Get Ready for Barkskins!
What? You’ve never heard of Barkskins? It’s an epic novel by Annie Proulx that tells the 300 year story of two immigrants and their descendants in New France (North American area colonized by France). It’s also the history of the lumber trade there. Nat Geo’s eight episode limited series based on the book will be premiering ahead of schedule, on Monday May 25 (Labor Day weekend) so as to be eligible for this year’s Emmys. There’s still time to read the novel before the TV series airs, but at 736 pages you better get cracking!
The Best TV Dinners Ever!
Getting sick of the same old takeout and boring recipes you’ve been using forever? Here At Home In Hollywood we’ve been trying home meal kit delivery services, and have landed on the best of them all: Gobble. Easy, delicious, reasonably priced and lowest amount of packaging (carbon footprint and all that.) Also, who wants to spend a lot of time in the store looking for ingredients? Gobble has a trial special going on now: 2 meals for 2 for $18. To get it, click here. And see more fun goodies on our Stay At Home Survival Guide by clicking here.
Into the Unknown — Disney to Air a Family Singalong
Here’s something to entertain your bored at home kids and Disney fans in general: a group of top stars are gathering to sing beloved songs from the Disney catalog, from their homes, and viewers are invited to sing along! The Disney Family Singalong special on ABC will feature first rate performers including Christina Aguilera, Kristin Chenoweth, John Stamos, Josh Gad, Michael Bublé, Auli’i Cravalho and Amber Riley. Other participants include Erin Andrews, Bobby Bones, Luke Evans, Jordan Fisher, Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Little Big Town, Kenny Ortega and Donny Osmond. We will forgive them for having Ryan Seacrest host. It’s slated to air on your local ABC affiliate April 16. I’ll be watching, and hopefully Face Timing with my nieces and nephews.
Check Out Your Stay at Home Survival Guide
You want to be comfy while watching TV, working from home, or in any of the other unique situations you find yourself in these days, right? To help you make the most of all those hours you’re spending on the home front, we’ve come up with a fun “Stay At Home Survival Guide — Fabulous Finds for Happy Hunkering.” These specially curated items will help cheer you, comfort you, feed you and more. Take a look:
Rare Good News for Disney
Out of necessity, attendance at Disney theme parks has plummeted, box-office receipts have dwindled down to nothing and television production has shut down, but there is one bright spot on Disney’s bottom line: Disney+ hit 50 million paid subscribers this week! When Disney announced Disney+ almost a year ago, it predicted it would reach 60-90 million subscribers by the end of 2024. With the pandemic forcing families to seek entertainment at home, and the recent Disney+ premieres in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain, among other European countries, and in India last Friday, it looks like they’ll hit that goal a few years early. It’s nice to seem something thriving right now.
How The Big Bang Theory Helps You Make the Best of a Stay at Home Seder
See Steve Carell, John Malcovich, Lisa Kudrow and More in One Spacey Series
Space Force on Netflix is a new kind of work place comedy that features a decorated pilot with dreams of running the Air Force, (Steve Carell) who is thrown for a loop when he finds himself tapped to lead the newly formed sixth branch of the US Armed Forces: Space Force. Skeptical but dedicated, he uproots his family and moves to a remote base in Colorado to join a colorful team of scientists and “Spacemen.” The cast also includes John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy O. Yang and Noah Emmerich, among other greats. Look for it May 29 on Netflix.
What’s a Quibi?
Quibi is a mobile-first, short-form streaming service, launched by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, today. It costs $5 per month with ads, or $8 per month without ads, but now there’s a generous 90-day free trial (long enough to outlast the pandemic… hopefully). Most of the content comes n 10 minute episodes, and there are comedies, dramas, reality shows, news and more, with stars like Idris Elba and Chrissy Teigen. I’m not one for watching streaming content on my cell phone (crap eye sight), but if you are, the Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg has kindly provide some bite-sized reviews of the content.
Funniest Thing You’ll Watch All Week
There have been a lot of great songs spoofing our current Shelter in Place situation, but this one…oh this one, with a very clever British family whose members can actually carry a tune, takes the cake. Watch them as they do true Covid-19 justice to One Day from Les Miserables. Believe me, it’s the best thing on screen right now.
What You’re Watching Most, Besides ‘Tiger King’
Looks like we’re turning back to network classics in our hours of need. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—it’s rare when you find something the whole family can sit down together and watch. Wouldn’t you know that CBS’ 60 Minutes and ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos have added the most viewers of any other shows over the past several weeks? NBC’s Chicago Med, The Voice, and The Black List came next. See The Hollywood Reporter for more info.
An Excellent, ‘Unorthodox’ Choice
Looking for something to watch that’s eye-opening, inspiring and informative, in addition to being entertaining? Check out the four-episode limited series Unorthodox on Netflix. It’s the story of how a 19-year-old flees her life in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn and lands, of all places, in Berlin. It’s loosely based on author Deborah Feldman’s 2012 memoir Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, which I immediately had to download on my Kindle the second I watched the last episode.
https://youtu.be/-zVhRId0BTw
John Krasinski Airs an Outstanding Good News Cast on YouTube
Live from his own home, John Krasinski launched a really inspiring program called SGN — Some Good News, and watching it will really make your day. “For years now, I’ve been wondering, why is there not a news show dedicated entirely to good news?” he told viewers. I thought, ‘All right. Enough is enough, world. Why not us? Why not now?’ So, ladies and gentleman, this is your fault, and this is SGN.” It’s full of good news stories people sent him, as well as an interview with fellow Office cast member Steve Carrell. Check it out here:
