📺 The Media Guide S7E1

I’ve been planning to bring The Media Guide back since February began, but I wanted the first one back to be special and recap the best of the year so far. It’s safe to say that’s not happening today; maybe one day. For now, we’ve got the best of the week for ya.

📱 DTF St. Louis S1 (HBO)

This is probably my most anticipated show of the entire year. It comes from Steven Conrad, the creator of Patriot, which ran for two seasons on Amazon, and Perpetual Grace Ltd., which ran for a single season on Epix. Both were fantastic, quirky shows that do everything I look for in a show. The dialogue is just so uniquely him. In the same way you recognize Sorkin or Tarantino dialogue when you hear it, the same is true with Conrad. There’s just something about it where his voice feels tangible in a way most writers can only dream of. This one stars David Harbour, Linda Cardellini, Jason Bateman, and Richard Jenkins. So having this cast—on HBO—for Steven Conrad is just an incredible thought (and step up) that I have trouble putting my excitement into words.

🕵️ The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #1 (Vertigo)

Vertigo is back, baby. This is the third new launch from the revamped Vertigo imprint at DC, following Deniz Camp’s Bleeding Hearts and Kyle Starks’ End of Life. The Peril of the Brutal Dark comes from Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips—the same team behind That Texas Blood and The Enfield Gang Massacre. It’s a noir series following detective Ezra Cain with some magic and hits on some very relevant themes about power in the world today.

🪷 petal rock black by WILLOW

I continue to be incredibly impressed by WILLOW. Between whipping her hair back and forth to the music from the rest of our family, it’s kind of stunning to see her evolution as a musician. She has now put out two straight albums of wonderful music. You can see her taste develop in real time, and imagine all the records she’s been listening to, digesting, and learning from to refine her music. She went from pop to alt-rock (maybe even a bit of metal) and is now veering toward a jazzy, soulful sound. It’s just so much fun to watch her development right in front of our eyes.

🎸 EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert

Baz Luhrmann is back with another Elvis Presley film, following his 2022 biopic Elvis. This one is part documentary, part concert film, which has gotten some pretty positive reviews so far at early festivals like TIFF. The blending of documentary and concert film has me quite intrigued to see how it comes together, especially since there’s not really much else coming out in theaters this week...