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‘Futurama’ returns for a one-off, 42-minute podcast episode
Apparently, the folks over at Nerdist "spend every waking hour of every day wishing that Futurama was still on TV." We're big fans of the show, for sure, but we still spend a few hours during our days thinking of other things, like anime parodies and South Park, for instance. The Nerdist crew, however, has taken their rabid fandom to a whole new level. On September 14th, the team will debut a brand new Futurama episode as a radio play on the Nerdist podcast. The new one-shot will run long at 42 minutes and will feature the original cast in a story written by original Futurama writers.
Crunchyroll's parent creates a streaming service for geeks
Ellation isn't content to serve geek culture solely through the anime you find on Crunchyroll. It's launching a new streaming service, VRV, that unites some of the biggest media producers in the field, including Geek & Sundry, Nerdist, Rooster Reeth and Crunchyroll itself. VRV will have a free ad-backed version, but there will also be an ad-free premium subscription. And no, it's not just aggregating what you'd see on YouTube -- there will be exclusives (such as all of Cartoon Hangover's content), including some that are only available for subscribers.
Google Play Music finally gets into the podcasting game
For the plethora of musical choices offered on Google Play Music, one genre has been noticeably absent: podcasts. Not anymore! Google announced today on its Official Android Blog that the streaming service will soon offer a variety of popular podcasts including Nerdist, Earwolf, How Stuff Works and StarTalk Radio, to name just a few. A proper consumer-side service appears to still be a few months away so, for now, Google's created a portal for US-based podcasters to begin uploading their personal content.
Syfy picks up a 'Nerdist News' pilot
One day, TV will be all nerdy, all the time. Until then, Nerdist News is putting together a 30-minute pilot for Syfy, featuring its own brand of off-beat current events and silly gags. The Nerdist News TV show will air once a week, executive produced by Nerdist Industries CEO and @midnight host Chris Hardwick, alongside Talking Dead executive producer Brandon Monk. Nerdist News host Jessica Chobot announced the new initiative in a video, noting that the online version of the show isn't going anywhere. "We can't tell you too much more right now because there's a lot of dark magic that needs to happen before it can get to your TVs and we have no idea of when it even would," she says. Eagle-eyed observers will spot a familiar face covered by a Project Morpheus headset around 0:47 into the announcement video. (Hi, Joseph!)
Exclusive Xbox One designs to appear at Comic Con
To celebrate Comic Con (and convince people to ignore Spider-Man in favor of the Xbox Lounge), Microsoft is awarding 20 lucky fans exclusive Xbox One consoles patterned after games such as Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon 2. Entering to win one of these machines is relatively easy (assuming you're at this year's San Diego Comic Con). Simply visit the Xbox Lounge on the second floor of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel, find the display case containing the exclusive Xbox One designs, take a photo of your favorite with the "#XboxOne" and "#XboxSweeps" hashtags attached, and you're entered in the drawing. If you can't attend Comic Con but would still like an Xbox One emblazoned with promotional imagery, Microsoft is also giving away a custom Nerdist Industries console to those at home. Details on how you can win that machine have yet to appear, but Microsoft claims a tweet is coming soon which will outline the entire process. [Image: Microsoft]
WoW-Playing Actress Michele Morrow: Less Sylvanas, more chaotically awesome
When we first met actress Michele Morrow in 2010, she was inching her way across the shallow field comprising the Hollywood crowd that plays World of Warcraft. It appeared to be a successful combination for Michele; in fact, for a while it seemed the horror flick star might actually be becoming best known as "that actress who wants to play Lady Sylvanas in a WoW movie," courtesy of a vocal Facebook page created by an enthusiastic fan. While Sylvanas doesn't now appear to be spawning in the upcoming WoW movie, Michele's been popping up not only in Azeroth itself (with a commemorative NPC on Wandering Isle) but on gamer and nerd websites across the internet and in gaming-related film projects slated to begin hitting in 2014. Reconnecting with Michele at BlizzCon 2013 unspooled a reel of geekery worth investigating anew, as well as relatable tales of the sort of down-to-earth, casual raiding and in-game friendships that so many players enjoy as the WoW experience today.
