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Source: Paramount+ / Paramount+
A new documentary on the unknown story behind the rise of digital piracy produced by Eminem & LeBron James debuts in June.
Source: Paramount+ / Paramount+

One of the more obscured stories behind the rise of digital piracy and how it transformed the music industry into what it is today, is on display in a new documentary series, entitled How Music Got Free. The two-episode series is based on the best-selling 2016 book by Stephen Witt. Eminem and LeBron James are executive producers along with Maverick Carter, Paul Rosenberg, and Steve Stoute. The series is directed by Alexandria Stapleton, a veteran who recently was at the helm of the Amazon Prime documentary Reggie, about New York Yankees Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson.
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How Music Got Free focuses in part on the life of Dell Glover. Glover, a man from Shelby, North Carolina, worked at the Universal Music compact disc pressing plant and used his access and ingenuity to leak music as part of the disruption that upended the music industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The series shows how his efforts and others led to the rise of Napster and other downloading sites. As Stapleton expresses in the press release, “The real visionaries, rebels, and anti-heroes of the era were a ragtag group of young people hidden behind online aliases. They leveraged tech and proved to the world how fans really wanted to consume music in the 1990s, 2000s, and beyond. The music industry was too busy raking in profits from CDs to see the digital tsunami that was about to swamp them. When the flood came, the industry didn’t build better boats, they blamed the pirates riding the wave and tried to put them in federal prison.”
How Music Got Free is narrated by Method Man, and features interviews with Eminem, 50 Cent, Steve Stoute, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz, Rhymefest, and more. Also involved in the series’ production is Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures, in association with SpringHill, Interscope Films, and Shady Films. How Music Got Free will make its premiere on Paramount Plus on June 11.

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Fans of The Chi rejoice—the show is not done yet. The hit Showtime original series is getting a seventh season.
Deadline reports that Paramont+ and Showtime have renewed The Chi for a seventh season before the second-half premiere of season six on May 10.

The decision is a no-brainer following the success of season six of The Chi, which became the streamer’s most-viewed season ever, increasing nearly 25 percent from season five.

The website reports production for season seven will begin later this month in Chicago.
Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, spoke about the show’s renewal, adding, “Lena Waithe is a generational storyteller, whose authentic and unflinching narratives in The Chi resonate deeply, offering a powerful lens into both the complexities of life in Chicago as well as the Black experience in America. On the heels of a record-breaking season and ahead of this week’s return, we’re excited to provide fans with the promise of more – ensuring that they can continue to enjoy the raw, emotional stories and unforgettable characters that have made this seminal series a resounding success for Showtime.”
The Chi’s Journey To Season Seven Was A Rocky One
The series from Lena Waithe, under her Hillman Grad banner and executive produced by Common, tells the story of Southside Chicago residents whose lives become intertwined due to certain events that also bring them together and lead them to form bonds with each other.
In the previous seasons, we’ve seen the characters have to come together to deal with Douda (Curtis Cook), a local gangster who is making life miserable in all aspects for the Southside residents.
While The Chi has been fortunate to see a seventh season, the on-set drama surrounding former cast member Jason Mitchell almost derailed the show.
The powers that be decided to kill off Mitchell’s character in season three, and the show has thrived since then.

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Ahead of the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in theaters, a new six-episode spinoff TV series featuring Knuckles the Echidna is set to tide us over until the movie’s release on Dec. 20.

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Starring Idris Elba, Knuckles drops on Friday, April 26, on Paramount+. All episodes are available to stream for subscribers only.

How to Watch Knuckles Online for Free

If you’re not a Paramount+ subscriber, then you can take advantage of the streaming service’s seven-day free trial to watch Knuckles and other Paramount+ originals, including Halo, Star Trek Discovery, 1883, Lawmen: Bass Reeves and Frasier (2023). You can also watch live sports from the NFL, PGA, NWSL and UEFA Champions League, as well as live news from CBS News. After the free trial is over, you can either keep watching, or cancel altogether.

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Meanwhile, Paramount+ has two tiers for streaming plans. The first is the Paramount+ Essential plan, which is ad-supported and goes for $5.99 per month. It grants you access to everything the streamer has to offer, including and catalog titles — from hubs such as CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and The Smithsonian Channel — but with limited commercial breaks throughout movies, TV shows and live TV.

The other is Paramount+ with Showtime, which is ad-free and goes for $11.99 per month. This plan has all of Paramount+ originals and network hubs, as well as programming from Showtime with hits including Yellowjackets, Billions, The Curse, The Chi and Your Honor without any ad breaks.

How to Watch The Sonic the Hedgehog Movies Online for Free

Want to watch the Sonic the Hedgehog movies before you watch Knuckles? Both Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are available to stream on Paramount+, along with the two animated series: Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog — both from 1993.

Knuckles takes place between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and follows Knuckles (voiced by Idris Elba) teaching deputy sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally) how to be a fierce Echidna warrior.

The new TV series also stars Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Stockard Channing, Julian Barratt, Rory McCann, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Tika Sumpter, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Christopher Lloyd and others.

Knuckles is available to stream on Paramount+ starting on Friday, April 26. Watch a trailer for the new TV show below.

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HipHopWired sat down and talked with the director and star of the Paramount Plus documentary As We Speak: Rap Music On Trial. 

One of the more pressing situations affecting Hip-Hop culture and the communities who love it is the persistent weaponization of rap lyrics in criminal cases throughout the United States and abroad. The most vivid example is the current RICO trial being brought against Young Thug by Fulton County prosecutors in Georgia. Sadly, the general public is still unaware of the scale of these actions by the criminal justice system and its effects – to date, 700 trials have used rap lyrics as evidence since 1990.

Source: Paramount+ / Paramount+

A new documentary, As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial is shining an intense light on how much law enforcement has used rap lyrics to gain convictions in criminal cases. The documentary, which will air on Paramount Plus, is directed and produced by J.M. Harper ((jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma). As We Speak is filmed through the perspective of Kemba, a talented MC from the Bronx who is our narrator as he talks with various artists such as Killer Mike, Mac Phipps, Glasses Malone, and attorneys like MSNBC’s Ari Melber across the U.S. and in the United Kingdom about their perspectives in unique ways – even kicking off the film by acquiring a two-way pager to keep his communication private. HipHopWired got the chance to speak exclusively with Harper and Kemba about the film and its message.
HipHopWired: J.M., what was the artistic spark for doing this project? Was it always your intent to get the point of view from somebody who rhymes like Kemba as the main narrator for the project?
J.M. Harper: Really, what we’ve seen with the Young Thug trial especially is, that most of the time this issue is talked about in the national news, and the artist in question is always silent. You don’t hear that they’re told to be silent, they’re made to be silent. And so that was the most obvious entry point for me, was that you could tell the story from the artist’s perspective, and there was just probably something new and interesting to learn there. And something true to learn that that wasn’t being told to us through the D.A. or the prosecutors, or even the news media that was covering it. I knew that Kemba could tell that story with nuance and perspective and do it the way that I had seen some of the great black minds of our time – the great minds of our time, period – but certainly the great black minds of our time who could take something, an issue that seemed one way at first blush, and really articulate it in a way that reached everybody, no matter where you come from. That’s why I thought of Kimba. And I think that’s what he does in the film.

HHW: So Kemba, with doing this film and connecting with some of the other artists that have been under duress, unfortunately, like Mac Phipps – how was it for you to gain more insight into their experiences in talking with them for the film?
Kemba: It was a lot of emotions. Mac Phipps, I have so much respect for, just because he wasn’t upset. He wasn’t bitter. I would definitely be. He just had such an excitement for the rest of his life. You know, in hearing the story…it made me upset. I see why people don’t have faith in the justice system. How somebody could lose 30 years of their life, even when somebody confesses to the crime they get convicted for. How somebody could have their lives twisted against them, a line from this song, a line from that song. It was really unbelievable to hear. And we heard the experiences of a few different people like that, that their art forms are being taken away from them or being used against them. Yeah, it was eye-opening.
HHW: We get a chance in the film to connect with different artists from cities across the globe. What were the most memorable experiences in filming those segments for you both?
Harper: For me, it was Chicago. Just being able to talk to some of the first drill rappers, period. The way that they, 10 or 15 years on, talked about their experience with the labels. Getting 100 grand from a label to talk about what was happening around you. I didn’t know that Chi-raq, Drillinois was a term – I didn’t know about the Driilinois terminology, that it came from the first drill producer. And that term was used on CNN every night around that time. The origin stories of the music, and the complexities there that just hadn’t been spoken about and hadn’t been amplified. I’m sure they were being spoken about, but not until we were able to capture it within this whole context of black history. Could it be sort of put into a context that applies to what’s happening right now in courtrooms? That was one of the most compelling moments of it, every city presented something new. But for me, Chicago was special for that reason.

Kemba: Yeah, I agree about Chicago. I will say Atlanta, just speaking to Killer Mike. And he has a wealth of knowledge. But also, just learning about this. So the history, just to look how far back all this goes, like art being sort of not seen or not considered. Not respected as art. Back from rock and roll to Blues to jazz, back to Negro spirituals, and how this is just the sort of newest iteration of that. That was super surprising to me.
HHW: This is going to be my last question, kind of a little bit on the fun side. Whose idea was it to kick everything off with getting the two-way pager?
Harper: (laughs) So when I was cutting the Kanye jeen-yuhs documentary, which is mostly set in the late 90s, early 2000s, Kanye would always be like writing in the two-way. Two-way this, two-way that. Then I saw that it was all over the place in the music videos around that time and the Hip-Hop community had really embraced a two-way for its short life in between the invention of the pager and the cell phone texting. That became a really interesting starting-off point and then bringing it into the pawn shop was great. Those guys speaking in patois, I didn’t even ask them to talk like that. They asked, “can we say something?” I was like, “yeah” and they just started going off. It was just really organic. This little piece of Hip-Hop history was a perfect vessel for Kemba to be writing and communicating with, thinking that he was off the grid. So, that’s where it came from.
As We Speak: Rap Music On Trial airs on Paramount Plus on February 27.

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Dolly Parton is putting together a variety show that may just earn two paws up for its lineup of star-studded appearances. Coming Wednesday (Feb. 21) to CBS and the next day on Paramount+, Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala will debut a celebration of four-legged friends.

You can expect dogs strutting the runway and pink carpet glammed in the “Jolene” singer’s own pet apparel line, with the Grammy winner acting as co-host alongside comedian and actress Jane Lynch.

“I have hosted or co-hosted many shows throughout my career, but I have never been more excited about co-hosting a show than I am about being part of this pet gala!” Parton said in an official press release. “I love animals. I’ve got all kinds, and of course, I’ve always had little dogs around, and big ones! We’re going to have some of all kinds and colors on the show, and there is nothing more fun to me than when little animals do what they do best, and I’m looking forward to it! There is so much fun stuff, and I know all the animal lovers out there are going to love this show.”

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The two hour variety show won’t just feature dogs decked out in their most paw-some Doggy Parton looks, but will include exclusive performances of Parton’s greatest hits including “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Puppy Love” and “Jolene,” sung by none other than Lainey Wilson, Carly Pearce, Chris Janson and KC of KC and the Sunshine Band.

Kelly Osbourne and Rachel Smith will act as runway correspondents, but the special guests don’t end there. Celebrity pet owners including Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, Carson Kressley, Jim Nantz, Jessica Simpson, more will be making an appearance with their furry friends.

Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.

How to Watch Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala Live Without Cable

You can watch Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala live through the CBS channel on Wednesday (Feb. 21) at 9 p.m. ET/PT. If you have cable, you can tune into whatever channel offers CBS, which you can find through your cable provider’s channel guide. If you don’t have cable, you might be able to get CBS through an HD antenna like one of these from Amazon.

Live TV streaming platforms including DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV offer free trials ranging from five days to up to 30 days free, which means you can watch the pet variety show and more for free. Once the free trials are up, you’ll be charged the regular subscription price based on what plan you go with. Monthly prices start at $77 and provide up to hundreds of live TV channel options, DVR capabilities and more.

If you’re watching from outside the U.S., you can watch the pet gala using a VPN like NordVPN and ExpressVPN.

How to Watch Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala on Paramount+

Another way you can stream the variety show for free is through CBS’ official streaming platform Paramount+. You’ll be able to watch the pet gala the day after it airs live on Thursday (Feb. 22). If you already have a subscription to the streaming platform, you can watch Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala for free when you log into your account.

Don’t have a subscription? Paramount+ offers a seven day free trial, which will give you access to special and more. After the free trial is done, you’ll be charged the regular membership fee based on the plan you choose. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.

If you’re a student you can take advantage of the student membership, which is 25% off the Paramount+ Essential monthly subscription

The streaming platform comes with two different plans to choose from: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount + with Showtime. The Essential plan is ad-supported and the cheapest one at $5.99/month with access to thousands of episodes and movies, NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League and 24/7 live news on CBS News.

Paramount + with Showtime is not only ad-free, but for $11.99 you’ll get everything in the Paramount+ Essential plan as well as access to Showtime programs and content, college football, live TV on CBS and the ability to download content offline onto your smart devices.

Along with Dolly Parton’s Pet Gala, subscribers will also be able to watch and stream original shows and movies as well as CBS content such as Halo, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Willie Nelson & Family, Big Brother, Milli Vanilli, Special Ops: Lioness, Survivor, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and more. And, with Showtime, you can expect to watch programs like Yellowjackets, The Curse, X, Past Lives, Lamb, The Chi and more.

Check below to watch a preview of the variety show.

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Gamers rejoice! After almost two years since its debut, Halo Season 2 premiered on Paramount+ on Thursday (Feb. 8).

The series, based on the iconic Xbox franchise, takes place in the same fictional universe that debuted in the very first Halo video game. The series chronicles a 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant.

In the second season, Master Chief John-117 (Pablo Schreiber) “leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant,” according to Paramount.

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The series stars Pablo Schreiber, Natascha McElhone, Jen Taylor, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Charlie Murphy and Danny Sapani.

Halo is one of the most successful gaming franchises in history with over $6 billion in revenue and more than 82 million copies sold worldwide. The TV series, produced by Showtime in association with 343 Industries and Amblin Television.

Steven Kane and Steven Spielberg are executive producers on the series alongside Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries. Kiki Wolfkill serves as executive producer for 343 Industries, with Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie of One Big Picture.

Keep reading to find out all the ways to stream the show for free.

How to Watch Halo Season 2 Online

The Halo series is streaming exclusively on Paramount+ at no additional charge to subscribers. The first two episodes from Season 2 dropped on Thursday.

Sign up for Paramount+ and receive a free 7-day trial to watch Halo and other programming in the streaming library. Want a longer free trial? Use the code “JUNE” to receive a 30-day free trial.

Plans start at $5.99 a month for the Essential plan which lets you stream thousands of TV episodes and tons of movies with commercials. For commercial-free streaming, choose Paramount+ with Showtime for $11.99 a month. You also get access to your local CBS station to watch the 2024 Super Bowl and other sporting events.

Want to save on your monthly bill? The annual plan save your around 16% off the monthly price. Paramount+ offers student discounts as well.

Amazon Prime members can add Paramount+ to Prime Video and stream the Halo series and more from one platform.

Want more ways to stream? Paramount+ with Showtime is also available on DirecTV, Sling TV and Fubo TV (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).

From movies and acclaimed originals to live sports, Paramount+ features a mountain of entertainment. Paramount+ members get access to exclusive shows and must-watch movies such as Special Ops: Lioness, 1883, Frasier, The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Star Trek: Picard, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Why Women Kill, Good Burger 2, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Dungeons & Dragons and Transformers Rise of the Beast.

Watch the trailer for Halo Season 2 below.

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In the new film JUNE, premiering today (Jan. 16) on Paramount +, vintage footage from 1998 focuses on singer-songwriter June Carter Cash, then age 70, seated with her autoharp at the Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, recording her first solo album in more than two decades.

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At one point, as she wraps recording for the day and walks out the front door of the studio, she says, “Let’s press on,” a phrase Carter Cash repeats multiple times throughout the film, an adage that became the title of her 1999 Press On album — and a mantra that led Carter Cash through over six decades as a performer.

“I think that footage is important, because the family from the beginning wanted to make sure to tell a full story,” JUNE director Kristen Vaurio tells Billboard. “This footage from [photographer/videographer] Alan Messer, a lot of that was new to the world, and it’s wonderful because that album is her telling her story through music. It was a gift as far as framing the movie and being able to circle back to it.”

The film’s title alone speaks to the motivation to focus on her complete body of work as an artist — beyond her roles as part of the Carter Family, the “First Family of Country Music,” and wife to superstar Johnny Cash, as well as half of a musical partnership with Cash that brought the Grammy-winning duets “If I Were a Carpenter” and “Jackson.” JUNE reveals the full breadth of this multi-hyphenate singer, songwriter, performer, comedian, actress and author.

Sandbox Succession, a division of Jason Owen’s Sandbox Entertainment which represents the Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash estates, worked with Sony Entertainment (and Owen serves as one of the film’s producers). The documentary features interviews with family members and friends including Carter Cash’s children and step-children, Carlene Carter, Rosanne Cash and John Carter Cash, musicians including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Ronnie Dunn, Kacey Musgraves and Larry Gatlin, and actors Reese Witherspoon (who won an Oscar for portraying June in the film Walk the Line) and Robert Duvall, among others.

As the daughter of Maybelle Carter, who in 1927 formed The Carter Family along with Sara and A.P. Carter, June Carter Cash grew up in show business, teaming with her sisters Anita and Helen, along with Maybelle, to form Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters. They would help launch the career of guitarist-producer Chet Atkins, and were offered a job on the Grand Ole Opry in 1950.

JUNE showcases many of those early performances, alongside artists including Roy Acuff, where Carter Cash’s rural comedy bits, quick wit, and gregarious stage presence were prominent.

“She would do these crazy things on stage, just swing from the curtain, something like that,” Carlene Carter tells Billboard. “Things that Garth [Brooks] did later, June was doing them, and she could always make a joke out of it.”

“She had so many notebooks of jokes and skits,” Vaurio tells Billboard of the thought and work that Carter Cash put in to making those comedic skits seem spontaneous. “She was writing all the time. There was one notebook I read of hers, where it was right before she had John Carter and she’s writing songs and poems right up until the day he was born, and then again, right after.”

Through the Opry, Carter met Carl Smith, who at the time was one of the Opry’s biggest stars, notching three multi-week No. 1 Hot Country Singles hits and several top 10 hits. They were wed in 1952 and had one child, Carlene. The country music power couple divorced in 1956, sending shockwaves through the industry.

Carter Cash was determined to find her own way, decamping to Manhattan to study acting under Sandy Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater. In the 1950s through 1970s, she appeared on Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Jim Bowie and Little House on the Prairie. She was in the 1958 film Country Music Holiday, 1986’s remake of Stagecoach, and multiple episodes of hit primetime Western drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. In the process, Carter became a forebear to later female country artists who blended work in music, film, and television — including Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood.

“For most of my childhood, I had the bug that I wanted to do Broadway — because to me, that was all of it: You could sing, act, dance,” says Carter, who notched her own top five country hits in the 1990s, including “I Fell in Love” and “Every Little Thing.” “That was inspired by my mom, and I think she loved that aspect of it because there was a depth to her that a lot of people didn’t know. They just thought she was a funny, talented lady, but she really thought about what she was doing and she always wanted to do the best that she could.”

As a solo artist, Carter Cash anchored a segment of the Opry, and sometimes also wrote advertisements for Grand Ole Opry commercials to bring in extra money. She also opened shows for Elvis Presley — and it was Presley who would introduce her to the music of another charismatic, rockabilly artist: Johnny Cash. The film details how Presley would tune his guitar by singing a line from Cash’s 1955 hit, “Cry, Cry, Cry.”

“I would say this about my mother: No moss grew on the bottom of her feet. If she was going to do something, she committed to it,” Carter says.

The Carter Sisters joined Johnny Cash’s roadshow in 1961, sparking what would become one of music’s most well-known love stories. As a songwriter, Carter Cash wrote with Merle Kilgore what would become Johnny Cash’s passionate 1963 classic “Ring of Fire,” which spent seven weeks atop Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. Cash and Carter also co-wrote their follow-up No. 2 hit “The Matador.”

Carter and Cash wed in 1968 in Franklin, Kentucky, and she gave birth to John Carter in 1970. The film doesn’t flinch when addressing both the highs and hardships the Cash/Carter marriage navigated over the years — including the idyllic early days, Carter Cash’s support of her husband during Cash’s career slowdown in the 1980s, and the couple’s journey in navigating Cash’s drug addiction.

As music and marriage built the legacy of Johnny and June over the decades, and as June moved into the matriarchal role of The Carter Family, the film highlights how she was not only a bedrock for her family, but for the greater musical family around them in Nashville — offering a welcome respite for artists at their lakeside home in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Along the way, she championed the music of then-newcomers such as Kris Kristofferson and Larry Gatlin.

“We’d have beautiful dinners in the dining room with all her china. Then we would all huddle up in the music room, everybody picking and singing,” Carter recalls. “No matter who was there, everybody had to do something, whether you told a joke or played a song or did a dance. I got to sit there and hear Kris Kristofferson, James Taylor, Mickey Newbury — all these artists, just one after another. I’ve had to follow Roy Orbison and Paul McCartney, and that’s not an easy job.”

When Cash joined forces with Kristofferson, Nelson and Jennings in the 1980s with The Highwaymen, Carter Cash continued that support role, joining them for much of the ensuing decade on the road. But Carter Cash still harbored ambitions to be fully recognized as an artist in her own right.

To that end, Carter Cash reunited with fellow Meisner acting student Duvall, appearing in the 1997 film The Apostle. She also began revisiting her familial roots in Virginia, and with her 1999 album Press On, reclaimed her own story.

She bookended Press On with Carter Family songs but filled it with self-written songs drawn from her own life. Press On earned Carter Cash her first Grammy as a solo artist, for best traditional folk album, bringing full circle both Carter Cash’s solo ambitions and her familial legacy. In one key moment, JUNE shows Carter Cash standing alone on the Grand Ole Opry stage, celebrating the album’s release and basking in the audience’s applause—this time, applause meant solely for her.

Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003, at age 73. Her final album, Wildwood Flower, released posthumously that same year, earning Grammys for best traditional folk album and best female country vocal performance for her solo rendition of The Carter Family classic, “Keep on the Sunny Side.”

And yet, with all of Carter Cash’s accolades and roles as both trailblazer and flamekeeper of country music, she has yet to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (When The Carter Family was inducted into the Hall in 1970, the accolade included only Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter and Sara’s husband A.P. Carter.)

“I think a big motivator for that was that they felt that she just hasn’t had her recognition,” Vaurio says of making JUNE. “I think what lit a fire under all of us is that she’s not in the Country Music Hall of Fame, which we all feel is a grave injustice.”

Overall, Carter says she hopes fans see the broader spectrum of her mother’s artistry after viewing the doc.

“I hope they take away inspiration to be curious,” Carter says. “My mom was curious and had a love affair with creativity. I think that was a wonderful gift that she got from God.”

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
“Good music never goes out of fashion.” Will Nelson’s passion for music gets explored in a four-part documentary series premiering on Paramount+ on Thursday (Dec. 21).

Willie Nelson & Family features rare footage of Nelson from throughout his career and bombshells about his personal life. The documentary includes appearances from Nelson’s country music piers and friends such as Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne, Jeannie Seely and more.

Read on for details on how to stream the docuseries for free.

How to Watch Willie Nelson & Family

All four episodes of Willie Nelson & Family are streaming now on Paramount+. If you’re not subscribed, you’ll get a one-week free trial to stream the docuseries and more.

Streaming plans start at $5.99/month for Paramount+ and $11.99/month for Paramount+ and Showtime.

Both subscription plans let you stream tens of thousands of episodes and movies, but upgrading to the Premium tier gives you access to local CBS stations in addition to Showtime.

Paramount+ houses a range of exclusives from BET, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and The Smithsonian Channel. Some of the content streaming on Paramount+ includes NFL on CBS, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Special Ops: Lioness, Colin from Accounts, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Good Burger 2, and Last Holiday.

If you have Prime Video, subscribe to Paramount+ with Showtime for just $1.99/month for two months. Prime Video is offering discounts on over a dozen channels including Paramount+ with Showtime, MGM+, STARZ, ViX Premium, Crunchyroll, BET+, PBS Masterpiece, Acorn TV, PBS Docs, Lifetime Movie Club, History Vault, PBS Living, A&E Crime Central, BBC Select, Shudder, and PBS Kids. The limited deal will be valid from today until January 1, 2024.

With Paramount+, music fans can enjoy a range of documentaries and documentary series such as Behind the Music, Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback, Family Legacy, All the Voices, and The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie.

Watch the trailer for Willie Nelson & Family below.

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All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Willie Nelson went big for his 90th birthday with a major celebration special that fans can tune into on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 8:30 p.m. ET. Now, you can relive the fun from the legendary country singer’s birthday special that happened earlier this year at the Hollywood Bowl on April 29 and 30 when it airs on CBS and Paramount+.

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The two-hour special will include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with those close with Nelson and performances from a star-studded lineup up that includes Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert and Dave Matthews.

Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.

How to Watch Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration

The birthday special will be airing exclusively on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 8:30 p.m. ET. If you have cable, you can watch the special for free anywhere CBS is televised. You just need to check with your cable provider’s channel guide for the exact channel. If you don’t have cable, you may be able to see the special with an HD antenna like one here from Amazon.

Live TV streamers like FuboTV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV offer free trials of up to seven days that’ll have CBS as well as more live channels to watch you favorite shows, sports and more.

For cable cutters, Paramount+ is the official streamer for CBS and its affiliates, which includes Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration. If you’re already a subscriber, you can watch the special for no additional cost, just log into your account and you’ll find it under new releases.

Don’t have a Paramount+ subscription? The streamer offers a seven day free trial that’ll allow you to watch the special and more for free. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged the regular subscription price based on the plan you choose. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.

There are two plans you can choose from: Paramount+ Essential and Paramount+ with Showtime. The Essential plan is $5.99/month and includes some ads, thousands of episodes of Paramount+ Originals, movies, series and exclusives as well as NFL on CBS, UEFA Champions League and CBS News. Paramount+ with Showtime is $11.99/month and includes everything in the Essential plan except with no ads and access to the entire Showtime library, live TV, college football and the ability to download content to watch offline.

Along with Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, a subscription to Paramount+ will give you access to the entire library of content and exclusives including Survivor, NCIS, Blue Bloods, Big Brother, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Frasier, Mixtape, Family Legacy, I Wanna Rock, Hip Hop My House, Behind The Music, Yellowstone, Fatal Attraction,  1923, iCarly, The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill and Before I Forget. With Showtime, you can stream original shows and movies such as Yellowjackets, The 12th Victim, Dexter, Dexter: New Blood, George & Tammy, Homeland, Ziwe, Penny Dreadful, Buried and more.

Check below for a sneak peek of the special.

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Baby Shark is swimming onto the big screen in its first ever major ocean picture titled Baby Shark’s Big Movie, coming to Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on Friday (Dec. 8). This marks the first feature-length original and animated film based the highly popular children’s show Baby Shark’s Big Show.

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The movie follows Baby Shark (Kimiko Glenn) and his family as they move to a new city and leave behind their old life. Now, he must learn to live without his best friend William (Luke Youngblood) by his side — while also trying to stop the evil pop star fish, Stariana (Ashley Tisdale), from stealing his voice and dominating the sea’s music world.

The star-studded cast also includes Cardi B, Offset, Lance Bass, Kulture Kiari Cephus, Wave Set Cephus, Chloe Fineman, Ego Nwodim, Aparna Nancherla, Patrick Warburton, Debra Wilson, Eric Edelstein and Natasha Rothwell.

Keep reading to learn the streaming options available.

When & How to Watch Baby Shark’s Big Movie for Free

Baby Shark’s Big Movie will premiere on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ on Friday (Dec. 8). If you have cable or live TV, you can watch the movie when it airs on Nick at 12 p.m. ET. Check with your cable provider’s channel guide to see what channel Nick is on. Don’t have cable? You may be able to watch it through an HD antenna like one here on Amazon.

Paramount+ is home to Nickelodeon content and more, which means if you have a subscription, you can stream Baby Shark’s Big Movie for no additional cost — just sign into your account and find it under Nick programs.

If you don’t have a Paramount+ subscription you can take advantage of their seven day free trial that’ll give you access to Baby Shark’s Big Movie and more. Once the free trial is up, you’ll be charged the regular subscription fee based on the plan you choose. Click here or the button below to start your free trial.

There are two plans you can choose from: Paramount+ Essential or Paramount+ with Showtime. The Essential Plan is the cheapest at $5.99/month and is ad-supported with access to tens of thousands of episodes and movies, NFL on CBS, UFEA Champions League and live CBS news. Paramount+ with Showtime is $11.99/month and has no commercials as well as expands your content library with Showtime original shows and movies. You’ll also get everything in the Essential plan along with live TV on CBS, college football and the ability to download content and watch it offline.

Programs you can look forward to watching include Survivor, NCIS, Blue Bloods, Big Brother, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Frasier, Mixtape, Family Legacy, I Wanna Rock, Hip Hop My House, Behind The Music, Yellowstone, Fatal Attraction, Rabbit Hole, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, 1923, iCarly, The Good Fight, Mayor of Kingstown, Seal Team, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Why Women Kill and Before I Forget. With Showtime, you can stream original shows and movies such as Yellowjackets, The 12th Victim, Dexter, Dexter: New Blood, George & Tammy, Homeland, Ziwe, Penny Dreadful, Buried and more.

More Ways to Stream Baby Shark’s Big Movie

Looking for more affordable streaming options? You can take advantage of live TV platforms that are offering free trials and promos, which will save you money and give you access to hundreds of channels and content.

DirecTV Stream is offering a five-day free trial on top of a $25 off the first two months when you bundle any of its plans with a sports package. When the free trial ends, you’ll be charged the discounted price for the first two months, then full-price, which will depend on the plan you choose.

Philo is another wallet-friendly option offering a week-long free trial that’ll provide you with over 70 channels and access to DVR. Once the free trial is over, you’ll be charged $25 a month.

Get a week long free trial as well as $20 off the first two months with FuboTV. You’ll be able to watch programs on up to 10 devices at once and get DVR to watch programs later. Once the free trial has expired, you’ll be charged the full subscription price based on the plan that you choose.

And, for the most content options, Hulu + Live TV give you a 30 day free trial, access to all of the Hulu library and hundreds of live TV channels including Nickelodeon. If you want even more program offerings, you can bundle it with Disney+ and ESPN+ for an additional cost.

Check below to watch the trailer for Baby Shark’s Big Movie.

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