Nashville, U.S.A. – Documentary Channel (DOC) is proud to announce the US television premiere of “Warrior Champions“ on June 10, 2012. An emotional and inspiring story of sacrifice and determination, “Warrior Champions“ follows a group of wounded American soldiers as they fight to turn their nightmares of war into Olympic dreams.

As little as a year after losing limbs and suffering paralysis after fighting for their country in Iraq, four brave men and women set out to do what many considered impossible – to compete in the Paralympic Games. Through failure, pain and triumph, “Warrior Champions“ follows these soldier athletes for a full year as they compete for their positions on the US Paralympic team. Though at times heart wrenching, the film is an uplifting testament to the human spirit that challenges every notion of what it means to be disabled.

Other special programming highlights for June include:

“This Way of Life“ an intimate portrait of a Maori family and their relationship with nature, adversity, their 50 wild horses and society at large.  Set against the stunning beauty of New Zealand’s rugged Ruahine Mountains, two parents struggle to instill in their six children the values of independence, courage and happiness.  Cultivating the magic in the everyday while turning hardship into a meaningful and satisfying life, the family has little in the way of material possession but enjoys a physicality most people today can only dream about.

“His & Hers”, award-winning director Ken Wardrop’s intimate gender and cultural snapshot exploring a woman’s relationships with the men in her life – father, boyfriend, husband, son – through the voices of 70 women.  From kitchens, living rooms and hallways across the Irish midlands, ”His & Hers” tells a 90-year-old love story through little girl to old woman, each character portrait woven with the next to create one perfectly crafted cinematic quilt to celebrate both men and the women who love them.  US Television Premiere

“Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal“ an unprecedented exploration of the growing epidemic of spree killings in America.  The first documentary film to look at the so called “going postal” phenomenon through the lens of the mounting socio-economic changes that have swept over this country, “Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal” examines the basic question of what brings a seemingly normal person to the point of committing mass murder, studying the complex interplay of personal and societal factors leading to incidents of workplace massacres, starting with the earliest deadly post office killings in 1986.

Documentary Channel (DOC) is the USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films and the independent documentary filmmaker, providing viewers with round-the-clock opportunities to see fascinating, eclectic and award-winning documentary films of all lengths and genres.

Image Courtesy of  CHEN WS / Shutterstock.com

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Santa Monica, U.S.A. – TV Land is giving one of the original “Kings of Comedy” his own sitcom! Laugh-out-loud comedians Cedric “The Entertainer” and Niecy Nash star in the network’s newest original series, “The Soul Man” (formerly known as “Have Faith”), which begins production this week for a total of 12 episodes.

It was announced on April 28, by Keith Cox, executive vice president, development and original programming, TV Land. “The Soul Man” premieres Wednesday, June 20 at 10pm ET/PT, immediately followed by the season two premiere of TV Land’s hit sitcom, “ The Exes,” which stars Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), Wayne Knight (“Seinfeld”), David Alan Basche (“The Starter Wife”), Kelly Stables (“Two and a Half Men”) and Kristen Johnston (“3rd Rock From The Sun”).

“The Soul Man” revolves around R&B superstar-turned-minister Reverend Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine (played by Cedric) who was living the high life in Las Vegas at the top of the music charts (see the video for his 80′s hit, “Sex Wichoo” here) when he gets the calling to go from soul singer to soul saver.

Relocating to St. Louis with his wife, Lolli (Nash) and his daughter, Lyric (Jazz Raycole) to take over  the preaching duties in his father’s church - his family is not exactly eager to give up the fabulous superstar life for a humble one. The Reverend Boyce character originally appeared in a season two episode of “Hot in Cleveland” and a spinoff was developed by Cedric and “Hot in Cleveland” creator Suzanne Martin.

The comedy also stars John Beasley (“Everwood”) as Boyce’s father, Barton; Wesley Jonathan (“What I Like About You”) as his brother, Stamps; and Raycole (“My Wife and Kids”) as his daughter.

“We are beyond thrilled to have Cedric, Niecy and the whole cast become part of the ever-growing TV Land family,” said Cox. “We know that Cedric and Niecy’s chemistry coupled with a top-notch comedic cast will definitely make this sitcom pop.”

Cedric and Martin will serve as executive producers for “The Soul Man,” along with Eric Rhone and Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions, who also executive produce “Hot in Cleveland.” Keith Cox and Larry W. Jones will be executive producers for TV Land. Phoef Sutton (“Cheers”) is the showrunner and Stan Lathan (“The Steve Harvey Show”) serves as the director. The series is filmed in front of a live studio audience.

Please log onto www.tvlandpress.com for up-to-the-minute information, press releases and photos.

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KAE a leading strategic marketing and research consultancy and Toluna, a global pioneer in online polls, surveys and opinions have teamed up to release a major new study illustrating how large manufacturers could lose out if Apple launches a physical TV set.

Overall, the study highlighted that 25% of consumers in the US find the idea appealing and would buy it once it becomes commercially available – compared to 30% in the UK. Consumers that already own at least one Apple device are more likely to buy an Apple TV set, 2 in 5 (US 38% – UK 43%) find the idea appealing and would purchase should the product become available.

Lee Powney, Chief Commercial Officer at KAE said: “The huge potential of an Apple TV set, although impressive, should not be seen in isolation. Such a move would be an incredibly powerful extension of the iOS platform, accessed via a more compelling device option than Apple’s current offering (Apple TV).

It would create new monetisation opportunities for developers and accessory manufacturers by bringing the Apple experience further into the home. This would strengthen both the ecosystem and the benefits that consumers derive from owning many differing Apple devices. Will Apple do this? The pressure to maintain the lion’s share of preference from ecosystem members and create additional device-to-device interaction benefits for consumers means it should do this, and must do this.”

Sony, Samsung and LG are the market-leading brands most likely to suffer should Apple decide to launch its mooted Apple TV concept. In the UK, a sizeable 38% of current Sony TV owners and 36% of Samsung TV owners claimed they find the idea of an Apple TV appealing and would buy one. In the US, the brand most at risk from the concept is LG, where 3 in 10 (31%) of owners would be likely to convert should an Apple TV become available.

Approximately 3 in 5 US consumers questioned who were very likely to buy the TV said they trust Apple to produce a high quality TV set (59%), a sentiment echoed by UK consumers (62%). Design also features highly in respondents’ reasons to purchase with over half of all those likely to buy claiming that Apple’s reputation in ground-breaking design would no doubt also be used in TV (52% in US and 58% in the UK).

MD of KAE, David Rankin,: “Although this wave of research looked only at the USA and UK, we believe that the greatest revenue opportunities in 2013-15 for an Apple TV set are clustered in the ‘home territories’ of Apple’s TV competitors – i.e. Japan, Korea and China. We’re excited at the prospect of measuring that potential and the impact that success will have on Apple’s share price.”

Consumers were asked which features they felt an Apple TV set would be equipped with: The top anticipated feature for potential customers of the unconfirmed Apple TV set is similar for both countries, which is the ability to connect to the internet (73% in the US & 75% in the UK).

The other top features selected by potential US customers were running apps on TV (44%) and the ability to synchronise automatically with other Apple devices (41%). For the UK market the other two main features expected were the ability to synchronise automatically with other Apple devices (47%) and for the device to be 3D enabled (41%).

This survey is the latest in a series by KAE conducted to assess Apple’s potential to extend into new categories. To view previous research please visit http://tinyurl.com/84uozly 

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Paul F. Tompkins returns to COMEDY CENTRAL in the world premiere of his original one-hour stand-up special, “Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions,” debuting Saturday, April 21 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Before achieving success as a comedian, actor, and writer, Tompkins toiled in the ranks of the common working man, and he shares some of his incredible experiences in this all-new special.

Using his trademark storytelling style, Tompkins recounts his stint as a disgruntled hat salesman, his evolution into a sticky-fingered video store clerk, and how hosting VH1′s “Best Week Ever” led to inadvertently donning women’s undergarments.  With his fist raised high, Tompkins delivers a rousing hour of comedy to a raucous audience at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA.

The “Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions” extended and uncensored DVD with 30 minutes of material not seen in broadcast will be released on April 24 by COMEDY CENTRAL Home Entertainment.

The bonus features include: “Director’s Commentary by a Director,” a series of musings on the full special from Tompkins, impersonating a famous director; an additional 16 minutes of show in the form of “Danny Boy Encore;” and “The Pod F. Tompkast: Episode 16 – Behind the Scenes,” featuring insights into the voicing of The Great Undiscovered Project: Part 16 and podcast guest Gillian Jacobs.

The extended and uncensored version of “Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions” will be available for download on April 24 on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Samsung Media Hub and in HD exclusively on Xbox LIVE and Sony PlayStation Network.

Leading up to the on-air premiere, COMEDY CENTRAL Stand-Up will feature preview clips from the special, as well as exclusive content from the DVD release.

Tompkins’ first hour-long COMEDY CENTRAL special, “You Should Have Told Me,” debuted in 2010 and is currently available on DVD.  He has been featured on the network’s series “Key and Peele,” “John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show,” “The Sarah Silverman Program,” “Live At Gotham,” “COMEDY CENTRAL Presents,” “Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil,” “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn” and “Reel Comedy.”

In addition, he has been seen on “Up All Night,” “Community,” and “Weeds,” and was the host of VH1′s “Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins.”  Tompkins received an Emmy nomination for his work on HBO’s “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” and his latest CD “Freak Wharf” went immediately to the top of the iTunes comedy charts.

Tompkins is also an internationally touring comedian featured regularly at prestigious comedy festivals.  His groundbreaking “Tompkins 300″ tour originated in 2009 from a grass-roots campaign on Facebook and brought him to various cities throughout the United States and Canada.

In 2010, Paul launched “The Pod F. Tompkast,” which Rolling Stone named the best podcast on its “10 Best Comedy Podcasts” list.  Tompkins presents his monthly live variety event, “The Paul F. Tompkins Show,” to sold-out audiences at Largo in Hollywood and also performs monthly at the “Dead Authors” show at UCB Theater in Los Angeles in support of the nonprofit organization 826LA.

“Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions” is executive produced by Tompkins, David Martin and Neal Marshall and directed by Marcus Raboy. Jonas Larsen and Toni Magon are the Executives in Charge of Production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/sketchartists/

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We may be entering the next age of entertainment. Entertainment began as live shows. Then came radio, then motion pictures, then television, and now the Internet. Until recently, the Internet has been a place for micro-entertainment. Short articles, single pictures, short video clips; it was a place for people to escape one minute, or 140 characters at a time. People flock to the Internet because, besides your monthly bill, virtually all of the fun to be had can be free. If numbers indicate anything, it seems that people are staying home from the theaters, and ignoring primetime TV, so that they can be entertained on their own time, and from their own choosing. However, the Internet is not for micro-entertainment anymore.

The biggest challengers to the seemingly undeniable world of television have emerged in the past couple years as Hulu and Netflix. Not too long ago, no one could have imagined anything challenging TV as the primary form of home entertainment. Executives have ignored the Internet too long though, and the battle has begun. Ever since the institution of instant watch, Netflix has grown into a household name. The ability to stream TV shows and movies over the Internet, on your own time, has led many people to fall in love with convenience. Television and movie production were not intimidated though, because all of the content had to come from them first. But they may not be standing on such solid ground anymore; original content is here.

At the beginning of February, Netflix launched their first original show, ‘Lilyhammer’. ‘Lilyhammer’ is a comedy-drama starring Steven Van Zandt of ‘Sopranos’, as a New York gangster trying to start a new life in Lilyhammer, Norway. All eight episodes of ‘Lilyhammer’ were made available from the start, appealing to the new DVR culture, which prefers to watch entire seasons at once. Many have called ‘Lilyhammer’ a great move for Netflix, while others say the show isn’t TV quality. Either way, it is a step in a new direction of programming that skips TV all together.

Netflix is not free however; you have to subscribe to be able to view their new show. Hulu, on the other hand, is completely free and they have also stepped into the ‘original programming’ arena. On February 14, Hulu launched ‘Battleground’, a political drama-comedy in the fake documentary style of ‘The Office’. Hulu took a different approach than Netflix though; they are releasing a new episode every Tuesday, which is more in line with traditional TV. ‘Battleground’ has received mixed reviews as well, but seems to be gathering a bigger fan base than ‘Lilyhammer’. Technically, ‘Battleground’ is not Hulu’s first original series; they have been airing the documentary show ‘A Day in the Life’, which is approaching its second season, but ‘Battleground’ does stand as their first scripted series.

The emergence and apparent success of these original programs can only make people curious of what will happen next. Youtube is beginning to feature channels that will presumably be putting out original content, and most networks stream their shows on their websites after the TV airdate. Will networks start having streaming only shows? Will Netflix and Hulu start producing more shows? With the lightning speed growth of technology, these steps can only make you wonder; what’s next?

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‘Cougar Town’, the hit US comedy about a group of friends in their 30s and 40s dealing with love and life, airs Tuesdays at 8:30pm on ABC, and returns to UK television screens this Friday, March 9, at 8:30pm on Sky Living.

Starring Courteney Cox (Friends) and executive produced by Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel (Scrubs, Spin City), the series revolves around Jules Cobb (Cox) and her dysfunctional friends who spend their time either at Jules’ house or at a local pub run by Jules’ neighbour Grayson, played by Josh Hopkins.

In this Friday’s season premiere, Jules and Grayson, who have been dating for over a year, take a major step forward in their relationship after Jules spends the episode trying to disprove her friends’ belief that she is a predictable person. Meanwhile, Jules’ son Travis (Dan Byrd) moves into a new student house while dealing with the presence of his silly yet well-meaning father Bobby (Brian Van Holt).

The results of both plots are as hilarious as one would come to expect from this show, which has solidified itself as one of the best-written ensemble comedies on contemporary television. Premiering alongside Emmy winner ‘Modern Family’, ‘Cougar Town’ exemplifies the modern family comedy, with innovative and creative plots which serve to echo the statement of Courteney Cox’s previous hit sitcom ‘Friends,’ that: ‘your friends can become your family’.

Set in an always-sunny cul-de-sac in Florida, the series provides consistent, razor-shop humour while still delivering family-friendly entertainment.

The cast and crew have recently hosted viewing parties across the United States – a move previously covered by Toonari Post – in an effort to trump up promotion for the show after it spent the majority of the last 12 months off the air due to various scheduling delays. But now, the Golden Globe nominated comedy is back on UK screens for a brand new 15-episode run.

Set to guest star in the forthcoming episodes are several actors from ‘Scrubs’, notably Sarah Chalke who portrayed Dr. Elliot Reid on the hit medical comedy for 9 years (2001-2010). Chalke will join ‘Cougar Town’ for four episodes as a love interest for Van Holt’s character, while her former co-star Ken Jenkins – Dr. Bob Kelso on ‘Scrubs’ – will return as Jules’ father for at least one episode.

One of this season’s most high-profile guest stars is David Arquette, real-life husband of Courteney Cox and her co-star in the ‘Scream’ franchise. Arquette and Cox are currently separated, but that has not stopped them from working onscreen once again, following their co-starring roles in all 4 ‘Scream’ films and Arquette’s appearance in a 1996 episode of ‘Friends’. Cox herself will step behind the camera to direct several episodes this season.

‘Cougar Town’ returns this Friday (March 9) at 8:30pm on Sky Living.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/CougarTown

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Aspiro TV, the multi-screen video enabler announced it’s implementing social TV features as part of its services. The seamless social integration into Facebook Timeline will open up new possibilities for Aspiro’s customers.

Integrated into the Aspiro TV platform, the new social TV feature enables end-users to show their friends what they’re watching on their Aspiro-enabled video service. The integration will provide Aspiro’s customers with additional intel on the end-users. This will also allow for new sharing, marketing, integration tools and business opportunities. While watching TV or Video via a service delivered by Aspiro TV, users can also chat with their friends at Facebook directly within the app.

“We believe that social is the next evolution of the TV-experience and as such have chosen to deeply integrate it across our product offering, making it easy for our customers to leverage,” said Aspiro CEO Erling Paulsen. He continued: “It’s what new generation end-users want. Opportunities like this provided by new devices will enhance the experience and help create a more dedicated user.”

Aspiro TV enables multi-screen video experiences on consumer devices. From being a mobile centric company, it has over the last years transformed into delivering to any online device, including tablets, desktop computers, Set-top-boxes, connected TV’s and virtually any screen with internet access.

Aspiro’s open framework integrated with leading industry standards enables companies to connect to their existing platforms and systems and leverage technologies they’ve already invested in. Based in Oslo, Norway, Aspiro TV is a leading multi-screen TV and video enabler powering services for network operators and broadcasters such as Deutsche Telekom, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Nextel, Hi3G, BBC and Entel.

Aspiro in Brief Aspiro has unique positioning as the world’s only provider of complete TV and music streaming services for partners that want to put their own branding on the service. Aspiro also provides the music streaming service WiMP directly to consumers on selected markets. Aspiro has over ten years’ experience in mobile technology and retail in northern Europe, and delivers services to partners worldwide like Deutsche Telekom, Telenor, 3, Entel and Canal Digital. Aspiro is listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm.

Aspiro TV will be demonstrating this and its complete multi-screen TV solution at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit us at our stand number 2A67 in hall 2, 27 February – 1 March 2012. For further information, contact: sales.tv@aspiro.com

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Lionsgate, a leading diversified global entertainment company, and Starz Entertainment a leading premium pay TV company operating 17 premium movie channels in the United States, recently announced a new multiyear film licensing agreement that will bring more than 500 Lionsgate movies to the Starz Entertainment premium channels and services.

The comprehensive new agreement is Lionsgate’s first long-term library deal with Starz Entertainment and will provide a significant supply of quality movie programming across all platforms for the Starz, Encore, and Movieplex premium channels, in addition to the related HD, On Demand, HD On Demand, and online advanced services.

The 500+ movies include dozens of recent Lionsgate releases, with many airing for the first time on the Starz Entertainment premium channels and services. Recent Lionsgate theatrical releases in the library agreement include The Expendables, The Last Exorcism, Conan The Barbarian, Abduction, From Prada to Nada, Margin Call, Red State, Precious, Rambo, Alpha & Omega, From Paris with Love, The Good Guy, Rabbit Hole, 3:10 To Yuma, and more.

Many movies from the popular “Tyler Perry” movie franchise are included, as well as films from the classic “Saw” franchise, with scores of other popular horror titles from the deep Lionsgate film library. Other popular titles licensed include, Crash, The Punisher, Punisher: War Zone, Monster’s Ball, The Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs, Dirty Dancing, The Jazz Singer, and Meatballs.

Jim Packer, Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television and Digital Distribution, said, “This is another significant step in the ongoing monetization of our 13,000-title filmed entertainment library, and we’re delighted to extend and expand our productive long-term relationship with Starz, with whom we most recently partnered on the television series Boss.

Lionsgate remains committed to tapping traditional and digital buyers alike as we explore ways to unlock the value of our vast filmed entertainment library asset.”

“Starz Entertainment offers its subscribers a quality combination of both original programming and theatrical films. We are always striving to secure a long-term pipeline of quality library content to complement our first-run output film programming from Disney and Sony. This agreement – with a terrific partner in Lionsgate – helps us meet those long-term programming goals,” said Stephan Shelanski, EVP, Programming, for Starz Entertainment.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/FromPradatoNada

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Three Minnesotan filmmakers are asking America to “get behind the squirrel” and send their squirrel-themed advertisement to the world’s biggest stage. Eric Sturm, Erik Sudheimer, and Michael Yaremchuk teamed up to enter a film in the “Chevrolet Route 66″ contest. Of hundreds of entries received, theirs was one of 35 films selected for the finals and the only one featuring the controversial rodent.

One winning film will be aired during the 2012 NFL Championship game, which boasts an annual viewership of more than 110 million. The trio entered a piece entitled “Grandpa Get That Squirrel!” which is not a typical car commercial. It depicts a grandfather character who is determined to rid his yard of pesky squirrels.

The viewer is taken on a wild trip through the old man’s garage – which just happens to be filled with smoke, a live rock band, and bikini-clad girls – into his Chevrolet Equinox and to his back alley where he slowly chases after a man in a squirrel suit. ”There’s a certain ‘What the…?’ factor in this thing, and that’s intentional,” Yaremchuk said. “I think this commercial screams game day. Girls in bikinis, rock and roll, and a squirrel. It leaves you with the feeling, ‘What the hell did I just watch?’”

“The piece may leave you a little perplexed, but the conflict depicted will resonate with people,” Sudheimer said. “Since the commercial has been in the finals, we’ve been approached by a surprising number of people with their own squirrel story.”

Sturm added, “From the crazy uncle who chases squirrels with a broom to people who feed them like pets, they truly are America’s rodent. The world is kicking our ass in almost everything: industry, math, science. Our piece shows that if there’s one thing Americans are better at, it’s producing semi-humorous, squirrel-based advertising. Let’s rally behind the squirrel!”

The winning film will air February 5 during the game.

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As of November, Netflix’s shares closed at $64.92, a gaping fall from a high of $304.79 in July. The jaw-dropping descent of the popular American DVD-rental and online video streaming service, is attributed to a number of egregious errors committed by the company this year.

With 24.59 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix is an Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows online. It also offers a DVD rental service for an additional $2 on top of its basic online streaming plan for $7.99.

According to Tech Crunch, Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, said in May that, “Streaming is the core of our business and it is growing rapidly. Streaming is much bigger than DVD for us in terms of hours of viewing, growth, and focus. We are seeing massive consumer adoption of streaming.”

To capitalise on its streaming business, Netflix introduced a new pricing system in July which separated the two services, with the streaming plan costing $7.99 and the DVD plan also at $7.99. Selecting both options would cost $16, effectively raising the subscription price by 60% for subscribers.

The announcement, however, was met with an unforeseeable backlash as more than 800, 000 irate subscribers defected in protest of the ludicrous price-hike. In attempt to appease customers, Hastings then announced a scheme to spin-off 2 companies for Netflix’s DVD-by-mail rental and on-line streaming services. However, the announcement was promptly retracted when violent objections arose from all sides.

For a company that began its meteoric rise with effortless access to video entertainment, the move was perceived by many as complicating the rental process.Since then, stock prices have continued to careen.

Last week, the company took steps toward raising $400 million from investors to shore up its balance sheet, selling $200 million of common stock to T. Rowe Price funds, and placing $200 million of convertible debt with the investment fund Technology Crossover Ventures. The purpose of raising capital is to finance Netflix’s expansion plans into the UK and Ireland in the first quarter of 2012.

While financially logical, investors saw the move as underlying the foolishness of the company’s stock repurchases earlier in the year at much higher prices, reports Forbes.

With escalating costs in content investment, Netflix has warned that it expects to lose money in 2012. High-cost ventures into UK and Ireland are also likely to cause the company to incur losses on a global basis in the upcoming year. Barron’s reported on Saturday, November 26th, that it looks as if the company will end up making $4.08 this year and might, at best, make a profit of 75 cents in 2012.

In their letter to shareholders dated October 24, 2011, Hastings and CFO, David Wells, defended their new pricing strategy. “We think that the $7.99 for unlimited streaming and $7.99 for DVD are both very aggressively low prices, relative to competition and to the value of the services, and they are right place for Netflix to be in the long term. What we misjudged was how quickly to move there. We compounded the problem with the lack of explanation about the rising cost of expansion of streaming content, and steady DVD costs, so that absent that explanation, many perceived us as greedy,” Wells said.

In the midst of the immediate bleak outlook, however, there is a silver lining. For one, Hastings is right in that the future of video-watching will be digital.

This has significant financial implications for Netflix. Getting rid of the DVD-by-mail business would allow Netflix to eliminate an array of costs associated with infrastructure and focus instead on investing in content. Moreover, with the amount of money that Netflix has invested in acquiring content, the current valuation makes Netflix an attractive acquisition for competitors such as Amazon and Google.

Netflix remains positive that it will bounce back into a profit-reaping cycle, and is planning to recuperate from domestic losses after launching in the UK and Ireland.

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Upcoming TV shows are expected by all of us in these summer days (If you are a series geek, of course).

Producers and TV Companies drain theirs brains to give us fresh and new stories for the next season and obviously trying to catch out attention through trailers and reviews of their products.

Do you remember Christina Applegate?
She became famous and in one of the most successful TV shows ever: “Married With Children”.
Ten years in this show helped Christina to enormously develop her career as an actress, and the rest is history.

What about Will Arnett?
Best known for his role in Arrested Development, Will worked in several movies and TV shows.

Now, together and with the support of the NCB company, they become a couple in “Up All Night” an upcoming show that will be released this fall.

About the show

Life is all about balance. So what happens when you throw a new baby into it?

Reagan (Christina Applegate) and her husband, Chris (Will Arnett), are the proud new parents of baby Amy. She may have been unexpected, but life’s curve balls can be a godsend, literally. Unless you have a career that needs attention, which is exactly what Reagan has. So, bucking tradition, they decide Reagan is the one going back to work while Chris is going to be the stay-at-home dad. Easy, right? Well, not quite.

Back at work at her high-pressure job, Reagan immediately feels the push and pull of motherhood and career while her self-involved co-worker, Ava (Maya Rudolph), can’t believe her best friend now has a baby (nor can she even remember if it’s a boy or girl). Then her Facebook-generation assistant reminds Reagan of the free-wheeling lifestyle she and Chris once had. She also remembers that no matter how rowdy the partying once was, she always managed to get home, something that makes her very proud.

Determined to prove that she and Chris still have a hot love life, and that she can be the perfect wife, mother, and career woman, Reagan spins a little out of control. But she eventually realizes that Amy is her new number one priority and somehow everything (except maybe Chris) is going to take a backseat to their new bundle of joy.

Written by Saturday Night Live’s Emily Spivey, executive produced by Lorne Michaels, and directed by James Griffiths (Episodes), Reagan and Chris are about to find out whether it’s really possible to have it all.

In an interview given to NBC, Christina Applegate states:

“Everyone’s making big adjustments and that’s what really happens when you have a baby. Everything changes, is no longer about you anymore, which is great because you have this angel in your life and it’s ok to make these changes”.

And she continues.

“I’ve never laughed out loud reading something so that was the first time that  I laugh out loud reading the script and that?s when I signed on to be a part of the journey”

With this being just a sneak peek, we will have to wait until September 14th, to see how this couple attempts to deal with the new member who comes to show that, sometimes, life can change for good.

Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

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And T, and Buck, and Alice, and Shoshana, and Chicken.

Televisions most complex main character is back on our screens.

United States of Tara is back for its third season, with the entire Gregson family reeling from the denouement filled finale and struggling to begin their lives again.

For those who haven’t watched the show – here’s a brief recap. The show centers on Tara (Toni Collette), a Kansas based suburban housewife with two teenage children, Kate and Marshall and a loving husband Max (John Corbett). Tara suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which means in situations of high stress she ‘transitions’ into a variety of other personalities who live inside here.

These include Buck, a cigarette-smoking, hog riding, hard drinking man, Alice, a demure and conservative housewife and Chicken, which is Tara from her childhood.

I want to be honest and say I love this show. I also love the newest addition to the cast, Eddie Izzard, who has come onboard as Tara’s psychology teacher who is completely skeptical about Dissociative identity disorder, as a serious mental illness.

Eddie Izzard, for those who are unfamiliar with his history outside of films such as Ocean’s Thirteen and TV shows like the Riches, is an immensely successful and gutburstingly funny comedian. A transvestite comedian in fact, though I don’t think we should be in fear of him rocking a frock for his role on Tara.

But if you haven’t seen his comedy go and look it up now. I’ll wait.

Twiddles thumbs

Funny right? Totally worth a look.

But back to United States of Tara, which is also gutburstingly funny and involves some light cross-dressing. The family are all trying to find their way forward this season, Max is worried about the future of his business, Marshall is attempting to get his boyfriend Lionel to acknowledge their commitment, Kate is trying to get a job that’s not gluing sparkles onto headbands with her aunt Charmaine, Charmaine is still holding onto her memories of her failed wedding, still hugely pregnant, and still refusing to acknowledge her serious relationship with the father of her baby, Neil and Tara has decided to go back to college because she’s ‘tired of being the boring one’ in the cavalcade of personalities inside her.

This is one of those rare and amazing shows that can either be a drama with moments of comedy, or a comedy with moving dramatic moments. It’s funny, it’s real (it’s also filled with large amounts of swearing so be warned younger viewers) and it’s very, very clever.

It’s also one of the rare comedies or drama’s that has real and complicated characters. Not always totally relatable, (and I’m not going to comment on whether the representation of DID is up to psychological standard, because frankly I don’t know enough detail about the condition to judge) and not always totally likeable. But that’s part of the fun. This is watching regular people, with flaws and foibles in a very strange and stressful family situation, and the ways they deal with it and the ways the story of Tara’s past comes to light are amazingly clever, funny and real.

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Lovely Latina,

Gamboa, Panama - Thursday, March 24th - Local time: 6 p.m | Although I am now in Gamboa ( some kind of village, 15,5 miles from the capital), I spent my whole day walking around Panama city ( and all of yesterday’s night watching TV), I can say now, be ready, it could be quite longer than usual, I even think I will write more than 400 words! ( and my apologies to my hypothetical usual readers!).

Any-road, well Panama’s culture ( at least what I’ve seen of) is something really interesting to watch! First, when I stepped out of the plane ( at least ! I think it was an endless trip … Fortunately beers and whiskey were there to help me handle it !), so when I went outside, I saw two rabbies. Apparently there is a really important Jewish community in Panama, well why not, that proves we are everywhere ! Anyway, a guy was waiting for us at the airport. Mani was his name ( nickname for Manuel I guess). In order to make conversation, I tried to get some information about local marijuana (check out the brilliant topic), his reaction was quite weird ( like any Panamanian reaction, but I will talk about it in another letter, wait for it !) : first he told me how dangerous and forbidden it was to carry some grass, then, immediately after, he told  me with no little pride how he once provided an argentinian lady with weed and how she thanked him saying that « this grass was the best she had ever smoked». What shall I think about it?

Well I gave up my grass consideration when we arrived at our first hotel. Nothing interesting to talk about except for the TV-Shows and, most of all, the advertisements ! Most of them talk about beauty and health as if only girls watched TV (I also remark that Orly girls seem to appear on the advertisement…) . One product to relax, another one to get whiter teeth, or something to private you of ironing ( this way you will be able ladies to pass more time with your kids, according to the show) or a thing that helps you to have an  orderly clean bag, like an extra bag to put inside your normal bag … ( and for only 149 dollars ! and for 1 dollar more you can have a sewing set, what shall we ask for more to be happy?). Funny thing also, in each and every ( and I strongly insist on «every») beauty or health advertisement, at the some moment, a «doctor» ( sometimes he/she appears as much a doctor as I look like an astronaut) shows up on the screen and tries to convince us how beautiful and genius the product is even if he/she doesn’t give the impression to believe a lot in what he/she talks about. Most of all toothpaste, Colgate© shall give a lot of money to the panaman TV. I don’t know, I really have the impression that I am considered as a stupid fool when I watch advertisements here. I don’t know, in France at least they try not to look so foolish, but here there are no limits. Legacy from the US culture? (with no offense to our American friends !) And well, I already wrote five hundred words (precisely!) God it happens so fast ! Well, talk to you tomorrow. I guess, about a little walk on the streets of Panama City!

In the meantime, good morning to you sweetheart …

Your colgate man !

The article Gamboa, Panama – Toothpaste, The New World II appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.