Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, April 9th, 2026:
THE WEEKEND AHEAD
I'll have more some specific reviews/weekend viewing suggestions tomorrow. In large part because - unlike most weeks - I don't have screeners for most of the stuff debuting this weekend.
For tomorrow, a couple of movies are on my radar. Apple TV's Keanu Reeves/Cameron Diaz/Matt Bomer film Outcome and the Netflix shark attack film Thrash, whose trailer reminded me a bit of the 2024 Netflix shark film Under Paris. Which is just fine with me. So yes, I'll be up watching these early tomorrow morning.
I'm also interested in seeing where season three of the Portuguese-produced Netflix series Turn Of The Tide is headed. Along with the anime reboot Fist Of The North Star: Hokuto No Ken, which premieres Saturday on Prime Video.
I didn't write a review of the Peacock series The Miniature Wife, which premiered today. I don't enjoy writing bad reviews and despite a cast I normally enjoy, the series is just dour and unpleasant and about three episodes too long. It's a bit harsh, but my snap take is that it's a bit like Honey, I Shrunk My Wife, except much more cringy.
If you happen to have a subscription to Viaplay, I highly recommend Dangerous Truth, which received its American premiere today. I'll have a full review tomorrow, but this gripping six-episode thriller follows the story of a photographer living under witness protection in Athens. When his mother dies, he uncovers evidence that suggests his father's murder was connected to a conspiracy deep inside a European intelligence service.
It's an engrossing, well-produced series and you'll find parts of it will resonate with events of today a bit more than you'll like.
THE ACM AWARD NOMINEES
The Academy of Country Music Awards has announced the nominees for the 61st ACM Awards. The event will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video on Sunday, May 17th, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here is the list of nominees:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Megan Moroney
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top
GROUP OF THE YEAR
49 Winchester
Flatland Cavalry
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays
DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
Thelma & James
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Avery Anna
Mackenzie Carpenter
Dasha
Caroline Jones
Emily Ann Roberts
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gavin Adcock
Vincent Mason
Shaboozey
Hudson Westbrook
Tucker Wetmore
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top
Producer: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33
Cherry Valley – Carter Faith
Producer: Tofer Brown
Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA
Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green
Producer: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett
Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records
Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum
Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse
Record Company-Label: MCA
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
A Song To Sing – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure
Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs for the Munch Music; Songs of Influence; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
Am I Okay? – Megan Moroney
Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon
Publishers: Big Ass Pile of Dimes Music; Big Music Machine
Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley
Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor
Publishers: Bada Bing & Bada Langley Publishing; Little Louder Songs; Sony Music Publishing
I Never Lie – Zach Top
Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols
Publishers: Music and Magazine Publishing; Rio Bravo Music Inc; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Too Broke to Quit Music; Zach Top Music
Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Publishers: Concord Sounds; Dtown Boogie Music; Emi Feist Catalog Inc; Songs Of Riser House; Songs Of Wild Cat Well Music; Sony/ATV Countryside; Story Farmer; Tacklebox Music Publishing
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
6 Months Later – Megan Moroney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records
Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley
Producers: Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Ben West
Record Company-Label: SAWGOD / Columbia Records
I Never Lie – Zach Top
Producers: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33
Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
Producers: Jay Joyce
Record Company-Label: BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville / Broken Bow Records
The Fall – Cody Johnson
Producers: Trent Willmon
Record Company-Label: CoJo Music / Warner Records Nashville
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
A Song To Sing – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb
Record Company-Label: Republic Records
Amen – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
Producers: Danny Majic, Nevin Sastry, Sean Cook
Record Company-Label: Empire
Don’t Mind If I Do – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley
Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
Trailblazer – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
Producers: Tony Brown, Reba McEntire
Record Company-Label: MCA
You Had To Be There – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records
VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
6 Months Later – Megan Moroney
Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry
Director: CeCe Dawson, Megan Moroney
A Song To Sing – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Producers: James Stratakis
Director: Alexa King Stone, Stephen Kinigopoulos
Cuckoo -Stephen Wilson, Jr.
Producers: Tim Cofield
Director: Tim Cofield
Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson
Producers: Katie Babbage
Director: TK McKamy
The Fall – Cody Johnson
Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry
Director: Dustin Haney
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessie Jo Dillon
Ashley Gorley
Charlie Handsome
Chase McGill
Blake Pendergrass
ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wallen
THE UNWRITTEN RULES OF CELEBRITY PODCASTS
This piece from Amy Kaufmann in LA Materials builds on my thoughts yesterday about TV critics and the idea of fandom vs. random. She writes about the growing trend of celebrities appearing on long-form podcasts which are likely to be very friendly to them:
Shane himself seemed stupefied that he had been selected to speak to the town’s elite. The 26-year-old has been open about the fact that he does not identify as a journalist and recently told Rolling Stone that he finds it “insulting to journalists to say what I do is journalism.” Though his mother, Helaine Olen, is a journalist — she was a longtime columnist at the Washington Post — Shane did not study the profession in college and doesn’t ask his podcast guests “real, thoughtful, hard questions.”
Instead, he said he’s focused on creating a “comfortable, friendly environment” for his guests — many of whom, like Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge and Kaia Gerber, are his personal friends. If anyone on Therapuss later asks him to edit out one of their answers, he does it without hesitation. “I think it’s really selfish to not honor someone’s discomfort with something they’ve said,” he said.
There are going to be some creatives who don't want to have a real conversation. Or who want to be in a safe environment where they are never asked a deep question. But I think that sells them short and ultimately doesn't do their project any favors, other than providing a bit of help with branding. I am not going to ask someone an inappropriate out-of-context question. But I believe in the Good Will Hunting approach to conversations. I am not interested in spending 20 minutes jokingly rehashing the same stories I can read in a copy of People Magazine. I want to talk about your work. I want to hear about what drives you, the challenges you have overcome. And doing that requires some time.
One of the many examples of that is an interview I had with the rapper Fat Joe. I didn't have much time with him, but I was able to ask him about his son, who is autistic. And his answer gave me a new sense of what drives him:
You've been talking about the changes that you went through, and wanting to reveal the personal side of the artist. So I wanted to ask you about your son Joey, who has autism. I also have a son with autism and it has changed my life in so many ways. You look at life in an entirely different way when you have a son with autism. And I suspect having Joey might have had the same impact on you.
He's an angel. He has blessed us with so much love. Joey is non-verbal. He also doesn't walk. But he is just in a state of happiness. Rarely do you see Joey upset. Rarely do you see that smile come off of his face. He just smiles all day. He's beyond love.
When he is around my other kids, they look at him like he's the Don of the family. Joey sits at the corner of the table. He looks at them. He knows his little sister and his little brother. And it's the biggest blessing.
And I am so glad to have had my mother and father to help raise him. To help me out. Because without them, there would be no Fat Joe the rapper. Because I would just have to be with Joey 24 hours a day. But he's just so special.
I know that taking the safe route is easier if you are a personal publicist. But I would argue it doesn't have to be that way.
ODDS AND SODS
* Netflix confirmed on Thursday that it is not moving forward with plans to adapt Brian Jacques’ popular children’s novel series Redwall.
* Paramount is launching a new publishing division, Paramount Global Publishing, three years after selling Simon & Schuster.
* Roku has announced the launch of its SVoD platform Howdy in Mexico – priced at $39 pesos (€1.90) per month.
* AMC Networks is changing its name to AMC Global Media. On the face of it, that makes a lot of sense, given that their linear networks are increasingly less important as AMC focuses on its streaming services: AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, HIDIVE and All Reality.
* HBO Max reached 1.5 million UK subscribers within its first five days after launching on March 26th, based on scaled estimates of sign-ups and service activations from Ampere Analysis’s SVoD Economics dataset.
TUBI IS THE FIRST STREAMER TO LAUNCH A NATIVE APP INSIDE CHATGPT
The Fox-owned AVOD Tubi has launched a native app within ChatGPT, giving viewers an easier way to discover its large library of more than 300,000 movies and TV episodes:
To access the integration, users can install the Tubi app from the ChatGPT app store and begin by typing “@Tubi” in a prompt. From there, they can make natural-language requests like “a thriller for girls’ night” or “something funny,” and instantly receive curated recommendations tailored to their preferences, all linked back to titles available on Tubi.
Tubi’s move builds on earlier experiments with AI. In 2023, the company introduced “Rabbit AI,” a feature within its mobile app powered by ChatGPT that allowed users to ask specific questions and receive personalized recommendations. However, the tool was discontinued the following year.
The new ChatGPT integration suggests a strategic pivot: Instead of trying to replicate AI experiences in-house, Tubi is now meeting users where they’re already turning for answers. ChatGPT reached 900 million weekly active users in February. Tubi reports more than 100 million monthly active users
WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, APRIL 9TH:
* A Hundred Scenes Of AWAJIMA Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Bandi Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Big Mistakes Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Dangerous Truth Series Premiere (Viaplay)
* Kujima: Why Sing, When You Can Warble? Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* 18th Rose (Netflix)
* Hacks Season Five Premiere (HBO Max)
* Original Gangsters With Sean Bean Series Premiere (AMC+/Sundance Now)
* The Miniature Wife Series Premiere (Peacock)
* The Warrior Princess And The Barbaric King Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH:
* Belle Collective: Birmingham Series Premiere (OWN)
* Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Home Makeover Nightmare (LMN)
* Malcolm In The Middle: Life's Still Unfair Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Outcome (Apple TV)
* Perfect Crown Series Premiere (Disney+/Hulu)
* Temptation Island Season Premiere (Netflix)
* The Caretaker (Tubi)
* The Drops Of God Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* The Reunion: Laguna Beach (The Roku Channel)
* Thrash (Netflix)
* Turn Of The Tide (Netflix)
SEE YOU FRIDAY!