WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: Annual FREE Xfinity Watchathon Week Is HERE From April 8 - 14, 2019

COMCAST GIVES VIEWERS FREE ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF MOVIES AND SHOWS INCLUDING GAME OF THRONES, THIS IS US, BILLIONS AND THE HILLS

Annual Xfinity Watchathon Week Includes Every Episode of Every Season of More Than 200 Shows and Access to More Than 70 Networks and Streaming Services

Available For Free to All Xfinity TV Customers From April 8 - 14

We've been in a quandary. We have been an Xfinity X1 family forever, but we let HBO lapse. But my husband and I have been eagerly awaiting the return of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and season eight premieres on April 14th! What's a GOT fan to do?! Thanks to Xfinity's Watchathon Week, we'll likely be binge watching all the past episodes again, re-upping HBO, and inviting the neighbors to a watch party. What's your plan?

Comcast recently announced that the seventh annual Xfinity Watchathon Week taking place from April 8 - 14 will offer thousands of free movies and shows including more than 200 complete series. Xfinity TV customers can watch any and every episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones leading up to the season eight premiere on April 14th plus catch up on other fan-favorite series such as A&E’s 60 Days In, Acorn TV’s Manhunt, EPIX’s Punk, HBO’s Veep, MTV’s The Hills, NBC’s This Is Us, and SHOWTIME®’s Billions from start to finish.

In total, thousands of TV and movie choices will be available during the weeklong free event, which has driven more than 340 million hours of on demand viewing over the last six years, and includes more than 70 networks and subscription video on demand (SVOD) services such as A&E, ABC, Acorn TV, Adult Swim, AMC Premiere, BET, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX, FOX, Hallmark Movies Now, HBO, HGTV, HISTORY Vault,  Lifetime Movie Club, Paramount Network, SHOWTIME, TBS, TLC, TNT, truTV, True Royalty TV, Urban Movie Channel and VH1. Additionally, a selection of programming from networks and SVODs will be available for Internet-only customers to sample on the Xfinity Stream app and Xfinity Flex.

“Last year, our highest day of on demand viewing happened during Xfinity Watchathon Week and we are excited to once again offer this event to our customers with more great content to enjoy across networks, studios and streaming partners,” said Daniel Spinosa, Vice President, Video Entertainment Services, Comcast Cable. “As we continue to bring more of the entertainment our customers love to Xfinity TV platforms including X1, Watchathon Week is more exciting every year for both our customers and partners and its continued success is a testament to X1’s ability to make search and discovery of content fast and easy—all customers have to do is get to watching.”

This year, customers tuning in on X1 can make their Watchathon experience better than ever by:

Turning on the “auto play” functionality within Comcast Labs to automatically start the next episode of a series once the former one ends
Saying the voice command “Xfinity Home Watchathon” to prep the room for a viewing session by dimming all connected lights and locking connected doors if they have an Xfinity Home subscription and compatible devices
Saying “Watchathon” to explore a personalized curated destination highlighting content recommended just for them throughout the week
Picking up where they left off on a show or movie more quickly by saying “Continue watching Billions”
Rewatching the most memorable moments from a series by saying for example, “Show me the episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm about Namaste”

During Watchathon Week Xfinity TV customers can:

Get in on buzzworthy shows such as Bravo’s Southern Charm, EPIX’s Deep State, HBO’s Big Little Lies and Deadwood, TBS’s Search Party and from SHOWTIME Ray Donovan and The Affair by watching the full series before they return to TV

Catch up on popular movies across genres such as Deadpool 2, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again on HBO; A Quiet Place and Spy Who Dumped Me on EPIX; and I Feel Pretty and The Dark Tower on SHOWTIME

Explore almost two dozen SVODs - no sign in required- including world class mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond from Acorn TV; award-winning documentaries from CuriosityStream on science, history, wildlife, adventure, travel and more; Lifetime movie favorites of all genres from Lifetime Movie Club; PlayKids’s cartoons, games, books, and activities for kids aged two to eight; Stingray Qello’s full-length concerts and music documentaries; and True Royalty’s original shows and documentaries about the British Royal Family and monarchies around the world

Xfinity TV customers can enjoy Watchathon Week across devices using the Xfinity Stream app and web portal.

For more information on Watchathon Week, visit https://watchathon.xfinity.com/ or join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram by using #XfinityWatchathon and following @Xfinity. 

Content availability could vary across Xfinity TV platforms (X1, XfinityTV.com and the Xfinity Stream app). Of note, the full SHOWTIME service will be available on Xfinity on Demand and the Xfinity Stream app and portal for only a portion of the event - April 11 – 14.

ADULT NIGHT OUT: “THRONES! THE MUSICAL PARODY”

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

“THRONES! THE MUSICAL PARODY” RETURNS SEPTEMBER 15 TO APOLLO THEATER FOR AN EXTENDED RUN FOLLOWING THIS SUMMER’S PREVIEW PERFORMANCES

Hold the door! “Thrones! The Musical Parody,” is returning to the Apollo Theater Chicago (2540 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago) September 15 following a successful start to performances earlier this summer. Here at ChiIL Mama & ChiIL Live Shows, we're huge GOT fans and we've felt a bit aimless without our weekly watch parties. For now our watch has ended while we eagerly await the making of a new season. Winter IS coming, but it's not here yet. This fall we'll be over at Chicago's Apollo Theatre for opening night of “Thrones! The Musical Parody”. Check back after Sept 21st for our full review. In the meantime, check out the scoop here:

The Hit “Game of Thrones” Parody Plans National Tour Stops Later This Year

From the creative team behind “Baby Wants Candy” and “50 Shades! The Musical Parody,” the fall run of the “Game of Thrones” send-up features 21 original songs and plot lines through Season 6 of the critical hit, performed by a Chicago-based ensemble including many of the actors from the summer preview run. Tickets ($59 - $39) for the new block of performances go on sale August 22 and can be purchased at the Apollo Theater Box Office by calling 773.935.6100 or visiting ApolloChicago.com. For ticket inquiries for groups of 10 or more, call Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612. 

In addition to the run in Chicago, “Thrones! The Musical Parody” is performing at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival through August 29, marking the production’s second year performing at the largest arts festival in the world. Following these two runs, the parody plans to make national stops throughout U.S., with exact locations to be announced at a later date.

“Chicago has embraced ‘Thrones! The Musical Parody’ with open arms, and our ensemble has brought this comedy to life with endless energy and talent,” said Executive Producer Emily Dorezas. “With the show’s refreshingly funny pop culture and ‘Game of Thrones’ references tied together with catchy score, we’re excited to bring more performances this fall to the Apollo for audiences to experience.”

Based off of HBO’s phenomenally successful “Game of Thrones,” “Thrones! The Musical Parody” asks audiences: Will Tyrion’s accent ever improve? Can Jon Snow possibly know more than nothing? Just how red can the Red Wedding get? With Game of Thrones references through Season 6 (read: spoilers), audiences can expect dashing men battling White Walkers, ravishing women riding fire-breathing dragons, and the infamous Walk of Shame—all set to an original score. “Thrones! The Musical Parody” debuted to completely sold-out performances in August 2015 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, followed by a sold-out, limited run at London’s Leicester Square Theatre and was hailed as “darkly humorous and beautifully vulgar” (Edinburgh Festival Magazine) and “A resounding success!” (Sunday Times Scotland).

“Thrones! The Musical Parody” is written by Chris Grace, Zach Reino, Al Samuels and Dan Wessels. The production is directed by Hannah Todd, choreographed by Tyler Sawyer Smith and produced by Emily Dorezas, Rob Kolson, and Al Samuels. The creative team includes Thomas O. Mackey III (Set Designer), Eric Backus (Sound Designer), Amanda Gladu (Costume Designer), Patrick Ham (Prop Designer) and R&D Choreography (Violence Design).

Performances for “Thrones! The Musical Parody” include Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.

To learn more about “Thrones!” visit the website, and follow along on Facebook and Twitter.

About Baby Wants Candy

“Baby Wants Candy” has performed over 2,000 completely improvised musicals to thousands of fans from Chicago to New York to Singapore to Scotland. Currently, “Baby Wants Candy” runs in Chicago at the Apollo Theater, in Los Angeles at UCB Sunset and tours internationally.  A cutting edge theatrical experience, the performance features a revolving cast of A-list comedic performers and a full band.

“Baby Wants Candy” begins with the cast asking the audience for a suggestion of a musical that has never been performed before. Accompanied by a full band, the first title that the group hears becomes the title and theme for that evening’s 60-minute show, featuring a roller coaster ride of spontaneously choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses, and witty jaw-dropping comedy.  Each performance is its own opening and closing night, and by design every show is completely unique and a once–in a lifetime premiere.

“Baby Wants Candy” has received rave reviews in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Onion, the Chicago Sun-Times, TimeOut New York and more and has received numerous awards and was the Winner of FringeNYC’s Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience, Best Improv Ensemble by Chicago Magazine, the Best Visiting Comedy Ensemble by TimeOut New York, the recipient of the Ensemble of the Year Award at the Chicago Improv Festival, a rare Sixth Star Award Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“Baby Wants Candy” has included several notable performers including Peter Gwinn of Colbert Report, Rachel Dratch and Aidy Bryant of Saturday Night Live; Stephnie Weir of MadTV; Nicole Parker of MadTV and Elphaba in WICKED on Broadway; Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock; Al Samuels and Kevin Fleming of Sports Action Team; Thomas Middleditch of Silicon Valley; Garry W. Tallent of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Mark Pender of The Max Weinberg 7 and Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band; and Johnny Pisano of the Jesse Malin Band and The Marky Ramone Band. Members of Baby Wants Candy have recently written the hit Off Broadway show “50 Shades! The Musical Parody”

About Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater, located in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 1978, has been home to many of the city’s biggest hits including the recent Million Dollar Quartet, which holds the record for the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history. Resident companies of the Apollo Theater include Emerald City Theatre Company and Baby Wants Candy, and many up-and-coming companies can be seen nightly in the theater’s 50-seat downstairs studio. Recently renovated and fully accessible, the Apollo Theater’s intimate 435-seat mainstage continues to deliver world-class theater as one of the city’s premiere off-Loop houses.

ADULT NIGHT OUT: APOLLO THEATER IN CHICAGO PRESENTS “THRONES! THE MUSICAL PARODY”

“THRONES! THE MUSICAL PARODY” ASCENDS THE WALL THIS SUMMER 

AT APOLLO THEATER IN CHICAGO

Created By the Team Behind “Baby Wants Candy” and “50 Shades! The Musical Parody,” “Thrones!” Makes its United States Debut July 21 – August 21

Suffering from GOT withdrawal? I didn't watch for the first few seasons, but once I started I was hooked. I binge watched everything up until the past two seasons, which we watched in real time. We've even had weekly Game of Thrones watching parties complete with drinks and appetizers. I felt a hollow emptiness when the season ended yet again and the long waiting game began. Now there's something to fill the void, “Thrones! The Musical Parody”. 

This Summer, Winter is coming. “Thrones! The Musical Parody” arrives at the Apollo Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave) in July with its United States and Chicago preview, running July 21 through August 21. Scripted by members of the “Baby Wants Candy” and “50 Shades! The Musical Parody” creative team, “Thrones! The Musical Parody” debuted to completely sold-out performances in August 2015 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, followed by a sold-out, limited run at London’s Leicester Square Theatre. Hailed as “darkly humorous and beautifully vulgar” (Edinburgh Festival Magazine) and “A resounding success!” (Sunday Times Scotland), the production features a Chicago-based cast and creative team in its run at the Apollo Theater.

“Chicago is the perfect place for the US premiere of ‘Thrones! The Musical Parody,’ where audiences are smart, funny and receptive,” said Executive Producer Emily Dorezas. “This parody combines everything you want in a great musical—with a hilarious story line and incredible music—and includes something for both the avid 'Game of Thrones' fan and musical theater fan alike.”

A send-up of HBO’s phenomenally successful “Game of Thrones,” “Thrones! The Musical Parody” asks audiences: Will Tyrion’s accent ever improve? Can Jon Snow possibly know more than nothing? Just how red can the Red Wedding get? With Game of Thrones plot twists through Season 6 (read: spoilers), audiences can expect dashing men battling White Walkers, ravishing women riding fire-breathing dragons, and the infamous Walk of Shame—all set to a catchy, original score. 

The performance schedule is as follows: Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (excluding August 13; performance at 10 p.m. that day) and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets ($29 - $44) are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Apollo Theater Box Office by calling 773.935.6100 or visiting ApolloChicago.com. For ticket inquiries for groups of 10 or more, call Group Theater Tix at 312.423.6612.

Get Social

To learn more about “Thrones!” visit the website, and follow along on Facebook and Twitter. 

 “Thrones! The Musical Parody” is written by Chris Grace, Zach Reino, Al Samuels and Dan Wessels. The production is directed by Hannah Todd, choreographed by Tyler Sawyer Smith and produced by Emily Dorezas, Rob Kolson, and Al Samuels. The cast and creative team will be announced at a later date. 

About Baby Wants Candy

“Baby Wants Candy” has performed over 2,000 completely improvised musicals to thousands of fans from Chicago to New York to Singapore to Scotland. Currently, “Baby Wants Candy” runs in Chicago at the Apollo Theater, in Los Angeles at UCB Sunset and tours internationally.  A cutting edge theatrical experience, the performance features a revolving cast of A-list comedic performers and a full band.

 “Baby Wants Candy” begins with the cast asking the audience for a suggestion of a musical that has never been performed before. Accompanied by a full band, the first title that the group hears becomes the title and theme for that evening’s 60-minute show, featuring a roller coaster ride of spontaneously choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses, and witty jaw-dropping comedy.  Each performance is its own opening and closing night, and by design every show is completely unique and a once–in a lifetime premiere.

 “Baby Wants Candy” has received rave reviews in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Onion, the Chicago Sun-Times, TimeOut New York and more and has received numerous awards and was the Winner of FringeNYC’s Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience, Best Improv Ensemble by Chicago Magazine, the Best Visiting Comedy Ensemble by TimeOut New York, the recipient of the Ensemble of the Year Award at the Chicago Improv Festival, a rare Sixth Star Award Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

 “Baby Wants Candy” has included several notable performers including Peter Gwinn of Colbert Report, Rachel Dratch and Aidy Bryant of Saturday Night Live; Stephnie Weir of MadTV; Nicole Parker of MadTV and Elphaba in WICKED on Broadway; Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock; Al Samuels and Kevin Fleming of Sports Action Team; Thomas Middleditch of Silicon Valley; Garry W. Tallent of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Mark Pender of The Max Weinberg 7 and Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band; and Johnny Pisano of the Jesse Malin Band and The Marky Ramone Band. Members of Baby Wants Candy have recently written the hit Off Broadway show “50 Shades! The Musical Parody”

 

About Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater, located in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 1978, has been home to many of the city’s biggest hits including the recent Million Dollar Quartet, which holds the record for the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago history. Resident companies of the Apollo Theater include Emerald City Theatre Company and Baby Wants Candy, and many up-and-coming companies can be seen nightly in the theater’s 50-seat downstairs studio. Recently renovated and fully accessible, the Apollo Theater’s intimate 435-seat mainstage continues to deliver world-class theater as one of the city’s premiere off-Loop houses.

Best Buy's Your Best Bet For Hot HBO Hits True Detective Season 1 on Blu-Ray Out 6/10 #HBOatBestBuy

Still debating what to get dad?

HBO hits trump terrible ties every time!

Got a father figure, dad or father of your kids who's a fan of the mega hit HBO series True Detective?  Know an HBO deprived guy who has heard great things but hasn't checked it out yet? Have YOU been dying to watch it on your own schedule which you can get away with if you buy it for "dad"?  

Best Buy is releasing True Detective Season 1 on June 10th!  Thoughtful of them--just in time for Father’s Day. Best Buy also has other great HBO promotions going on. 

HBO All on Sale will be from 6/8 – 6/14 at Best Buy - both in store & online.  Also contains a Digital Copy. Click here for all the details. 

Disclaimer:  ChiIL Mama is elated to be one of Best Buy's WOLF Bloggers. The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.  As always, our opinions are our own.

The HBO series True Detective

Season 1 New Release ($59.99) 

Synopsis:

The lives of two detectives, Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, become entangled during a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana.

Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE SHOW.

Best Buy is a great place to get HBO series hits including top pick, True Detective which releases on June 10th, just in time for Father's Day (June 15). Unless you have HBO, they don't kick their streaming rights to Netflix or Hulu, so your best bet is Best Buy! True Detective is the show that CRASHED HBOGo during the finale, and during the season, it was one of the most popular premier shows HBO has had in years! 

Check out more great gifting ideas from Best Buy including these hit series selections from HBO:

HBO’s hit True Detective

HBO’s Game of Thrones

HBO’s Eastbound and Down

HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

Disclaimer:  Once again, ChiIL Mama is elated to be one of Best Buy's WOLF Bloggers. The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.  As always, our opinions are our own.