Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Hulu

  • REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 8 – “The Perfect Shot”

    REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 8 – “The Perfect Shot”

    The race for Sophie’s love is full steam ahead but now things are murky. We follow her as she continues her relationship hunting and further develops what she built with Drew. Yet, things take a turn in episode 8, as we see a relationship bloom rather unexpectedly. So, without further ado, let’s just dive in.

    The latest episode does start off slow, looking to be a typical sitcom story in the same vein as the previous one. Yet, as it progressed, however, I liked more and more of it. Random civilians on the streets are now getting involved in comedic moments, much like How I Met Your Mother. The silly humor was captivating whereas in some previous episodes it could get a little cringy. The character’s situations this time around were far more relatable, as instead of the usual pairings, this episode certainly changed some things up.

    Last week, I complained that for being in a relationship, Valentina and Charlie hadn’t had a lot of development ever since their heart to heart earlier in the season. Luckily, this week was different. While still presenting their relationship as a comedic duo, the two still managed to progress in this episode as Charlie begins to do things for Valentina that aren’t selfish. Compared to when we first saw him with his higher-than-thou attitude, it’s nice to see him break out of his shell more and more, especially when it comes to his love.

    Sid and Ellen have paired up this episode, as they attempted to cover for Jesse with his ex-girlfriend who has suddenly appeared. The two haven’t been majorly involved up until now, but as they are both the closest to Jesse–being his sister and best friend–it was nice to see them together to help her out. Speaking of his ex, it’s great to see her in the picture for some added tension going into the last two episodes, but I’ll dive deeper into that later on.

    The largest moments from the episode, of course, surrounded Sophie. But this time it did not only involve Drew. We know that Jesse has had a crush on Sophie since day one, but up until now, the two have agreed neither of them is ready for something serious and that they are better off as friends. However, this episode may put a knife in those plans. As Sophie suffers from drama with Drew, Jesse seizes the opportunity. No further spoilers on that, however.

    With Drew and Jesse both competing for Sophie now, and on more equal footing than before, Meredith, Jesse’s ex showing up, and multiple other suitors still in play, the final two episodes are definitely being set up for something big. I have said before that Ian, a gentleman that Sophie had an immediate connection with in the first episode, is definitely in play still and I feel he might make his return. I don’t see why they would have set him up with Sophie if they weren’t going to do something with him.

    Considering they did not know they were being renewed for a second season until after production was already over, I’m betting we see that comeback sooner rather than later. Having three established relationships in play, drama in at least two of them, and plenty of more possibly fathers out there, the race is on and more confusing than ever. This emotional attachment is definitely what the show needed, as it was what made How I Met Your Father so popular during its run time.

    The finale is just two weeks away, and I currently believe How I Met Your Father is on track for an unforgettable end to its first season. I currently cannot wait to see how all of these loose plotlines come together for what’s looking like a major decision for Sophie, and a possibly amazing twist for fans. The show needs to end on an iconic moment, as it is going up against How I Met Your Mother‘s original conclusion with Robin and Ted getting together, as well as the unfortunate break-up between Marshall and Lilly. That moment would set the tone for the entire rest of the show, with those iconic moments coming into play multiple times per season. It’ll surely keep viewers coming back week to week. Hopefully, How I Met Your Father will be able to deliver, and so far with what has been set up, I believe they can.

  • John DiMaggio Finally Joins Hulu’s ‘Futurama’ Reboot

    John DiMaggio Finally Joins Hulu’s ‘Futurama’ Reboot

    Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that Futurama would be returning yet again as it found a new home on the streaming service Hulu. The entire cast was set to return besides John DiMaggio, who was still in negotiations. At the time, he vocally campaigned for better pay than what was being offered. Yet, he still remained in talks with the studio. Variety has reported that DiMaggio has officially signed onto the reboot, issuing a statement celebrating his return.

    “I’M BACK, BABY! So damn grateful for the love and support of fans and colleagues alike during this whole time (especially my wife, Kate), and I cannot wait to get back to work with my ‘Futurama’ family,” DiMaggio said in a statement. “#Bendergate is officially over, so put it on the back of a shelf behind Xmas decorations, or maybe in that kitchen drawer with all of the other crap you put in there like old unusable crazy glue, or maybe even put it in a jar you save farts in. Whatever floats your boat, I don’t care, you get the picture. I’M BACK, BABY! BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS!”

    John DiMaggio

    Original cast members such as Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, David Herman, and Phill LaMarr are all set to reprise their roles. If DiMaggio wasn’t to complete negotiations the series would’ve moved forward with a replacement, which would’ve come at the cost of Bender’s iconic voice. Luckily, we do not live in that timeline.

    The next season of Futurama has already been picked up for 20 episodes over at Hulu with production on the series already underway. The revival is currently eyeing a 2023 return although no specific date has been announced just yet.

    Source: Variety

  • REVIEW: Hulu’s ‘The Dropout’ is a Well-Done Exploration of the Theranos Scandal

    REVIEW: Hulu’s ‘The Dropout’ is a Well-Done Exploration of the Theranos Scandal

    The Dropout has all of the makings of an excellent series, and yet, it tends to fall just sort of being great. Amanda Seyfried does her best to carry the series, however, while she plays the role of Elizabeth Holmes with ease, her forced accent can at times be jarring. Even worse, the series tries to make Holmes the victim a fair amount of the time. However, despite its flaws, The Dropout is a well-done exploration of a well-known scandal, unlike Netflix’s Inventing Anna.

    With 7 episodes, The Dropout has a lot of story to pack in just seven hours. So, it shouldn’t be entirely surprising then that while Hulu is dubbing the show as a limited series, it’s evident there are plans for a second season. In most instances, this could be rather frustrating. In the case of The Dropout, though, it’s frustratingly understandable as the case is still seeing its day in court.

    The Dropout focuses on Seyfried’s Holmes, a young woman who idolizes Steve Jobs and wants to create a company after dropping out of Stanford. She’s the odd-duck out, so to speak, finding that she doesn’t belong among her peers. This only becomes more evident during a trip to China, where she eventually meets Naveen Andrews‘ Sunny. What Elizabeth doesn’t realize is that Sunny will change her life forever… and not necessarily for the better. The two soon find themselves romantically involved and, as Holmes launches Theranos after dropping out of college, she finds herself leaning on him often when things go wrong. 

    For those unfamiliar with Theranos and Holmes, it’s a massive story of fraud and deception. Not only did Holmes defraud her investors, including some big-name pharmacies, but she also deceived countless patients. It’s a fascinating story because of how conning she was; this was a woman who managed to be named the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire by Forbes in 2014. She somehow managed to deceive some of the biggest businesses in the world, selling them simply on an idea rather than an actual product — and it was a lie that she continued to sell time and time again.

    Seyfried is a great actress, there’s no denying as much. However, the accent can make it hard to take her seriously at times. (There are moments, too, where she seems to share mannerisms with Kristen Stewart — and that’s not a dig at Stewart.) When she shines, though, she shines brightly. Her chemistry with Andrews is thrilling. Their toxic relationship is hard to look away from because of how well they play off one another. Outside of Seyfried and Andrews, the true shining star of the series is Stephen Fry‘s Ian Gibbons. The character has a tragic backstory in reality, one that the show doesn’t try to hide. Fry nails every bit of emotion, from anger to depression. He feels like the heart of the show. 

    Here’s the thing about The Dropout, though. As strong of a series it is, the ending is less than ideal. There is seemingly no ending. This is the problem with shows billed as limited series. With such a huge story, there’s so much to unpack, so the idea of a continuation does make sense. Still, there should have been a more conclusive ending. Instead, what should have been a shocking ending full of emotion, contained a happy ending for a story that has anything but.

    As for the look and feel of the series, The Dropout is a nice-looking series. From the color schemes to the framing of shots, The Dropout doesn’t try to ignore the minor details. Where it does fall short, though, is the score. For such a fascinating story, the music is anything but memorable. Thankfully, though, the soundtrack music sprinkled throughout is memorable, if only for Seyfried’s corny dancing.

    All in all, The Dropout is worth a watch. It’s a good exploration of Holmes and the story of Theranos. It isn’t without its flaws, but it is safe to say The Dropout is everything Netflix’s Inventing Anna should have been.

  • REVIEW: ‘No Exit’ Is A Cold, Bloody Mess

    REVIEW: ‘No Exit’ Is A Cold, Bloody Mess

    No Exit has the makings of a decent thriller: an intimate premise, a best-selling airport novel that serves as its source material, a producer who wrote Logan, arguably the best X-Men movie in 20 years, and The Little Cast That Could that has Dennis Haysbert and the always-great Dale Dickey. But for every Panic Room, there are a dozen thrillers that fall into the bargain bin of basic cable fodder. The aptly named No Exit, sadly, has no way out of that hole even with all the bells and whistles it has. The problem isn’t so much that No Exit is outright awful, it’s that it fails to bring all its good pieces together, rendering the film as cold as the corpses it leaves in its wake. 

    Darby is a recovering addict who spends her days in rehab full of regret and self-loathing. When Darby receives a call from her estranged family that her mom may be hours away from her deathbed, she breaks out of rehab to visit her mom one last time. In true Murphy’s Law fashion, the night she breaks out happens to be in the middle of a blizzard and she has no choice but to shack in an isolated rest stop for cover. It’s in this rest stop where she finds herself in an inescapable predicament with four strangers and a kidnapped child in a van.

    Any exciting thriller would know to examine the pathos that comes with sobriety, addiction, and paranoia, themes that our protagonist Darby is faced with all throughout the film. To trap someone in crisis in a scenario as cruel as the plot of No Exit would be to bare their demons, exposing their true self in the process. But No Exit forgoes this when it punctures the raging tension all too soon with a reveal that’s all too dull, and a change in tone that’s all too trite. No quarter is given to the potentially fascinating exploration of Darby’s soul, which is a shame given how fantastic Havana Rose Liu is.

    No Exit lives and dies by Liu’s electrifying turn as Darby. Like a seasoned pro, Liu layers Darby with palpable self-affliction and resolve. A mere gaze from Liu conveys a depth of pain that cuts through the film’s noise, cementing her as the film’s singular best asset. That she manages to be so watchable despite the script handicapping the rest of her abilities makes for a performance that may leave audiences wanting more. And No Exit’s mortal sin is not giving her more to do. 

    Precious character work is also not afforded to the rest of the cast as they too are hamstrung by the film’s insistence on being a by-the-book survival screamfest instead of a potent mystery thriller. The great Dennis Haysbert commands what little screen time he has playing cards and standing in a room but loses footing the moment No Exit decides to get rowdy. His addition to the cast adds legitimacy to the ensemble but does little to make the movie feel legitimate. It’s through no fault of his own that his casting was in vain; the script simply does not give Haysbert the space to do anything worthwhile despite being primed to do so. 

    Indie darling Dale Dickey cushions the film’s sharp edges with a tender performance in the film’s former half, only for that tenderness to turn coarse later on Dickey’s performance doesn’t come off as thankless as Haysbert’s but a recklessly jammed twist in the third act exposes the gaps in what could’ve been a more rounded character. 

    Newcomer David Rysdahl’s Lars is central to the film’s crux of claustrophobic unrest and he surprisingly lives up to the task. His very neurotic Lars quickly proves to be a great foil to Liu’s very twitchy Darby and their combined presence coalesces into a mass of unease. Underneath Lars’ ugliness and unpredictability, Rysdahl manages to give the character troubled humanity. 

    Lastly, there’s Danny Ramirez, who goes against the clean-cut babyface type fans got acquainted with in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Ramirez sheds the ‘aww shucks’ charm of Joaquin Torres to reveal his inner Patrick Bateman. It’s a commendable attempt that ultimately doesn’t live up to the venom of the material because he’s simply too cute to look at. 

    With all that said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a middling script that goes awry halfway is what holds ultimately all the film’s best players back. Screenwriters Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari are credited on the uber-delightful Ant-Man and the Wasp, and yet No Exit is sorely lacking the playful looseness of the Marvel blockbuster. Restraint and compactness are usual staples of a great thriller script but neither are native to No Exit’s screenplay. Without both touchstones, No Exit might as well embrace the range of its premise which it doesn’t.

    The screenplay is at its best in moments of stillness, when the tension calmly simmers to raging levels of unease. It’s during these scenes that the ensemble is at their most gripping, delivering performances that prove why they’re The Little Cast That Could. The screenplay is at its worst when it shifts gears into a loud mess of a cookie-cutter survival story rife with highly questionable story beats. The film makes a big deal of a sudden twist that feels empty and adds nothing to the tension. Characters are heavily dumbed down for bargain-bin levels of suspense and shock. For example, all throughout the film, certain characters make use of a very accessible backdoor to enter the rest stop. But during the story’s boiling point, when the same characters are forcibly trapped outdoors with seemingly no way in the front door, they’ve somehow forgotten about the back door they frequently used prior. 

    Like the screenplay, No Exit‘s photography is two-sided. Given its limited scope, the set is essentially split into two locations: inside the rest stop and out in the parking lot. Inside the rest stop is where No Exit looks its worst. The set’s harsh lighting makes it seem like the cast is doing a one-act play instead of a film. Staging, blocking, and camera movement feel uninspired, unwieldy and ends up making the film’s tensest moments feel lifeless. Ironically, outside in the unforgiving cold is where the film visually comes alive. The snowy set’s authentic craftsmanship allows director Damien Power the space to be aesthetically playful, utilizing the icy atmosphere to stage and compose the film’s most striking images.

    Fans of Taylor Adams‘ novel may find solace in the wanton violence No Exit dishes out to its cast of characters. The tonal shift the film takes halfway through comes with a few exciting brutal and bloody sequences that are almost bordering on comical B-movie schlock. The violent climax isn’t quite the second wind the movie so desperately needs nor does it live up to the novel’s extremities but it closes the movie with a playfulness it should have had from the beginning.

  • REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 7 – “Rivka Rebel”

    REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 7 – “Rivka Rebel”

    Episode 7 of How I Met Your Father takes a break from Sophie’s love life and focuses instead on development with the core cast. Considering the two previous episodes were easily the best of the season, and were heavily involved with her love life, it is interesting going into an episode not fully knowing if it is going to land on the same level as those which directly preceded it.

    The episode follows each character as they try to develop in problem areas. Sophie and Valentina are tasked with performing a photoshoot for the head photographer of Sophie’s dream job. Meanwhile, Charlie and Ellen take on adjustment to living in New York, as well as Sid and Jesse spending the time dealing with procrastination. The duo pairings are already starting to seem like patterns. So far the cast is really falling into a weird place where each person has a best friend of the group and the cast all get together every few episodes to establish that they are a cohesive group. This has been ongoing, but I didn’t really catch onto it until this episode.

    Every episode pairs up Valentina and Sophie, Charlie and Ellen, and Sid and Jesse. Sure, we see them all interact, but when it comes to the personal moments where only two characters are there, it gets a bit underwhelming. This is largely because those types of relationships are being developed continuously while there is still no big development in other areas. Valentina and Charlie are a couple, but only two episodes have involved their relationship for example. Jesse is obviously in love with Sophie at this point, but we don’t see him actually do much about it, whether it is jealousy, chasing her, or any other type of emotion. This weird disconnect is my new big complaint about the show, not that there are many complaints, but I do hope we see this corrected in the final three episodes, or if not, in season 2.

    While the pairings have me critical, the actual development between the characters did progress well. Jesse is starting to move on from the tragic ending to his last relationship. Sid is getting closer to marrying Hannah, with them agreeing on more and more. Sophie is finding herself and taking leaps for what she wants. Valentina is admitting to her true feelings about where she is in life. And Ellen and Charlie are getting more comfortable with each other. I do like how the characters are progressing. Sophie is obviously the most interesting due to her being the main character, but Valentina and Jesse are early standouts. Valentina is quickly breaking away from the free-willed and confident character we were introduced to and becoming a very interesting character with lots of real-world problems and reactions, such as lying about how glamorous her life is to not worry her friends. Jesse is also great because of his struggle moving on from his ex, especially since it left him a semi-famous internet sensation. The struggles are very 21st century, relating to the target audience as much as it can, but it feels real all the same, especially as a twenty-something like myself.

    While we have talked about my major complaint about this episode, I do have a second. As I have stated before, the show really has no time to waste in its short 10 episode season, especially now as we near the end. However, this episode seemed like a disconnect from the really big momentum they had coming into it. Due to this, the episode felt like filler, even if it did help develop some of the main cast. I think this largely stems from my first complaint of the pairings being more of the same, since it is starting to be smaller and smaller jumps in development, we as viewers don’t perceive the new changes as well, and therefore the episode falls into this weird place that it feels like a filler episode despite being a normal episode for a traditional sitcom. Filler is usually an episode that does little to progress the plot, such as the rhyming episode in How I Met Your Mother‘s final season. While they can be fun, they have to be used in appropriate places. This episode doesn’t fit the filler category because it did develop the plot, but it just didn’t land as well as the last two episodes since there were no real standout moments.

    How I Met Your Father has definitely improved a lot since its premiere just a short few weeks ago. While almost every episode has gotten progressively better, there have been two small dips so far, and sadly, episode 7 feels like one of them. With only three episodes left, I feel like there could have been a better balance of time in this one, but hopefully, this means a killer winddown. I wouldn’t be surprised to see next week’s episode as another one like this, but that should hint at an amazing final two-episode performance. Let’s just hope I’m right and we don’t see a significant slide.

  • REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 6 – “Stacey”

    REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 6 – “Stacey”

    Episode 5 of How I Met Your Father really upped the emotions and was a standout episode for the season. As a result, episode 6 had a lot to live up to in order to keep the show on a high. From an amazing emotional performance last episode to humor massively improving from episodes 1 and 2, I had hopes that the show would keep up and be able to meet that kind of quality for the entire second half of the season. Did Episode 6 continue on the great path?

    “Stacey”, the episode title, refers to Sophie’s current love interest’s ex-girlfriend because all sit-coms need that episode in the beginnings of a new relationship. To avoid spoilers, the man in question on this episode will not be named. He and Sophie are invited by Sid and his fiancee to a weekend out. Not having previously slept together, obviously, tensions were a little high.

    The episode did a really good job of focusing on the relationship aspect of the show. I have already said how well they have been developing the characters and relationships thus far; the show really dug into that this episode with each of the main cast members. From Sid and his fiancee dealing with their own problems, to Sophie and her current love interest dealing with some jealousy with the ex-girlfriend, and the rest of the cast having a dinner party, which ends up revealing many secrets about their relationships as well, it was all handled competently.

    As previously discussed, the emotional moments of the original show and how they were starting to come up on the new show as well matter. After last week’s episode, I thought they would surely save episodes like that for the end of the season, as most shows do. However, with the season only being 10 episodes long, I also felt they would be wasteful if they followed that since there really isn’t time for filler episodes that sitcoms are known for. Luckily, they did not nearly do what I expected, at least so far.

    If episode 5 was a standout memorable moment, episode 6 was a defining one. Sophie not only has an absolutely charming end to the episode when all loose ends are tied, but she also has a surprising moment with one of the other characters on the show (who I suspect is the true father). One moment that further develops the current relationship, and one that hints at other possibilities is one of the biggest things I loved from How I Met Your Mother, comes to How I Met Your Father and I am all for it. Always keeping viewers on their toes about the mystery of the aforementioned father is what the show truly needs to shine and keep viewers engaged and, so far, they have absolutely killed it. With one character currently winning Sophie’s attention, one that makes sense on a lot of levels, again, no spoilers, and one that has openly denied very unconvincingly that he is in love with her, there are so many possibilities.

    Humor also stayed on a high note in this episode. Multiple character moments had me giggling and some added environmental humor that,while a little corny, also managed to get a laugh out of me in the end. Add in a whole lot of banter from the cast and the show really feels like it is getting in a grove. Great sitcoms are a mix of good humor, memorable characters, and relationship development. How I Met Your Father already had the relationship development down; now, the memorable characters are getting developed perfectly. While some moments are still corny, or definitely will not age well, they are starting to work out those kinks, which makes me really excited for how the recently announced season 2 will help in that area even more.

    The second half of the season is really getting How I Met Your Father on a hot streak. With better humor, keeping up with the tremendous characters, and delivering absolutely stellar moments, the problems of the first two episodes seem so far away now, likely even to be more forgivable on a second watch-through, similar to season 1 of How I Met Your Mother. I truly hope the show stays on this path, I am absolutely loving how charming and emotional it is becoming, and with season 2 confirmed, I cannot wait to see what else this cast and crew are able to deliver with feedback in hand. The foundation is set for success on this show’s journey to be a great successor to the phenomenal original, maybe even being able to fix some of the original’s complaints, such as the often criticized final season. With only a few episodes left this season, I’m excited about where things are going. I just hope they can deliver on a season finale worthy of the twists and turns of How I Met Your Mother’s.

  • Hulu Renews ‘How I Met Your Father’ for a Bigger Season 2

    Hulu Renews ‘How I Met Your Father’ for a Bigger Season 2

    Good news has arrived, as How I Met Your Father is getting a second season on Hulu. The show received mixed reviews on the first 4 episodes, but things have been looking good so far. The newest episodes were great, and Hulu must be happy with the performance thus far to renew it and even add a little extra.

    The second season of the show will be double the episode count of the first, moving up from 10 episodes to 20. Considering the relationship-building needed for a show like this, much less for a successor to How I Met Your Mother, I’m glad the second season is going to get a bit more time to spend with this cast. The character development in the show has been great so far, so a doubled episode count should really help the show.

    How I Met Your Father is a standalone sequel to the acclaimed How I Met Your Mother. The show follows Hilary Duff’s Sophie as she explains the tale to her son of how she came to meet his father and the subsequent love story that follows. Twisting key plot lines and troupes of the original, How I Met Your Father does a lovely job at following the original in new ways. You can catch it on Tuesdays on Hulu.

    Source: Deadline

  • Disney to Announce Netflix Marvel Show’s New Streaming Home Soon

    Disney to Announce Netflix Marvel Show’s New Streaming Home Soon

    It seems like the news is just not stopping. what started with a sudden inclusion of a deadline on the Marvel Netflix series would end up in a discussion on what exactly was going on. Some believed it might be nothing more than a bug until Entertainment Weekly confirmed it. Not just that, Insider also announced that this change was due to the rights returning to Disney. Now, Deadline has also shared that we might find out what the future has in store for them soon.

    Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and The Defenders were all co-produced between Netflix and ABC Studios. Disney is currently keeping quiet on the returning rights, but Deadline shared that we can expect an announcement on their new streaming home sooner rather than later. Plus, it further re-establishes the fact that Marvel Studios can now further explore these characters in new projects moving forward.

    At this point, it seems likely given the darker themes of these series they will end up as part of Hulu’s offerings and internationally through the Star branding. Deadpool, Logan, Hit-Monkey, and MODOK were recently released as part of that branding and it wouldn’t be too surprised if it follows suit. We don’t know if these former Netflix Originals might even end up as “Original” series under these new streaming banners.

    Source: Deadline

  • REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 5 – ”The Good Mom”

    REVIEW: ‘How I Met Your Father’ Episode 5 – ”The Good Mom”

    How I Met Your Father seems to be off to a great start. Each episode so far has been better and better, aside from episode 4 being a bit of a slide in quality. Episode 5, entitled “The Good Mom”, is exactly as you’d expect: about Sophie’s mom. Obviously How I Met Your Mother explored similar ”parent” episodes, like Ted learning of his mom and dad’s divorce and the beginnings of their relationship basically being a mirror to that of Ted and Robin’s. I do feel that just like before, How I Met Your Father is seemingly borrowing tropes and plots from the original, but adding new spins to make them their own. Episode 5 is a perfect example of this.

    While the episode had antics from the rest of the cast, it was obviously focused on Sophie and her relationship with her mom. What started out as what seemed like a traditional happy mother-daughter relationship developed further and further as the episode progressed. As Sophie learns more about her mom, she starts to think back on moments of their life, ultimately getting a clearer picture of what was going on when she was young. The relationship, although only being developed over one episode, truly felt like one of the most developed relationships in the show so far. I hope to see the mother again, as the history there is very interesting to Sophie’s development. I’m glad the other characters had a bit of a light story to the episode, with most of the cast trying to get over their fears, and Valentina being attached to Sophie for the duration of the episode, it really gave Sophie and her mom time to shine.

    I always think back to How I Met Your Mother, not for the humor, although funny, but for the emotional moments that truly made the show great. The ones that shook a character to their core. Spoilers for How I Met Your Mother, but Barney and Robin getting engaged, Ted reuniting with Victora, the countdown to Marshall’s dad dying. Those are the moment that made the show stand out. This episode was one of those moments for How I Met Your Father. The episode developed Sophie’s character and made her finally do something for herself, as we learned was hard to do for her when it involved her mom. I absolutely loved the moment she took that leap, and as a result, the moment she shared with Drew at the end. I walked away from the episode with the same smile and reaction as I have had with those favorite episodes of mine from the original show, and that was the moment that this evolved for me from a sitcom recapturing the feel and tone from How I Met Your Mother, to a proper successor that deserves the fan’s attention.

    Although having a rough start, I truly feel audiences should give the show another chance at this point if they have dropped off. This episode has me excited for this story to unfold more and more. If they can have a great episode like this in the first half of season 1, and so quickly developing the two characters involved in this moment with Sophie, I can only imagine what is in store for us as more relationships evolve, grow, end, and deepen. Sophie’s love story seems great, although it is early, she is a very easy character to cheer for, similar to how Ted immediately grasped me. Her ability to build with the rest of the cast seamlessly, and have deep and impactful relationships with them, has me clapping for the writers, as well as Hillary Duff for her performance. Although there have been some questionable acting in the show so far, I do find Sophie’s character charming and ultimately a great showing.

    I am definitely excited for the future of the show, one good episode is all it takes for a show to start to grow, and I feel like this can be that episode for the show. I hope they can capitalize on that feeling for the second half of the season. There are still so many plot threads currently dangling in front of us with no resolution. I cannot wait for them to be explored. The show is shaping up to be an early favorite of mine for 2022, and if it can keep up with episodes like this, maybe it might stay in my favorites.

  • ‘Futurama’ Revival in the Works at Hulu

    ‘Futurama’ Revival in the Works at Hulu

    It’s hard to keep a good series down, and Futurama was a prime example of that. The original series aired its first five seasons exclusively on Fox before eventually making its way to Comedy Central where it concluded its run with three more seasons. The future-set adult animated series created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen looks to be making yet another return following a ten-year absence, this time finding a brand new home on Hulu.

    The Planet Express will be making its way back to screens as a deal is currently being negotiated for a 20-episode return that will air exclusively on Hulu. The revival would feature the return of Billy West, Katey Sagal, Phil Lamar, Lauren Tom, and the rest of the original cast. Groening and Cohen would also return to work on the series.

    The only deal that has yet to be signed is DiMaggio‘s, known for the iconic role of Bender and is still in negotiations to return for the role. In the meantime, series creator Groening shares his enthusiasm with a jab at their repeated cancellation:

    “It’s a true honor to announce the triumphant return of Futurama one more time before we get canceled abruptly again.”

    Matt Groening

    The series is set to head into production soon with a potential 2023 release on the streamer. Hulu’s president Craig Erwich shares his thoughts on the revival:

    When presented with the opportunity to bring fans and viewers new episodes of Futurama, we couldn’t wait to dive in. This iconic series helped blaze the trail for the success of adult animation since its initial launch and we look forward to Matt & David continuing to pave the way and further establishing Hulu as the premiere destination for fans of the genre

    Craig Erwich

    The return of Futurama is quite a surprise after ten years off the air but definitely a welcome one. Yet, to hear the cast come back together will definitely be a major selling point and it would be strange to not have DiMaggio as part of the crew. There is no Futurama without the entire Planet Express crew.

    Source: THR