NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 13: View of the atmosphere during a spine-chilling soirée in celebration of the launch of Disney+ and Hulu's "Goosebumps," the new series inspired by R.L. Stine's books, at Chelsea Factory on October 13, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
Wondering what to watch this weekend? This week we have more picks for the spooky season, a classic fairy tale, plus a reality show about kids running errands.
Goosebumps - Disney+ and Hulu
Picked by Keara O’Driscoll
Recreating a classic childhood show is hard, but Disney somehow gets it right most of the time. The show takes a modern twist on the bestselling series by RL Stine, featuring stories that will be sure to take fans down memory lane. The plot follows a group of teens who experience some weird situations that all trace back to a strange connection that their parents all have with the town's most haunted house ‘Old Biddle House.” Ps, you know when there is a house that is referred to as “the old *insert surname here* house,” something is bound to be going down. The writing is smart as well and doesn't follow the cringe way writers try to make Gen Z sound in shows, but actually, in the way people of Gen Z talk. That being said, I binged the first five episodes that were dropped. The next five episodes will be released weekly.
Back when I initially recommended 'Old Enough!' I didn't think I would ever find a sweeter show. But then I checked out Season 2. The long-running reality show, which premiered in Japan back in 1991, follows young children as they purportedly run their first errand without their parents. Netflix has hand-picked a number of old episodes which subscribers can now enjoy the show way across the globe. The first set of episodes that Netflix picked to share with new audiences was adorable, but they upped the ante with Season 2. This time, every episode ends with a check-in to see where the kids ended up once they became young adults.
Continuing with the theme of Halloween, I've been seeking out horror flicks. I heard about Hereditary and decided to give it a go. I definitely enjoyed the plot of the film, which was centered around a Utah family whose connection to evil uncovers itself following a series of unbelievable events. The film has all the components of some of the most iconic scary movies like seances, conjuring the dead and gruesome death scenes. I have to admit, the finale scene of the movie left me so confused that I'm still unsure of what to make of it.
Bono and artist Gavin Friday have expanded the classic orchestral fairy tale into a half-hour mostly black-and-white animated film. The music is, of course, beautiful, and its mix of animation styles mirrors the swirl of feelings — both light and dark — that the 12-year-old Peter is going through as he deals with a major loss.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
One of the world's largest transport companies is kicking off Black History Month with a new initiative aimed at the next generation of business leaders. Today, FedEx announced the launch of its Student Ambassador Program. Participants selected from eight historically black colleges and universities will receive career guidance from FedEx executives. The program is part of FedEx's ongoing commitment to HBCUs and will also help the company expand its pipeline for diverse talent. Cheddar News welcomes senior vice president at FedEx, Jenny Robertson, and Jerryl Briggs, President of Mississippi Valley State University, to discuss.
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The value of most cryptocurrencies have plummeted in recent months since reaching all-time highs in November, wiping out more than $1 trillion in value globally. The steep crash has some talking about the possibility of a crypto winter, a term referring to a prolonged bearish period where asset prices persistently fall over many months. This all comes as the Fed is expected to raise interest rates, and the Biden administration is working on an executive order to regulate Bitcoin and other assets. Josh Goodbody, COO of Qredo, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the crypto crash, and how the industry might recover from it.
Recent data reveals that streaming giants are struggling to retain subscribers in the months following a major release.
According to data from Antenna, subscriber trends show that users will subscribe to a given streaming service just to watch a particular show, and then cancel those subscriptions shortly after. This comes as the streaming space continues to heat up as new entrants crowd the space. Jon Christian, Founding Partner + Digital Supply Chain Leader at OnPrem joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The EU relaxed its Covid travel restrictions for vaccinated individuals among the union's 27 member states, doing away with testing or quarantine requirements for travelers. This comes soon after the World Health Organization said the omicron variant could help make the pandemic more manageable. The new rules take effect February 1st. Bryce Conway, Founder, 10xTravel joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
If you're in China you may have noticed that the 1999 film "Fight Club" which features Brad Pitt has somehow got itself a new ending. In the new ending on the streaming service Tencent, the narrator is killed and the explosions are replaced with a black screen saying "the police arrested criminals".It's unclear as to exactly why the changes were made. However, it is the latest example of China playing by its own rules when it comes to entertainment and attempting to control everything its citizens watch. Media Reporter at Axios, Sarah Fisher, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
