All posts tagged: hbo

HBO Chief Casey Bloys on Heated Rivalry Season 2, Emmy Noms

HBO Chief Casey Bloys on Heated Rivalry Season 2, Emmy Noms

Published by Daniella Wilson

Under creative chief Casey Bloys, as his staff is quick to remind, HBO has been dominating the Emmys for a while now. In the decade since the former development exec ascended to the top entertainment role (current title: chair and CEO of HBO and Max Content), the platform has had more nominations than any other in all but three years. That trend continued this year. Thanks to shows like The Pitt and Hacks, which collected the most (25) and second-most (24) noms, HBO garnered 122 total slots, eleven more than second-place Netflix, which some thought might take the 2026 crown.  AppleTV+ also had a very strong year — its 87 total noms were enough to lead combined drama and comedy categories — but it’s hard to deny that HBO still rules the game. And that’s without the platform’s buzziest show, Heated Rivalry, eligible for prizes. (The network acquired the Canadian series, and only U.S. productions are eligible.) Of course, things in television can change in a Pitt-like minute. And they well might, given that next year at this time HBO could be owned by David …

HBO’s Engaging but Shallow Burning Man Doc

HBO’s Engaging but Shallow Burning Man Doc

Published by Daniella Wilson

Blessed with impressive multi-year access to the Burning Man Festival, its participants and bureaucracy, but undone by indecisiveness in its structure, themes and purpose, Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi’s The Man Will Burn is an engaging puzzlement.  Over its rushed and disjointed four-hour running time, the HBO docuseries offers some sense of the community that Burning Man offers and cultivates, as well as its evolving infrastructure and internal political conflicts; some awareness of the inherent and overwhelming whiteness and privilege underlying the event; some insight into several tumultuous years in Burning Man’s history; and some interest in the challenges facing Burning Man as it looks to the future. But at nearly every turn, the series is overwhelmed by an excess of material and an insufficiency of clarity and rigor.  The Man Will Burn The Bottom Line Engaging, but rarely digs deep. Airdate: 9 p.m. Thursday, July 9Directors: Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi Ultimately, The Man Will Burn is a little too much of an extended commercial for an event that doesn’t need to advertise, and …

Rob Reiner Plays George Washington in Larry David, Obamas’ HBO Show

Rob Reiner Plays George Washington in Larry David, Obamas’ HBO Show

Published by Daniella Wilson

Late filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner appeared posthumously in this week’s episode of HBO‘s Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, where he portrayed George Washington and took a veiled swipe at President Trump. Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death at their Brentwood home on Dec. 14. Their son, Nick Reiner, was soon arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder; he is currently being held without bail while awaiting trial in Los Angeles. He has pleaded not guilty. On the new sketch comedy series from Larry David, executive produced in part by Barack and Michelle Obama through their Higher Ground production company, which aired its second episode on Friday, July 3, Reiner appeared as Washington before a crowd of colonists and announced he would not be running for a third term. “I believe that no man should serve more than two terms as president,” Reiner, as Washington, said. “And I hope that future presidents will follow my lead.” David, portraying a colonist, replied: “What if some future …

The 11 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month (July 2026)

The 11 Best TV Shows to Stream This Month (July 2026)

Published by skeptic

The good news, of course, is that there are 43 seasons of the campy classic to keep you occupied until a new plan is confirmed: the original 26 seasons are on BritBox and Tubi, while Gatwa’s two seasons will remain on Disney+, where they originated (in the US). But as of June 11, the first 13 seasons of the modern era, aka NuWho, have found a new home on AMC+. There, fan-favorite Doctors Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker are crashing through space and time to battle Daleks, outwit Weeping Angels, and save the universe all over again—all while proving what makes Doctor Who one of television’s most indelibly inventive series. Adventure Time: Side Quests In 2010, Pendleton Ward subverted typical cartoon tropes with Adventure Time, a surreal, coming-of-age sci-fi series that let its characters do what few other animated creations ever have: age. Now, the Land of Ooo is calling once again. Adventure Time: Side Quests, a companion to the original series developed by Nate Cash, a storyboard supervisor …

Robin Byrd, the Sex Godmother of Millennials, Says the Internet Ruined Porn

Robin Byrd, the Sex Godmother of Millennials, Says the Internet Ruined Porn

Published by skeptic

If you lived in New York City during the 1980s or 1990s, and you happened to stumble on Channel 35 after 10 pm, you would have seen her: a busty woman with dyed-blond hair in a black mesh bikini, beaming broadly as she gyrated against an adult film star or simulated fellatio on a half-naked male stripper. You knew her theme song (the rockabilly “Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box”), and you would have been able to repeat her catchphrases (“Lie back, get comfortable,” “don’t forget to wear your rubbers,” etc.). That woman was Robin Byrd, now 71, a former adult film star who became a local celebrity with her eponymous public access show, which ran from 1977 to 1998 (and still airs in reruns, provided you have old-school cable). Featuring a garish heart-shaped set and decades-old phone sex ads, The Robin Byrd Show featured Byrd interviewing a porn star or exotic dancer, who would then perform a striptease complete with unnecessarily lingering close-up shots. She’d close the show by dancing to her theme song …

John Oliver Jokes About Reflecting Pool

John Oliver Jokes About Reflecting Pool

Published by Daniella Wilson

John Oliver likened the current condition of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. to “sex with the Grinch” on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight. “Another of Trump‘s pet projects continues to unravel,” the host said of the pool’s $15 million renovation, which hasn’t gone as planned. The upgrades included fixing leaks, adding a blue lining and installing something called “nanobubblers” that were aimed at preventing algae. However, the pool has recently been affected by peeling paint and a resurface in algae. On Sunday, Trump blamed vandals for the issues. “The Reflecting Pool is now in full use after suffering great damage from Criminal, Radical Left Vandals, people that truly hate our Country,” he posted on Truth Social. “They cut the lower surface of a very expensive and strong waterproof padding, in the color of American Flag Blue, and put their hands underneath the surface, and ripped it. Likewise, they cut and butchered a 350 foot long strip, with many 1 and 2 foot individual cuts, creating great damage to this beautiful piece of art …

10 Best Prime Day Streaming Deals, Including Half Off Apple TV (2026)

10 Best Prime Day Streaming Deals, Including Half Off Apple TV (2026)

Published by skeptic

Prime Day deal: $1 a month for two months, then regular price That’s right: Any of 29 seasons of South Park. Every sociopathic Tyler Sheridan Texas melodrama. All for a buck a month for two months. After this, it’s back to regular price. Regular price: $14 a month Prime Day deal: $1 a month for two months, then regular price I don’t need to tell you who you are. If you’re the sort of person who spends your sunny months indoors watching the palest people on earth have relationship problems, diabolical mysteries, and/or sardonic ennui, here’s some Britbox! It’s a buck a month for the first two months before returning back to its normal monthly price. Regular price: $11 a month Prime Day deal: $1 a month for two months, then regular price MGM Plus is a perfect candidate for a $1 trial subscription. You get access to a bunch of movies, like Fargo, that you may want to revisit. But among the series, you’re probably just going to get intentionally creeped out by From, …

A Jay-Z HBO Documentary Is Coming This Fall

A Jay-Z HBO Documentary Is Coming This Fall

Published by Jenni Sidey

Jay-Z’s year of offense continues. With today marking the official 30 year-anniversary of Reasonable Doubt and fans gear up for a Jigga Summer with his impending takeover of Yankee Stadium for a full weekend in July, it appears Jay has plans to keep his run of being outside so to speak going well into the fall. HBO just announced a new documentary, Jay-Z in 8, directed by Rick Rubin where the legendary rapper and legendary producer sit down—in a casually rich and ornate setting, of course—to discuss Jay’s “music, lyrics, life experiences, and creative process.” This is a big deal for the simple fact that Jay doesn’t really talk, at all. Before his April GQ cover story, it had been close to a decade since his last honest-to-goodness interview. Now he’s gotten the bug to keep talking, and to a yapper like Rick Rubin, for an eight-part series. Jay and Rick are no strangers when it comes to chopping it up on camera. Rick provides one of the most memorable scenes of Jay’s 2004 documentary …

The Best Movies to Stream This Month (June 2026)

The Best Movies to Stream This Month (June 2026)

Published by skeptic

Temperatures may be soaring, but there’s an unseasonable chill on screens right now—at least when it comes to some of the movie offerings hitting streaming services this month. Director Yorgos Lanthimos delivers a twisted take on Frankenstein in Poor Things on Netflix, while Shudder digs up painful family secrets and adds a side of demonic possession in The Voices of Our Mother. If you fancy some summer scares that are a bit more Halloween-grade, Netflix also has I Am Frankelda, a mesmerizing tour of a world of monsters and living nightmares, brought to life in stunning stop-motion. There are also plenty of retro delights surfacing on streamers this month that are more than worth a rewatch. Hulu reinstalls Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which lands very differently in 2026; Criterion Channel is declassifying Sean Connery’s first outings as 007, with Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger coming to the specialist platform; and Prime Video brings all three Bill & Ted films back to the future (sorry). Here are WIRED’s picks of the best movies …

10 Best Prime Day Streaming Deals, Including Half Off Apple TV (2026)

Prime Day Streaming Deals 2026: HBO, Paramount Plus, Crunchyroll

Published by skeptic

Prime Day deal: $1 a month for two months, then regular price I don’t need to tell you who you are. If you’re the sort of person who spends your sunny months indoors watching the palest people on earth have relationship problems, diabolical mysteries, and/or sardonic ennui, here’s some Britbox! It’s a buck a month for the first two months before returning back to its normal monthly price. Regular price: $11 a month Prime Day deal: $1 a month for two months, then regular price MGM Plus is a perfect candidate for a $1 trial subscription. You get access to a bunch of movies, like Fargo, that you may want to revisit. But among the series, you’re probably just going to get intentionally creeped out by From, because it’s a wonderful little creepshow. Then maybe you’ll watch a few episodes of The Institute, hoping for the same. And then you’re going to go get a different subscription. Funimation and Crunchyroll are combining forces as relatively new entrants to anime like Netflix and Hulu are throwing …