The Mandalorian is a Star Wars series created by Jon Favreau for Disney+, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. It follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), a solitary bounty hunter of the Mandalorian creed, and Grogu, the Force-sensitive foundling in his care.
Season 3 premiered on March 1, 2023. Having been declared apostate for removing his helmet, Din sets out for the ruined surface of Mandalore seeking redemption in the Living Waters of the Great Forge. His journey draws in Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and turns toward the larger project of reuniting the scattered Mandalorian clans and reclaiming their homeworld from Imperial remnant forces under Moff Gideon.
The season expanded the show's scope considerably, weaving in threads from The Book of Boba Fett and setting up the broader Mando-verse. Reception was more mixed than for the first two seasons, with praise for its production design, Pascal and Sackhoff's performances, and Ludwig Göransson's score, alongside criticism of its more diffuse structure.
With much humor derived from some cast members of Saturday Night Live and with approval from Lorne Michaels himself, Portlandia was born. The name Portlandia refers to a sculpture with that title found over the entrance doors of the Portland Building which is situated in downtown Portland on Fifth Avenue. The show has the fast paced comedy touch that SNL is well noted for and cast members Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein help keep it moving along. With Lorne Michaels as executive producer and creative writing from Fred Armisen, Jonathan Krisel, and Carrie Brownstein the show appears to have a bright future. We see how popular restaurants along the famous Hawthorne District in Portland handle irate dinner guests when they leave rather nasty reviews on a website titled Yelp! Another episode finds how badly a one man performance can actually be at the Hollywood Theatre, a local historic building in northeast Portland. If it happens in or around Portland it might end up on the show in some fashion, most likely comedic in tone. Portlandia currently runs on the IFC (Independent Film Channel).
After a hiatus of several years Fear Factor is back bigger and more daring than ever before. Reality shows are so popular today, mainly because they give viewers a glimpse into lives of real people who are living real events most of us seldom encounter (or would ever choose to). With a theme similar to the enormously popular Survivor, Fear Factor makes reality stars out of everyday people who can stand the test of some pretty dangerous stunts and dares when they compete against one another for a monetary reward. The prize of $50,000 is a big incentive and one that makes otherwise sensible folks take risks most of us are barely able to watch! Now there are four teams, each consisting of two people to a team who have been involved in some previous relationship with each other. Not being able to complete a stunt spells elimination and as host Joe Rogan says in a disclaimer "The stunts were supervised and designed by professionals! They're extremely dangerous & shouldn't be attempted by anyone at any time or anywhere!"
Back in the 1960's there was such a thing as "swapping" with couples trading spouses for a "swingers" affair. This was not common practice but had an ancient history with the first known affairs with consent happening back in the 16th century! Today it's all part of reality television and aimed at an audience with curiosity in poor taste. For two weeks (in virtual time) we view how well celebrity guests cope with each other's spouse. The first episode illustrates how different we all are. Carnie Wilson and Tracy Gold exchange hubbies and households. Carnie is part of the musical group Wilson Phillips and daughter of Beach Boy Brian Wilson and a self proclaimed "slob". She lives a truly casual life with her musician husband Rob Bonfiglio. Tracy Gold, who was a child star on Growing Pains back in the 80's, is a control freak who is madly in love with her hubby Roby Marshall and their four kids. The first week of the "swap" we'll see the celebrities live by rules dictated in the host's home but the next week they turn the tables and rule the roost of their new temporary spouse. Interesting concept that may grow thin after a few celebs self implode! Watch for Gary Busey exchange wives with Ted Haggard next time!
Celebrity chefs make for popular culinary reality television programming. The star of Chef Roble & Co is Roble Ali originally from Poughkeepsie, New York. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he always wanted to follow in his grandfather's (Jesse Harris) footsteps and become a professional chef. On this new reality based show we see him attempt to start a high end catering business in New York with able assistance from his older sister Jasmine. Chef Roble & Co launches their very selective catering business for celebrity clients that include a wedding for a dog, the unveiling of a naked statue, Indian food served up at a dance party for the rich, and carnival antics and food themed to the wild party of very rich and discriminating. As many of these extravagant parties are conducted outside, the weather often plays a part in how well the party plays out as in a graduation party planned for Vanessa Williams and her young children. The bigger and more outlandish the party idea, the better our fearless chef copes, proving he can handle most any situation as long as food is involved. Roble, known as the "Hip Hop Chef" has cooked for musical notables such as Michael Jackson, Russell Simmons, Rachel Dratch, and Faith Evans.
Who would have thought that the same man who used to put surgical gloves over his head to gain laughs could become so enormously popular, not to mention talented as Howie Mandel. His most recent endeavor includes taking the concept of an increasingly popular concept of flash mobs and turning it into a successful Fox television program called Mobbed. The program combines the "candid camera" concept with surprise occurrences leading up to some pretty interesting programming. Among the plans are a marriage proposal, a pregnancy disclosure, and a job applicant finding she got the job. This is all done with the aid of thousands of guests so the surprise ending is saved for show's end. Viewers watch as guests prep for the main event and rehearse their lines and routines. Mandel is there to guide them through detailed plans until the grand finale. Starting with a few dancers the show moves into a grand scale type performance to conclude some pretty life changing events we can all watch on the show. Highly addictive new show!
Take a screenplay penned by David Milch, add in direction by Michael Mann, and then throw in actors of the quality that includes Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Jason Gedrick, Jill Hennessy, and Nick Nolte and you have the makings of a new hit series! Dustin Hoffman is not new to television but it's been a while since he won an Emmy for his Death of a Salesman Willy Loman role. He plays Chester "Ace" Bernstein, a dedicated gambler who's just been released from a four year stint in prison. He returns to his beloved race track and doing what he does best. Now more determined than ever to "beat the system" Ace learns his driver Gus (Dennis Farina of Midnight Run, Get Shorty, & Law & Order) is now owner of a race horse. Mob boss Turo Escalante (played by John Ortiz from Ransom, Narc) is the actual owner who now owns several horses and they all plan on winning big with the inside edge from race horse ownership. Sudden Luck makes them all rich and only adds to the twists and turns involved in this highly entertaining series.
If there were ever somebody who just seems to attract those "awkward moments" into their life it is Tim! He is like a fish out of water, and living in New York City means that makes for some amusing events in his life. Steve Dildarian does the voice for Tim who also has a girl friend named Amy (voiced by Mary Jane Otto) and a rather unusual next door neighbor in his apartment building, Debbie the prostitute (voice of Bob Morrow), who is always sympathetic towards her favorite neighbor, Tim. Crisp writing and a fun cast make The Life & Times of Tim work and as the show is animated they tend to get away with more than usual, especially by HBO standards. Look for plenty of confrontations between Tim and his boss, aptly called simply "The Boss" and some of the others at his office, Rodney and Stu. Poor Tim is constantly getting himself into situations that cause embarrassment for himself yet always in a funny way.
Trivia games have long been popular and fairly easy to answer for many of us. Enter the NBC game show variety of trivia titled Who's Still Standing? Now the idea of this fun filled new show is that losing answers will result in that contestant falling from the audience sight by a hole in the floor opening up and seemingly swallowing up that poor loser. Imagine how much fun that is! And where do the go? Evidently we, the home viewing audience, will never know exactly what happens once the incorrect answer results in that poor schmuck dropping from sight. Do they drop down to another level and join an ever increasing population of losers? Do they fall into some deep labyrinth and float away into oblivion? Who knows"¦. and who cares? They simply lost. Now we watch in anticipation to see who will fail and fall next. This game show concept could actually work out, at least until we viewers wish that we ourselves could drop out of the competition so quickly because we've become addicted to the trivia questions while we just keep on answering one after another. Try it! It is absolutely addictive!
You can't get much more "real" than those women on Real Housewives of Atlanta! These gals can get down and dirty if they choose or be ladies with style and talent at other times. Revolving around the personal and business lives of six metro Atlanta area housewives, the show has now been on for several years and is now considered the top rated show on Bravo television network. Watch as these ambitious ladies juggle their social, business, and personal home lives. The current season includes: NeNe Leakes is a singer who's expertise now lies in wig designing. She has been seen as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. Kim Zolciak, singer and record producer, Kim is also a Grammy Winner and busy new mom. Sheree Whitfield has been busy fighting to keep the 2.6 million dollar home she was ordered out of after her divorce from Bob Whitfield, an Atlanta Falcon football player. She claims to have no education or special skills to help her support her two children. Kandi Burruss who claims to have fortune and fame because she earned it. Herself a Grammy Award winner, Kandi is CEO and founder of Kandi Koated Entertainment, a record label, as well as her own internet show. Phaedra Parks states she is the ultimate southern belle and knows how to get what she wants! One of Georgia's Super Lawyers, Phaedra is an entertainment attorney and seen often on TV programs like Entertainment Tonight and Extra. Cynthia Bailey is a former high school homecoming queen and actress. She's been on episodes of The Cosby Show and New York Undercover. These ambitious ladies have intertwining lives and are highly competitive, making the show somewhere between a cat fight and a love in each episode.
Oakland's Harborside Health Center is the nation's largest medicinal cannabis dispensary. Founder and executive director Steve DeAngelo has made twin missions of providing the best possible product to the patients who make up his client base, and educating the rest of the country about the regulation and taxation of those goods. WEED WARS takes an up close and personal look at the reality of running a controversial medicinal cannabis business.
