Oscar hopeful is 'a flaming hot mess'

And the mermaid butt is back

What to know

• Early reactions to Damien Chazelle’s Babylon are all over the place… Some are calling it "a flaming hot mess” while others are praising it as a “dazzling, dizzying, cacophony.” Based on these reactions, my guess is it’s not headed for award season. Unless the Golden Globes will like it? Which is entirely possible. Love it or hate it, the movie is eliciting strong reactions — so while it might not be good, at least we know it will be interesting. 👀

• David Zaslav says there will be a unified DC, “there’s not going to be 4 Batmans”… This tracks with what we’ve heard from James Gunn and Peter Safran and their plans to tell “one big story.” Though it might also mean that a multiverse isn’t how they’re going to do it — because that could mean multiple versions of the same character. Without a multiverse, I’m not sure how they’re going to square the various DC worlds running right now. For example, the Harley Quinn animated series, Joker Folie a Deux, Peacemaker, and The Batman all pull from a shared bucket of characters. 🤔

• David Zaslav also says the ad market is tanking… No bueno. 😨

• New Princess Diaries sequel in the works; Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are serious about a Freaky Friday sequel and claim Disney is interested… If Disney owns it and it has some level of nostalgic, cult fanbase, you can bet it’s considering a legacy sequel. Did you see how well Hocus Pocus 2 did? Surely these developments are off the back of that — and the general glow off Top Gun Maverick. It’s interesting how things have swung back from full-on reboots (new cast, story starts over) to legacy sequels (same cast, continuation of the story). It seems the latter is more bankable? 🐭

• Beyoncé tops Grammy nominations… No surprise there. Queen B has added 9 more nominations to her career total of 88 — which coincidentally ties the record held by the guy she’s married to. That might lead to an awkward dinner conversation. Meanwhile, the Grammys also nominated Dave Chappelle and Louis CK in the comedy album category, because of course they did. 🏆

• Netflix will now let you log out of individual devices as part of password-sharing crackdown… This is a great development actually. Netflix is giving power to the customers to police password sharing, rather than breaking up the party itself. Users will now have the power to kick unwanted moochers off their account. The free ride is over for your ex’s brother’s roommate. 🍿

• Vince Mancini: “In defense of having opinions”… After his thoughtful piece on Wakanda Forever yesterday, Uproxx critic Mancini wrote another post that caught my eye. His main thrust: It’s OK to like what you like and dislike what you don’t. Not everything has to be for everyone. Seems basic, but it’s worthy repeating. 👏

• Seth Rogen to write, direct, and star in film industry comedy series for Apple… It’s about time Rogen comes to TV proper. Is this his version of Entourage? The film industry is certainly something he knows a lot about. Should be good. 🍎

• Ticketmaster crashes amid Taylor Swift fan demand… Hug the Swiftie in your life, they had a rough day. Even Netflix got in a crack about the Swift tickets mayhem. 🎫

• Cinema’s most famous mermaid butt is back on Disney+… Our long-running national nightmare is over. 🧜‍♀️

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What’s new

• The Santa Clauses — Nov 16 | Disney+ holiday series | 🍅

• A Christmas Story Christmas — Nov 17 | HBO Max holiday movie | 🍅

• 1899 — Nov 17 | Netflix horror drama series | 🍅 80%

• Fleishman Is in Trouble — Nov 17 | Hulu drama series | 🍅 82%

• The People We Hate at the Wedding — Nov 18 | Amazon comedy movie | 🍅

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What to watch

If I told you that Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi have been starring in a TV comedy for the last 3 years, would you believe me? Such is the case of our post-peak TV world. Two pretty big movie stars can team up for dozens of super funny episodes and fly completely under the radar. But it’s true, Miracle Workers is a TBS anthology comedy (currently available in full on HBO Max) created by the brilliant Simon Rich (SNL, Man Seeking Woman, An American Pickle), starring a repertory cast that includes Radcliffe, Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni, and Jon Bass. Like a humorous American Horror Story, each season tells a different story with the same cast. The first season is a surreal, high concept allegory about the people who run heaven (Buscemi is a bored God, Radcliffe is a grunt who withholds miracles), while season two is a Medieval times-set reflection on small town life (Radcliffe is a spoiled prince, Buscemi is a literal shit shoveler). Season 3 is a self-aware western set on the Oregon trail (Radcliffe a buttoned-up reverend, Buscemi an outlaw with a heart of gold). Season 3 also happens to include a shirtless, glitterized Radcliffe performing a techno rendition of “She’s Comin’ Round the Mountain” that is worth the price of admission alone. Season 4, premiering in January, is set in a Mad Max-esque post apocalypse. Each season covers themes of love, family, class struggles, purpose, and the meaning of life. You know, the small stuff. Radcliffe and Buscemi are both excellent across the series and bring believability to Simon Rich’s big ideas. All of this might sound a little preposterous, but I promise you it’s 100% real.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!