After three decades, The Sandman has finally descended upon streaming devices near you on Netflix. All 10 episodes of the first season are available for the streaming with Tom Sturridge taking on Dream in a lugubrious way, Gwendoline freaking Christie portraying Lucifer, and Patton Oswalt (who came by his devotion honestly) plucking up the voice of Matthew the Raven.

Naturally, author Neil Gaiman headed out to do the publicity rounds. He popped up on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, where they enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation. Also! Maron’s episode introduction included details of how he has spent “time with The Sandman,” and that time coincided with drug use. The combination led him to believe that both Hellblazer (by Alan Moore) and The Sandman were “journalism,” which… it happens. It was a candid and delightful admission that Gaiman apparently enjoyed.

“I love that you discovered Sandman at a time when you need it,” Neil declared. “And I love that it gave you what you needed at the time that you needed it.” He went on to describe an interaction with a particularly invested Superman fan:

“It matters so much to them. I remember a guy, a comics fan who’s dead now, talking to him once, and he was complaining about John Byrne changing Superman’s origin story. And this is, we’re taking, 30-something years ago now. But he said to me, ‘John Byrne did all the stuff, and and and and and it just destroyed my life.’ And I said to him, ‘Well, why did it destroy your life? Is it because you were the world’s number man Superman expert, and now you’re not? Or what is it?’”

The fan confessed to Neil, “Well, it’s a bit that, but it’s much more. He brought back Superman’s/Clark Kent’s mom and dad, and they’re dead in the comics. And my mom and dad are both dead, and I can’t bring them back.”

As Neil then realized, “And I certainly thought, ‘You’ve been using Superman all your life as a way of holding onto reality and holding onto the world and using it for order, and the fact that you knew all of this stuff was what gave you protection against the world. And now, something fundamental has changed, and it’s hitting you in an incredibly basic way.’” Boom.

Gaiman then declared that this realization gives him “an incredible amount of sympathy for these people who just get over invested an angry and upset” for people who take the continuity of both Iron Man and Superman and the like very seriously. Because their sense of the world grows threatened, and man, that’s profound. Mind you, Neil Gaiman previously let it be known that he gives “zero f*cks” about fans who complain about casting matters, so please don’t go there with Neil Gaiman.

The Sandman is currently streaming on Netflix.

Doja Cat knows how to be the topic of conversation, in and out of music. Her latest action that has the people talking is the decision to shave both her head and eyebrows, the latter occurring in an Instagram Live broadcast yesterday (August 4). While the Planet Her artist simply explains it as her never enjoying having hair and seeing no purpose in keeping it if she won’t wear it out, it seems to be a much deeper issue to some of her fans.

Doja Cat went on to share more of her perspective, specifically as it relates to wearing wigs. “I just can’t believe that it took me this long to be like, ‘Shave your f*cking head.’ Because first of all, I don’t wear my hair out. You guys have seen me wear my natural hair out… I had like two eras. I had like two eras where my hair would be out. I would straighten it. There was a moment where it was natural and then I don’t even wear it natural ’cause I don’t feel like it, and then… it’s just a f*ckin’ nightmare, dude. I’m over it.”

Some fans offered support to the pop star as they feel people will try to turn the situation into a question of Doja’s mental health.

Other fans felt vindicated by the “Juicy” artist’s bravery as they too struggle with their hair.

Ultimately, it is her hair and her choice, but such a seemingly impulsive move is bound to cause a commotion.

Check out the fan reactions to Doja’s new hairstyle above.

After the news that HBO would not be releasing the nearly-done Batgirl movie, many superhero-adjacent directors and producers have been reaching out to directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to share their well wishes in wake of the disappointing situation.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige sent an email to the directors, which they shared on their Instagram stories, sending love to the duo, who also directed several episodes of Ms. Marvel earlier this year.

Feige, who has produced nearly every Marvel movie since 2007, said, “My friends, I had to reach and let you know we are all thinking about you both. Because of the wonderful news about the wedding (congrats!) and the disappointing news about ‘Batgirl.’ Very proud of you guys and all the amazing work you do and particularly ‘Ms. Marvel’ of course! Can’t wait to see what is next for you. Hope to see you soon.” The email of course ended with “Sent from my iPhone.”

In addition to Feige reaching out, the directors also received support from Edgar Wright and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. Arbi added on Instagram: “Thanks for all the messages of support all over the world. Shoutout directors Edgar Wright and James Gunn, your kind words and experience mean a lot and help us through this difficult period.”

The $90 million superhero movie with an all-star cast included In The Heights’ Leslie Rose, fan-favorite Brendon Fraser, DC veteran JK Simmons, and the long-awaited return of Michale Keaton as Batman. The movie was axed by HBO Max due to poor test screenings and financial distress, though it was revealed that HBO and Discovery Plus would be joining forces as on streaming service next year, and it’s likely that Batgirl was just caught in the crossfire.

Fans on social media have been asking for HBO to release the film anyway (a la The Snyder Cut), though there have been no updates thus far.

(Via Variety)

Hey, the Premier League’s back. After about two and half months worth of a break, the English top flight is slated to return this weekend, starting with a game on Friday afternoon between Crystal Palace and Arsenal — for folks watching in the U.S., the game kicks at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. That begets a weekend packed with games. Behold:

Peacock: It’s like cable, but you pay extra for it! Anyway, this season should be a blast for a number of reasons, and ahead of things kicking off, we wanted to answer the five biggest questions facing the league this year and make some predictions about how things will go down.

1. How does the World Cup impact the entire season?

I suppose this is less of a Premier League thing and more of a general thing, but regardless: All 20 Premier League teams will play a game on Saturday, Nov. 12. Then, competitive games are gonna stop for a month-plus while dozens of players head to Qatar for the World Cup (the tournament runs from Nov. 21 until Dec. 18). Players will then return, and all 20 teams will play a game on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. It’s an extremely unique situation, one that will make the already challenging task of navigating a season a little more difficult — players are going to leave their teams and play hundreds of high-intensity minutes in sweltering heat in the middle of the season, without much time to prepare for their national team responsibilities before the World Cup starts and, if their team goes on a run in the knockout round, barely any time to rest and recover before the Premier League campaign starts up again.

Some high-profile players whose national teams did not qualify for Qatar, like Liverpool’s Mo Salah and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, will get a month off to rest and recover (and in the case of a new signing like Haaland, work on things that help them get a better grasp of their new club situation). But for numerous others, there’s a big risk that comes with going to the World Cup. The “what if?” game is a dangerous one, but plenty of teams are one rolled ankle to the wrong player away from their chances of making a European competition or staving off relegation taking a gigantic hit. Here’s to hoping everyone who heads to Qatar can avoid those sorts of injuries and they’re able to get through the season without hitting a wall.

2. Can anyone else get in on the title race or are Manchester City and Liverpool a step above everyone again?

The last team not named Manchester City or Liverpool to win the Premier League was Chelsea in 2017. City have won the league four times since then, Liverpool won it once. The year Liverpool won, City were the runners-up. In two of the four years City won, Liverpool were runners-up, both times by a single point. That included last year, when City barely got across the finish line on the final day and secured the title with 93 points to Liverpool’s 92.

The teams in third and fourth place last season, Chelsea and Tottenham, finished on 74 and 71 points, respectively. A gap exists between the top-2 teams in the league and everyone else, as City and Liverpool have arguably the two best managers in the world, the two best squads in the world, and a whole lot of trophies to back all of that up. And this summer, both sides brought in potentially game-changing talent all over the park: City still need a left back, but got Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Leeds, and forward Julián Álvarez from River Plate; Liverpool purchased striker Darwin Núñez from Benfica, forward Fábio Carvalho from Fulham, and right back Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen.

Despite this, both teams also lost important players, while a number of the teams below them secured major reinforcements. City sold forward Raheem Sterling to Chelsea and the duo of Gabriel Jesus (a forward) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (a left back/midfielder) to Arsenal; Liverpool sold star forward Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich. Beyond Sterling, Chelsea added Napoli center back Kalidou Koulibaly, Brighton defender Marc Cucurella, and seem to get linked to another big-money move every day or two. Arsenal added Porto midfielder Fábio Vieira to their midfield. Tottenham had a monster summer, as it brought forward Richarlison over from Everton, midfielder Yves Bissouma in from Brighton, right back Djed Spence in from Middlesbrough, and midfielder/wingback Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan.

Tottenham seems, to me, the most dangerous of the bunch, as their attacking trio of Son Heung-Min, Harry Kane, and January acquisition Dejan Kulusevski caused teams major problems last year — Son and Kane might be the best players at their respective positions in the world — and Bissouma is going to make their already steely midfield awfully hard to play through. Plus their manager, Antonio Conte, is as good as any manager in world football. Spurs have not won a trophy since 2007-08, when they won the League Cup. I’m fascinated in whether or not Conte, who loves racking up trophies, decides to make a run at a trophy in one of the three cup competitions Spurs find themselves (League Cup, FA Cup, or Champions League, which would easily be the toughest of the bunch), but if they go for broke in the league, they’re going to be a thorn in City and Liverpool’s side.

Still, while the caveat of the World Cup looms over all of this (City, in particular, are susceptible to something happening at the tournament as they might send 14 first-team players to Qatar), breaking up the stranglehold the top-2 have on the league is a mighty difficult task. Impossible? Probably not, but City and Liverpool are that good. At the bare minimum, the two times they’re guaranteed to play this year — Oct. 16 at Anfield and April 1 in Manchester — are going to be two of the best games of the season. Any chance to watch guys like Kevin de Bruyne, or Virgil van Dijk, or Phil Foden, or Trent Alexander-Arnold, or João Cancelo, or Luis Díaz, or Haaland, or Salah, or any of the other world-class players both of these teams boast is a joy, but there is something so special about when they step on the pitch against one another and everyone seems to elevate their games to match the magnitude of the occasion.

Giving away how this piece ends: My hunch is Liverpool’s deeper squad mixed with the fact that City are likely sending so many players to the World Cup (and thereby increasing the likelihood of either an injury or sheer exhaustion catching up to them) means I’m inclined to lean towards red ribbons being placed on the Premier League trophy at the end of the year. Betting against City is usually a terrible idea, though, and if Haaland can hit the ground running during his first year in England, this prediction might end up looking terrible.

3. What the heck is up with Cristiano Ronaldo (and Manchester United as a whole)?

The above section featured five of the Big Six sides in English football. The one exception is Manchester United, which have had a … well let’s call it an interesting summer.

At the forefront: Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the sport’s icons and a club legend who re-joined the team from Juventus last year after originally leaving in 2009, really doesn’t seem like he wants to be there anymore. The long and the short of it is Ronaldo, who turns 38 in February, wants to win as many things as he possibly can and compete in the Champions League at this stage of his career. United probably aren’t doing the former (last season was his first since 2010 in which he did not win a single trophy) and are not part of the latter this year.

As such, he wants out, but the situation as of this writing is that no one seems to want him, either because they can’t afford him or his style of play doesn’t quite fit — at this point in his career, Ronaldo basically doesn’t run unless he is trying to score a goal, and everything he does on the pitch is with the intention of scoring a goal. There’s value in this, but for a player who costs what Ronaldo costs (a little more than £515,000 a week, the highest figure in England) and demands what Ronaldo demands in terms of playing time, well, it’s a tougher pill to swallow.

All of this is happening in a summer of gigantic overhaul at perhaps the biggest club in England. There’s a new manager, Erik ten Hag, who is trying to clean up the mess that led to them finishing sixth last year and has prevented them from winning the league since 2012-13. Their top target this summer, Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong (who played and thrived under ten Hag at Ajax), doesn’t want to leave. While United probably haven’t done nearly enough in the transfer market to suddenly become title contenders, they have brought in talented players and let a number of guys who just have not worked out either leave or go on loan.

Still, the Ronaldo situation looms over everything, and his style of play doesn’t exactly mesh with what ten Hag (who wants his team to press without the ball and play with fluidity in the attacking third). The transfer window closes on Sept. 1, so there is still time to sort this out, but regardless: A club that has lacked patience in recent years might need to give ten Hag time to build the team in his image, and that includes figuring out what the heck to do with Ronaldo.

4. Can someone steal a European spot from one of the Big Six sides?

The Big Six have the inside track to the six main European spots — four in the Champions League, two in the Europa League — but of course, having the inside track hardly means something is guaranteed. Anything is possible and I am an idiot, but here are three teams that, in my opinion, could have a shot to swipe one. (Also, there is technically a final European tournament in the Europa Conference League, but it’s brand new and lacks the prestige of the other two.)

West Ham: The Hammers got seventh last year, finishing two points behind United in sixth. They’re an excellent side with a manager in David Moyes who just knows how to get results, and perhaps most importantly, they didn’t lose anyone who gave them double-digit starts and more than 1,000 minutes in the league last year. They also spent over $100 million in the transfer window, led by gigantic Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca and Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd. Their midfield duo of Declan Rice and Tomáš Souček are among the best in the league, and Jarrod Bowen is a tricky and talented winger. They are going to be very, very good.

Crystal Palace: Former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira has done an impressive job since taking over last year — the team finished in 12th in 2021-22. Under his guidance, Palace are a nightmare to play through and are far more confident playing with the ball, younger, and physically imposing than they have been in years past. While standout midfielder Conor Gallagher’s loan spell is up and he’s back at Chelsea now, they’re still going to be a very direct side that wants to battle in the midfield and create chances that Wilfried Zaha can finish. Bringing in midfielder Cheick Doucouré from French side Lens was one of the signings of the summer, and for the Americans reading this, new center back signing Chris Richards teams up with fellow center back Marc Guéhi and left back Tyrick Mitchell for one of the league’s most promising defensive groupings.

Newcastle United: Newcastle looked destined to get relegated last year before new manager Eddie Howe came in and the club’s new ownership group, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, spent money in the January transfer window to save them from the Championship and finish 11th. Those players now have a year under Howe, while their summer signings (defenders Sven Botman and Matt Targett, goalkeeper Nick Pope) should shore up a defense that allowed the sixth-most goals in the league last year. If that happens and they can find someone who consistently finishes chances and scores double-figure goals, Newcastle is going to give opposing teams headaches.

5. Will the fight for relegation be interesting or are we headed towards the three new teams heading back down?

A usually pretty safe bet is that a few of the teams that just got promoted will head back down to the Championship. This year, Bournemouth, Fulham, and Nottingham Forest are all in the Prem, with Bournemouth the overwhelming favorites in the league to head back down — as of this writing, the Cherries are -250 to get relegated, as the team has barely done any business this summer upon returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2019-20. Fulham and Forest are both +125 to return to the Championship. The former won their league last year and have a striker in Aleksandar Mitrović who scored a record 43 goals, but are masters of returning to the Prem and immediately going back down. The latter have done a ton of business this summer, although time will tell how that works out.

As for teams that were in the league last year, Leeds United (+225) have the best odds at going down, while Brentford (+240), Southampton (+275), Everton (+333), and Wolverhampton Wanderers (+400) are all viewed by bookmakers as teams with a shout. Leeds avoided relegation on the final day last year, Everton did so in their penultimate game. Both lost crucial players in the summer (Leeds sold Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City and Raphina to Barcelona, Everton sold Richarlison to Tottenham), while the former did a ton of business in an attempt to replace those guys and the latter … well, not really, but they got a pair of players from Burnley (James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil) who should help them.

Maybe Brentford losing Christian Eriksen is too much to overcome, or Wolves are in trouble if standout keeper José Sá doesn’t stand on his head again, but he team that interests me the most here is Southampton. They’ve been in the Prem since 2012 but things feel like they’re starting to grow really stale under manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, who wants his team to press and play aggressively. It’s led to them getting thrashed a few times a year. They brought in a number of young, talented players, but we’ll see if that bet pays off.

Manchester City and Liverpool are both +450000 to get relegated. I will confidently say neither are getting relegated. If nothing else in this post, I will get that right. Anyway, here are some other predictions to close this out:

Winners: Liverpool
Champions League: Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea
Europa League: Arsenal, West Ham
Relegation: Bournemouth, Fulham, Southampton
Player of the Season: Mo Salah, Liverpool
Young Player of the Season: Erling Haaland, Manchester City
Manager of the Season: Antonio Conte, Tottenham
Golden Boot: Mo Salah, Liverpool
Golden Glove: Alisson, Liverpool

The social media team for The Boys is clearly not wasting an opportunity to roast the HBO Max fiasco at the newly-formed Warner Bros. Discovery. During its earnings call this week, WBD confirmed its oddly-gendered plan to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into a giant super-app next summer. Considering The Boys has heavily satirized the look and feel of Warner’s DC Extended Universe — along with notable jabs at Marvel, of course — it’s perfectly fitting for the Amazon series to have a little fun with the recent corporate shenanigans.

Using the Twitter account for Vought International, the massive entertainment and pharmaceutical conglomerate responsible for the “Supes” on the show, the social media team released a satirical announcement for you, you guessed it, a new super app that takes a very notable dig at Discovery’s stable of reality television. It also didn’t miss a chance to dunk on WBD’s weird proclamation that HBO Max is for boys and Discovery+ is for girls, which still has people scratching their heads.

Vought is bringing your streaming together in one, fairly easy-to-use app. VTV+, VNN+ and VSN+ are now part of Vought++! It’s plus-plus, for only an additional $29.99 per month. Rewatch Dawn of the Seven with the guys, dive in to Property Flippers with the gals, plus more!

Oddly, The Boys social media team didn’t get in a good jab at WBD shelving Batgirl for a tax write-off, but the show is hard at work on Season 4, so don’t be surprised to see a gag (or two) pop up when the Amazon series returns.

(Via Vought International on Twitter)

Bullet Train feels a bit like Murder On The Orient Express as directed by Guy Ritchie’s cousin. It’s a classic example of a movie with a lot of flair and panache (not to mention an expensive cast) with seemingly no real heart or story to attach it to, so it ends up being this sort of nest of tinsel and free-floating baubles. Initially eye catching, but less interesting the longer you stare at it.

Bullet Train is an action movie set on a train speeding through Japan. Brad Pitt, whom director David Leitch used to stunt double for, plays the main character, of sorts. We meet him as he’s in the midst of an irreverent phone conversation with his faceless handler over his new codename: Ladybug. Why Ladybug? Something about how ladybugs are lucky.

Now, it always strikes me as a bad sign when a movie announces early on that “luck” is going to be a major theme of the story. I don’t have much emotional attachment to the concept of “luck,” and it always feels more like a screenwriter pre-excusing themselves for a dumb thing that’s going to happen later. Don’t blame me! The protagonist is just lucky! Didn’t I tell you that’s his whole thing?

Pitt’s character, it turns out, has been hired to grab a briefcase. That briefcase turns out to be full of ransom money, which is being guarded (not very well, mind you) by two other shadowy operatives, codenamed Lemon and Tangerine, played by Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, respectively. We also meet them in the midst of an argument about their codenames. “Lemon, you mean like the fruit?” “Yeah, it’s sophisticated.”

Like virtually every other dialogue scene in Bullet Train, the exchange isn’t funny, per se, but it’s delivered in the rough shape and syntax of a joke-like thing (also, of course like the fruit, what the hell else would “lemon” and “tangerine” refer to?). I have nothing against verbose, irreverent dialogue in action movies, which has worked well in plenty of them for generations, from Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid through Tarantino and Guy Ritchie and even to a certain degree in Leitch’s 2018 effort, Deadpool 2.

It’s not the tone that’s the issue in Bullet Train, it’s that there’s only tone. Its characters exist almost entirely as tone-delivery systems, and that tone doesn’t differ much from character to character. Brian Tyree Henry’s Lemon talks about Thomas the Tank Engine a lot and Brad Pitt’s Ladybug is on some sort of self-help trip, but for the most part they’re all exactly the same level, cadence, and flavor of smart-alecky. Which makes them feel more like a series of sock puppets than separate humans. Or maybe that’s just me overthinking the basic fact that the majority of Bullet Train‘s jokes just don’t really land. At best you want to give them credit for trying so hard.

Bullet Train‘s characters don’t have motivations so much as jobs and titles. Ladybug has to get the briefcase for his boss (unnamed), which Lemon and Tangerine don’t want because they need it to appease their boss — a mysterious Russian leader of the Yakuza known as The White Death. Who is the White Death? Don’t worry, there will be a lengthy, stylized flashback to explain that one. What Bullet Train lacks in characters it tries to make up for in LORE.

Leitch co-directed John Wick, but Bullet Train feels more like John Wick 2, when, tasked with trying to recreate a rather straightforward revenge movie, Chad Stehelski and screenwriter Derek Kolstad went miles deep into previously unexplored John Wick lore. That was understandable and probably borne out of necessity, but the trouble with Bullet Train is that it spends so much time on lore and backstory that there’s barely any room for the actual story. How many minutes of screen time did we need to spend on characters arguing about their own names?

Sure, the characters fight a lot (it is an action movie directed by a stunt guy, after all), and the fight work is consistently above average and sporadically funny, but they spend so much time talking about why they’re fighting, and whether they should fight that Bullet Train often times feels more like a yak-fest than an action movie. And screenwriter Zak Olkewicz (adapting from a book by Kôtarô Isaka) does not have Tarantino or even Guy Ritchie’s flair for banter, though he sure seems to like Thomas the Tank Engine a lot. Which isn’t necessarily interesting, but is certainly a choice.

Bullet Train‘s biggest innovation, which it uses over and over again, is to throw major stars at minor roles revealed late in the film. Almost like they’re doing the Marvel thing without the comic book IP. Instead of the audience saying, “Hey, look, it’s Bucky Barnes!” they can say “Hey look, it’s [FAMOUS ACTOR WHOSE APPEARANCE NOW CONSTITUTES A SPOILER]!”

In either case, it’s an attempt to substitute the joy of actually being invested in a story with the joy of recognizing a thing you know from somewhere else. Par for the course for Bullet Train, which is more a collection of things than a thing in its own right.

‘Bullet Train’ hits theaters August 5th. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

The Buffalo Bills made a major splash this offseason when they went out and acquired former All-Pro defensive lineman Von Miller. With the team’s path to a Super Bowl including quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Joe Burrow, the Bills decided they needed to bolster their pass rush, and there was no better example of that than by trading for Miller from the Los Angeles Rams and subsequently giving him a 6-year deal worth up to $120 million.

In addition to his prowess as a pass rusher, Miller is one of the league’s more unique personalities, which makes him a fun match with Bills fans, who are known for being … well, let’s call them a little different, but in a really good way. An example of this came when Miller recently said the quality of toilet paper in the team’s dormitories during training camp wasn’t up to part. And then…

“The people of Buffalo, the people of Rochester, and Bills fans in general are great,” Miller said. “I remember the last time I was up here, I said something about the toilet paper, and four days later, I got all types of toilet paper, just in the mail, and wipes, and plant-free wipes from all types of fans. I just put ’em in the locker room, it was great.”

Miller went on to say he’s gotten “boxes on boxes on boxes” of toilet paper and wipes from Bills fans. Congratulations to every player on Buffalo’s roster on the development.

FX’s Mayans M.C. has gone through a lot of tweaks over four seasons. EZ Reyes has moved towards darkness (even though he’s arguably doing what’s necessary with his coup) sooner than expected, if one compares his (incomparable) journey to that of Jax Teller. Meanwhile, Angel is moving towards the light (and not too spiritually far away from Clayton Cardenas’ dream of nut farm territory), all while the ensemble cast has further expanded (some might say too much), and it’s grown difficult to keep track of some individual threads. The Kurt Sutter era of the show is in the rearview mirror with Elgin James now hitting his groove as showrunner, which means that stories have become less about the drug business and more about the club’s dynamics.

There are pros and cons to that shift, but the fans are digging it, and Season 5 will happen (via SDCC/Deadline). War is certain between clubs, and that’s the key focus. Yet I must draw attention to an over-the-top development that could turn into a throwaway scene, even though it was so “out there,” especially for a character who hasn’t seen much love from the writers. The show gifted Emily Galindo with the ^^ above ^^ moment. This hair-dye-soaked freakout has nothing to do with Rudy Giuliani (whew). Rather, it’s spun from the soapiest moments of biker-fueled drama. And I want to love it, so very much.

I actually would love it as a standalone scene about a character that I knew nothing about, but I don’t love the way that Mayans M.C. built up to this scene for Emily.

Because geez, I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and need to exorcise it: the hair-dye situation says a lot to anyone who’s colored their own hair (and I’m guessing that most women have tried it at least once). And no woman would be doing it like Emily did unless their sanity has reached a breaking point. The scene says a lot about a character, some character, and this should be very compelling — yes, it should.

The problem is this: Emily has easily become the show’s worst (or rather, most poorly written) character. Actually, the situation is worse than that — people stopped caring (no love or hate) about Emily Galindo and have been wondering why she gets any screen time at all. And that’s tragic, largely because Emily once seemed poised to become a force. Very early on, Sutter declared that she was definitely not a Gemma but pointed towards the inception of similar energy, and Sarah Bolger seemed jazzed about her character’s prospects, both with Emily’s cartel family dealings and in EZ’s ear.

Yet something bizarre happened: Emily became obsessed with something called an “agripark,” and I guess that happened because this universe can’t resist a shady real estate deal, but the writers did her dirty. This has little to do with Sarah Bolger’s abilities as an actress. She was fantastic (and acclaimed) on Showtime’s The Tudors, after all, and this dye mess had such potential. It’s a visceral scene, with the slippery chemicals, the crunching of the plastic gloves before she gave up and started to make a larger disaster. Her internal self, and all of that fear, leaked into her outside appearance.

Clearly, Emily was righteously f*cking up the whole hair situation. It’s all over her face and hands and shoulders, and that stuff will not be coming off anytime soon. Never mind that all of Kentucky will realize that there’s something very suspicious about Emily because she’s going to have inky junk all over her body. These are the frantic moves of a desperate person, who’s likely afflicted by some PTSD and feels a compulsion to erase herself. An investigator played by Cheri Oteri (!) spooked her. Emily’s (to be generous) an accessory to murder, and EZ could go down, too. And she’s on the run from her husband, Miguel, who tried to kill her by drugging her and starting to drown her in a bathtub before regret set in, and then Emily got the hell out of dodge.

All of this appears to set up Emily’s return to Santo Padre. Emily fled in a separate direction when Miguel’s cartel collapsed, which conveniently led him into the desert while Danny Pino revved up for his stunning directorial debut. I hope Danny gets to direct more episodes, and I hope that Emily’s story becomes more interesting with or without Miguel, but at this point, her character might be boring beyond storytelling redemption. This is where I grow a little angry. That scene where Miguel tried to kill her set up Emily at her most vulnerable, with nudity that didn’t feel sexual but sad and empty. It should have made viewers feel for her, and we should have been invested every time that we saw her on the run during this past season. Yet sadly, the show dropped the ball on Emily years ago.

In the end, the above scene crashes when it could have been a hit, rather than merely absurd. It does make me wish Mayans M.C. accomplished more with its female characters. Now I understand that this show is not Sons of Anarchy, but there really aren’t any women who are as influential as Gemma or as pivotal as Tara or as sympathetic as Donna or Lyla. Instead, Adelita began as a rebellion leader and has since veered away. Letty’s been saved by going off the rails after Coco’s death, but her upswing seems to be happening because she has a chartreuse-colored car (?); this same car helped Letty pull Hope away from turning to drugs again. Don’t even get me started on Nails/the baby or how EZ shot his ex-girlfriend, Gaby, to protect Angel.

No female character, though, has been through as much weak development as Emily Thomas Galindo, which is a real bummer. She was EZ’s college love, and the writers toyed with a star-crossed exes arc before fully detonating Emily’s potential as an intriguing presence. We should be looking forward to Emily — who let out one hell of an agonized scream after Miguel semi-ominously (after probably having her sister killed) told her to come home, that she is forgiven, and he has their son — coming back to hell on earth and doing something about it. Instead, it’s hard to care about where she goes next, or even to know how the show wants us to feel about her. I suspect that the writers will kill her off soon, and man, what a potentially impactful scene wasted. I still dig the idea of it, but it feels unearned by the character or the writers. I’ll still hold out hope and pour out some conditioner (Emily will need it) while waiting for Season 5.

FX’s ‘Mayans M.C.’ can be streamed on Hulu.

MTV Video Music Awards season is approaching. Last month, MTV unveiled the full list of nominations for the 2022 VMAs, which are set to go down on August 28. Now, what the broadcast will look like is starting to become more clear, as the first set of artists set to perform on the show was revealed today: Anitta, J Balvin, Marshmello with Khalid, and Panic! At The Disco. The show usually has a lot more performers than just a handful, so this first artist drop is surely just the start of what should shape up to be a worthwhile lineup.

It could be an even bigger night for Anitta than just her time on stage, as she’s also nominated for Best Latin with “Envolver.” In that category, she’s up against fellow performer Balvin and Skrillex’s “In Da Getto,” Balvin’s sole nomination. Meanwhile, Panic! At The Disco has a Best Alternative nomination with “Viva Las Vengeance.”

Elsewhere on the nomination side of things, Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow, and Lil Nas X are tied for having the most, as they’ve each racked up seven nods for this year’s show.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from DJ Khaled, Drake, Eminem and more.

August is here. While we are still reeling from Beyoncé’s Renaissance, another heavy hitter in DJ Khaled is gearing up for his thirteenth studio album God Did. Though it seems this summer will not be taking any breaks as it powers to its close, other rappers are looking to throw their names in the mix for jams and bops that will soundtrack our pregames, cookouts, and brunches.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending August 5, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Eminem — Curtain Call 2

Seventeen years after compiling his greatest hits, Eminem is back for another victory lap with Curtain Call 2. The tracks include classics like “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, “Walk On Water” featuring Beyoncé, and rapid fire “Rap God.”

Bobby Shmurda– Bodboy

After much speculation as to when Bobby would fully dive back into the music, Bodboy is here. The 9-song record features longtime collaborator Rowdy Rebel and Fat Tony. Though “Hoochie Daddy” may have the people split, there is plenty of vintage Bobby chaos to balance out everyone’s palates.

Karlae — Enter

The YSL train doesn’t stop as Karlae wants you to Enter into her era. The 16-track effort features head honcho Young Thug, Gunna, Coi Leray, Lil Yachty, Bhad Bhabie and more.

Jugg Harden — The 13 Tape 2

Jugg Harden fully leans into his take on the bearded baller’s persona with The 13 Tape 2. The 15-song project features Young Scooter, Baby Money, YN Jay and more.

Jay Worthy & Harry Fraud — You Take The Credit, We’ll Take The Check

Jay Worthy and Harry Fraud show the power of two on You Take The Credit, We’ll Take The Check. It is a display of bars galore with the help of Big Body Bes, Conway The Machine, Larry June, Kamaiyah, and more.

Fat Money x Cardo Got Wings– Money Got Wings

Fat Money and Cardo Got Wings believe they can fly, and certainly ascend on collab project Money Got Wings. It is a fun 10-song project with a sole feature in Baby J.

Ron Suno — Suno Mode

Much like his cover art for Suno Mode, Ron Suno feels on top of the world next to a pretty girl. The album is blessed with verses from Rowdy Rebel, Rah Swish, Dusty Locane and more.

Kalan.Frfr — 222

Kalan.Frfr is often confused for a singer, but the melodic tones should not fool you; he talks the talk like any other rapper. 222 shows this to the fullest, with the help of Blxst along the way.

Shitty Boyz — Trifecta 2

Contrary to what the name could convey, the talented Shitty Boyz are far from waste. Trifecta 2 is a 14-song buffet, with guest chefs Tae Retro and Tri.

Singles/Videos

Piers James — “Cha Ching”

Piers James, like many rappers, is motivated by the dollar signs. “Cha Ching” is the quintessential soundtrack for cashing your check at the bank on pay day. Turn that bass up.

YBN Nahmir — “Where I’m From”

YBN Nahmir wears his hometown flag in “Where I’m From,” a rap version of a virtual tour of Birmingham, Alabama. However, this isn’t for the tourists; Nahmir keeps it very honest about the tougher sides of his area. “We got looters and shooters, we got cops and robbers / we got strippers and scammers, we got the hoes that be plottin’.”

Big Boss Vette ft. Flo Milli and Saucy Santana — “Snatched (Remix)”

Big Boss Vette, Flo Milli, and Saucy Santana are beaming with confidence on the “Snatched (Remix).” As “He wanna dive in it” repeats in the background, the rappers assert their dominance over men through their sexual prowess. “Y’all trickin’ for dollars, my legs go up for millions.”

Rob Markman — “100 Losses”

Accredited journalist and rapper Rob Markman doesn’t want to run away from reality. “100 Losses” is a vulnerable outpouring of not only his personal setbacks, but also what has happened to our culture. Through it all, he has no intentions of giving up. “Win by all means, I don’t care what it cost us / Shoulda, coulda, woulda only thing that’s gon’ haunt us.”

Black Soprano Family — “Times Is Rough”

Benny The Butcher has seen much success over the last few years, and has brought along his Black Soprano Family along the way. “Times Is Rough” is laced by DJ Premier, and with help from Heem and Rick Hyde, Benny reflects on his come up. The video finds all three rapping in an NYC park, surrounded by bottles of Bel-Air, and riding bikes.

Dustystaytrue — “Ironman”

Dustystaytrue quite literally surrounds himself by hell in the “Ironman” video, crooning about people changing up on him as flames burn in the room he sits in. Ultimately, the artist realizes he has to spread his wings and make his way through life alone. “I’m just trying to be free.

Noodah05 x Rylo Rodriguez — “Tameka”

The “Tameka” visual finds Noodah05 and Rylo Rodriguez struggling with matters of the heart while trying to hold down the fort. They ultimately want their women back, but know that it’s tough to be who they need to be when they have to be so much else to other people. They rap alongside their crews, almost coming off as venting sessions with friends.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.