Mouse Rat rules the charts

Fictional Parks & Recreation band Mouse Rat have debuted on the US Billboard charts with The Awesome Album.

The set, released Aug. 27 via Universal Television/Dualtone Records, debuts at No. 2 on Comedy Albums, No. 11 on Heatseekers Albums and No. 17 on the all-genre Top Album Sales chart with 4,200 equivalent album units (4,100 in album sales) in the week ending Sept. 2, according to MRC Data.

Comedy album?

The album features a cameo by renowned jazz artist Duke Silver and features crowd favorite song 5,000 Candles in the Wind [Bye Bye Li’l Sebastian]. The album has been streaming on Spotify for a couple of months already.

David Oyelowo is Bass Reeves

David Oyelowo and his wife Jessica have signed an exclusive deal with ViacomCBS. The deal will include David starring in a new TV series based on Bass Reeves - the real-life African American lawman who served as an inspiration for The Lone Ranger. Viewers of the HBO Watchmen series would have seen a lengthy explanation of Reeves in the first episode of that show back in 2019. Being an exclusive deal, one wonders how the new Disney+ Rocketeer reboot factors in. So, exclusive, but not entirely exclusive?

Taylor Sheridan will produce the new Bass Reeves show.

TeeVee Snacks

Halloween Kills is now getting a same-day (Oct 15) release on US streamer Peacock. Read: Variety
RIP Emmy award winning actor Michael COnstantine. The Room 222 and My Big Fat Creek Wedding star was 94. Read: NYT
The Amazing Race season 33 is in pre-production. Don't expect them to come to Australia this season - that 2-week quarrantine is one heck of a road block. Read: TV Insider
All six of the Peter Jackson Lord of The Rings / Hobbit films will be released on Bluray in one giant 31 disc set. Read: Screencrush
The on-air 'talent' of Jackass have racked up approx $24 million in hospital expenses. Nobody can be sure entirely with this whether that is a lot of money as it is dealing with the US medical system. Read: Complex
Baby Yoda (or whatever his actual name is. Mugatu?) will be a floating balloon in the New York Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Read: The Mary Sue
Gossip Girl will be back for a second season. Read: THR
Star Trek: Picard has been renewed for a third season. The second season debuts in Feb - a trailer is posted below in teh Trailer Park section of this email. Read: Deadline
Marvel has updated its Marvel Unlimited comic book app for smart phones and tablets. Along with an all-new Netflix-style interface it has also released new mobile-friendly comics which scroll up and down and don't read in left-to-right panels like a regular comic. Read: The Verge
Australian cultural embarrassment Hey Hey It's Saturday has filmed its 50th anniversary special. Some former cast members are 'under contract' elsewhere and couldn't participate. Read: TV Tonight
The great Art Metrano has died, aged 84. The former stand-up comedian appeared in guest spots on shows like The Mod Squad, Kolchak The Night Stalker, and Starsky & Hutch before a recurring role as Uncle Rico on Joanie Loves Chachi. He's best known to audiences as Lt Mauser in the third and fourth best Police Academy movies (that's the second and third films, but you already knew that). Read: Deadline

It's time to play an Office simulator

The Office: Somehow We Manage is a free mobile game being released by the end of the year that will let you play through iconic moments from the TV series.

The free-to-play title, which will launch later this year, lets fans play through iconic moments in the show as they record profits at Dunder Mifflin and earn in-game rewards to try to keep the branch afloat. Among the familiar characters will be Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Pem Beesly and Dwight Schrute.

"Free-to-play" probably means a bunch of in-app purchasing is required. Who knows how many Schrute Bucks that's going to cost you.

Amazon unveil TV set

US TV viewers can now go and buy an Amazon-branded TV set. The TVs come in 43, 50, 55, 65, and 75 inch sizes and have a built-in Fire TV user-interface, giving the most pure Amazon Fire television experience. The TV also has a built-in always-listening microphone akin to its Alexa devices. So when you start shouting obscenities at the TV about how frustrating Nine Perfect Strangers is, Amazon will hear you.

The Fire TV Omni sets also include picture-in-picture for checking your smart home cameras, and you’ll see your Ring doorbell feed whenever someone is at the door. Amazon says it will be adding a “smart home dashboard” later this year for more comprehensive controls over your connected home gadgets.

Trailer Park

The proper Matrix Resurrections trailer is now here. The film debuts in cinemas and on HBO Max Dec 22.

Judge Judy returns to TV after a long 3-4 month absence with Judy Justice on IMDbTV Nov 1.

The Last OG returns Oct 26 for season 4.

Kid A Mnesia is a video game tie-in to the reissue of the album Kid A. It's likely to release in November.

Spider-Man 2 is coming to PS5 in 2022. Say goodbye to my family, I'm going to be out of contact for a month or so. Also, can I have a PS5 for Christmas?

Insomniac, the team behind Spider-Man on Playstation, will also have a Wolverine game out in 2023. I will also be out of contact for a while whenever that sees release.

Unidentified with Demi Lovato debuts Sept 30 on Peacock. I bet she discovers the truth.

The four-part series, premiering Sept. 30, follows the singer, her skeptical best friend Matthew and her sister Dallas as they try to undercover the truth about the UFO phenomena.

Dexter: New Blood debuts on Showtime Nov 7.