This year, I find myself in the surprising position of having to use up vacation time before the end of the year. I’ve never taken a ton of vacation – the last time I took one full week off was way back in 2010 – but this has never been an issue before. Normally I take an average of 10-15 days off for the year, but thanks to the craziness at work I’ve taken a total of four vacation days in 2017. I’m also accumulating time faster, thanks to my promotion, which means I have to burn off some days in the next month. However, since I just purchased a new car and it’s the holidays, it’s not really in my budget to go anywhere other than perhaps a day trip to NYC. So I’m planning a staycation, which is hopefully good news for all of you since that means I have time to go to the movies, catch up on streaming series, and maybe even write so that regular blog posts can once again resume. Honestly, I’m looking forward to a day of Netflix from my bed possibly more that I would be a trip to Hawaii.
So while I look forward to a gloriously lazy pop culture-filled few days off, get yourself caught up on what you might have missed with this week’s roundup.
Television
- Does this Game of Thrones casting news hint at a potential season 8 storyline?
- AMC has officially revealed what character will cross over from The Walking Dead to Fear The Walking Dead.
- CBS has cancelled Wisdom of the Crowd amid sexual assault allegations against star Jeremy Piven.
- Production will resume on House of Cards next month – without Kevin Spacey.
- GTL, baby – (most of) the original cast of Jersey Shore are reuniting for a new show.
- Damon Lindelof reveals new details about the Watchmen TV show.
- Netflix has renewed Mystery Science Theater 3000 for a second season.
- A lost Doctor Who episode written by Douglas Adams has been completed.
- Saoirse Ronan, James Franco and Kevin Hart will be the final SNL hosts of 2017; U2, SZA and Foo Fighters will be their respective musical guests.
- Tom Hardy will reunite with director Steven Knight for BBC adaptations of Charles Dickens novels.
- The Raid director Gareth Evans to work on a gangland drama for Cinemax.
- Nicollette Sheridan to play Alexis Carrington on the CW’s Dynasty reboot.
- Fred Armisen to star in a Spanish-language pilot for HBO.
- CBS has given Man with a Plan and Superior Donuts full second seasons.
- Jena Malone and Bill Baldwin have joined the cast of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Amazon series.
- Syfy’s Nightflyers will have a 10 episode first season.
- Amazon may stop releasing its pilots to the public.
- Neal Brennan, co-creator of Chappelle’s Show, is developing a late-night show.
- Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell will cover the Rose Parade live for Amazon.
- Meghan Markle will end her tenure on Suits after next season.
- The creators of HBO’s Confederate are “not actively” working on the series. Probably a smart move.
Movies
- Jude Law will reportedly join the cast of Captain Marvel.
- Dan Harmon says that he’s still working on a Community movie.
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will debut on Amazon Prime before hitting theaters.
- Andy Serkis, best known for his performance capture work, will play a regular human male in the comedy Flarsky.
- James Franco is indeed headed to the X-Men universe.
- The 2017 Gotham Awards winners were revealed.
- Daphne and Velma from Scooby Doo are getting their own live-action origin story film.
- Anna Kendrick and Danielle Brooks have signed on for Chris Morris’ new film.
- Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are in talks to reteam for The Aeronauts.
- Marvel creative wanted to cut the Awesome Mix from Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Marvel has 20 movies planned after Avengers 4.
- Robert Rodriguez is returning to his low-budget roots with a new feature that costs $7,000.
- A Mr. Rogers documentary will be released in 2018.
Trailers
- Avengers: Infinity War:
- 12 Strong:
- All The Money In The World:
- Paddington 2:
- Black Mirror, season 4:
- Drunk History, season 5:
- The Mercy:
- Smallfoot:
- A new season of HBO’s High Maintenance:
- El Camino Christmas:
- Journeyman:
- Mary Magdalene:
Best Friend From Heaven (I can’t even believe this is a real movie):
Music
- Grammy nominations have been announced.
- Beyoncé may collaborate with Elton John on new versions of Lion King songs.
- Here are winners of the 2017 Soul Train Awards.
- Mariah Carey had to postpone her Christmas tour due to illness.
- OK Go dropped a new music video for Obsession.
- Jay Z released short films for three songs on his 4:44 album.
- Eminem’s new album will be released before Christmas.
Stand-Up
- Craig Ferguson has a new Netflix special next month.
- Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher will release a new comedy album next week.
Theater
- The M. Butterfly Broadway revival with Clive Owen will close six weeks early.
- Sara Bareilles will return to Waitress.
- Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway run has been extended again.
Books
- The New York Times presents 100 notable books of 2017.
- Chris Colfer has landed a new book deal.
- Comedian Pete Homes has written a book.
Odds and Ends
- This week in sexual assault/harassment allegations: Richard Branson and Matt Lauer
- Julia Stiles and husband Preston J. Cook welcomed their first child, a baby boy.
- Actress Meghan Markle to marry Prince Harry in the Spring.
- Actor Bambadjan Bamba has publically announced that he is undocumented.
- Jennifer Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky have broken up.
- Speaking of J Law, this teenager in Florida looks remarkably like the actress.
- Actress Naya Rivera arrested for domestic battery against husband Ryan Dorsey.
- Musician and song writer Pete Moore has died. He was 79.
- Actor Rance Howard, father of Ron and Clint, has died. He was 89.
- Jazz musician Jon Hendricks has passed away. He was 96.
Mashups and Supercuts
- Sharing Things:
- The National covered another Bob’s Burgers song:
- Bono, Sean Penn, and Chris Martin performed a Frank Sinatra song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!: