Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Spring Break Edition

My Facebook feed this week has been filled with vacation photos from all my friends who are enjoying spring break and I have to admit that I’m a little jealous. I’m about a month away from my vacation and I’ve been so busy lately that I could use a few days of R&R. Of course most of my friends are vacationing with their children who are on break, so I’m not sure how relaxing their vacations actually are. Family trips are always an adventure – whether you want them to be or not.

So while I long for a few days off, get yourself caught up on all the pop culture that you might have missed with this week’s roundup. A perfect way to kill a morning if you are taking a staycation.

Television

• The Roots are developing two children’s series with Amazon.
• Kill some time with this Game of Thrones theory generator until new episodes drop in July.
• Hulu renews The Path.
• A Deadwood revival script has been delivered to HBO.
• MTV is bringing back Fear Factor. Ludacris will host.
• Netflix renews Grace and Frankie for a fourth season.
• Jay Pharoah discusses his firing from SNL.
• RuPaul’s Drag Race has been renewed for a tenth season.
• Steve Buscemi, Greg Kinnear, and Mireille Enos have joined the anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams.
• TNT will not go forward with a TV adaptation of Let The Right One In.
• Comedy Central ordered a pilot from YouTube star Franchesca Ramsey.
• Comedy Central orders three new series.
• WGN America has canceled Outsiders.
• Ryan Phillippe to guest star on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as a potential love interest for Gina.
• John Legend is teaming up with a virtual reality start-up for a series based on a Native American folk tale.
• The Walking Dead has promoted three actors to series regulars.
• AMC has renewed Fear The Walking Dead for a fourth season.
• A female-led King Kong TV series is in development.
• Doctor Who street art.
• I really hope this story is true: Tracy Morgan allegedly thinks that his 30 Rock co-star Jack McBrayer’s name is Kenneth IRL.
• Tyler, The Creator wrote the theme song for Bill Nye’s new Netflix show.
• Iron Chef is officially returning.
• Fox is making Showtime At The Apollo a series hosted by Steve Harvey.
• While Claire Foy is likely out after two seasons as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown, Jenna Coleman will probably get to play Queen Victoria for a while on Victoria.
• Rust Cohle’s truck from True Detective could be yours.
• Ranking Hannah’s love interests on Girls.
• Alec Baldwin will be the new host of TCM’s The Essentials.
• The Tales From The Crypt reboot has hit another snafu.
• E! has renewed The Arrangement.
• The arrival date for Star Trek: Discovery in now unknown.
• Here’s what’s coming and going from Hulu in May. And coming to Amazon Prime.

Movies

• Jude Law will play Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts sequel.
• Contrary to initial rumors to the contrary, Carrie Fisher will not appear in Star Wars: Episode IX.
• Josh Brolin will play Cable in Deadpool 2.
• Sophie Turner slated to star in a time-traveling rom-com.
• Dolph Lundgren has joined the cast of Aquaman.
• James Gunn will return to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
• There are going to be a lot of post-credit scenes after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
• Shameik Moore will voice Spider-Man in an animated film.
• Chris Farley almost starred in Kingpin.
• Benedict Cumberbatch will play a con man in The Man in the Rockefeller Suit.
• The stars of Broad City will perform a live-read of Wayne’s World at Colossal Clusterfest.
• Robert Duvall has joined the cast of Steve McQueen’s Widows.
• Kevin Hart will star in the comedy Night School.
• The Rock wanted to play Jack Reacher.
• Roose Bolton (aka Michael McElhatton) will be in Justice League.
• Riz Ahmed joins The Sisters Brothers. Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly are already attached.
• Amy Schumer to star in and produce I Feel Pretty.
• Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are filming scenes for A Star Is Born at Coachella.
• Hellboy 3 ain’t happening, but Hellboy whiskey is.
• A sequel to Man From U.N.C.L.E. is being written.

Trailers

• Detroit:

 

• The Little House:

 

• The Bad Batch:

 

• American Assassin:

 

• Bloodline, final season:

 

• Drone:

 

• Netflix’s Dear White People:

 

• 6 Days:

 

• Orphan Black, season 5:

 

• The Hero:

 

• Beatriz at Dinner:

 

• Outlander, season 3:

 

• Gotham:

 

• The Hitman’s Bodyguard:

 

• Wakefield:

 

• Krypton:

 

• Lost in London:

 

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi:

 

• Wizard of Lies:

Music

• Kendrick Lamar’s new album dropped and it is lit.
• Lamar also released a video for the song “D.N.A.” that stars Don Cheadle:

• Lauryn Hill gave a surprise performance at Coachella.
• Radiohead’s Coachella’s set was plagued with technical difficulties.
• Bleachers released a new song.
• Korn has a new bassist – the 12-year-old son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo.
• TLC dropped a new single.
• Lana Del Ray worked with Sean Lennon and the Weeknd on her new album.
• Kevin Spacey and Billy Joel sang a duet at MSG.
• Gorillaz are going out on tour.
• A new single has been released from Chris Stapleton’s forthcoming album.
• Harry Styles debuted a new song on SNL.
• Lorde also debuted some new music.
• Lady Gaga released a new song after her Coachella performance.
• Dolly Parton’s life is now a college course.
• I’m kind of obsessed with the new single “Kissing Strangers” from DNCE and Nicki Manaj.
• John Oates reveals the stories behind some Hall & Oates hits.
• Glen Campbell will record one final album.

Theater

• Listen to the Groundhog Day musical cast album.
• Andy Karl, the star of Groundhog Day, was injured during previews.
• Kevin Spacey will host the Tony Awards this year.
• The Frozen Broadway musical has found its Elsa and Anna.
• The Hamilton George III transition has occurred between Taran Killam and Brian d’Arcy James.
• Carousel is returning to Broadway in 2018.

Stand-up

• Mike Birbigulia is going out on tour.
• Amy Schumer Presents Mark Normand: Don’t Be Yourself will premiere on Comedy Central in May.

Books

• Eddie Izzard is doing a book tour for his memoir.
• Stephen Colbert is turning his “Midnight Confessions” segment from The Late Show into a book.

Odds and Ends

• A permanent Jim Henson Exhibition will be housed in NYC’s Museum of the Moving Image after a successful Kickstarter campaign.
• Vulture Festival 2017 lineup has been announced. I’ll miss it this year, but it’s been fun in the past.
• Wiz Khalifa unveiled a mobile game about weed farming.
• The Rock and Vin Diesel’s feud has reportedly been squashed.
• The Rock dressed up as Pikachu for his daughter on Easter:

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A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock)

• Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag are having a baby.
• Sutton Foster and husband Ted Griffin have adopted a baby girl.
• Janet Jackson shares the first photo of her baby boy.
• Ira Glass and wife Anaheed Alani have filed for divorce.
• Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are splitting up. For real.
• Prosecutors in Chenango County claim parents were inspired to kill their son after watching Manchester By The Sea.
• Comedian Charlie Murphy has passed away at 57 after a battle with Leukemia.

Mashups and Supercuts

• Riz Ahmed and James Corden had a rap battle:

 

• A Rick and Morty mod for Grand Theft Auto V:

 

• A heavy metal cover of “Dancing Queen”:

 

• Mystery Science Theater 3000 takes on Stranger Things:

 

• The Force Awakens mashed up with The Last Jedi:

 

• Jimmy Kimmel and Matt Damon take their feud to the not so friendly skies:

 

• Classic love and heartbreak songs as Stephen King novels:

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A post shared by Butcher Billy (@thebutcherbilly)

 

• La La Land mashed up with lots of songs:

 

• Doug Funnie sings “Throw Some D’s”: