While many would argue that pop culture has become oversaturated with superhero content, there are still some spectacular stories being told n that highlight the superhero genre still has more to offer. One of those projects is the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible, based on the comic book of the same name from The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman. After only one season, Invincible has already cemented itself as one of the best superhero shows of all time. With stellar performances from an incredible voice cast, shocking twists, and visceral action sequences, Invincible has distinguished itself as the best of the best. Invincible is to superhero stories what Game of Thrones is to fantasy epics. Invincible is well aware that the audience has been exposed to over 20 years of superhero tropes and story beats from countless other movie and TV adaptations, and gleefully subverts those expectations with shocking results. It’s exactly the shot in the arm that the genre needs when even the biggest fans are starting to feel some superhero fatigue.
After Season 1 became a massive hit, Amazon Prime was eager to begin production on more episodes. The animated series was quickly renewed for a second and third season. Season 1 acted as a fantastic adaptation of the source material and having read the comic book series, I can say that we’ve only scratched the surface of Invincible‘s potential. If you think Season 1 was wild, wait till you see the some of the places this story goes next.
With so many fans excited for Season 2, the question on everyone’s mind is, when will we see new episodes premiere on the streaming platform? Well, as you’ll see in the very fun video below, we got our answer. Well, kind of. Take a look for yourself…
As Allen The Alien would say “OK, I’ll take it.“. Sure, would I like to see a Summer 2023 release date instead of a late 2023 release date? Absolutely. But animated series can often take a lot longer to make than live action shows, so I’m just happy that we’re getting Season 2 sometime this year. In the meantime, if you want to check out another unique and subversive superhero show, check out Amazon Prime’s other hit comic book series, The Boys. Invincible and The Boys are two of my favorite shows being produced right now, so odds are if you enjoy one, you’ll probably like the other. Plus, you can be sure that as soon as we have more information on the upcoming season of Invincible, you can count on World’s Best Media to keep you updated!
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
It’s that time if year again! When we take stock and look at the best and worst serialized storytelling streamed, stolen, and broadcast to our TVs, tablet, laptops, and God knows what else. There were a lot of great shows in 2022, and in article, I’ll be going over my favorites, enjoy!
The Boys (Amazon Prime)
Hands down, my favorite series of the year goes to Amazon Prime’s The Boys. This surprisingly layered show works on multiple levels. What makes the series a cut above the rest (as well as the best show on television, in my opinion), is how the show is executed with excellence at every level. On the surface, there’s the insanity, graphic violence, shocking gross out moments, and depravity that the show revels in. It’s not for everybody. There’s a scene early on in the Season 3 premiere, that is unlike anything I have ever seen committed to screen. It was utterly insane. Almost as if the creators were saying to the audience “Hey, we know it’s been awhile, but in case you forgot what kind of show you’re watching… Check this out!”. It seemed to proudly announce, The Boys are BACK and no punches will be pulled!
The series works as a superheroes deconstructed, as well as a commentary on our current cultural obsession with them. On a whole other level, The Boys is a brilliant social and political satire, lampooning both sides of the social and political spectrum with equal opportunity. However, none of that would work if The Boys didn’t have some of the best storytelling and characters on TV. The writing is truly phenomenal, with amazing performances, from a cast that’s absolutely stacked with talent. It all comes together to create something very special.
In the world of The Boys, nothing is black-and-white. Every single character feels fleshed out and real. There are at least four or five actors on this show, if not more, who give Emmy worthy performances. However, Season 3 had a few particular standouts who blew the roof off ever time they were on screen. Unsurprisingly, two of those standout performances belong to Anthony Starr as Homelander and Karl Urban as Butcher. Both actors continue to add layers to these complex characters with their extraordinary performances. Both Butcher and Homelander are guilty of fairly vile behavior, yet the show somehow makes you feel sympathy for them. That is no mean feet. Their dynamic continues to be the backbone of the series and things are poised to only get more interesting from here.
The prize for third MVP of the season has to go to new cast member Jensen Ackles, joining the show as Soldier Boy. As the show’s twisted version of Captain America, he was a great character who fundamentally shook up the status quo of the series, the first Supe we’ve seen to genuinely rival Homelander in power. As both an antagonist and reluctant ally, Soldier Boy was a true wild card. After 15 seasons playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural, Jensen Ackles showed us that he is not a one trick pony. Giving a complex, fascinating performance, as a complicated character who worked as both friend and foe. Soldier Boy was a kind of character we’ve never quite seen before on the show. He was the perfect shake up that the series needed and I hope we see Ackles return for future seasons. This was the best season of The Boys yet, coming off of the first 2 spectacular seasons. With Season 4 on the way, The Boys has established itself as the best show currently on television.
Arcane (Netflix)
A long list of wildly entertaining and groundbreaking animated shows have emerged over the last 30 years. After just one season, Netflix’s Arcane has already solidified it self as one of the very best. Arcane has so much going for it that it’s hard to know exactly where to begin. The beautiful animation is genuinely unique, every character is complex and interesting. One of the many things I loved about Arcane is how it doesn’t operate within the context of heroes and villains. The so-called “good guys” struggle with their inner demons and mistakes from their past. Conversely, just as you’re about to right off a “villain” as irredeemable, they display unexpected kindness, compassion, and humanity. Arcane is even further enhanced by it’s stellar voice cast, almost every actor here crushes it in their respective roles. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the fight scenes. The fights on this show fucking rule. The fight sequences aren’t just beautifully choreographed and thrilling, they also have a purpose in the story and give us better insight into the characters involved (Plus, they just look so damn cool). Even if you’re not a fan of animation, I say, give this show try, because Arcane is an absolute MUST WATCH.
The Sandman (Netflix)
After years in development Hell and numerous attempts at possible movies and TV series, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman finally got an on screen adaptation. It was worth the wait. However, what’s downright miraculous how damn good the show really is. Neil Gaiman himself was very hands on during the creative process and the production, so he approached this adaptation as if he was writing The Sandman story for the first time, instead of 30 years ago. Gaiman said that if he was writing The Sandman comic book series today, instead of the 90’s, this is more or less what it would look like. But don’t let that scare you if you’re a diehard fan, this is still very much The Sandman that we know and love. The result is show with the characters stories and you know and love, with some minor tweaks as the story transitions mediums from a comic book to a TV series.
Almost all of the changes made are for the better, even improving upon certain storylines and characters that didn’t work for me in the comics. Tom Sturridge IS Morpheus. He perfectly embodies the character and without him the series wouldn’t work. The rest of the cast kills it as well, with fan favorites like Lucifer, The Corinthian, Mathew The Raven and Hob Gadling all making memorable appearances. Despite the changes, this was still a shockingly accurate adaptation of the classic award-winning comic book series. With Netflix, having recently announced that the series will be returning for Season 2, if the show stays on its current course, some of the best Sandman stories are about to be brought to life on screen.
Stranger Things 4 (Netflix)
It’s safe to say that this was the best season of Stranger Things yet. The mythology moved forward in a major way. Stranger Things got a horrifying villain in Vecna, and the characters and story are left perfectly positioned at the end of the season to wrap up the series with a bang in Stranger Things 5.
This season has some fantastic characters, both new and familiar. Without spoiling anything, if one of the characters dies, you genuinely feel the emotional impact, where lesser series can come off as cheap. Let’s no forget the already iconic scene as Max and the rest of the gang desperately try to save her, all set to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (Deal With God)”. Great stuff, a real chef’s kiss.
Peacemaker (HBO Max)
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad has become is one of my favorite films over the last couple of years. It’s arguably the best film in The DCEU. Now, I love John Cena and he’s fucking great in The Suicide Squad, but to be honest I was less than enthusiastic when I heard Peacemaker was getting his own spin-off series on HBO Max. It seemed like an odd choice to expand on the character. Boy, was I wrong. In James Gunn we trust, my friends.
Peacemaker is a home run that has no business being as good as it is. I always say, there’s no such thing as a bad character, just bad writers, and Peacemaker is a perfect example of that. John Cena elevates the seemingly violent sociopath, into a deeply broken man, struggling with guilt and deep emotional turmoil. The series is surprisingly complex, shifting between hilarious and heartbreaking with ease. Coupled with the magic touch of James Gunn, and one of the best TV show opening intro sequences ever, and Peacemaker is yet another contender for the best superhero show on television.
Other FavoritesFrom 2022:
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Reacher (Amazon Prime)
Young Justice: Phantoms (HBO Max)
His Dark Materials (HBO/HBO Max)
Interview with The Vampire (AMC)
Moon Knight/She-Hulk (TIE) Disney+
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
After my explosive reaction to the first 3 episodes of the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+, by listener demand, we’re back with our take on Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 4! We also discuss them new season of The Boys on Amazon Prime. At the time of this recording, only the first 3 episodes of The Boys had premiered. Since then, Episode 4 has been released, with new episode premiering every Friday. So far The Boys has been my favorite show of the year! Thanks for listening
Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
We have a couple of pretty cool trailers this week, with the new trailer for Season 3 of AmazonPrime’s The Boys, as well as our first look at the upcoming MCU Disney+ series, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law! Both trailers a very exciting for their own reasons, but check them out below and then we’ll get into some interesting details about these upcoming shows…
The Boys: Season 3
At this point, what more is there to say about The Boys? We already know the show is fantastic and I have no doubt that the new season will deliver just as much, if not more, than the previous seasons. I love seeing Homelander beginning to seriously go off the deep end. It looks like Maeve is beginning to proactively work against Vought a bit more, which is interesting. It seems like Hughie has some level of authority over Butcher now. Which led the great line from Mallory (their old boss) to Butcher ”You’ve even started taking Hugh Campbell’s orders without strangling him.”.
However, there was one thing problem I had that was on display in the trailer. In the comics, The Boys using something similar to Compound-V to level the playing field against the supes, is introduced fairly early in the series. So I didn’t really like M.M.’s sanctimonious “you’ve become the thing you hate! Blah, blah, blah“ schtick. If you’re going up against enemies with the power of gods, a move like this seems inevitable. So hopefully, that’s not a major subplot and this becomes a tool that The Boys use on a semi-regular basis when they need it .
Then, of course, the other big deal in Season 3 that has a lot of people excited, is Jensen Ackles joining the cast as Soldier Boy. We see much more of him in this new trailer and goddammit, he looks pretty damn cool. I feel like he’s going to be the wild card of the season. He’s the X factor. He doesn’t seem to be towing the Vought company line, but he doesn’t seem like a guy who’d necessarily become a straight up ally to Butcher and The Boys either. So it will be really interesting to see how his character is used and how his story plays out over the season. Ackles is a talented actor with a lot of range and I think he’s going to get a lot of attention with this role. The premiere can’t get here soon enough!
The Boys Season 3 begins streaming on PrimeVideo June 3rd.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
While I’ve always liked the character of Bruce Banner’s cousin, Jennifer Walters, I was surprised how much I loved the trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The tone feels exactly right for a show like this and I thought She-Hulk’s character design really worked (I’ll get to the CGI/VFX in a minuet).
Let’s not forget some of the interesting familiar faces who show up in the trailer. It’s great to see Tim Roth back as Emil Blonsky a.k.a. The Abomination. We last saw him in Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, taking on Wong in a superhuman cage fighting tournament and it appears as if he’s been, at least a little bit, rehabilitated. Because after the fight in Shang-Chi, in the locker room he and Wong are clearly friends. Wong then opens a portal and walks through with The Abomination into a room that appears to be the same one that we see Tim Roth being kept in, in this new trailer.
Of course, I’ll take any excuse to see Mark Ruffalo pop up as Bruce Banner/The Hulk (some of you may disagree, but I love that he’s still in Professor Hulk-mode). Not to mention the persistent rumors that this is where we’ll see Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil again after his official re-introduction into the main MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Considering that Matt Murdock is a lawyer and this series is dealing with the creation of a superhuman law division, it makes a lot of sense for the character to make an appearance.
Something important to keep in mind when watching this trailer, is how on projects like this, the visual effects are continuing to be worked on and perfected up to the last moment. So while some of the She-Hulk rendering may not have been pitch perfect, the special effects wizards working on the show have literally months to perfect the process. I have no doubt that when the show premieres, we will have an impressive looking She-Hulk.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law premieres on Disney+ August 13th.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
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