2026 has been buck wild.
Most of us don’t own a working crystal ball, so it’s hard to know what to expect when January 1st rolls around.
We were only weeks into 2026 before the Hoosiers became college football National Champions for the first time ever. And they weren’t even coached by Gene Hackman. How is that even possible?!
Then hope flourished with the launch of Artemis II this past April. Even the Space Is The Place announcement back in January was an uplifting way to start a fresh year with so much joy and positivity.
Yo, yes…let’s go back to the Moon.
5 months into 2026 and this year has already delivered lots of notable highlights.
And now I’m stunned to witness the New York Knickerbockers in the NBA Finals.
Granted, in my lifetime the Knicks reached the NBA Finals in the late ‘90s. But with key injuries to Patrick Ewing, those teams never felt truly formidable.
Attached is a MSL episode with Chris Herring the author of Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks.
We recap a lot the ‘90s traumatic losses to the Bulls, especially. In 1994 The New York Knicks lost Game 7 to the Houston Rockets. Game 7…can you imagine being that close? If you wanna understand why the fanbase is celebrating so much try to digest a Game 7 loss. Even decades later there’s still a type of PTSD.
These Knicks seem inevitable.
Since the Jordan days, I’ve stirred anger and offered stingy admiration for the Knicks. We’ve been through a lot together. The emotional baggage a long term relationship naturally creates could easily fill JFK Airport.
The first time I ever saw a game at Madison Square Garden, I wanted to take my sneakers off (Jordans, ironically) because I understood I was in a sacred space.
This was the floor where Jordan came back from baseball and dropped a double nickel.
This was the floor where Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 9 seconds.
This was the floor where many NBA players rise up and define their careers.
And now, as these Knicks rolled through the playoffs—winning games and then winning hearts—I kept circling back to this humble prayer:
”Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
I dunno what’s gonna happen in the NBA Finals, the 80th contest in league history.
We now know they’re gonna battle the San Antonio Spurs.
(Also a shock to see them in the NBA Finals. Like Wemby has no defined post-game. He’s not even close to Tim Duncan. So…how did they get past the Thunder?!)
It all starts on June 3rd: on ABC at 8:30 p.m.
It’s gonna be another buck wild highlight in 2026.
So what ya got?
Knicks in 5?
Or Knicks in 6?
A new month and a new season means new TV.
For June 2026 I present 5 TV recommendations you’ll wanna #SetTheVCR for these.
I’ve organized them by dynamic and delightful categories to give your June some extra Summer heat because I know Some Like It Hot…
The Event
→ Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial Vs. That’s the Weight of the World)
The Sleeper
→ Driver’s Ed
The Comeback
→ Sugar — Season 2
The Wildcard
→ Lorne
The My Pal Sammy Pick
→ Undertone
It’ll be a good TV month. Shall we?
The Wildcard
Friday, June 5
Lorne (Anytime / Peacock)
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Lorne Michaels is the creator of Saturday Night Live, the man who built and sustained this comedy institution for five decades. And Lorne from director Morgan Neville, is “the first ever behind-the-scenes look into the life of Lorne Michaels, the legendary creator and reluctant icon behind Saturday Night Live. While SNL is one of the most examined and celebrated shows in television history, the man who built and sustained the institution for nearly five decades has largely remained out of view.”
Inspiring news for LinkedIn Thought Leaders and TED Talkers…
As you know, Lorne Michaels founded Saturday Night Live in 1975.
And though he left for 5 seasons in the ‘80s; undaunted he has continued to helm this comedy start-up.
So truly, a documentary on Lorne would be fascinating just to learn…The Playbook.
How he navigates egos and strong personalities.
How SNL’s Minimum Viable Product Dress Rehearsal starts at 8 p.m. in front of a live audience; is reviewed and revised by 11:30 p.m.
How SNL ships at 11:30 p.m. on Saturdays…ready or not. It’s live.
Lorne’s HR secret sauce for hiring the best and brightest talent.
Indeed.
A Lorne Michaels behind-the-scenes documentary would be Moses coming down the mountain with compelling commandments.
And?!
Practically, none of that is in this scintillating documentary.
There’s no niche identifying or building.
There’s no 5-step framework for 50 years of cultural relevance.
There’s no repeatable formula to "optimize" your way to a legacy.
It’s all just instinct and taste.
Which has always been The Playbook.
The Event
Sunday, June 7
Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial Vs. That’s the Weight of the World) (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)
~~
Questlove’s latest tells the story of the legendary nine-time Grammy Award-winning band Earth, Wind & Fire, tracing their genesis through late founding member Maurice White, chronicling their evolution, highs and lows, and relevance from the 1970s into the present day while exploring the deep philosophical and spiritual meaning behind their message and music.
Let’s Groove with the latest (Black) documentary from Questlove.
His Devotion to music means exploring this freshtastic Boogie Wonderland. From Chicago…Earth, Wind & Fire’s dance party music infuses listeners with a Happy Feelin’ and sparks their Imagination.
This isn’t a Fantasy. This Mighty Mighty HBO doc “is both a party of a film and a comprehensive record of the ups and downs for one of the most iconic bands to ever grace our stages.” (According the Tribeca blurb where it’s set to premiere in early June as the Opening Night selection.)
Like it’s September we’re all back in school: it’s time to learn about Earth, Wind & Fire…the core elements.
The Comeback
Friday, June 19
Sugar: Season 2 (Anytime / Apple TV)
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Season 2 ushers in the return of Los Angeles' iconic private detective and film connoisseur John Sugar, played by Colin Farrell, who takes on a new missing persons case - searching for the older brother of an up-and-coming local boxer - all while continuing the search for his beloved missing sister. As the investigation expands into a citywide conspiracy with sinister intentions, Sugar must reckon with himself to answer the question - how far will he go to do what's right?
Remember Dream On? 6 seasons on HBO from 1990-1996. The show distinctively interjected clips from older B&W TV shows and movies to reflect the main character’s feelings.
My first impression of Sugar is Dream On meets Lincoln Lawyer. Well, not as clever as Dream On and absent Lincoln’s urgency. Colin Farrell’s private investigator smoothly moves through a case-driven noir LA while the show occasionally fractures into stylized visual detours that externalize his inner state. (Sugar’s visual detours include clips from The Maltese Falcon or In a Lonely Place.)
At first, it’s an fascinating television offering: part mystery, part mood piece and part homage to Hollywood history. Oddly…it doesn’t unleash the propulsive urgency you’d expect from a modern noir thriller. Because it’s not.
Sugar isn’t really about solving The Case. Aiming for something more reflective than procedural, it’s about the emotional debris this investigation leaves in its wake.
Ultimately, Season 1 was an eight-episode Trojan horse designed to sneak viewers into the real story. Which now begins with Season 2.
This season Sugar boldly shifts from one classic genre to another: leaving dark LA noir behind to explore LA X-Files science fiction. Clearly, like the best witnesses I’m hiding something and I’m hesitant to say more. Still…you gotta know this Sugar is sweet.
The My Pal Sammy Pick
Friday, June 26
Undertone (Anytime / HBO Max)
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Follows a paranormal podcast host who returns home to care for her dying mother. Thereafter, she begins receiving recordings from a married couple plagued by strange noises in their house, pulling her into a spiral of fear and paranoia.
The dark eclipse of grief, a potentially haunted house, and unsettling sonic dread are the underbelly of Undertone.
Evy hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin; she’s the Scully skeptic to his Mulder believer. Or rather, she was. Their podcast is sent eerie recordings (is there any other kind?!) of a married couple experiencing paranormal noises in their home.
(The sound design in Undertone is top notch. We tend to talk about the visuals of horror movies. But the best horror movies sound amazing.)
The strain of acting as a caregiver to her comatose mother, her isolation (well, does a demonic presence count?) combined with the deeply unsettling audio files, soon dilutes Evy’s default skepticism setting.
She quickly slides into a nightmarish supernatural spiral and this is where the visuals of the movie truly begin.
Undertone starts off in your mind…what do you see when you hear a certain noise? Then it progresses visually. And I urge you to slowly consume the entire frame. Writer and director Ian Tuason subtly fills it up.
Because that’s the valid issue with paranoia. Sometimes…the paranoid are right.
Programming Note: Undertone was shot entirely in a house in Rexdale. It’s kinda fresh Rexdale is slowly bubbling up in the culture. Dalano Banton (played for the Raptors), K’naan (music), George Stroumboulopoulos (Music Dude) and King Bach (Internet comedian and actor) all have Rexdale roots. And now we can add a horror director to that flourishing Represent!! list.
The Sleeper
Friday, June 26
Driver’s Ed (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
~~
A group of teens steal their school’s driver’s ed car, to go on a road trip to help a high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
If current teen movies drive you crazy with their entitled drama or horny hockey sexual shenanigans, then cruise on over to Bobby Farrelly’s Driver’s Ed.
It’s a funtastic throwback to when teen movies playfully offered heart, chaos, unrequited romance and a stoner who was simultaneously startlingly dumb and strangely wise.
Take a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to chill with these Outsiders.
Those are five #SetTheVCR highlights so your June is as cool as your A/C.
Don’t forget to check out #SetTheVCR every week: Watch More TV!
The 2026 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is scheduled from Thursday, June 11, to Sunday, June 14, 2026 on the Bonnaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee.
(Coincidentally, it kicks off the exact same weekend as the World Cup! Hectic TV weekend.)
In previous years, only Hulu would live stream music festivals. However, starting this year Disney+ Canada will begin streaming Bonnaroo and later…Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival.
(Gimme something, finally. Disney+ is a struggle streamer. I can go weeks without pushing play.)
Streaming a massive four-day music festival from the air-conditioned comfort of your living room sofa is the ultimate life hack. No mud, zero line-ups for the porta-potties and I can’t deal with all the camping nonsense.
As you can see Day 1 offers a lineup of electronic and hip-hop acts, led by a highly anticipated headlining return from Skrillex. Four Tet is a highlight as are The Strokes. (And I'm curious about Wolfmother.)
I’ll tell you why Four Tet is so special to me in a moment.
Aside from the concert stages, Disney+ and Hulu are launching a dedicated, on-site content studio called the Live Set, which includes...artist interviews, behind-the-scenes access to the festival grounds and curated daily highlights.
Oh, I can get behind this. I might even watch this in my backyard to feel like I’m there.
Bonnaroo Livestream Day 1 (June 11) at 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT
Bonnaroo Livestream Day 2 (June 12) at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Bonnaroo Livestream Day 3 (June 13) at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Bonnaroo Livestream Day 4 (June 14) at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT
Sunday, though, is eh…Noah Kahan. I got beef with that dude and he knows why. I’d appreciate it if you skipped his set in support of my beef.
Otherwise check out the lineup and see what looks good to you. If The World Cup is not your jam…allow Bonnaroo to soundtrack your June weekend.
Now…Four Tet.
I was walking one time in Paris. Stopped at the lights, waiting for em to change.
And this dude pulled up into the intersection in a topless BMW. He was smoking a cigar and sitting beside him was a hella-hot French girl. Oh, bonjour this guy is winning at life.
And wafting outta his car on a bed of delicious cigar smoke were these terrific c’est cool beats.
This scene was iconic so I memorized these beats. I had no lyrics to even Google. The lights changed and dude peeled out…go. Enjoy your life…driving around Paris all cigars with a hot French girl.
I may have even saluted his taillights.
And then I spent the next few years searching for that beat. Like hunting for the beat.
One fateful day I walked into a record shop and playing over the speakers…was that beat. I ran to the front counter, barely able to form words: “I need this beat!! What is this?!!”
“Everything Is Alright.”
This isn’t the time to tell me to calm down. You don’t understand…this has been a long and hard Indiana Jones quest to find these beats. I was gonna tell him about the cigar and the hot French lady. Or maybe I wasn’t gonna talk about the cigar.
But he repeated: “Everything Is Alright. It’s by Four Tet.” He handed me The Now Playing CD.
Yo…this was the beat.
Sammy wept.
I hope at Bonnaroo Four Tet drops this dope beat. And I hope he dedicates it to the cigar smoking dude and his hot French lady friend cruising around Paris in a topless BMW.
Wherever you guys are I hope the cigars are sweet, the Sunshine is warm and your playlists are blessed.
⸻
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Don’t Have The Legs To Wear Knickerbockers In Public…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
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