Month: April 2020

We haven’t done a full WrestleMania preview here in a while at IGN, but given the circumstances of this year’s unique and historic WrestleMania 36, which has been whittled down to bare bones broadcasting from WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, I thought it’d be worth a closer look. Let’s sift though what to expect from the annual “Grandest Stage of Them All.”

Obviously, none of this ideal. The state of the world’s not ideal. However the decision was made to not cancel or postpone WrestleMania, but instead hold it in a small venue with no one in attendance except the performers and crew. Whatever the full reasons behind the choice to not stop the runaway train that is WWE’s ongoing product, be they financial or creative, or a combination of both, WrestleMania is about to look and feel starkly different.

It’s also worth mentioning here that there are strong rumors (just rumors, mind you) that WWE is actually considering, after their post-Mania pre-taped shows air, taking an actual hiatus. Which is a truly unheard of-yet-understandable thing; given the ever-increasing safety restrictions in Florida, it just might not be possible to keep the torch lit.

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Where Will WrestleMania 36 Be Held?

WWE started using its own tricked-out training facility, the WWE Performance Center, for televised events back on March 11 when NXT aired its weekly live show from there due to their usual venue at Full Sail being booked for a separate event. This was originally meant to be a one-off and not the new normal going forward, but the spread of COVID-19 quickly started ramping up and by that Friday, March 13 – just two days later – Smackdown was being held from the Performance Center with no fans in attendance. As it stands, that NXT show is the last event WWE had in front of a live crowd.

WWE held RAW, SmackDown, and NXT from the emptied-out Performance Center the following week, with the decision finally made to move WrestleMania there announced on Saturday, March 21. Many had wondered what might happen first: Vince making the call to cancel or postpone or Tampa city officials pulling the plug. Ultimately, WWE chose to switch venues, cancel all other Tampa events (TV Tapings, NXT TakeOver, Hall of Fame), and also spread the WrestleMania wealth out over two nights.

What Time Does WrestleMania 2020 Start?

Billed as being “Two Big for Just One Night,” WrestleMania 36’s card has now been stretched over two nights – April 4 and 5, beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. It’s possibly the craziest example of broad showmanship ever as, obviously, ‘Mania is smaller than ever this year. It’s actually such a weird misnomer that you kind of want a 180 to happen, where Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, or Triple H opens this weekend’s proceedings with an earnest message that fully addressees the corona-elephant in the room. I understand that WWE has a deep “show must go on” drive to distract people and provide entertainment (to its detriment sometimes), but I think a touch of actual honesty would be good right now.

Anyhoo, the show is very much not “too big” for one night. The decision to split it up over two days may have come from a combo of wanting to provide two nights of entertainment for those in isolation while also realizing that a nine-hour show from the Performance Center would seriously risk becoming a mind-numbing affair. It’s a lot of sameness. As it was, WrestleMania in front of 80 thousand people could also get dull in its own right. WWE now had to consider putting on a marathon of a show in a very intimate space.

WrestleMania 36 Schedule

The breakdown of matches for the two nights is rumored to be the following (though word has it WWE is still mulling over the roster for the two nights):

Night One, April 4

• Roman Reigns (er, no) vs. Bill Goldberg
• Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
• John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt – Firefly Funhouse Match
• Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins

Night Two, April 5

• Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
• Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
• Edge vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match
• The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles – Boneyard Match

These aren’t all the bouts, just a rough breakdown of the most-marquee matches and how they’re probably being divvied up. The reported idea is still to have eight matches each night so we might get a card looking a lot like that, along with these eight extra matches sprinkled in:

• Lacey Evans vs. Sasha Banks vs. Naomi vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Bayley – Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match
• Angel Garza and (Andrade replacement) Austin Theory vs. The Street Profits
• Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
• The New Day vs. The Usos vs. John Morrison and The Miz* – Triple Threat Ladder Match (*but Miz is out, so it will be altered)
• Nikki Cross and Alexa Bliss vs. Asuka and Kairi Sane
• Elias vs. King Baron Corbin
• Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black
• Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler

Is WrestleMania 36 Being Pre-Taped?

Because of the unique way this is all unfolding, and mass uncertainty when it comes to travel and the ability to gain access to talent when needed, there was no way WrestleMania 36 could have been broadcast live. With different businesses closing every day and people’s ability to even leave their homes being mandated by local authorities, WWE had to basically get everyone they needed in the building at the same time and then shoot everything they could. That included RAWs, SmackDowns (which is why last week’s pre-taped SmackDown didn’t address Roman Reigns pulling himself from the show), NXT (which taped the TakeOver matches for its regular weekly show), the post-Mania RAW, and WrestleMania 36 itself.

Just three weeks ago, Edge had to drive 17 hours from his home in North Carolina just to deliver a promo for a RAW. This was just the beginning of future personnel issues, so WWE had to switch over to a model that other, smaller promotions have been using for decades – taping multiple TV episodes at once.

According to Sports Business Daily, “government rules surrounding the outbreak made it impossible for WWE to have the amount of personnel on hand for a fully live WrestleMania. Instead, most matches have already been taped, including from locations beyond the Performance Center. However, the two shows planned will feature live content as well.”

So some things will be live. We just don’t know what yet. Commentator chatter? Backstage segments? We’ll find out.

Out of the Ring and Off-Site Matches

When Edge challenged Randy Orton to a Last Man Standing match on the RAW he spent hours and hours driving to, many fans wondered why anyone would do that type of match in an empty facility? Did WWE still think the pandemic was going to blow over in time for the stadium show in Tampa? Or did WWE realize that because the show was going to be on lockdown, you had to mix up the locations as much as possible? So instead of all the matches happening in the same ring, surrounded by the same nothingness and silence, Edge and Orton will be able to traverse the performance center and raise hell.

Of course, before the walls of COVID-19 closed in on WWE, NXT’s Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa actually brawled and battled around the same building, so Edge and Orton will have to try and make their dance differ from NXT’s previous war.

Then there are the actual off-site matches, one on each night. Much like the (much-maligned) House of Horrors match between Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt from a few years back, these will be filmed fights in different non-ring settings. AJ Styles and Undertaker are going to meet up in a Boneyard Match. At first, it seemed like WWE was trying to re-name the Buried Alive match. And who knows? Maybe someone will get tossed in an open grave? But what it is, overall, is a cemetery brawl. WWE just didn’t want to use the name “cemetery” or “graveyard.” The stipulations of the match, and how one wins, will probably be announced the night of.

John Cena and Bray Wyatt, on the other hand, are wrestling in – basically – an… alternate dimension? Inside Bray’s mind prison, the Firefly Funhouse. It’s a mock-up of a children’s TV show like Mr. Rogers or Blue’s Clues and it’s basically a place Bray retreats to in order to escape his past pain and torment. Yup. They’re going to wrestle in there. Hopefully, it’ll be wickedly imaginative, maybe even incorporating elements of Bray’s past gimmicks. Why not? The Funhouse is supposed to be a ferocious catalog of Bray’s history as a wrestler.

It’s also worth mentioning that Gargano vs. Ciampa, which was originally booked for NXT TakeOver: Tampa, will also take place in some type of off-site dilapidated warehouse.

WrestleMania 36 Roster: Will Roman Reigns and The Miz Appear?

Though it hasn’t been officially acknowledged by WWE, Roman Reigns has pulled himself from his slated Universal Title match against Bill Goldberg due to being immunocompromised.

The Miz is out too, or was out, since all of this has been taped already, as he reportedly was feeling ill and was not cleared to participate at the time of filming. Buddy Murphy, who wasn’t scheduled for a match but probably would have been in Seth Rollins’ corner, was also not cleared to wrestle. Rey Mysterio was also not involved in the card as he was quarantined.

On the women’s side, Dana Brooke is in quarantine, or at least was during the tapings, so she did not participate in the multi-challenger match for Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship.

Andrade is also out, but that’s because he suffered a rib injury during his match on last week’s RAW.

These are the nuts and bolts of the roster right now. It’s shame that Roman ultimately had to pull himself from the show and wasn’t made to by WWE, given his recent triumph over leukemia, but it’s totally for the best that he leave the scene right now – and not just because if he and Goldberg had gone out there in front of tens of thousands of people, they’d have been booed out of the Bay.

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Will WrestleMania 36 Still Be Pirate-Themed?

Man, I sure freakin’ hope so.

No, it’s not in Tampa Bay anymore, and it’s a bummer we can’t watch Kairi Sane come out on a giant ship or New Day dress up like – I dunno – the Pirates of Dark Water or something, but WWE is still using the pirate graphics. The TV promos are still using that swashbuckling score and the match image backdrops are still all Jack Sparrow-y.

Just keep everything excessively Treasure Island; put the entire commentary team in ya-har! costuming like they did back at WrestleMania IX when everyone had to wear togas. Make these uncertain times… FUNcertain times. You can take away our giant outdoor stadium, but you’ll never take away our desire to see Kevin Owens remove Byron Saxton’s peg leg and hit Seth Rollins with it.

You know, moving forward, when normalcy returns and crowds are once again allowed to gather, there might be something to the whole “spreading ‘Mania out over two nights” deal. Of course, it would bump NXT TakeOver and those are WWE’s best shows by far, but just the idea of breaking up the excessive length of a normal WrestleMania is a topic worth broaching.

Will you be watching WrestleMania 36? Both nights? If so, what match are you looking forward to the most?

I’ll be live-blogging the event on both nights, so make sure you check out IGN’s homepage for all the WrestleMania match results and reactions in real-time.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

IGN is proud to announce our new Summer of Gaming event, a global, digital event set to take place this June to bring you the latest news and impressions around upcoming games and the next generation of console hardware.

IGN will be collaborating with a number of partners for the Summer of Gaming, including 2K, Square Enix, SEGA, Bandai Namco, Amazon, Google, Twitter, Devolver Digital, THQ Nordic, and more. Expect more details in the coming weeks. The event will include live broadcasts and on-demand programming featuring IGN’s editorial coverage of the work of game developers from around the world.

With E3 2020 cancelled, IGN has a suite of programming planned to kick off in early June. It includes publisher presentations with IGN pre- and post-discussions, remote developer interviews, hands-on demos and preview impressions, gameplay, and news segments recapping the biggest announcements.

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Audiences at home around the world can participate as well, sending in reaction videos, voting on favorite announcements, and more.

IGN’s global coverage spans 112 countries and 25 languages and aims to ensure that fans can enjoy this incredible digital experience regardless of what device or platform they use. IGN’s live programming can be accessed on any one of IGN’s more than 20 platforms, including desktop, mobile, OTT, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mixer, Twitch, Snapchat Discover, TikTok, and more.

“With the next generation of console gaming kicking off later this year and gamers eager to learn more about what games they’ll be playing on their new hardware, our online event will be a key moment for publishers and developers to connect with the audience worldwide,” Peer Schneider, Chief Content and Product Officer at IGN, said in a statement alongside the announcement.

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“More and more people are turning towards video games for entertainment and escapism. Last week we saw new records for traffic across all of our platforms — we’re excited to bring this Global, Digital Event to our audiences and partners- as this will be an event not to be missed,” Yael Prough, EVP and General Manager at IGN, said in a statement as well.

IGN will bring you more information on the event in the weeks to come, but stay tuned for all the latest on our Summer of Gaming.

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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The boundaries between sci-fi and horror have been blurred from the early days of cinema. Movies such as Frankenstein and The Invisible Man used sci-fi concepts to evoke major scares, and inevitably the terror of creatures from other worlds became a major part of scary cinema.

Classic alien invasion movies such as War of the Worlds certainly had their scary moments, but for the most part they were sci-fi adventures more interested in thrilling an audience than terrifying them. But by the time The Thing from Another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers arrived in the 1950s, the emphasis had shifted. These films were fully intent on inflicting maximum scares on their viewers, using the paranoid terror of shapeshifting and human-mimicking aliens to genre-changing effect.

The most influential scary alien horror movie is, of course, Ridley Scott’s Alien. The film might have been set in deep space, but it had more in common with the slasher movies of the era than Star Trek or Star Wars, and it ensured that every subsequent movie featuring an alien stalking human prey would be compared to it.

There are plenty of horror movies about aliens available to stream right now, so we’ve compiled a list of some of the best. These range from ridiculous gorefests to scary arthouse chillers, and everything in-between. Stream these and more on our favorite services, and once you’ve read this, check out our guide to the best scary alien invasion movies ever.

• Netflix
• Shudder
• Amazon Prime

10. Apollo 18 (2011)

Streaming: Netflix

The found footage craze of the 2000s resulted in movies of pretty much every horror sub-genre you can imagine. Apollo 18 took the gimmick into space. The premise is that the real-life cancelled 1973 moon expedition actually happened, but because the ship never returned to earth, it was covered up and future lunar missions were cancelled. The movie uses the recently “discovered” footage of what occured on the mission–and without saying much more, it involves aliens. Lots of aliens.

9. Contamination (1980)

Streaming: Shudder

Throughout the ’70 and ’80s, the Italian film industry thrived on churning out “homages” to successful American movies. The huge success of Alien in 1979 naturally led to some Italian rip-offs, the best of which is Contamination. For budgetary reasons the movie is set on Earth instead of deep space, but does still feature an alien creature who lays toxic exploding eggs throughout New York. Veteran director Luigi Cozzi delivers none of the artistry that Ridley Scott brought to Alien, but who cares when you’ve got gallons of gore and exploding human bodies?

8. Extinction (2018)

Streaming: Netflix

This Netflix Original puts an interesting spin of the alien invasion movie. Michael Peña stars as a man who has terrifying premonitions of aliens taking over the earth, shortly before it actually happens. As sinister masked beings arrive and start wiping out the human race, he begins to wonder if these strange visions hold the secret to his survival. To say any more would give away some great twists.

7. A Quiet Place (2018)

Streaming: Prime

While the terrifying creatures of the 2018 horror hit A Quiet Place aren’t ever revealed to be aliens in the movie itself, director John Krasinski subsequently confirmed that’s exactly what they are. These huge, fast-moving beasts have terrible eyesight but amazing hearing, so you better not make a sound unless you want to become their dinner. A Quiet Place: Part II was meant to arrive in March but has now been delayed until September, so in the meantime you can watch the incredibly tense original on Prime Video.

6. Forbidden World (1982)

Streaming: Prime

Like Contamination, 1982’s Forbidden World is an enjoyably gory low budget sci-fi horror made to cash in on the success of Alien. It was produced by Roger Corman, and like many Corman productions, reuses elements from his other films, including James Cameron-designed sets from another alien horror, Galaxy of Terror, and space footage from the Star Wars rip-off Battle Beyond the Stars. It’s set on a genetic research station on a remote planet, where a team of scientists create a new, monstrous lifeform. No prizes for guessing what happens next: the creature escapes and starts picking off the members of the unlucky research team.

5. Pod (2015)

Streaming: Shudder

Pod is a great example of how to make an effective alien horror movie with very little money or resources. It’s largely a three-hander, in which two siblings visit their reclusive brother, an army vet who claims to have uncovered a government conspiracy after finding an alien pod in the woods. Strong performances and a clever script from director Mickey Keating ensure that Pod is a taut and unpredictable 78-minute chiller.

4. Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)

Streaming: Netflix

Few movie titles sum up the movie better than Killer Klowns from Outer Space. A group of aliens who happen to resemble monstrous deformed clowns invade a small town and start capturing its inhabitants with the intention of harvesting them. These evil entertainers use murderous circus tricks, deadly cotton candy, and man-eating popcorn to carry out their wicked plans. From The Dickies’ iconic theme song to the Chiodo brothers’ amazing make-up effects, this is a wildly entertaining ’80s cult gem.

3. Species (1995)

Streaming: Prime

Species is a hugely entertaining ’90s oddity–it combines sci-fi horror with Basic Instinct-style erotic thrills and had a high-profile cast that included Ben Kingsley, Forest Whittaker, Alfred Molina, and Michael Madsen. It centers on a monster named Sil, a human/alien hybrid created in a laboratory by injecting a human egg with extraterrestrial DNA. Inevitably, as an adult, Sil escapes and starts hunting human mates. For much of the movie, Sil is seen in the human form and is played by former model Natasha Henstridge, but the movie’s climax reveals Sil’s true appearance, a spikey, tentacled monster designed by HR Giger, the Swedish artist behind the original Alien design.

2. Liquid Sky (1982)

Streaming: Shudder

This independent classic has become a much revered cult movie over the decades, with considerable influence on both club culture and fashions scenes. The outlandish plot, in which pleasure-seeking aliens come to ’80s New York, is the most normal thing about it. The striking production design, weird humor, and pioneering synth score are a counterpoint to the explicit and sometimes disturbing depictions of sex, violence, and drug use. Liquid Sky isn’t a horror movie in the traditional sense, but if weird underground movies about depraved alien visitors are your thing, it’s an absolute must-see.

1. Under the Skin (2013)

Streaming: Netflix

On the most basic level, Under the Skin has much in common with Species–an alien takes on the form of a seductive female and sets about hunting for human prey. But in the hands of director Jonathan Glazer, it’s a deeply unsettling arthouse horror movie. Scarlett Johansson delivers perhaps her best ever performance as the unnamed extraterrestrial visitor, and the fact that many of her encounters as she tries to find her victims were with real men, filmed with hidden cameras, adds to the chilling realism. The bleak Scottish locations make for a perfect setting, and the movie contains some unforgettably disturbing scenes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s battle royale spin-off, Warzone, has been immensely popular, but if you’ve wanted to try the core game’s regular multiplayer modes, then you have your chance right now. Modern Warfare’s multiplayer will be free until April 6 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. That’s only three days, but even if you don’t end up buying the full game, it’s a good opportunity to level up your weapons and create some loadouts for Warzone–all of your Warzone purchases and levels also carry over to multiplayer.

Anyone who has already downloaded Warzone can simply select the “Multiplayer” option from the main menu to access the free multiplayer weekend. If you don’t currently have Warzone, then be sure to download it soon, so you can play as much as possible. Unfortunately, if you want to keep playing Modern Warfare’s multiplayer past the free weekend, it looks like you’ll need to pay full price–no discounts have been revealed as of yet.

One of this weekend’s available playlists includes “Stocked Up, Locked Down,” which rotates between 10v10 Atlas Superstore and 6v6 Shoothouse maps through modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, and more–unfortunately, the April Fool’s Day playlists have been removed. Other game modes you can expect include the 64v64 Ground War game type and Gunfight, the latter of which is a 2v2, last-man-standing battle. It’s incredibly tense and is perfect to take on with a friend.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

All eight episodes of Future Man’s third and final season will air Friday, April 3 on Hulu.

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It’s time, once again, to wreak some hilarious havoc on the spacetime continuum as Hulu’s Future Man debuts its final season to wrap things up. At only eight episodes, Future Man’s last hurrah feels a little flat on the landing, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a ridiculously clever ride most of the time.

While Season 2 best represents the show’s apex with regards to diabolical dystopian dopiness, Season 3 has more than a few ferociously funny elements to tout. Josh, Tiger, and Wolf find themselves on a Bill & Ted style chase through history in an attempt to evade time cops out to capture them for seriously screwing up the universe.

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Seth Rogen, who executive produces the series along with longtime cohort Evan Goldberg, returns as the far-off future TV deathsport host, Susan Saint Jackalope. In a more prominent recurring role here, Rogen helps ease the series into its endgame as the show leans heavily on futuristic absurdities at the start and then slowly becomes a sci-fi series that’s mostly set outdoors in sunshine-soaked woods and fields. This isn’t exactly new to Future Man, as the saga’s always relied heavily on a rustic aesthetic – whether it’s portraying a ravaged, primitive timeline or, in this case, whooshing our heroes into the past.

So how do you successfully deliver sci-fi in a mostly tech-free environment? Well, by being insanely amusing – and also snarkily smart about the types of crucibles you put your main characters through. With the Biotic Wars aspect of the series done, and Haley Joel Osment’s Stu thwarted at the end of last season, this final season is able to focus more on the main trio and the “undoing” of their grave galactic errors. Cosmic punching bag Josh (the outrageously game Josh Hutcherson) will find his way into a more confident and reliable role, Tiger (the insultingly talented Eliza Coupe) will tempter her wrath by finding inner peace, and Wolf (the show’s best surprise, Derek Wilson) will discover a humble selflessness – all while making massive mistakes that directly swerve and twist humanity’s trajectory.

Future Man shines brightest when it really pushes the boundaries of existential torture. Yes, it regularly “goes there” in terms of vulgarity, but it’s the show’s imaginative and warped sense of cruelty when it comes to beautiful bats**t abuse that makes it a cut above. Whether Josh is trapped for months in 18th century America with a rotting leg or everyone spends the insane equivalent of an eternity in a pocket universe with Abe Lincoln and Jesus, the story, even when set in a no-frills/low-fi setting, can mess with your head in a humorous, haunting way.

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Future Man, though set up for binging, also nicely embraces the “episode.” While the final season as a whole can be sort of split into the “time cop chase” part and the “stranded in celebrity oblivion” segment, the show still creates very compelling chapters. It’s something that a lot of streaming shows don’t focus on anymore in the quest to feel like a 10-hour movie. This series has always had a keen creative eye for keeping things moving in blocks.

It’s also fun to watch how the main trio’s dynamic changes with each new installment, whether they’re trapped in a version of domestic hell or Wolf’s going mad while living in something akin to The Good Place. Things might end with a bit of a whisper, considering all the chaos the show has unleashed in the past, but this final season is still aggressively entertaining.

Oh, and make sure you watch the post-finale credits!

Sometimes you just have to laugh. With everyone stuck indoors right now for an unknown amount of time thanks to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, chances are you could use a pick-me-up to help pass the time.

Still, with so many streaming services–and so many options available on each–it could become pretty hard to narrow down what to watch, especially if you’re looking for a TV show rather than a movie. Do you want a sitcom or a sketch series? Are you interested in a beloved series or a more obscure pick?

Given that Netflix remains the reigning king of the streaming wars, you don’t actually have to look any further to find the show that’s right for you, whether you’re looking for a rewatch or a first-time binge. To make things a bit easier, though, GameSpot has put together a list of the 22 best comedies the service has to offer–and there’s something for just about everyone. Take a look at the list below to figure out what you’re going to watch on Netflix next.

When you’re ready to trade the laughs for scares, make sure to check out our breakdown of the 10 cosmic horror movies you should stream.

1. Community

At long last, Community is back on Netflix. The NBC comedy, which ultimately aired its final season on Yahoo, is a modern classic that’s just begging to be rewatched. It’s the show that introduced the world to the likes of Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, and Gillian Jacobs. It also launched the careers of Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo, for better or worse. While Community’s quality waned in its final season, now is the perfect time to start the Greendale Community College journey one more time–or for the first time, if you somehow missed it. – Chris E. Hayner

2. Cheers

It’s one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. However, it’s also a bit older so it’s entirely possible you’ve never seen it. Should that be the case, now is the time. Set in a bar in Boston, Cheers rarely leaves the titular watering hole. It simply shows the comings and goings of regular patrons, without spending too much time wondering if they have drinking problems. In many ways, Cheers is a workplace comedy. The difference is most of the people don’t work there. – Chris E. Hayner

3. The Office

It’s one of the most popular comedies of all time for a reason and you should watch it on Netflix while you still can. The Office is leaving the streaming service soon to move to the forthcoming Peacock. Until that happens at the end of 2020, though, you have plenty of time to watch The Office repeatedly. And when you do sit down for your latest rewatch, don’t stop when Steve Carrell exits the series. Yes, the lack of Michael Scott doesn’t help the show, but there are plenty of classic and hilarious moments in the final seasons. – Chris E. Hayner

4. The Good Place

Now that The Good Place has come to an end–and the final season will arrive on Netflix sometime later this year–it’s the perfect time to finally dive into this show. What happens when a group of pretty awful people winds up in heaven due to a clerical error? The Good Place will explore that and take so many unexpected twists and turns, you’ll find yourself constantly on the edge of your seat. – Chris E. Hayner

5. One Day At A Time

This modernized take on the classic Norman Lear sitcom is just a pure and perfect comedy watch for your family. The series centers around a woman raising her two children as a single mother with the help of her own mom, played by acting legend Rita Moreno (West Side Story). While on the surface, One Day at a Time appears to be another in a long line of studio audience sitcoms–like The Big Bang Theory or Friends–it often digs deeper with its subject matter, exploring issues like politics, citizenship, and mortality, while tackling them all with an enormous heart.

The first three seasons of One Day at a Time are available on Netflix. After you’re caught up there, you can watch new episodes on the Pop network. – Chris E. Hayner

6. Billy on the Street

If you somehow haven’t seen clips of Billy on the Street floating around social media, chances are you’re not on social media. The premise is simple: Actor and comedian Billy Eichner (Parks and Recreation, The Lion King) runs around the streets of New York City with random celebrities to yell at people and play an impromptu game show with pedestrians he’s never met–and the prize is typically a single dollar. – Chris E. Hayner

7. BoJack Horseman

If you’ve somehow avoided becoming obsessed with BoJack up until now, I have good news for you: The series just ended, it’s unbelievably fantastic, and it’s all on Netflix. In a world where anthropomorphic animals and humans coexist and where Hollywood is permanently renamed “Hollywoo” because BoJack got drunk and stole the “D” from the Hollywood sign to impress Diane, pathos meets comedy in a way that’s hard to describe. Go watch it. – Mike Rougeau

8. Parks and Recreation

Yes, the first season of Parks & Rec isn’t great. The series wasn’t exactly sure of its identity in the beginning. However, once it got past that hurdle, Parks & Rec became quite possibly the best workplace comedy of all time. That’s right: It out-Officed The Office. The show is responsible for an endless number of memes, people quoting Ron Swanson’s incredible nuggets of wisdom, and showcasing just how big Ben Schwartz’s hair can get. Drop everything and start binging it now. – Chris E. Hayner

9. Schitt’s Creek

This Canadian import airs in the United States on Pop but found its audience thanks to Netflix. The premise sees an obnoxiously rich family move from New York City to a backwoods fictional town they purchased as a joke and are forced to acclimate to a new and very simple way of life. The humor in the show is found in the clash between how ridiculously upper-crust the Rhodes family is compared with their new setting. The show begins extremely absurd and as seasons roll on, becomes much more comfortable showing its heart–which in turn will just make you love everyone involved even more. – Chris E. Hayner

10. Monty Python’s Flying Circus

The Flying Circus doesn’t totally hold up quite as well as Monty Python’s film offerings, including Holy Grail and Life of Brian, whose influences on modern comedy are inestimable. But as a quarantine binge, it’s fantastic. The show’s dozens of episodes contain plenty of gold, and you’ll encounter catchphrases and punch lines that you’re familiar with today–that you didn’t even realize were Monty Python bits. You might even discover the origin of my Twitter handle. – Mike Rougeau

11. Galavant

Dan Fogelman’s musical adventure series might not have been a ratings sensation, but with music by Disney and Broadway legend Alan Menken, Christopher Lennertz, and Glenn Slater, it’s full of catchy tunes in the midst of Monty Python and the Holy Grail style antics. With a cast led by Joshua Sasse, Galavant was full of charm, comedy, and crazy cameos and recurring characters by the likes of Weird Al, Kylie Monogue, and John Stamos. It only lasted for two seasons, but some things aren’t just meant to be. It makes for great binge TV and sing-a-longs with whoever you might be cooped up with these days. – Lan Pitts

12. I Think You Should Leave

I Think You Should Leave has developed a cult following, and it’s quickly become one of those shows that seemingly everyone at least kind of knows even if they haven’t seen it, thanks in large part to its focus group sketch. But among its six episodes, you’re hard-pressed to find a dud in the bunch; even those who might not resonate with you initially reveal themselves to be brilliant on rewatch as you appreciate small quirks, notice the repetition of odd phrasings, and delight in analyzing the truly unexpected 180-degree turn that so many of its sketches take. It might take you some time to get on the same wavelength with Tim Robinson’s eccentric form of comedy, but there’s really nothing like it if you find that it’s right in your Q-zone. – Chris Pereira

13. Comedy Bang Bang

The TV extension of the long-running Comedy Bang Bang podcast bears a fairly different format, presenting itself as a late-night talk show. But it’s ultimately a platform for the same sort of improv-based comedy that Scott Aukerman is known for, as a celebrity comes on to play themselves and is later joined on the couch by an array of comedians playing absurd people who generally don’t belong on TV. This is accompanied by episode-long story arcs and sketches to keep things feeling fresh, and with all five seasons on Netflix, it’s a nice comfort food show to keep you company or to just have on in the background. – Chris Pereira

14. W/ Bob & David

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are sketch comedy legends. Their HBO series Mr. Show ran for four seasons, and it was perfect. While their Netflix run debuted 17 years after Mr. Show ended, it feels like the perfect continuation of what the two previously accomplished. The duo’s writing and performances hadn’t skipped a beat, and even though the Netflix series only spans four episodes, it contained some incredibly memorable and hilarious sketches. Who could forget Seinfeld Star Wars or the little boy who died and went to heaven, only to see dictators up there? It’s a short season, but it’s something you’ll want to watch all in one sitting. Then you can watch I Think You Should Leave again. – Mat Elfring

15. Arrested Development

Arrested Development stands the test of time as one of the most beloved TV comedies ever made. At least, some of it does. The series, which aired its first three seasons on Fox, stars Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth, a man who attempts to keep his family together after his father is imprisoned. Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, David Cross, and countless guest stars make the cast incredible, while endless complex, obscure running jokes make the humor unforgettable.

While the two Netflix-exclusive seasons don’t live up to the first three years of the show, every single episode of the series is available for you to dig through on the streaming platform. – Chris E. Hayner

16. Mystery Science Theater 3000

The revival of the classic TV series brought some truly terrible movies–and very fun mocking of said movies–to Netflix. All told, the two-season revival only includes 20 episodes, but that’s more than enough to keep you busy for quite a while, watching puppets, robots, and comedian Jonah Ray joke about some of the most utterly ridiculous movies ever made. – Chris E. Hayner

17. Sex Education

Equal parts comedy and drama, Netflix’s Sex Education is easily one of the best original series on the streaming service. It follows a teenage boy named Otis (Asa Butterfield) as he becomes something of an unlicensed sex therapist in his high school, thanks to his mom being an actual sex therapist. The young man deals with everything from bullies to relationships to a chlamydia outbreak at his school in this funny and oftentimes hauntingly realistic depiction of the high school experience. – Chris E. Hayner

18. Portlandia

Put a bird on it! Portlandia is a truly strange and delightful sketch comedy show that skewers hipster culture and the city of Portland, Oregon, where the show claims the 1990s are alive and well. Starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein–who co-created the show with Jonathan Krisel–the series sees the two leads playing a variety of different characters that lean into the humor of mundanity. How mundane? Imagine a sketch that’s just about people bingeing DVDs of Battlestar Galactica. – Chris E. Hayner

19. Big Mouth

This over-the-top animated series follows middle school students as they go through puberty, for better and worse. Big Mouth handles its subject matter with shocking crudeness, while also introducing truly ridiculous elements like the hormone monsters–imagine hideous and horny angels and devils living on your shoulder. But the series also has a surprising amount of heart. – Chris E. Hayner

20. Documentary Now!

If there’s one thing Netflix has plenty of, it’s documentaries. The service has documentaries about practically anything you can think of. It also has every episode of IFC’s Documentary Now!, which might present itself as factual, but is actually a series of mockumentaries. With a cast that included Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, and Helen Mirren, and guests like Jack Black, Aidy Bryant, and Maya Rudolph, Documentary Now! is one of the funniest shows you likely haven’t seen and there are three seasons worth of episodes to watch right now. Where else will you get incredible fake documentaries about incredible fake topics like a festival honoring Al Capone or a door-to-door globe salesman? – Chris E. Hayner

21. Adam Ruins Everything

Sometimes, shows can be both comical and educational. And TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything does exactly that. The 30-minute series tackles everyday topics–like the TSA, organized sports, health supplements, and more–and host Adam Conover debunks myths about them and enlightens the audience about the truths behind the topic all while citing credible sources. Conover’s ability to deliver dry facts and stats with humor is a winning combination. – Mat Elfring

22. Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father

British comedian Jack Whitehall’s show, which is now a Netflix original, has the titular star traveling around the world with his mildly uptight, always dressed to the nines father. It’s exactly what the title suggests. It’s two people from wildly different generations in different places in life traveling the world. It’s essentially a new version of The Odd Couple, and it works exceptionally well. I highly recommend new viewers check out Season 3, which has the duo heading to the United States, where Jack learns to become a professional wrestler. – Mat Elfring

Since it launched into Early Access this past Monday I’ve spent about 20 hours with Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord so far, and it definitely makes a mixed impression. On one hand, it’s a whole lot prettier than its 10-year-old predecessor, Mount & Blade: Warband. The map looks gorgeous, allowing you to scroll completely seamlessly from practically right over your character’s shoulder all the way up to a high-level strategic view. The lighting, textures, and terrain are all impressive. The level of detail really makes me feel like I’m in a living world. And they’ve done away with the weird, blocky, edge-of-the-map geometry blobs that made Warband’s map look like the gods hit a certain point and just gave up.

The interface has been drastically improved as well. It’s visually pleasing, well-organized, and easy to work with. However, there are certain things that don’t have tooltips which I wish were better explained, and there’s a significant amount of lag when switching between menus that kind of gets on my nerves. There are also a few screens that are difficult to get to and don’t even have a hotkey you can look up in the keybind menu. But it’s still such a huge step up from Warband’s janky interface that it feels like a big breath of fresh air.

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Not everything else about Bannerlord does, though. For something that’s been in development for about eight years, there’s still a fair amount of jank on display, which is probably why it’s got that Early Access caveat. Especially early on, it’s easy to get the feeling that you’re just playing Warband with better graphics. Targeting and interacting with items and characters in towns and on battle maps is still imprecise and sometimes unresponsive. The controls can be unwieldy, especially on horseback. There are a lot of little things that really don’t feel modern, which are especially noticeable next to all of the ones that do.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=There%E2%80%99s%20still%20a%20fair%20amount%20of%20jank%20on%20display.”]So naturally, the early gameplay will be pretty familiar to Mount & Blade veterans: You ride around the countryside doing missions and fighting bandits to gain gold, equipment, and reputation. These missions have a good deal of variety, which is nice since Warband could often feel like an endless loop of the same small list of tasks. Aside from old mainstays like escorting a caravan or hunting down poachers, you might be called on to resolve a blood feud or help merchants secure permits to sell their wares in a major town. These also inject a bit of worldbuilding and moral ambiguity in some interesting ways. That band of poachers might implore you not to side with the fat cat nobles who are denying them the right to a livelihood, opening up an alternate path for resolving the situation.

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The worldbuilding in general is pretty great so far. Set about 200 years before Warband, we see the ancestors of some of the factions we know locked in a tense struggle centered on a collapsing, Roman-inspired empire that has broken into three parts. Each of the six playable factions has its own rich personality, backstory, and style of fighting. I wish your choice of national origin had a little bit more of an impact, though. As it stands, it’s mostly flavor that doesn’t impose restrictions that might make you significantly alter your playstyle. Anyone can recruit any kind of troops and join any faction they wish. You only get one small campaign bonus based on where you were born, like being able to build structures faster or reduced movement penalty in forest terrain.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20worldbuilding%20in%20general%20is%20pretty%20great%20so%20far.”]And the “main” story isn’t that great so far, either. It’s not really the point of Mount & Blade, so that’s not a huge deal., but I would almost rather I just be dumped into the world to go make a name for myself instead of being told that some relatives I have no emotional connection to have been captured by bandits and I need to go rescue them. Telling me I should care and making me care about a character are two different things, and Bannerlord doesn’t seem that concerned with the latter.

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At least once I got out and about and started meeting the various princes, lords, and knights, I developed an interest in the cast more organically. There is an intricate political web to unravel between the leaders of the various factions, with each having a different story about what happened at a pivotal battle right before the start of the campaign that set the present events in motion. As I continue to build my reputation, I find myself excited to meet new characters in person I’ve only heard about second-hand, and try to get to the bottom of their conflicting stories. I do worry that since these characters can die (if you’ve enabled the setting to allow it) and be replaced by heirs, that handcrafted chessboard of larger-than-life personalities will someday give way to something more generic. Only time will tell if the procedurally-generated characters who follow in their footsteps can fill their big shoes.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20battles%20themselves%20are%20a%20ton%20of%20fun%2C%20with%20smoother%20animations%20and%20much%20better%20unit%20AI%20than%20Warband.”]The battles themselves are a ton of fun, with smoother animations and much better unit AI than Warband. The new command interface is clean, readable, and makes it very easy to form control groups and give specific, detailed orders. The tactical options available are broad and executing them is relatively painless, which is much more than I could say for Warband. Personal combat seems relatively unchanged in comparison, with four directions available for attacking and blocking, and skill playing as much or more of a role than stats in your success. It’s fine, but we’ve seen the same basic idea done better recently in games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

The biggest new systems seem to be the Clan and Kingdom screens. You can get married and have kids, and even play as those kids once they’re grown, much like Crusader Kings II. Your clan levels up as you gain more renown, unlocking larger army sizes and the ability to form multiple, distinct war parties that can act independently. If you join (or rule) a kingdom, you can even make changes like setting new tax laws – as long as your vassals approve, of course. I haven’t gotten far enough in to try out most of these new toys yet, but I do find them highly intriguing and am eager to work toward them.

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As is typical of an early access game, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about weird and even game-breaking bugs out in the community, but mercifully I haven’t been the victim of any serious ones so far. I’ve hit a few irritating video and audio glitches here and there, but the worst that’s happened to me so far is reloading a save and having some troops I recruited mysteriously disappear. And that’s only happened once.

It’s easy to focus on all the ways Mount & Blade II is still stuck in a rut starting out, but Bannerlord is an onion with lots of new layers to show once you start to really dig into it. Especially for an early access game, it’s ambitious and reasonably well-polished, even if it still has a long way to go. And with the huge graphical and general usability improvements, a latter-day rehash of Warband – one of my favorite games of the last decade – isn’t even a bad thing by itself when you get right down to it. I look forward to continuing my journey from pauper to king, and sharing my thoughts on the battles and dynastic struggles along the way.

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T.J. Hafer is a contributor to IGN. Talk 4X and/or dinosaurs with him on Twitter at @AsaTJ.

Hi! It’s Eddy Kitsis & Adam Horowitz. Our newest show Amazing Stories, which we made with Steven Spielberg and Amblin for Apple TV+, just landed a few weeks ago – although it feels like five centuries ago now. Like so many of you, we’re home and dealing with the seismic changes to all of our lives.

As we’ve been filling our spare moments, consuming various bits of media and culture in these uncertain, unsettling, and scary times, we’ve been a bit reflective about our own work over the years. We’ve come to realize, whether consciously or not, our work always seems to have “hope” as part of its DNA, and we think finding hope in any form of art we seek out now, in particular, is probably a good thing. So with that in mind, here’s what we’re consuming these days…

Adam Horowitz

What is the last thing you finished watching?

Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 10. I just binged it with my wife, Erin. It was our “let’s laugh” before bed tonic for the day. A really brilliantly funny season. Amazing that 20 years later, the show is still operating at such a level, and given all that’s going in the world, that it can still make me smile the way it does.

What are you currently watching?
The Imagineering Story on Disney+. It’s a six-part documentary series looking at the creation and history of the Disney theme parks. It’s something I’m watching with my wife and three kids. It’s far more than a history lesson, it’s an examination of art and creativity and passion. Inspirational.

What is your go-to comfort watch?
Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I’ve been watching old episodes of The Clone Wars animated series with my seven-year-old son. It’s nice to just shut down and lose myself in that universe through his eyes.

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What book are you reading?
The Giver by Lois Lowry. It’s one of my 11-year-old daughter’s favorite books and she insisted I read it, so in this time home together, we’ve formed a little “book club.” And she’s chosen this as the first book. We’ve just started it and are only a few chapters in, but it’s a Y.A. book about a dystopian society (maybe not the escapism I was looking for, but, well, she loves it…). Most importantly it’s a great bonding experience.

What is the last book you read?
The last book I read was Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read this book because it was recommended to me by the two partners in my life – my wife, Erin, and my writing partner, Eddy. They both raved about this tale of a young singer coming of age in the ’60s and ’70s. They were right, it’s a spectacular story that is compellingly told as an “oral history” as though it really happened and from the point of view of all the affected parties.

What game are you playing? / What is the last game you played?
In an effort to get the blood flowing, we’re playing a lot of Just Dance on our PS4. I think I should leave it at that because no one wants to visualize what my family witnesses when I play. Other than that, my go-to is a mini tabletop vintage Galaga game replica that I play to unwind. In my day, I used to be quite adept and find the game soothing not just because it brings me back to my youth, but because the patterns and the pace of it actually create an almost trance-like meditative state that I find quite relaxing when I lose myself in it.

What is next on your to-watch/read/play list?
I’m looking forward to Don Winslow’s new book, Broken, which is coming out in a few weeks. I’ve loved his “Cartel” trilogy and am excited to see what he’s got cooking in his latest. He really has a talent for throwing you in these worlds in a visceral manner that makes them come alive in ways that may be horrific or terrifying, but always seem truthful.

What is one thing you’d recommend that other people should watch/read/play if they’re looking for something new?
Well, if you missed Watchmen or Locke & Key, run, don’t walk to your device of choice to watch them. Absolutely brilliant work by two of our mentors, and dear friends, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. We’ve learned so much from those two – and for good reason, they’re the best. Why not treat yourself and check out their latest? And I’ll throw one more rec out there for sports fans who may have missed this the first time around – Ken Burns’ Baseball docu-series. It’s probably about 20 hours or so… and a staggering work that explores the history of the game and is just about the next best thing to actually having a baseball season.

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Eddy Kitsis

What is the last thing you finished watching?
Schitt’s Creek. I binged all five seasons so I could be caught up to watch with my wife.

What are you currently watching?
I just started Devs. I am a HUGE fan of Alex Garland’s work ever since I first read The Beach.

What is your go-to comfort watch?
Nailed It. It’s my child’s favorite show. We watch it together every night. There’s nothing more comforting than bad baking.

What book are you reading? 
I am currently reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I started it in December inspired by a trip I took to Japan and am finally about to finish it.

What game are you playing? / What is the last game you played?
In my house right now, we are all about Rummikub.

What is next on your to-watch/read/play list?
Next up for me is something to listen to: June 1976: The Grateful Dead. Five complete shows in all their glory. As a lifelong Deadhead, this is a welcome tonic to the Quarantine Blues.

What is one thing you’d recommend that other people should watch/read/play if they’re looking for something new?
Check out Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project on the Criterion Channel. I finally have time to check out all the subscription services I forgot to which I had subscribed. The World Cinema Project has introduced me to movies from around the world I never knew about. Currently watching: Manila In The Claws Of Light. I’d also recommend checking out David Crosby: Remember My Name. It’s an extremely honest documentary about a really complicated artist, as well as a great L.A. rock history lesson from someone who helped start the whole thing.

Season 1 of Amazing Stories is now available in its entirety on Apple TV+. For more Binge Lists from our favorite creators and stars, check out what the cast of Amazon’s The Boys are binging, Brian Michael Bendis’ “Stuck at Home Comic Book Reading List, and recommendations from Spiral director Darren Lynn Bousman. 

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