Category Archives: Blog

In a wild and expensive spectacle, the 70-year-old British founder of Virgin Galactic, billionaire Sir Richard Branson, launched into space on Sunday morning aboard a Virgin Galactic flight and returned home safely.

The flight was pushed back 90 minutes from its original takeoff time because overnight weather at Spaceport America in New Mexico delayed some of the flight preparations, but they ended up taking off at roughly 10:30 a.m. ET. Stephen Colbert hosted the livestream, and Khalid dropped a new song in celebration, titled “New Normal.” The entire flight took less than two hours.

Branson rode the flight as a member of the crew, and checked out the cabin experience for future paying customers, according to The New York Times. In addition to Branson, the rocket plane SpaceShipTwo also carried the pilots and three crew mates, including Beth Moses, the chief astronaut instructor; Colin Bennett, the lead operations engineer; and Sirisha Bandla, the vice president of government affairs and research operations.

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Bandla, who became the second India-born woman and third person of Indian descent to leave Earth’s atmosphere, according to Newsweek, is also conducting a research project for the University of Florida. She said in a promotional video that Branson’s goal of using the private sector to bring space travel to more people could “get people from different backgrounds, different geographies, different communities into space.” That is, of course, you can afford the steep $250,000 ticket price.

The plane flies about 80 kilometers, or nearly 50 miles, into the upper atmosphere, which leaves some wondering if that actually counts as space. The U.S. recognizes 80 kilometers as the boundary of space, but there isn’t an international agreement on where space begins. The passengers will experience some kind of weightlessness at the top of the arc, but they won’t have escaped gravity, the Times reported. Instead, they will simply be falling at the same pace as the plane, which will help them feel that coveted weightlessness.

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In a little over a week, Jeff Bezos will also take the plunge into the questionable zone of space travel, in which his Blue Origin flight will reach above 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, above the Earth’s surface. Despite the timing and appearance that there may be a rivalry between the two space-traveling billionaires, Branson told The Today Show earlier this week that there isn’t much of a fight.

That didn’t stop Blue Origin from hyping the size of its own spacefaring vessel’s windows in a Saturday tweet, just a day before the Virgin Galactic launch.

We’re all aware that our apps are collecting our personal data, but wouldn’t you like to know just how often they’re peeping in?

Apple’s new App Privacy Report, which is set to arrive with iOS 15, creates a summary of all the times your installed apps have collected your data over a seven-day period. This report includes information regarding access to your location, microphone, photos, and contacts. It also displays any third-party domains your apps may be contacting so you know where your data could end up.

The setting is a little hidden away in iOS 15, so if you want to turn the summary option on, follow along with our guide below.

1. Open your Settings and scroll down to “Privacy”

Naturally, your App Privacy Report will be housed in the “Privacy” section of the Settings menu. It’s a little far down in the list of options, so make sure you navigate to the bottom to get there and then tap on “Privacy.”

2. Tap “Record App Activity” at the bottom of the “Privacy” menu

At the very bottom of the Privacy menu, you’ll find the new “Record App Activity” option. It can be a little confusing, since the feature isn’t actually labeled “App Privacy Report” here, but we promise this is what you should tap on.

3. Toggle “Record App Activity” on

The toggle to enable “Record App Activity” will be the first option on the next screen and all you have to do is tap to turn it on. Your phone will now record when and how often your apps access your data, and you can return to this screen to see the full report.

Here’s what an App Privacy Report will look like.

Credit: apple

When you tap on an app in the Privacy Report, it will show any third-party domains that it has contacted.

Credit: apple

4. Download your App Privacy Report

If you want to save any of your reports somewhere else, there’s a handy “Save App Activity” option right under the toggle button. Tapping this will generate a JSON file, which is a simplified JavaScript format for data.

You can then share the file or save it to your Notes app. It definitely looks a bit confusing this way, but if the format makes sense to you and you have use for the data elsewhere, it’s a convenient way to get it out of your phone’s settings.

And that’s all it takes. You can now track how often your apps are tracking you. How very meta.

It’s okay to admit that you constantly have too many tabs open in Safari — we’re all guilty of it. Thankfully, iOS 15 (currently available as developer and public betas) has a solution for that: Tab Groups.

True to its name, Tab Groups allows you to not only save tabs but also group them together according to certain topics and categories. That way, you won’t have to swipe through a mess of tabs to find a specific site you had open.

Here’s how to create a Tab Group with iOS 15.

1. Open the Safari web browser

To get started, you’ll have to open the Safari app and face all of those tabs you currently have open.

2. Tap on the tabs icon

On the bottom right-hand corner, tap on the tabs icon. It’s the one represented by two overlapping squares.

3. Tap the tabs arrow

In the middle, next to the ‘+’ icon, you’ll see the number of tabs you have open with a downward-facing arrow right next to it. Tap on that arrow to open up the Tab Groups menu.

4. Select “New Empty Tab Group”

New Group Tab, new you
Credit: screenshot / apple

To create a group for your tabs, select “New Empty Tab Group.” From there, any tabs you open within that group will automatically be added.

If all the currently open tabs already fall under one specific category, then you can also select “New Tab Group from [X] Tabs.” That way, they’ll automatically be added to the group.

5. Name the Tab Group

What shall we name the Tab Group?
Credit: Screenshot / apple

Use the text box to type in any Group Name your heart desires and then click “OK” to save it.

6. Add tabs to the group

Keep addin’ those tabs to the group.

Credit: screenshot / apple

Simply type in the website and click “go.”

Credit: screenshot / apple

To add tabs to a group, tap on the “+” icon in the left-hand corner to open a new Safari window. From there, type in whatever it is you’re looking for, and hit “go” on the right. Whenever you tap on the tabs icon for a full-screen view of the entire Tab Group, it will appear alongside the tabs.

You can also add those stray tabs to the group.

Credit: screenshot / apple

You’ll know it worked once the tab disappears from the window.

Credit: Screenshot / apple

You can also move already open tabs into a specific folder. First, tap on the folder name at the bottom of the display. Then, tap on the first section that lists the amount of tabs you have open.

Once you see all of your open tabs, choose which one you want to move to another group and long-press until you see a menu appear. On the menu, select “Move to Tab Group” and tap on the specific group you’re looking for. It’ll then disappear from the window of open tabs and into its respective Tab Group.

It’s also worth noting that your Group Tabs sync across all of your Apple devices, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, or a Mac. That way, you can stay organized regardless of which device you use with Safari.

At some point, imitation is no longer a form of flattery.

GETTR, the Twitter clone helmed by Donald Trump’s former spokesperson Jason Miller, ran into additional trouble Saturday when it lost the ability to automatically import tweets directly from Twitter. So claimed Miller, who announced the latest setback for his fledgling social media platform via (where else) Twitter.

“Twitter has blocked users from importing their existing tweets to GETTR, the new free speech platform challenging the social media oligarchs, preventing people from accessing their own hard work, creativity, and original content,” he wrote.

We reached out to Twitter to confirm that it had indeed restricted GETTR’s ability to pull tweets presumably directly via Twitter’s API, and, if so, why, but received no immediate response. Active Twitter users can still obviously access their own tweets, regardless of GETTR’s access to Twitter’s API.

It’s worth noting that Miller hasn’t always been the most reliable of narrators, and his latest statement veers into misinformed claims about Section 230. So it may be best to wait for Twitter to weigh in, as opposed to taking his claims at face value.

GETTR, which looks and functions much like Twitter, initially touted users’ ability to import their existing tweets over to its platform as a sort of lure. No need to start accounts from scratch, the logic went.

“Tweets are up to the point you join, it won’t continuously suck them in,” an unnamed person involved with GETTR told Politico on July 1. “The idea is we want people to move from Twitter to Gettr.”

GETTR is the latest in a line of conservative-targeted social media apps to struggle after their initial launch. Parler was briefly kicked out of Apple’s App Store, and Gab reportedly suffered a serious security breach in the spring which involved a hacker gaining access to users’ private messages.

GETTR too suffered from what might charitably be described as a privacy mishap. On July 4, numerous prominent GETTR accounts were defaced by a hacker — a hacker who, it should be noted, left a message instructing GETTR users to follow them on Twitter.

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But then, of course, to do that they’d have to be on Twitter — right along with all of their old tweets.

The latest incremental update is here.

Tesla released Version 9.0 of its (still Beta) Full Self-Driving software Friday night, surely delighting customers who have been waiting for the promised update for literally years. Notably, despite the name, the update does not actually make Teslas fully autonomous — a fact that the update makes very clear.

“It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the wheel and pay extra attention to the road,” read release notes posted on Reddit by a Tesla owner. “Do not become complacent.”

At present, the FSD Beta Version 9.0 is still only available to limited number of customers and Tesla employees in the Early Access program, which translates to a couple thousand people. As with previous updates, those select few were able to download the software directly to their cars.

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Once downloaded, Tesla owners were quick to test out the new feature and post videos to social media. The results were mixed, to say the least.

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A video, posted July 10, shows the Beta Full Self-Driving Version 9 in action — complete with multiple mistakes.

“That’s why Elon did say be extra cautious,” says the driver in the below video at approximately the 10 minute and 40 second mark.

Indeed, the release notes are full of warnings.

“Use Full Self-Driving in limited Beta only if you will pay constant attention to the road, and be prepared to act immediately, especially around blind corners, crossing intersections, and in narrow driving situations.”

SEE ALSO: Tesla owner keeps using Autopilot from backseat—even after being arrested

Consider yourself warned. Hopefully the Tesla owners with access to FSD Beta 9.0 do as well.

The Entomological Society of America is officially getting with the times.

The insect science group announced on Wednesday that the insects formally known as Aphaenogaster araneoides and Lymantria dispar will no longer be referred to as “gypsy ants” and “gypsy moths,” respectively. The word that appears in each insect’s “common” name is a racial slur for Romani people, and the ESA has decided that its use has no place in the modern world.

“The purpose of common names is to make communication easier between scientists and the public audiences they serve. By and large, ESA’s list of recognized insect common names succeeds in this regard, but names that are unwelcoming to marginalized communities run directly counter to that goal,” ESA President Michelle S. Smith, BCE said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

It’s a welcome change. Names like these are insidiously harmful, quietly perpetuating the use of slurs that have otherwise disappeared from daily speech. And while the ESA is dropping these two monikers immediately, the announcement is one piece of a larger effort to re-think the common names of insects more broadly.

The group’s Better Common Names Project is just what it sounds like: An effort to root out any examples of problematic names on the ESA Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List. The effort starts with a task force that will be looking at: names containing “derogative terms,” names for invasive bugs that include “inappropriate geographic references,” and names “that inappropriately disregard what the insect might be called by native communities.”

The first phase of this sprawling effort is where we, the people of the internet, come in. While it’s not the kind of situation that could end with a fleet of Buggy McBugface-style names, the ESA is soliciting input from the public.

Part of the problem is the list itself: There are lots of bugs out there, and not necessarily a clear view of what’s offensive or problematic to one group or another. So the public input period is meant, in part, to help the ESA pinpoint the names that need to be changed to begin with.

There’s a short, web-based form right here that lets people select an insect from the (extremely long) Common Names list and explain in detail why its name should be changed. People who fill out the form can also say whether or not they’d volunteer to join the to-be-created working group that will be tasked with researching and proposing a new name.

If you’re specifically interested in helping to work out new common names for Aphaenogaster araneoides and Lymantria dispar, there’s a separate form just for that. The ESA is asking people to refer to those insects by their Latin names for now, until new common names are worked out.

Technically speaking, the Better Common Names Project is an expansion of the ESA’s existing process for proposing changes to the common names list. But the ESA Governing Board approved a new set of rules for acceptable common names in March 2021, and those rules take a more specific stance on disallowing racial and geographical references in proposed names. This project, then, is the public face of those rule changes.

You can read more about the Better Common Names Project here.

Sometimes, you want a movie to make you anxious, to really sink its hooks into you and stress you out — but in a fun way! When you’re in that mood, you need a thriller. Luckily for you, Amazon Prime has a solid library of movies that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Whether you want to watch a political thriller, a psychological thriller, or a thriller with a more comedic edge, these 10 movies are sure to scratch that itch. Plus, they’re all included with an Amazon Prime membership, so you don’t need any additional subscriptions in order to watch them.

Here, in no particular order, are the 10 best thrillers on Amazon Prime.

1. Unbreakable

It’s easy to overlook this fact, but M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable is actually an origin story for a reality-based superhero (and also his nemesis). Bruce Willis stars as a seemingly ordinary security guard whose life of consistently good health is thrown into question when he survives a deadly train crash with nary a scratch or bruise on him. Is Willis’s David Dunn really that healthy? Or is something more fantastical going on here? Also featuring strong performances from stars Samuel L. Jackson and Robin Wright Penn, Unbreakable ended up becoming the starting point for an eventual Shyamalan-helmed trilogy. – Adam Rosenberg, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Unbreakable is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

2. The French Connection

In this 1971 crime thriller, NYPD detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) work to catch Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), a French narcotics smuggler. What really sets this movie apart from other films about detectives working a case is its consistent forward momentum. It’s a classic cat and mouse situation made even better thanks to spectacular action sequences staged throughout New York City. When Popeye tails Charnier or chases down an elevated train by car, you feel a real sense of movement and excitement. – Belen Edwards, Entertainment Fellow

How to watch: The French Connection is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

3. The Handmaiden

Park Chan-wook’s psycho-sexual thriller unfolds in three acts, each twisting and reframing what came before it. Set in Japan-occupied Korea in the early 20th century, the film follows Count Fujiwara’s (Ha Jung-woo) plan to con the wealthy Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) by infiltrating her household with handmaid Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri). Sook-Hee and Hideko begin a relationship while the Count attempts to woo the heiress, leading to one betrayal after another. 

When it’s not wildly erotic and filled with deception, The Handmaiden feels almost like a fantasy movie, immersing you fully in Ryu Seong-hee’s production design and Jo Yeong-wook’s score. The cast manage to fool viewers as much as each other, and even the film’s quietest scenes thrum with energy. -Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: The Handmaiden is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

4. Rear Window

Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Rear Window. The whole movie is confined to the apartment of L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart), a photographer stuck at home with a broken leg. He observes his neighbors through his rear window in order to pass the time, but everything changes when he witnesses a sinister act. Hitchcock masterfully uses the claustrophobia of Jefferies’ plight to build tension throughout this classic mystery, resulting in one of the greatest thrillers of all time. – B.E.

How to watch: Rear Window is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

5. Fight Club

For better or for worse, Fight Club is a movie that defined a generation. It’s frequently quoted (“The first rule of fight club…”) and often misunderstood (Tyler Durden is not a role model), but its iconic twist and anti-capitalist message is one that resonates decades after its release. Fight Club was a commercial failure in theaters despite the surprisingly high profile casting of Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter, therefore it stands as an example of a great film that was too uncomfortable for its era and later hailed as a masterpiece. – Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Fight Club is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

6. The Report

The Report is a political thriller that is less interested in generating thrills than it is in taking a thorough look at its thorny subject matter: the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” conducted by Senate staffer Daniel Jones (Adam Driver). Writer and director Scott Z. Burns distills Jones’s investigation (and subsequent 7,000 page report) into a film that is gripping and horrifying in equal measures. Particularly upsetting are depictions of the CIA’s torture methods, as well as scenes in which United States government officials attempt to justify said torture. Strengthened by one of Driver’s best performances to date, The Report is an unflinching and meticulous examination of the process to uncover a serious injustice. – B.E.

How to watch: The Report is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

7. Burn After Reading

The Coen Brothers’ sharp eye for satire and talent for spinning comedic gold out of any genre is on full display in Burn After Reading, a sort-of spy thriller with the kind of cast a director would kill to work with. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, and J.K. Simmons star in this story about a disgruntled ex-CIA employee whose horrible memoir winds up in the hands of two dimwitted gym employees who mistake it for top secret government information. The following chaos is a controlled demolition of spy tropes, red herrings, broken stereotypes, weird sex stuff, and murder. – A.N.

How to watch: Burn After Reading is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

8. Blow the Man Down

Directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, Blow The Man Down is an expectation-defying marvel. Set in a small fishing town in Maine, this darkly comedic thriller goes to some unbelievable places when teen sisters Mary Beth (Morgan Saylor) and Pris (Sophie Lowe) are forced to cover up for a violent crime. Still, the film’s unrelenting atmosphere of realism will keep you hooked on the murder mystery at its center, never letting you distance yourself from the action.

Clever joke writing, stunning cinematography, and a fearless performance by Margo Martindale are obvious draws for this title, but it’s full of quieter moments that are just as memorable. A true hidden gem you’ll be recommending yourself if you see it, this is a good pick for when you want to impress someone with your impeccable taste in suspense. Or even just freak them out a little. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Blow The Man Down is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

9. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Imagine a scenario where one of the top candidates in a U.S. presidential election is actually a brainwashed agent of forces working to undermine American interests. That’s the basic premise of The Manchurian Candidate, a 1959 novel and 1962 film that got a fresh and modernized update in 2004 from filmmaker Jonathan Demme. It stars Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco, an ex-soldier who suspects that one of his former squadmates-turned-candidate for Vice President, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), is receiving orders from forces outside the U.S. chain of command. -A.R.

How to watch: The Manchurian Candidate is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

10. Raazi

One of the best mainstream Indian films of the 2010s is Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi, starring Alia Bhatt as a spy during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Bhatt plays Sehmat Khan, who is married into a Pakistani family and tasked with spying on them by her dying father (Rajit Kapur).

Raazi contains familiar sequences from any spy movie; the training montage, tense surveillance, and brushes with death — but Bhatt’s performance grounds the toll of espionage in a way that few films do. Sehmat often breaks down after a high-stress encounter or upon seeing the consequences of her actions, the body count of a war purportedly greater than any of the individuals caught in its crossfire. Many Indian films succumb to blind nationalism, but it feels different through the eyes of a younger India and Pakistan, and through characters like Sehmat’s husband Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal) who are never villainized but made real and relatable. -P.K.

How to watch: Raazi is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Hulu began as and remains a crucial service for TV fans looking to catch up on their favorite shows after they air — but at some point in the past decade the streamer became so much more. Its foray into original programming resulted in awards, critical acclaim, and appointment TV that wasn’t even on TV. Whether you’re a loyal Hulu subscriber or just joining the party, you need to check out these 10 exceptional Hulu originals.

This list doesn’t include limited series like Normal People and Looking for Alaska, or anything not produced or distributed by Hulu itself — all that adds up to a longer list, which we already made!

1. Love, Victor

Michael Cimino and George Sear in Season 2 of “Love, Victor.”
Credit: greg gayne / HULU

This TV spinoff from 2018’s queer romantic comedy Love, Simon stars Michael Cimino as Victor, a new student at Simon’s high school. He’s a star athlete, a model son, a great friend…and he’s beginning to think he might be gay.

Love, Victor is pitch-perfect high school drama with all the sweeping musical cues and whispered secrets such a thing entails. Plus, its connection to the original movie is incredibly sweet — Victor reaches out to Simon (now graduated) on Instagram for advice, and the franchise’s OG romantic hero periodically offers him advice on how to deal with life at Creekwood High. —Alexis Nedd, Senior Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Love, Victor is now streaming on Hulu.

2. Ramy

Ramy — “miakhalifa.mov” – Episode 204 — have you clicked on me? Zainab (MaameYaa Boafo) and Ramy (Ramy Youssef), shown. (Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)
Credit: Hulu

Ramy Youssef’s self-titled TV debut is captivating, contemplative, and often uncomfortable. The series tells the story of an Egyptian-American family — the father, mother, and sister as much as the eponymous son. For so much of it, Ramy focuses his energy on how to be a good Muslim, but it takes a long time and a series of missteps with drugs and women for him to realize that he should learn to be a good person, too.

Though the best episodes almost barely involve Ramy (with Youssef himself behind the camera and script), there is a self-assured DNA throughout its two seasons, a voice we hope to hear from much more. —Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Ramy is now streaming on Hulu.

3. Pen15

Middle school has never been so excruciating or entertaining as Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine’s “Pen15.”
Credit: hulu

Pen15 is hard to watch, in a good way. It nails the awkwardness of middle school by having series creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play fictionalized versions of themselves in 7th grade, surrounded by a cast of actors who are actually young enough to play their peers.

The inherent disconnect in watching made-up adults act like preteens heightens the comedy of its funnier moments, but also serves as a reminder that the drama of mid-puberty isn’t any less important because it’s experienced by children. Pen15 is cringey, sweet, hilarious, and wholly original comedy. —A.N.

How to watch: Pen15 is now streaming on Hulu.

4. Shrill

Lolly Adefope and Aidy Bryant in “Shrill,” based on the memoir by Lindy West.
Credit: hulu

Based on Lindy West’s memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman, this Hulu original dramedy is the Aidy Bryant vehicle of dreams. Bryant stars as Annie, a struggling Portland-based journalist on the verge of a personal revolution when a shitty boss and an even shittier boyfriend send her over the edge. What follows is a thoughtful reflection on self-compassion and acceptance that entertains and empowers in equal measure, with body acceptance as a central theme.

Bryant’s dazzling lead performance is complimented by a vibrant supporting cast, which includes Lolly Adefope, Luka Jones, Patti Harrison, Ian Owens, and John Cameron Mitchell. Although Shrill was canceled after Season 3, regrettably ending on a pretty big cliffhanger, the charming series remains a solid weekend watch. It’s got cute costumes, great music, juicy drama, and a real message; plus, every episode is 30 minutes or fewer. —Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Shrill is now streaming on Hulu.

5. The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale — “Mayday” – Episode 313 — With her plan in place, June reaches the point of no return on her bold strike against Gilead and must decide how far she’s willing to go. Serena Joy and Commander Waterford attempt to find their way forward in their new lives. June (Elisabeth Moss), shown. (Photo by: Jasper Savage/Hulu)
Credit: Hulu

Hulu’s Emmy-winning take on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the streaming service’s tentpole original series for good reason. Its harsh look at a dystopia that feels less unrealistic every day is a sobering and needed reminder of what happens when human rights disappear in the face of crisis. Elisabeth Moss stars as June/Offred, one of many modern American women forced to become a Handmaid — a sex slave whose only purpose is to bear children for a wealthy family in the wake of global infertility. The Handmaid’s Tale‘s four seasons follow June as she suffers under a totalitarian regime and learns to wield what power she has to join a mysterious revolutionary movement. —A.N.

How to watch: The Handmaid’s Tale is now streaming on Hulu.

6. Castle Rock

CASTLE ROCK — “Habeas Corpus” – Episode 102 – Henry gets a new client at Shawshank Prison. Bill Skarsgård, shown. (Photo by: Patrick Harbron/Hulu)
Credit: Hulu

This Stephen King anthology is deeply disturbing and suspenseful, just as you’d expect. Set in the cursed fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, Season 1 unfurls the mystery of a prisoner (Bill Skarsgård) held secretly captive for 27 years. “The Kid” is allegedly dangerous and evil, but Castle Rock already has so much of that going around — not to mention the schisma in the forest, which is a whole thing. In Season 2, a young Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan) arrives in town with her daughter, digging up old wounds in the town’s history and setting herself down an inevitable path.

Castle Rock did a lot in its two seasons, sometimes misstepping and misleading to the point that we can’t confidently claim now, years later, to know what it was even trying to be. But if you love a good psychological thriller, masterful performances by the leads (and a few King mainstays in cameos), and just a splash of the devil, the series is unmissable. —P.K.

How to watch: Castle Rock is now streaming on Hulu.

7. The Great

The Great — “The Beaver’s Nose” – Episode 110 — Catherine’s decides to move forward with the coup on her birthday. Peter isn’t so easily overcome and holds Leo hostage as collateral. In exchange for a return to her status, Marial betrays Catherine to Peter and tells him that she is pregnant. Catherine realizes that the only chance for a greater Russia is to fight, without Leo. The battle begins. Catherine (Elle Fanning), shown. (Photo by: Ollie Upton/Hulu)
Credit: Hulu

Does The Great faithfully follow the true story of Catherine the Great’s infamous coup against her husband Tsar Peter III? No. Is it a hilarious, wacky interpretation of Catherine’s story, complete with frog guns, the invention of bowling, slapfights aplenty, and an imperial ton of vodka? Yes, absolutely yes.

The Great is a fantastic Hulu Original comedy series draped with all the trappings of a big budget period story, and it’s well worth a watch for fans of writer Tony McNamara’s Oscar-winning The Favourite. —A.N.

How to watch: The Great is now streaming on Hulu.

8. Solar Opposites

Co-created by Rick and Morty alumni Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, Solar Opposites has all the intergalactic antics you love with a fraction of the Smith family’s existential dread. This Hulu original centers on the titular Solar Opposites: Korvo (voiced by Roiland), Terry (Thomas Middleditch), Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone), and Jesse (Mary Mack), a family of aliens who crash land on Earth after their beloved home planet of Shlorp meets an untimely doomsday. As with shows like Invader Zim and 3rd Rock from the Sun, the aliens’ acclimation to human life grounds much of the series’ action.

But, as far as sitcoms go, this one is far from predictable. Consistently good jokes and performances accompany a story full of dramatic twists sure to leave you entertained and invested. If you love really detailed TV, I mean everything from fan theories to pop culture Easter eggs, then this is the next obsession for you. —A.F.

How to watch: Solar Opposites is now streaming on Hulu.

9. Harlots

Harlots on Hulu is a mob drama that takes place in the last place anyone would expect to find one — the brothels of Georgian London. The two warring madams at the heart of the show’s main conflict have beef going back decades, and their conniving attempts to destroy each other rival anything seen on The Sopranos. Harlots also benefited from a nearly all-female creative team, which made it a unique show that portrayed sex work with a clear and unexploitative eye, giving its female characters agency over their lives even as their positions and livelihoods depend on a rotating cast of powerful men. —A.N.

How to watch: Harlots is now streaming on Hulu.

10. Difficult People

Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner’s acerbic comedy might have been a little too tart, too jaded, too insidery for the average viewer, but that was never the audience interpellated by this sharp series. The duo play disheartened New York City comics who are endlessly frustrated with how disappointing everyone in the world is besides themselves. If only people could see that Julie and Billy are the funniest, smartest, best, most worthwhile people in this city or any other, then we might have some hope as a society — but alas, we are doomed.

Klausner and Eichner’s crackling dynamic sets a tone that the show never lies about or fails to meet — if you don’t like the first few episodes, it’s not for you — with fabulous performances by Andrea Martin, Cole Escola, Shakina Nayfack, and more. Add it to the list of essential New York City TV, but know that these two have thoughts on Carrie Bradshaw. —P.K.

How to watch: Difficult People is now streaming on Hulu.

Blue Origin wants to make sure you know about its windows.

The company, owned by multi-billionaire and now former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, intends to send rich tourists to space and is not at all like Virgin Galactic — a company founded by billionaire Richard Branson which plans to eventually send rich tourists to space.

That’s the message made loud and clear by Blue Origin in a series of tweets Friday which attempt to draw a distinction between the two companies. Specifically, Blue Origin highlighted all the ways its offering is presumably superior.

Notably, those include the following:

1. Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule is perched atop a rocket, while Virgin Galactic offers a ride in some kind of space plane.

2. The Blue Origin capsule takes tourists to approximately 100 kilometers of elevation, while Virgin Galactic’s plane reportedly reaches heights of around 80 kilometers. According to National Geographic, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Air Force, and NOAA, space technically starts at around the 80 kilometer mark.

3. And, perhaps most importantly of all, Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule has the “largest windows in space.”

Tweet may have been deleted

While admittedly having large windows on a space tourism ride does sound nice, it’s unclear if the view offered by Virgin Galactic will be inferior.

Virgin Galactic is set to take off on July 11, with Blue Origin’s New Capsule is timed to depart on July 20.

It is true, to be fair, that the methods of conveyance offered by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are quite different. Take a look.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo on a test flight in 2018.
Credit: GENE BLEVINS / getty

Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc. and founder of Blue Origin LLC, speaks at the unveiling of the Blue Origin New Shepard system during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. Bezos has been reinvesting money he made at Amazon since he started his space exploration company more than a decade ago, and has plans to launch paying tourists into space within two years. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

But as long as they both get paying tourists to space and safely back home again, it’ll be up to those forking over the (huge amounts of) cash to decide if one is inherently better than the other.

What’s next for The Witcher on Netflix? Fans of the series understood the significance of the Season 1 capper, which saw Henry Cavill’s Geralt meeting up with Freya Allan’s Ciri for the first time. And now we have a new teaser offering a peek at what happens next.

The Witcher is ostensibly based specifically on the books from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, though the show has drawn liberally from the visual language established in the video game series from CD Projekt Red as well. Geralt’s connection to Ciri is a particular focus of The Witcher 3, the most recent game in the series, so Season 2 represents a big moment for Netflix’s take.

The Witcher Season 2 is coming to Netflix on Dec. 17, though fans won’t have to wait that long to get some kind of Witcher fix. Netflix also has an animated prequel movie coming up, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, and that one debuts on on Aug. 23.