Amazon is taking cashless payments to another level.
In a new rollout, the tech giant is giving customers another contactless way to pay for groceries — with their palms.
In a statement Thursday, Amazon announced that the palm recognition service, called Amazon One, will be used for payment, identification, loyalty membership, and entry at over 500 Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations across the nation by the end of the year.
Instead of pulling out a credit card or even a phone for Apple Pay, subscribing customers will simply have to hover their palms over an Amazon One device to pay. And if you are already a Prime member, you can link your membership with Amazon One to apply any savings or benefits to your purchase as well.
The technology is already available at 200 locations across 20 U.S. states including Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Mississippi.
“By end of year, you won’t need your wallet to pay when checking out at any of the 500+ U.S. @WholeFoods,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy tweeted.
But you don’t just have to shop at Whole Foods to take advantage of the convenient new technology. According to the statement, many other businesses are implementing Amazon One as a payment, identification and secure entry tool.
Paying with your palm via Amazon One is a pretty great experience, and customers have been “voting with their palms” for many months now. By end of year, you won’t need your wallet to pay when checking out at any of the 500+ U.S. @WholeFoods. https://t.co/fizfZIDo3P
Panera Bread, for example, has adopted the technology so that customers can simply wave their hands above the device in order to pull up their MyPanera loyalty account information and pay for their meals.
At Coors Field stadium in Colorado, customers trying to purchase alcoholic beverages can hover their palms over the Amazon One device to verify they are 21 or older.
According to the company, palm payment is secure and cannot be replicated because the technology looks at both the palm and the underlying vein structure to create unique “palm signatures” for each customer. Each palm signature is associated with a numerical vector representation and is securely stored in the AWS cloud, Amazon said.
A palm is the safest biometric to use because you cannot identify a person by it, Amazon said. The tech company assured customers that their palm data will not be shared with third parties, including “in response to government demands.”
In order to register a palm, an Amazon customer can pre-enroll online with a credit or debit card, Amazon account and phone number, and then complete the enrollment process by scanning their palm anywhere an Amazon One device is in use.
“We are always looking for new ways to delight our customers and improve the shopping experience,” Leandro Balbinot, chief technology officer at Whole Foods Market, said. “Since we’ve introduced Amazon One at Whole Foods Market stores over the past two years, we’ve seen that customers love the convenience it provides.”
This innovative treadmill allows you to work while walking, which could reduce stress and boost your focus. Plus, its mobility and lightweight design make it easy to move and store, conveniently sliding under your sofa or bed. You can pause and resume your workout at any time and the treadmill saves your progress.
With a five-layer running belt, shock absorption and large size, it provides a comfortable exercise experience. Plus, its quiet operation ensures a peaceful atmosphere while working, reading, watching TV or even while you’re in Zoom meetings.
Redliro portable mini treadmill
Amazon
With the Redliro under desk treadmill, you can seamlessly integrate exercise into your daily routine. The treadmill moves up to four miles per hour and is made of a sturdy alloy steel. But don’t just take our word for it. This portable mini treadmill is rated 4.6 stars. And the Lightning Deal will be over soon.
“I don’t know why I waited so long to get an under desk walking pad but I am so, so, so, so glad I did. I use it for every meeting, so I get at least two hours of walking time a day,” wrote one reviewer.
If you’re looking for ways to keep track of your steps, check out the best Amazon Prime Day 2023 Fitbit deals going on right now.
Fitbit Versa 3: $153
Amazon
This top-of-the-line Fitbit has a built-in GPS that can be used to track the pace, distance and route of your runs, hikes, or biking outings. The tracker offers heart-rate monitoring, stress data and sleep tracking. Google Assistant and Alexa voice assistant support is built in.
The Fitbit Versa 3 has a six-day battery life. Its fast-charge capability gives you a full day’s worth of battery in just 12 minutes.
The latest in the Charge line from Fitbit, this well-equipped activity and health tracker packs advanced technology into a slender device and features a color touchscreen. The smartphone-enabled device helps you manage stress and stay on top of heart health and sleep.
The Fitbit Charge 5 boasts a seven-day battery life on a single charge.
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a budget-friendly, no-frills Fitbit that gets the job done. This easy-to-use, entry-level activity and sleep tracker offers various exercise modes and 24/7 heart-rate tracking. It is available in three colors with multiple accessory options.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 offers 10 days of battery life per charge, the longest of all the models in our list.
New subscribers will receive a six-month, free trial of Fitbit Premium (regularly $9.99 per month). The premium service offers personalized insights, advanced analytics, guided programs and more.
The Fitbit Luxe is a fitness and wellness tracker with heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking and stress management features. The fitness tracker will buzz when you reach your target heart rate during a workout. It can measure your breathing rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability. It comes with a free 6-month trial of Fitbit Premium.
The Fitbit Luxe offers about five days of battery life on a single charge.
The Fitbit Ace 3 is a Fitbit designed specifically for kids. It has the traditional fitness-tracking features of the adult models (including step tracking and family fitness challenges), presented in a kid-friendly format. It helps kids develop healthy sleep habits with sleep tracking, bedtime reminders and silent alarms.
The Fitbit Sense is an advanced fitness tracker that tracks heart health, sleep, exercise and more. It includes an ECG app that can assess wearers for heart-rhythm irregularity, including atrial fibrillation. It also has an electrodermal-activity sensor that records your skin temperature to measure stress.
Fitbit Premium members can receive a “Daily Readiness Score” that tells you if you’re ready to exercise or should focus on recovery.
Other retailers are running competing Amazon Prime Day sales. Walmart, for example, has announced it will be holding its Walmart Plus Week sale that started on Monday, July 10.
Check out these Amazon Prime Day deals on top brands for you and your family. And be sure to check out even more great Prime Day deals to shop, handpicked by our friends at ETOnline, CBS Sports Essentials and ComicBook.com.
Jennifer Martin is an expert on streaming and deals for CBS Essentials. She has a soft spot for foodie culture, beauty and wellness products and all things pop culture. Jennifer lives in Richmond, VA with her family of five, plus a cat, a dog and a frog.
AirPods under $100? You can find them at Amazon Prime Day 2023 — one of many hot tech sales we’re seeing. Just about anyone will love the budget-minded 2nd generation Apple AirPods. They’re not the latest model, but they’re still one of the most sought-after earbud models on the market.
Retailing for $159 at Apple, they’re on sale for just $90 at Amazon today. These AirPods boast more than 24 hours total listening time (with the wireless charging case), a foolproof, one-tap setup for Apple device owners and a low-latency wireless connection (for full immersion when consuming movies and music). Plus, you truly can’t beat the price.
The latest Apple AirPods Pro 2 earbuds offer 30 hours of listening time with the included charging case. They have an upgraded wireless chip for improved audio functionality, a new low distortion driver for clearer audio and improved active noise cancellation. The Apple AirPods Pro 2 provide truly custom sound: You can use your iPhone’s camera to analyze your unique ear anatomy and find the perfect audio settings for you.
The design of the AirPods Pro 2 is fairly similar to the previous generation, but Apple has introduced touch control to the AirPods Pro 2 to help users more seamlessly control their AirPods. Users will also get a new extra-small tip with their AirPods. The case did get a notable design upgrade with a new lanyard loop and a built-in speaker to help track the location of your AirPods case.
Apple AirPods with MagSafe case (3rd generation): $140
Apple
The latest generation of Apple AirPods are a nice upgrade over the second-generation model. They support 3D spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. You get more listening time, too — up to 30 hours with the included MagSafe charging case. You’ll save $40 on them when you buy at Amazon as an Amazon Prime member.
Apple AirPods Max use active noise-cancellation technology to block out unwanted noise and feature a transparency mode so you can hear what you need to. These headphones feature 20 hours of listening. They come in a variety of colors including blue, green, red and silver. They’re also compatible with Siri.
From the new luxury Apple Watch Ultra to the more affordable Apple Watch SE, these smartwatches make excellent accessories. They’re all on sale now at Amazon.
Apple Watch Series 8 GPS: $280 and up
Apple
Apple Watch Series 8, the latest addition to the Apple Watch lineup, features the new S8 chip for improved performance. It also includes an always-on display and new watch face options. The Apple Watch 8 will has a larger battery than previous models: Battery life can be extended to 36 hours when in low-power mode. The Apple Watch 8 features a durable design and is swim-proof, dust-proof and crack-resistant.
The Apple Watch 8 has a number of health-tracking features, including an optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, blood oxygen sensor and a new body temperature sensor.
The Apple Watch 8 is available in 41mm and 45mm sizing options. Shoppers can choose between stainless steel or aluminum casing and several different colors.
The Apple Watch Ultra is designed to be a more rugged and durable option for athletes and adventurers. It provides up to 36 hours of life on a single charge with standard use, or 60 hours of battery life with the soon-to-be-released battery optimization setting. It is made with a stronger titanium alloy material for improved impact resistance. It also offers a larger (49mm), brighter display and a second speaker for better sound and display visibility during outdoor use. Apple says it’s also optimized for diving and water sports.
The Apple Watch Ultra provides enhanced GPS functionality to trace your steps and improve navigation for outdoor expeditions. There is also an action button that can be used to more accurately track your workouts by marking segments of your workout.
The Apple Watch Ultra is now at its lowest price ever at Amazon, so pick it up while you can.
The Apple Watch SE, the most affordable model in the Apple Watch lineup, is even more affordable now with this deal. The smartwatch offers a 40mm screen and boasts a wide range of health and fitness features. It can also be used to play music, check your tests and make calls when paired with your iPhone.
If you want to save on a new MacBook, consider these highly-rated options.
The new 15.3″ Apple MacBook Air: $1,199
Apple via Amazon
The new MacBook offers a larger display while maintaining the sleek, lightweight design that MacBook Air users know and love. The updated laptop includes the powerful Apple M2 chip for ultra-fast processing. It features a fanless design, which Apple says allows the laptop to run almost silently.
The new 15.3-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299 on Apple’s website, but select color options are on sale now at Amazon. Right now you’ll score the best deal on the 256 GB Apple MacBook in the shade “space gray.”
The new 2023 MacBook Pro features Apple’s latest M2 processor chip for faster performance and improved processing capabilities. It also offers an improved 18-hour battery life and an improved camera.
The latest MacBook is available in two screen sizes: 14.2 inches and 16.2 inches. The screen features Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display.
Buyers also have a number of choices when it comes to specs. There are two versions of the M2 chip to choose from: M2 Pro and M2 Max. M2 Pro has up to 12 CPU, up to 19 GPU and up to 32 GB of memory. M2 Max has 12 CPU, up to 38 GPU and up to 96 GB of memory.
This is one of the best deals you’re going to be able to find on a MacBook. Right now, the 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is only $800. This lightweight MacBook features Retina display, an impressive 18-hour battery life and fast performance. There is a 2022 edition out, so this is a slightly older model — however, it is unbeatable deal for a new MacBook.
A step up from the MacBook Air, the slightly weightier (three pounds) 14-inch MacBook Pro boasts a powerful active cooling system, which helps keep the 8-core CPU running fast. It delivers up to 21 hours of battery life on a single charge, and features a Retina display that’s brighter than the MacBook Air.
Find these iPads on sale now at Amazon for Prime Day 2023.
Apple iPad 10: $380
Apple Store via Amazon
The latest edition in Apple’s classic iPad lineup is the iPad 10th generation. This 10.9-inch tablet features a Liquid Retina display with Apple’s True Tone technology. It has Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, an upgrade from the iPad 9’s A13 chip. The iPad 10 is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and 5G internet for fast performance. It also offers all-day battery life, so that you can easily take it to school, work or on your holiday travels without having to worry about plugging it in mid-day.
The new iPad 10 comes in four vibrant colors: yellow, pink, blue and silver. You can also choose between 5G cellular and WiFi-only models.
The 10.2-inch iPad 9, released in 2021, is the most affordable of Apple’s iPad offerings. It offers a 8 MP wide-angle back camera, and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle front camera. It boasts stereo speakers, too. This iPad is powered by a A13 Bionic chip. It boasts up to 10 hours of battery life, and is compatible with the Apple Pencil ($99) for drawing or note-taking.
Want to protect your new tablet investment? Get the 64 GB Apple iPad 9 bundled with a two-year subscription to Apple’s protection plan, Apple Care+. That bundle’s on sale on Amazon, too.
Introduced in 2022, the 10.9-inch Apple iPad Air 5 is the latest in the lightweight iPad Air line. The iPad Air 5 offers performance up to 60% faster than the prior model, thanks to Apple’s turbo-charged M1 chip. The device boasts a 12 MP wide-angle back camera that supports 4K video. It also offers touch ID, and Apple’s Liquid Retina display.
The 256 GB iPad Air 5 is also available in five colors; prices vary. The best deal we saw was for the space gray model (pictured) with Wi-Fi-only connectivity.
Apple’s high-end tablet, the iPad Pro, features an 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, a pro camera system and a Thunderbolt port for lightning-speed data transfers. Looking for a traditional laptop experience? It’s compatible with Apple’s Magic Keyboard.
Available in two colors; prices vary. The sale prices listed below are for the space gray iPad Pro with Wi-Fi-only connectivity.
The iPad Mini 6 is a compact tablet with an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display screen. Released in 2021, the Apple tablet is powered by an A15 Bionic chip. It features a 12 MP wide-angle back camera, and a 12 MP ultra-wide-angle front camera. It boasts landscape stereo speakers. Available in four colors.
Note that the Apple iPad Mini is not compatible with Apple’s external Magic Keyboard. It can, however, be used with other Bluetooth-enabled external keyboards.
The Apple iPad Mini retails for $499 on Apple’s website, but Amazon currently has it marked down to $380 for Amazon Prime members.
Once you’ve found the perfect iPad, be sure to protect it with a top-rated cover. Here are top-rated accessories for the Apple iPad, including the Apple Pencil 2 and Apple Smart Folio cover. And while they’re not all on sale right now, they’re all worth a look.
Apple Pencil 2: $89
Apple via Amazon
The Apple Pencil is designed for drawing or writing on the Apple iPad. The second-generation device is the latest Apple Pencil. It is compatible with all the latest models of the iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad Mini.
The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack magnetically attaches to your iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 13 or iPhone 13 Pro, providing a portable, wireless phone charge. If need be, your MagSafe Battery Pack and iPhone can be charged at the same time. Listed at $99 at Apple, it’s just $94 Amazon.
Other retailers are running competing Amazon Prime Day sales. Walmart, for example, has announced it will be holding its Walmart Plus Week sale that started on Monday, July 10.
Check out these Amazon Prime Day deals on top brands for you and your family. And be sure to check out even more great Prime Day deals to shop, handpicked by our friends at ETOnline, CBS Sports Essentials and ComicBook.com.
Carolin Lehmann is an expert in health, fitness, furniture, apparel, gift guides and books for CBS Essentials. She’s always testing new products to recommend. Some of her current favorites include Stanley cups, Alo Yoga workout sets and the Cuzen matcha maker.
Our 48-Hour Flash Sale is happening now! Get any eBook in the Entrepreneur Bookstore for just $1.99 — that’s a savings of up to 80%. You won’t find a better deal anywhere else on Amazon Prime Day.
Use code LAUNCHSALE at checkout to save big on eBooks that will help you:
Launch Your Dream Business
Make More Money
Transform Your Leadership Skills
Become a Franchise Mogul
Grow and Monetize Your Social Media Following
Featured Books:
Start Your Own Business, 8th Edition
Learn everything you need to launch your startup, from securing funding to marketing your products to 10X-ing your revenue.
Get best-of-the-best advice from marketing expert Dan S. Kennedy on everything from grabbing new customers’ attention to boosting sales to relaunching a brand.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
While Prime Day has become a staple for bringing masses of customers to Amazon for fantastic deals, Amazon sellers know that translates to more competition for them to get their deals found. That means, having your Prime Day deals featured on Amazon’s crowded Prime Day landing pages is difficult for established big-name brands, let alone new Amazon sellers.
New Amazon sellers can’t rely on the on-Amazon placements to get their Prime Day Deals seen by customers.
That said, every year, new Amazon sellers succeed on Prime Day because they’ve learned that the true key to driving Prime Day sales is off of Amazon and not on Amazon. As a new Amazon seller, these are the three most important things I recommend as an Amazon consultant to focus on to stand out from the crowd on Prime Day.
Prime Day has been a staple for consumers since it began in July 2015, which means consumers are ready ahead of time, researching deals on items they want to buy on Prime Day. Where do they go to research? They go to the number one and number two search engines in the world — Google and YouTube, respectively.
Leading up to Prime Day, consumers search Google and Youtube for “best Prime Day deals on (insert product or product category here)” and also read articles on Google News, Apple News and Flipboard about the same. Your customers are trying to find out if what they want to buy will be on sale on Prime Day. So, let them know.
Your goal as a new Amazon seller to stand out from the crowd is to get in front of customers off Amazon to let them know your items will be on sale on Prime Day on Amazon.
Here’s how it works:
Do searches on Google and YouTube for “Best Prime Day Deals on (your product or product category). EXAMPLE: “Best Prime Day Deals on patio furniture”
You will get last year’s results and write down all of the websites and YouTube channels that show up prominently. Now you know who covers Prime Day for your space.
Follow them on social media, engage with them, then reach out to them and let them know about your Prime Day deal.
There’s an added benefit here, too — since we know Amazon likes it when you drive external traffic, this helps boost your on-Amazon SEO as well. What’s more, partnering with Amazon Influencers is a great way to increase sales on Amazon all year round.
2. Social media advertising
You’re likely already driving traffic from social media ads to your Amazon Store and product detail pages using Amazon Attribution links. If you’re not, you should be.
That said, you’re going to want to have your audience targeting dialed in leading up to Prime Day. Since you won’t have the visibility on Amazon to promote your deal, you’ll need as much visibility off of Amazon as you can get.
Here’s how it works:
Prepare videos and images showcasing what your product is, what the savings are on the deal and how your customer would benefit. Don’t forget to add a sense of urgency letting customers know this is only for Prime Day.
Run the ads to your audiences that you’ve created for brand awareness. This is the time to venture out past buyer intent targeting and cast a wider net so you reach potential customers who wouldn’t normally try a new brand.
Use your Amazon Attribution link so you can get up to 10% cash back for the sales you drive to Amazon from the Brand Referral Bonus program.
Method three combines Amazon Influencers with advertising into one powerhouse of a tactic for new Amazon sellers to stand out from the crowd on Prime Day.
Advertorials are review articles with click-worthy headlines that do well on Google, Social Media, Apple News, Google News, Flipboard and more. What sounds better? “Hamilton Beach Food Processor Review” or “This $30 Kitchen Gadget Changed My Life?”
The advertorial sounds better because it pre-stages the customer, evokes fear of missing out and communicates the significance of the benefit of the product that lies beyond the click. The customer is ready to buy before they even read the article.
Native advertising takes content like advertorial articles and amplifies them out on major publications and platforms with huge audiences among other places. The best part? They look “native” to that major publication or platform — in other words, like articles that are supposed to be on that major publication or platform.
Here’s how it works:
Partner with nano and micro-influencers on articles like “This Prime Day Deal Will Change How You Garden Forever.” Since you’ll be amplifying the content through native advertising, you can partner with nano-influencers but get mega-influencer reach.
Once the article goes live, amplify it to target audiences enthusiastic about your subject matter through native advertising.
Turn off the native ads after Prime Day concludes.
Don’t forget to use your Amazon Attribution links in the advertorial.
Those are the top three methods, but there are a few honorable mentions.
Honorable mentions
Email marketing: Since many new Amazon sellers likely haven’t built up their email lists yet, this falls as an honorable mention, but it doesn’t mean it is any less important. If you aren’t building an email list to promote your Amazon products, you’ll want to start right away.
Amazon Storefront: Redesign the above-the-fold section of your Amazon Storefront homepage to showcase your Prime Day Deals.
Sponsored Brands ads: Don’t forget to run Sponsored Brands ads to your Amazon Storefront for customers to see your Prime Day Deals.
Sponsored Products ads: You won’t want to miss out on customers searching for specific products on Amazon for Prime Day Deals. Show up in product search results with the coveted Prime Day Deal badge by running Sponsored Products ads.
New Amazon sellers can cut through the noise on Amazon Prime Day by venturing off Amazon and sticking to tried and true best practices to drive their Amazon Prime Day sales.
While it’s already hit some other streaming sites, M3GANis now officially available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
While a lot of people have compared the film to Child’s Play (especially because one of that series’ reboots already centered around an A.I. companion), it does manage to assert its own identity. See, M3GAN is acutely aware of just how silly the whole premise is. Unless you somehow have a major doll phobia, the premise itself is pretty played out. Annabelle takes itself rather seriously, but it’s still a campy big-budget Conjuring-verse Blumhouse film at the end of the day.
So how can you get around all of that baggage if you’re essentially making a killer doll movie? Well, the A.I. component certainly helps. Horror tends to function best when there are societal fears baked in. The rising trend of A.I., the unconscious effects that technology has on our children while we leave them unattended; all of this together created a perfect storm. The satirical and comedic elements blend brilliantly to create a film that’s just genuinely fun to watch if nothing else.
The ScreenCrush staff are big M3GAN fans. In our review back in January, Matt Singer wrote…
Eventually, M3GAN becomes less of a demented protector and more of a stock slasher villain, and at that point M3GAN grows more routine and less interesting. Until then, the film is miles better than the junk that typically comes out at this time of year. While most of 2022’s holiday toys are destined to be dumped in storage bins or even the garbage in a matter of weeks, I have feeling M3GAN is going to stick around a lot longer than that. Just don’t let her near my kids.
Unfortunately, the only cut that’s available on Prime Video for streaming is the PG-13 version. While the unrated cut only adds an additional minute of footage, that minute is split throughout the whole film, and includes a little more graphic content. If you want to check that version out, you’ll probably have to go the rental or purchase route.
Milwaukee tools are on sale at Amazon now, before Prime Day 2023 even begins. Milwaukee is a trusted brand known for its durable and innovative power tools, catering to both home hobbyists and professionals. With a wide range of high-performance products, these tools prioritize user satisfaction and productivity through advanced technology and ergonomic design.
But top-rated tools can be expensive. The experts at CBS Essentials have rounded up the best Milwaukee tool deals ahead of Amazon Prime Day. Ready to save even more? Earn some free Amazon cash and upgrade your entire tool shed for even less.
Top deals on Milwaukee tools ahead of Amazon Prime Day:
From power drills and saws to cordless tools and accessories, Milwaukee Tools continues to deliver cutting-edge solutions that enhance productivity and efficiency for any summer task you have planned. If you like Dewalt, Ryobi or Black and Decker tools, you’ll love what Milwaukee tools have to offer.
And since Prime Day is on the horizon (starting on July 11) we wanted to remind you that many of the best deals are only available to Amazon Prime members. If you’re hoping for big Amazon deals and savings, it’s not too late to get a Prime membership.
Your garage needs a tool bench makeover. Stock up on popular Milwaukee tools today for less.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel hackzall
Amazon
The Milwaukee 2719-21 M18 Fuel hackzall is a high-performance, one-handed reciprocating saw with superior speed and maneuverability. Its compact design, low vibration and advanced features ensure optimal performance and durability in challenging cutting applications. You’ll be surprised how big of a project this little saw can take on.
There are other Milwaukee saws on sale at Amazon right now too at every budget. You can saw these prices nearly in half.
Milwaukee M18 RedLithium high output 18V lithium-ion battery pack
Amazon
If you need a high-output lithium battery pack with an 8.0 Ah battery capacity, this one is currently 72% off. Plus, Milwaukee says that their batteries “last longer, think faster and work harder than all other professional lithium-ion batteries,” so you might be getting one of the best deals yet.
We’ve found even more Milwaukee battery and charger options below.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel dual battery blower
Amazon
The Milwaukee M18 Fuel dual battery blower is a powerful and durable tool designed for professional landscapers, but now available to you at a discount. It delivers the highest constant power output among handheld blowers, features a brushless motor and high airspeed with precise speed control. The blower comes with both a tapered and a flat nozzle attachment for different applications. Spread mulch, blow leaves and more with this dual battery blower.
There are so many other amazing Milwaukee tools for sale at Amazon. Keep shopping and stock up on your favorites this summer.
Milwaukee heavy-duty 6-pocket canvas tool bag
Amazon
Never forget your tools again with this durable canvas bag from Milwaukee. It’s designed to hold your cordless power tools securely in individual compartments, with reinforced construction for rugged environments. Water- and dust-resistant, it features a sturdy handle, extra storage space and an included shoulder strap. Perfect for work or travel.
Jennifer Martin is an expert on streaming and deals for CBS Essentials. She has a soft spot for foodie culture, beauty and wellness products and all things pop culture. Jennifer lives in Richmond, VA with her family of five, plus a cat, a dog and a frog.
The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon for what it called a years-long effort to enroll consumers into Prime without their consent and making it difficult for them to cancel the subscription.
In its complaint, filed in Washington state, the FTC accused Amazon of using deceptive designs to trick “millions” of consumers into enrolling in the program. The agency also said the option to purchase items on Amazon without subscribing to Prime was more difficult in many cases. Consumers were sometimes presented with a button to complete their transactions — but the button didn’t clearly state it would also enroll them into Prime.
Company leaders slowed or rejected changes that made canceling the subscription easier, the complaint said. The agency also argued those patterns were in violation of the FTC Act and another law called the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.
Internally, Amazon called the process “Iliad,” a reference to the ancient Greek poem about the lengthy siege of Troy during the Trojan war.
“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.”
Prime is Amazon’s membership program, in which customers pay $139 a year, or $14.99 a month, for faster shipping and the streaming service Prime Video. In the first three months of this year, Amazon reported it made $9.6 billion from the subscription, a 17% jump from the same period last year.
An Amazon spokesperson called the FTC’s claims “false on the facts and the law.”
“The truth is that customers love Prime, and by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership,” the spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. “As with all our products and services, we continually listen to customer feedback and look for ways to improve the customer experience and we look forward to the facts becoming clear as this case plays out.”
NetChoice, a tech lobbying group that counts Amazon as a member, also released a statement accusing the FTC of overstepping.
“The complaint is that Amazon encourages people to use Amazon Prime — this is like going after Kroger for promoting its rewards program or Costco for its membership club,” Carl Szabo, the group’s vice president and general counsel, said.
Amazon has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in recent years as it moved to expand its e-commerce dominance and dip its toes into other markets, including groceries and health care.
The tech giant has faced other lawsuits accusing its Prime cancellation process of being too complicated. Under scrutiny from the agency, the company in March provided consumers with instructions on how to cancel their Prime memberships in a blog post.
“Set on canceling? We’ll be sad to see you go, but we’ll be here when you’re ready to return,” the blog post reads. “Below are instructions on how to cancel your Prime membership.”
The lawsuit follows another Amazon-related win by the agency just a few weeks ago. Earlier this month, Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty to settle allegations it violated a child privacy law by storing kids’ voice and location data recorded by its popular Alexa voice assistant. It also agreed to pay $5.8 million in customer refunds for alleged privacy violations involving its doorbell camera, Ring.
The Federal Trade Commission is suing e-commerce giant Amazon for allegedly enrolling customers in Amazon Prime without their consent and then “knowingly” complicating the cancellation process.
“Amazon used manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday, Amazon used tactics wherein the option to purchase an item without subscribing to Prime was “more difficult to locate,” and, in some cases, the button that enrolled users in Prime at checkout did not clearly indicate customers were agreeing to sign up for the service.
“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in a statement. “These manipulative tactics harm consumers and law-abiding businesses alike.”
Additionally, the complaint alleges that Amazon “knowingly” made the cancellation process of Prime complicated and claims that company leadership rejected proposed changes to the system that would make cancellation easier “because those changes adversely affected Amazon’s bottom line.”
Last month, Amazon settled two complaints from the FTC regarding privacy violations surrounding the company’s Ring and Alexa apps, costing the company nearly $31 million.
“The FTC’s claims are false on the facts and the law,” an Amazon spokesperson told Entrepreneur. “We also find it concerning that the FTC announced this lawsuit without notice to us. While the absence of that normal course engagement is extremely disappointing, we look forward to proving our case in court.”
“Why didn’t I look at this in the very beginning and say, ‘this is misogyny’?” asks Cori Shepherd Stern, an executive producer of the Prime Video docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. She’s referring to TLC reality series 19 Kids and Counting, about the day-to-day life of Arkansas’s Duggar family.
If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the Duggars, a primer: From 2008 to 2015, former Arkansas House of Representatives member Jim Bob Duggar and his wife, Michelle, were ubiquitous on the Discovery-owned channel as the parents of 17, 18, and eventually 19 children. As Shiny Happy People describes it, the series was a “modern-day freak show,” illustrating both the logistics of being a family the size of a hockey team and the Duggars’ evangelical Baptist beliefs—including retrograde gender roles, religion-focused home homeschooling, and unbridled reproduction.
That show was disrupted when news broke in 2015 that the Duggars’ oldest child, Josh, had allegedly molested some of his siblings over a decade before. (He never faced charges in that case, and was instead sent by his parents to a faith-based counseling program.) Advertisers fled, and the flagship series was canceled. But the family remained on TLC with a spin-off that followed the reproductive decisions of some of the Duggar progeny, including Jill Duggar Dillard—one of Josh’s alleged victims, and the only one of Jim Bob and Michelle’s kids to participate in Shiny Happy People.
The spin-off was also canceled following Josh’s 2021 arrest on child pornography charges. He’s since been convicted, and is expected to remain in federal prison until late 2032. That Shiny Happy People swiftly dispenses with Josh Duggar’s journey from allegations to conviction is the first hint that this four-episode series is about a lot more than deeply problematic reality TV.
Directors Olivia Crist and Julia Willoughby Nason use the Duggars to dig into the arguably bigger story of a Christian organization called the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Founded by Bill Gothard in 1961, the teachings of the increasingly influential IBLP were followed by the Duggars, who then shared them with millions of TLC viewers. When Crist and Nason explained the Duggar-IBLP connection to Stern, who grew up in a Southern Baptist home, she was immediately intrigued.
As journalist and pastor Josh Pease explains in the docuseries, “For Scientology, the gateway for most people was Tom Cruise. In a lot of ways that’s exactly what the Duggars were” for IBLP and Gothard. On the TLC series, Gothard’s teachings—described by former followers as promoting claims that girls and women have “eye traps,” characteristics that inspire uncontrollable urges in men, and advocating for parents to spank their children for hours at a time—was presented without comment, even as Gothard faced multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment. (Gothard resigned from the church in the wake of those claims, and an internal IBLP investigation found that he had acted inappropriately, but not criminally. Gothard has denied all allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and a civil suit filed by alleged victims was voluntarily dismissed in 2018 due to statute of imitations issues. Now aged 88, he reportedly lives in the Chicago area.)
That said, Shiny Happy People “is not a takedown of TLC,” executive producer Blye Pagon Faust says. “We did a very strong outreach to numerous people who work on the different seasons of the shows, and we just didn’t have anybody who was willing to speak on the record.” It was impossible for the Shiny Happy People team to discern who knew what during production of TLC’s shows about the family.
And it’s true that many of Gothard’s wackier teachings never made it into the TLC shows on the Duggars. For example, former followers assert that Gothard claimed that Cabbage Patch Kids founder Xavier Roberts is a warlock. He reportedly encouraged members to throw out their TVs, and said men must always be clean-shaven. His expectation, as recounted by former followers in Shiny Happy People, that church members eschew pop-culture standbys like pop music, Pokémon, and Disney were soft-pedaled through TLC’s Duggar content, presented as harmless, quaint quirks as opposed to unsettling attempts at isolation and control.
There’s ample salt, acid, and heat—but little fat—to be found in The Bear’s frenetic seventh episode, directed by creator Christopher Storer. Executive producer Joanna Calo describes it as a “resting place” for the season’s character arcs, including Sydney and Richie’s fractious dynamic and Carmy’s increasingly “rageful, deep, dark feelings hidden inside,” all exacerbated by a rave review that brings a flood of customers their kitchen can’t handle. But in writing the script, Calo says, it became “this place where everyone exploded.” The propulsive, almost 20-minute one-take result created “this massive feeling of anxiety, which sort of encapsulates the energy that all people working in restaurants feel.”
The Bear: Courtesy of FX.
SUCCESSION
Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding” HBO
Best not to get married on HBO. In “Connor’s Wedding,” the third episode of Succession’s final season, the eldest Roy’s nuptials on a boat quickly get overshadowed by an event of truly epic proportion: Logan Roy’s unexpected, ultimately unceremonious death. Rather than capture the fall of the king, director Mark Mylod focuses what he called his “sadistically voyeuristic” camera on the Roy siblings as they find themselves literally and emotionally at sea in a world without their father. “It had to stay really close without taking its eye off of them,” he said. “Because every time we cut away from the siblings, it seemed to let them off the hook.” With “Connor’s Wedding,” Succession simultaneously upended every expectation for the series while fulfilling its titular premise. What a way for L to the OG to go.
RESERVATION DOGS
Episode 8, “This Is Where the Plot Thickens” FX
Director Blackhorse Lowe took inspiration from 1970s cinema for this surprisingly poignant episode, which swerves away from its central characters to follow tribal cop Big (Zahn McClarnon) after he mistakenly chugs a bottle of soda laced with psychedelic drugs. Walking through the pulsating, spinning forest, Big winds up on an introspective journey to the past, confronting his feelings of guilt over the death of his friend Cookie. “In this seemingly fun, trippy episode, we actually really get deep into character,” says series cocreator Sterlin Harjo. “There’s a pain that drives Big.” There’s also a heavy dose of Native humor, like when Big stumbles upon a mysterious group of Secret Society members in the woods chanting things like “The earth is a whore, and it is our will to take her!” The punch line? The cult ends up not being a hallucination at all.
Reservation Dogs: Courtesy of FX.
FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE
Episode 7, “Me-Time” FX
Jesse Eisenberg’s Toby and his woes dominate much of the first six episodes, but by the penultimate “Me-Time,” it becomes clear he is not the Fleishman in real trouble. His missing ex-wife, Rachel (Claire Danes), reappears in this episode, which serves as both an explanation of where she’s been and a showcase of what Danes does best—raw, messy emotion. “Before the pandemic, I’d written my book out of a sort of primal scream,” says Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who adapted her book for the series, and a primal scream defines this episode too. Growing apart from her married boyfriend, Rachel lets loose in a therapy session so loud it shakes the trees outside. It’s a taut, cathartic reflection on what happens when your heart feels overstuffed and empty all at once.
ANDOR
Episode 12, “Rix Road” Disney+
It all builds to a brick. The first season’s extraordinary climax takes place at the funeral march for Maarva (Fiona Shaw), the adoptive mother of Diego Luna’s title rebel leader, whose remains have been forged into a hexagonal funerary stone. When Maarva delivers her own fiery eulogy by way of prerecorded hologram, a riot breaks out—and Maarva’s brick becomes a weapon used to clobber Imperial soldiers. “That is when the moviemaking takes off past the script,” says series creator Tony Gilroy. “I remember being really surprised when I saw it and going, ‘Holy…look what they did!’ ”
[ad_2]
Savannah Walsh, Chris Murphy, Christian Allaire, Kase Wickman, Anthony Breznican, Rebecca Ford, David Canfield, Hillary Busis
This post contains spoilers forThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’sseries finale.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Lenny Bruce has always been dreamy. Sprinkled like pixie dust across 16 episodes of the show’s five seasons,Luke Kirby transformed the real-life comedian into an irresistibly tortured “fairy godmother” of stand-up to Rachel Brosnahan’s Midge.
Scenes between the pair, crackling with chemistry, hold that same dreamlike quality—their interactions existing in a bubble outside of reality. But in the series finale, when Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) encounters a rambling, rumpled Lenny Bruce at a San Francisco comedy club in 1965, that bubble is beyond punctured. And for the first time since playing Bruce, Kirby was meant to bomb. “It was a little alarming to suddenly be met with silence and coughs, but I felt like it was definitely appropriate,” Kirby tells Vanity Fair. “As much fun as it’s been to exhibit this man for all of his charm and magnetism, and for somebody who aligned himself so much with an idea around truth, there is another truth that we had to address.”
Kirby brings some of Lenny’s disarming mysticism to a Zoom call about the show’s final season. Petting Big Homer, the curly-haired dog that sits atop his lap, the actor apologizes for his “screwy” internet connection and admits he’s still carrying Lenny inside him. “He’s still lingering around, swirling,” Kirby says wistfully. “He’s been such a good friend to me that I don’t really feel like I have to abandon him. It’s sad, scary to say goodbye to something that does feel so destined to be.”
Destiny is also top of mind in Midge and Lenny’s final scene. Huddled together in the booth of a Chinese restaurant following their snowed-in tryst from the season four finale, she tries to master the art of an indecipherable autograph as he reads her a gushing fortune cookie message. “You mark my words: Very soon, in the not-too-distant future, you will be paying for the Chinese food,” he says with reverent certainty. She’ll go on to perform a star-making set on the fictional Gordon Ford Show, and he’ll succumb further to the personal demons and substance abuse that have slowly begun to bleed into the Maisel universe.
Philippe Antonello
But the series was never going to depict Lenny’s death on screen, cocreators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladinotold Vanity Fair. As Kirby says, “They never wanted to veer into anything that could be interpreted as ghoulish or just making a big thing out of something that really maybe wouldn’t feel earned in the context of the show we’ve made,” adding, “I totally appreciated that and agreed with it. But when I saw what they did, I thought it was really quite beautiful. It, to me, closed the ring on the story of Midge and Lenny.”
That aforementioned Chinese restaurant scene was the last Kirby filmed on the series, and although the day was “really sad,” it also brought joy. “In one of [Lenny’s] last interviews, there was a recording where he was asked: ‘Why do you do it?’ And he said, ‘Because it’s fun.’ The way he says it is so sincere,” Kirby explains. “I tried to abide by that idea on this job.”
Kirby’s performance on Maisel has earned him an Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series and a seal of approval from Kitty Bruce—Lenny’s daughter, who gets special acknowledgement in the finale’s credits. “When I was starting to do the research, it felt clear to me that he wasn’t pursuing a career that was designed to stir up trouble, or wreak havoc on the zeitgeist,” the actor says. “He was really somebody who wanted to do comedy, but for whatever reason, his way of being was problematic for certain institutions. Those institutions made it their mission to, if not destroy him, certainly hurt his reputation and his livelihood. And he had to meet that face-on.”
These days, Kirby is reflective about Lenny’s tenderness, as well as his tenacity. “I do keep coming back to a couple things he said around what it is to be a person. He is the man who said, ‘There are never enough I love yous.’ He’s the man who said, ‘I damn the people who would keep the lovers apart,’” Kirby recalls. “For all of his irreverent comedy and stuff he got in trouble for, to me, it feels like it was rooted in a real love for being alive and for people.”
In Maisel’s fifth and final season, Lenny appears just twice: in the finale and in the premiere, where Midge runs into an especially disheveled-looking version of the comic at JFK. She vows to not “blow it” with her big break. “I’m gonna hold you to that,” Lenny replies.
This post contains spoilers forThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s series finale.
The four words that gave The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel its name weren’t uttered until the final act of the series finale. Bestowed upon Rachel Brosnahan’s Midge Maisel by Gordon Ford (Reid Scott) after a star-making set on his late-night TV show, the moniker became a symbol of an Upper West Side housewife choosing to become something more.
“Midge bought into an immature fantasy as a young woman, of house and husband and children and postcards and the right bench and temple and the brisket and ‘the rabbi’s coming, the rabbi is coming.’ That was the be-all, end-all for her,” cocreator Amy Sherman-Palladino told Vanity Fair. “And when she discovered this burning ambition in herself, something she didn’t even know was there, she followed it to the very end.”
Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, both real-life and creative partners, are well attuned to the power a show’s final season holds. The pair couldn’t end Gilmore Girls, the beloved series they created and shepherded for six seasons before exiting amidst behind-the-scenes drama, on their own terms. (Netflix’s 2016 revival series allowed them something of a do-over.) When I spoke to the pair, Succession had just killed off Logan Roy—though they practically put their fingers in their ears to resist spoilers. The weekly unfurling of Maisel’s final act caused its own brand of stress: “Every week I’ve got to up the Prozac,” Sherman-Palladino said. “Up the dosage, up the dosage, baby.”
The Palladinos, who spoke to VF prior to the ongoing writers strike, talked about ending Maisel in a tight five—from tackling Lenny Bruce’s death to dreaming up Midge’s star-studded future.
Vanity Fair:Much of the season is framed with flash-forwards into Midge’s fame and the ramifications it had on her children. How did you pick which snippets we’d see?
Daniel Palladino: It was an idea that we had flirted with since season two. We tried something too early, so we felt like we should save it for the last season. Picking and choosing them was just really trial and error. We didn’t want to overdo it, except in episode six, “The Testi-Roastial,” where we did flashbacks within flashbacks.
Amy Sherman-Palladino: We had so much story to get into this season because we needed to wrap everybody up. It really became, what is the big punch? Because you could think of a bunch of funny flash-forwards that would be entertaining to watch—but what is the story punch? That automatically weeded a few things out. And then a couple got weeded out by the fact that we just did not have enough days. We tried to control time, and they wouldn’t let us do that.
Palladino: In a nine-episode season, we tend to come up with 11 episodes of stuff, and then we try to pound them into [the allotted number] or we start eliminating. It’s inevitable.
How much of Midge’s future that we don’t see have you filled in for yourselves? I’m assuming you know the identities of all her husbands.
Sherman-Palladino: We know who the husbands were.
Palladino: Approximately. We were strongly implying that Robert Evans was one of her husbands. We implied that Quincy Jones cheated on Peggy Lipton at some point, but it’s fiction—
Sherman-Palladino: We didn’t say marriage. He didn’t put a ring on it.
Palladino: One of the things we were flirting with was seeing her with her husband later in life, and that was on the board until the very, very last second.
Sherman-Palladino: We wanted to show Midge and Joel much later in life—that they both have significant others off in the background, but they were only concerned about each other, and just wanted to hang with each other. They were always going to be this couple, whether or not they were with other people. That was the one sequence we couldn’t figure out how to fit into the schedule. It was just too many days and locations. But we put the picture [of the two of them] in the last episode, and the picture basically did the same thing. The man who’s on her vanity table that she says goodnight to every night is the man that she couldn’t be with. So sometimes, those things become happy accidents.
The Duggars rose to fame when TLC began documenting their lives on the reality TV show “17 Kids and Counting” in 2008, showing how the devoutly Christian Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar balance religion with raising their many children. Now, Amazon Prime is preparing a docuseries committed to “exposing the truth” behind it all.
The trailer for the Prime Video limited docuseries, released on May 18, starts with a simple line, “World domination was the goal.” It then goes into a mix of soundbites from various people – including one of the Duggar children – about IBLP, or the Institute in Basic Life Principles, a religious organization founded and until 2014, run by Bill Gothard, that teaches a “biblical authority” with God in the highest position, followed by husband, then wife, who is to “submit to the leadership of her husband … created perfectly to meet his needs.”
The religious group has been shrouded in controversy, with further strict teachings that sought to prevent the influence of pop culture and prioritize committing to a life that aimed to please God. Gothard’s role came to an end upon his resignation in 2014 after dozens of women accused him of sexual harassment.
“[Gothard’s] teachings, in a nutshell, are based on fear and superstition and leave you in place where you feel like, ‘I don’t know what God expects of me,’” Jinger Duggar Vuolo told People earlier this year. “The fear kept me crippled with anxiety. I was terrified of the outside world. … There are a lot of cult-like tendencies.”
Further controversy surrounded the Duggar family when it was revealed that their son Josh Duggar had allegedly molested five girls. Charges were not brought against him as the statute of limitations had passed by the time those reports went public, but in 2021, he was found guilty in a separate case of having downloaded child pornography, some of which showed the sexual abuse of children who were younger than 12 years old.
Vuolo’s sister, Jill Duggar, makes an appearance in the Amazon docuseries, saying in a trailer clip that “there’s a story that’s going to be told and I’d rather be the one telling it.”
“Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets,” which premieres on June 2 on Prime Video, promises to unveil the “real story” of what happened behind the scenes of the family’s life on reality TV.
“As details of the family and their scandals unfold, we realize they’re part of an insidious, much-larger threat already in motion, with democracy itself in peril,” the description for the trailer says.
Amazon is releasing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie on its digital format starting at midnight EDT and 9 p.m. PDT on May 15. Our favorite Italian plumber, Mario from Nintendo’s beloved Super Mario video games, has helped “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” surpass over a billion dollars and dominate the box office. If you haven’t seen the video game movie in theaters yet, no worries — it’s still there.
But if you pre-order the film now, you should know that the preordered digital copies will release tonight on Amazon. Here’s how to get access to the top-grossing movie of 2023 so far.
Pre-order “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and watch it tonight:
Starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Jack Black as Bowser, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach and Charlie Day as Luigi, the beloved Super Mario Bros. characters come to life on the big screen. Similar to the Super Mario Bros. games, our heroes are on a mission to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser.
Donkey Kong, Mario Kart racing and other fun gamer Easter eggs show up, but the movie is also fun to watch even if you don’t know the first thing about Nintendo characters.
With its colorful and imaginative world-building, catchy music (Black’s Bowser sings a memorable piano ballad about Princess Peach) and a cast of unforgettable characters, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is sure to be a blast for fans of all ages. So go ahead and pre-order the animated family-friendly movie today and get ready for an adventure that will transport you to a magical world full of wonder and excitement. Let’s-a go!
How to watch “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” tonight
Universal Studios
The best place to preorder “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is at Amazon, especially since the digital version is going to be available at midnight on the East Coast and at 9 p.m. on the West Coast. You can get a hard copy or a digital copy that will stay in your Prime Video library forever. There are so many options on Amazon, too. The digital formats are available in standard definition, high definition or ultra-high definition, while the hard-copy formats are available in Blu-Ray, DVD and 4K. Don’t miss out on all the video game nostalgia from this Nintendo Classic.
The date has yet to be released but “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will eventually stream on Peacock. There’s a wealth of content on Peacock, including sports, movies and series. The Premium plan is $5 a month while the Plus plan is $10 a month. If you prefer streaming content, Peacock is one of the best deals out there.
Looking to upgrade your viewing experience at home so you can watch the latest shows, Oscar-nominated movies, sports and more? Keep reading to check out the best deals on TVs.
LG G2 series OLED evo Gallery Edition smart TV
LG via Amazon
According to the brand, this LG TV designed to compete with Samsung’s “The Frame” features a gallery design that “hugs the wall.” This smart TV is meant to blend in seamlessly with any other wall art you might have.
The OLED TV features 4K-upscaling, a Filmmaker Mode to enhance your viewing experience with Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos, plus built-in access to Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV plus, Disney Plus and LG channels.
An Amazon customer called the TV “the best 4K panel I’ve ever owned.” “The panel actually does look like wall art hanging in my viewing room,” they commented.
This top-rated TCL Roku TV is an ultra-affordable option that uses the user-friendly Roku interface.
“I recently bought this TV last week and I’m really impressed with it amazing picture, great sound and easy set up,” wrote a Walmart customer. “If you want a TV that’s affordable TCL is the way to go. I don’t have anything negative to say about the TV and I would buy TV’s again from this brand in the near future.”
This 75-inch Amazon Fire TV offers a 4K UHD display and enhanced color and clarity thanks to Dolby Vision.
The TV also supports voice control with Amazon Alexa. Its high-quality picture quality and large size make this TV a solid choice for football fans — plus, it’s hard to find such a big screen at such a low price.
Jennifer Martin is an expert on streaming and deals for CBS Essentials. She has a soft spot for foodie culture, beauty and wellness products and all things pop culture. Jennifer lives in Richmond, VA with her family of five, plus a cat, a dog and a frog.
God love ‘em, the Gemstones’ prayers have finally been answered. Season three of The Righteous Gemstones returns to HBO on June 18, and, in a page straight out of Succession, Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) Gemstone finally have control of the family’s televangelist church made world-famous by their father, Dr. Eli Gemstone (John Goodman). But, running a megachurch is not as easy as it seems, and, from the looks of it, the Gemstone children may not be cut out for the gig. Pray for them. —Chris Murphy
The Walking Dead: Dead City
June 18 (AMC)
The universe of The Walking Dead expands once again with this sequel series, which picks up two years after the end of The Walking Dead and finds former enemies Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) traveling in a postapocalyptic Manhattan. It’s the fourth spin-off from the smash-hit AMC series, which wrapped its 11th and final season in November 2022. None of the follow-up series have become as huge as the original, but AMC clearly remains very much in the zombie business. —K.R.
Secret Invasion
June 21 (Disney+)
“We don’t know who’s a friend, who’s the enemy,” Samuel L. Jackson told Anthony Breznican for Vanity Fair’sfirst look at his upcoming Marvel series, which follows Jackson’s former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury, as he uncovers a conspiracy to quietly install double agents into positions of power around the world. He’s joined by Emilia Clarke as an alien radical named G’iah, Olivia Colman as a British intelligence agent who has a past with Fury, and a few familiar faces from the MCU, namely Martin Freeman (as CIA agent Everett K. Ross) and Cobie Smulders (as Fury’s steadfast ally, Maria Hill). Maybe it’s not a new Avengers movie, but Secret Invasion seems just as starry. —H.B.
The Bear
June 22 (FX)
Order up. The Bear—the high-octane kitchen series that premiered on FX last summer and quickly became the network’s most-watched half-hour show of all time—serves up a new 10-episode season two on June 22. After shutting down his restaurant, The Beef, Jeremy Allen White’s chef Carmy and his kitchen crew consisting of his “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), sous-chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), and veteran line cook Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) are preparing to open Carmy’s new restaurant, The Bear. Along with the new restaurant, there are a few new faces, with Better Call Saul’sBob Odenkirk and Booksmart’sMolly Gordon both joining The Bear for season two. “It’s not a reopening, it’s a rebirth,” reads the caption on a teaser trailer for The Bear’s second season. Yes, chef. —C.M.
The Bachelorette
June 26 (ABC)
While many of us are still feeling the hangover of a particularly brutal season of The Bachelor, a new season for love is here with Charity Lawson, a 27-year-old Georgia native who was sent packing after hometowns by Zach Shallcross, calling the shots. She becomes only the fifth Black lead in franchise history, following in the footsteps of Matt James,Rachel Lindsay, Tayshia Adams, and Michelle Young—a welcome addition after yet another season where a contestant’s racist past was exposed. Here’s hoping that the exit of controversial longtime creator Mike Fleiss, and Lawson’s career as a child and family therapist bring fresh life to a wilting rose. —S.W.
The Witcherseason three
June 29 (Netflix)
Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) are going into hiding as the new season of Netflix’s fantasy epic begins, a journey that promises equal parts discovery and treachery—and lands them in a position of putting everything on the line. Robbie Amell and Meng’er Zhang join the cast as an elven fighter and a human huntress, respectively. —D.C.
And Just Like That…Season Two
June (Max)
Now that the death of Big and a realignment of friend groups has been taken care of, maybe the second season of Max’s Sex and the City continuation can relax and have fun. Maybe we might even get a more episodic format, with each installment centered on a particular theme—you know, like SATC used to be. Though creator Michael Patrick King and producer/star Sarah Jessica Parker have been careful to note that AJLT is not trying to directly mimic the style of their previous hit, this is a different set of shoes altogether. So, perhaps that will be the real narrative of this sophomore run of episodes: audiences learning to embrace what’s different about the series, while its creative team finds a way to make it all fit. —R.L.
The Horror of Dolores Roach
July 7 (Prime Video)
From play to podcast to TV series: That’s the unlikely journey of The Horror of Dolores Roach, which began its life as a one-woman show starring Daphne Rubin-Vega, who reprised the role for the Gimlet Media podcast version. The play and podcast’s creator Aaron Mark will serve as co-showrunner for the series, which stars One Day at a Time alum Justina Machado as a woman returning to her Washington Heights neighborhood after being released from prison. As the description for the podcast went, it’s “a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest.” —K.R.
The Real Housewives of New YorkCity
July 16 (Bravo)
RHONY has gotten a rebrand. After 13 seasons, Bravo has done away with original Real Housewives of New York cast members like Luann de Lesepps,Sonja Morgan, and Ramona Singer in favor of a fresh crop of ladies ready to take on the Big Apple. Bravo’s updated RHONY cast includes Sai De Silva,Ubah Hassan,Jessel Taank,Brynn Whitfield, Erin Dana Lichy, and former J.Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons. Season 14 of Real Housewives of New York will premiere on Bravo on July 16 because, after all, there’s nothing like summer in the city. Until then, we’ll have to wait and see whether the new cast will fill the RHONY OGs’ big and fabulous shoes. —C.M.
The Afterparty
July 14 (Apple TV+)
The only thing juicier than an afterparty is what mischief happens next. Even more murder is afoot in season two of this comedic whodunnit, which deliciously recounts the same crime from a different character’s perspective in each episode. The sophomore installment reunites returning cast members Tiffany Haddish,Sam Richardson, and ZoëChao with a—ahem—murderers’ row of new performers including John Cho, Paul Walter Hauser, Anna Konkle, Ken Jeong, Poppy Liu, Zach Woods, Vivian Wu, and Elizabeth Perkins as an unlucky set of soon-to-be interrogated wedding guests. Let the theorizing begin! —S.W.
Praise Petey
July 21 (Freeform)
Annie Murphy as an It girl whose glamorous life comes crashing down? Sounds a lot like Schitt’s Creek, only, this time, Murphy is voicing the animated Petey, who decides to lean into modernizing her dad’s small-town cult. From former Saturday Night Live head writer Anna Drezen, Praise Petey promises comedy for the Gen Z set. John Cho,Kiersey Clemons, and Christine Baranski also star. —N.J.
They Cloned Tyrone
July 21 (Netflix)
Is it a comedy, a conspiracy thriller, a stylish sci-fi-action-mystery-Blaxploitation-throwback? Juel Taylor’s directorial debut looks like all of the above. “Blaxploitation films always represented movies that let us express ourselves, and we could just look snazzy and do cool shit,” star John Boyega recently told EW of the high-concept project. ”It didn’t matter if we knew kung fu. It just all made sense with the music, with the vibes. I’m just proud to, at least, be a part of something that pays homage to that.” Trust his costars Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx to nail the vibe too. —H.B.
Minxseason two
July 21 (Starz)
Axed from HBO Max in dramatic fashion last year, the 1970s workplace comedy has found a new life on Starz, with Ophelia Lovibond and Jake Johnson returning as Joyce and Doug, the pair of unlikely collaborators behind a feminist porn magazine. In season two, the magazine Minx has become a hit, which, for our heroes, “brings more money, fame, and temptation than either of them know how to handle,” per Starz. With the recent Party Down revival, Starz is hopefully well-positioned to promote another smart comedy and treat Minx better than its first home did. —K.R.
Twisted Metal
July 27 (Peacock)
Did you spend the winter of 1995 watching your brother shoot napalm-laced ice cream cones at a souped-up Corvette driven by a ghost? If so, you too may find yourself intrigued by Peacock’s adaptation of the classic Playstation game, which casts Anthony Mackie as an everyman (he’s literally named John Doe) on a quest that, if the original is any blueprint, will mostly serve as an excuse for stylized vehicular mayhem. Yes, the clown who drives a killer ice cream truck is there too—and, this time, he’s voiced by Will Arnett. —H.B.
Breedersseason four
July (FX)
The fourth season of FX’s dark comedy series follows a tense finale in which Ava (Eve Prenelle) finally stood up to her father, while our weary married antiheroes Paul (Martin Freeman) and Ally (Daisy Haggard) don’t split up, exactly, but plan to move forward with a dynamic that may not be fixable, and a lot of pain in the rearview. How will they all pick up the pieces? Hopefully, the premiere lays out the road map. —D.C.
Heartstopperseason two
August 3 (Netflix)
Get ready for a summer of love. Netflix’s hit queer coming-of-age romance Heartstopper returns to the streaming platform on August 3. Based on the New York Times best-selling graphic novel series by Alice Oseman,Heartstopper follows Charlie (Joe Locke) a recently out teen at a British all-boys school, Nick (Kit Connor) a closeted rugby player coming to terms with his sexuality, and their budding romance. With a 100% average Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, there’s clearly many Heartstopper fans interested in seeing what the next step is in Charlie and Nick’s romantic journey. —C.M.
Red, White & Royal Blue
August 11 (Prime Video)
Speaking of Heartstopper,The Royal We meets Netflix’s hit queer romance in Matthew Lopez’s adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s Young Adult bestseller, a sweetly silly rom-com that pairs America’s First Son with the heir to the British crown. Sure, the premise is implausible, but McQuiston’s charming banter was enough to sell it in novel form. Presumably, young cuties Taylor Zakhar Pérez and Nicholas Galitzine will be able to do the same on the small screen. Plus: Uma Thurman as the first female POTUS! —H.B.
Reservation Dogsseason two
Summer Date TBD (FX)
At the end of season two, the titular Dogs—Indigenous teens Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs), Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis), and Cheese (Lane Factor)—have made their long-awaited sojourn to California, a dream they often discussed while living on the Muscogee Nation Reservation in Oklahoma. But, while the last season ended with a sense of resolution, showrunner Sterlin Harjo has teased “some darkness coming” in season three for the group, whose bond was cemented after the tragic loss of their fifth friend just before the show’s start. —S.W.
What We Do in the Shadowsseason five
Summer Date TBD (FX)
Renewed last year for a fifth and sixth season, the vampire comedy returns with a major vote of confidence from its network, and a major cliff-hanger to wrap up: At the end of the last season, human familiar Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) had asked to be turned into a vampire. The season ended with several other resets, like Baby Colin’s (Mark Proksch) reversion back to regular adult Colin and the end of Nadja’s (Natasia Demetriou) nightclub dream. But, for vampire characters who have been alive for hundreds of years, there’s clearly time for many more adventures. —K.R.
[ad_2]
Hillary Busis, Richard Lawson, Savannah Walsh, Rebecca Ford, David Canfield, Katey Rich, Natalie Jarvey, Chris Murphy
Those were Marcus Mumford’s first words upon hearing Sam Claflin and Riley Keough’s version of “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb),” a track he wrote with executive music producer Blake Mills for Daisy Jones & the Six. “Why did Sam fucking Claflin get to sing it?” Mumford jokingly tells Vanity Fair. “I was kind of pissed at him too, because I knew he didn’t grow up as a singer, and he sang the hell out of that recording. I was like, Fuck you, man. I’ve done this for years, trying to get to sound good. You just swoop in with your chiseled jaw, and fucking smash it out of the park, first time. It feels unfair.”
Longtime friends and collaborators, Mumford and Mills penned the fiery back-and-forth between Keough’s Daisy Jones and Claflin’s Billy Dunne while working on his latest record at Los Angeles’ Sound City Studios. “This was honestly a fun distraction in the middle of what was quite an intense session, when we were writing those first songs together for Self-Titled. So it was a relief imagining writing from the point of view of characters,” Mumford says. “We wrote two different versions—one that Billy would sing originally, and then one with the edits that Daisy made when she came in.”
There’s no question which character the Mumford & Sons front man found it easier to write for. “I love tapping into denial—I’m a Billy guy,” Mumford says. “There’s a song on my record called ‘Prior Warning,’ which is a version of ‘Look at Us Now,’ lyrically, anyway. So there were some correlations in my story and Billy’s, Daisy coming in and being like, ‘You’re full of shit, dude.’ I’ve had people close to me in my life who have played that role.”
Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
After hearing the show’s rendition, Mumford and Mills decided to record a more modernized version with a powerhouse female vocalist. Enter Maren Morris. “I love her solo music. I also really love The Highwomen, and she always seemed to me, from afar, the member that seemed to keep the train on the tracks. I don’t know why,” Mumford says. “Because Brandi [Carlile]’s this dynamo, and Amanda [Shires] seems like that too. I know Natalie [Hemby], and she’s just the sweetest, one of the best writers around in my view. It just felt to me Maren was kind of an anchor in that band. So I was stoked to meet her anyway, and just felt like she would be able to access the attitude that we needed on this song. Thank God she said yes, really.”
It was an easy decision for Morris, despite never having met Mumford. “Meeting and having to dive right into a song can be daunting,” she tells Vanity Fair. “But, honestly, he and Blake just have such a lived-in rapport. And being at Sound City, it was my first time being at that studio, but they’ve obviously laid down so much land in that place and made so many great records. It’s just such a positive place to record music.”
Mumford and Morris spoke over phone and via email about the best way to update the song for 2023. “The recording is brilliant for the time that [the show] was set in, but you don’t hear many six-minute-long guitar solos on the radio right now,” Mumford says. The pair managed to strip the track down to its essence, “this feeling of singing this really direct lyric in a very succinct way,” Mumford says, while retaining the song’s stadium-tour feel. As Morris says, “it has such a soaring chorus that it deserves a full band behind it.”
With each new installment of Daisy Jones & the Six, showrunner Will Graham finds himself on social media, perusing fan Twitter threads and soaking in the reaction to his latest Prime Video series. “You spend years building a house, and you have no idea if anyone’s going to want to move in,” he tells Vanity Fair on a recent Zoom call. “Then fans move in and make it their own, and move around all the furniture, and ask questions about why this is on the wall. But they live there, and it’s such an incredible experience.”
It’s that very investment that makes Daisy Jones equally fun and terrifying, says Graham, who also executive produces the series and directs episode seven.
Adapted from Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel about a Fleetwood Mac-esque ’70s rock band, the author gave Graham, as well as cocreators Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, free rein. “Taylor said from the start, ‘Look, in order to be good, the show is going to have to be its own thing,’” Graham says. “So what was important to her was that we not change the characters, which none of us ever wanted to do because that’s why we’re here anyway.”
When shaping Daisy, the enigmatic lead singer brought to life onscreen by Riley Keough, Graham looked to some of the most adored—and analyzed—women in music. “Daisy’s really struggling with the nature of her own genius, and in part she needs Billy (played by Sam Claflin) as kinetic energy to get her to really sit down and write the songs that she’s capable of writing,” Graham says. “What she has to do to really face her own voice and become the full artist of Daisy Jones the same way that Stevie Nicks did is a fascinating story.”
In the show’s seventh episode, where Daisy retreats to Greece after a bruising Rolling Stone story, Graham used Joni Mitchell as a blueprint, reading about “moments where she really wanted to throw herself into romance and fans, and then moments where she sort of retreated to her land in Canada and had to run away from people for a bit.”
But most of episode seven belongs to emerging disco queen Simone Jackson (Nabiyah Be), a relatively minor character in the novel that bursts to life in the series. “In the first conversation I had with Taylor, I said, ‘What would you want to see more of in the show that you didn’t get to do in the book?’ And she said more of Simone,” Graham says. The showrunner, who identifies as queer, reveled in the opportunity to explore how disco was born from predominantly Black and queer spaces. “We really wanted to give Simone a joy that she finds in these clubs and in the music. She’s someone who’s been looking for her voice, and she finds her community—she falls in love with someone and finds herself as an artist all in the same moment.”
Lacey Terrell/Prime Video
Graham was able to recreate this communal atmosphere when filming the episode’s final scenes on the Greek island of Hydra. While shooting club scenes that were meant to take place in New York, production worked to fill the scene with real queer extras. “We reached out to the African immigrant communities in Athens and had this amazing experience on set where basically a lot of them were saying, we don’t have this place in real life,” Graham says. “So making those sequences became a real parallel to the show of people finding a safe space. It was really emotional.”
Exploration of a found family is a theme in Graham’s work, including his TV reimagining of another beloved title, A League of Their Own. He and cocreator Abbi Jacobson centered their version of the story on queer, racially diverse women. “I love to write about people who care about something more than they care about themselves,” Graham says. “That’s also very often true of queer people. We don’t always have a choice, right? But writing about people who are obsessed with something bigger than themselves in a sense means you’re writing about crazy people who would do anything for baseball, or do anything for music, which is incredibly fun.”
Prime Video has released a trailer for Citadel, an ambitious new spy series executive produced by the Russo brothers. Josh Appelbaum and Bryan Oh created the show. What makes Citadel so interesting is the format. To talk about that, we have to discuss the plot a bit. Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden play Nadia Sinh and Mason Cane, ex-agents belonging to an organization called Citadel.
The folks at Citadel were betrayed by one of their own, who started a rival organization called Manticore. Both agencies function outside of any world government, essentially existing as spies for hire. Nadia Sinh and Mason Cane have both forgotten large parts of their past until Cane’s memories begin to return to him. He quickly realizes who he used to be, and finds Sinh to unlock more of his past life.
The structure of the show’s plot itself allows for greater freedom of movement in regard to formatting. It means that the show can exist non-linearly, switching from Sinh and Crane’s past to their present day. They’re also taking it a step further. There are already adaptations in the works for Italian, Indian, and Mexican versions of Citadel. Each of these will be its own unique story with its own unique scenario, and they’ll work together to create a deep shared universe that can be enjoyed by everyone.
Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency—tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people—was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. With Citadel’s fall, elite agents Mason Kane (Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They’ve remained hidden ever since, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.
Citadel premieres on Prime Video on April 28.
The 10 Most Ridiculous Tropes In Action Movies
Good luck finding an action movie that doesn’t have at least a few of these stereotypes.
