Surprising pretty much nobody, Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord has been renewed for a second season. The first season kicks off Monday with two episodes, and then two episodes each subsequent week. Why burn them off so quickly? Who can say?

New to me but maybe not you is the casting of Looti Vario. Chris Diamantopoulos will be doing the voice, and he's more than a bit of a "that guy." He was Russ Hanneman on Silicon Valley, and the Australian guy JQ on Mrs. Davis, was Moe in The Three Stooges (the one with Larry David in it), and he's also one of the current voices for Mickey Mouse.

But I digress.  Maul, like many recent streaming efforts, has no real big merchandise plan or push at retail. There will be a few figures in each scale, and a couple of kid figures, but there's no real effort to push it like it's the next big thing or to really brand the show as part of the product line.   You may find them at a Walmart near you, provided you're looking for the kid stuff.  Because the logo for any new show or movie seems to be avoided in any of the product offerings, don't be surprised that your pals will have absolutely no idea that a new show or movie is happening.