Seeing locals on reality TV combines two of my favorite things: Cincinnati and trashy television. So I was elated to hear that A&E’s Neighbors with Benefits – a new unscripted series following swingers — is set just north in Warren County. The show will document married couples in a suburban neighborhood that have open, extra-marital relationships. The show hasn’t even aired yet (it premieres Sunday, March 22), but it already has reality red flags, as with many A&E shows filmed in Cincinnati (remember Rowhouse Showdown?). While at least one couple on the show is confirmed local, some residents of the Thorton Grove neighborhood near Maineville question the legitimacy of the other couples and shooting location. There’s speculation that a rental home outside Thorton Grove was used to shoot the series after residents complained about associating the neighborhood with a swinger capital. But honestly, if the worst thing about your neighborhood is that people are having sex with each other, isn’t that something to brag about?
Marilyn Manson is all about his pops these days. He took an unexpected but awesome role on Sons of Anarchy’s final season, saying he took the role because he watched the show with his father, and now the two are in Paper Magazine.
Cute!
New show news:
True Detective Season Two is still without a premiere date, but stars Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch and Rachel McAdams have been at work shooting the next installment. Go here to read more about the season’s storyline — public transportation + murder + conspiracy — the characters and directors — various directors will take over for Season One’s Emmy winner Cary Fukanaga — and see photos from set. (Spoiler Alert only if you want to go in to the show with zero background info on the story.)
The ladies of Litchfield will be back for the binging when Orange Is the New Black Season Three premieres June 12.
American Horror Story’s fifth season will apparently take a look at the horrid world of hospitality because Lady Gaga revealed the next setting will be a hotel. Gaga will reportedly star. AHS: Hotel premieres in October and here’s some totally unconfirmed juice goose (translation: juicy gossip) posted on the AHS Reddit thread. I don’t know about Gaga taking the lead on this — let alone starring in three seasons amidst her very successful music career — but the general storyline sounds good to me! And the present-day setting with flashbacks to different eras is in line with the show’s pattern (so far, odd seasons have been set in modern day — Murder House, Coven — while even seasons were period pieces — Asylum, Freak Show). I love the idea of peeking in on various scandalous guests over the years — so many opportunities for killer guest-stars!
Hannibal returns June 4 and the first image is out. I’m getting Dr. Lecter-meets-SAMCRO vibes and I'm loving it.
Speaking of new shows, check out this week’s TV column for a spring television preview. Winter might finally be gone, Game of Thrones is coming!
Zoolander 2 is officially happening, as evidenced by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson stomping the Valentino runway as Derek and Hansel during Paris Fashion Week.
Nothing says haute couture quite like Ben Stiller’s old ass on a runway. And if you really want to roll your eyes to the back of your skull and never to see the light of day again, get this: I looked on IMDB for evidence that this sequel is really happening (yes, I fact-check the gossip rags I read; yes, IMDB is a reputable fact-checking source) and found that Stiller is also attached to Dodgeball 2 (predictable) and Space Jam 2 (da fuh?).
Ryan Gosling must be craving some attention since that baby of his stole the spotlight, because he shared some cute throwback dance videos that have everyone saying, “Hey girl,” again.
Ryan, if you think we haven’t already seen all your talent show videos and Mickey Mouse Club clips, you are seriously underestimating the stalkiness of your fans. Speaking of, why is there no term for Gosling fans, a la Cumberbitches? Can I bring up “juice goose” twice in one post?
But I digress. Here’s the little man at work:
Vince Gilligan would like everyone to stop throwing pizzas on Walter White’s house, please. The Breaking Bad creator says fans flock to the real house used for exterior shots in the show, and the current owners are cool with that, except when people creep up at night and recreate the famous pizza scene.
The Dress that captivated the Internet is dead and buried and I’m not trying to resurrect it anytime soon, but if you are curious about the science behind why one dress looks completely different to different people, read here. And see how good you are at differentiating colors here — you may have a fourth cone, which means you probably saw the blue and black dress for what is was: a goddamned blue and black dress.
And here’s Earl Sinclair singing “Hypnotize” because it’s Thursday and we all need this.
(Thanks, Amberly)
