With the second season of OISTB set to be released on June 6th, many fans are practically panting with anticipation for the new episodes (which are all released at once, making it prime binge-watching material). Of course, speculation about where the second season will go has run rampant since last summer, and Netflix has been good at keeping a lid on all the show’s secrets. However, there are a few major theories out there that seem to have lots of logic and support behind them. 

Ultimately, the average viewer who doesn’t know the machinations of politics or religiously follow the RealClearPolitics polling average will walk away with a quick primer on political process. Showrunner Beau Willimon and crew somehow merge legislative detail with pop culture—a feat that should get props from any self-respecting flack who complains voters don’t know what really happens in Washington. 

Media platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon have all released successful series this past season. They have lured big-time writers and directors like Weed's Jenji Kohan and “Fight Club’s” David Fincher. TV is now drawing big-time players like Matthew McCaughey (True Detective), Martin Scorsese (Boardwalk Empire), and John Goodman (Alpha House) to the small screen,  which was unthinkable 10 years ago.Yet this “Golden Age” in TV also means fierce competition. With the rise in popularity of digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, the television landscape has been severely altered. 

For a movie that looks gorgeous, evokes memories of a cinematic classic and boasts a bundle of star power, “Oz the Great and Powerful” is oddly flat. It’s not that the film is terrible; it’s just not as good as it could or should have been. Based on the “Oz” novels of L. Frank Baum, the story is set decades before events portrayed in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”  That makes the project a prequel of sorts, and director Sam Raimi knew audiences would compare his work to the classic preceding it.