Boba beats Mando
Boba beats Mando
And Disney making Muppets spinoff series
What to know:
The Book of Boba Fett finale ratings top Mandalorian season 2 capper… For all the fan talk about Boba Fett being a let down (save for episodes 5 and 6) — the Star Wars project continues to grow on Disney+. While I think the structure of the season was a bit off (episode 5 should have come sooner), doing those big Mandalorian episodes near the end definitely built buzz which likely contributed to the ratings growth. I was worried that some fans would head into Mando season 3 having missed the crucial story moments in Boba, but now not so much. ✨
Viacom CBS will now be called Paramount, Paramount+ to offer Showtime content for additional cost… Meet your new Paramount, same as the old Paramount. The name change makes sense as it positions the streaming service as its primary offer (Disney has Disney+ for example). Together Paramount+ and Showtime now have 56 million subscribers. If you’re keeping score Netflix has 221M, Disney+ has 118M, HBO Max has 73M. So Paramount is in the game so to speak, but it makes sense that they’d start offering some Showtime content. Longterm, I think a merger with another streamer is possible. 🏔
Spider-Man: No Way Home becomes 3rd highest grossing movie of all time… In this economy??? It’s kind of shocking to see No Way Home climb the all-time gross charts as almost every other movie fails at the box office. Theaters have become a real feast-or-famine situation, huh. 🕷
Disney is making a Muppets series about the Electric Mayhem band… Interesting choice but I love the idea of the Mouse letting creators (in this case The Goldbergs Adam Goldberg) take a little creative freedom with its IP. Why not blow out those characters and their universe a bit? Plus, ANIMAL! 🥁
Brett Goldstein meets Oscar the Grouch… Speaking of muppets, this amazing moment happened. ⚽️
The Only Murders cast was asked to host the Oscars but had scheduling conflicts… I’m looking forward to what Hall, Sykes, and Schumer do — but this would have been fun too. Oh well! 🎤
F. Murray Abraham joins Moon Knight… More gravitas please 🌙
How I Met Your Father renewed for season 2… Piece of advice to the writers, don’t do what How I Met Your Mother did and decide your ultimate series ending right now. 🤵🏾♂️
DC making Wonder Twins live-action movie for HBO Max… Wonder Twins power activate! Form of a streaming release! 📺
Somebody Feed Phil’s Phil Rosenthal to host podcast… I’ll try not to listen when I’m hungry. 🥪
Real snakes on place cause emergency landing… The reboots are getting a little too real 🐍
Barry is back April 24… Between this and Saul, all the prestigious ne’er-do-wells are returning in April 🔫
A BioShock movie is happening… Video games! They make movies! 🎮
Dune 2 to shoot this year… Or as I like to call it, The Rest of Dune 1 🚀
What’s new this week:
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel s4 — Feb 18 | Amazon comedy series | 🍅
Uncharted — Feb 18 | Adventure film in theaters | 🍅 46%
Ambulance — Feb 18 | Crime drama film in theaters | 🍅
Dog — Feb 18 | Military drama in theaters | 🍅
For more pop culture news, discussion, and what-to-watch recommendations subscribe to my pals over on the Kickball Friends podcast. 🎙
What to watch:
I was expecting Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated Licorice Pizza to be bold and beautiful. I was expecting it to have great performances and an abundance of memorable moments. What I wasn’t expecting was it to be genuinely hilarious. Licorice Pizza has the aspirational, high-art filmmaking we’ve come to expect from PTA, it deals with mature themes and harsh realities, but it’s also a wonderful, down-home, relatable coming-of-age comedy. Anderson revives the Valley in the mid ‘70s with loving detail, but makes it feel universal by embracing the universalities of falling in love for the first time and finding your purpose. He nails the joy, freedom, and undercurrent of danger found in both that specific time period in American history and in our own post-adolescent lives. Few people are as good at worming their way into our psyches as Paul Thomas Anderson — no matter what genre he’s working in. Romantic leads Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman bring PTA’s crackling script to life with raw magnetism and deep pools of on-screen presence. The duo has easily solidified themselves as young actors to watch in Hollywood. Licorice Pizza is another achievement from a real master of cinema and an easy recommendation for any movie lover, regardless of its Best Picture nomination.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!