Hurry Up Tomorrow is maybe a sequel to HBO's The Idol?
Nah its a totally new story, a psychological thriller film directed by Trey Edward Shults from a screenplay by Shults, Abel "the Weeknd" Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim.
It serves as a companion piece to Tesfaye's 2025 album of the same name & stars Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.
Depicting a fictionalised version of Tesfaye as an insomniac musician on the verge of a mental breakdown, the film follows Tesfaye as he is pulled into an existential odyssey by Anima (Ortega), a strange, mysterious fan.
Development on Hurry Up Tomorrow began in September 2022 after psychological stress resulted in Tesfaye losing his voice during a concert.
The film is produced by Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss. Hurry Up Tomorrow was one of the final films produced by Turen and is dedicated to him.
The film was the source of a dispute between Turen and Tesfaye's previous collaborator, Sam Levinson.
Hurry Up Tomorrow has received negative reviews from critics, who labeled it as a vain star vehicle for Tesfaye and criticised the plot, screenplay, and Tesfaye's contributions.
I went to the Weeknd's long delayed gig last year which appears briefly in this film. It was EPIC! Well the introduction of the hit track, São Paulo blew my mind!
His last record didn't blow my mind like previous records.
The After Hours til Dawn Tour was a massive gig at Sydney's Accor Stadium. The set was a greatest hits affair, with Hurry Up Tomorrow not landing until late January this year.
So was the movie an improvement on the patchy The Idol? Well I didn't hate the The Idol on HBO. It wasn't HBO's finest moment, but it also wasn't the worst.
Hurry Up Tomorrow showcases The Weeknd's life on tour, his voice concerns and what most people think is happening on tour.
Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan were good gets for their supporting roles. Both stars are also so hot right now, however I don't think it will be enough to save this film from becoming a box office bomb.
I enjoyed it, however I am a fairly big Weeknd fan. What will Abel Tesfaye do next?
I will pass this, but it was a bit cray cray, 2.5 Stars.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan, is a Stan original, while airing in the USA on Starz.
Raising Kanan is a standalone prequel and second spin-off to Power. Whilst last year the series was renewed for a fifth season. Which has just been confirmed to be the final season.
For information of the fifth and final season (including casting) there is a full piece here. Be warned though, like below there are spoilers ahead and by clicking the link.
Set in the 1990s, Raising Kanan chronicles the early years of Kanan Stark, as he gets into the drug game as he helps his mom's growing drug business.
Over the last two seasons of “Raising Kanan,” Kanan Stark has slowly learned the truth
about not only his mother, but also himself.
It has been a tortuous journey for him and
everyone around him. With each new revelation, Kanan has been forced to confront his
family’s seemingly never-ending web of secrets and lies.
He has spent much of this time
in a state of denial, but now, Kanan’s blinders are finally off, and he doesn’t like what he
sees.
In season three, Kanan finds himself grappling with the very notions of right and
wrong. Good and evil. Fidelity and disloyalty. And he’s not alone. Every member of the
Thomas family must confront an existential crisis that challenges their very identity.
Whether it’s Marvin, who’s still trying to redeem himself, or Raq, who’s finally coming
clean, or Lou, who’s wrestling with his own evil, or Jukebox, who’s simply trying to break
free from her family’s pathology, they are all attempting to redefine and reinvent themselves.
They won’t all be able to complete this intensely personal quest, but for those who do, the destination may reveal the most terrifying secret of all. There is no right and wrong or good and evil. There are no absolutes. In the end, there’s just you.
With the Power Book III finale on Stan on Friday, Starz announced it is gearing up for its final chapter (season five), which may or may not mark the end of the Power franchise as we know it.
Elsewhere in the season 4 finale, we meet Shameik Moore (Wu-Tang: An American Saga) as the oft-mentioned, but never-before-seen Branford “Breeze” Frady. Whilst we got a new arrival, we also saw a few leave. With so many people were killed in the finale, it also left viewers with many questions about the future of many of the show’s biggest characters.
Across four seasons on the show, Patina Miller brought to life the tough-as-nails queenpin of the Southside, Raquel “Raq” Thomas, a role that originated in the first episode of Season 1.
While the screen fades to black in the very last moments of the episode, Raq’s only son, Kanan (MeKai Curtis), killed her after becoming convinced she was behind the murders of people whom he treasures most, like his best friend and surrogate brother Famous (Antonio Ortiz) and his girlfriend Krystal (Aliyah Turner).
Throughout her life, Raq was a bad and bold businesswoman who took what she wanted and fought with anyone who doubted her or underestimated her. She was a leader in the heavily saturated, male-dominated world of drugs and crime.
As much as she wanted to be a good provider, steering her son into a better future, she poisoned the well instead. Kanan is unpredictable and too easy to sway against Raq, whom he has already decided he hates, and in turn, is guilty of everything that goes wrong.
Raq accepts her fate like a G, maybe even welcomes it. The episode, Gimme the Weight, written by series creator Sascha Penn, gave her the saddest yet most perfect ending. Raq never shied away from her destiny.
For any fellow Power Universe super fans, I’d like to think about Raq in the afterlife somewhere, kicking it with Power Book II: Ghost characters Monet Tejada (played by Mary J. Blige) and baddie Caroline Chikezie, who played Noma, to name a few.
And for any of you keeping score, Stefano “Little Liguini” Marchetti (Tony Danza) and Early Tyler (Chris Redd) are also among the dead.
So how will the final season go down? Will it make it to our screens on Stan next year? For now we await the release of Power: Force's third and final season. Tommy's story is ending. Will the Power Universe as a whole be wrapping up? Or will it continue with the Power: Origins series? Only time will tell. However this has been one hell of a successful franchise.
I love a two movie film week. Following Thunderbolts* earlier in the week, next up (still in LUX at Hoyts) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Getting a weekend release in place of a usual Thursday release, the action/spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie, which is the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One from 2023.
This is the eighth instalment in the Mission: Impossible film series.
Starring Mr Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and 9-1-1's Angela Bassett.
Back in 2019, Cruise announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back with McQuarrie writing and directing both films.
Plans for the eighth film later changed in February 2021. Returning and new cast members were announced soon after, including Lorne Balfe, who composed the score for two other films in the franchise, returning to score Final Reckoning, although Balfe later left the production and was replaced by his longtime collaborators Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey.
Filming began in March 2022 in the United Kingdom, with other filming locations including Malta, South Africa and Norway.
Production was halted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, resumed in March 2024, and concluded in November 2024.
The film, originally titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, dropped its subtitle in October 2023, and the new subtitle was announced in November 2024. With an estimated budget of $300–400 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made. And it looks it. The stunts, the stakes are SUPER high, the entire film!
The Final Reckoning had its world premiere in Tokyo at the start of the month. It was also screened out of competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on May 23, by Paramount Pictures.
The latest Mission Impossible film, has received positive reviews from critics, particularly Cruise's performance.
Last June, McQuarrie told Fandango that Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning would not necessarily end the series, and they were developing ideas for future instalments.
However it does very much feel like a final film in the series. Particularly that last scene.
Clocking in at almost three hours, this will also be one of the longest films of 2025! So with all that, what's my view?
Dead Reckoning, is a Cruise in full flight (literally).
This film was high energy, will be box office gold and will see the cinemas full again this weekend. Another large amount of rain will also help that along.
I don't love a long film, however this film does move at a fairly rapid pace.
Angela Bassett really would make a fab US president too. Her TV roles are great, but hot damn, she belongs on the big screen. Without even saying a word, y'all know what she is thinking.
Doctor Odyssey may not have been her finest guest star, however this film was a fun ride with her finger hovering over the nuclear button.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is popcorn cinema at its best. 3.5 Stars.
Doctor Odyssey just streamed possible its final voyage.
The latest network series Ryan Murphy, along with Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken is the only outstanding series not to be renewed or cancelled at ABC.
In Australia the series streams all 18 episodes right now on Disney+.
Playing a doctor again, following the first season of Dr Death, Joshua Jackson leads, Phillipa Soo, Don Johnson, and Sean Teale as the leads.
Jackson plays Max, a new doctor on board a luxury cruise ship, and his small but capable team handle unique medical cases (and each other) far away from the nearest shore.
In the first episode, following the previous head medic was fired for a negligent bacterial outbreak onboard the Odyssey, the new doctor Dr. Max Bankman meets nurse practitioner Avery Morgan and nurse Tristan Silva.
Tristan reveals his love for Avery to Max while they and the ship's crew party on land. To make Tristan jealous, Max dances with Avery and they kiss, and nearly have sex but realise it's unprofessional. Max reveals to Avery that he was the first case of COVID-19 in the US and nearly died from the virus, which made him realise he needed to enjoy life.
Max and Tristan make peace. Emergencies include the team treating a man with iodide poisoning and later a dislocated shoulder, performing surgery a man with a penile fracture, and a man who goes overboard.
Don Johnson also plays the captain, whilst there were some very special guest stars including, Shania Twain, John Stamos, Kelsea Ballerini, along with a crossover with Murphy's other ABC series 9-1-1.
Following Angela Bassett's previous dramas on a cruise ship, she returns to the Odyssey for a heist she will not forget.
All and all in if this series had more viewers, streaming didn't impact live viewers and the rules around what can air on network TV in the USA, Doctor Odyssey may have worked.
However I strongly believe with all of Murphy's other projects (apparently the decision surrounding season two is his decision) this one may sail off into the distance after one fever dream of a season.
Yes that was a fan favourite theory, Max was still in his coma with COVID dreaming all 18 episodes. LOL
That says it all really. Murphy will be busy with new series on ABC, 9-1-1: Nashville taking Odyssey's former Thursday 9pm slot.
With only one new show next season, ABC is downsizing big time in the drama department. Will Odyssey return? Apparently the deadline for an answer is next month when the casts contracts are up.
Don't hold your breathe for another cruise on the high seas with this series.
Found sort of left its fans on a cliffhanger, tonight on Binge. However earlier this month, NBC canceled Found after two seasons, with series finale streaming now!
The series comes from All American (and their spin-off) producer Nkechi Okoro Carroll.
The first season got lucky, with not much competition with the writers wrecking havoc on last year's TV season.
Like The Equalizer before it, the series tackles social issues whilst finding missing people, relating to those social issues.
Gabi Mosely played by Shameless diva, Shanola Hampton leads her team of associates who work to find missing people who have been ignored or forgotten by law enforcement and the mainstream media.
She also serves as a producer, with the series is produced by Berlanti Productions and Rock My Soul Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television.
Joing Hampton, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Arlen Escarpeta, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh and Karan Oberoi. With Dionne Gipson, Michael Cassidy and Station 19 vet, Danielle Savre joining in for the second season.
Was this groundbreaking network TV? Hell no. Was it my last remaining NBC show currently. Absolutely. The network is opting for more basketball next season. With the NBA bumping off a few dramas.
So what does NBC have returning September/October this year?
Big Ten Saturday Night
Brilliant Minds
Chicago Fire
Chicago Med
Chicago P.D.
Dateline NBC
Football Night in America
Happy's Place
The Hunting Party
Law & Order
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
NBA on NBC
NBC Sunday Night Football
St. Denis Medical
The Voice
WNBA on NBC
So between sport and reality, it's a little dull.
So as the TV axe is still lingering I predicted a number of things last month. Wanna recap, click here.
So I was right with this show getting the can, same with The Equalizer getting the axe, I was more focused on the eye candy on Rescue: HI-Surf, however that got the axe too.
Still waiting for a decision, All American (100% needs the axe), Doctor Odyssey, which I strongly feel will get the axe now the finale has aired. For us Aussies it streams tomorrow on Disney+
Finally the Cleaning Lady. I reckon that is also getting the axe. This season is a red hot mess. Ending early next month.
Memory number five, in this new(ish) series. This time around we look at the incredible, Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル, Umeda Sukai Biru).
The Umeda Sky Building is two-tower mixed-use skyscraper in Osaka, Japan. Gosh I loved Osaka.
Located on the outskirts of the Umeda business district in Kita-ku, Osaka, the Umeda Sky Building consists of two 40-story towers interconnected at their two uppermost stories via glass bridges with escalators and elevators that cross an open atrium space.
It is currently the fifteenth-tallest building in the prefecture.
The towers reach a total height of 170 m (557.74 ft) while the overall height of the tower including the spires is 190 metres (623.4 ft).
The towers were designed by Hiroshi Hara, & were constructed by Takenaka Corporation, completed in 1993.
The Bondsman is a sleeper series on Amazon Prime. Arriving early last month (as a full eight episode binge) Kevin Bacon stars as an undead bounty hunter.
Joining Bacon, Jennifer Nettles, Beth Grant, Aussie Damon Herriman, Maxwell Jenkins, Jolene Purdy, Kathrine Barnes, Mike Kaye, & Jay Ali all star in the Bondsman.
Hub (Bacon) is a backwoods bounty hunter who comes back from the dead with an unexpected second chance at life, love, and a nearly-forgotten musical career. Only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist.
In the first (short) episode, Hub while tracking down a local bounty, is ambushed and murdered by Gregory Stevens at a road motel.
Awakening the next day sitting or lying in the public ways, Hub emerges alive but with his wounds from the previous night. He captures an arsonist, 'Tater', who is there to destroy the evidence and help the Earle's collect on the insurance money.
Returning home, his wounds heal and he enlists his mother, Kitty, a devout church-goer and former bounty hunter, to help him track the Earle's down; she reveals that Clyde was out on bail posted by "Lucky" Callahan, a local bar owner and former Boston mobster currently dating Hub's estranged wife.
Now knowing that the ambush was a murder-for-hire deal, Hub confronts Lucky but is interrupted by Maryanne and their son, Cade. Instead, Hub pursues the Earles to a local cabin to gather evidence when they are attacked by a demon possessing Pastor Ron from the local church.
The possessed Pastor Ron kills the Earles, but Hub escapes. At home, he finds Kitty meeting with Midge, his new handler from the Pot O'Gold corporation, Satan's front company on Earth, who explains that he is now a bounty hunter for the devil.
So it's a wild ride, with some country music thrown in for good measure.
I have no idea if a second series is coming along. There is not much about this poorly promoted series online. However it was a fun, super easy watch. Fun to have a horror series with short, easy to consume episodes.
In the finale, Hub is devastated to discover the demon, Lilith, has possessed Cheryl Dawson's body.
Standing over her empty grave, he confesses to Maryanne what happened, leaving her disappointed and distraught. Hub, feeling guilty, attempts to surrender himself for judgment, but Cosmo arrives and drops off the newly resurrected Midge, who explains that the devil isn't done with either of them yet.
Midge explains that Lilith has escaped before and that she was last recaptured in an abbey outside of Jerusalem; looking at diagrams, Hub deduces that her captors used another pentagram to send her back (the way out is also the way in).
Cheryl/Lilith arrives in town and demonstrates a hatred of music and an ability to use mind control; for women, this puts them into a fugue state, but the men are forced to kill themselves by ripping their own jaws off.
Lucky assists the police in searching the Halloran's office and arresting Kitty, Maryanne, and Cade, though Cade is not charged. Sheriff Ruby uses threats against Cade to pressure Maryanne into luring Hub into a trap at the club.
Hub and Midge create a trap for Lilith which works in luring and keeping her in place; however, she proposes a counter-offer to Hub: she will let Cheryl return, thus erasing the murder and setting Hub free, in exchange for Hub releasing her from the trap.
Hub agrees and Lilith vacates Cheryl's body and inhabits a Raven instead, with Midge warning that there may be dire consequences for Hub's 'loophole'. Hub arrives with a living Cheryl to the club, where both are immediately arrested due to reports of their recent activities. Maryanne retreats to her dressing room where Lilith returns and possesses her, still alive.
Lucky arrives to reconcile with Maryanne, but is killed by Lilith, who then takes the stage and holds all the men hostage. There, she offers Hub a new deal: as long as Lilith is free, the devil will keep coming for her (and by extension, Maryanne), so his only means to protect her is to serve Lilith.
Would I watch a second season? Most likely, I do like Kevin Bacon. The Following about the cult like serial killer was solid network TV. Bacon has done well to remain in the industry for as long as he has.
Andor also concludes its final episode this week, the week of TV finales. So expect more TV posts incoming!
Thunderbolts* is the latest cinema offering from Marvel Comics.
Like The Avengers, this is a superhero team not based on one solo superhero. Starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, & Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Thunderbolts resolves around a group of antiheroes are caught in a deadly trap and forced to work together on a dangerous mission.
We find ourselves at the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), along with being the final film of Phase Five of the MCU.
The film's ending reveals that the Thunderbolts team is rebranded as the "New Avengers", with the end credits revealing the asterisk in the film's title stands for The New Avengers; following the film's opening weekend, Marvel Studios began marketing it with that title.
Thunderbolts* received positive reviews from critics, and has grossed $272 million, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 2025.
So is the film an improvement from recent Marvel offerings? Are these anti-hero's a quick fix for Marvel? Or are we over anti-hero's following Taylor Swift's tune, the recent Joker films and The Boys on Amazon?
The film starts off in Malaysia, where Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) destroys a laboratory on behalf of CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to conceal her involvement with the O.X.E. Group's Sentry superhuman project.
As de Fontaine faces imminent impeachment for her work with O.X.E. Group, she dispatches Yelena, John Walker, Ava Starr, and Taskmaster to a covert O.X.E. facility under the pretence of a mission.
Once there, the operatives are pitted against one another in a deadly confrontation where Ava kills Taskmaster before they unexpectedly release a mysterious man named Bob from a suspended animation pod in the room. Upon learning that they were sent by de Fontaine to be incinerated along with any evidence of her misconduct, they manage to escape from the trap.
De Fontaine learns that the group has survived, including Bob, who was presumed dead during the Sentry trials. When she arrives at the site, Bob creates a diversion by drawing enemy fire, allowing Yelena, Walker, and Ava to escape, only to sustain no injuries despite being shot. Bob then uncontrollably ascends into the air before passing out and crash-landing back at the compound, where he is captured and transported to the former Avengers Tower in New York City, now renamed the "Watchtower".
De Fontaine intends to introduce Bob to the press as a super-powered protector akin to the Avengers, hoping the PR stunt will avert her impeachment. Meanwhile, Alexei Shostakov, who had overheard details of de Fontaine's plot while working as a freelance chauffeur, rescues Yelena, Walker, and Ava. Inspired by Yelena's childhood soccer team, Shostakov refers to the group as the "Thunderbolts".
De Fontaine's agents pursue the Thunderbolts before they are ultimately apprehended by Bucky Barnes, who intends to have them testify in the impeachment proceedings. Upon learning that Bob was a subject of one of de Fontaine's top-secret experiments, Barnes joins the group to head to New York to infiltrate the Watchtower. The Thunderbolts discover that de Fontaine has convinced Bob to join her side as a new superhero she plans to market as a replacement for the Avengers called the Sentry. After easily overpowering the team and forcing them to retreat, Sentry develops a god-like delusion of superiority, turning on de Fontaine.
However, her assistant, Mel, incapacitates him with a failsafe kill switch. This triggers the emergence of the Void, Bob's destructive alter ego and the embodiment of his depression and insecurities created as a result of the procedure and his fractured psyche, who begins engulfing New York City in supernatural darkness, trapping its citizens in pocket dimensions based on their worst memories.
Realising the only way to stop the Void is from within, Yelena enters the darkness to reach Bob's consciousness. There, she faces her haunted past as a Black Widow and finds Bob hiding in a recreation of his childhood bedroom, where his father abused him. The other Thunderbolts soon join them, and together they travel back to the memory of Bob's initial experimentation in Malaysia, where he volunteered for the procedure, hoping to improve himself after becoming an aimless drug addict.
The Thunderbolts confront the Void, but are swiftly overpowered. As the struggle threatens to fully consume Bob, the team intervenes, affirming their belief in him. Their solidarity empowers Bob to regain control, overcoming the Void as light and normality return to the city.
With the threat neutralised, the Thunderbolts prepare to apprehend de Fontaine. However, she manipulates public perception by staging a press conference in which she rebrands them as the New Avengers. The Thunderbolts reluctantly agree, but Yelena threatens de Fontaine if she betrays them again.
In a post-credits scene, the New Avengers and Bob discuss Captain America's intent to sue the team for trademark infringement and an ongoing problem in outer space, when they receive a distress signal from an extradimensional spacecraft with a large "4" emblem.
So it looks like the promo for Fantastic Four is starting..... now!
Overall this was more enjoyable than Captain America: Brave New World. Thunderbolts* scores a solid, 3 Stars.
High Potential is one of (very few) breakthrough network TV hits of the past season.
However the American crime/drama series from Drew Goddard, is actually based on the 2021 French and Belgian television series HPI.
The series airs on ABC in the USA and Disney+ here in Australia.
Starring Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, an intellectually gifted cleaning woman who becomes a police consultant. Also starring are Daniel Sunjata as Morgan's partner Adam Karadec and Judy Reyes as Selena Soto, the head of their department.
High Potential started back last September, however I think this was one of the series Disney+ held back till more episodes had aired. The in January, the series was renewed for a second season. One of the earliest renewals for the next TV. Which following CBS last week, the other networks will announce their plans for 2025-2026.
High Potential centres on Morgan (Olson), a single mother with three children who works as a cleaning lady for the Los Angeles Police Department. She is also a high potential intellectual, with an IQ of 160. After solving a case using her unconventional mind, she becomes a consultant for the LAPD's Major Crimes division, where she is paired with no-nonsense detective Adam Karadec (Sunjata).
A subplot involves Morgan using the LAPD's help and resources to find out what happened to her first husband, Roman, the father of her older daughter Ava, who disappeared 15 years earlier when Ava was a baby.
In the 13th episode, things heat up. If you are not up to date on this sleeper Disney+/ABC hit, don't read on!
A psychopath kidnaps people from a grief counselling group, including Oz, and wants the LAPD to "play" with him, using various games as clues to the victims' locations. Meanwhile, Conforth returns, and tells Morgan that he only plans on working directly with her, not the LAPD. Morgan accepts the terms, but Karadec wants to be the one who talks to Conforth.
Conforth tells Morgan that before he disappeared, he was working for a woman named Lyla. Karadec, using Ronnie's connections, learns that Lyla was an FBI agent who died around the time Roman disappeared, and had Roman working for her as an informant.
Conforth calls for Morgan to meet him at a hotel for some info, but Karadec goes instead. Conforth is hesitant to trust him, but gives Karadec the information. Meanwhile, Morgan is getting groceries with her kids, and a stranger helps her.
When she gets home, she finds a message from the kidnapper, and Morgan realises that the kidnapper was the stranger she met earlier. Morgan then gets a call from Karadec, who tells her that he knows Roman's location.
It sets up season two really well, with a few wee cliffhangers.
I started this on a flight back from Japan, then gradually an episode or so a week, I concluded the hit new series last week.
I do hope Disney+ stream this week to week when it lands either later this year or early next.
Until then I will give my thoughts on the Amazon horror/Blumhouse series, The Bondsman next, while Found finishes for good, Power's prequel series revolving around Kanan Stark concludes for another season and Doctor Odyssey may air it's final episode on Disney+ Saturday morning.
Mid-Century Modern is another Disney+ comedy which might not be a title you'd expect to find on Disney+.
Starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, Linda Lavin, and Nathan Lee Graham. Sadly this marks Lavin's final television role. As she died having completed seven episodes, but after her death, it was decided that many of her scenes from the fourth episode would instead be used in the eighth episode, so she appears in a total of eight episodes.
Streaming on Hulu back in March, all ten episodes landing with canned laughter and gay humour.
The Ryan Murphy produced sitcom, received generally positive reviews from critics. The series has been praised for its humour, nostalgic charm, performances, and its ability to blend classic sitcom sensibilities with contemporary themes.
So what's it all about? Three gay best friends of a certain age, after an unexpected death, move in together in Palm Springs, California. Living with the wealthiest friend's mother, they navigate their golden years as a chosen family, supporting each other through life's challenges.
The show is from the creators of Will & Grace, Max Mutchnick and David Kohan.
So will there be a second season? For now, no word yet.
In the finale, viewers find themselves, four months have passed since Sybil's death and now Bunny wants to go through his mom's things to turn the room into a gym.
Mindy begins to remember the past while going through Sybil's things with Arthur.
Jerry learns that the mormon he almost hooked up with, Mason, has shown up in Palm Springs after leaving his bride at the altar. Mason asks if he could stay there to which Jerry immediately agrees, upsetting Bunny.
Caroll then shows up, revealing that Bunny had invited the man without speaking to the others. He reveals that he is in love with Bunny, much to his surprise.
The next meeting has Arthur yelling at Bunny for doing what Jerry had done. Mindy comes over and learns about Caroll and Mason being there. Mindy talks Mason into going back to talk to the woman he left at the altar and then tells Caroll that Bunny isn't interested in him. Bunny, Arthur, and Jerry tell her that she was like Sybil.
They then decide to offer Sybil's room to Mindy to which she declines. Before leaving Caroll pulls Bunny into a kiss, surprising him.
Once both are gone, Mindy sends them a disco ball to put in their home gym to which the equipment had yet to arrive for. The episode ends with the trio (a modern Golden Girls, gender swap) dancing in the empty (soon to be) gym, to Shake Your Groove Thing.
Fitting end to a fun little series. As a friend said, it won't change your life or TV in general. However it was a fun piece of escapism.
The American sports drama series is now the only old school, The CW series, which commenced back in 2018.
This season had an entirely new load of cast joining a few original cast members. Bre-Z, Samantha Logan, Michael Evans Behling all returned, with former hunky lead Daniel Ezra returned for one episode.
Back in June last year, the series was renewed for a seventh season. This commenced late January this year.
So how did the seventh season conclude with its fate up in the air?
It's one of few series in the USA still awaiting advice on its continuation. I strongly predict this will face the axe, alongside recently cancelled Rescue Hi-Surf and Found (only this morning).
In the finale, the playoff match between Beverly High Eagles and South Crenshaw Chargers, with the former down by four going into the final play of the game. The final stages of the episode saw quarterback KJ throw a long pass, with credits rolling before viewers learned the ball's destination.
So the only cliffhangers is, viewers were left wondering about the outcome of one fateful football game? Who fucking cares.
I would miss Jordan (Michael Evans Behling) if this show was cancelled. However probably should have left off on a high(ish) note last season with the better season six finale, before the majority of the OG cast were axed to save cash.
The 2025–26 is going to be much different in the USA. It appears to be budgets first, creativity and originality second or third or not at all.
In Australia, All American streams all seven seasons on Stan.
Today we move to Kyoto. Visiting Nijo Castle (二条城, Nijōjō) which was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1868).
Shogun just got renewed, so maybe I should finish season one. Also my first sighting of cherry blossoms!
The Equalizer was renewed for a fifth season which returned to our screens last October. Earlier this month, the series was canceled after five seasons. This follows the show avoiding the axe last season, when CBS needed to make space for new shows.
This year with Blue Bloods, Fire Country spin-offs and other new shows slaying, it was always going to be touch for the Queen Latifah action series to continue on. Rumours were a short, sixth and final season might be announced, however TV stations in the states are all about budgets and balance sheets. So expect a few more shows to get the axe before the upfronts start, possibly tomorrow with CBS first cab off the rank.
I think NBC is next Tuesday, no doubt ABC will follow then the smaller players, FOX and The CW.
Back to The Equalizer, warning spoilers below as Robyn McCall hangs up her action shoes. Honestly for me, I totally would have preferred Star to continue for Queen Latifah. That season three cliffhanger! Right!
The season booted off with McCall being asked to rescue a little girl, Randi, after her older brother Kevin steals a grocery truck filled with guns from career thug Paco Alvarez, a lieutenant for a low-level drug dealer Diego Sueño.
Harry finds the truck but it's locked down in an NYPD impound lot, so McCall must improvise. Kevin is captured trying to rescue Randi himself. Just when McCall needs Harry on over-watch, Mel has a post-traumatic panic attack, calling him away.
He also misses Dante's call, warning him that major cartel member Angel Salazar and his deadly crew are about to show up. McCall is captured, tortured, and nearly killed escaping. Back at home, Miles tends to her wounds, and she must admit she no longer has a team.
So the season ends with more Angel Salazar. In the second last episode, Mel and Harry spot Angel Salazar in a photo with the target. In the Poconos, Salazar's men prepare to storm Marcus' and Robyn's cabin. Which was meant to be a romantic getaway. But it was not meant to be.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger, continuing in the series finale with Poconos hikers Duncan and Rosita are slain by Xiomara, one of Angel Salazar's Guatemalan mercenaries.
Ikal asks him how to handle McCall and Dante. Gary and Glenda Thompson interrupt Marcus' and Robyn's romantic reminiscing, and help themselves to their wine.
Mel and Harry try to find a connection between Salazar and the bomb. Harry poses the question, can they stop their dangerous equalizing?
Salazar's men kill Gary. Robyn and Marcus split up to save Glenda.
At the cabin, Harry fixes satellite/cell service, while Mel and Robyn spot Salazar's base of operations. They develop a plan to rescue Marcus, but he is shot. Harry stays with him, while Robyn and Mel go after Salazar.
The episode does wrap up with all getting some kind of ending. The show had really run its course. I do believe this season was a bit of a push. However the social justice and issues the show shone the spotlight on, was kind of refreshing, other times slightly cringe and preachy.
Otherwise this show did well to get five seasons. In the current TV climate it may not have been so lucky.
A24 continue to distribute quality films, Warfare is the latest.
Written & directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. Warfare is based on Mendoza's experiences during the Iraq War as a U.S. Navy SEAL, the film depicts an encounter he and his platoon experienced on November 19, 2006 in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi.
To maintain historical accuracy, the film's material is exclusively taken from the testimonies of the platoon members, and is presented in real time. Giving old school 24 vibes, with an intense setting within one house for the majority of the film.
Starring an all male cats, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, and Michael Gandolfini.
The film is dedicated to platoon member Elliott Miller (played by singer Cosmos Jarvis), who lost his leg and the ability to speak in the incident.
I was a little late to the party, however the Tuesday session I attended was largely full with an engaged audience.
Warfare is intense, disturbing and gruelling to watch.
As someone against wars, this film reinforced my beliefs, with the film showcasing the sheer horror of war.
You feel like you are in the house with this group of young soldiers.
This film will not be for everyone, however its a damn well made film. 3 Stars.
The Righteous Gemstones has concluded its four season run on HBO. Leaving the premium content producer with limited comedies. Well the Max brand still has the super funny Hacks, which really looks like it will get a fifth season.
Gemstones created by Danny McBride, originally premiered in August, 2019. There has been some big gaps between seasons with the fourth commencing early March with a very random Bradley Cooper lead episode.
Throughout the fourth and final season, the Gemstone children continue to lead the church amidst their turbulent personal lives: Jesse struggles to leave a lasting legacy and keep control of his rebelling sons while Judy must care for a depressed BJ after he is injured in a pole-dancing accident.
Having entered into a romantic relationship with Keefe, Kelvin gains prominence after creating PRISM, an LGBT-friendly ministry. Things spiral completely out of control for the Gemstone offspring when a lonely Eli enters into a relationship with Lori Milsap, a close friend of Aimee-Leigh. The origins of the Gemstone empire, led by outlaw-turned-reluctant preacher Elijah Gemstone, are likewise explored.
Alongside McBride, Adam DeVine, Edi Patterson, Tony Cavalero, Cassidy Freeman, Gregory Alan Williams, Tim Baltz, & John Goodman also star.
The long standing HBO comedy series, has had a positive reception and has been nominated for a number of awards.
Watch out spoilers below for the series finale, That Man of God May Be Complete.
This was the ninth episode of the fourth season & the 36th overall episode of the series. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the performances, humour, emotional tone and closure to the storylines.
In the finale, at the Cape and Pistol Society, Vance tells Jesse that he is opening 10 new churches around his malls and then proceeds to throw a yellow hanky, challenging him to a pistol duel. Eli volunteers as Jesse's second, but he is scared about Jesse's plan.
The duel begins, and Vance shoots first, but accidentally hits a car in the distance. He subsequently begs for his life, prompting Jesse to shoot at a pole, which ricochets at a member's leg. He decides to spare Vance, but quits the society, deciding that he does not need it, with Eli also quitting.
Kelvin surprises Keefe by proposing marriage, which he gladly accepts. BJ feels depressed over Dr. Watson's absence, so Judy and Amber help him get in touch with Dr. Watson, who now resides at a new home. However, Dr. Watson refuses to acknowledge him, so Judy scolds Dr. Watson into reconciling, deciding that they will adopt Dr. Watson again.
Baby Billy returns to the Teenjus set, wanting the crew to thank God for saving him. He suddenly has an epiphany, realising he has left his family aside. He announces his resignation, deciding to spend time with his family.
When Lori mentions that Corey has been distant since Cobb's death, the Gemstones decide to return to Galilee Gulch. Corey finally reveals his conflict: the bank will seize Cobb's farm, and Corey needs $7 million to buy it back. When Corey turns aggressive, Jana decides she has had enough and states that she wants to divorce him.
Kelvin sneaks into Corey's room and is shocked to find a gun in his duffel bag, as well as Elijah Gemstone's gold-plated Bible. He informs his siblings, when they are approached by Corey. He reveals that he covered Cobb's role in stealing the Bible, and also conspired with him in getting rid of Lori's boyfriends, with Cobb even killing one of them. Corey does not threaten them, simply asking them to not tell Lori.
When Jesse, Kelvin and Judy return to the lake house to discuss how to proceed, Corey appears and shoots Judy. Jesse and Kelvin hide in the house, but they are both caught by Corey and mortally wounded. Running out of ammunition, Corey leaves for his truck to retrieve another rifle.
The siblings crawl through the house, with Judy using a bell to call Dr. Watson and ask him to retrieve a gun from Jesse's bag. The monkey delivers the gun just as Corey returns, with Jesse managing to shoot him in the head. Corey apologises for his actions and refuses to get help, asking them to simply pray with him as he dies.
Eli officiates Kelvin's and Keefe's wedding, which is held in Kelvin's treehouse. Eli and Lori have not pursued a relationship again, but Eli maintains they are in good terms. As Eli proudly sees his children dancing, Aimee-Leigh narrates a letter that she left to Eli.
Lori grieves over Corey's gravestone. Baby Billy is happily spending time with Tiffany and his children. The gold-plated Bible is displayed in the Gemstone centre, while Gideon participates in a skateboarding competition in the church.
Eli returns to his yacht in Florida, where he reunites with Lori. She asks to join him as his first mate, worrying that he might get lost. Eli smiles.
Judy had some bloody wild lines in this finale episode. For me she will always be my favourite character from all four seasons.
This season had its ups and downs, Will & Grace's Megan Mullally as Lori Milsap was a fun addition to final run. While Seann William Scott as Corey Milsap & Arden Myrin as Jana Milsap were also good additions.
I need more Edi Patterson in my life. She is just a dream. The Righteous Gemstones 2019 - 2025, you will be missed. Across four seasons I have never heard so much bad language in my life. LOVE IT! Just got this in before all HBO titles sadly moved from Binge to MAX. Still not sold on Max and now that I didn't buy the launch month offer, there may be less HBO at my house!
Sinners is thus far, the sixth highest-grossing film of 2025! Written, co-produced, and directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners is set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta.
Starring supreme hunk, Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers who return to their hometown to start again, only to be confronted by a supernatural evil.
Alongside Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, and Delroy Lindo.
Sinners (the first vampire film in a minute)has received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Coogler's direction and Göransson's score as well as the performances of Jordan, Steinfeld, Lindo and Caton.
There is no denying the talents of leading man Michael B. Jordan. This film manages to mix music, with vampire action and racial relations in the 1930's.
There is a reason why this film is doing so well at the box office, sessions at my local cinema and chatter online.
Sinners is a fun piece of election distraction. Its run time is the only thing I would criticise, however I guess I just need to get used to long ass films in 2025. I do however want to check out Warfare next week, which my cousin recommended and the 90 odd minute runtime does really appeal to me.
Dying for Sex is loosely on the real-life experiences of Molly Kochan, written by Liz Meriwether & Kim Rosenstock.
The miniseries depicts Molly being diagnosed with terminal cancer ,and leaving her husband in search of an orgasm.
Michelle Williams plays Molly, while the series also stars Jenny Slate, Rob Delaney, David Rasche, Esco Jouléy, Jay Duplass, Kelvin Yu, Sissy Spacek, & Zack Robidas.
Streaming on Hulu/Disney+ in Australia, the show made the top ten most-streamed series in the U.S. from March 31 to April 6 and received largely positive critical reception, though some questioned its length and volume of sex scenes.
From Dawsons Creek to this is a big leap for Williams, however as Molly she slays. I just felt the series was missing something.
It was well done, goes from sexy to sad within a few, short episodes. We start with Molly, ten years into an unhappy marriage with her husband Steve (Jay Duplass)
She is also inhibited by the traumatic effects of her mother's boyfriend forcing oral sex from her aged seven.
Her doctor calls her during a couples therapy session with Steve to say that a biopsy they had taken on her hip showed Stage IV metastatic breast cancer that had infiltrated her bones, brain, and liver; she responds by leaving the therapy session to buy a two-liter bottle of white label diet soda and menthols at a corner store across the street.
She calls her friend Nikki (Jenny Slate), who is overwhelmed by the news.
Her tamoxifen increases her libido, & Molly attempts to give her husband fellatio in their kitchen, only for him to start crying as her breasts reminded him of her death.
At the hospital, she tells Sonya that she had never had an orgasm with another person and their conversation inspires Molly to leave Steve and explore her sexuality.
We move then into the second episode where things really ramp up. Molly signs for a dating app and is pleased to receive multiple dick pics. At a subsequent hospital visit, she is told the doctors will induce menopause.
On her way out, she invites an app user to a hotel, but backs out after seeing him; she then does the same for a guy in an elevator, but rescinds the invitation after opting not to risk having to explain her mastectomy scars.
Once there, she orders a vibrator and orgasms to Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed, a clownfish entering and exiting a coral reef, and in front of a male webcam model, the last of which infects Nikki's laptop with viruses.
The man promptly blackmails her, causing her to call Nikki and then Steve; the latter shames Molly, prompting her to gather possessions and leave him immediately, later moving in with Nikki. Steve hands Molly's medical records to Nikki, who promptly loses them.
While debriefing with Nikki at a bar, she leaves in an Uber with a patron, who prematurely ejaculates on their way to have sex; the driver dumps them at a highway divider.
We the rapidly move through the short eight episode run as Molly visits a group for those with curable cancer, but is ejected to avoid disconcerting its members.
Following an abortive encounter with an inexperienced 25-year-old, Molly starts masturbating and hears her neighbour also doing so; aroused at the thought he is doing so to her, she orgasms. The pair subsequently run into each other while he's emptying his trash in the hallway; her ordering him to pick it up moves both of them to run to their rooms and masturbate and Molly to deny him permission to ejaculate.
Molly later enters his apartment and orders him to masturbate. At his request, she kicks him in the penis and the movement causes her femur to snap. Molly begins searching for submissive males online and finds Hooper, a successful Wall Street trader into penis humiliation and penis cages; she tries to mock his penis but struggles due to her awe with it.
Yep we see more penis!
At Sonya's suggestion, Molly and Nikki attend a "kink-forward, play-party potluck", where Molly witnesses Sonya's ex G slowly instructing a woman masturbate on a table. Impressed, Molly visits G at her workplace, where G tells Molly to attempt submission before attempting dominance; following an abortive attempt at the latter with the finance bro, Molly submits to G at the back room of her home goods store.
That afternoon, she returns to hospital, where she asserts her wants and needs with her doctor, and explores her relationship with Neighbour Guy. She then conquers a man who has a kink for pup play and checks him for ticks.
As we get halfway through the series, Nikki is unavailable due to anaesthesia from dental surgery, so Molly is taken to the hospital by her mother, a recovering addict who brings uninvited guests; Molly also sees Steve and his girlfriend. Nikki does not reply to Molly's texts, so she instead invites her pup player to snuggle with her for shock value. Nikki breaks up with her boyfriend Noah after he switches off her phone post-surgery.
At home, Molly attempts to urinate on her pet, but is interrupted by her mother, and neither can take Molly's pet's collar off; Molly calls Neighbour Guy and Gail tells him about Molly's cancer. After Gail leaves, Molly and Neighbour Guy discuss her condition and his past and she resumes kicking his penis.
Molly spends Thanksgiving with Neighbour Guy and experiments with butt plugs. She attempts to orgasm with him, but freezes from trauma.
At her cancer group, Sonya directs the attendees to write about their fears and then to move their bodies at will while others read their stories. Molly suffers a deep-vein thrombosis and spends Christmas in hospital.
Wanting to orgasm, she ignores Nikki's plans and Neighbour Guy and orders a dojo owner from Queens to masturbate on New Year's Eve; following an argument with Nikki, Molly runs out to the dojo owner's car, but loses sensation in her hand.
Molly sees Neighbour Guy while out and collapses shortly afterwards, prompting the pair to profess their love for one another; at the hospital, her collapse is revealed to be caused by a collapsed lung and she is intubated.
Faced with the possibility that Molly could die if her breathing tube is removed, Nikki decides to have it removed for Molly's comfort. Thankfully, Molly is able to breathe on her own and the two resume their goal of helping Molly have an orgasm with another person.
Nikki leaves the hospital to collect Neighbour Guy and Molly's things from her apartment, but is interrupted by her car being towed and then by Noah calling her; he brings Molly a bag of vibrators and Nikki some soup.
A subsequent lumbar puncture reveals that her cancer has spread to the spine and she needs to enter hospice care, between which Neighbour Guy makes Molly orgasm. She spends her final weeks with Nikki and Gail, and being looked after by Nurse Amy, with one final visit from Noah. After Molly's death, Nikki rekindles her relationship with Noah.
Dying for Sex explores lust, grief, loss, accepting death, learning to live and more across the eight episodes.
I liked this show, however as I said before, something was missing. Michelle Williams however did a great job as lead Molly.
From Okinawa Island, to a quick stop at Tokyo before heading off on the bullet trains!
I as a 40 something year old, have never eaten this much white bread in ages! Also the bottom green tea. Hells bells, it did reduce body fat. However readers beware. You may or may not need a toilet fairly quickly after consuming this "special" green tea.
Big Boys third series was confirmed back in June 2024, later confirmed as the final season in January this year.
The third series began streaming on ABC iView recently and boy did I smash it.
Created & written by Jack Rooke, starring Dylan Llewellyn & Jon Pointing as first-year university students who live together, set from 2013, told from the point of view of Llewellyn's character Jack—a semi-fictionalised version of Rooke, who narrates the series—as he recovers from his father's death and explores his sexuality for the first time.
With only six episodes, the series had to wrap things up quickly.
In the fifth episode, they really start to tie things up. Monumental ends are nigh for everyone, as they contemplate the end of their time at university and returning home, the drastically changed composition of which also lying with varied heaviness on their minds.
Jack's focus moves primarily on deliberating whether to engage with former school classmates who have journeyed from homophobia to, in the years between, discovering they were projecting and gay themselves.
Corinne utilises her struggles to put her inability to deal with Danny's silence towards her into completely restarting her dissertation, with the distraction bringing mixed results. Danny is devastated after his belief that his nan's passing could finally bring his disparate family back together is not realised; left alone to contemplate if he is responsible, but also what comes next, and if it is better for it to be uncertain or nonexistent.
The finale, The Sea is set betweenJune & September 2016. Sadly Danny didn't make it. However after an emotional scene at the sea, we then see what could have been for Danny.
This show was deeply emotional, funny, clever and a great little watch.
I was really hooked on seasons one and two. I think they went out on a high with this third & final run.
The show was honest, raw and real. It used to be so much harder being gay (before Glee, thanks Ryan Murphy!), growing up and learning how to adult.
As a 42 year old I still don't feel like an adult.
Big final week next week, The Equalizer, The Righteous Gemstones and All American - BOOM! The Post Holiday Blues Streaming 25' list is growing, FAST!
Fire Country is one of the most popular drams on CBS. So popular that a spin-off Sheriff Country, is set to premiere later this year.
Morena Baccarin will lead as Mickey Fox, along with Matt Lauria, Christopher Gorham, Michele Weaver & W. Earl Brown.
Even more popular, a second spin-off featuring Jared Padalecki has also been under consideration since he appeared as Camden Casey in the third season.
Back in February, the series was renewed for a fourth season, well ahead of last Saturday's double season finale.
Lead Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) will 100% star alongside a slightly different cast.
Not one, but two beloved original cast members are leaving Season three!
OG's Stephanie Arcila (Gabriela Perez) & Billy Burke (Vince Leone) are leaving the series, while the season finale ended on a cliffhanger.
Following these major departures, the stakes for next season are higher than ever.
Will the fire fighting Leone family legacy survive? Will Bode & Gabriela’s epic love story continue?
Twenty episodes worked well for this fire fighting drama in California.
Awkward start for the season following an awful wildfire season in LA and surrounds. So this show might have been a little too close to home for some viewers this season.
Season two was super short following the writers strikes, so who knows how long the fourth season will be. One thing is no crossovers with spin-off Sheriff Country may occur. As Fire Country is filmed in Vancouver, with the new spin-off filming East side in Toronto.
Fire Country (streaming in OZ on Paramount+) is an easy watch with some solid storylines. I am not sure it's strong enough to support two spin-offs, however I'll give Sheriff Country a go next TV season. Well as long as its streaming on Paramount+.
Still to come I caught up with the final season of Big Boys and the miniseries Dying for Sex on Disney+, yes a show with sex in the title on Disney+!
