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Coming-of-age tales are a dime a dozen and standard fare for the famed Nickelodeon network. The beloved staple of network television has dazzled children, tweens, and teens since 1979. Its name is on theme parks, toys, and media empires. Even now, over a decade since its rebranding, the network’s iconic “slime splat” motif is as famous as ever. Much of this fame comes from its beloved lineup of cultural touchstones — big names like Danny Phantom, Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, and SpongeBob Squarepants.

However, not all of Nickelodeon’s shows are massive hits. One of the network’s best coming-of-age tales ran for three seasons and spanned a mere four years of broadcasting space. As Told by Gingerwas just one of many shows bridging that tricky tween-to-teen age bracket. Even now, decades after its end, the show’s themes and ideas remain relevant. After all, growing up has always been hard. Everyone endures the same challenges.

HBO Max has inked with deal with corporate sibling Warner Bros Television to stream Season 2 of the current OWN drama David Makes Man along with five ’90s-era Black-themed series: Hangin” with Mr. Cooper, In the House, The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin and The Parent ‘Hood.

All six series are available now on the streamer.

Season 2 of of OWN’s David Makes Man finds thirtysomething David (Kwame Patterson) as a rising businessman facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever. The mounting pressure forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to truly live. Arlen Escarpeta, Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams also star.

Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, which aired from 1992-97 on ABC, stars Mark Curry as a former college basketball superstar and ultimate prankster, who also happens to be the coolest substitute teacher around.

Features the voices of: Kenn Michael, RZA, Vince Staples, Danny Trejo, Michael Chiklis, Giancarlo Esposito | Written by Guillaume Renard | Directed by Shoujirou Nishimi, Guillaume Renard

Released under the name “Mutafukaz” in international territories. Mfkz is a collaboration from French comic artist Guillaume “Run” Renard and ultra-hip Japanese animation house Studio 4°C, creators of Tekkonkinkreet, Genius Party and Mind Game. The Tekkonkinkreet dream team of Shoujirou Nishimi and art director Shinji Kimura reunite to bring to life a dark but stunningly animated sci-fi vision that mixes anime, film noir, Lucha Libre, and gang culture in an orgy of first-person shooter mayhem.

I honestly thought I had seen the best this year had to offer by way of animated movies after having seen Teen Titans Go: To The Movies… that was of course till I received a trailer for the Mfkz. Now I have been known to get a little bit excited...

Adapting his own graphic novel, Guillaume Renard pieces together a dense reimagining of La that’s impressive – until you stop to think about it

The title of this exhaustingly grimy and chaotic collaboration between French and Japanese animators is both a blunt contraction of the Oedipal expletive and a statement of attitudinal intent. No time for anything so wussy as vowels: writer/co-director Guillaume “Run” Renard instead whips his own graphic novel’s highlights into a frenetic postmodern melange that sends pizza delivery boy Angelino scooting through diverse appropriated cultures.

Any film encompassing Nazi-punching lucha libre wrestlers and top-secret moonbases should by rights be huge fun, but even Renard finds himself conceding, “What the F*** is Going On?” in a mid-film graphic. Enjoyment will depend on a tolerance for that randomness teenagers apparently find hilarious.

What do Maureen Flannigan, Keith Coogan, and Josie Davis have in common? Aside from being former child stars from neon-splattered ’80s sitcoms, the three are all CCOKCs (pronounced exactly how you think it is): Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron.

In a new Funny Or Die video, the erstwhile teen thespians — including Kenn Michael (The Parent ‘Hood), Brice Beckham (Mr. Belvedere), Jeremy Licht (The Hogan Family), and a surprisingly hot Christine Lakin (Step by Step) — join together in solidarity against their former peer Kirk Cameron, whose incendiary remarks about homosexuals launched the wrath of a thousand seven child stars.

“We...

121 films later… another installment of the Pan African Film Festival (Paff) in Los Angeles, CA, came to a close on Wednesday, the 23rd, with the announcement of its filmmaker awards.

Prizes were handed out for the following categories: Best Narrative Feature, Best First Feature Film, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary Short, and Audience Favorite awards.

I was extremely pleased to see João Daniel Tikhomiroff’s Besouro win the Best Narrative Feature prize. It’s a film we’ve touted on this blog for the last 2 years, since initially hearing about it. The film is still without North American distribution, as far as I know, and it needs all the press and push it can get. I hope it’s eventually picked up – even if it’s a straight-to-dvd release.

Ava DuVernay’s I Will Follow received the well-deserved Best First Feature Film award.

And the Jamie Foxx-executive produced Thunder Soul,...