While the Super Bowl halftime show is the most-watched event on television every year, it wasn't always the massive institution it once was.

Until the 1990s, the show was pretty lame. The NFL just booked a local marching band or some other kind of wholesome entertainment. There's a lot of Elvis Impersonators and trombones in halftime history.

But in the current era, the event is so big that the NFL has enough leverage to make performers pay to be there. And with scale comes a lot of uncontrollable factors. Year after year, the NFL struggles to entertain tens of millions of people and make a gigantic 12-minute show run smoothly.

The most famous Super Bowl performance is from 2004, where an "indecent exposure" from Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson changed the direction of the show forever. But it's not the only halftime show controversy.

Here are the 15 most controversial Super Bowl halftime show performances of all time.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

15: The Who was aggressively mediocre in 2010.

For whatever reason, the NFL hired a way-past-their-prime The Who to perform. The whole time, they seemed nearly bewildered to be onstage and were seemingly unprepared. The band never managed to connect to the audience, mumbled through a medley of some of their old songs, and Pete Townshend's stomach was visible for much of the show.

14: The Rolling Stones played some old stuff in 2006.

In the wake of the Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson fiasco of 2004, the NFl instituted a five-second tape delay that allowed them to censor phrases like "you made a dead man come."

For the most part, the Rolling Stones show was a mixed affair, with just three songs — one of them a new one, so no one could sing along. It was also a strange choice for the NFL not to have any black artists given that the game was set in Detroit.

13: The New Kids on the Block were so tepid that they were bumped till after the show in 1991.

In the early days of the glitzy halftime show tradition, boy band New Kids on the Block put on some slow songs, draining the room of all its energy, and performed "It's a Small World (After All)," making approximately the entire the stadium roll their eyes. ABC News opted to give a news report on the Gulf War instead of airing their entire show live, bumping it to after the game.

Reality television can sometimes be a career launching pad.

Talent competitions like "American Idol" provide a space for people to showcase their abilities. Documentary series like "The Real World" allow participants to win audiences over. Stars like Emma Stone, Laverne Cox, and Jon Hamm have all used some type of reality show as a stepping stone to their Hollywood dreams. 

Here are 25 celebrities who got their start on reality TV. 

Back in 2004, Jamie Chung was on "The Real World: San Diego." Now, she's a star on the "X-Men" series "The Gifted."

Chung joined the cast of "The Real World" when she was a sophomore in college. She then appeared on the show show's spin-off, "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II."

"It's a great experience I wouldn't change for the world," Chung told AOL's "Build" in 2017. But you're giving up a lot of your privacy."

Soon there after, Chung transitioned into acting. Some of her earliest roles included a couple of episodes of "Days of Our Lives" and a part alongside Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato in Disney's "Princess Protection Program." She voiced GoGo in Disney's Academy Award-winning animated movie "Big Hero 6," played Mulan on "Once Upon A Time," and is now part of the "X-Men" universe thanks to her role on "The Gifted."

Lucy Hale competed on "American Juniors" before jumping into acting.

Hale was only 13 when she auditioned for "American Juniors," a short-lived spin-off of "American Idol" for kids. With a Southern accent and some strong vocals, Hale made it to the top five. They were formed into a group named after the show but only released one album.

During the auditions, her mom said, "Ten years from now, I think everybody will know Lucy's name." 

Well, she was right. Hale started acting in 2005 and rose to fame as one of the leads on "Pretty Little Liars." She released a country album in 2014 and will next star on The CW's "Life Sentence." 

Before Kesha became the artist she is today, she was on an episode of "The Simple Life."

OK, so Kesha didn't rocket to stardom on reality TV, but before she became a superstar and Grammy-nominated artist, she appeared on "The Simple Life." Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie try to set Kesha's mom up on a date during a 2005 episode. She released her first album in 2010.

After a tense and emotional legal battle with her former producer, Dr. Luke, who she sued for alleged sexual assault and emotional abuse, Kesha released a new album in 2017. She performed a powerful rendition of "Praying" during the 2018 Grammy Awards. 

Not everyone watches the Super Bowl for the football: Last year, Lady Gaga’s halftime show on Fox was viewed by 117.5 million people, which is nearly six million more than watched the New England Patriots’ thrilling (or crushing) overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Super Bowl halftime show is a condensed stadium show that runs between 11 and 13 minutes and has featured headliners ranging from rock legends like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and The Who to pop divas Madonna and Katy Perry to R&B-leaning artists Prince, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Bruno Mars and this year’s headliner, Justin Timberlake.

The halftime show wasn’t always such a superstar-driven extravaganza. Before Michael Jackson upped the show’s game in 1993, previous years’ entertainment included Up with People, the Los Angeles Super Drill Team, assorted college marching bands, the Rockettes and Chubby Checker, salutes to Hollywood, the Big Band era and Duke Ellington. The 1995 show was dubbed “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye” and featured Tony Bennett, Patti LaBelle, Arturo Sandoval and the Miami Sound Machine. (Hey NFL, maybe they’re all available next year…)

Any “best” list is purely subjective and this one is no exception, but this reflects the opinions of many friends and acquaintances we’ve spoken with over the years, not to mention countless other online article like this one. Without further ado, our Top 10 (and bottom two) …

SEE ALSO: The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

1. Prince (XLI, Feb. 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami)

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As a drizzling rain enveloped the field, the Purple One took to the stage for a jaw-dropping dozen minutes which included covers of “We Will Rock You,” “Proud Mary,” a medley of “All Along the Watchtower” and just for good measure, Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” (keyboardist Morris Hayes said the song’s title fit the Super Bowl’s championship theme). He also performed “1999/Baby I’m a Star” with the Florida A&M Marching Band and finished with the weather-appropriate “Purple Rain,” perhaps the greatest live version of the song he ever performed. And it wouldn’t be a Prince show without controversy: As he played the song’s soaring solo on his trademarked curlicue guitar, his silhouette was projected on a giant banner, and the lower part of his guitar looked like… well…

2. Michael Jackson (XXVII, Jan. 31, 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.)

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Marking the beginning of the Super Bowl’s modern halftime-show era, the King of Pop starred in one of the most-watched events in U.S. television history, a five-song set that included “Billie Jean,” “Black or White,” “We Are the World” and “Heal the World.” Clad in a trademark brass-buttoned military style outfit, Jackson used body-doubles to make it look like he teleported himself across the field, exploding out of the bottom of the stage, staring for 90 seconds before launching into “Jam.” Nobody even seemed to mind that it was all sung to backing track.

3. Beyonce, Destiny’s Child (XLVII, Feb. 3, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans)

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Lady Bey would return three years later with Coldplay and Bruno Mars, but this was her coming-out party. She started off with an a cappella “Love on Top,” then roared into “Crazy In Love,” “End of Time” and “Baby Boy” before bringing on Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland for “Bootylicious,” “Independent Women Part 1” and a show-stopping “Single Ladies.”

• The current season of 'The Bachelor' has received criticism for appearing as regressive. 
• Spin-off show 'Bachelor in Paradise', starring the first black female lead in the history of the franchise,  significantly underperformed in its ratings. 
• Series creator Mike Fleiss has said he's "raring" to cast another non white lead.

It's hardly unusual to have an underwhelming Bachelor season. In earlier years, when The Bachelor was an unfamiliar personality without much TV-tested experience, it was pretty common to run into a dull Bachelor slog (e.g. Andrew Firestone, season three). And among Bachelors of more recent memory, there've been some snoozy seasons. Chris Soules was helped along by some juice from his previous Bachelorette appearance, but was a wet blanket on his own merits. Ben Higgins, bless him, was obliging enough to tell two women he loved them near the end, but until that point was too easygoing to make much of a splash.

Even by those standards, though, this season of The Bachelor has distinguished itself. The only interesting stories are such hoary Bachelor tropes that they're usually the stuff of background buzz: Krystal feels she has a better relationship with Arie than the rest of the women, and pouts whenever he spends time with someone else (that is, whenever he fulfills the role of being The Bachelor). Bekah is 22, which leads Arie, 36, to wonder if she's really ready to settle down. Chelsea's a single mother and worries that Arie won't see her as her own person.

And … that's it, really. That's all that's happened so far, five episodes into the season. Because the real problem with season 22 of The Bachelor is not the women, most of whom are doing their level best to meet the basic Bachelor contestant job requirements. The issue is that Arie Luyendyk Jr. has less charisma than one of his beloved antique cars in an auto museum.

Like Arie, those antique cars are mostly inert. But at least they feel unusual. They're conversation pieces. Arie, meanwhile, may be perfectly nice in life, but as a Bachelor, he's about as remarkable as a Kia Sorento. He's functional. He gets the J.D. Powers award for "highest in initial quality," which is what you say about something you don't actually want to have to live with for any length of time. And he's being given the most boring Bachelor edit imaginable.

It may well not be a coincidence that this season is so monotonous. Rachel Lindsay, The Bachelorette who preceded Arie's milquetoast run, was one of the most interesting, charismatic leads in Bachelorhistory. Funny, intelligent, and willing to stand up for herself, Rachel was also the first black lead in the franchise's history. And yet, ratings for Rachel's season dropped precipitously, something series creator Mike Fleiss has described as "incredibly disturbing in a Trumpish sort of way."

Some of that may have been the fault of the show's producers, who stocked Rachel's pool of potential men with at least one racist straw man and then orchestrated matchups between him and some of the black suitors. But some of it may also have been what Fleiss dances around when he says that poor ratings for Lindsay's season "revealed something about our fans." (The Bachelor audience is at least a little racist, is what he means.)

So Rachel's Bachelorette season significantly underperformed its ratings expectations, possibly because its lead was a black woman and the producers made black suitors grapple with a gleeful racist in one-on-one dates. Then, the usually fun free-for-all of Bachelor in Paradise became a dramatic, confusing disaster as production was shut down to investigate potential sexual misconduct between two cast members. Filming later resumed after the production company's private investigation concluded there was no merit to the accusations, but The Bachelor in Paradise season became a messy Frankenstein of goofy beach hookups and catastrophic attempts to have a serious consideration of issues surrounding sex, alcohol, and consent. It was a rough summer for Bachelor Nation.

In that light, it's not hard to see the appeal of Arie, a mild-mannered lunk who blends into the background of almost any shot he's in, something you wouldn't think possible as the only man in a roomful of women, but there it is. Nor is it hard to see the attraction in producing a season that leans back on what you could call The Bachelor Classic model of reality TV: many nearly indistinguishable women, nothing especially scandalous or threatening, and an extra coating of fairy-tale veneer over the rough bumps of real-world romance.

There's a villain, Krystal, who looks and behaves like a self-centered child and who archly declares, "I'm wife material!" There's a weirdo, Kendall, who carries taxidermied animals with her, and who mentioned offhandedly that if she were among a tribe of people who believe in cannibalism, she would absolutely consider trying some human meat.

There are a few women of color, who've gotten very little screen time, no major narratives, and who are being quickly eliminated from the contestant pool. And at the center of it is Arie, who expressed as much enthusiasm for a boat with a very large motor as he did for the woman he was out with on a date. Arie, who saw an alligator and was reminded that, yes, "love can be scary." Boring, blue-eyed Arie.

And by at least one important measure, the dullness seems to be working: Arie's season of The Bachelor did not do well in the premiere, and it's still down in comparison with Nick Viall's previous Bachelor season, but subsequent episodes have done much better and are continuing to build. Maybe, after the gross chaos of Bachelor in Paradise, Bachelor Nation wanted to come back to something comforting and utterly bland. Maybe because Rachel Lindsay's season failed for viewers excited about Lindsay's role (by using race as a lever to create drama), and because it also failed for those unwilling to watch a black lead, Arie's return to the status quo is just what the franchise was aiming for.

If that's the case, it's both depressing and discouraging. Fleiss has said he's "raring" to cast another nonwhite lead. But Arie's season demonstrates neither a willingness to experiment with updating the franchise, nor a clear vision of how to incorporate nonwhite voices on the show. Plus, it doubles down on The Bachelor's infuriatingly blinkered view of what makes for good TV. On this week's episode, Kendall actually said she would be willing to eat human meat, and yet that was barely given a few seconds before the episode cut back to endless footage of Krystal, sulking about how Arie wasn't giving her enough attention.

Arie Luyendyk Jr. may be one of the most boring Bachelors in the history of the franchise, and that may be on purpose. But if The Bachelor is attempting to make itself great again by pivoting backwards, the franchise may finally be on its last legs. Comforting dullness might work for a while, but at some point it may become so predictable and so unexciting, with such cookie-cutter contestants and uninspiring leads, that Bachelor Nation will finally tune out. Or just fall asleep.

SEE ALSO: WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The 17 biggest 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette' villains

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• "Westworld" returns to HBO for its second season this spring. 
• A brand new trailer for the coming season aired during the 2018 Super Bowl.
• We already knew additional worlds would likely be shown on season two.
• But the new footage also teases Maeve and Dolores leading a revolution within the parks.
• The trailer was directed by "Westworld" co-creator Jonathan Nolan, and reportedly contains footage that won't appear on season two.
• Watch the full trailer below:

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Warning: There are major spoilers ahead if you have not watched the latest episode of "This is Us."

It's taken over a year, but we finally have the answer to the biggest mystery on "This is Us."

The NBC hit aired during a special time after Super Bowl 2018 and viewers finally learned how everyone's favorite dad Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) died — and it wasn't exactly what anyone expected. 

Last chance to head back before spoilers.

After the Pearson household was set ablaze by a faulty crock-pot, Jack woke up to the house on fire. The smoke detector didn't go off because both he and his wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) forgot to pick up batteries at the mall the episode prior.

Jack immediately jumped to action, waking up his entire family to get them to safety. One by one he pulled Randall and his daughter Kate into his bedroom with their mother. In the process, he burned his hands badly.

Quick thinking and cool under pressure, Jack made sure bed sheets were tied together to create a safe escape out of the second story window. Jack lowered his entire family down to the ground. Before he safely joined them, he ran back into the house to get daughter's dog and gather up a few of the family's belongings. 

But, despite what most people though, Jack didn't die in the fire. 

It looked like he just had second degree burns and a case of bad smoke inhalation. During a trip to the hospital, Jack looked fine as he joked with Rebecca and refused pain killers for his hands. She went to get him a snack and let the kids know they were OK. 

As she spoke on the phone, you could see nurses and doctors run into Jack's room. A doctor then comes over to Rebecca and tells her Jack went into cardiac arrest from smoke inhalation. 

Rebecca later reveals that Jack specifically died of a widowmaker's heart attack from the smoke. 

Fans were devastated that it wasn't the fire that killed him, but smoke inhalation. 

Others noted that they saw it coming, or guessed it before the big reveal on TV. 

The episode is inspiring people to check their smoke detectors. 

The next episode of "This is Us" will air Tuesday, February 6 at 9 p.m. on NBC and will focus on the history of the Pearson family, as told through the life of the family car.

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• Jimmy Fallon recreated Bob Dylan's 1964 classic "Times They Are a-Changin'" to criticize Trump on a live broadcast of "The Tonight Show" Sunday night.
• Fallon's rendition of the song also touched on the #MeToo movement and the NFL players' movement to protest the national anthem. 

Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" followed the Super Bowl in a live broadcast on Sunday, and the host used the occasion to perform a new version of Bob Dylan's 1964 song "Times They Are a-Changin'," inspired, in part, by President Trump.

"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam / And admit that our country don't feel like our home," Fallon sang in grainy, black-and-white footage, accurately recreating Dylan's gruff voice.

Fallon's rendition touched on the #MeToo movement ("Come women and men who hashtag #MeToo / And believe me when I say that we believe you"), NFL players kneeling in protest of the national anthem, and Michael Wolff's controversial book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House"— with several jabs at Trump thrown in.

"Look past what he says and look at how he acts / The 'Fire and Fury' is raging / For his words can hurt, but your words can fight back / New York Times, they aren't a-failing," Fallon sang.

Watch the clip below:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

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• Justin Timberlake explained his controversial decision to perform with a projection of Prince at the Super Bowl halftime show, during a live broadcast of "The Tonight Show" on Sunday.
• Prince fans reacted negatively to the tribute because the late artist once described similar digital editing as "the most demonic thing imaginable."

Justin Timberlake appeared on a live broadcast of "The Tonight Show," after his Super Bowl halftime show performance Sunday night, and explained his controversial decision to perform a Prince tribute at the show. 

Timberlake drew criticism for playing Prince's "I Would Die 4 U" with a projection of the late artist on a towering sheet behind him. Though the tribute wasn't exactly the same as a reported plan for a "Prince hologram," it didn't sit well with Prince fans. 

Displeased fans cited a 1998 interview Prince gave with Guitar World, in which Prince explicitly opposed using digital editing to bring a deceased artist into a performance, calling it "the most demonic thing imaginable."

In an interview with Jimmy Fallon following the performance, Timberlake explained his Prince tribute by saying that the late artist was "the pinnacle of musicianship," and that doing the tribute in Prince's hometown of Minneapolis was "a moment" for him.

"When we decided that the serendipity and synergy that we would be in Minneapolis and that, you know, he's such a special thing here, aside from what he is all over the world, I just felt like I wanted to do something for this city and something for him that would be the ultimate homage to what I consider the G.O.A.T. [Greatest of All Time] of musicians," Timberlake said.

Timberlake then turned to Questlove, the leader of The Roots and the "Tonight Show" band, calling the drummer "a gatekeeper on Prince" and seeking a "thumbs up" for the performance. Questlove responded, simply, "It was dope."

Timberlake went on to describe the process of putting the tribute together: "We got the actual vocal stems from 'I Would Die 4 U,' the actual recordings, and then we got uncut footage from his performance of it in 'Purple Rain.' Somehow, some way, by the grace of probably Prince looking down on us, it synced up. It was like this crazy serendipitous moment. I just wanted to use that opportunity to do something special for this city, but most of all, for my favorite musician of all time."

Watch the interview below: 

SEE ALSO: Justin Timberlake used a projection of Prince for his Super Bowl halftime show — and people are furious

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Westworld" season two, including speculation of future events.

HBO released an epic new trailer for the coming second season of "Westworld"  during the 2018 Super Bowl and announced the April 22 premiere date. The new footage (set to composer Ramin Djawadi's piano cover of Kanye West's "Runaway") shows Dolores, Maeve, and the Man in Black engaged in an all-out-war for control of the Delos park.

We're here to break down the most important details from the trailer you might have missed. Keep scrolling for a closer look at what's to come on "Westworld" season two.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

Let's start with all the faces we weren't sure to expect back. We saw Logan (William's ne'er-do-well friend) at a swanky party.

Logan's fate was left unclear at the end of season one when William (aka the Man in Black) sent him off into the far reaches of the park. But Jimmi Simpson, who stars as William, told INSIDER last year that he thought it was just part of his character's plan to make Logan seem unstable.

So it looks like Logan in a part of the Delos park complex where guests decompress before going back to to real world.

We know he's not among humans, because you can see the majority of people in the room are frozen hosts — only Logan and a mysterious blonde woman (Angela, perhaps?) next to him move in the shot.

Peter Abernathy — the host who played Dolores's father in the early episodes from season one — is also back.

It looks like Delos employees are strapping Abernathy down under duress. When we last saw Abernathy, he was placed into storage by Bernard (who whispered something mysterious to him). What happened to him since then? Why are the Delos employees hurting him? 

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Westworld" season two.

The new "Westworld" trailer teasing season two's robot revolution storyline had several sly details tucked among the footage, but none as surprising as the secret code spotted by a fan leading to a new Delos website.

Redditor Askin1 shared their find on the "Westworld" subreddit. In one frame during the bull stampede, a binary sequence flashes onto a screen in the background. As Askin1 explained, it's binary which "decodes to 52.89.126.34, which leads to http://delosdestinations.com."

The Delos Destinations website has an "experience" page that offers up a peek at six total parks. Westworld is the first one listed and the following five are unnamed and mostly marked as "closed to the public."

As you can see below, Westworld is marked as one of six parks:

Why the existence of six parks is both surprising and expected 

If you've been following "Westworld" theories closely, then you'll know that a second park ("S-World") was teased on the season one finale. HBO's "Westworld" adaptation is based on a 1973 movie by the same name written by Michael Crichton. In the original movie, the overall park is referred to as Delos. 

Delos is then divided into three sections: Western World, Roman World, and Medieval World.

Since the first season of HBO's "Westworld" changed up the park concept and only showed the Westworld park, some fans have been anticipating the introduction of other words. 

But six parks (as opposed to three) is a game-changer. 

The six park theory was teased at HBO's "Westworld" experience pop-up during New York Comic Con. As we reported last October, the pop-up included the simulation of a park evacuation.

A voice recording of Ashley Stubbs (played by Luke Hemsworth) played over loudspeakers. After assuring guests everything will be fine, he said "parks one, three, and six" are undergoing emergency evacuation procedures.

What the six park themes could be

In addition to Westworld, fans are expecting the teased "S-World" to be something along the lines of Samurai or Shogun World. 

Then, going off the original movie, it's possible we'll eventually see something similar to Roman World and the Medieval World. People also think the "Westworld"movie sequel "Futureworld" will be adapted into a new park.

Co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are certainly venturing into new territory with the additional worlds. We might not see much of them on the coming season, but since there are potentially five total seasons planned you can bet on at least one of additional Delos facilities becoming relevant as the show continues. 

"Westworld" season two premieres on April 22. For more details you might have missed in the season two trailer, read our full breakdown here.

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• "This is Us" is a hugely popular TV show. 
• But I don't think it's as good as it's made out to be. 
• I feel like it relies on emotional manipulation and it's nothing we haven't seen before.

There's no denying it: now in its second season, "This Is Us" achieves some of the highest ratings on network television, with over 15 million viewers tuning into its final episode before the holiday break. But just because something's popular, that doesn't make it good.

"This Is Us" features some high-quality performances (kudos on the Golden Globe, Sterling K. Brown!) and plenty of addictive twists and turns, but these positives aren't enough to convince me of the show's excellence.

Yes, "This Is Us" is overrated, and here's why.

It manipulates and simplifies complex themes

In thematic terms, "This Is Us" has the potential to transcend the typical patterns of network-TV dramas. The struggles of cross-racial adoption, the stigma still associated with AIDS, the challenges of life as a plus-size woman in a world that hasn't yet displayed acceptance … these are rich issues.

If "This Is Us" really took the time to engage with the complexities and uncertainties, that would reflect a truly unprecedented approach that would be nothing short of revolutionary.

But "This Is Us" isn't interested in doing the heavy lifting required here. The most glaring example comes in the show's treatment of Kate (Chrissy Metz). While Metz delivers a fantastic performance, the showrunners distill all of her character's conflicts and concerns into the "Kate wants to lose weight" theme.

"This Is Us" certainly shouldn't side-step the Kate's weight issues entirely, but connecting every major life event (her relationship with Toby, her teenage inferiority complex, her career as Kevin's personal assistant and ultimate search for a new professional opportunity) to her obsession over her own size strips Kate of nuance and turns her into a single-minded character interested in only one pursuit.

In 2018, audiences deserve (and should expect) multi-layered protagonists motivated by numerous factors, but "This Is Us" fails to provide that level of character development.

It relies on easy emotional manipulation

The more you watch "This Is Us," the clearer the showrunners' interests become. They want you to cry, and they don't care how it happens. The show has rightfully earned a reputation as a "full box of Kleenex" program, but it does so at the expense of viable character choices.

Season 1 ended with the death of Randall (Sterling K. Brown)'s biological father, William, and NBC definitely created the episode expecting a deluge of viewer tears. But in order to "earn" this reaction, the showrunners fast-tracked the relationship between Randall and William, relying on a few saccharine interactions to establish a bond that couldn't possibly exist in so brief a time-frame.

Rather than allowing the William-Randall connection time to bloom, the show cuts it off just in time for an ugly-cry-inducing death episode.

We've seen it all before

In spite of its flaws, "This Is Us" has one hell of a marketing team. Prior to the series premiere, NBC pushed their new show as a totally new spin on the family drama, highlighting its inclusive cast, its unorthodox timeline, and its sob-inducing plot twists.

But in spite of these characteristics, "This Is Us" isn't the show for a modern and compelling view of the American family. Instead, what we get here is a string of "Very Special Episodes," akin to an endless after-school special.

While some plotlines, like Randall's relationship with William, happen at warp speed, others are dragged far past the point of effectiveness, now spanning one-and-a-half seasons (lookin' at you, Jack's Death Plotline).

"This Is Us" uses plot twists and cliffhangers to keep viewers tuning in week after week, but without incorporating genuine questions about who these people are and why they do the things they do. By focusing on the audience's emotional fall-out rather than effective storytelling practices, "This Is Us" cheapens the viewing experience and, by expecting make-'em-cry vignettes to replace a powerful narrative, takes the easy way out.

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Westworld" season two. Also, images below portray violent scenes.

HBO released a brand new trailer for the upcoming second season of "Westworld" during the 2018 Super Bowl. But one eagle-eyed Redditor realized that a second, alternate version of the trailer is playing on HBO's "Discover Westworld" site.

Redditor Gunslinger1969 posted the "Discover Westworld" version of the trailer on the show's subreddit. The video is almost identical to the trailer HBO posted on its official YouTube channel, but there are three key scenes added in. 

First we see Maeve laying on a table and covered in blood 

The woman standing over Maeve could be Clementine, the other host who used to work in the Mariposa Saloon with Maeve.

Then there's a flash of an outdoor scene with three people hanging from trees in the foreground while soldiers are lined up in the background.

The next new scene shows a man walking towards the church graveyard

This is the same church where Dolores ultimately realized she was "Wyatt" and had been evolving through her programming. 

That shot is paired with the below footage of a man bending over someone with blood-covered hands who reaches up to grasp his face.

And last but not least, the new footage shows a never-before-seen character: James Delos

According to the updated fake "Delos Incorporated" website, James Delos is the founder of the parks. What he's doing covered in bloody scratches is a mystery, but it seems as if he'll be caught up in the robot revolution.

It also looks like William (aka The Man in Black) might be one of the people who speaks with James Delos. In the below shot, we think this is William in the foreground (and Mr. Delos in the office behind him). 

As maybe-William walks past, Mr. Delos appears to be smashing something inside his office. Perhaps the robot revolution is getting him (rightfully) worked up?

You can watch the full alternate version of the trailer on the "Discover Westworld" website, and below we've created two GIFs showing the most important pieces of new footage:

"Westworld" season two premieres on April 22. Until then, look back at 41 moments of foreshadowing and other details you might have missed throughout season one.

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• The two leads for Lifetime's upcoming "Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance" TV movie have been announced.
• Parisa Fitz-Henley will play Meghan Markle and Murray Fraser will portray Prince Harry. 
• The movie will tell Prince Harry and Markle's love story, from when they first met to where they are now. 
• The official premiere date for the movie has not been announced yet, but it is expected to coincide with the royal wedding this spring.  

Lifetime is developing a movie based on the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the lead actors were announced Monday. 

Parisa Fitz-Henley, will take on the role of Markle and Murray Fraser will play Prince Harry in the TV movie, "Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance," which will focus on the love story of the soon-to-be-married couple. 

Fitz-Henley's acting credits include small roles on "Blue Bloods" and "House of Cards," but she's currently recognizable for her roles on "Jessica Jones,""Luke Cage," and "Midnight, Texas."

Fraser's credits include roles on "The Loch" and "Victoria."

Following the casting announcement, Fitz-Henley shared her excitement on Twitter.

Based on a photo Fitz-Henley shared on Instagram, it looks like she's a fan of "Stranger Things."

And if her pinned tweet is any indication, she is also a fan of Kerry Washington's character on "Scandal."

Based on this tweet, it appears that Fraser enjoyed filming "The Loch" TV miniseries: 

And acting aside, he also seems to be a fan of tennis star Andy Murray.

According to Lifetime, the movie will focus on Prince Harry and Markle's love story, from the couple's early meetings to where they are now, especially with the public anticipating their upcoming May wedding. 

The official premiere date hasn't been announced yet, but it is expected to air this spring on Lifetime. According to Vanity Fair, shooting on the movie begins this week in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

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Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Monday night's "The Bachelor."

It took six weeks, but the Bachelor finally sent home the most-hated contestant on the show. 

After weeks of causing drama in the house and having a bit of a falling out with Arie last week, Krystal was finally sent home.

The 29-year-old fitness coach went on the sole two-on-one date with Arie and taxidermy lover Kendall. Though Krystal thought she had the date in the bag after throwing Kendall under the bus, she wound up being the one without a rose at the end of their date.

When Krystal's luggage was taken off of a ship in Paris, the remaining women immediately celebrated. It wasn't just the women of the "Bachelor" who were excited to be rid of the 29-year-old fitness coach as well.

Fans took to Twitter to applaud her departure from the season as well.

In addition, viewers started cheering for Kendall. 

During the two-on-one date, Krystal decided to tell Arie she didn't believe Kendall was ready for marriage. Arie brought that up to Kendall. 

When Kendall confronted Krystal she took the high road. Instead of lashing out, she patiently told her why she's on "The Bachelor"— to find love — and that Krystal shouldn't really feel like she can speak for her. Kendall asked how Krystal could claim to make an assumption about her and she didn't have an answer.  

Kendall told Krystal that she empathizes with her and that she reminded her of one of her former boyfriends, "where in the face of conflict they have told me things that have really hurt me."

Fans fell in love with Kendall after that. 

And Krystal? Well, maybe there's room for her on the next season of "Bachelor in Paradise."

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Warning: There are spoilers ahead for "The Bachelor."

Week six of ABC's "The Bachelor" took the remaining women to Paris and one cringeworthy group date. 

Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. brought six of the remaining women to the Moulin Rouge. At first, it seemed exciting. The girls learned a routine and were happy to be there. Then they were asked to dress in skimpy outfits to compete for some alone time with Arie on stage during a real show at the venue.

"The Moulin Rogue dancers are amazing, but their outfits are thongs," said Tia as they watched some of the performers. 

Arie didn't see a problem with it. 

"This date today is definitely for the women," said Arie. "It's Moulin Rouge!"

But as the women got changed into tiny, sparkling outfits to put be put on display for Arie, people on Twitter thought it was anything but.

As the girls went to get changed, Tia said she felt "butt-a-- naked."

In the next shot, we saw a giant black bar covering her behind as some other performers smiled and laughed along with her.

Becca K. wasn't feeling the outfits either. 

"I’ve never been in more pain in an outfit before," said Becca as she put on a heavily beaded outfit.

But she was a team player anyway. She went out on stage to walk for Arie, twirled, and wound up having her butt blacked out for TV.

Here's Arie's reaction to the moment.

Seinne was a bit more comfortable in the setting since she grew up dancing, but even she wasn't 100% comfortable on stage.

"I could have done a bit better, but I smiled and I had sex appeal and that's all that matters," said Seinne.

The only woman who looked remotely comfortable on stage was 22-year-old Bekah M. who said her outfit was the "most glamorous thing" she’s ever worn in her life and she never wanted to take it off. 

By the end of the date, Arie summed up the day as "sexy and cool."

Viewers were in agreement this date was definitely for Arie and that it wasn't as cool as he thought.

There was no mention of this, but it had to be awkward for some of the women — if not all — to see so much of their competition during that group date.

The usually outspoken Chelsea and Krystal interestingly weren't shown on camera at all during this segment of the show. Chelsea was later kicked off in the evening after having such a good time with Arie the week before on a one-on-one date. Maybe some of the other women weren't as comfortable with the idea of baring it all on stage and on air. 

You can follow along with our "Bachelor" coverage here. 

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• "The Daily Show" host Trevor Noah cracked some jokes Monday night about Justin Timberlake's 2018 Super Bowl performance.
• Noah pointed out that the sound was off, so it sounded like Timberlake was just doing "karaoke." 
• He also brought up the Prince tribute that angered a lot of fans. 
• "People were already pre-angry," he said.
• Noah, who said he is a fan of Timberlake, joked about Timberlake's weird deer shirt that drew hilarious comparisons from fans.
• "That wasn't my favorite performance ever," he said. "I think maybe because I was confused by the outfits. I spent most of my time going, 'Well, what is that? Are those pictures?'"
•  Noah isn't alone on his opinion. Timberlake's performance was panned by critics. 
• Watch Noah discuss Timberlake's Super Bowl performance below. 

SEE ALSO: After fan backlash, Justin Timberlake explained his decision to perform with a projection of Prince at the Super Bowl

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• The new Netflix TV show "Everything Sucks!" is a quirky high school dramedy.
• The story follows teenagers living in a small town called Boring, Oregon in the 1990s.
• The kids in A/V Club and Drama Club collide in coming-of-age tropes like school dances.
• The first look at the show also teases a romance between two of the teenagers' parents.
• There's tons of '90s music mentioned, including Alanis Morissette and The Cranberries.
• The trailer ends with a very relatable look at what dial-up internet was like for kids and nods to one of the first-ever viral videos (the iconic 3D "Dancing Baby").
• "Everything Sucks!" season one premieres Friday, February 16.
• Watch the full first trailer below:

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• Netflix's content boss, Ted Sarandos, singled out "Everything Sucks!" as a Netflix original series that "people should keep an eye" in an earnings call last month.
• The 90s-set, coming-of-age comedy series premieres February 16 on Netflix.
• Watch the first official trailer for the series below.

In an earnings call last month, Netflix's head of content Ted Sarandos listed a few upcoming Netflix originals that audiences should look forward to, including the big-budget, sci-fi series "Altered Carbon," and the comedy series "Everything Sucks!"

Sarandos singled out "Everything Sucks!" as a "sleeper hit that people should keep an eye on."

"Everything Sucks!" is a coming-of-age comedy series that "follows two groups of high school misfits," an A/V club and a drama club, "who collide in 1996 Oregon," according to Netflix's description of the show. 

Variety described the show's plot as centering on two friends who "join forces to make a movie."

"Everything Sucks!" premieres February 16 on Netflix. The series is led by the up-and-coming teen actors Peyton Kennedy and Jahi Winston. 

Netflix released the first official trailer for the series on Tuesday. It features references to Alanis Morisette, a song from The Cranberries, and other '90s-related nostalgia and humor.

Watch the trailer below:

SEE ALSO: The 18 worst Netflix original movies of all time, according to critics

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• "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are going to create a "Star Wars" film series.
• However, it will be separate from the current Skywalker saga or the trilogy "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson is developing.

The guys who brought "Game of Thrones" to the small screen are now heading to the big screen with "Star Wars."

That's right.

Lucasfilm announced on Tuesday that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators behind the TV series adaptation of "Game of Thrones" for HBO, will write and produce a new series of "Star Wars" movies.

On Disney's earnings call Tuesday, CEO Bob Iger said the company had been talking to the pair "for a long time” about the film series, and that they had been "focused on a point of time in the 'Star Wars' mythology.”

It's unknown how many titles they will do, or when filming will begin, but Lucasfilm made a point to include in its release that what Benioff and Weiss will create will be separate from the current Skywalker saga, and the trilogy of movies "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson is developing.

“In the summer of 1977 we traveled to a galaxy far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since,” Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement. “We are honored by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.”

"Game of Thrones" is currently filming its final season, which will air in 2019. The show has won 38 Primetime Emmys to date.

And don't worry about the "GOT" faucet being closed after season 8. HBO is developing five prequel spin-off series, which will kick off in 2020 (though not all of them will make it to screen).

SEE ALSO: "Black Panther" is the rare Marvel movie that makes you care about the villain — and Michael B. Jordan delivers an incredible performance

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• "Fifty Shades Freed" star Jamie Dornan teamed up with "Late Late Show" host James Corden for a hilarious parody skit inspired by "Fifty Shades of Grey."
• In the skit, Corden takes Dornan to his own secret room, filled with model train toys.
• The two actors proceed to play with the different toys, quoting exact lines and imitating actions from the film. 
• Watch the video below.

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