by Emily Nagle
Following a multiyear deal made back in January, Hulu has finally added ViacomCBS’ properties to their live TV service.
Announced Friday, Hulu+ Live TV will now have nine ViacomCBS networks available at no extra cost. Among these new additions are Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, and MTV. For more channels, customers can purchase the Entertainment add-on package for an extra $7.99/month to get TeenNick, NickToons, and MTV Classic. The package also offers Discovery properties, including CNBC, Discovery Family, and the American Heroes Channel.
Not only does this deal bring ViacomCBS channels to Hulu+ Live TV, but it also brings several shows to the on-demand video service including “Moesha”, “Freaks and Geeks”, and “Sister Sister”.
Hulu+ Live TV offers more than 75 live TV channels for only $64.99/month ($70.99/month without ads), and comes with access to their video-on-demand service.
by Emily Nagle
[usr 4]
Recently when I was scrolling through Netflix, I got “Kid Cosmic” recommended to me, and when I saw it was made by Craig McCracken – the creator of some of my childhood favorites such as “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” – I was all in.
“Kid Cosmic” is about the imaginative, excitable Kid, a young boy living in a junkyard who dreams of leading a team of superheroes. When a spaceship crash lands in his quiet desert town, leaving behind 5 Cosmic Stones of Power, this big dream finally seems like it can become real. Kid discovers that the stones give power to whoever is wearing them. The catch? Now, aliens are attacking the town. Once Kid assembles a ragtag team of heroes to defend Earth from intergalactic forces, he learns that there’s more to being a hero than just glory.
While Kid gets the hang of learning how to fly, his grandfather Papa G has the power to multiply himself, 4-year-old Rosa grows to be 40 feet tall, teenage waitress Jo has the ability create portals, and even a fat cat named Tuna Sandwich who can see into the future.
In addition to the creator being familiar to me, another aspect of this show that made me want to start watching was the art style. It looks like a comic book, and I found out that its art style was inspired by comics like “Dennis the Menace” and “The Adventures of Tintin”. For a superhero series like this, it works perfectly, and makes the show feel like a graphic novel come to life!
Over the course of the first season, you really get to see Kid’s mindset change. At first, he’s super picky about who joins his team, as seen when Rosa gets ahold of one of the rings and Kid gets upset because he just sees her as a baby. However, Kid doesn’t have much experience himself with leading a team, with all of his knowledge on leadership coming from what he’s read in the comics. With so many people viewing him as the weird superhero-loving kid living in a junkyard, he wants a chance to prove himself by saving the town. In one particular episode, Kid beats himself up mentally because everyone else on the team has saved the day except for him, and begins to doubt himself. As the show progresses, Kid realizes what it really means to be a hero, and how it’s okay to not be able to do everything himself.
I loved this show, and was delighted to hear that season 2 is already in production! I hope that the future episodes delve more into the development of the other members of the team of local heroes. I can understand why the first season focused completely on Kid coming to terms with what it means to be a hero – we have to understand where Kid is coming from, and why it’s so important for him to prove himself – but I would’ve liked to see more of the other characters as well.
By Kurt Balingit
‘Bedrock’, a sequel series to the legendary cartoon ‘The Flintstones’ is currently in the works at Fox from Warner Bros. The new series is set 20 years after the the original, and will be an adult animated comedy.
In addition to executive producing, Elizabeth Banks will star as the voice the now adult Pebbles Flintstone. In the show, Fred Flintstone is retiring from his job at Slate Rock and Gravel Company and Pebbles is beggining her own career. As the Stone Age evolves into the Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock must get with the times as well.
Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment gives his thoughts on taking on this new look Flintstones…
“Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock,” said Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment. “Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today’s audience is a challenge we here at Fox are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth and Lindsay”
Michael Thorn, president of entertainment for Fox Entertainment.
The original series, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, ran for six seasons on ABC and was the first animated series to air in primetime. Fox’s free on-demand TV service Tubi has acquired the rights to all 6 seasons of the show and will launch it on May 1, riding on the back of its recent 60th anniversary.
by Emily Nagle
With May just around the corner, Disney has lots in store for their rapidly-growing streaming platform Disney+ that’s bound to appeal to a wide variety of audiences, including Star Wars fans, animation enthusiasts, or young children. As announced by the mass media conglomerate last year, these next few years will be their most ambitious yet, with the biggest content slate in the company’s nearly 100-year history.
In honor of May the Fourth Be With You, “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” will debut on May 4, with new episodes premiering every Friday of the month after that. Also releasing new episodes every Friday will be sports comedy series “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”, based on Disney’s 1992 film, mockumentary musical “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”, and new sports drama series “Big Shot” starring John Stamos.
For Disney+’s youngest viewers, seasons 1 and 2 of “Special Agent Oso” and the second season of “Bluey Shorts” will be arriving.
Disney’s newest film “Cruella” will also be released in May. The live-action origin story of Cruella De Vil from “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” starring Emma Stone will be available through Premier Access on May 28.
By Kurt Balingit
Robin Thede, the comedian behind HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” is currently developing a zombie action-comedy at Amazon titled “Killin’ It.” Thede will be responsible for writing and producing. The story will follow a group of underachieving friends in Atlanta, which becomes overrun by zombies while the friends are taking part in Spelman College’s homecoming event, despite dropping out 10 years earlier from the HBCU. The film is being described as “Shaun of the Dead” meets “Girls Trip.”
The Amazon feature deal comes as Thede’s is making a name for herself and reaching milestones for Black female creators. She’s the creator of the HBO series “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which also stars Issa Rae. The TV series that earned three Emmy nominations last year. The second season of the sketch comedy comes out April 23.
As an actor Thede was recently on screen in the 2020 horror comedy “Bad Hair” from “Dear White People” writer-director Justin Simien. Thede had previously host and executively produced BET’s series “The Rundown with Robin Thede,” and served as head writer and a correspondent for Comedy Central’s “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.”
by Emily Nagle
This weekend was the most profitable box office weekend for the entire month, with theaters across the United States making a total of $53.9 million due to it being the opening weekend for two films: “Mortal Kombat” and anime “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.” The new releases ranked #1 and #2 respectively for this weekend’s top 5 highest grossing films.
The top 5 highest grossing films for this past weekend were:
1. Mortal Kombat
2. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
3. Godzilla vs. Kong
4. Nobody
5. Raya and the Last Dragon
“Mortal Kombat” serves as a reboot to the film series based on the popular martial arts game franchise. After the previous installment in the series, “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation”, flopped at the box office, a reboot laid in development hell for more than two decades. The new film already is off to a better start, receiving average-to-positive reviews from critics. It follows Following its release on Friday, “Mortal Kombat” has made $22.5 million in its opening weekend.
“Mugen Train” is based on the popular manga “Demon Slayer”, and serves as a sequel to the first season of the anime. It follows a teenage boy named Tanjiro who sets out on a mission to kill demons after his sister turns into one and his family is violently murdered. When he embarks on a train The film grossed $19.5 million across the United States in its opening weekend. This number is likely to increase as time passes, considering the dark fantasy anime film has already broken multiple records internationally, becoming the highest-grossing anime film and the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time, grossing $407.7 million worldwide. “Mugen Train” grossed $19.5 million across the United States in its debut weekend.
Also smashing box office records around the globe is monster crossover “Godzilla vs. Kong”. Featuring stars like Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) and Alexander Skarsgård (“The Legend of Tarzan”), two worlds collide when Kong is transported into the Hollow Earth to find an energy source powerful enough to halt Godzilla’s wrath. Now in its fourth week of release, it grossed $4.2 million over the weekend.
“Nobody” made $1.7 million over the weekend, and has now made a total of $21.5 million since its March 26 release.
Disney’s animated fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon” has been available in theaters and on Disney+ since March, and made $1.6 million over the weekend. In total, it has grossed $39.8 million.
Get Some Strange!
