For over a decade, iTunes was my music hub. No longer.

I finally tried Spotify Premium for the first time last month at the behest of my colleague Ben Gilbert, who also ditched his music collection in favor of Spotify. And unless Apple's upcoming streaming service is truly novel and remarkable, I can't see myself returning to iTunes.

iTunes, to me, doesn't really symbolize music, but rather years of painstaking work on my part. Since I was a young teenager with a clickwheel iPod, I'd spent countless hours refining my iTunes library, adding and deleting music, correcting song titles and album names, and adding artwork to every album. And it frustrated me so many times: I had to rebuild my iTunes library from scratch at least twice when I bought new computers and hard drives, which forced me to drag and drop files and recreate old playlists. That old Apple mantra, "it just works," has not applied to iTunes for quite some time.

Ben assured me this was a key selling point for Spotify: It would be less about organizing files and more about discovering new music and being able to listen to it anywhere. And with the company's current promotional offer— 3 months of Spotify Premium for $0.99 — I felt it deserved a shot.

Living 'Premium'

I approached Spotify like a typical iTunes user: I tried to recreate my iTunes library in Spotify, instead of trying something completely new. Baby steps, I thought.

First, the playlists. I've spent years refining my iTunes mixes for commuting and the gym, so I tried to build "new and improved" versions of those playlists in Spotify. Unfortunately, some songs were unavailable in Spotify — Dr. Dre's famous album "The Chronic" is nowhere to be found — but as I went about reassembling those playlists, I was happy to discover a ton of other songs I probably wouldn't have come across otherwise.

For example, my "Rap Anthology" playlist has existed since I was about 12 or 13, when my brother Greg introduced me to the genre during a ski trip to Massachusetts. That playlist remained static until last month, when I found a ton of new songs while poring through Spotify's curated playlists like "The Gold School" and "Hip-Hop Classics." My anthology has since doubled from 15 songs to 31 songs.

Here are some other reasons why I find Spotify so valuable:

• Unlike iTunes, which encourages you to collect the music you like and listen to it again and again, Spotify urges you to explore and discover new things. Curated playlists act as tour guides to specific music genres, styles and moods.
• You can listen to almost any song at any time with Spotify, including those random songs that get stuck in your head on some mornings but aren't generally part of your music collection. Spotify makes it easier to go with the flow; with iTunes, you can preview these songs, but you'd have to buy them outright if you want them on all your devices, even if it's just for a day or two. (Or, y'know, pirate those songs or watch them on YouTube.)
• Spotify has a better system for getting music on and off your devices. On iTunes, you have to buy a song through iTunes if you want it to show up on all your other devices — otherwise, you have to sync those devices with a cord or wirelessly in the same room. On Spotify, however, I can listen to music on any device and store it for "offline listening" at any point. So long as I'm connected to the internet, adding entire playlists and albums to my library takes seconds, and I can remove it worry-free at any time. 

I should note that I haven't even really explored the world of straight up streaming music directly from Spotify on a regular basis, which I know many people do. I save everything for offline listening right now so I can have access to it whenever I want.

There are plenty of other reasons why I love Spotify now, but it all boils down to one simple fact: It feels like Spotify truly loves and cares about music.

From the way Spotify is built, where the desktop and mobile interfaces feel unique and intuitive in their own right, to the countless curated playlists for every possible emotion and genre, I feel like I'm in good hands with Spotify.

Every feature feels like it's there for the user's benefit, not for the sake of the artists or even Spotify the company. And it has social features, too — you can see what other friends are listening to and share your activities with others — but all these functions can be turned on and off for a truly personal music experience.

Apple will unveil its Spotify rival at next Monday's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), so it will be interesting to see how the company aims to put its $3 billion purchase of Beats to good use. But unless Apple offers a cheaper and better solution than Spotify that encompasses its entire library, I plan on sticking with Spotify for the foreseeable future.

SEE ALSO: Take a tour of Spotify's new NYC office (and their really cool graffiti art)

SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift is wrong about Spotify

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NOW WATCH: How To Listen To Your Entire Music Library Anywhere

Let’s take a minute to reflect on the miracle that is NBC’s “Hannibal.”

The series is an adaptation of events and characters originally depicted in Thomas Harris' novels about famed serial killer and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter prior to his eventual capture and imprisonment. It stars Mads Mikkelsen as the famed villain alongside Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, the troubled-yet-gifted forensic profiler dedicated to bringing him down.

Before "Hannibal" aired, no one would have believed it would end up being one of the best shows on broadcast television. Harris' novels, and the character of Hannibal Lecter, were well-trod territory in cinema, with adaptations running from excellent ("The Silence of the Lambs") to abysmal ("Hannibal Rising"). What's more, Anthony Hopkins' performance as Dr. Lecter was widely considered the last word on the subject, the impossibly high standard that would never be beat.

There was hope, though. "Hannibal" was created and run by Bryan Fuller—the beloved writer/producer behind idiosyncratic, critically acclaimed shows like "Pusing Daisies" and "Wonderfalls." Fuller's presence was an early signal—possibly the only signal—that we'd get something different with "Hannibal." Then it premiered.

Its quality was apparent from the very start, arresting viewers with its stunning aesthetic fully formed—gorgeous visuals, unsettling music, magnetic performances all present from episode one. 

It was terribly beautiful, terribly unsettling, and terribly great. Its ratings were poor, and it seemed destined to follow a path well-trod by other excellent, under-watched shows—a phenomenal first season preceding a swift but remorseful cancellation. 

It didn’t though, and television is all the richer for it. 

For those who would like to know this and nothing more: The third season of “Hannibal,” which premieres on Thursday, June 4, is every bit as good as viewers have come to expect. It is a beautiful, unsettling start to a season that sees its characters rawer and more vulnerable than ever, and makes bold, uncomfortable decisions in its exploration of them. It is worth returning to, and worth catching up with if you’ve never started. 

Spoilers for seasons one and two follow—as do very mild spoilers for season three.  

In some ways, the first season of “Hannibal” was a commentary on violence and television. It criticized the police procedural by examining the effects violence have on those who live a life pursuing (or consuming media full of) it. It was a daring move for a show that had no right being as good as it is, but it succeeded, and what’s more, pulled off a finale that completely inverted the status quo it established at the start—with hero Will Graham taking the fall and being imprisoned for Hannibal's crimes. 

Its second season attempted something even more daring, a subversive love story between its hero and villain — Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy).

While plenty of the show’s fans (who identify as Fannibals) love the implied sexual tension between the show’s male leads, what the second season explored was far more complex than simple physical affection (which only actually exists in fervent fan fiction websites; not on the show—yet).

Instead, it was concerned with a more complex, deeper kind of love: What it means to truly see someone else, and how achieving that can irrevocably change a person. 

That is how season three begins—with everyone coming to grips with the changes they’ve endured. Season two’s shocking, beautiful, finale left the entire cast bleeding out on Hannibal’s floor. Meanwhile, the killer walked free into the rain, washing away the false identity of Hannibal Lecter, respected psychiatrist, and boarding a plane accompanied by Gillian Anderson’s Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier as Hannibal Lecter, the monster who thought he could be loved. 

It is—like every season before it—a near-complete reboot of its premise.

"Hannibal" is a show that puts all of its chips on the table, blows up that table, and then builds something even more fascinating from what remains.

In the first three episodes NBC has made available in advance to press, Hannibal is now in Florence with Bedelia masquerading as his wife. But the bloody fallout between he and Will Graham weighs on him, and leaves him contemplating notions of forgiveness. Of course, when Hannibal contemplates something, a body is sure to follow.

What’s fascinating about “Hannibal” season 3 so far is its structure. Initially, “Hannibal” was a procedural that only really stuck to procedural convention for as long as it had to before it could sink its teeth into the long game—which creator Bryan Fuller likes to call a "romantic horror story."

In its return, the show keeps the fallout from last season on a drip feed, instead focusing squarely on Hannibal and Bedelia in Italy as he slowly draws whatever survivors remain into his orbit in episodes that feel like standalone character studies. 

According to Fuller, we won’t find out the full story behind who survived and how until the fourth episode, but what unfolds in the meantime is just as stunning.

The show takes full advantage of its new setting, becoming lavish and operatic in its staging and music, examining its characters in the shadow of art and architecture created by people contemplating heaven and hell, and how closely we all teeter between the two. 

In this, “Hannibal” remains beautifully consistent as one of the most poetic shows on television.

Much has been made of the show’s visual poetry—the way it finds a beauty both macabre and sincere in its violence and contemplation of mortality, forcing viewers to consider their relationship with said violence in the media they consume. But it also puts great effort into poetry of the more traditional kind— the dialogue is beautiful and far more artful than normal speech.

"We share the gift of imagination," one character tells another early on in the new season. "That moment, when the connection is made—that is my keenest pleasure. Knowing."

Ironically, knowing is the one pleasure "Hannibal" season 3 denies its viewers. As good as the first three episodes are, it’s hard to infer from them where the season might be going. We know some things from interviews with Fuller: The first half will continue to follow Hannibal in Italy, and the last six episodes will be the show’s version of the events that unfold in Thomas Harris’ “Red Dragon.”  But really, that isn’t much.  

But even as "Hannibal" keeps its cards close to its chest, what it does show us is magnetic. In these first three episodes, we get one of the series' most unsettling images yet, and rich, deep performances from Mads Mikkelsen and Gillian Anderson that bring out how layered and complicated their troubled, disturbing relationship is.

Mikkelsen, in particular, gets to show new shades of Hannibal we've not yet seen before—the doctor hasn't taken his violent breakup with Will Graham very well, turning him into a whole new kind of scary.

What makes “Hannibal” special is the way that it has pulled off a trick many adaptations aspire to but few accomplish: To create a universe that is true to its source but so uniquely its own that—even if you are familiar with the canon—it remains impossible to guess where it’s headed next. It’s exciting, unsettling, and thoughtful television at its very best. 

Bon appétit. 

"Hannibal" returns to NBC Thursday night at 10 p.m.

Watch the season 3 trailer below: 

SEE ALSO: Why you should drop everything and watch 'Hannibal'

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New York Film Academy put together this in-depth videographic analyzing how film and television have shaped our perception of drugs, along with its possible effects on viewing audiences. 

Video courtesy of the New York Film Academy 

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has had a long, tortured love affair with Bruce Springsteen, one of the most famous musicians from his home state. 

With Christie returning to the campaign trail this week ahead of a potential presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee crafted a special all-Springsteen Spotify playlist to mock the governor's track record.

"While he may try to change his tune, this campaign soundtrack (courtesy of Christie's fave, Bruce) will be hard to escape. State Democratic Parties in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa will be using this theme to hold Christie accountable for his failed record as governor as he passes through on tour," DNC spokeswoman Holly Shulman said.

Christie has famously attended more than 100 of Srpingsteen's concerts. However, his admiration for the rocker hasn't been reciprocated. Springsteen, who has campaigned for multiple Democrats, declined to play Christie's 2009 inauguration and play eda song lampooning the governor's so-called "Bridgegate" scandal during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon last year.

Check out the DNC's Chris Christie/Bruce Springsteen playlist below: 

"I’m Going Down"

Christie’s approval in New Jersey has dropped to an all-time low, with just 35% of New Jersey residents approving of his work as governor.

"Better Days"

Chris Christie's New Jersey has consistently ranked at or near last in the nation in job creation, has an unemployment rate higher than the national average, and is now the 43^rd best state in which to do business (New Jersey used to be 24^th). New Jersey’s credit rating has also been downgraded a record-breaking nine times since Chris Christie took office. Christie has the most credit downgrades under any New Jersey governor - ever. New Jersey has the second-lowest credit rating in the country.

"Sad Eyes"

Christie recently demanded that the media apologize for its coverage of Bridgegate. Enough said.

"Blinded By The Light"

Christie is constantly blinded by his political ambitions, and his opposition to a pathway to citizenship for immigrants is just the latest example. This comes after he came out in opposition to deportation relief to keep families together.   It won’t work for Christie or any other Republican running for President.

"If I Should Fall Behind"

Christie has no problem leaving the women of New Jersey behind with his multiple vetoes of funding for Planned Parenthood.

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NOW WATCH: 11 mindblowing facts about North Korea

The long-awaited film adaptation of "Entourage" is in theaters Wednesday, and it's filled to the brim with celebrity appearances. 

Everyone from Mark Cuban and Liam Neeson to Jessica Alba and even Warren Buffett make brief cameos as themselves in the film. 

Mixed Martial artist Ronda Rousey follows up her appearance in "Furious 7" with an even larger role in this film, while Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment have starring roles.

If you're heading out to see the film this weekend, you're bound to miss a few appearances. 

Here's everyone to keep an eye out for when seeing the film, according to the movie's credits.

Piers Morgan
Fashion model Nina Agdal
model Emily Ratajkowski

Mark Cuban
soccer player Thierry Henry
rapper T.I.

Calvin Harris
singer Tameka Harris 
rapper Saigon 
Ed O'Neill

New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski
David Arquette
Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson

Gary Busey 
basketball player Baron Davis
David Spade 

Bob Saget
Sportscaster Jim Gray
Pharrell

Green Bay Packers player Clay Matthews III
actor/director/screenwriter Jon Favreau
Warren Buffett 

Olympic diver Greg Louganis
comedian and actor Andrew Dice Clay

Mike Tyson
Liam Neeson
Kelsey Grammer

Chad Lowe 
Nora Dunn
Mark Wahlberg 

Common 
Armie Hammer

MMA fighters Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir
David Faustino
George Takei

Judy Greer
Richard Schiff
Jessica Alba

executive vice president of the New York Giants Steve Tisch plays a studio board member
Matt Lauer
Maria Menounos
New England Patriots' Tom Brady

BET host Terrence J
model Alyssa Miller

SEE ALSO: Whether or not you watched the show "Entourage" — you will absolutely love the movie

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NOW WATCH: Warren Buffett is in the new trailer for the 'Entourage' movie

The first official trailer for "Fallout 4" is here, and it's incredible.

The three three-minute video brings us back to the post-apocalyptic Fallout universe for the fourth installment in the best-selling series, and it's brimming with abandoned houses, old radios, robots, Pip-Boy devices, vaults, and nuclear war.

It also appears that the game will take place in a post-apocalyptic Boston, as screenshots reveal settings like Boston's Scollay Square, the Massachusetts State House, and the Old North Church complete with a statue of Paul Revere.

The "Fallout 4" trailer arrived at the conclusion of a mysterious countdown clock from "Fallout" game studio Bethesda. While game details are still scarce, you can expect to hear a lot more details on the highly anticipated RPG at this year's E3 conference that starts June 16th.

"Fallout 4" will launch on the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and Windows PC.

You can watch the entire teaser trailer below.

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NOW WATCH: Here's how much you have to buy to make Amazon Prime worth it

E! Entertainment has just released the first promo for Caitlyn Jenner's new reality show, "I am Cait."

The show will be an eight-part, one-hour documentary series that will show Jenner's transition and how it affects her friends and family. It will premiere on Sunday, July 26, at 9 p.m.

In the promo, we see Jenner applying makeup to her face:

And putting on lipstick. "You start learning the pressure women are under all the time about their appearance," she says in the clip:

 
Watch the full promo below:

While the Kardashian girls, as well as Kendall and Kylie Jenner, have agreed to appear on "I am Cait," Jenner's four oldest children have opted not to participate.

"They disagree with their father's decision to use not only the same production company that made 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' but many of the same people, including several original executive producers," according to Jenner's Vanity Fair cover story.

SEE ALSO: Here's why Caitlyn Jenner's first 4 children refuse to appear on her new E! reality show

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NOW WATCH: 70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions

In a conversation with Jerry Seinfeld at the Vulture Festival on Saturday promoting the upcoming season of his web show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," the comedian revealed that his greatest regret about his hit sitcom, "Seinfeld," was his decision to not following through with a certain lost episode.

"I had an episode all ready to go that we were going to do entirely, secretly, in claymation," Seinfeld said, to resounding gasps from the audience. "I had the studio ready, and the figures ready, and it was all good to go."

But Seinfeld was dissuaded from the idea when he learned that Tim Allen had already done a claymation episode on ABC's "Home Improvement." 

"I got scared off," Seinfeld said. "I thought, I don't want people to say I'm imitating Tim Allen. And I canceled it. I realize now that was a huge mistake. You know, we had Kramer taking a pencil and sticking it in his eye. And we were going to shoot fake promos, and everybody was going to think a regular episode was going to come on, and it was going to be all claymation. And so, that was a huge mistake. So yeah, that's what I regret."

Watch Seinfeld explain the story in his own words below:

The sixth season of Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" will premiere on Wednesday at 11:30 p.m. with an episode featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Guests for the rest of the season include Jim Carrey, Steve Harvey, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and future "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah.

SEE ALSO: Here's the advice Louis C.K. and Mark Zuckerberg's top digital guy gave Seinfeld when developing 'Comedians in Cars'

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NOW WATCH: The star-studded trailer for the next season of 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' shows off the best cars yet

Superhero comic books, like movies, have a blockbuster season, and we're right in the middle of the biggest one in years.

You may have heard plenty about Marvel's entry, "Secret Wars," which began in May and essentially ended the Marvel Universe as we know it. Less discussed has been DC's big event, "Convergence," a nine-issue series released through the months of April and May. There are a few reasons for that, but the biggest one is simple: It was pretty bad, with bland visuals and a story you could probably sleep through without missing much if someone read it to you out loud. 

DC also published a metric ton of two-part tie-in comics at the same time, some of which were pretty good! But the main, nine-issue "Convergence" miniseries? Ouch.

But now that it's over, I'm pretty excited for DC's upcoming comics, more excited than I have been for a long time—thanks to a number of really promisingpreviews and from the first wave of titles that launched June 3. You might be, too.

Here's why: 

Your favorite characters have all been remixed and it's great. 

Superman has been outed—Lois Lane has told the world that he's been masquerading as Clark Kent his entire life, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. Locked out of the Fortress of Solitude, stripped of his costume, and less powerful than he's ever been, the Man of Steel is in a vulnerable place and may no longer have the adoration of the public. 

It doesn't stop there: Batman was killed off, and has been replaced by Commissioner Gordon in a mech suit. Green Lantern Hal Jordan is now the most wanted man in the universe, ditching his power ring to go on the run. Wonder Woman is about to discover a new nemesis in Darkseid's daughter. And White Lantern Kyle Rayner appears to have been murdered on a live broadcast by an obscure group known as The Omega Men.

DC is finally getting serious about its creators. 

While talent hasn't necessarily been lacking at the publisher—stellar creators like Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, and Greg Capullo have had long runs on great books over the past few years—but the books they worked on often felt like exceptions to a rule and less like idiosyncratic entries in a library full of them. 

In the months leading up to "Convergence," DC seemed committed to reversing this, first with its much-publicized "Batgirl" revamp by Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr and then later with new books like "Gotham Academy" by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl.

Post-"Convergence," DC seems to be really doubling down on exciting talent, like putting "Boxers and Saints" cartoonist Gene Luen Yang on writing duties for "Superman" and David Walker, writer of the excellent "Shaft" comic, on a new "Cyborg" series. 

Lower profile characters get a chance to shine. 

There are two aspects to DC's big summer revamp: 21 new series that will slowly be rolled out over the next few weeks, and 25 continuing series returning from their two-month hiatus (that's where most of the aforementioned revamping will be happening). 

Some of these new series are legitimately fun and exciting—like "Prez," a book about a teen girl who becomes president of the United States via the country's first Twitter vote, or "Section Eight," a miniseries following the eponymous terrible superteam from the pages of the cult classic "Hitman" by Garth Ennis and John McCrea (who are also behind the miniseries).

Oh, and do you like The CW's "Arrow" or  Marvel's "Hawkeye?" Then you might want to check out DC's new "Black Canary" series, with art by Annie Wu (whose work you might recognize from the Kate Bishop arc on "Hawkeye") and a story by Brenden Fletcher that recasts its hero as the frontwoman for a hot new rock band. It should be pretty great. 

Superhero comics are a notoriously fickle genre, where sharp spikes and jarring dips in quality can happen at a moments notice due to lots of churn behind the scenes and the occasional sweeping editorial mandate. It's one of the reasons why following writers and artists you like instead of characters and companies makes a lot of sense if you decide to get serious about diving into comics. 

It's been really easy to rag on DC in recent memory for its long line of poorly-received attempts to revamp its comic book characters and keep them fresh and exciting. "Convergence" was just the latest example, but there are many from the past decade, going back from the rocky launch of The New 52 in 2011 to the mid-aughts misery of "Countdown." Even this new, exciting wave of comics is couched in some pretty embarrassing branding: they're calling it "DC You."

As terrible or tone-deaf as its marketing efforts and initiatives may seem, DC Entertainment does seem newly committed to making it easier for great comics to happen in the only way that works: by letting a diverse set of talented people make the books they want to make. In abandoning the iron grip it had over its various properties and demonstrating a willingness to play fast and loose, the company might finally have a chance at taking part in a conversation that has been overwhelmingly dominated by its chief competitor, Marvel. 

Besides, that mech suit Batman story looks like all kinds of fun.

SEE ALSO: The most important character in the DC Universe isn't Batman or Superman — it's The Flash

AND: One of the oldest comics genres could be making a big comeback

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NOW WATCH: Here's how Floyd Mayweather spends his millions

The creation of a YouTube show differs wildly from traditional media development, which enlists agents, directors, and producers to make a TV show or movie.

YouTube shows evolve from regular people who become stars by building a grassroots audience.

"Our creators are our viewers," explains Daniel Tibbets, the chief content officer of YouTube network Machinima. 

People who watch YouTube shows often feel connected to the creators of those shows — much more connected than movie audiences feel to producers, according to Tibbets. 

To take advantage of that close connection, Machinima created a service called Machinima Legion, a research panel of 10,000 dedicated Machinima viewers. While the panel provides tons of quantitative data on what videos are being watched and for how long, its real value is its qualitative data. 

Machinima’s content team uses its Legion service for audience research and show development, soliciting the panel's feedback to find out what's working and what isn't. The team trusts the panel's feedback because it's made up of dedicated viewers. 

In the mind of Tibbets, who developed "Rome" for HBO, among other shows, Legion works far better than any other system to workshop new shows.

“The people that are passionate about this content are the ones you want to ask their opinion," Tibbets said. "It’s so much better than having 12 people in a room say whether they like your show or not."

SEE ALSO: The Hollywood headquarters of YouTube gaming giant Machinima looks like a really fun place to work

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NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you drop an Apple Watch face down on cement

If you haven't been happy with "Game of Thrones" for the majority of season five— there have been a lot of divergences from the books, and one in particular that has received a lot of backlash from fans—you're going to want to make sure you catch up for the final episodes.

While Nielsen ratings for the series have been trending downward this season, Sunday's episode eight not only made a ridiculous turnaround with over 7 million viewers, but it's also now the best-rated episode by fans ever for the series. 

This chart from GraphTV, a site which tracks the IMDB ratings of series by episodes, shows that Sunday night's episode "Hardhome" is currently the highest-rated episode of the series, according to fans.

The only episodes that have received fan ratings anywhere as close were season 3, episode 9, "The Rains of Castamere," in which the notorious Red Wedding occurred, and season 4, episode 2, "The Lion and the Rose," where a major character was killed off.

If you've seen the episode, that shouldn't come as a surprise. 

Warning: There are some spoilers ahead if you're not caught up!

The conclusion of episode 8 consisted of a 15-minute fight sequence resulting in one of the best episodes that has aired in awhile. 

Another departure from the books, the episode went into unchartered territory not shown in the books by giving fans a good look at the mysterious White Walkers and their leader, the Night King. 

Viewers were introduced to a fighting army of the walking dead which would easily give the AMC series of the same name a run for its money.

The tremendous reaction to this episode is in complete juxtaposition with reactions to an episode that aired two weeks ago when the series produced arguably one of fans' most detested episodes in which a popular character is raped. 

Regardless, one thing's clear, with two episodes of the season left, no one is complaining anymore about the direction of where the series is heading next.

SEE ALSO: Everyone's freaking out about the end of Sunday night's "Game of Thrones"

AND: Here's every single "Game of Thrones" location in real life

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NOW WATCH: George R.R. Martin reveals which inconsistencies in 'Game of Thrones' are actually deliberate

Stephen Colbert won't take over David Letterman's "The Late Show" until the fall, but we're already getting our first look at the former "Colbert Report" host on CBS.

Barely two weeks after Letterman's final "Late Show," Colbert debuted his first promo for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and it's hilarious.

The first clip plays off of the internet's fascination with his beard which has been dubbed the Colbeard.

He spends the majority of the video shaving away at his beard piece by piece, trying to find which style would go viral. 

He went through many different styles.

From the "anti-Hitler" (no mustache but a full beard) ...

... to an Amish look ...

... followed by, what Colbert referred to as, a half-Wolverine look:

"I have an adamantium skeleton, but I don't have claws, and I don't heal instantly. It's just extremely painful," said Colbert. "Obviously, this look is tempting, and I know a lot of you want me to stop right here."

Finally, he arrived back to the clean-shaven Colbert we all remember.

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will debut on CBS on September 8, 2015 at 11:35 p.m.

Until then, watch the clip below:

SEE ALSO: How Stephen Colbert ended up on season 3 of 'House of Cards'

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Business Insider is hiring a supervising producer to oversee a growing video team in our newsroom. This team produces short and insightful videos on news, politics, entertainment, and more, with an emphasis on speed and breaking news. 

The position's particular oversight includes editorial, management, organization, and a laser-focus on building a news video format and process that works first and foremost on social media, and also on our website.

The supervising producer's responsibilities include:

• Brainstorming daily news video ideas.
• Building a team that responds quickly to breaking news and produces videos across politics and entertainment verticals.
• Creating and framing news video and graphics in a way that informs and delights our audience.
• Assigning stories to producers, associate producers and interns.
• Planning and managing producers in the field.
• Maintaining high editorial and storytelling standards.

The ideal candidate has a passion for storytelling, is a news buff who always knows what's going on in the world, and is addicted to social media.

He or she has 3 to 5 years experience in a newsroom, and has managed a team of associate video producers.

Candidates should know how to edit on Final Cut X or Premiere and how to use Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, various types of audio and digital video equipment including Canon and Sony cameras, and how to shoot awesome video with their iPhone. 

Business Insider offers competitive compensation packages complete with benefits. This is a full-time position based in our NYC office. Apply here with your résumé and cover letter.

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NOW WATCH: Two models in Russia just posed with a 1,400-pound bear

It's been nearly seven years since the last "Fallout" video game launched. Seven years! There's a new "Call of Duty" every year; there's a new, massive "Assassin's Creed" every year. It's rare for major franchises to take off seven years.

Hell, it's rare for major franchises to take off one year.

To say there's a lot of anticipation for the newly announced "Fallout 4" is a tremendous understatement. People are going nuts. It's currently the number three trending subject on Twitter in the United States, below a promoted topic and #NationalRunningDay:

The excitement is easily justified: The three minute trailer released Wednesday morning is both full of referential nods to series fans and features an adorable dog. And who doesn't like adorable dogs? Monsters, that's who. Just look at this sweetheart exploring a post-apocalyptic house:

It's almost like the little guy doesn't know or care about thermonuclear war! 

In case it's not already clear, that's what "Fallout" games are all about: exploring the remains of a bizarrely retro futuristic version of the United States. In the case of 2008's "Fallout 3," players explored the Washington D.C. area and its suburbs.

In "Fallout 4," players will explore Boston; The trailer specifically showcases several prominent locations in the historic Northeastern city. In this bit, there's a peek at the hallowed field of the Boston Red Sox, complete with"Green Monster" :

Most importantly for "Fallout" fans, the trailer flits between the aforementioned dog exploration and what the world looked like just before the bombs dropped. Though it's not expressly spelled out, to many this is a hint at a playable pre-apocalypse setting – a first for the "Fallout" series, and potentially a game-changer.

As seen above, the "retro futuristic" concept is a central theme of the series. It's as if the 1950s vision of the future came true.

The floating robot seen above is actually being powered by atomic power. The conceit in the series is that, after World War II concluded with two atomic bombs being dropped on Japan, a new era of atomic power was introduced.

Everything was going great!

And then a massive nuclear war happened – the "apocalypse" – as seen here:

And that's how we end up in "Fallout 4," in a wrecked version of Boston that looks more like something out of "Mad Max" than "Good Will Hunting."

Regardless of the apocalypse, the dark humor of the "Fallout" series is strewn throughout the trailer – most directly referenced by the theme song. It's by The Ink Spots, an old singing group that was popular in the 1930s and 40s; their music also led the announcement for "Fallout 3." Here's the killer song, "It's All Over But the Crying":

In "Fallout 4," you'll explore the post-apocalypse as a survivor – someone who weathered the nuclear blasts, their subsequent fallout, and emerged from an underground bunker named "Vault 111." You'll have the ubiquitous Nuka Cola and a trusty hound by your side:

Oh, and that power armor (seen above) will assuredly help.

Here's the full trailer, all set within the game world rather than made up of fancy CGI:

SEE ALSO: Here's the first official trailer for 'Fallout 4,' one of the world's most anticipated games

AND: This guy made a video of what 'World of Warcraft' might look like if it were made now — and it's stunning

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You almost certainly haven't heard of The Omega Men. 

"I think 'relatively obscure' is understating it," says Tom King, the writer of DC Entertainment's new series "The Omega Men" after I suggest the protagonists of his book might be a bit unknown. "I think they're horribly obscure."

That's a pretty fair assessment for a group of characters that have been around since 1981 but never really became a marquee team in the DC Universe.

For the new series—which released its first issue on June 3, with a story by King, pencils by Barnaby Bagenda and colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr—you don't really need to know a thing about them in order to follow along.

"The overall premise is that there's this empire, the Citadel Empire. They're sort of like the British Empire at the height of its power. They control a bunch of colonies, a solar system, and they've controlled them for 200 years. There have been rebellions, and these rebellions have been crushed very cruelly. But there's six people who still fight on."

Like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy—who were far from popular before they starred in a blockbuster movie— King plans to use the fact that no no one knows a thing about The Omega Men as a strength. The Omega Men, however, have no movie on the way—and no real expectations in place for what is and isn't off-limits, or what a story about them would even be about.

This was signaled in a big way last month, when DC released an "Omega Men" preview story where the titular team appear to execute former Green Lantern Kyle Rayner on live video. 

"The stakes are high from day one," says King. "Readers don't need to know anything about The Omega Men or read the first run, that's totally unnecessary. What this is is DC going big with a big, epic cosmic story. We're telling a saga along the lines of 'Star Wars.' The basic premise is simple, that classic 'rebels against the empire' [setup] — but we twist it by grounding it in the reality and threats of today, and setting it in a world where those rebels will do anything to defeat the empire, and the empire will do anything to defeat those rebels."

It's science fiction via "Game of Thrones," with a dash of contemporary relevance. 

"I want to do two things with it: on one hand I want to do a story that you read and hits you on a gut level  and you get up in your seat and you shout 'yes!'" says King. "Underneath that, there are a lot of questions here about colonialism, asymmetrical warfare, questions about who we think our heroes our and who we think our enemies are. And these are questions that you read about in the paper every day."

These ideas carry over into the art. The series' covers, by artist Trevor Hutchinson, are done up to look like propaganda posters—King hints that there's a bit of story significance to them, but says readers will have to wait and see exactly how they fit in. 

For the main interior art, King can't help but geek out a little. 

"I am working with an amazing artist that nobody has ever heard of because this is his first book!" says King. "His name is Barnaby Bagenda, he's out of Indonesia. What he can bring to it, living in a country with its own history of terrorism and empire, is amazing. We had six different artists try out for the book ... he came in and did these versions of them that were very grounded. I mean, this is a series about people who believe in religion, people who come from someplace."

King says the first 12 issues of "The Omega Men" will be a self-contained story that will fit nicely into a graphic novel further along the line.

"This is the comic I always wanted to write as a kid," says King. "I wanted to write one of those things that could be contained in one graphic novel, that just took you out of the whole world and you just got sucked into it, where every little thought was thought of ahead of time, and every storytelling technique they could use they gave to you." 

"I feel like I got a fastball straight down the middle, and I hope my swing connects," he adds.

"The Omega Men" #1 is on sale now in finer comics shops and on digital platforms like ComiXology.  

SEE ALSO: Why it's time to get excited about DC comics again

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NOW WATCH: Disney just released a new 'Star Wars: Episode VII' trailer and it's incredible

Disney has been greenlighting live-action adaptations of its beloved animated classics left and right, but none are quite like this.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Mouse House will give the spotlight to one of its darkest characters — the demon gargoyle Chernabog — in a future film. 

If you're not a huge Disney fan, you may not be familiar with the character, who first appeared in an 11-minute segment of Disney's 1940 classic "Fantasia" called "Night on Bald Mountain."

The decision to make a movie around this guy seems kind of odd because, honestly, he's probably the most un-Disney-like character you could center a movie around.

He's essentially a depiction of the devil and is portrayed as nothing more than a frightening all powerful being. 

Here are a few more looks at him from "Fantasia":

Not exactly family friendly, right?

While the movie news may come as a surprise, Disney's been quietly putting out feelers on the Chernabog character in recent years in some of its content.

The character has popped up on Disney's animated series "House of Mouse" as more of a misunderstood evil figure claiming he's actually afraid of the dark, and as a terrifying demon on ABC's "Once Upon a Time" this past season. He was also a boss character in Disney's popular "Kingdom Hearts" video game.

The Hollywood Reporter notes the film will "be similar to what Disney did with Maleficent."

If that's the route Disney's going, it makes sense — on paper at least.

It's a formula that's been working for four seasons of "Once Upon a Time," which tells the backstories of Disney's popular heroes and villains, along with 2014's "Maleficent" which grossed over $$758.4 million worldwide at theaters.

Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless will write the script and executive produce the film.

There's no release date yet for the film.

You can watch the "Fantasia" segment featuring Chernabog below:

SEE ALSO: "Inside Out" is Pixar's most stunning animated film since "Finding Nemo"

AND: Disney has been recycling the same footage in its beloved animated classics for years

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A day after releasing six new posters, Paramount has released a new trailer for the next "Mission Impossible" movie, "Rogue Nation."

Four years after the most recent film, Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner will reteam for the fifth installment, in which all the members of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) are being hunted down by an international organization called the Syndicate. Ethan (Cruise) and his team have to take out this anti-IMF group before it does the same to them.

Moved up from a December release, "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation" will be in theaters July 31.

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When "Jurassic Park" came out in 1993, it was a groundbreaking marvel. It revolutionized CGI while telling a compelling story.

With the next installment, "Jurassic World," out in theaters June 12, now seemed like as good a time as any to see where everybody from the original is today.

The actors and actresses who helped bring the original classic to life have found success long after escaping the clutches of the Velociraptors.

THEN: In perhaps the biggest role of his career, Sam Neill played leading paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, who gets invited to the dinosaur-filled island home to Jurassic Park.

NOW: Neill reprised his role in "Jurassic Park III" and has appeared in TV series including "The Tudors." He now plays Inspector Chester Campbell in the British gangster drama "Peaky Blinders," which is preparing for its third season.

"Peaky Blinders" airs on BBC Two and can be seen on Netflix.

THEN: Laura Dern played paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler, who accompanies Dr. Grant on his trip to Jurassic Park.

One of YouTube's biggest networks is seriously diversifying its interests.

This past February, YouTube gaming-giant Machinima struck a deal to sell video on Vimeo's on-demand platform.

Machinima's deal with the video-sharing site followed a similar deal between Machinima and digital-video subscription-startup Vessel. That deal now premieres many of Machinima’s top shows on Vessel months before they appeared on YouTube.

While Machinima nonexclusively distributes almost all of its videos through YouTube, the Vimeo and Vessel deals signal an effort to find new audiences and new ways of monetizing that audience.

"We have to go where the audience is,” CEO Chad Gutstein told Business Insider.

Machinima first became notable as a multichannel ad network like other big YouTube players Maker Studios and Fullscreen. The business model involved signing contracts with popular YouTube creators, selling ad inventory on their videos, and taking a percentage of the revenue.

As YouTube has evolved, so has that business model. Over the last year, Machinima has focused on creating quality shows in-house like a "RoboCop" spinoff and "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" and launching stars like gamer JeromeASF and comedian Andre Meadows. Today, Machinima far more resembles a movie or television studio than the ad network it started as. As such, Gutstein is borrowing a tactic called "windowing" from traditional media to make a profit on its increasingly high production-value channels, shows, and videos.

Big-budget films and television shows use “windowing,” or releasing content in multiple formats and venues, to guarantee a profit on their investment. International distribution, digital and Blu-ray sales, subscription services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and television rights are just a few of the ways that big-budget movies make a big return. Gutstein thinks a similar structure could help social video evolve. 

“You have to improve the economics of the business so people can invest more in the product,” Gutstein said. “We’re at the beginning of that virtual cycle in social video. I think, within a decade, companies like ours will be able to produce content at the same budget as the highest-quality television.”

Machinima’s audience rivals some television networks in size, but the company is still looking for new ways to make money. While YouTube can pay, its ad margins are hardly that of television networks. Gutstein hopes the Vimeo and Vessel partnerships can provide lucrative payouts that will support videos produced at the $3 million to $6 million per hour budget of high-quality television.

“The Vessel deal and the Vimeo deal are about finding new ways for our customers to engage with our content … We’re experimenting,” Gutstein said. “We don’t know how the story ends, but we’re trying to learn how our audience engages with our content and what the price elasticity of demand is.”

One of the biggest issues for viewers is sifting through that mixed bag of vast content that Machinima's creators produce. Machinima’s 32,000 creators produce around 32,000 hours of unique content per month. For comparison, most TV networks produce between 600 and 3,000 hours per year.

With the Vimeo deal and the Vessel deal, Machinima hopes to create a “curated” version of their content that presents only best and most popular videos and shows.

Whether it works is anybody’s guess, but Gutstein is predictably optimistic.

"In a world of infinite choice, the curator is king," Gutstein says.

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Disaster movies in which entire cities are leveled by the fury of nature have become a tradition in Hollywood. The latest of these, "San Andreas," was released Friday and topped the box office with a solid $54.6 million opening weekend.

To create the sensation of California's destruction, "San Andreas" had to employ a lot of special effects. It's impossible to understand just how heavy the CGI is in a movie like "San Andreas" until you watch it before the effects were put in place.

Luckily, a behind-the-scenes video captures some of the movie's key scenes without the help of special-effects wizardry.

Some of the clips may make you chuckle a bit, especially at the site of people running and jumping from absolutely nothing. But it will also make you appreciate just how much summer's biggest blockbusters are a result of computer effects and editing.

Here's a shot of star Alexandra Daddario getting knocked down by the sheer force of nature's fury:

It's a lot funnier to watch acted out without a real quake:

In a scene in which people are running through the streets from a sinister dust cloud ...

They're not running from much of anything.

Instead, many people are strapped to wires, flying through the air. It looks pretty crazy.

Here's a view of the same people from a different angle.

At one point, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson gets out of his truck and sees that the road in front of him has been split:

When looking at it through one of the monitors, however, the impact of the earthquake is much less terrifying with the added blue screen.

In a big action sequence, Johnson's character helps pulls his wife into a helicopter:

This moment loses most of its terror once you see she wasn't as far off the ground.

Not everything was done with CGI though.

In one scene, Johnson takes his rescue mission underwater.

Johnson was actually holding his breath and swimming beneath the surface.

Check out the full video below:

SEE ALSO: The Velociraptors in the 'Jurassic Park' movies are nothing like their real-life counterparts

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NOW WATCH: The Rock wrestles an earthquake in this awesome trailer for 'San Andreas'