Damian Lewis attends Showtime's "Billions" Season 2 premiere at Cipriani on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Here comes the weekend again, so it's time to relax and peruse our what-to-watch list. From the long-awaiting return of Billions to a show about a murder mystery podcast and everything we love (and hate) about New York, Cheddar's digital team might have a few suggestions.
Billions: Season 5 - Showtime
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
After more than a year-long mid-season hiatus when the pandemic shut down production, Bobby Axelrod, played by actor Damian Lewis, is back to managing his hedge fund. Showtime’s Billions explores the sometimes erratic behavior of the billionaire and his pursuit to manipulate markets in his favor. The entire series is a tug-of-war between good and bad. And for the not-so-business savvy, you can even use it as an introduction into the world of institutional investing! Of course, the show isn’t strictly business: there’s drama and lots of it! Sex, lies, videotape, and billion-dollar investments is what keeps fans running back to this series.
New York Stories - The Criterion Channel
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
Excuse my local bias here, but The Criterion Channel this month started streaming dozens of classic films based in New York City. The collection, titled "New York Stories," is broken up into multiple categories, from "Downtown" to "New York Romance'' to "New York in the 1970s." Some are likely familiar to film buffs, such as The Naked City, West Side Story, and Do the Right Thing, but there are dozens of fascinating deep-cuts also based in the Big Apple. If you're looking for a seedy crime drama, I recommend Abel Ferrara's King of New York, starring Christopher Walken. If you like documentaries, you can't go wrong with Paris Is Burning, which chronicles drag culture in Harlem. For a thriller, go with the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which no doubt has some of the best native New York character actors in the history of cinema. And for my personal favorite, check out Martin Scorsese's underrated After Hours. It's the story of a guy who sets off into the night and finds himself in a whirlwind of bizarre characters and absurd situations that might just be familiar to long-time residents and visitors alike.
Only Murders in the Building - Hulu
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
While searching for The D'Amelio Show last week, I saw Only Murders in the Building promoted on Hulu. It's been a while since I enjoyed some of the absurd comedy that Steve Martin and Martin Short are so well known for, but I'm here for it now. Selena Gomez is certainly a surprising addition to the new Three Amigos and I'm excited to see how she mixes with a couple of comedic greats.
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
McDonald's missed on both the top and bottom lines in its Q4 earnings, marking the fourth loss for the fast-food giant in the past eight quarters. It comes as higher costs from food to wages ate into the blue-chip company's profits. George Seay, CEO of investment advisor Annandale Capital, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the recent numbers and the better-than-expected success of the McPlant burger made with plant-based Beyond Meat. "They're changing with the times, and they have to," Seay noted. "You can just sell a Big Mac to everybody. There's a lot of people who don't want to eat a Big Mac anymore."
Business communication platform Slack, recently released its fifth wave of results from its global workplace survey from its Future Forum consortium, showing that the workforce has already moved to a split between working from home and going to the office. “We are now officially in the hybrid era of work,” Slack Future Forum VP Sheela Subramanian said when discussing the findings. "Hybrid is a work model where people can come into the office as well as work remotely, and what we're seeing is that the majority of knowledge workers are now in this arrangement — and that number is set to grow."
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, founder of Strategy + Rest,
joins Cheddar News to discuss UK's pilot four-day workweek and its impact on workers' mental health.
Ed Gaussen, co-founder and CEO of Mantra Health, and Matt Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Mantra Health, joined Cheddar News to discuss the digital mental health startup's latest funding round and plans for the future.
Charles Platkin, executive director at Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss how food insecurity affects our mental health.
Actor Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie Howard on HBO's "Euphoria, recently addressed how she feels about the stigma attached to nudity in acting for women versus men. Sweeney noted she also made a request to avoid doing unnecessary nude scenes, which was supported by series creator Sam Levinson.
Actor and singer Chrissy Metz, who stars as Kate Pearson in "This Is Us," is partnering with Capital One Auto Navigator to share her story of purchasing her first car to help make car buying easier for others. "For me, I know a car was so important because of course it took me to the auditions to get me to the place I have today," she said. "But it also means empowerment and freedom and accessibility, and I think everybody is deserving and in need of that." Metz also discussed the final season of her hit show, noting that expectations for the finale "will probably be exceeded."
