s4e20—taking bets with friends playing with dolls in the winter in vegas
Oh, hey there! I didn't see you come in. Have a seat, pour yourself a drink, and soak in all that we have for you on this beautiful Tuesday evening (yes, apologies for being a day late, yet again 🙄).
📺 New Shows
👾 Secret Level S1 (Amazon) — 10 Dec
After finding success with Love, Death, & Robots on Netflix (with the help of David Fincher), Tim Miller is back with another anthology of animated shorts, this time for Amazon and this time, based on games such as D&D, Warhammer, and Pac-Man. First eight episodes are out this week, followed by the final seven next.
🏟️ Bookie S2 (HBO) — 12 Dec
Bookie S1 was a bit of a sleeper hit for me last year. It's not going to blow you away, but it fits nicely in that Entourage, Ballers zone as a solid hang-out comedy that has some teeth to it.
🏡 No Good Deed S1 (Netflix) — 12 Dec
Ray Romano, Lisa Kudrow, Lina Cardellini, Luke Wilson, Abbi Jacobson, Denis Leary. I mean, come on, what a cast. In this Netflix dramedy, three families vie to purchase a Spanish style villa, but "sometimes the home of your dreams can be a total nightmare."
🔪 Dexter: Original Sin S1 (Paramount) — 15 Dec
I still haven't gotten around to watching the Dexter: New Blood from 2021, but it looks like Paramount is going all in on the Dexter-verse with Original Sin and Dexter: Resurrection coming next year, which will be set in the present day following New Blood.
📝 What Else?
- Dream Productions S1 (Disney)
- NBA Cup Quarterfinals on Tuesday + Wednesday
Monday
- What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu) 6:10
- Get Millie Back (HBO) 1:3
- Skeleton Crew (Disney) 1:3
- Secret Level (Amazon) 1:1-8
Wednesday
- Shrinking (Apple) 2:10
- Bad Sisters (Apple) 2:6
Thursday
- Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount) 5:9
- The Day of the Jackal (Peacock) 1:10
- Creature Commandos (HBO) 1:3
- Bookie (HBO) 2:1
- No Good Deed (Netflix) S1
Friday
- Silo (Apple) 2:5
- The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO) 3:4
Sunday
- Invincible Fight Girl (Adult Swim) 1:8
- Yellowstone (Paramount) 5:14
- Landman (Peacock) 1:6
- Dune: Prophecy (HBO) 1:5
- The Agency (Paramount) 1:4
- Dexter: Original Sins (Paramount) 1:1
💽 Release of the Week
🧑🤝🧑 Friend by Peter McPoland
This album came out of nowhere for me. An indie alternative record that I guess fits in the "POV: Indie" genre...? Feels like Mac DeMarco and Dominic Fike came together and had a baby—maybe even throw in some MJ Lenderman for good measure.
🏃 Runner-ups
🦭 Vicious Creature by Lauren Mayberry
The lead singer of CHVRCHES makes her solo debut in this pop record. My wife didn't care for this saying it feels stuck in the past, lacking the fun and bite of newer female pop artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. But it's a solid pop record for people looking to dance.
🕛 12 by White Denim
I listened to this while at the gym, which is definitely not the right setting for this album, but I still enjoyed it. This Austin indie rock bands brings an airy psychedelic vibe and jazziness akin to Real Estate and Shakey Graves.
🦸 No. 1's
🦇 Batman: Dark Patterns (DC)
Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman—who is seemingly all over the place right now—bring us Batman: Dark Patterns, which has a real old-school vibe to it. It's set during the early days of Batman's career, focuses on detective work solving murders, and is colored in a beautifully vintage style by Tríona Farrell.
❤️ Belly Full of Heart (Silver Sprocket)
I'll take every opportunity I can to talk about Silver Sprocket and the amazingly indie stuff they publish, even if it's not up my alley. This one is a collection of romantic vignettes from Madeline Mouse.
😏 The Brood (Dark Horse // Minor Threats)
From the World of Minor Threats... if you are reading Minor Threats already, then you'll know what's in store for you here. If not, go check it out already!
🎎 Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale (Image)
A coming-of-age horror book that is very stylized and pink from writer/artist Luana Vecchio—who I have absolutely zero familiarity with—and set in the same world as her previous effort from Image, Lovesick.
🏙️ The City Beneath Her Feet (DSTLRY)
Another DSLTRY book... I've talked in the past about my hesitance to feature their books because their digital strategy annoys me to no end, but look at this creative team: James Tynion IV, Elsa Charretier, Jordie Bellaire, and Aditya Bidikar.
📝 What Else?
- FML (Image) #2
- Minor Arcana (Boom) #4
- Kaya (Image) #23
- Skin Police (Oni) #3
- Batman and Robin (DC) #16
- The Incredible Hulk (Marvel) #20
- Lilith (Vault) #3
- Transformers (Image) #15
- Ultimate X-Men (Marvel) #10
🎥 New Movies
💃 The Last Showgirl
Pamela Anderson makes her return to the big screen with this film from director Gia Coppola and Kate Gersten writer her first feature. By all accounts both Anderson and the film at large are amazing as she plays an aging showgirl preparing for life after her 30-year old show closes.
🚗 Nickel Boys
Not to be outdone, Nickel Boys already seems to be topping a bunch of top ten lists for 2024 and is an early favorite to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Then again, this is Oscar-bait season so we will be seeing a lot of smaller drama's coming out. Nickel Boys is based on the Colson Whitehead novel of the same name following the life of two black kids at a reform school in Florida.
🏅 September 5
Speaking of smaller drama's for Oscar season, Peter Sarsgaard leads this film with a mostly unknown cast (John Magaro is probably the only other face people will recognize) as they play a broadcast team covering the 1972 olympics when Israeli athletes are taken hostage by a terrorist group. Feels quite relevant.
📝 What Else?
Be kind and stay sane,
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