Please enjoy this clip from Episode 6 of Heels, which will air on STARZ on September 19, 2021, at 9 p.m. EST. Also, if this is your first interaction with Heels, and you’re curious to learn more about the show or experience what it is all about… STARZ has made the first three episodes of the show available on the show’s official Facebook page, the STARZ YouTube page and the STARZ app.
 
 If the clip below doesn't play, use this link.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 209 of ‘Ted Lasso’.
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One aspect of life that each and every one of us tries to avoid at all costs is rock bottom. Because if we've hit our lowest, we firmly believe that we're nothing more than a grand failure, and we think that we won't recover from this low point because a failure is the worst possible thing that any of us can be in life. However, whether we like it or not, there's going to come a point in life where we're going to fail badly and hit rock bottom because of it. But what truly matters when that unfortunate moment arrives is how we respond to it; our reaction is what decides how long we languish at the bottom and what becomes of us going forward. This particularly unpleasant aspect of life is important to our discussion today because it takes center stage in the next episode of Ted Lasso.

‘Beard After Hours’ is a story that takes the time to show us what happened to Coach Beard after he stormed off into the night following the ugly loss that AFC Richmond suffered at the hands of Manchester City. It turns out that Coach Beard was in a very dark and angry place following that catastrophe, and his sulking and stewing motivated him to glare at children on his way home. And home is indeed where he went; there was the comfort of silence and alcohol at his place, making it seem as though perhaps all he needed was a little quiet and a cold beer to cool off from the events that transpired that evening. But once some insulting auditory hallucinations came into play, it became clear that Coach Beard was badly rattled by the events of the day and was at his absolute lowest, which is when this episode examined the power of being at rock bottom and how best to confront it.
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What made this examination so impressive is that it took us through every aspect of rock bottom in order to give the audience a genuine understanding of how hard it can hit and how it can motivate us to do some foolish things before something positive comes out of it— which seems to be why Coach Beard was quick to journey from his home to drown his troubles at his usual watering hole. This served as a fine reminder that sometimes we believe that letting dark emotions wash over us is only way to get through them. As if, somehow, soaking in sorrow will help us to better understand our situation and move on from it, when all it does it make things worse... as evidenced by how Coach Beard's mood continued to slip into fouler territory with every sip of alcohol that touched his lips and with every mention of the game his ears absorbed at the bar.

Becoming overwhelmed by all of these factors led to the next example of how unhealthy the rock bottom experience can be. Specifically, we believe that losing ourselves is another fine way to handle rock bottom because we think that in doing so, we can see the situation objectively and attack it from a proper angle. But all that does is lead to more foolishness and embarrassing moments because we tend to lose control when we lose ourselves— a point that the story hammered home by having Coach Beard and the local fans that populate the pub disguise themselves as well-to-do socialites so they could sneak into an upscale club and enjoy an incredible evening...which worked to everyone's benefit at first: The lads fit in fine, and Beard caught the eye of a beautiful woman— a welcome surprise that eased the pain of he and Jayne having trouble. But alas, hiding behind fancy clothes, upscale beer, and posh environments did nothing to fix Beard's situation. In fact, his antics made things worse because his bravado and lies plunged him into a bevy of misunderstandings and physical altercations, including one with James Tartt.

Thankfully, kindness and understanding got him out of that mess, and after Coach Beard returned home worse for the wear, the story took some time to explain how we should properly deal with failure and hitting our absolute lowest. As it turns out, once we're lost in every way, the only thing that we can do is pick ourselves up, move forward, and confront all the things that put us in this position. Until we do, we go nowhere and feel nothing of value— which is precisely why Coach Beard took the time to make up with Jayne in a language that only they would understand and why he showed up to the work the next day with coffee as expected: So he could move on from that ugly game by winning the next one, and well, that ending and everything that preceded it, made this one of the most unique tales that Ted Lasso has ever given us.
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Coach Ted has always been the primary focus of the journey, and considering how 'Man City' ended, one might think that he would have been top of mind here. Instead, 'Beard After Hours' goes to show that this series can make use of other characters in a creative and comical light to teach us important life lessons. Plus, it was great to finally get to know Coach Beard a little better, see his mischievous side, learn how much the sport means to him, and understand how badly he wants to be successful as a coach. And let's be honest, this really was the perfect palate cleanser because the gags and jokes throughout the episode gave us a little more time to process Ted's past and plight. However, now that Coach Beard's wild and meaningful ride through London has come to a close, it's undoubtedly time to return to our hero and see how Ted learns to heal from deeply embedded trauma— and that's going to make the final few episodes of season two of this brilliant series as poignant and as powerful as they come. Until next time.

Please enjoy this sneak peek of tomorrow’s brand new episode of See, streaming exclusively on AppleTV+!

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Kin’.
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Death is an element that is akin to oxygen in crime dramas, and it makes sense as to why. After all, the ‘unsavory’ people that populate this darker corner of the storytelling world, deal with death in the same way they deal with air. They simply breathe it in and don’t think twice about it because murder and mayhem and death and destruction are just an everyday part of their lives and the people that die in this universe are often such ugly characters that mourning them seems downright silly. For that would be a celebration of an awful person, and we are taught that we only celebrate good lives and good people in death and really, crime dramas tend to stick to this mantra, simply because they are meant to serve as the anthesis to our world.
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But believe it or not, it is possible to add humanity to this genre, and perhaps creative minds should more often. Since criminals are people who simply made a different choice than the rest of us and seeing them in a realistic light might change our perceptions of crime and thankfully… there is a series out there that is trying to humanize this genre in a revolutionary manner. For Kin on AMC+ is making a point of showing the human side to crime and it is also working to add depth and meaning to death in this harrowing genre, as evidenced by this week’s episode. For ‘Episode 2’ picks up immediately following Jamie Kinsella's passing and rather than treat the audience to the traditional saber rattling and calls for revenge that death seems to inspire in these tales, there was nothing less than shock and sorrow and heartbreak present here.

For Amanda and Jimmy were devastated over the fact that their baby boy was gone, and once Jimmy and Michael were released from custody and questioning, she and Jimmy did their best to process this new reality and that led to some powerful and raw moments. The kind that genuinely made it clear that this story is going offer up a realistic examination of loss, since every moment with Amanda and Jimmy, felt real and raw and visceral and would likely be the reaction of any mother or father, regardless of what career they chose. But what made their plight even more heartbreaking in this tale, is that Frank had to work hard to cover up Viking’s actions. Because of course, Eamon Cunningham got word of what happened and informed Frank that Viking basically started this fight and that motivated Frank to take some shocking measures with his family.

Because one can never forget that living away from the rules that the rest of us abide by, sows’ powerful temptation and machinations of revenge and that’s why Frank told Viking to not say a word of what happened and why he ordered Jimmy to not retaliate. Because he knew that Jimmy would want justice and if he learned the truth, he would first make Viking pay dearly for his arrogance before turning his attention to Caolon Moore, and that action would bring about more heartbreak and strife and outright war with the Cunningham family, and for a brief moment there… it seemed as though Frank’s appeals for humanity and calm would win. But Amanda and Jimmy’s enduring pain was too much to overcome and that motivated her to ask her husband to exact revenge and that in turn, motivated Jimmy to ask Michael for help with that and sadly, it would seem that the clock is now ticking on a bloody and dangerous vendetta.

But while we wait to see if they follow through with this arrangement, we can reflect upon one powerful and quality tale. One that really did a fine job of adding gravity and depth to an element that is glossed over often in this genre. For we truly felt the power of loss in this story, and we understood how much it hurt the Kinsella family to have one of their own gunned down and struggle with the devastating reality that their only recourse to heal and find justice would be to retaliate in kind. Which helps us to understand how difficult a life of crime can be and well… all of this made for one brilliant episode. One that truly served to remind the viewer that Kin is hands down the most original crime drama on the air right now, all because it injects an unprecedented amount of realism into its storytelling and now, all we can do is wait nervously for next week’s chapter in this harrowing saga, to see if by chance… Jimmy and Michael can be convinced to back away from a horrible decision. Until next time.

It is definitely safe to say that The Morning Show on AppleTV, was one of the most ambitious streaming shows to hit the airwaves when it premiered. Because not only did it tackle the #MeToo movement head on in a raw and visceral and brave manner, but it also provided viewers with a fascinating examination of the morning news world. One that put the cutthroat nature of the business on display all while offering up quality character development at every turn and compelling storylines through and through.

But alas, due to the wild events of 2020, the show didn’t quite return from hiatus as quickly as anyone would have liked, especially after that powerhouse cliffhanger. But thankfully, the long wait for season two has come to an end. For tomorrow brings forth the season two premiere of this stunning and engaging series and we here at Nerds That Geek have quite the collection of treats to share with all of you in anticipation of its arrival. 
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So, please enjoy a Sneak Peek of Episode 201 of the series, alongside some fascinating featurettes revolving around season two to tide you over while you wait for the premiere, and do join us back here on the site after you've checked the latest episode out, since we will be breaking down everything that season two of this incredible show has to offer, on a weekly basis. 

Please enjoy a sneak peek of tomorrow’s brand-new episode of Ted Lasso, streaming exclusively on AppleTV+.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Ultra City Smiths’.
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There was a time, where animated shows in any capacity, were considered to be nothing more than the perfect vehicle for mindless children’s entertainment… and it makes sense as to why that perception existed. Because back in the day, this type of show was a grandiose collection of plotless moments, the kind that captivated and elicited chuckles from kids… so there was no need to do anything more with the format. But as fans of those very shows grew older and opted to make this type of story their own, they realized that it could offer up a realm of endless possibilities storytelling wise and everything changed and just like that, animation suddenly offered more than kitschy moments and over the top comedy. 
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Now, these shows had depth to them, and complicated plots and those working behind the scenes also decided to try and rival what cinema was accomplishing by offering up breathtaking visuals worthy of a 70mm classic. But what’s amazing, is that the format continues to evolve as the years roll on, because creative minds know that the only real limit to animation, is the limits of our imagination and it just so happens that AMC Networks is now host to a stop-animation series that pushes the envelope of the format once again in Ultra City Smiths. A feat that this series accomplishes… by offering up one of the most unique plots and settings around for this particular sub-genre of animation… since we are plunged into a sour place known as Ultra City in the series premiere, ‘Ultra City, She Don’t Care’. 

A town so foul and so soul sucking, that even its citizens have accepted that dark times are simply part of living in this place. For they seem to believe that the collective darkness of mankind has somehow manifested itself in Ultra City and it thrives on suffering and that allows for the audience to explore this ugly place in an intimate and uncomfortable manner. The kind where we see firsthand how this city beats down the people that try to get by or get ahead, lending credence to the mantra of this town, and to make matters worse… their only shred of hope for a better tomorrow… one where everyone is free of the darkness, has gone missing. For no one has heard from mayoral candidate Carpenter K. Smith for some time and this is of such concern, that the police are now getting involved. 

Which means that at its core, this show is going to be a mystery story, one that will work to unravel how and why Smith has gone missing and that alone makes for one unique animated adventure. Because noir isn’t normally something that is played straight in this sub-genre, but the plucky narration and gritty visuals of Ultra City, make it clear that this series really wants to offer up an honest and earnest mystery, one that features honest cops that are both disillusioned and hopeful, as good noir is wont to do, and the uniqueness of this story doesn’t end there. For this series is also a grand homage to the work of Quentin Tarantino, specifically Pulp Fiction, since it features a bevy of storylines that will undoubtedly interconnect and it also pays tribute to its roots, since there are all kinds of winks and nods to animation’s past. 

Speaking of the animation, well that is downright impressive too. Simply because every character here has a unique and dynamic look to them, which informs us of the care that went into their creation, and they populate an incredible world. One with a ridiculous amount of detail. For Ultra City resembles a big budget movie set on a tiny scale and all of those elements allow for the viewer to immediately be sucked into this world and this story and well, in this end… this is a show that this writer recommends you watch. Simply because it is original and fresh and dynamic through and through and it genuinely captivates you from beginning to end with its mystery and its majesty. So, if you’re eager to see something different, then swing by AMC or AMC+ and give this gem a look and then join us here as we recap and analyze this fascinating new show and the grand mystery it has presented us with. Until next time.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Finding Alice’.
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One particular aspect of life that each and every one of us fear greatly, is losing our loved ones at an early age. Because if that happens, that all-important person is robbed of their opportunity to shine and to live a long and fruitful life, one where they can experience all the wonder this world has to offer and those are not the only reasons why we fear this possibility. Because it also means, someone that is extremely close to us and connects with us is gone from our lives and now it is up to us to carry on without them and honor them as best we can and that’s not an easy task at times. Especially when we function seamlessly with them in our lives, and this is so terrifying and so important to us… that this uncomfortable part of the human experience is put on display often in storytelling.

In large part, to help those going through such an experience process what’s happened and what comes next, since these stories can offer up an honest examination of this moment and how difficult it can be and really, this aspect of life is top of mind today, mainly because it is the setup for the new Acorn TV series, Finding Alice. For ‘Fall’ introduces us to the Walsh family mere hours after they’ve experienced quite the heartbreak. Because the patriarch of the family, Harry… fell to his death the same night that his family moved into their brand-new smart home and Alice, his wife, and Charlotte, his daughter; are simply besides themselves. Because this was one of those freak accidents that no one ever thinks can or will happen to them and that allows for this story to provide us with a powerful examination of how hard it is to go through such an unfortunate twist in life.

For Alice is forced to deal with all the difficult things that family members must go through when a loved one dies. Such as figuring out how one is going to put food on the table and the indignity of death and how it doesn’t matter to others in the slightest outside of our immediate circle, and of course she has to deal with all of that… whilst grieving for her husband and reconciling her emotions and the horror over what’s happened in her home and that leads to some powerful storytelling for certain. The kind that allows for the viewer to experience her pain firsthand and really understand the difficulties that come with losing someone that means the world to us and that alone makes this a unique and visceral story. Since few shows present their audience with this kind of experience in the raw and what’s amazing… is that the series has more to offer us.

Because this opening chapter to Alice’s harrowing ordeal, also serves to remind the viewer… that sometimes the sudden loss of a loved one can shock us in more ways than one. For sometimes their end reveals to us, that our love was not the person we thought them to be and reconciling that will be as difficult as their end and that is explored in this tale, by way of the secrets that are revealed about Harry shortly after his passing. Since Alice comes to learn that her husband was awful with money and might have put the family in a bad position because of it, since he made financial inroads with some very bad people. The kind that are eager to collect what they are owed, to the point where it seems they are the reason that Harry fell down the stairs and to top it all off, judging from the look on Alice’s face in the closing moments of this tale, she hadn’t a clue that Harry had a son. 

Which means that the rest of this fascinating journey, is going to focus heavily on discovery and reconciliation and it will indeed be quite fascinating to follow Alice through all of that, since the viewer is now invested and curious into Harry’s machinations and secrets and those reveals will undoubtedly be powerful and life-changing for Alice. But while we wait to see all of Harry’s past be revealed, we can revel in the wonder of one quality premiere. One that truly put us front and center into a worst-case scenario in a dynamic manner. Since you really feel what Alice is feeling and that’s thanks in large part to Keeley Hawes’ stunning and moving performance, since she truly sells the gravity of Harry’s loss and the horror of discovery and well, this reviewer is utterly hooked by this new series and is ready to continue the journey to see what Alice uncovers about the man she thought she knew. Until next time.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘What If…?’
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Is it just me or does every episode get darker as we go along? I feel like they do, personally, and I am 100% here for it. What do you get when you take Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and combine them with John’s favorite horror genre? The darkest episode of a Marvel mini-series so far. We thought Wanda losing Vision all over again was dark, somehow no. This… this is a lot darker. For starters I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not this. The action, the adventure, the sadness. It was as if they had a true Walking Dead/Marvel cross over. The amount of people we just lost throughout this one episode has definitely left some emotional scars. And for those of you who read the comics, it is a fantastic shout out episode! Although, it would have been an amazing way to introduce Deadpool. Instead, they introduced the Zombie virus in a very unique way and also called back to Ant-Man and the Wasp. While Hank did find Janet in the Quantum Realm, things are not as they seem. Seems there are some pretty strange things down there, and Janet was infected, and she infects Hank who comes back and infects Scott. Hope escapes, because someone has to, right? From there it spreads. The Avengers think they’re answering a call for help and one by one they all succumb to the Zombie Virus.
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What’s probably the most fun about this episode is these aren’t The Walking Dead zombies many of us have gotten to know. These zombies are smart. Like Zombie Doctor Strange is still able to do magic smart. Bruce Banner lands in the Sanctum as he does in the beginning of Infinity War to warn everyone about Thanos, only to find that all his friends are now zombies that want to turn him. He’s rescued by the Cloak of Levitation and Peter Parker. Not to worry because Thanos is still attacking which means Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian still arrive and are ready to fight. Which they do and are promptly turned into zombies. All hope is not lost though as there is a group of survivors. Once rescued, Bruce is taken to meet up with Hope, Sharon, Bucky, Happy, Okoye, and Kurt. Hope explains everything that happened, and Bruce is quick to offer his help, even if the Big Guy isn’t. There is a signal coming from New Jersey that touts a cure, and that is where they decide to go. Guys, really, there is not one reality where I am willingly going on a train to New Jersey. That’s not to say New Jersey isn’t nice or nobody should visit. I am not a train person, and this show is exactly why. If I am going to Jersey, I’m flying in. Plus, if there is a Zombie Apocalypse, I am probably not making it very far. I need running water, ample clean bathrooms, snacks, and Wi-fi, don’t even get me started on the naps.

Right, so, all these people are way more adept at surviving a zombie hell scape than me, which they should be, they’re heroes. They happily storm the train station to get a train out of New York, and it goes about as well as you were expecting. Zombie Avengers show up and Zombie Falcon gets sliced in half by Okoye, and Bucky is just okay with it. Although, in this universe, they didn’t get to really have that bonding experience that they did in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I suppose that’s fair. Sharon is almost our first loss when Zombie Hawkeye shoots her. Also, mad skill to Zombie Hawkeye, I can’t imagine it’s easy to pull back a bow when you’re a zombie, but he does great. I’m not just saying that because he’s my absolute favorite Avenger or anything… but really, read the Hawkeye comics, they’re amazing and do him justice. Sharon is saved by Happy, who is our first casualty. They make it to the train, and we almost think Bucky might be our next loss, but he defeats Zombie Cap with the cold indifference of someone who’s accepted that their best friend is a zombie. Sharon is our next loss though, and Hope shrinks down and flies into her before turning back to normal size. Please tell me why Scott couldn’t do that to Thanos? If that wasn’t gut wrenching and gross enough, we do find out that Hope has been infected. And in true zombie movie fashion, she manages to get everyone to where they need to go in New Jersey before dying dramatically and awesomely.

So, who was sending that signal? Who had a possible cure? Vision of course. He managed to cure Scott, well most of Scott. Mostly just Scott’s head in a Futurama style jar. Bucky goes exploring, because that’s what you do in a zombie movie. He finds T’Challa, well most of T’Challa. Turns out Vision rescued him… and also was luring people here with that signal so he could feed them to Zombie Wanda. Yeah, legit, that is how this episode is going to go. Vision couldn’t stop Wanda, but he could feed her and keep her docile until he found a successful cure for her. That’s just a whole lot of wrong. Almost worse than enslaving an entire town and forcing them to live out your weird television obsessed fantasies with a created version of your dead boyfriend. The Scarlet Witch has her powers and is hungry and wastes no time bringing the remaining survivors down, one by one. It’s made worse when Vision decides to take zero responsibilities for his actions and rips the Mind Stone from his head and just un-alives himself to avoid the consequences of his actions. It’s down to Peter, Bruce, and T’Challa (and Scott’s head) now, and Bruce decides to give them time to get away. The Hulk has no problem facing off against a Zombie Scarlet Witch while T’Challa takes Peter and what’s left of Scott in a Quinjet to head for Wakanda, the apparent only haven left. They narrowly escape a giant Zombie Wasp and all’s well that ends well, right? No, Zombie Thanos still shows up and he’s only missing the Mind Stone.

Out of all the possible Universes they’ve explored so far, this one is not on my wish to visit list. Like. Ever.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘My Life Is Murder’.

One fascinating belief that we all share in, is that a broken heart is a dangerous thing, and it does make sense as to why we hold to that notion. Because time and time again, we’ve heard about how people that are tossed aside by a lover… go to extremes to make it known they are devastated by the end of a relationship, they thought the world of. Sometimes it comes in the form of an embarrassing act and sometimes it comes about through harm and danger, but one way or another… they make a headline that teaches us that broken hearts can be incredibly scary to those who cannot fathom the end of a love affair and well, the fact of the matter is… this is a belief that we must collectively change.

Because, the folks that act out in a wild manner when heartbreak arrives, are in the minority and clearly have something deeper going on to motivate them to act out in such a manner. Since the vast majority of us, grieve as we need to, before reconciling our emotions and moving on when an important relationship comes to an end for us. Simply because we quickly come to understand that life goes on and there is someone else out there waiting for us. But changing that weird perception will be no easy task, for it really is quite engrained in our world, to the point where someone might take advantage of that trope to execute a nefarious plan, as evidenced by the next episode of My Life Is Murder on Acorn TV. Since ‘Look, Don’t Touch’ features a case involving quite the twist on that very belief. 

For Alexa is assigned a case that appears to be nothing more than a stereotypical broken heart tale. Since a plucky and passionate historian named Daniel, is found dead in the water off of the coast, after sending his now ex-girlfriend a cryptic text that implied the loss of her love was too much for his soul to bear and he rather would have died than gone on without her. But of course, both Alexa and the police have concerns about this seemingly open and shut case. In that, Daniel sure did show up far away from where he supposedly fell into the water, and it is quite curious that his phone is fingerprint free since he was the last person to send a text. Which makes it appear as though, someone went to great lengths to make it appear as though Daniel died of a broken heart, when in fact… he might have been a victim of foul play.

Which of course puts Madison and Alexa on the case to figure out if that is indeed the case or not and well, what they found was simply fascinating. Because the more they dug into the potential love triangle surrounding Daniel, the more they realized that he likely didn’t die of a broken heart. For all signs pointed to a historian that was eager to continue his career, regardless of whether or not he was in a relationship. Which led them to look closer at his relationship with the museum’s curator and the strange markings on Daniel’s hand and thankfully, that decision proved to be quite fruitful. For it turned out that said curator, was hiding a secret about one of the exhibits, one that Daniel uncovered and in doing so… she went to great lengths to keep her illegal secret buried by killing Daniel and framing the whole event as the end result of a broken heart, to get away with her plans.

But alas, thanks to Alexa’s keen eye and creative mind… she most certainly didn’t and well, in the end, this is an episode that deserves a round of applause for its outright creativity. Because it cannot be easy to assemble a murder mystery that offers this much guile and misdirection and detail, but this episode pulled all that off to a tee and did a fine job of reminding us to always offer up some sense of scrutiny when something seems out of place, because you never know where a question might take you. And now that we’ve reached the end of this quality and engaging mystery, it’s on to the next and quite frankly… who knows what awaits us come next Monday, since My Life Is Murder has made it clear that it is going to surprise us at every turn. Until next time.