the acting, especially by Ben Daniels as Father Marcus who struggles to stand strong as his faith is tested but then renewed by a partnership with Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera). I continued to love the show through the subsequent episodes -- a testament to the show itself as I weave in and out of shows, if not drop them completely in between episodes and/or hiatuses. I returned for the season 2 which was better than the first thanks in part to a wonderful arc with John Cho. And not only was the show just a well-written and superbly acted one but TPTB made it inclusive by casting a diverse group of actors and without making it a huge plot point or a Very Special Episode of they brilliantly displayed Father Marcus as a gay man who isn't tortured by his sexuality.
This show has made me a forever fan of Daniels who found success with the series "Flesh and Bones." He is such an exquisite actor. There have been scenes where I wonder how the actors opposite him stay in character and don't break down in tears from being moved by performance, just laying Father Marcus bare.
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“L.A. to Vegas,” and “Ghosted”
New Series
Last Man Standing
Axed by ABC after its sixth season, this Tim Allen series was picked up by Fox undoubtedly in response to the success of the "Roseanne" revival. starring Conservative Tim Allen (who whined when his series was cancelled and has said numerous times that Conservatives are maligned in Hollywood. He actually compared it to living in Poland during WW2 like the idiot he is), this show was likely picked up to appeal to the Deplorables set.
“The Cool Kids”
Three guy friends in a retirement community are the top dogs until they’re blown out of the water by the newest member of the community, a female rebel whose ready to challenge their place - it’s high school with 70 somethings.
The cast includes Vicki Lawrence*(Vicki recurred on NBC’s “Great News” as the best friend of Andrea Martin’s character), Martin Mull, David Alan Grier and Leslie Jordan.
“The Passage”
Based on author Justin Cronin’s best‐selling trilogy of the same name, “The Passage” is an epic, character‐driven thriller about a secret government medical facility experimenting with a dangerous virus that could either cure all disease or cause the downfall of the human race. The series focuses on a 10‐year‐old girl named Amy Bellafonte, who is chosen to be a test subject for this experiment and Brad Wolgast, the Federal agent who becomes her surrogate father as he tries to protect her.
The cast includes Mark‐Paul Gosselaar, Saniyya Sidney, Vincent Piazza, Brianne Howey, Jamie McShane, Caroline Chikezie, Emmanuelle Chriqui.
“Proven Innocent”
A legal drama set in an wrongful conviction firm. Led by a fierce and fearless female lawyer with a hunger for justice, the team reopens investigations, putting their own lives in danger to exonerate the innocent that were ‘proven’ guilty. Our lead’s motivation comes from her infamous past; as a young adult she was found guilty and later exonerated in a high-profile case in which she became a tabloid sensation, household name and national celebrity. While a hero and a victim to some, her bold and bullish tactics garner her some enemies- one of whom will do anything to see her go down for a crime we know she did not commit. We will watch her defend others as she fights to maintain her own innocence.
Cast includes Rachelle Lefevre, Russell Hornsby, Nikki M. James, Vincent Kartheiser, Riley Smith and Clare O’Connor.
The CW
Renewed
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Dynasty,” “Arrow,” “Supernatural,” “Supergirl,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Black Lightning,” “The Flash,” “The 100”, “Riverdale”.
*What would have been great to pair with “Riverdale” is “The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina” which was picked up by Netflix.
I read the script and if the show can be half as good as that was, it will be a show I would definitely watch. The series will star Kiernan Shipkin (Mad Men) as the titular character, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is set in the sixties unlike the contemporaneous “Riverdale” but still has a contemporary feel to it thanks to Sabrina being a feminist and befriending a classmate who is gender non-conforming.
The series also stars Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings) and Lucy Punch (Wonder Woman) as aunts Hilda and Zelda, Michelle Gomez (Dr. Who), Richard Coyle (Coupling) and Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) as Sabrina’s boyfriend Harvey Kinkle.
*With the return of Arrow there is also the return of former recurring castmember Colton Haynes. At the time of his departure Greg Berlanti explained that Colton didn’t want to become a regular so he was always just to be a semi-regular on the show, but now Colton has had a change of heart and wants a steady gig. This is a good thing as Colton needs a distraction since his 6-month marriage has come to an end.
Damn, Colton. All those flowers for a 6 month marriage
Canceled Series
“Life Sentence,” “Valor”
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“iZombie”
Life of the Party
This is not a rager of a keg party film. It barely rises to a level of a tea party for a kid's dolls. Written by star Melissa McCarthy and husband Ben Falcone (who also directed),
"Life of the Party" has a good premise but the "jokes" and often delivery falls flatter than Bella Hadid's stomach (I just saw a rockin' picture of Bella in a crop top).
With Deanna (McCarthy) and Dan's (Matt Walsh, Veep) only child, Maddie (Molly Gordon) starting her senior year of college, Dan drops the bomb that he wants a divorce and is in love with a realtor (Julie Bowen, Modern Family).
Reflecting on how Dan made her give up college in her senior year when she became pregnant, Deanna decides to complete her degree.
While Maddie is slightly mortified by her mother's presence, her dorm mates Helen (Gillian Jacobs, Community), Amanda (Adria Arjona, Emerald City) and Debbie (Jessie Ennis, Love) are thrilled by her and decides to help Deanna rejoice in dorm life and the party culture on campus which introduces Deanna to the quickly smitten Jack (Luke Benward, Still the King),
the best friend of Maddie's boyfriend Tyler (Jimmy O. Yang, Silicon Valley).
The theater was quiet with the exception of few (very few) chuckles. It was as if the film was still being workshopped. Odd characterizations that were supposed to be funny were just odd like Jacobs' character being someone who was in a coma for 8 years and the way Jacobs portrays her oddness is by delivering lines as if she's fudging the truth so that it took me at least three scenes to realize that this character wasn't lying to be sarcastic or passive aggressive it was just a line reading choice.
It's the vets that give it the old college try to bring the material up to what could even be deemed moderately funny. There's former SNL-ers Chris Parnell as Deanna's archelogy professor who tosses off archelogy puns and Maya Rudolph as Deanna's best friend Christine who takes in every detail of Deanna's college experience with wild exuberance.
Sorry to Bother You
I was going to see this anyway because Armie Hammer is in it, but seeing the trailer really cemented that this was something I needed to partake of.
Written and directed by conscientious hip hop artist Boots Riley of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club (with the premier conscientious musician Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine), Riley's film drops us in Oakland, California where Cassius "Cash" Green (LaKeith Stanfield) is trying to get a job to provide for himself and his performance artist/sign twirler girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson)
so that they can get out of the garage of his uncle Sergio (Terry Crews).
Cash's ability to shameless push for what he wants gets him a telemarketing job alongside his friend Sal (Jermaine Fowler, Superior Donuts). On the advice of veteran coworker Langston (Danny Glover), Cash adapts a "white voice" (David Cross) in order to boast his sales. The voice works and Cash is in line for a promotion as a power caller working for Mister (for some reason that only Boots know the character name is always bleeped out and is credited as Mr. ____ played by Omari Hardwick of Starz's "Power").
Cash's prowess at selling puts him in the eyeline of Steve Lift (Armie Hammer), owner of the morally dubious company Worry Free.
Will Cash turn his back on his values and his coworkers who are looking to organize a union led by Squeeze (Steven Yuen, The Walking Dead) or will Cash cash out his morals for a pay day?
It's a hilarious wild ride, which makes all the wobbly bits bearable. While Stanfield seems to be in real life much more like his "Atlanta" character Darius, in his other works he can effortlessly become what the script needs him to be and believably so. We root for kindhearted Cash and want the best for him even if it means turning on his friends because you just really want to see him succeed.
Thompson and Yeun are wonderful as the angels on Cash's shoulders as they both have their own form of resistance: Detroit with her art and Squeeze with his union organizing ways (and the pair work so well together. Great chemistry).
Sorry to Bother You Cast
As much as the film is an absurdist comedy where people can adapt "white voices", this alternate universe doesn't seem so alternate with Worry Free pretty much being a stand in for the prison industrial complex where instead of prisoners making goods for multi-billion dollar companies, Worry Free "employees" are people who sign lifelong contracts where they make goods in exchange for a cot and three square meals a day. That's not just a jail thing, that's the conditions you read about at Apple manufacturing plants in China where there has been a spate of suicides and attempted suicides. Knowing about the indignities globally that workers have to endure for a paycheck that barely covers their needs working for huge corporations that put profit over people makes what is arguably the B plot of the movie, the most meaningful aspect of the film.
I went to a Q&A with Riley and producer Jennifer, who works for Forrest Whitaker's production company which produced this film as well as "Fruitvale Station" and "Dope" which launched the careers of directors Ryan Coogler and Rick Famuyia.
-Boots originally wanted it to be a one set workplace comedy but once he began storyboarding it he realized it was a boring idea and wanted to build out the world.
-He says all the characters are facets of himself as he contemplates his place in the world as an artist and what does success mean so when he wrote the dialogue it came easy to him because it was essentially him talking to himself; what he would say in these situations. Which I loved because there were many deep thoughts about love and activism that is really important.
It's a great first time effort for Riley considering the small budget and brief shooting schedule (28 days) For me, someone who has lived in Oakland, it was great seeing the city as the backdrop. While "Fruitvale Station" and "Kicks" are two impressive films shot in Oakland, I have a soft spot for the DIY look and feel of another off-kilter comedy 1990's "The Spirit of '76" written and directed by Roman Coppola and Lucas Reiner (Carl's son) starring Red Kross' Jeff and Steven McDonald, David Cassidy, Olivai D'Abo and Leif Garrett.
-He began writing the script in 2012. The very first person attached to the film was David Cross as Cross was who Boots sent the script to as soon as it was finished. The two had met in passing and exchanged information. Once they began to go into production Cross confided that he really had no intention of reading the script but his assistant was house sitting for him when the script arrived, read it and recommended that Cross do it.
-Boots who did the film program at San Francisco State but it had been so long ago that he needed a refresher so he read every "hack' book about filmmaking, but found watching making ofs a better guide. He also reached out to directors for their takes so Oliver Stone gave him notes, a German director he met at Sundance Labs, Richard Ayoade
Boots on set with Chiwetel Ejiofor who served as a creative consultant
-The film got a free promotional boost by LaKeith Stanfield’s “Atlanta” costar/boss Donald Glover who attached the trailer to his Childish Gambino Youtube channel where the video for his new song “This is America” gained 2 million views in a matter of days.
Sorry to Bother You trailer
~Total aside, but I know Armie’s wife doesn’t like his facial hair but like Samson, all of Armie’s power lies in his hair -namely his facial and body hair.
-I love Sia and I'll take her in any form I can get her. In this case in LSD the collabo between Labrinth, Sia and DJ/producer Diplo.
Genius: LSD
NBC
Renewed Series
“A.P. Bio,” “Superstore,” “The Good Place,” “Good Girls,” “Will & Grace,” “This Is Us,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Blindspot”, “The Blacklist”
Canceled/Ending Series
The Brave
Great News
Taken
Rise
Law & Order True Crime - During the Paley Center for Media’s Fall Previews I attended the panel for this as this was the only series NBC offered up. Dick Wolff was on the panel (with Edie Falco and the actors who played the Melendez Bros.) and Wolff said his primary reason for doing the series was because he didn’t think the Melendez Bros. got a fair trial and that they did not deserve the sentence they received as he believes they were sexually, physically and emotionally abused by their father. He says because the DA’s office had such a rough go at that time with the O.J Simpson trail and the Rodney King verdict that they pinned everything on sending the Melendez Bros. to jail in order to show that they can convict people.
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“Champions,” “Timeless,”
New Series
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Originally passed by NBC and picked up by FOX, the show was cancelled by FOX and picked up by NBC after Hulu and Netflix passed on it.
Manifest”
When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible. From Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke comes an emotionally rich, unexpected journey into a world grounded in hope, heart and destiny.
The cast includes Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina and Parveen Kaur.
Abby’s
From the producers of “The Good Place” comes a hilariously aspirational new comedy about the best bar in San Diego, home to good prices, great company and, of course, Abby. This unlicensed, makeshift bar nestled in her backyard is the opposite of everything annoying about today’s party scene. There are rules at Abby’s: no cell phones (not even to “look something up”), earning a seat at the bar takes time and losing a challenge means drinking a limey, sugary “not-beer” drink. As the oddball cast of regulars will tell you, hanging out at Abby’s is a coveted honor. But once you’re in, you’re family.
The cast includes Natalie Morales, Nelson Franklin, Kimia Behpoornia, Jessica Chaffin, Leonard Ouzts and Neil Flynn.
The Enemy Within
In this fast-paced, spy-hunting thriller, Erica Shepherd (Jennifer Carpenter) is a brilliant former CIA operative, now known as the most notorious traitor in American history serving life in a Supermax prison. Against every fiber of his being but with nowhere else to turn, FBI Agent Will Keaton (Morris Chestnut) enlists Shepherd to help track down a fiercely dangerous and elusive criminal she knows all too well. For Keaton, it’s not easy to trust the woman who cost him so much. While Shepherd and Keaton have different motivations for bringing the enemy to justice, they both know that to catch a spy… they must think like one.
The cast includes Jennifer Carpenter, Morris Chestnut, Raza Jaffrey and Kelli Garner.
I Feel Bad
Emet is the perfect mom, boss, wife, friend and daughter. OK, she’s not perfect. In fact, she’s just figuring it out like the rest of us. Sure, she feels bad when she has a sexy dream about someone other than her husband, or when she pretends not to know her kids when they misbehave in public, or when she uses her staff to help solve personal problems. But that’s OK, right? Nobody can have it all and do it perfectly. From executive producer Amy Poehler comes a modern comedy about being perfectly OK with being imperfect.
The cast includes Sarayu Blue, Paul Adelstein, Aisling Bea, Zach Cherry, Johnny Pemberton and James Buckley.
“The Village”
Welcome to the Village, an apartment building in Brooklyn that appears like any other from the outside but is quite unique inside. The people who reside here have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors. Sarah’s a nurse and single mom raising a creative teen; Gabe’s a young law student who got a much older and unexpected roommate; Ava must secure the future of her young, U.S.-born son when ICE comes knocking; Nick’s a veteran who’s returned from war; and the heart and soul of the building, Ron and Patricia, have captivating tales all their own. These are the hopeful, heartwarming and challenging stories of life that prove family is everything - even if it’s the one you make with the people around you.
The cast includes Moran Atias, Dominic Chianese, Warren Christie, Frankie Faison, Jerod Haynes, Daren Kagasoff, Michaela McManus, Lorraine Toussaint and Grace Van Dien.
New Amsterdam
Inspired by Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in America, this unique medical drama follows the brilliant and charming Dr. Max Goodwin, the institution’s newest medical director who sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care. How can he help? Well, the doctors and staff have heard this before. Not taking “no” for an answer, Dr. Goodwin must disrupt the status quo and prove he will stop at nothing to breathe new life into this understaffed, underfunded and underappreciated hospital - the only one in the world capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from Rikers and the President of the United States under one roof - and return it to the glory that put it on the map.
The cast includes Ryan Eggold, Freema Agyeman, Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Anupam Kher and Tyler Labine.
CBS
Renewed Series
The Big Bang Theory,” “Blue Bloods,” “Bull,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “MacGyver,” “Madam Secretary,” “Mom,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “Ransom,” “SEAL Team,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Young Sheldon”, “Criminal Minds”, “Elementary”, “Instinct”, “Celebrity Big Brother”, “Big Brother”, “Man With a Plan”, “Life in Pieces”
Canceled Series
“Me, Myself & I,” “Wisdom of the Crowd,” “Living Biblically”, “Kevin Can Wait”, “Superior Donuts”, “Scorpion”, “9JKL”
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Code Black,”
New Series
“F.B.I.”
Explores the inner-workings of the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The cast includes Missy Peregrym, Jeremy Sisto, Zeeko Zaki, Connie Nielsen and Ebonee Noel.
“Murphy Brown”
In a revival of the 1988 sitcom, Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) returns to a world of cable news, social media, fake news and a very different political and cultural climate.
The cast includes Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, Grant Shaud, Nik Dodani and Jake McDorman.
Untitled Damon Wayans, Jr. Project
A 30-something couple, tired of their mundane life, start to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves when a young pop star who is drawn to their super normal suburban life, moves in.
The cast includes Damon Wayans, Jr., Amber Stevens West, Felix Mallard, Stephnie Weir and Chris Parnell.
“Welcome to the Neighborhood”The nicest guy in the Midwest moves his family into a tough neighborhood in L.A. where not everyone appreciates his extreme neighborliness.
The cast includes Cedric The Entertainer, Josh Lawson, Sheaun McKinney, Tichina Arnold, Dreama Walker, Marcel Spears and Hank Greenspan.
CBS ALL ACCESS
Renewed
Star Trek : Discovery
The Good Fight
New Series
$1 : Mystery/thriller set in a small Rust Belt town in post-recession America, where a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder. The path of the dollar bill, and point of view in each episode, paints a picture of a modern American town with deep class and cultural divides that spill out into the open as the town’s secrets get revealed.
CAST: John Carroll Lynch, Nathaniel Martello-White, Philip Ettinger, Chris Denham, Kirrilee Berger, Gracie Lawrence, Nike Kadri, Joshua Bitton, Hamilton Clancy, Ashlie Atkinson (recurring), Leslie Odom Jr. (recurring), Jeff Perry (recurring), Sturgill Simpson (recurring), Aleksa Palladino (recurring)
STRANGE ANGEL
Inspired by the true story of Jack Parsons, a mysterious and brilliant man in 1940s Los Angeles, who by day helps birth the entirely unknown discipline of American rocketry and by night is a performer of sex magic rituals and a disciple to occultist Aleister Crowley.
The book it’s based on
CAST: Jack Reynor, Rupert Friend, Bella Heathcote, Laine Neil, Elena Satine (recurring), Karl Makinen (recurring)
Reynor and poor man’s Orlando Bloom Friend
Tell Me A Story -Reimagines “beloved fairy tales into dark and twisted psychological thriller”. So like real deal Grimm’s Fairy Tales stuff or Anne Rice’s Snow White stories. It has been announced that Billy Magnussen (who gave a hilarious performance in “Game Night” will star in one of the episodes.
ABC
Renewed
"American Housewife", "black-ish", "Fresh Off the Boat", "For the People", “The Goldbergs,” “The Good Doctor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” "How to Get Away with Murder", “Modern Family,” “Roseanne”, Speechless, Station 19, Splitting Up Together
-Very happy about the renewal of "Splitting Up Together".
Adapted from a Danish series, "Splitting Up Together" stars Jenna Fischer (The Office) and Oliver Hudson (Nashville), as Lena and Martin who decide to divorce but for financial reasons still share a home. The series follows their journey of learning how to parent as divorcees, facing the single life and reconciling what went wrong in their relationship. Supremely sweet show and it's from the creator of the excellent, but short-lived "Selfie" and "Suburgatory".
Canceled
"Deception", "The Crossing", "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World", “The Mayor,” “The Middle,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Scandal,” “Ten Days in the Valley”, "Alex, Inc", "Designated Survivor", "Quantico", "Marvel's Inhumans"
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Newly Series
“The Rookie”
At an age where most are at the peak of their career, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) casts aside his comfortable, small town life and moves to L.A. to pursue his dream of being a cop. Now, surrounded by rookies twenty years his junior, Nolan must navigate the dangerous, humorous and unpredictable world of a “young” cop, determined to make his second shot at life count.
The cast includes Nathan Fillion, Afton Williamson, Eric Winter, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O’Neil, Titus Makin, Alyssa Diaz and Mercedes Mason.
“Take Two”
An entertaining private investigator procedural with a unique balance of comedy and drama. Sam Swift (Rachel Bilson), the former star of a hit cop series is fresh-out-of-rehab following a bender of epic proportions. Desperate to restart her career, she talks her way into shadowing rough-and-tumble private investigator Eddie Valetik (Eddie Cibrian) as research for a potential comeback role. Though lone wolf Eddie resents the babysitting gig, high-spirited Sam proves herself to be surprisingly valuable, drawing on her acting skills and 200 episodes of playing a detective.
The cast includes Rachel Bilson, Eddie Cibrian, Aliyah O’Brien, Xavier de Guzman and Alice Lee.
”Schooled” (fka Untitled “Goldbergs” spinoff)
The spinoff will be set in 1990-something and follow the hilarious teachers of William Penn Academy - led by Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows), Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) and Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) - who, despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, are heroes to their students.
“A Million Little Things”
They say friendship isn’t one big thing, it’s a million little things; and that’s true for a group of friends from Boston who bonded under unexpected circumstances. Some have achieved success, others are struggling in their careers and relationships, but all of them feel stuck in life. After one of them dies unexpectedly, it’s just the wake-up call the others need to finally start living. Along the way they discover that friends may be the one thing to save them from themselves.
“A Million Little Things” stars David Giuntoli as Eddie, Ron Livingston as Jon, Romany Malco as Rome, Allison Miller as Maggie, Christina Moses as Regina, Christina Ochoa as Ashley, James Roday as Gary, Stephanie Szostak as Delilah and Lizzy Greene as Sophie.
Fox
Renewed
“The Gifted,” “9-1-1,” “The Orville,” “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” “Empire,” “The Resident,” “Star”, Lethal Weapon,
Also renewed on Fox is “Lethal Weapon” but without co-star Clayne Crawford who was fired due to misconduct on the set. He issued an apology on his Instagram when the story broke but to no avail. They have hired Seann William Scott of “American Pie” fame. The rumor is that he will play Riggs’ brother.
Clayne’s message to fans and the show
Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill) who recurred on the show posted a message of support for Crawford.
“Gotham”.
~Gotham is returning for its 5th and final season which will have young Bruce (David Masouz) becoming Batman.
David has grown so much.
S1 pic of Sean Pertwee (Alfred Pennyworth), Sean’s son Freddy and Masouz
S4 pic
Canceled
“New Girl,” “The X-Files”, “The Last Man on Earth”, “The Mick”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, "Lucifer", "The Exorcist".
-I sat by unmoved as my friends suffered under the cancellations of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine". I didn't understand their pain until death came to me with the axing of "The Exorcist"!!
A big ol' Foster Farms chicken when it comes to horror, I watched the pilot as part of Fox's previews nights that they began doing outside of the Paley Fall previews. I was surprised at how much I loved the pilot and impressed with the acting, especially by Ben Daniels as Father Marcus who struggles to stand strong as his faith is tested but then renewed by a partnership with Father Tomas (Alfonso Herrera). I continued to love the show through the subsequent episodes -- a testament to the show itself as I weave in and out of shows, if not drop them completely in between episodes and/or hiatuses. I returned for the season 2 which was better than the first thanks in part to a wonderful arc with John Cho. And not only was the show just a well-written and superbly acted one but TPTB made it inclusive by casting a diverse group of actors and without making it a huge plot point or a Very Special Episode of they brilliantly displayed Father Marcus as a gay man who isn't tortured by his sexuality.
This show has made me a forever fan of Daniels who found success with the series "Flesh and Bones." He is such an exquisite actor. There have been scenes where I wonder how the actors opposite him stay in character and don't break down in tears from being moved by performance, just laying Father Marcus bare.
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“L.A. to Vegas,” and “Ghosted”
New Series
Last Man Standing
Axed by ABC after its sixth season, this Tim Allen series was picked up by Fox undoubtedly in response to the success of the "Roseanne" revival. starring Conservative Tim Allen (who whined when his series was cancelled and has said numerous times that Conservatives are maligned in Hollywood. He actually compared it to living in Poland during WW2 like the idiot he is), this show was likely picked up to appeal to the Deplorables set.
“The Cool Kids”
Three guy friends in a retirement community are the top dogs until they’re blown out of the water by the newest member of the community, a female rebel whose ready to challenge their place - it’s high school with 70 somethings.
The cast includes Vicki Lawrence*(Vicki recurred on NBC’s “Great News” as the best friend of Andrea Martin’s character), Martin Mull, David Alan Grier and Leslie Jordan.
“The Passage”
Based on author Justin Cronin’s best‐selling trilogy of the same name, “The Passage” is an epic, character‐driven thriller about a secret government medical facility experimenting with a dangerous virus that could either cure all disease or cause the downfall of the human race. The series focuses on a 10‐year‐old girl named Amy Bellafonte, who is chosen to be a test subject for this experiment and Brad Wolgast, the Federal agent who becomes her surrogate father as he tries to protect her.
The cast includes Mark‐Paul Gosselaar, Saniyya Sidney, Vincent Piazza, Brianne Howey, Jamie McShane, Caroline Chikezie, Emmanuelle Chriqui.
“Proven Innocent”
A legal drama set in an wrongful conviction firm. Led by a fierce and fearless female lawyer with a hunger for justice, the team reopens investigations, putting their own lives in danger to exonerate the innocent that were ‘proven’ guilty. Our lead’s motivation comes from her infamous past; as a young adult she was found guilty and later exonerated in a high-profile case in which she became a tabloid sensation, household name and national celebrity. While a hero and a victim to some, her bold and bullish tactics garner her some enemies- one of whom will do anything to see her go down for a crime we know she did not commit. We will watch her defend others as she fights to maintain her own innocence.
Cast includes Rachelle Lefevre, Russell Hornsby, Nikki M. James, Vincent Kartheiser, Riley Smith and Clare O’Connor.
The CW
Renewed
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Dynasty,” “Arrow,” “Supernatural,” “Supergirl,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Black Lightning,” “The Flash,” “The 100”, “Riverdale”.
*What would have been great to pair with “Riverdale” is “The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina” which was picked up by Netflix.
I read the script and if the show can be half as good as that was, it will be a show I would definitely watch. The series will star Kiernan Shipkin (Mad Men) as the titular character, “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” is set in the sixties unlike the contemporaneous “Riverdale” but still has a contemporary feel to it thanks to Sabrina being a feminist and befriending a classmate who is gender non-conforming.
The series also stars Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings) and Lucy Punch (Wonder Woman) as aunts Hilda and Zelda, Michelle Gomez (Dr. Who), Richard Coyle (Coupling) and Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) as Sabrina’s boyfriend Harvey Kinkle.
*With the return of Arrow there is also the return of former recurring castmember Colton Haynes. At the time of his departure Greg Berlanti explained that Colton didn’t want to become a regular so he was always just to be a semi-regular on the show, but now Colton has had a change of heart and wants a steady gig. This is a good thing as Colton needs a distraction since his 6-month marriage has come to an end.
Damn, Colton. All those flowers for a 6 month marriage
Canceled Series
“Life Sentence,” “Valor”
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“iZombie”
Life of the Party
This is not a rager of a keg party film. It barely rises to a level of a tea party for a kid's dolls. Written by star Melissa McCarthy and husband Ben Falcone (who also directed),
"Life of the Party" has a good premise but the "jokes" and often delivery falls flatter than Bella Hadid's stomach (I just saw a rockin' picture of Bella in a crop top).
With Deanna (McCarthy) and Dan's (Matt Walsh, Veep) only child, Maddie (Molly Gordon) starting her senior year of college, Dan drops the bomb that he wants a divorce and is in love with a realtor (Julie Bowen, Modern Family).
Reflecting on how Dan made her give up college in her senior year when she became pregnant, Deanna decides to complete her degree.
While Maddie is slightly mortified by her mother's presence, her dorm mates Helen (Gillian Jacobs, Community), Amanda (Adria Arjona, Emerald City) and Debbie (Jessie Ennis, Love) are thrilled by her and decides to help Deanna rejoice in dorm life and the party culture on campus which introduces Deanna to the quickly smitten Jack (Luke Benward, Still the King),
the best friend of Maddie's boyfriend Tyler (Jimmy O. Yang, Silicon Valley).
The theater was quiet with the exception of few (very few) chuckles. It was as if the film was still being workshopped. Odd characterizations that were supposed to be funny were just odd like Jacobs' character being someone who was in a coma for 8 years and the way Jacobs portrays her oddness is by delivering lines as if she's fudging the truth so that it took me at least three scenes to realize that this character wasn't lying to be sarcastic or passive aggressive it was just a line reading choice.
It's the vets that give it the old college try to bring the material up to what could even be deemed moderately funny. There's former SNL-ers Chris Parnell as Deanna's archelogy professor who tosses off archelogy puns and Maya Rudolph as Deanna's best friend Christine who takes in every detail of Deanna's college experience with wild exuberance.
Sorry to Bother You
I was going to see this anyway because Armie Hammer is in it, but seeing the trailer really cemented that this was something I needed to partake of.
Written and directed by conscientious hip hop artist Boots Riley of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club (with the premier conscientious musician Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine), Riley's film drops us in Oakland, California where Cassius "Cash" Green (LaKeith Stanfield) is trying to get a job to provide for himself and his performance artist/sign twirler girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson)
so that they can get out of the garage of his uncle Sergio (Terry Crews).
Cash's ability to shameless push for what he wants gets him a telemarketing job alongside his friend Sal (Jermaine Fowler, Superior Donuts). On the advice of veteran coworker Langston (Danny Glover), Cash adapts a "white voice" (David Cross) in order to boast his sales. The voice works and Cash is in line for a promotion as a power caller working for Mister (for some reason that only Boots know the character name is always bleeped out and is credited as Mr. ____ played by Omari Hardwick of Starz's "Power").
Cash's prowess at selling puts him in the eyeline of Steve Lift (Armie Hammer), owner of the morally dubious company Worry Free.
Will Cash turn his back on his values and his coworkers who are looking to organize a union led by Squeeze (Steven Yuen, The Walking Dead) or will Cash cash out his morals for a pay day?
It's a hilarious wild ride, which makes all the wobbly bits bearable. While Stanfield seems to be in real life much more like his "Atlanta" character Darius, in his other works he can effortlessly become what the script needs him to be and believably so. We root for kindhearted Cash and want the best for him even if it means turning on his friends because you just really want to see him succeed.
Thompson and Yeun are wonderful as the angels on Cash's shoulders as they both have their own form of resistance: Detroit with her art and Squeeze with his union organizing ways (and the pair work so well together. Great chemistry).
Sorry to Bother You Cast
As much as the film is an absurdist comedy where people can adapt "white voices", this alternate universe doesn't seem so alternate with Worry Free pretty much being a stand in for the prison industrial complex where instead of prisoners making goods for multi-billion dollar companies, Worry Free "employees" are people who sign lifelong contracts where they make goods in exchange for a cot and three square meals a day. That's not just a jail thing, that's the conditions you read about at Apple manufacturing plants in China where there has been a spate of suicides and attempted suicides. Knowing about the indignities globally that workers have to endure for a paycheck that barely covers their needs working for huge corporations that put profit over people makes what is arguably the B plot of the movie, the most meaningful aspect of the film.
I went to a Q&A with Riley and producer Jennifer, who works for Forrest Whitaker's production company which produced this film as well as "Fruitvale Station" and "Dope" which launched the careers of directors Ryan Coogler and Rick Famuyia.
-Boots originally wanted it to be a one set workplace comedy but once he began storyboarding it he realized it was a boring idea and wanted to build out the world.
-He says all the characters are facets of himself as he contemplates his place in the world as an artist and what does success mean so when he wrote the dialogue it came easy to him because it was essentially him talking to himself; what he would say in these situations. Which I loved because there were many deep thoughts about love and activism that is really important.
It's a great first time effort for Riley considering the small budget and brief shooting schedule (28 days) For me, someone who has lived in Oakland, it was great seeing the city as the backdrop. While "Fruitvale Station" and "Kicks" are two impressive films shot in Oakland, I have a soft spot for the DIY look and feel of another off-kilter comedy 1990's "The Spirit of '76" written and directed by Roman Coppola and Lucas Reiner (Carl's son) starring Red Kross' Jeff and Steven McDonald, David Cassidy, Olivai D'Abo and Leif Garrett.
-He began writing the script in 2012. The very first person attached to the film was David Cross as Cross was who Boots sent the script to as soon as it was finished. The two had met in passing and exchanged information. Once they began to go into production Cross confided that he really had no intention of reading the script but his assistant was house sitting for him when the script arrived, read it and recommended that Cross do it.
-Boots who did the film program at San Francisco State but it had been so long ago that he needed a refresher so he read every "hack' book about filmmaking, but found watching making ofs a better guide. He also reached out to directors for their takes so Oliver Stone gave him notes, a German director he met at Sundance Labs, Richard Ayoade
Boots on set with Chiwetel Ejiofor who served as a creative consultant
-The film got a free promotional boost by LaKeith Stanfield’s “Atlanta” costar/boss Donald Glover who attached the trailer to his Childish Gambino Youtube channel where the video for his new song “This is America” gained 2 million views in a matter of days.
Sorry to Bother You trailer
Click to view~Total aside, but I know Armie’s wife doesn’t like his facial hair but like Samson, all of Armie’s power lies in his hair -namely his facial and body hair.
-I love Sia and I'll take her in any form I can get her. In this case in LSD the collabo between Labrinth, Sia and DJ/producer Diplo.
Genius: LSD