Just because it's getting warmer out doesn't mean you actually need to leave your apartment. Sure, the perfect window for Netflix & Chill companionship might have just closed, but be honest: sometimes going out on the weekends is more of a crapshoot than you'd hope for.
Worse though, is when seasonal allergies choke the life out of you anytime you step foot outdoors.
Last week we came at you with some hot takes on TV, the shifts in its seasonal focus, and how Millennials are essentially cultural time travelers. We're going to continue talking about dope sh*t like that for the rest of our lives.
This week though, let's focus on hot sh*t either on the horizon that you can binge in prep for, old shows that are must-watch, or new shows or movies you can call someone over for the proverbial 'Netflix & Chill' session.
So, this weekend, take it easy. Shut the door. Shut the windows. It's the first inklings of allergy season, and Mother Nature's got no chill.
Even if you did go out, drink too much, dance too hard, eat too much pizza at 3 a.m., you need to recharge before you go back at it. You could just stare at the ceiling feeling like you're about to die, or you could peep something streaming on the good ol' interwebs.
Here's what we're watching this weekend. Binge responsibly.
1. Game of Thrones
The new season kicks off April 24th, but there's a lot to get excited about right this minute. First, the new trailer is DOPE. Second, you need to check out whatever HBO's got goin' on in Union Square Tuesday, March 15th.
Again, the new season doesn't start for more than a month, but if you're not caught up, or you're looking for that refresher course on all the dirt that's gone down, you need to get a move on bingeing that this weekend. Like, there's more than 50 hours of TV to get through.
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First though, check out the trailer for season 6. If you have questions, it's not like you can go to the book nerd who's read all of the books to clear up any mystery. There are no more books. We're all on the same unpublished page.
2. House of Cards
Frank Underwood is back, and House of Cards is as good as it ever was.
Again, we're going to piggyback on the ideas of Channel 33 (soon to be TheRinger.com for those of us who still long for the glory days of Grantland) because they're paid to know sh*t about TV. Good. We need those people.
Anyway, they had a couple of good points about TV and the auteur, particularly when you get someone like David Fincher at the helm from the start. He doesn't have his hands in it as much as he once did, but there's still the distinct feeling that this still feels like him.
Another minor thing: what would it look like if House of Cards was on TV rather than Netflix? Where would it live? AMC? Showtime? HBO? It's an interesting thing to think about primarily because it deals with the big question of how can networks keep up if they don't release all of their episodes at once?
3. The Americans
What's also coming back? The Americans on FX. It's one of the better shows still on TV right now-- Netflix be damned! Keri Russell is great, Matthew Rhys is great-- oh, can we give a little shoutout love to Noah Emmerich?
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He's never really in anything spectacular (Little Children, Windtalkers, Warrior), and some of the great things he's in (Truman Show, Super 8, Frequency), he's not always an integral character. It's good to see him succeed in something that's been as consistently good as this show.
You can catch up on The Americans on Amazon Prime because the FX Now app is the absolute worst piece of sh*t you'll ever use. That's nothing against FX at all. Let's be clear: FX is making a good name for itself in TV. Its streaming app though? Well, they need to figure that out.
,4. Mad Men
Okay, okay, okay, okay. Hear us out on this one. Mad Men officially ended last year, but it's never too late to watch it. All in all, it's one of the best shows ever made.
The clip above is from the Season 1 finale which is easily one of the best three minutes of any television show ever written. There's a huge difference between those "best ever" statements. Whatever. Let's not get into all of that right now.
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Instead, let's take a second to talk about essential television: seasons 1-5 are really great. There are a few, slow-moving episodes in the mix, but 90% of it will make you glad that you watched it. Season 6 is decidedly meh, and the final season is a mixed bag of brilliance and boredom.
Now, that doesn't sound like a very glowing review, but definitely trust us on this one.
5. Ghostbusters
Alright, so we did a multi-layered switcharoo here. This isn't the new trailer for the all-female cast of the new Ghostbusters movie. You can check that out right here.
But that trailer sucks. Now, we don't think this is going to be a bad movie, and we think Ghostbusters is far from sacred. It's not like they're doing a reboot of Mrs. Doubtfire with Jonah f*cking Hill. It's just Ghostbusters. Calm down.
But the original Ghostbusters movie is available on Amazon Prime. If you're about to wallow in the sadness of having an all-female rendition, well, you're probably a relatively sad person. Hopefully you have Amazon Prime to comfort you.
6. Basketball... again
Okay so a few things are going down this weekend. It's Championship Week which means that the Big East Conference Tournament is posting up at MSG until Saturday, and the Atlantic 10 Tournament is going down at the Barclays Center.
If you're trying to win your office bracket pool for the real March Madness kicking off next week, watching both of these tournaments is essential to that success.
Other interesting basketball things? Well, let's talk about the NBA real quick.
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We're keeping an eye on the Golden State Warriors because the most exciting thing about New York basketball is that Melo thinks Rajon Rondo is going to help fix the team, and Brook Lopez is doing everything he can to screw over the Celtics' draft pick they traded in what can only be described as a drunk bet a few years ago.
We're big on history, and that's what the Warriors are up against as they try and break the 1996 Bulls' regular season win record. To do that, they can't choke against a bad Lakers team because they're not playing a bad Lakers team this weekend.
Damion Lillard is quite possibly the second-most exciting player to watch after Steph Curry. That's just a fact. He almost single-handedly destroyed the Warriors last time the Blazers and Dubs met. Scope that game Friday night at 10:30 p.m.
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[Feature Image Courtesy YouTube]