Charli D'Amelio attends the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Thursday, May 27, 2021, in Los Angelles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Here comes the weekend again, so it's time to relax and peruse our what-to-watch list. From TikTok's Charli and Dixie D'Amelio to Pixar's talking Dug to organized crime in minor league hockey and the classic Candyman (1992), Cheddar's digital team might have a few suggestions.
The D'Amelio Show: Season 1 - Hulu
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
I'm not promising I'm going to watch this, but I'm also not promising I'm won't. Do I enjoy reality TV? Heck yeah. Am I a TikTok expert? Nope. But I think I'm down to see what the D'Amelios are all about. Even if I haven't set my own deepest/funniest 30-second thoughts to music and put them out for the world to enjoy, I'm certainly in awe of anyone who can do that as successfully as Charli and Dixie D'Amelio. And if this happens to become the next generation of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, at least I'll be able to say I was in on the ground floor.
Dug Days - Disney+
Picked by Copy Editor Mike Nam
Pixar's Up is widely lauded by the Internet for having a better love story in its opening minutes than most films, and now the talking pooch from the movie, Dug, and his senior citizen Carl Fredericksburg are embarking on a new relationship adventure. The series of shorts, which premiered on Wednesday, delivers a delightful surprise with iconic actor Ed Asner reprising his role as Carl. Asner sadly passed away recently at the age of 91. In the streaming series, Carl and Dug make their way to a new home in the burbs where Dug can get up to all kinds of mischief — including finally chasing a squirrel.
Untold: Crime & Penalties - Netflix
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
Netflix is on to something with its Untold series! My latest pick is the installment, Crime & Penalties, which examines the bad boys of the United Hockey League, the Danbury Trashers, and their ties to a convicted mobster James Galante. The story dives into the world of sports, violence, and organized crime with the team’s front office business being run by Galante’s 17-year-old son AJ as the general manager. From duffle bags full of cash to players paid under the table to targeted attacks directed at opponents on the ice, this documentary is sure to have you on the edge of your seat.
Candyman (1992) - Amazon Prime Video rental or free with Hulu
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
Despite the lack of a number or a colon in its title, the Candyman now in theaters is definitely more of a sequel than a remake, so make sure to first check out the 1992 original before buying a ticket. If you ask this lifelong horror fan, it's one of the best of that decade. Coming on the tail-end of the '80s slasher craze, the OG Candyman doesn't hold back when it comes to scares or effects, while at the same time tackling difficult themes such as racial violence, collective trauma, and urban development. It's also well put together, with striking on-location photography of Chicago (including footage of the Cabrini-Green housing development before it was demolished) and an iconic score from Philip Glass that will be stuck in your head long after the credits.
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
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.
