The good and bad news is this: Halloween is almost over, and so is the month of October. That means the holidays are almost around the corner, which probably exhausts you to think about, and why not relax and spend the weekend watching TV? As luck would have it, Netflix made sure that you’re covered, so you can ignore those trick-or-treaters and hide from civilization for at least a little bit longer. At the top of the heap this week is Zack Snyder’s prequel to his insanely popular Army of the Dead zombie movie. This time, there are only a few zombies and a whole lot of heisting, in the form of cracked safes and one key character who you’ll enjoy revisiting for his back story.
In addition, two iconic forces (Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick) team up for a new limited series that’s sure to inspire sports-and-non-sports fans alike. There’s also a thriller and a romantic dramedy and a biopic series, plus a whole slew of films leaving at the end of the month, so get cracking, just like those safes.
Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) the streaming platform this week.
Army Of Thieves (Netflix film streaming 10/29)
Netflix bet on dead with Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and that bet apparently paid off handsomely, which is a good thing because there’s already a prequel in the can and on the way to your queue. The prequel doesn’t take place terribly far into the past, either. Matthias Schweighöfer returns to the franchise as Dieter, a then-bank teller who’s recruited by a very convincing Nathalie Emmanuel (who promises “a life less ordinary”) to begin his heisting career. Of course, this prequel isn’t entirely devoid of zombies. The outbreak already existed, given that this is Snyder’s zombie universe, and soon enough, the safes start cracking.
Colin in Black & White (Netflix limited series streaming 10/29)
Ava Duvernay and Colin Kaepernick both executive produce this coming-of-age story that also wades into the hefty issues that Kaepernick does not shy away from on and off the football field. Expect an exploration of race, class, and culture as Young Colin transforms into an NFL quarterback and an indisputable icon, all against the backdrop of cultural and historical touchstones.
When a young woman decides to aim for self-improvement, she visits a widely-respected hypnotist, and everything soon goes wrong. Intense sessions and deadly consequences are afoot, all after her own personal trauma. Will she ever recover, even with the help of a detective who can help her solve a mystery that apparently erupted from her consciousness after being buried for so long? The spooky season continues.
Luis Miguel: Season 3 (Netflix series streaming 10/28)
Prepare for the final season of the story of the Puerto Rican-hailing Mexican singer, who’s also known as El Sol de México. Diego boneta portrays Luis Miguel, who’s working through two timelines. This time around, we’re seeing him at the peak of his career, including a Frank Sinatra duet, and we’re also seeing him facing later challenges in life that threaten both his professional and personal happiness.
In the mood for a romantic dramedy? This story follows a long-term couple who ends things and struggle to move on without each other. As the title indicates, the corresponding personal journey is only a matter of time.
Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:
Avail. 10/24 We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
Avail. 10/25
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Avail. 10/26 Roswell, New Mexico: Season 3 Sex: Unzipped
Avail. 10/27 Begin Again
Hypnotic
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Part 2
Sintonia: Season 2 Wentworth: Season 8 Luis Miguel – The Series: Season 3 The Motive
Avail. 10/29 Army of Thieves
Dear Mother
Mythomaniac: Season 2 Roaring Twenties
Thomas and Friends: Season 25 A The Time It Takes
And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:
Leaving 10/31 60 Days In: Season 5 Angels & Demons
Battle: Los Angeles
Beowulf
Billy on the Street: Seasons 1-5 Catch Me If You Can
The Da Vinci Code
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Forged in Fire: Season 6 The Heartbreak Kid
The Impossible
Inception
Legally Blonde
Mile 22
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Reckoning: Limited Series
Snowden
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
Yes Man
Leaving 11/1 My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree
My Little Pony: Happy Birthday to You!
It seems like Megan Thee Stallion never sleeps. Though she told fans back in April that she was planning to enter a phase of rest and regeneration, looks like that didn’t take. Just a few months later, she’s back with a new mixtape, this one devoted to her dedicated Hotties. The Texas rapper first teased Something For Thee Hotties last week, and shared the tracklist yesterday. Now, the tape is officially here, and it’s more of the certified bangers we’ve come to expect and love from Houston’s finest.
Aside from putting out a whole new project for her diehard listeners, Meg has also been busy doing many other things, like oh, say, graduating from college! Then there’s the intro she gave for Joc Pederson before Game 2 of the World Series – in which she bestows on him the highest honor, calling him a “bad B” — or the recent remix of BTS’ smash hit “Butter” she hopped on. Basically, anywhere you look, whether it’s hip-hop, pop, a college campus, or even baseball, Megan will be there, dominating the conversation and doing her absolute best. This woman’s work ethic is a thing of beauty, and so is her new tape.
Stream Something For Thee Hotties above.
Something For The Hotties is out now via 1501 Certified Ent./300. Get it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Every month, Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden makes an unranked list of his favorite music-related items released during this period — songs, albums, books, films, you name it.
1. The War On Drugs, I Don’t Live Here Anymore
Over the course of The War On Drugs’ 13-year recording career, Adam Granduciel has refined and streamlined his band’s heartland indie sound. Listen to 2008’s Wagonwheel Blues and it’s almost like a completely different band; what was once a noisy, lo-fi and meandering mess of guitars and synths has now emerged on The War On Drugs’ fifth album as a world-beating collection of punchy pop-rock anthems. It remains to be seen whether this will be their most successful LP, but it is undeniably their catchiest and most engaging. It’s also loaded with the sort of grandly uplifting rock gestures that Granduciel is so good at making. I don’t think there is a better moment on any album I’ve heard this year than when the drums come in on “Old Skin.” Congrats to this band on passing The Five Albums Test!
2. Tonstartssbandht, Petunia
I Don’t Live Here Anymore will surely end up near the top of my year-end album list. I suspect this album will as well. It’s certainly one of my most played records of recent memory; I already wrote about the single “What Has Happened,” which might very well be my favorite song of 2021, last month. But the whole LP is a real pleasure, with an incredible amount of groovy choogle kicked up for just two people.
3. Circuit des Yeux, “-io”
While the music on I Don’t Live Here Anymore and Petunia has a comfort food quality, the seventh album by the experimental Chicago musician Haley Fohr is often unsettling even as it unfurls luminously expansive arrangements. Inspired by the death of a friend and the devastation of the pandemic, Fohr crafts intimate songs for a 23-piece orchestra and sets the music against her striking, mournful croon, resulting in an album that achieves near-operatic emotional catharsis, like a land-locked Scott Walker.
4. The Velvet Underground
In his previous films about musicians — 1987’s Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (still only available as a bootleg due to brother Richard Carpenter’s objections), 1998’s Velvet Goldmine, and 2007’s I’m Not There — Todd Haynes was more interested in exploring aesthetics and mythology then doing a dry, journalistic run-through a mundane biography. Each of those movies are really about an “idea” of the subject: Karen Carpenter as a literal children’s doll slowly dying on the inside; David Bowie as an elusive enigma who abandoned his transgressive past for pop glory; Bob Dylan as a constantly shifting facade put on by several different actors. Haynes isn’t trying to tell us who these people “really” are; he’s exploring how we, the audience, perceives them and what this shows about our collective pop-culture illusions and desires.
Unlike those other films, his latest work, The Velvet Underground is a documentary. But for all of the background details we learn about Reed and John Cale’s upbringings, it’s not really intended to be a full account of the band’s history. The other Velvets are discussed less thoroughly or, in the case of Yule, hardly at all. Once Cale departs three-quarters in, you can feel Haynes’ interest wane. The film ultimately is more invested in what this band signifies: A thriving counterculture that could have only existed at a specific moment in time, and will never be repeated.
5. Two Good Rock Documentaries That Aren’t The Velvet Underground
Haynes’ film sucked up a lot of the oxygen this month in terms of conversation about rock documentaries. But I would like to shoutout two other music movies I enjoyed in October: The first is Jesse Lauter’s Learning To Live Together: The Return Of Mad Dogs And Englishmen, which documents a 2015 performance by Tedeschi Trucks Band featuring members of Joe Cocker’s sizable backing group on his historic 1970 tour. The movie also delves into the original tour, one of the most iconic campaigns of rock’s waning hippie era, in which the idealism of Woodstock Nation slowly devolved into hedonism and addiction. But mostly Learning To Live Together is a celebration of joyous American music. I watched it with a smile on my face from beginning to end.
The other good rock doc out this month is Mary Wharton’s Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making Of Wildflowers, which charts the creation of one of the late icon’s most beloved albums. Having covered this topic extensively, I can’t say I learned much from the film. But it was still a delight to see all of the footage from the studio. Wildflowers is one of rock’s greatest “hangout” albums, in that it’s more about the overall vibe of easygoing melancholy than any individual song. (Though the songs are of course excellent.) So, having the chance to see Petty hang out while making it only enriches the experience of Wildflowers.
This Portland-based power-pop maven really puts in the work on his latest album, which packs in 28 songs about the course of 50 minutes. If that brings to mind the mid-’90s classic Alien Lanes by Guided By Voices, surely Troper won’t mind (or suffer from) the comparison.
7. Trace Mountains, House Of Confusion
This winsome project from former LVL UP member Dave Benton feels like a throwback to the rustic “out in the country” acts of the classic-rock era. (In fact their 2020 debut LP was literally called Lost In TheCountry.) The new Trace Mountains album goes deeper than the first record, with lovely pedal-steel lines accenting already beautiful ballads designed to be played at dusk. If you’ve been jonesing for a new Phosphorescent record, this will scratch that itch.
8. Strand Of Oaks, In Heaven
Each time Tim Showalter returns with a new record, you know you’re in for an intense experience of extreme emotions. His previous album, Eraserland, made with members of My Morning Jacket, felt like a resurgence. But his latest LP, In Heaven, is his best work since 2014’s classic Heal. While the feeling is still there, Showalter has grown as a craftsman, showing a particularly strong penchant for big, sweeping rock songs that recall the sonic bearhugs of The Verve during their Urban Hymns era.
This Brooklyn act draws on the usual influences for an #indiejam band — prog, Krautrock, fusion jazz, the Grateful Dead. But on the new Pharaonic Crosstalk, they utilize these influences to create delectably spacey jams that build from enjoyable back-porch choogles to mesmerizing and often explosive musical peaks.
10. Sam Fender, Seventeen Going Under
In my recent interview with Dave Le’aupepe of Gang Of Youths, he laughed about being described as the Ted Lasso of music. But I actually think that descriptor applies more to GOY’s future tour mate, Sam Fender. At the very least, every song on Seventeen Going Under sounds like it could soundtrack an especially emotional scene in which Ted and his players learn a valuable life lesson. What I’m saying is that this album is extremely obvious and aggressively uplifting pop-rock … and it’s executed with enough skill to actually press the button it’s trying so hard to hit.
This collection of reimagined folk standards originating from Canada (Gendron’s home country), France, and the United States refuses to be pigeon-holed in a neat and sterile “folk standards” niche. Gendron reveres these songs, but she’s not intimidated by them. She’s interested in how ancient expressions of fear and longing rhyme speak to us in the contemporary world. In the process, she accomplishes what all interpreters ought to strive for – she connects the listener to a lost, overarching history.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Jay-Z has been flexing his artistic talents in all kinds of directions of late, and his latest project is a Western film called The Harder They Fall. Jay-Z co-produced the film alongside James Lassiter. It was directed and written by Jeymes Samuel and stars a massive roster of talent including Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Delroy Lindo and LaKeith Stanfield. And what’s one of the best perks when Jay-Z produces your film? He can help out with the soundtrack, too, no problem.
The film is in theaters now, but will be heading to Netflix next week, on November 3, so tonight was the perfect time to drop the soundtrack. The tracklist is packed with appearances from Jay himself and other hip-hop royalty like Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Seal, Kid Cudi and Koffee — and, unfortunately, CeeLo Green also appears. But the high points are worth it, like Cudi and Jay together on “Guns Go Bang,” and Jay-Z, Jadakiss, Conway The Machine and BackRoad Gee connecting on “King Kong Riddim.” The contribution from Koffee, which amounts to the title track, is also a stunning addition to the packed roster.
Check out the full soundtrack below and hear Kid Cudi and Jay-Z’s collaboration up top.
Though Hit-Boy has always been one of the most respected producers in the game, he’s really been on a streak lately. After producing not one but two projects with Nas that helped catapult the veteran New York rapper back into the realm of modern hip-hop heroes, now he’s connected with Detroit’s Big Sean for a new EP. You’d think with King’s Disease II coming out just a few short months ago the producer might rest on his laurels for a moment, but no.
Rolling out the collaboration slowly with a new single called “What A Life” a few days ago, today the duo announced that song was the lead-off for a whole EP, and now that project is here, too. Sharing another video for the stacked collaboration, “Loyal To A Fault,” with cameos from Bryson Tiller and Lil Durk, the new EP’s tracklist also includes performances from Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg, but no one else. Clearly, it will be primarily focused on how Sean and Hit-Boy vibe together. Of course, some of the best songs off Sean’s latest album Detroit 2 were when Hit-Boy was involved, but this new song collection emphasizes that more than ever.
Check out the video for “Loyal To A Fault” up above and stream the entire tape below.
For artists who broke out right when the streaming era was approaching, figuring out when and how to get old releases up on the platforms can take time. Or, for rappers who spent their early years releasing free mixtapes, sometimes the process of clearing samples and getting music totally legal is part of the delay, too. Either way, ASAP Rocky delighted fans recently when he let them know that his very first project, Live.Love.ASAP was officially going to be added to streaming services. The date he chose may be more for posterity than anything else, though. It’s been exactly ten years since the project was released, so now he’s letting a wider group of listeners have access to the tape that helped put him on the map.
People, we’re almost done with Halloween 2021. The streaming services have been in the spooky service for a full month, and they really reach a crescendo this weekend. For that reason (and others), that’s why Paramount+ should be at the top of your list for fresh offerings. That’s where you’ll not only find the newest Paranormal Activity movie but also a new Star Trek series, a Madonna concert documentary, hedge-fund drama from Showtime’s Billions, and an expansive (and growing) archive. In today’s world, as well, so many streaming services are vying for your eyeballs, and it’s a testament to Paramount+ that they’re making marks in all quadrants, which bodes well for longevity.
In second place, HBO Max brings plenty of appeal on the romantic comedy (Love Life) and the vicarious cooking front (Selena + Chef), plus more Doom Patrol and an indie movie starring Shang-Chi star Simu Liu. Netflix offers its customary buffet (including Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead heist prequel), and Apple TV+ has Swagger while Peacock and Discovery+ and Disney+ and Amazon Prime come in with Halloween contenders. Here’s the best of the new streaming selections for this weekend.
Paramount+
Paramount+
Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin (Blumhouse film on Paramount+) — The leading player in the found-footage arena ain’t over yet. This Jason Blum-fueled franchise picks up with installment number seven and follows a young woman who’s searching to uncover what really happened when he mother disappeared many years ago. Naturally, the protagonist discovers an unsettling reality, and this seven-quel is definitely fit for spending a Halloween evening in your living room. Are ghosts scarier than being around actual people right now? You be the judge.
Star Trek: Prodigy: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — This animated series sees the return of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway to this universe, sort of! She’ll appear in hologram form, and she’ll guide a ragtag group of alien youngsters who end up on the U.S.S. Protostar ship. Jason Mantzoukas voices one of those aliens, all of whom are outcasts and completely out of their league but ready for the Starfleet life, its ideals, and all of its inherent adventure.
Guilty Party: Season 1 (Paramount+ series) — Kate Beckinsale stars in this charming-looking dramedy series about a disgraced (and opportunistic) journalist who works to redeem herself by digging for the real story on a young mother who was convicted of murdering her husband, a crime that the mother insists that she did not commit. Expect (strangely enough) some whimsy amid this seemingly serious premise, including some adversaries that are a real pain in the butt.
Madame X (Paramount+ movie) — In this concert documentary, Madonna takes viewers on tour with her (from way back in January 2020, so pre-pandemic, obviously) all the way to Lisbon, Portugal. Her set included 48 onstage performers, including other musicians and dancers, and she’s here to share her vision with the rest of the world. Her statement on the film points towards reaching out to fans “at a time when music is so deeply needed to remind us of the sacred bond of our shared humanity.”
Billions: Season 5, Part 2 (Showtime series on Paramount+) — There ain’t no drama quite like hedge-fund-king drama, and it remains to be seen whether Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades will ever decide to stop wasting so much time hating the hell out of each other. Probably not? Yeah, that’d be no fun at all, and everyone on this show ends up getting yanked into the beef that may very well destroy them all. Everyone’s got a reason to love this show, and mine just happens to be watching Maggie Siff and Asia Kate Dillon, rather than the warring dudes. (Also, Axe is done after this season!)
HBO Max
HBO Max
Love Life: Season 2 (HBO Max series) — Love Life ended up being the HBO Max original show to launch the service, and Season 2 is upon us with Anna Kendrick’s Darby passing the baton to a new unlucky-in-love protagonist, Marcus, who will be portrayed by William Jackson Harper. He’s still best known for playing Jacked Chidi in The Good Place. Darby’s still in the show a little bit; she got married, and who knows if she’ll actually be happy (or found herself with another a-hole), but this season will mostly focus upon the Marcus. He did the whole sunk-cost investment thing, apparently, and now, he’s finding himself in the hell hole known as the dating world. Godspeed, Marcus.
Selena + Chef: Season 3 (HBO Max series) — Selena Gomez has come a long way since her Disney days, including a recent turn in the terrific Only Murders In The Building. Here, she’s totally herself and in an environment that she loves while not pretending at all to be a chef or do anything besides love to eat. It’s delightful stuff.
Dune (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and Stellan Skarsgård playing a 300-pound villain. Oh, and sandworms and spice, too. What more could you possibly want? Well, how about an interpretation of Frank Herbert’s classic from director Denis Villeneuve? That’s more like it, especially because David Lynch would love to pretend that his version never existed. Expect a mythic and epic and world-building journey of a hero, Paul Atreides (Chalamet), who must live up to his incredible destiny. No pressure, of course.
Women is Losers (HBO Max film) — If you loved Shang Chi and the Legend of the Seven Rings, then be sure to check out Simu Liu’s newest movie, which debuted at this year’s SXSW festival. This 1960s-set drama costars Lorenza Izzo and revolves around Izzo’s former Catholic schoolgirl, who attempts to rise beyond stereotypes and oppression and poverty and really, you know, go somewhere. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because the movie’s named after Janis Joplin’s song of the same name.
We’re Here (HBO series on HBO Max) — Nope, you’re not looking at a photo of Beyoncé. This ^^ would be the fabulous Shangela (of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame), who’s back with the rest of the Queens (including Bob and Eureka) in Spartanburg, South Carolina after COVID interrupted the first round. In Season 2, the trio will continue to recruit small-town residents (in this case, that would be Noah, Faith, and Olin) and train them for onstage moments that they never dreamed possible.
Doom Patrol: Season 3 (HBO Max series) — DC’s struggling misfit superheroes are back for another round. Brendan Fraser has received plenty of raves for his fury-filled Cliff Steele/Robotman, but don’t count out the rest of the crew. There’s Matt Bomer as the bandage-wrapped Negative Man and Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, which is actually a role that requires Diane to play dozens of incarnations, including a timely take on a Karen. This season, the sh*t hits the fan with a time machine.
Netflix
Netflix
Army Of Thieves (Netflix film) — Netflix bet on dead with Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and that bet apparently paid off handsomely, which is a good thing because there’s already a prequel in the can. Matthias Schweighöfer returns to the franchise as Dieter, a then-bank teller who’s recruited by Nathalie Emmanuel (who promises “a life less ordinary”) to begin his heisting career. Of course, this prequel isn’t entirely devoid of zombies, but the focus is on those safes, which are cracking.
Colin in Black & White (Netflix limited series) — Ava Duvernay and Colin Kaepernick both executive produce this coming-of-age story that also wades into the hefty issues that Kaepernick does not shy away from on and off the football field. Expect an exploration of race, class, and culture as Young Colin transforms into an NFL quarterback and an indisputable icon, all against the backdrop of cultural and historical touchstones.
Hypnotic (Netflix film) — When a young woman decides to aim for self-improvement, she visits a widely-respected hypnotist, and everything soon goes wrong. Intense sessions and deadly consequences are afoot, all after her own personal trauma. Will she ever recover, even with the help of a detective who can help her solve a mystery that apparently erupted from her consciousness after being buried for so long? The spooky season continues.
Night Teeth (Netflix film) — Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry play the lead-character vampires of this film, but there are also vampires played by Megan Fox and Sydney Sweeney, so you know what that means: any human in their sights is in big trouble. That includes a college-student-turned-chauffeur, Benny (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.), who’s tasked with driving the two primary vamps around to parties, where they can get their thirst on. Can Benny stay alive, can he save Los Angeles, and can he possibly do both things? Talk about a guilty pleasure of a movie.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+
Swagger: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — Get ready, sports-drama fans. This show’s inspired by Kevin Durant’s pre-NBA experiences, and more specifically, it examines early ambition and dreams and the fine line between those two things, along with the comparable delineation between opportunism and corruption on the grown-up side. The cast includes Isaiah Hill, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis, all of whom are bringing some truths on the experience of coming in age in America. With the talent involved here, don’t be surprised to be sucked in, even if you aren’t exactly watching NBA games.
Invasion: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series) — Apple TV+ has been crushing the outer-space game with All For Mankind, and with this Simon Kinberg sci-fi show, they’re bringing the (dubious) party to planet Earth. Kinberg, of course, has plenty of producing clout under his belt (The Martian, the Deadpool movies, Logan) and he’s teaming up here with procedural-minded director Jakob Verbruggen (The Alienist, The Fall) to focus on individual stories around the globe during the fallout of an alien invasion. There’s some Sam Neill flavor up in here, too, and if there’s a god, he’ll be wearing a hat in this show. Yes, it’s intense-looking show, and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.
The Problem With Jon Stewart (Apple TV+ series) — Jon Stewart’s return to TV fast approaches, and it could be argued that he’s never been needed more on TV than this particular moment. The former The Daily Show host will be doing the current-events thing with an episode every two weeks, which isn’t as frequent as fans might prefer, but we’ll trust the process. According to Apple TV+, viewers can expect Stewart to go deep on a single subject per episode with a “solutionary” approach, and yes, there are jokes.
Discovery+
Discovery+
Jack and Kelly Osbourne: Night Of Terror (Discovery+ special) — The famed RMS Queen Mary becomes ground central for these two siblings (and kids of Ozzy and Sharon) as they journey into the unknown. Given that the ghost-filled ship shut down for the COVID pandemic, things are even spookier as filmed for this series because no one is (officially) touring, and they’re all alone. So, good luck to both the formerly skeptical Kelly and the true-believing Jack as they make their ways down this famed Long Island haunting venue.
Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — Eli Roth has so much going on over at Discovery+ this month (following his recent real-life horror/Shark-Week film on the streamer) that one has to wonder… is he running the joint? It’s a valid question, but more to the point, this series present personal accounts on those who have survived feeling like they’re been dragged through hell and fought their way back.
The Haunted Museum: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — More Eli Roth stuff. Here, he’s teaming up with Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans for this scripted anthology series, in which they illuminate nine of the world’s most cursed artifacts. These relics are actually in display in Bagans’ Vegas museum, but here, you’ll get the historic commentary in addition to having the pants scared off of you.
Peacock
Peacock
Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween (Peacock special) — The dynamic duo re-teams again, this time to host a baking competition that’s geared toward the spookiest holiday of all. Expect to see giant chocolate spiders and cotton-candy cobwebs, all packed into room-sized, edible creations. These two have been tight since their inaugural recipe, mashed potatoes, so there’s simply no turning back, ever.
Halloween Kills (Universal movie on Peacock) — A horror blockbuster is here to spook you in your living rooms, y’all. Michael Myers survives that damn fire, which leads to a fully-had-it-up-to-here mindset of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, who’s mad as hell at firefighters and vowing that Michael Myers is going down. If it was a matter of wills and badassery, she could make it happen, but that’s not how things usually roll out in this franchise. David Gordon Green directs again here, and he’ll be back for Halloween Ends, so good luck, Laurie.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime+
I Know What You Did Last Summer: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series) — Sure, you remember the 1997 film and perhaps you’re aware that that was based upon the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, but this Amazon Studios collaboration with Sony Pictures Television wants you to relive the nightmare once more. Obviously, this version doesn’t have Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, or Freddie Prinze, but these teens seem more twisted by nature than the O.G. bunch, so perhaps that will add some shading to justify reviving their shared dark secret as they aim to survive.
Welcome to the Blumhouse: Madres/The Manor (Blumhouse films on Amazon Prime) — This week’s Halloween-themed double dose follows a Mexican-American couple (in 1970s California) who are weathering a troubled pregnancy while being besieged by horrific visions, which might be part of a legendary curse. Then, a woman moves into a famous nursing home, where a supernatural force might be controlling all residents. She’s unable to escape her confines, and no one believes her. Sounds like hell.
Hulu
Hulu
Dopesick: Season 1 (Hulu series) — Michael Keaton (who is still the greatest Batman in history, so don’t mess with him in any role) finally comes to TV beyond cameo mode. Here, he takes on Big Pharma as a physician whose patients are dying off amid an opioid epidemic, and Rosario Dawson portrays one of the heroes who want to take the makers of Oxycontin down. The title of the source material (Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America, the book by Beth Macy) tells you a lot, and the cast includes Michael Stuhlbarg and Kaitlyn Dever, who’s all over TV now and making Justified‘s Loretta proud here.
The Next Thing You Eat: Season 1 (Hulu series) — Chef David Chang teams up with director Morgan Nevill for six episodes that follow seismic changes in the way we eat. There’s a global perspective, and expect to see robots and lab-grown food and all manner of other surprises.
Disney+
Disney+
Just Beyond: Season 1 (Disney+ series) — This horror-comedy anthology bases itself on R.L. Stine’s BOOM! Studios comic book series of the same name. Expect plenty of supernatural journeys (with a personally affecting touch) through alternate dimensions with witches, aliens, and ghosts onboard.
Muppets Haunted Mansion (Disney+ special) — After several Muppets-themed Christmas offerings, it’s about time that we’ve received a spooky installment, and let’s face it, more Miss Piggy is always a good thing. Gonzo takes center stage here while attempting to survive the evening in (according to the synopsis) “in the most grim grinning place on Earth.” The special’s actually inspired by all four of the Disney Haunted Mansion attractions that are scattered around the globe, and three original songs (“Rest In Peace,” “Life Hereafter” and “Tie The Knot Tango”) will surface, along with plenty of celebrity cameos along with the all-star Muppets cast.
Will Ferrell is one of the best comedic actors of his time, and according to his former boss he was so good on Saturday Night Live that his work makes Lorne Michaels break his own rules about ranking all-time castmembers. Ferrell has since moved on to a lucrative career in Hollywood, but his stint on NBC’s late night mainstay is legendary at this point.
And though he’s returned as a frequent host in the years since, Michaels says Ferrell’s work while he was working in Studio 8H is among the best he’s ever seen. Which is a big deal because, well, he’s hired them all. Asked about Ferrell as part of a Hollywood Reporter feature, the SNL creator and showrunner described the superstar as the most annoying newcomer” when he joined the cast in 1995. But that soon became a moniker he wore with pride on his way to being, in Michael’s opinion, one of the best in show history.
From the outside, whatever contingency planning was going on should have come to an end in 1995, when Lorne Michaels hired him on Saturday Night Live — even if one prominent critic had called Ferrell “the most annoying newcomer,” which he wore like a badge of honor. In fact, Ferrell had the descriptor mounted on a nameplate and hung on his office door. “You have a choice with that stuff: to read it and believe it,” he says, “or to just laugh at it but also kind of dig in and go, ‘Oh, you hate me? You haven’t even begun to hate me.’ And that’s my competitive side, that, ‘Oh, just wait, I’m going to go at it even harder.’” (For the record, Michaels never wavered on his pick: “I never rank, but Will’s definitely in the top two or three that have ever done the show,” he says. “There’s no question.”)
It’s certainly high praise considering the long list of legends who appeared in the show’s golden years, let alone the heavy hitters who joined Ferrell in the show’s late 90s resurgence. But it’s one of the many high compliments Ferrell gets in the piece, which is certainly worth a full read just to see very famous people all saying very nice things about Will Ferrell.
Right on the heels of announcing a massive 2022 world tour, Conan Gray is back with another beloved pop banger. The Gen Z star, who has been effusive in his praise for Taylor Swift, like any good Gen Z songwriter, is back on his upbeat anthem tip today. After his latest single, the gently vulnerable “People Watching,” this new one, which is called “Telepath,” is much more in line with another early 2021 track called “Overdrive.” Although, that song was a loved up, blissful ode to falling in love, and this one is about the predictability of getting dumped.
Written with Julia Michaels, Ilya, and Caroline Ailin, “Telepath” fights back against the casual cruelty of being dumped, predicting that the fickle lover will be back for more very soon. Last year, Gray released his debut album, Kid Krow, just before the pandemic rearranged life as we know it, especially for touring musicians. And despite the constantly shifting environment, Gray has steadily released hit after hit since the record dropped. When we spoke about his career for a profile piece last year, though, Gray admitted he’s still a little bit in shock about how things turned out. “I would tell seven-year-old Conan that he successfully tricked millions of people into thinking that he was good at writing songs,” he laughed, thinking of what he would say to his past self. “I’d be like, ‘You did it, you did it! You tricked them.’ But I think I’m still very much in a state of wanting to do a good job, you never know when things like this will disappear.”
Well, based on this latest single, that definitely won’t be anytime soon. Check it out above.
2021 has been good to Baby Tate. After announcing her name change earlier this month — dropping from the “Yung” from Baby Tate — the rapper is celebrating a transition to a new record label with a brand new single and video. Previously signed to Issa Rae’s Atlantic-backed Raedio label, Tate will now be releasing music through Warner Records, and her first new song is a celebration of all things petty. A play on the word “Pedi,” as in short for pedicure, the rapper twerks and interrupts plenty of events throughout the chaotic video. “I’m pettier/pedier than my toes,” she raps on one of the verses sandwiched between the song’s speedy hook.
Earlier this year she told Uproxx in a cover story that helping others feel comfortable with themselves is part of why she puts herself out there so boldly. “I’ve always been a bold, out in the open person as long as I feel comfortable. I’ve always wanted to allow other people to know that it’s okay to be themselves too. I just like to laugh and make people laugh and have a good time in life because YOLO.”
YOLO indeed! Check out the new video for “Pedi” above and look out for a lot more coming from this young talent very soon.
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