Geektown Radio is back! This week I’m joined once again by Matt from Entertainment Talk for another ramble through TV, film, games and the odd rant about streaming services. In this episode, we review the brand new series ‘Alien: Earth‘ and ‘Butterfly‘, dive into the final season of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘, and break down Paramount+’s post-merger content strategy. On top of that, we bring you the latest TV news and UK air date info for the week ahead.
Alien: Earth & Butterfly Reviews
I’ve been exploring the franchise that launched a thousand chestbursters with ‘Alien: Earth’, the new prequel series set before Ridley Scott’s classic. It looks gorgeous, the vibe is pure classic Alien, but the first episode spends 30 minutes introducing characters only to immediately kill or replace them. It’s like speed dating, but with xenomorphs.
To recover, I turned to ‘Butterfly’, Prime Video’s new spy thriller starring Daniel Dae Kim (Lost). Think karaoke bars, covert missions, and an organisation so shadowy you half expect Ross Geller to show up yelling “Pivot!” It’s slick, tense, and feels like the kind of spy series you can happily binge in a weekend.
On the side, I’m still knee-deep in ‘Scandal’ (everyone’s awful but entertaining), enjoying the very bloody return of ‘Dexter: Resurrection‘, and dipping in and out of ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood‘, which currently seems more obsessed with Jamie’s parents than Claire’s. Balance, people!
Foundation & The Handmaid’s Tale Final Season
Matt has been deep in the galaxy with the latest season of ‘Foundation‘, which has gone full space opera. Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones) turns up as the Mule, a villain so powerful you’d probably just give him your lunch money and hope for the best. Meanwhile, Lee Pace’s “Day” has hit the “I quit, I’m going drinking” phase of Empire leadership, which is both hilarious and slightly worrying for the galaxy.
On slightly less cheery ground, Matt’s also nearing the end of the final season of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Elizabeth Moss is giving her usual masterclass in “intense speechifying,” while Yvonne Strahovski has Serena balancing new hope with old horrors. Guest star D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) even pops in, proving she’s great whether she’s playing a human or an oppressive regime’s clipboard-wielder.
Paramount+ Merger Strategy & Content Plans
The juiciest TV industry news this week wasn’t a cancellation or renewal, it was Paramount+ laying out its post-merger strategy. Here’s the gist:
- More Originals, Fewer Walls: Paramount will now buy from outside studios again. Expect Sony, Lionsgate and other independents to pitch shows. This is a change from their old “keep it all in-house” strategy.
- Release Experiments: Not everything will be weekly or binge-dropped. They’re planning to mix it up — half-seasons, box sets, or old-school weekly runs depending on the show.
- Bye-bye Streaming Movies: No more mid-budget films dumped straight to the app. Paramount wants movies back in cinemas first, then onto streaming. Their “streaming budget” is going into series instead.
- Star Trek Headaches: They swear they want a “holistic” approach to Trek (films and TV talking to each other again), but right now they’ve got two separate movie projects in development — one a Kelvin Timeline sequel, the other a prequel with brand-new characters. Holistic, apparently, means “we’ll see.”
- Franchise Priorities: Expect more Taylor Sheridan, a potential Top Gun 3, a baffling World War Z 2, and efforts to resuscitate Terminator yet again. Also, more Quiet Place films, plus a renewed love affair with R-rated comedies.
In short, Paramount wants to be Netflix… without the habit of cancelling everything you like after one season… hopefully… We’ll see how that goes.
Other TV News
Outside of Paramount’s grand designs, we also cover:
- Netflix axes ‘Cheat: Unfinished Business’ (which sounds like a dating show crossed with a Mortal Kombat subtitle).
- BBC waves goodbye to book club show ‘Between the Covers’ after eight seasons.
- ITV’s “Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure” ends, though Noel insists it was always a one-off. Either way, no more Edmonds vs. sheep.
- Channel 4 orders four comedies: ‘Pigeon’, ‘Stepping Up’, ‘Break Clause’, and ‘Schooled’, which sounds less like a TV slate and more like a disastrous weekend.
- Amazon’s ‘Highlander’ remake lines up Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod, Russell Crowe as Ramirez, and Dave Bautista as the Krogan. Expect big swords, big speeches, and even bigger muscles.
UK Air Date Highlights
Lots landing this week, including:
- ‘MudTown’ – gritty Welsh crime drama, Monday, 20th August on U&Alibi.
- ‘Hostage’ – Prime Ministers, kidnappings, and conspiracy, Wednesday, 21st August on Netflix.
- ‘Invasion’ – Season 3, aliens return Thursday, 22nd August on Apple TV+.
- ‘Peacemaker’ – James Gunn’s anti-hero chaos returns Thursday, 22nd August on Sky Max.
- ‘Stargirl’ – All three seasons drop Saturday, 24th August on ITVX (with Season 3 finally getting a UK premiere).
- ‘King & Conqueror’ – Saturday, 24th August on BBC One, relive 1066 without the homework.
- ‘Upload’ – final four-episode event begins Sunday, 25th August on Prime Video. Time to find out how the digital afterlife ends.
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