All HGTV, All the Time
I don’t know about you, but I need comfort TV now more than ever. So I’m thinking the timing has never been better for Discovery to launch their own streaming service. Discovery is the parent company of HGTV, the Food Network, OWN, TLC, Magnolia and Animal Planet. Starting Jan. 4, for $5 per month with ads and $7 per month without ads, you can have access to more than 55,000 episodes of over 2,500 shows. It’s a bargain if you ask me!
What Everyone’s Streaming Right Now
The results of Nielsen’s latest streaming list are out, and might give you some binge-worthy ideas, if you haven’t seen them all yet. Check them out:
1. The Queen’s Gambit* (Netflix), 1.85 billion minutes viewed
2. The Office (Netflix), 1.05 billion
3. The Mandalorian* (Disney+), 1.03 billion
4 Schitt’s Creek (Netflix), 963 million)
5. Holidate* (Netflix), 654 million
6. Grey’s Anatomy (Netflix), 624 million
7. Criminal Minds (Netflix), 620 million
8. NCIS (Netflix), 552 million
9. The Haunting of Bly Manor* (Netflix), 535 million
10. The Great British Baking Show* (Netflix), 530 million
Best Christmas Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes
Just when you think you’ve seen all the greats, along comes Rotten Tomatoes, (where you can find many of my reviews) to throw something new at you. Number one is fairly obvious, but the latest list has some surprises. See the Top 10 at ReallyRather.com. BTW, I think The Nightmare Before Christmas should rank much higher.
Clinton Kelly is Back With a New HGTV Show
Remember Clinton Kelly and Stacy London on early reality TV hit What Not to Wear? Half the team is now back, with Kelly helping entrepreneurs who struck it rich with one brilliant idea and are now ready to make the ultimate upgrade to a high-end home. Self-Made Mansionspremiers Friday, Jan. 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. the six-episode HGTV series will follow Kelly as he helps new millionaires Find the home of their dreams. The clients, who’ve made a bundle with their creative, why-didn’t-I think-of-that inventions such as The Cut Buddy™, Kwik Hang®, Sweetroots Hair Bar® and others, will tour every type of luxurious property – from multi-acre farms and sprawling country estates to Mediterranean-style mansions and cool desert properties.
A Taylor Swift Surprise
We didn’t see that one coming. Taylor Swift is dropping a surprise film on Disney+ at midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 25. The film, titled Folklore, follows Swift and her band as they record studio sessions of Swift’s Folklore album, at Long Pond Studios in New York’s Hudson Valley. It also features Aaron Dessner (The National), Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) who created the genre crossing album. They recorded the album thousands of miles apart from each other and had never been in the same room together…until now. The film was directed by Swift.
Check Out All the Nominees for the Inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards
In a terrible year for movies and a great year for television, the Critics Choice Association has decided to hold a special awards ceremony on the CW, recognizing films and TV shows in the genres of Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, Action and Animation. Watch for it on the CW Network on Sunday, January 10, 2021 (8:00-10:00pm ET). But in the meantime, see all the nominees here. Did your favorites make the cut?
Mini-Review — The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
I don’t usually do harsh mini-reviews here, but because The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is so blatantly bad, I believe viewers deserve fair warning. It’s a disorganized mish mash of every hackneyed, overdone, cliche feature from other housewives franchises (ie: booze, Botox injections, precarious cleavage, ridiculous stilettos, baggy lips, fatal false eyelashes, male strippers, catfights, etc.) lightly sprinkled with what these outrageously phony characters claim is Mormon doctrine. The entire production is tired, lazy, painfully contrived and offensive to viewers who deserve a lot more effort for the privilege of their time.
Critics Choice Association Picks the Best Docs of the Year
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has unveiled the winners of the fifth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which recognize the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified CCA members. Dick Johnson is Dead takes home the most prestigious award for Best Documentary Feature as well as Best Director for Kirsten Johnson. My Octopus Teacher wins the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Science/Nature Documentary. See the rest of the best docs here.
The Next TV Musical is Really Grinchy
Matthew Morrison will star as a rather handsome Grinch, if I do say so myself, in a two-hour production of Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical, to airon NBC Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. It will be taped at London’s Troubadour Theatre. “In what has been an extremely challenging year for us all, it is an honor to bring some holiday cheer into viewers’ homes this December,” Morrison said. “My wish is to bring some Who-ville magic to this holiday season and, while the pandemic presents some challenges in bringing a stage production to life, we are excited to present a unique version of this seasonal favorite in a new creative and imaginative way.”
And ‘Al’ Makes 6
At Home in Hollywood favorite Chuck Lorre strikes again! The prolific comedy creator of Big Bang Theory, who currently has six series on the air (Young Sheldon, Mom, Bob Hearts Abishola, B Positive and The Kominsky Method) is adding United States of Al to his list. Premiering on CBS sometime in 2021, it centers on Riley (Parker Young), a Marine combat veteran struggling to readjust to civilian life in Ohio, and “Al” Awalmir (Adhir Kalyan), the interpreter who served with his unit in Afghanistan, has just arrived to start a new life in America.
He’ll Be Back
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first scripted TV series, a global spy adventure, has landed at Netflix. The drama revolves around a father (Schwarzenegger) and daughter (Monica Barbaro), doing something all espionagy. The Terminator star and former California governor is also executive produce. We’ll keep you posted on its progress.
Super Cool New Docuseries Alert!
For those of you who don’t have kids, there is way to your Disney+ subscription beyond Hamilton and The Mandalorian. Latest evidence of that? The original docuseries Inside Pixar, premiering November 13. The series takes you behind the scenes at the iconic animation studio, and consists of four collections with five short stories in each collection, centered around a central theme. The first collection releasing on Friday is “Inspired,” exploring what sparks inspiration and the journey from idea to execution. Take a look at the trailer below:
