What to know
All the pop culture you need to know from the Super Bowl
A football game was played, but more importantly there were commercials, movie trailers, and music! The night kicked off with CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount+) crashing, which is ironic because CBS spent much of the night promoting Paramount+. We got intriguing trailers for Shyamalan’s Old, Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody, and Marvel’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I was blown away by The Weeknd’s inventive halftime show, but the internet mostly had jokes. Ads featuring Bruce Springsteen, Michael B Jordan, and Timothee Chalamet became the most watched on YouTube, while my favorite was the genius 5-second Reddit ad. Go sports!
Suzanne Somers calmly confronted a near-naked home intruder while live streaming | Deadline
This is just a bananas story. Suzanne Somers was live streaming a makeup tutorial when a nearly naked man broke into her home. She calmly talked the man down and got him to leave — and it was all caught on video! Maybe the FBI should hire Somers to be a hostage negotiator? Nobody has talked down an intruder like this since the queen in season 4 of The Crown.
Melissa Villaseñor will host the Independent Film Spirit Awards | Variety
Now this is what I’m talking about. The Spirit Awards are known for picking the coolest people in comedy to host and they just did it again. Villaseñor is one of, if not the most underrated people on SNL, so it’s great to see her get an opportunity like this. The only downside is I wish she could host in normal year, but the Spirit Awards, like all award shows this year, will probably be significantly pared back.
Dan Harmon is making an animated comedy series set in mythical ancient Greece | Deadline
Community and Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon is joining the Fox animation family with a series set in mythical ancient Greece. The show “centers on a flawed family of humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.” Pretty novel idea for an animated comedy! And Fox’s president seems jazzed about it too, “Leave it to Dan Harmon to turn the mythos of early Greek civilization into remarkably sharp commentary on today’s politics, celebrity and pop culture.” I’m sold.
Also...
Ted Lasso season 2 will have 12, not 10 episodes … the TV gods are smiling upon us ⚽️
Top Chef returns April 1 … and it’s going to be interesting 🍳
Dave Grohl says the show where he broke his leg was his favorite of all time … which reminds me, why haven’t the Foo Fighters played the Super Bowl? 🎸
Cristin Milioti is back in the desert stuck in another sci-fi ‘love’ story … she just can’t stay away 🏜
Taran Killam is joining Hannah Simone and Elizabeth Hurley in a CBS sitcom pilot … on the one hand that cast, on the other hand CBS 🤔
The White Tiger hit no. 1 in 64 countries, reached 24 million viewers … it’s not Netflix’s biggest it, but it is getting seen 🐯
The Critics Choice Awards and AARP’s Movies for Grown Ups announce their nominees … meanwhile, Boss Baby won Huggies’ Movies for Babies for the 5th year in a row 👶
Michelle Rodriguez and Justice Smith are joining Chris Pine in the Dungeons and Dragons movie … Between this and Detective Pikachu, Justice Smith is cornering the market on role-playing game films 🐉
Jamie Lee Curtis is joining Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart in the Borderlands movie … that doesn’t make me less confused about it 🎮
You can now read the Nomadland script … but you have to do it while parked in an empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere 🚙
What to watch
In and Of Itself is a filmed off Broadway show currently available on Hulu. Just watch it. Trust me. The less you know the better.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!
New notables this week:
Clarice s1 (Feb 11) — CBS drama series prequel series to Silence of the Lambs, starring Rebecca Breeds and Kal Penn | 46% RT
There’s No “I” in Threesome (Feb 11) — HBO Max documentary feature about love and open relationships | No RT
Judas and the Black Messiah (Feb 12) — HBO Max movie about Black Panther party Chairman Fred Hampton and the FBI, starring Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemmons, and Martin Sheen | 98% RT
To All The Boys: Always And Forever (Feb 12) — Netflix romantic teen comedy threequel, starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo | No RT
Minari (Feb 12) — A24 (virtual screenings and theaters) immigrant family drama, starring Steven Yeun, Yeri Han, and Alan S. Kim | 98% RT
The Great North s1 (Feb 14) — Fox animated comedy series a la Bob’s Burgers, starring Will Forte, Megan Mullaly, Jenny Slate, and Nick Offerman | 100% RT
Before you go…
Thanks for reading! If you like this and aren’t already subscribed, please consider signing up or forwarding this email.
As always, Tuesday and Wednesday editions are free, while the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday editions are accessible via monthly or the more-affordable yearly subscription. You can subscribe or upgrade via the ‘Subscribe Now’ button below.
Thoughts? Reply to this email or hit me up @alexrab on Twitter.
About the author: Alex Rabinowitz has led the way on social media and story packaging at media outlets big and small. With his acclaimed Tumblr site PopCultureBrain.com, Alex became a leading figure in emerging social networks and entertainment news. Sourced by many top destinations, including New York Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Videogum, Pop Culture Brain was featured by BuzzFeed and TIME as the best pop culture blog on Tumblr. Alex's writing has appeared on The Huffington Post, GQ.com, Mic, and Time Warner Cable.