Featuring A Strong Female Lead | The Break With Michelle Wolf Premieres Sunday on Netflix

Looking for something to stream this Memorial Day Weekend? Perhaps something with A Strong Female Lead?


Michelle Wolf's speech at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner may have been controversial, but it was also hilarious and spot-on. The truth hurts, people!

The Break With Michelle Wolf, a Netflix Original, premieres this Sunday May 27th on the streaming service. The series will feature sketches, live guests, and more in a weekly format. I'm looking forward to watching Wolf breaking the mold of strong female leads.

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press on Netflix June 23

I never watched the footage of Hulk Hogan that is the linchpin of this documentary, but I have definitely witnessed the downward spiral of media trust in its aftermath. Gawker posted a lot of questionable content and salacious gossip, as its name might lead one to assume, but they also provoked mainstream media channels to ask tougher questions. I was sad to see them go, especially as the casualty of a rich dude's ego. Unpresidented…


Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press debuts on Netflix June 23

When the online tabloid Gawker posted a surreptitiously filmed sex tape of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, it ignited a high stakes legal battle that pit privacy rights against the first amendment. The staggering verdict bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton, but also exposed a shadowy figure behind the scenes -- Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Nine years earlier Gawker had outed Thiel on its site and the furious billionaire had been waiting for his chance to destroy them.

The Florida trial happened against the backdrop of a contentious election. Thiel’s battle with Gawker, along with Sheldon Adelson’s secretive purchase of the Las Vegas Review–Journal and President Trump’s treatment of journalists, portend a sinister trend threatening a free press and has brought to light a potential threat to democracy. Are the very wealthy thwarting the First Amendment to silence critics? In an age of extreme inequality, how vulnerable is a free press that has lost most of its traditional sources of income? Perhaps most frightening, what could a billionaire with the executive branch at his command do to those who have angered him?

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press is directed and executive produced by Brian Knappenberger; produced by Luminant Media and SubLA; in association with The Filmmaker Fund and Field of Vision. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later

Finally! Something to look forward to, with nostalgia!


It's no secret that I love the Wet Hot American Summer franchise. It shines a light into the deep, dark crevices of our collective consciousness, adding more jokes and a better soundtrack. I'm actually typing this from my grandparents' house in New Jersey, so I am in full-on '80s summer camp mode. Can't wait! I'm hoping the Rudd-lessness of this teaser is not a sign that Ant Man is too cool for summer camp these days.)

Stay Cool. See U next summer!

Santa Wants Some Loving - A Very Murray Christmas on Netflix

Remember the erstwhile holiday variety special? They were abundant in my youth. I remember the Mandrell sisters, Donny and Marie, Sonny and Cher, the Star Wars gang… every TV show in the 70s and 80s seemed to have a bizarre, celebrity-laden lovefest where it seemed like they'd been hitting the punch pretty heavily and then started singing Christmas carols set to a disco beat. And who could forget the truly odd Little Drummer Boy duet with Bing Crosby and David Bowie? It's just not the holidays without that schlock.

Apparently I'm not the only one who feels that way. Witness the awesome weirdness of A Very Murray Christmas, currently streaming on Netflix. I mean, who better than legendary omnipresent celebrity Bill Murray to emcee the holiday hijinks?!

Here's a little taste of something you never really knew you wanted, Bill Murray laying down a slinky soul Santa song with George Clooney adding in the booming bass. Ah, yeah.



Written by Mitch Glazer, Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola, and directed by Sofia Coppola, A Very Murray Christmas is an homage to the classic variety show featuring Bill Murray playing himself, as he worries no one will show up to his TV show due to a terrible snow storm in New York City.  Through luck and perseverance, guests arrive at the Carlyle hotel to help him; dancing and singing in holiday spirit.

The star-studded cast also includes George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Dimitri Dimitrov, Michael Cera, Chris Rock, David Johansen, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Lewis, the band Phoenix, Rashida Jones, Miley Cyrus, and more!

While you're getting into the holiday spirit(s) with Bill Murray and friends, you might want to leaf through this weighty volume that examines the man and the myth:



The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor is jam-packed with Murray-ephemera that celebrates the laconic wit and wisdom of one of the most versatile talents ever to grace the screen. And he's not halfway finished yet.


Follow @Netflix for more information on A Very #MurrayChristmas this holiday season. And then cleanse your holiday palate with a little Jessica Jones for good measure.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Starts July 31st on Netflix

I never went to sleep away camp. This was a source for much consternation since I was a fan of the summer camp oeuvre such as Meatballs, Dirty Dancing, and, uh, every horror movie ever made. Adding to my chagrin was the fact that I spent my summers split between grandparents in southern California and New Jersey, the latter being a place where all children apparently are sent away to frolic in the bucolic countryside.

Suffice it to say, I loved Wet Hot American Summer and am anxiously awaiting its Netflix exclusive prequel series, which will start streaming on July 31st. Who doesn't want to see Paul Rudd in copious denim and Christopher Meloni with feathered hair? They're making the memories I never had. Which, in retrospect, was probably a pretty good thing.

From co-creators Michael Showalter and David Wain, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp is the prequel series to their 2001 film that became a cult phenomenon. While the film took place on the last day of camp at Camp Firewood, the series takes place on the first day of camp, back in 1981. The series consists of eight half-hour episodes.

All of your favorite counselors and camp staff are back including Elizabeth Banks, H. Jon Benjamin, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Nina Hellman, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, AD Miles, Christopher Meloni, Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Marisa Ryan, Molly Shannon and Michael Showalter, along with some new famous faces.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. The best summer of your life starts July 31 at 12:01am PT only on Netflix.
Follow #WHAS on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 

Orange Is The New Black Season 2 Sneak Peek

I love this show.

Yet another reason I can't wait until summertime…

(L-R) Danielle Brooks, Lin Tucci, Natasha Lyonne, Yael Stone, Jackie Cruz, Emma Myles and Laverne Cox in a scene from Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” Season 2. Photo credit: Jessica Miglio for Netflix.