This weekend, sit down with Cheddar recommendations for found family feels, fake band drama, small town laughs, and a travelogue about the jewel of the Pacific Northwest.
Rain Dogs - HBO Max
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
It wasn't on my radar, but this dramedy from the UK caught my eye on the HBO Max home page. It's about a single mum and her daughter navigating life after being evicted from their flat. Add in her gay best friend with anger management issues who stands in as the daughter's father figure, and the series seems to be winning the hearts of reviewers who call it a warm and darkly funny story about a found family. The first episode released this week, and I'm looking forward to giving this one a good look.
The trailer is NSFW for language:
Daisy Jones & The Six - Amazon Prime Video
Picked by Growth Associate Keara O’Driscoll
Riley Keough stars as Daisy Jones in this highly-anticipated book-turned-movie that just hit Amazon Prime Video last week. The three-episode miniseries follows a Fleetwood Mac-type of band giving their first (fictional) interview since their final performance, recalling what led to the band's hostile breakup. If you gave the book a try but found it hard to follow due to its writing style, I’d suggest watching it for a better take. It's a Hello Sunshine production (Reese Witherspoon's production company), so if you liked Big Little Lies or Little Fires Everywhere you will for sure enjoy this one.
Welcome to Flatch - Hulu
Picked by Senior News Editor Dina Ross
Welcome to Flatch Season 2 is currently available on Hulu. Not Season 1 ... just Season 2 of the sitcom, but tbh, it's fine to jump in there. Barb Flatch (Jaime Pressly) returns to her namesake town, a sleepy suburb that is a far cry from her beloved Pompano Beach, and is ready to zhuzh things up. The wacky residents of Flatch welcome the platinum blonde, pink-clad babe with laugh-out-loud funny lines. I can't wait to figure out where to watch Season 1.
CityBeautiful - YouTube
Picked by Newsletter Writer Graison Dangor
I recently visited Vancouver for the first time, and apart from the ridiculous beauty of the surrounding ocean and mountains, the city felt pleasant in a way that I couldn't put my finger on. So I was excited when my wife came across City Beautiful, the YouTube account run by urban planning professor Dave Amos. His explainer on how Vancouver was planned to be so relaxed and walkable was endearingly nerdy but also not too in the weeds for someone who, like me, has no urban planning knowledge. He's got dozens of other videos I'm looking forward to. First up: "Should cities expand into the sea?"
For more What to Stream picks, check out our recent suggestions:
What to Stream This Weekend: Mando Back, Chris Rock Live & Cunk Documents Everything
What to Stream This Weekend: Kooks vs. Pogues 3, 'Snowfall' Final Season & Stand-Up Specials
What to Stream This Weekend: NBA All-Stars, Picard's Final Trek & Monstrous Romance
CBD is the latest hot trend in wellness ー and Alkaline Water Company is jumping aboard with a new CBD-infused water.
"We just see that as a market we can take right onto, and glom onto," Alkaline Water Company CEO Ricky Wright told Cheddar on Tuesday. "We already have a lifestyle health product in alkaline water ー we see that as a natural extension."
Cannabis is about to experience its biggest year yet, according to the CEO of Vertical Wellness ー but 2020 promises even more growth for the industry. "2019 is going to be the biggest year in history, until we get to 2020," Smoke Wallin, CEO of Vertical Wellness, told Cheddar Tuesday. "When you're on an exponential growth curve, every year is going to be giant. But this year is going to be bigger than any year before."
When Lululemon ($LULU) almost single-handedly pushed the athleisure trend into the mainstream, it seemed a passing fad, at best, that regular consumers would spend upwards of $90 or $100 on workout clothes. But years later, Lulu is going strong and new entrants in the space are betting there's even more runway left in pricey nylon leggings. Vuori is one of those brands making a big bet that athleisure is not so much a trend as it is the future of casual wear.
"Love You to Death," a movie about a real-life case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and matricide, is just the latest example of Lifetime's recent ventures into "grittier" stories for women, Academy Award Winning actress Marcia Gay Harden told Cheddar on Tuesday. "We are moving away from a docile type of portrayal of women and we're going deeper, we're going darker, we're going grittier, we're going into what really it is to be a woman ー and not the presentation of, or the idea of ー and I think Lifetime is right there with that," Harden said.
Dry -- or sober -- January has become an annual tradition for many, and beverage companies are taking notice. Some distilleries are starting to offer non-alcoholic distilled offerings, and more restaurants are expanding their non-alcoholic selections. Ad Age editor Brian Braiker talked to Cheddar about the why people's tastes are starting to change.
Slowing economic growth may spell disaster for some businesses, but travel booking site Kayak tends to see more business when times are tough. "When we enter a recession, prices come down and so, as a result, services like Kayak get used more frequently as consumers try to find those deals," Kayak CEO Steve Hafner told Cheddar on Tuesday. The International Monetary Fund on Monday downgraded its forecast for global economic growth, sparking fears of a global slowdown. But Hafner said Kayak managed to grow through the last major recession, and he feels good about its prospects moving forward. "It was a bad one, but we grew right through it and I suspect this would be no different than that," he said.
Cloud9 has been dubbed the most valuable esports company in the world by Forbes Magazine ー a title that is thanks, at least in part, to the organization's powerhouse VP of marketing, Eunice Chen. Chen is an esports vet who has worked for industry stalwart Riot Games and even runs her own tournament production company, Heroeshype. In an interview with Cheddar Sports, she said, "there are always different ways we can break into new markets in esports and beyond."
"Roma," director Alfonso Cuarón's black-and-white opus detailing life growing up in 1970s Mexico, delivered the first chance at a Best Picture statute for the streaming giant as nominations were announced Tuesday morning. Even if it doesn't win, the nomination marks a significant milestone for a company that has upended just about every aspect of the content and distribution model in Hollywood.
"The Good Place," NBC's beloved comedy that continually asks its characters to examine their morality while navigating the afterlife, boasts big-name cast members like Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. But it's actor William Jackson Harper, who plays the indecisive and anxiety-ridden Chidi Anagonye, who has captured fans' hearts ー and the heart of Bell's character, Eleanor Shellstop.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
