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Always Sunny, Ratched, XFL, WWE, Friends & More: BCTV Sunday Slices

Welcome back to another round of BCTV Sunday Slices, our little slice of opinionated heaven where your resident "man-child" (long story, but I realize now that people throw out phrases they actually don't have the ability to understand so that's sad) looks back on the past week in Bleeding Cool Television's (BCTV) coverage to see what worked and what didn't, what made perfect sense and what had me slamming my face against my keyboard, and what left us with questions marks floating around our heads still like an old-school anime. One more time for those who came in late, my weekly gospel is filled with my own thoughts and opinions so no one claims them but me. Cool? We're all clear and on the same page? Then let's get started!

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Pattern wall of pile colorful retro television (BCTV Image: jakkapan / Shutterstock.com)

Not Kayfabe News: The Rock Buys XFL from Vince McMahon: First, that was a dirt-cheap price even by XFL standards to props to Dwayne Johnson for that. But the other part… imagine if he brings it back as some video game football league instead? Couldn't blame him: definitely would be easier than running a sports league during the COVID-19 times.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Kaitlin Olson Starts Emmys Burn War and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia @15: Best, Worst & Our Holiday Song: As satisfying as it feels to have been with the show since the beginning and to now see it make the record books, I'm still "bitter fanboy" when it comes to how ignored the show's been from both the media coverage and awards perspectives. Still, fun dig from Kaitlin Olson.

Hunters Gets Season 2 Mission Green Light from Amazon Studios: If for no other reason, it deserved a second season greenlight for that amazingly wicked Al Pacino twist. Damn.

Utopia: Gillian Flynn's Amazon Series Has Us Questioning Everything and Utopia: Amazon Prime Preview Shows Some Conspiracy Theories Are Real: So far, there's been nothing about this series that makes me not want to become obsessed with it. I know some will automatically go the "but it's not as good as the original route" but so far I'm sold: a sweet mix of fantasy and real-world paranoia- and we get John Cusack back?

Vince McMahon's Large Adult Son Hosts Illegal Fight Club on WWE Raw: I thought watching the son of a man in the middle of a life-long midlife crisis go through his midlife crisis "live" on television would be the saddest thing I would see all week wrestling-wise, but it wasn't. That said, does the WWE think it's 1989 and people will buy into the whole "but this is real" bit? This storyline bleeds "old."

"Antifa" Protestors Firebomb Generator, Push Over Box on WWE Raw: Oh, how I long for the days of the Nexus takeover and Paul Heyman leading the ECW insurrection. Hell, that ending of SmackDown when Kurt Angle leads the RAW troops on an attack on the SmackDown wrestlers and Shane McMahon felt more dangerous and edgy. This was just sad, and it just got sadder on SmackDown. Spray paint you can't read, beating up a wrestling ring, and taking over an arena that looks like everyone left an hour ago isn't impressive. "Retribution"? For what? Enjoying AEW Dynamite too much? Hey, BCTV still likes NXT- be more like them.

Who Poisoned Montez Ford Last Night? We Have 5 Suspects: In case you were wondering about third place.

Sarah Paulson's Nurse Ratched Is Here to Show You Mercy: Trailer: I know we're not getting the eleventh season of American Horror Story, but after seeing the trailer for Sarah Paulson and Ryan Murphy's Netflix series it's safe to say AHS fans have found their unofficial "season." Paulson can get me to watch her blink on camera for a half-hour, but that line about the dirty fingernails was the perfect kick-off line that sets the tone (though the "peach debate" is a close second).

New Who's The Boss? Series Planned; Tony Danza, Alyssa Milano Return: People assumed I was going to beat up on this, but just the opposite. Having Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano returning is a huge bonus, and the idea of having him living with her to help her raise her child is an interesting one. I hope they don't go the Fuller House route with it because there's a ton of timely dramatic potential that could be tapped.

The Ren & Stimpy Show Reimagining Joins Comedy Central Animation Block: Comedy Central is not messing around when it comes to boosting its adult animation block and doing it was some familiar faces as they build around South Park (returning soon for its 322nd season). Notice there was no mention of John Kricfalusi, and an emphasis on the series going in new directions? BCTV approves that move.

The Walking Dead Looks Back on Two Distinctly Different Carl Grimes: Never really liked Carl. Sorry. It's nothing personal. Please leave me alone about it. You're just convincing me more that I'm right. Otherwise, I'll have to start in on how Connie is sooooo much better for Daryl than Carol.

Big Sky: ABC Releases Teasers for David E. Kelley Thriller Series and Raised by Wolves Official Trailer: Hell Hath No Fury Like Mother: Two distinctly different series: one's a mystery-thriller from David. E. Kelley for ABC and the other's a sci-fi drama from Ridley Scott for HBO Max. The one thing they have in common? They both caught me off-guard and have me more interested than I was expecting- especially Big Sky since I'm not exactly the biggest network television watcher.

Siren Sings Its Last Song: Freeform Cancels Series After 3 Seasons: A solid, fun fantasy series that I'm not surprised to see it come to an end after three seasons, especially because I can't imagine talks of future telemovies haven't happened in some way, shape, or form.

High Fidelity: Hulu Cancels Zoë Kravitz Series After Only One Season, High Fidelity Star Zoë Kravitz on Series Ending: "#breakupssuck", and High Fidelity Star Zoë Kravitz Jabs Hulu for Lack of Diversity: Of all the streaming services, Hulu is the one that annoys me the most because it doesn't seem like it has any real plan or purpose programming-wise other than to be a home for FX Network's content. The only way this has a silver lining is if Zoë Kravitz announces a Catwoman series at HBO MAX during DC FanDome (you never know).

The Witcher: Lauren S. Hissrich Posts Updates from Season 2 Set: Lauren S. Hissrich still rules.

Doom Patrol Season 2 Finale "Wax Patrol" Waxes and Wanes: Review: A show that made one of the most impressive improvements from the first season to second, and I'm keeping various body parts crossed that a season 3 greenlight is in the show's HBO Max (sorry, DC Universe) future.

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Weeds (BCTV Image: Showtime)

Weeds 4.20: Sequel Series Key as Lionsgate Takes Series to Syndication: If there was any series revival that could grow and prosper in 2020, it's the Mary Louise Parker-starring pot series. Though Showtime did right by the show during its run, BCTV is looking forward to the STARZ grittiness being applied to the series' return.

WarnerMedia: Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly Out; Casey Bloys Promoted: Not surprising considering the push towards streaming with HBO Max and the success HBO's been having with its original programming (Watchmen, I May Destroy You, Perry Mason, The Outsider, etc.). AEW loses an ally in Kevin Reilly, but geek genre programming gains an open mind in Casey Bloys.

Friends Star Jennifer Aniston Puts Positive Spin on New Reunion Delay: My feeling? If they want the reunion, they'll be able to film it in September. But if they want a studio audience, then it's going to be early 2021.

Stargirl: Important Season Finale Note; Brec Bassinger on "Epic" Fight: This soon-to-be-CW-exclusive series has quietly become the blueprint for finding the right combination of storylines that feel real with some amazing examples of the fantastic. While I'm slightly concerned that budget cuts could hurt the show a bit next season, we also know that The CW knows how to promote the sh*t out of a show so that's a major advantage.

A League of Their Own EPs Talk Penny Marshall Meeting, Series Themes: Series creators Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham have the blessing of Penny Marshall and Geena Davis (and more from the original film), and are promising an even deeper dive into the topics of sexuality, inclusion/exclusion, and racism. Having a home on a streaming service like Amazon Prime will give them a large enough creative sandbox to tell a fuller story, and BCTV is definitely looking forward to it.


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Ray FlookAbout Ray Flook

Serving as Television Editor since 2018, Ray began five years earlier as a contributing writer/photographer before being brought onto the core BC team in 2017.
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