On My List: Heated Rivalry TV Series

Since hockey romances aren't my usual genre of books, I had no idea about Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid let alone that it was adapted into a TV series. Funny enough I used to be a big hockey fan but for some reason I must have lost interest in it. I certainly don't know the names of any of the players on my local national hockey team that's for sure. I don't remember the last time I watched. But I'm sure if I wanted to, I could probably go back to watching it. Anyway, back to this new show, Heated Rivalry, I'm not sure if this is a TV series or a miniseries, either way, the first season has six episodes. And the first two episodes premiered yesterday (Friday, Nov. 28th) and the other four episodes will be released on Fridays (December: 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th).

The show seems interesting because despite progress in the LGBTQ+ community, there is still unfortunately plenty of hate and homophobia in the world directed at that community. And with Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov being professional athletes, them being open about their sexuality is probably not going to get the positive reception that it should. Which is probably why they are keeping what they're doing a secret. Since I never read the book (maybe I will), I don't know how this will turn out. Will they get the chance to be themselves and have both their careers and love/relationship? Or will they have to continue to keep everything a secret as not to lose everything?

I'm trying to see when I'll start watching this because do I want to read the book first then watch the show or just watch the show and read the book later? I also still need to watch the first part of Stranger Things' fifth season. I didn't get a chance to watch it when it premiered on Wednesday and I have been avoiding spoilers ever since. Anyway, since I want to watch both shows, I just need to figure out which one to watch first.


Heated Rivalry (HBO Max in the United States and Crave in Canada)

Starring: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Callan Potter, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova, François Arnaud, Dylan Walsh and more

Creator: Jacob Tierney

Based on: The book Heated Rivalry (Game Changers book #2) by Rachel Reid

Description:

Two rival hockey stars, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, are at the top of their game, face an unexpected challenge when they develop feelings for each other, complicating their careers and the sport's expectations.

Trailer: The Parenting

Why am I just now finding out about this horror comedy movie, The Parenting. It's stressful enough meeting your significant other's parents but then to meet them while staying in a haunted house. Yeah, that's beyond stressful.

I just love finding these random movies. The Parenting was released March 13th but I never heard anything about it. Anyone else heard about this movie? I only found out about it when I spotted the trailer and watch it. This looks like a totally ridiculous movie that I can't wait to watch.


The Parenting (HBO Max)

Starring: Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris, Vivian Bang, Parker Posey and more

Director: Craig Johnson

Writers: Kent Sublette

Description:

A couple, Josh and Rohan plan a weekend getaway to introduce their parents, only to discover that their rental is home to a 400-year-old poltergeist.

What's On Tonight: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, 9-1-1, Elsbeth and Station 19

Happy Thursday! What are you watching tonight?

I'm cutting this close, so I'm going to make this short. Pretty Little Liars has been really interesting and I can't wait to watch tonight's episode.

It's the season for finale for 9-1-1 and it looks like the drama from last week's episode will continue. This season there's hasn't been a lot of emergencies, it's mostly been the characters' personal drama which isn't bad but for a show about first responders you do expect to see emergencies. Hopefully, next season there will be more emergences to balance out the personal drama.

As for Station 19, I can't believe it's series finale. This is such a good show, it's so disappointing that it was cancelled. I really wish it had been picked up by another network or streaming service. I wonder how the Showrunner and writers will close out the characters' stories. I at least hope no one will die in the finale.


Anytime

Prety Litle Liars: Summer School season 2 episode 5: Friday the 13th                                                         HBO MAX

Description:

After a disturbing discovery, the PLLs start to question Dr Sullivan's intentions.

What's On Tonight: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, 9-1-1, Elsbeth and Station 19

Happy Thursday! What are you watching tonight?

Since 9-1-1 was moved to Thursday night I've gotten so used to taping it then watching it later. So, I figured I would continue with my routine. Tonight I'll watch Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Elsbeth and then Station 19.

I just got caught up with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and I can't wait to watch the new episode. I have some questions about Bloody Rose and I'm hoping by end of the season they will be answered. As for Elsbeth, it's been moved up an hour (airing at 9:00 PM) and tonight's eisode is the season finale. The mystery centers around the world of fashion when a fashion photographer is murdered. And last is Station 19 and the firefighters are dealing with a big wildfire that not only could put the city at risk but themselves as well.


Anytime

Prety Litle Liars: Summer School season 2 episode 4: When a Stranger Calls Back                                                         HBO MAX

Description:

Following an encounter with Bloody Rose, the quest for the genuine Rose Waters commences.

Trailer: Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin season 2: Summer School trailer

There are so many TV shows on that I somehow missed that the Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin season 2: Summer School premiered on May 9th on HBO MAX. So, far the first three episodes have aired and the fourth is out tomorrow. New episodes will air every Thursdays with the final epsidode airing on June 20th.

Just when they thought going to summer school was bad enough, they have to deal with yet another mysterious killer. This looks really good, I can't wait to start watching it. Tomorrow I'm going to watch the first three episodes so I'll be caught for the new episode.

Trailer: The Girls on the Bus

Are you looking for something new to watch? The Girls on the Bus premiered today on HBO Max with the first two episodes. The rest of the episodes will be released on Thursday. The show is a dramady set in the political world as the show centers around four journalist.

Okay, this looks good, I really want to know what scandal they uncover. I guess I have to watch it to find out. I may have found some new favorite fictional journalists to add to my list.


The Girls on the Bus     HBO Max

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Natasha Behnam, Christina Elmore, Carla Gugino, Brandon Scott, Scott Foley, Mark Consuelos and more

Created by: Amy Chozick and Julie Plec

Inspired by: The book Chasing Hilary by Amy Chozick

Description:

Four female journalists who follow the every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, finding friendship, love, and a scandal that could take down not just the presidency but our entire democracy along the way.

Teaser Trailer: Our Flag Means Death season 2

Okay, this second season for Our Flag Means Death which will premiere Thursday, October 5th on HBO Max, looks good. I guess the Edward Teach is truly living up to his terrorizing legend as the evil pirate Blackbeard. I’m thinking I may have to rewatch the first season in anticipation of this upcoming season 2. It's been a while since I've watched it and I want to immerse myself back into the stories and all the weird and zany characters again. I really can't wait to see this.

Trailer: Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai TV Series

I'm so glad I saw this trailer because I totally forgot Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai animated series was even being released. The series premieres Tuesday, May 23rd on HBO Max and I am so ready to see this. It's looks really good.

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai (HBO Max)

Starring: James Hong, Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, Izaac Wang, Matthew Rhys, Gabrielle Nevaeh, A.J. LoCascio, Randall Park, Sandra Oh, Bowen Yang, George Takei, Zach Galligan and more

Creator: Tze Chun

Based On: the movie Gremlins written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante

Description:

Tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Along with a teenage street thief named Elle, Sam and Gizmo take a perilous journey through the Chinese countryside, encountering, and sometimes battling, colorful monsters and spirits from Chinese folklore. On their quest to return Gizmo to his family and uncover a legendary treasure, they are pursued by a power-hungry industrialist and his growing army of evil Gremlins.

On My List: Two Shows I Want to Watch: Velma and Wolf Pack

I'm on a supernatural kick but I don't feel like rewatching Supernatural (at least not right now), so I found two new shows that I'm interested in watching: Velma and Wolf Pack. Although both shows premiered back in January (the 12th for Velma and the 26th for Wolf Pack), I never got around to watching either one. At least there's a bright side to this, all the episodes for the first season of Velma have already aired, the season finale (10th episode) just aired last Thursday (Feb. 9th). Meanwhile Wolf Pack is still airing new episodes every Thursday.

Although, both shows have received mixed review (with a lot of them leaning toward the negative), I'm still interested in watching them. I know Velma is a different take on the world of Scooby-Doo with a focus on Velma Dinkley and it's made for adults. And Wolf Pack is about teen werewolves but with absolutely no connection to the Teen Wolf TV Series (despite both shows being created by Jeff Davis). However, it feels like a missed opportunity not to have linked the shows but I guess he wanted Wolf Pack to be a standalone series since it's based on the Wolf Pack book series by Edo Van Belkom (which I haven't read).

I'll start watching both shows either tomorrow or this weekend, most likely this weekend which would give me more time to watch more episodes.

Velma (HBO Max)

Description:

The origin of the sleuth and member of the Mystery Inc. gang, Velma.

Entertainment News #22: Cancelled DC Comics Shows and Renewed FOX Animated Series

- The cancelled shows list keeps growing and you can now add the two DC Comics shows Titans and Doom Patrol. Both shows were cancelled by HBO Max and will end with the current fourth season. Although both shows recently released the first half of the fourth season, they will return with the last six episodes sometime later this year. I've never watched either show (although I'd plan to watch both but never got around to it), so I don't know how good or bad they are but I have heard mixed reviews for Titans.

- As for renewed shows, FOX has renewed the animated series: The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers for two seasons each. The Simpsons which is known as the longest-running scripted series is renewed the 35th and 36th seasons. Family Guy for the 22nd and 23rd seasons and Bob’s Burgers for seasons 14th and 15th.

Entertainment News #21: Harley Quinn, Harlem, NCIS: Los Angeles and Cancelled Shows

- The Harley Quinn animated series will have a Valentine's Day special, Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special. It will premiere Thursday, February 9th on HBO Max. I really can't wait to see this.

Description:

As Harley goes to obsessive lengths to ensure that her first Valentine’s Day with Ivy is the best ever, Bane’s efforts to impress an unexpected date go horribly awry. Meanwhile, after an unfortunate online dating encounter, Clayface engages in some self-love.

Entertainment News #20: Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special, Gossip Girl, M3GAN, K.C. Undercover, Bel-Air

- The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always 30th Anniversary Special will premiere Wednesday, April 19th on Netflix. According to reports, the special will have the Rangers reuniting to deal with a familiar threat from the past. In the midst of a global crisis, they are called on once again to be the heroes the world needs.

Starring in the special are David Yost (Billy Cranston/Blue Power Ranger), Walter E. Jones (Zack Taylor/Black Ranger), Catherine Sutherland (Katherine "Kat" Hillard/Pink Power Ranger), Steve Cardenas (Rocco "Rocky" DeSantos/Red Power Ranger), Karan Ashley (Aisha Campbell/Yellow Power Ranger) and Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam Park/Black Power Ranger).

The special will also feature Barbara Goodson (who was the voice of Rita Repulsa), Richard Horvitz (who was the voice of Alpha 5) and a surprising new character Minh (played by Charlie Kersh) who is the daughter of original Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan.

Entertainment News #16: Luther, Velma, Harley Quinn and Witches

- I'm excited to hear that Idris Elba will be reprising his popular character John Luther for the upcoming Netflix movie Luther: The Fallen Sun. The movie is scheduled to be released sometime in March 2023. According to reports, the movie is about a gruesome serial killer is terrorizing London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary. Also, appearing in the film is Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis and Dermot Crowley. The movie is written by Neil Cross and directed by Jamie Payne.

(Luther: The Fallen Sun)

Entertainment News #14: Henry Cavill, WestWorld, Superman & Lois and Dreamer

- There's an unfortunate update to the Henry Cavill news I posted back in Entertainment News #12. Back then I reported that he left his role as Geralt from the Netflix TV series The Witcher to return to his role as Superman. Well bad news for us Superman fans, Cavill posted a statement (below) on his Instagram account stating that he will no longer be playing Superman. I guess he doesn't fit the new Warner Bros. Discovery executives' plans for their vision of the DC Comics movies. They really should have let him know they changed their minds about his involvement before he quit his job based on what they had initially told him.

It's disappointing because although I had issues with his performance in Man of Steel (it felt like he was told or directed to be as wooden as possible), but it was so much better in Batman v Superman and Justice League. Here's hoping that the next role Cavill gets will be something that's really amazing.

(Credit: Henry Cavill    Instagram: henrycavill)

Entertainment News #8: Cancelled Shows, Shelved Movies and a Show Ending

- Netflix cancels the TV series First Kill after one season. I believe one of the reasons why Netflix keeps losing subscribers is due to the company constantly cancelling TV series. Viewers are not going to continue investing their time into series if the company can't be bothered to do the same. And they barely promoted this show before it premiered.

I don't like how now of days, networks and streaming services do the bare minimum when it comes to promoting shows and then expect fans and viewers to watch something they didn't know existed. Or networks and streaming services expect fans to do the promotion for them which is a lazy approach to marketing. It's disappointing this series was cancelled because it actually was rather interesting and I had hoped it would get another season to really delve more into the story.

On My List: April 11th

It's Monday, the beginning of a new week and I was wondering what's on your list? What books, shows and movies have you found or caught your interest?

Well, here's this week's list:


Books I Want to Read:

I found three interesting books, a music and magic fantasy, a supernatural romantic comedy and a contemporary story about a ballet dancer having to re-evaluate her dreams. These are three books that I really want to read. I really love finding and reading so many different stories.

Book: Maybe a Mermaid by Josephine Cameron

Description:

A summer romp full of mystery, new friends, and maybe a mermaid!

Eleven-year-old Anthoni Gillis is not the kind of kid who believes in fairies, unicorns, or even the word “maybe.” She’s more of a comic-books girl. So when her mom brings her to Thunder Lake for a summer at the Showboat Resort, she doesn’t believe the local rumors about the Boulay Mermaid.

Anthoni has bigger fish to fry. She’s always wanted a True Blue Friend. But it’s been hard to find one, since for the past five years she’s been bouncing from town to town, helping her mother sell Beauty & the Bee cosmetic products to keep them both afloat. This summer will be different, though. Anthoni has a plan―a foolproof checklist for making lifelong friends! There won’t be any maybes this time.

But as she grows entangled in local gossip, and her mother stretches the truth, Anthoni must decide if she’ll “stick to the plan,” like always, or dive into a summer full of extraordinary possibilities.

Josephine Cameron’s energetic and heartfelt debut raises timeless questions about truth, lies, and the hope that grows between them.

Trailer: Close Enough Season 3

Who said being an adult was easy? Well, at least the Close Enough animated series makes it look fun. These characters are so dysfunctional but you can't help loving them. I absolutely loved watching the first two seasons, this show is so crazy, weird and funny. The third season premieres on Thursday, April 7th on HBO Max and I'm really excited to see it, I just love this show.

Close Enough (HBO Max)

Starring: J.G. Quintel, Gabrielle Walsh, Jason Mantzoukas, Kimiko Glenn, Jessica DiCicco, James Adomian, Danielle Brooks and more

General Description:

From HBO Max and JG Quintel, comes Close Enough, a surreal animated comedy about a married couple, their five-year-old daughter, and their two divorced best friends/roommates all sharing a cramped apartment on the east side of Los Angeles. Their life may not be ideal but for now, it's close enough.

Trailer: Our Flag Means Death

I love finding new shows and one I've been hearing non-stop good things about is the comedy Our Flag Means Death. I believe there's only 10 episodes for the first season and if the reception for the show has been being so positive maybe it'll be renewed for a second season. Anyway, the trailer definitely looks funny and if the show is as funny as it is then I can't wait to see it.

Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)

Starring: Rhys Darby, Joel Fry, Samson Kayo, Nathan Foad, Matthew Maher, Kristian Nairn, Samba Schutte, Ewen Bremner, Con O'Neill, Vico Ortiz, Taika Waititi and more

Description:

Stede Bonnet, a pampered aristocrat, abandons his life of privilege to become a pirate in the early 18th century.

Trailer: DMZ Miniseries

The new miniseries, DMZ which premiered today on HBO Max is based on the DMZ comic book series that's written by Brian Wood with illustrations by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. This looks like an intense drama that has a mother looking for her son who is lost somewhere in the middle of a war. I've never read the comic book series but the trailer for the show seems interesting. I believe there are only four episodes in this miniseries and I'm interested in seeing how the story goes and to see if she actually finds her son. DMZ

DMZ

Starring: Rosario Dawson, Benjamin Bratt, Hoon Lee, Venus Ariel, Jordan Preston Carter, Reynaldo Gallegos, Juani Feliz and more

Description:

DMZ leaps off the pages of the acclaimed DC graphic novel into the visual landscape of a dangerous and distorted Manhattan as one woman navigates a demilitarized zone in a harrowing quest to find her lost son.

What documentary or special do you want to watch?

At the moment there aren't any documentaries that I'm interested in seeing. However, I want to watch all of the reunion specials on HBO Max: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends and Harry Potter. I need to find time to sit back, relax with a cup of tea and some snacks and watch all these specials. This makes me want to do a best of mini marathon of both shows and movies before watching these specials.