Between the Streams: ‘The Deuce’ is loose, ‘American Vandal,’ ‘Terminator 8?’

There’s plenty happening this week in the world of film and TV, though a lot of the stories are coming in on the sly. First things first on this week’s show, as per usual, is a discussion of this weekend’s box office, which, while it isn’t the most celebrated opening weekend by any means, offers plenty of options. We’ll suss out the top picks, including a few seemingly disappointing debuts, according to the critics consensus anyway, including the Kingsman sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and The Lego Ninjago Movie, the latest from the ever-expanding Lego movie franchise factory.

Neither of the two are meeting the expectations we’d set for them, with both seemingly having the critics split as to whether they’re worth your hard-earned bucks or not. Critics will be critics, and we have a feeling both films will roll in enough spectacle and fun to make them worth a watch if you’re dead set on the theater this weekend.

For those with a more sophisticated palette, there are also a couple of critical darlings hitting the marquee, including Battle of the Sexes, the Emma Stone/Steve Carell-starring biopic about the epic tennis battle between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. there’s also Stronger, Jake Gyllenhaal’s latest Oscar appeal — and another biopic — which tells the true story of Boston City Marathon survivor Jeff Bauman.

Feeling a bit too lazy to head for the golden lights tonight? Never fear, as we’ve also been dipping into this month’s impressive offerings in TV land to serve up some quick reviews of two very hot, yet very different, new shows in The Deuce and American Vandal, as well as our take on a critical bomb that seems to be getting the short end of the stick, Seth MacFarlane’s The Orville.

Maybe you’re in the mood for something Terminator-y? Probably not since the last dozen or so sequels sucked so hard, but for those who still care to see more judgment day sci-fi depression, it appears Linda Hamilton is joining Schwarzenegger and James Cameron for one more go-round. Actually, it might be three more go-rounds if Cameron has his way. When exactly the director got so sequel happy, we can’t exactly say, but Variety reported that Hamilton will return as Sarah Connor (actually, Variety said Sarah O’Connor, but that’s another story) in a Cameron-sanctioned sequel to T2, with an entire new “trilogy” planned. We know, we know, you want us to make it stop, but don’t kill the messenger here. We’ve been defending Cameron and his many, many Avatar sequels because the man seems to deliver every single time he’s counted out. But frankly, this new sequel mayhem is getting a little ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculous sequels, it appears George R.R. Martin has signed on for a total of five (count them) prequels to Game of Thrones. Look, we all love the show, but five prequels? No one needs that much GoT — no one. But maybe we’re wrong. We’ll be asking for your opinions in the comments to see just how many spinoff shows one monster series should get.

And all that’s just a taste of what we’ll be discussing this week. We’ll also chat about Jamie Lee Curtis’ latest return to the Halloween franchise (yet again), news on the Han Solo film, a new Punisher trailer, HBO’s Watchmen series, a new Wes Anderson stop-motion flick, and more!

So tune in and hit us up live at 2 p.m. PT today, or take us along for the ride with our podcast version by following the links at the top of this story.