This image released by Amazon Prime Video shows Josh Brolin in a scene from "Outer Range," a modern Western with supernatural elements. The series debuts Friday on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service. (Amazon Prime Video via AP)
Take a load off before your taxes are due with a sci-fi mystery, one Barry narrating nature, another Barry navigating murder and Hollywood, a gaijin reporter in Tokyo, and couples put to the test to see if marriage is in the cards.
Outer Range - Prime Video
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
I'm a bit wary of the "mystery box" genre of film and TV as they seem to be more miss than hit, but the moody, modern Wyoming setting seems to be growing on me. Outer Range is being pitched as a sci-fi/western drama mashing up Yellowstone and Lost, starring stalwart, square-jawed cowboy types like Josh Brolin and Will Patton, who are joined by the talents of Lili Taylor and Imogen Poots. Brolin stars as a rancher who discovers a mysterious void/hole/chasm on his land. A lot of pontificating and uncomfortable conversations ensue, according to the trailer.
Our Great National Parks - Netflix
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
We don't often mention nature documentaries in this column, but I think a lot of us turn them on from time to time. The videography is always out of this world (sometimes literally) and they're filled with interesting information that doesn't hit the headlines every day. Our Great National Parks also has the addition of a famed narrator. No, not David Attenborough. Former President Barack Obama gently describes the wilderness that graces these protected areas. Throughout the series' five episodes, viewers get a glimpse of life in parks across the world, from Monterey Bay to Indonesia, set to dramatic music and filled with beautiful images. This is a great watch for a weekend afternoon when you just want to kick back and chill.
Tokyo Vice - HBO Max
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
It's been 30 years since the finale of Miami Vice, a buddy cop show set in the flamingo-pink, neon-lit streets of Miami in the 1980s. Now HBO Max has released a spiritual successor in Tokyo Vice. Based on a memoir by Jake Adelstein about his experience working at a major Japanese newspaper, the show plumbs the depths of the Tokyo underworld. Ansel Elgort plays the reporter, and Michael Mann, who directed many episodes of the original show as well as the acclaimed 2006 film version, is behind the pilot. If nothing else, check out Mann's work on the first episode. The director hasn't made a film since 2015's Blackhat, a cyberthriller starring Chris Hemsworth that some find silly and others think is a cult classic in the making. I fall into the latter camp and will take any opportunity to watch an old master return to form.
The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On - Netflix
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
Netflix has struck gold with its reality TV category and one of its latest installments, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, has social media in a frenzy this week. Let me just say now that this show is very messy and just as chaotic. It explores how couples grapple with seeing their significant others with other potential love interests (It's really just about lust at this point). These couples have been committed to each other for years and yet marriage has been put on the backburner. Now, they're being faced with an ultimatum: marry me or let's go our separate ways, date other people, and you watch me enjoy their company. I mean, TALK ABOUT MESSY!
Barry - HBO Max
Picked by Producer Jack Gallop
Now is the perfect time to catch up on Barry before the new season drops on April 24. You can watch the first two seasons (eight 30-40 minute episodes in each) on HBO Max. That’s, give-or-take, one episode per night so you’ll be in perfect stride heading into Season 3. If you haven’t seen the Emmy-award-winning series, Barry is a show about a hitman (Bill Hader) who falls in love with acting while on a hit job in Los Angeles. Hader will shock you with his impressive dramatic chops, in addition to providing plenty of his iconic awkwardness and outrageousness. Alongside Hader is an excellent cast of characters who are equally hilarious and frightening. Many critics liken the show to Fargo, so if you like the Coen Brothers, and you like Bill Hader… you will definitely enjoy Barry. Get rolling on that rewatch, or hop on board now, before the new season.
John Bencich, CEO of Achieve Life Sciences, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
