Welcome news for fans of Psychis a new trailer (below) for the second sequel to a sequel, Psych 3: This is Gus. It looks even more like the series than last year’s fun drama we first discussed here at borg, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home (the first new original movie to premiere on NBC’s Peacock streaming service), and Psych 3will also premiere on Peacock–in a few weeks. The movie, the third of six sequels that creator/showrunner Steve Franks said he plans to make, switches focus from Timothy Omundson′s character Lassiter aka Lassie to Dulé Hill′s Burton Guster, aka Ovaltine Jenkins aka Hollabackatcha aka Domo Arigato, etc., whose new wife has some secrets for Team Psych to uncover. Best of all, the movie is less than a month away. Who doesn’t need a good laugh? Everyone is back: James Roday, Dulé Hill, Maggie Lawson, Kirsten Nelson, Kurt Fuller, and Corbin Bernsen, and, of course, Tears for Fears′ own Curt Smith.
One of the best superhero series yet returned Tuesday, as Stargirl begins a new season on the CW network. After the city of superheroes was blown apart in last season’s finale, viewers will catch up with Brec Bassinger’s Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl as she tries to lead a new generation of Justice Society of America superheroes. But is it meant to be? Yvette Monreal’s Wildcat is reeling from killing Brainwave, justifiably or not. Cameron Gellman’s Hourman is trying to track down Solomon Grundy. And Anjelika Washington’s Beth Chapel continues her turn as the saddest character on TV, now losing her relationship with her parents even more, plus Charlie, the cyber entity that no longer knows her. Worst of all, it’s the end of the school year and Courtney finds she’s stuck in summer school.
We rated it one of the best TV superhero series of the decade (behind Marvel’s Luke Cage) in our wrap-up of the first 10 years of borg. In the first season of Stargirl the series never let up, never let us down, and with this week’s new trailer it looks like it’s full steam ahead. The series that may have you stand up and cheer, from the far corners of 30 years of DC Comics, Stargirl′s first season delivered a story of a trope TV never really does that well–a positive relationship between step-daughter and step-father. Brec Bassinger’s Courtney Whitmore had a relationship with her new stepdad like you’d expect at first–awkward. But it was doubly awkward when he was an over-eager good guy named Patrick played by Luke Wilson–and they are both superheroes. Now that the introduction is out of the way, where do we go from here?
Check out the first trailer for Season 2 of Stargirl:
After what I viewed as the best superhero series pilot yet here at borg back in May, Stargirl never let up, never let us down, and with this week’s season finale rises to become the very best superhero series yet. We can slice and dice and compare series like The Flash and Arrow, Supergirl, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but did any of them adapt the comic book mythos to the screen as written and drawn by years of comic book writers and artists? Or did they all twist the stories to cut away at what made the stories enduring in the first place? Even Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina–two fantastic comic book adaptations–were nudged aside by thirteen perfect episodes of comic books in TV form. Not since the heart in the original series The Flash,The Incredible Hulk, and the animated series Superfriends has a series full of superhero characters gotten so much so right. And one scene in the season finale was so good, so surprising, it may have you stand up and cheer.
Isn’t this a great time for a new superhero series to begin? If you agree then you’re in luck, because tonight’s premiere episode of Stargirlmight be DC Comics’ best TV pilot yet. Prepare to meet the next superheroes from the corners of 30 years of DC Comics. Courtney Whitmore’s relationship with her new stepdad is like you’d expect at first–awkward. But it’s doubly awkward when he’s an over-eager good guy named Patrick played by Luke Wilson (known best for his roles in Wes Anderson movies and an unforgettable spot on The X-Files). Courtney (seen above sporting a rather timely mask) discovers there is more than meets the eye with Pat, and the series opener will propel viewers further ahead into his secrets and past–sooner than you might expect. The result is incredibly promising, a pilot mixing well-done special effects with a great story, a coming of age tale targeted at kids, a fun cast of familiar faces and a new young actress hitting the ground running (or soaring), a cool car and a 1950s vibe, and throwbacks for viewers who keep their eyes open. And the entire first season is now available on digital.
When my wife bought me the six seasons of Community I secretly wondered if she was trying to kill me–because I’d laughed so hard watching episodes of the show before I frequently thought I was going to pass out. I hadn’t seen an episode when I watched their big panel at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con in 2012, but since became a fan. “Six seasons and a movie” was their mantra, and they almost made it. We’ve seen no sign of a movie yet, especially with the success of Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Spider-Man: Homecoming), and ongoing rise in the careers and clashing schedules of Alison Brie(GLOW, BoJack Horseman),Ken Jeong(Magnum, PI, Scoob!), Jim Rash (The Descendants, Harley Quinn), Yvette Nicole Brown(Avengers: Endgame, Mom),Joel McHale(The X-Files, Stargirl),Gillian Jacobs(Love, Come Play), and Danny Pudi(Powerless, The Argument). But then the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and now many of our favorite creators and performers are bringing a full-on assault against isolation via podcasts and other online videos. And it’s not a movie, but it is a welcome surprise: A table read of a classic episode of Communitywith the main cast is coming your way–with The Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal, as a guest.
Welcome news for fans of Psychis a new trailer (below) for the second movie sequel in what is expected to be a series of movies we first discussed here at borg a whole strange month ago. The movie has the quite apt and humorous title, Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, and it’s expected to arrive with the general release of the free Peacock streaming service app coming your way on or shortly after July 15 (Peacock will also have a pay “premium content” version). The movie, the second of six sequels that creator/showrunner Steve Franks said he plans to make, will focus on Timothy Omundson′s character Lassiter aka Lassie. Omundson suffered a stroke in 2017 (watch a great interview with him below) and the story will in part mirror his real-life comeback.
What’s more fun than the idea of Joel McHale as a DC Comics superhero, and Luke Wilson as his sidekick? Unfortunately that’s not the focus of the CW’s next series of the Arrowverse, but it’s close, and if the volley of trailers are any indication, fans of the DC universe will see these two in recurring backstory in Stargirl, coming next month. The other famous league of extraordinary superpeople, the Justice Society of America meets its demise, but that’s the starting point, as a young woman named Courtney Whitmore, played by 20-year-old actress Brec Bassinger (School of Rock), learns her stepdad is a superhero sidekick.
Make that “was” a superhero sidekick. Luke Wilson, known best for his roles in Wes Anderson movies and an unforgettable spot on The X-Files, was once S.T.R.I.P.E, a mechanic in a powered armor supersuit, and sidekick to Sylvester Pemberton, aka Starman, played by Community, Ted, and The Soup’s Joel McHale (in the comics the Star-Spangled Kid from the 1940s aka Skyman). Members of Seven Soldiers of Victory, the All-Star Squadron, and the Justice Society of America, these guys got around. In the new series Courtney takes on Starman’s mantle, a cosmic staff that chooses her, and she’ll begin to assemble the next generation of superheroes.
Appearing at first blush a lot like DC’s Doom Patrol, the pantheon of superheroes includes Anjelika Washington and Henry Thomas as versions of Doctor Mid-Nite, Yvette Monreal and Brian Stapf as Wildcat, and Cameron Gellman and Lou Ferrigno, Jr. as Hourman, taking on Christopher James Baker as Brainwave, Joy Osmanski as Tigress, Neil Hopkins as Sportsmaster, Nelson Lee as Dragon King, and Neil Jackson as Icicle.
Here is the new trailer, and some recent trailers, for DC’s Stargirl:
If you’re looking for a show to pep up your day as you go about all your activities, we have the perfect series with a good level of humor, smart writing, and some great actors. It’s Psych. Play it all day, every day in your house, as something to sit down to solve a whodunnit, or check in as you walk past your TV set, or just have the good music and characters bantering about as your own background soundtrack as you get things done, work or play. And play find-the-pineapple–yep, there is a pineapple hidden in every episode (we found all but one). All 120 episodes are now streaming on Amazon Prime, the series airs weekdays on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel, and USA Network just announced a marathon beginning this week, easy to catch for anyone with basic cable or the network app.
Billed as the Super-sized Psychtacular Binge-a-thon or as Shawn calls it, the Suck It COVID-19 Binge-a-Thon, the marathon on USA Network is the biggest Psych marathon in the network’s history. All eight seasons will air weekly this month, starting this coming Wednesday, April 8, at 9 p.m. Central. Airing from 2006 to 2014, the series starred James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic detective who runs a psychic detective agency with his pal Burton “Gus” Guster, played by Dulé Hill. The duo is brought in by the Santa Barbara police department after Shawn convinces Chief Vick (played by Kirsten Nelson) and two key detectives, Juliet (played by Maggie Lawson) and Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter (played by Tim Omundson), that he has psychic powers. He actually doesn’t have psychic powers, but his uncanny, Sherlock Holmesian powers of perception may as well be psychic. And to top it off, the cast is rounded out by Corbin Bernsen as Shawn’s ex-cop dad–who knew Bernsen could be the perfect comedic straight man for a series?
Will we hear more about the second Psych movie in production, titled Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, with new face Joel McHale and Jimmi Simpson back from the grave as Mary, and Kurt Fuller as fun-loving coroner Woody? It’s expected to premiere as the first film on a new NBC streaming service later this year–something to look forward to! Every fan of the series will be happy to hear updates from Omundson, who took a break from acting due to a stroke. He’ll join Roday, Hill, Lawson, Nelson, and Bernsen in the new movie, and all month long, sharing their favorite Psychmoments and memories as part of the marathon.
Here’s a new video update from currently sheltering-at-home Shawn and Gus:
Finally, fourteen years later The X-Files returns to Fox, with a two-day event this coming Sunday, January 24, and Monday, January 25. Fox has released several new previews, including the opening scene of Episode 1, and six posters–one for each episode of this limited run series. The last we saw David Duchovny’s Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Skully was in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, the second movie in the series back in 2008.
So what have they been up to, and who is returning? Of course, Mitch Pileggi is back as Skinner, and William B. Davis as The Cigarette Smoking Man, plus Annabeth Gish as Reyes–even the Lone Gunmen are back. Newcomers Robbie Amell (The Flash), Lauren Ambrose (Coma), and Joel McHale (The Soup, Community) will have appearances on the show, too.
Fortunately Mulder, Skully, and Skinner will take center stage, with the subordinate characters only appearing in a few episodes.
Want to see more? Check out these four previews from Fox:
