Apologies for the unexpected hiatus! It wasn't some sort of WGA or SAG strike-related work stoppage but simply not enough hours left in the day to turn to one of my favorite things: writing about TV (and creating silly GIF's to delight - and delectate (as Cory Doctorow might say)). Not for nothing, however, the month or two of writing about sad game shows may have contributed to the unplanned sabbatical.
So. Many. Sad. Game. Shows.
And now that that bit of housekeeping is over with, let's get to it already:
Wednesday - November 29
Netflix / American Symphony (documentary). Oscar-winning musician Jon Batiste (Soul) learned he was nominated for 11 Grammy awards the day his wife, the Emmy award-winning author and artist Suleika Jaouad, was undergoing chemotherapy. In the midst of this, he was embarking on an ambitious goal: to create a wholly new symphony for America that could draw on the sounds and motifs embodied by this country now and not necessarily rely solely on the traditional (read: Euro-centric) instruments of classical music. So ambitious was this goal, in fact, that filmmaker Matthew Heineman (The First Wave) was following Batiste around when he and Jaouad learned her cancer had returned. They asked him to keep filming and the result is what Rolling Stone calls 'the best music doc of the year.' Trailer here.
Hulu / The Artful Dodger (limited series). Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Love Actually) stars as a pickpocket-turned-surgeon whose past comes back to haunt him and who must return to a life of crime in order to wipe his debts clean. Also stars Harry Potter's David Thewlis who makes an absolute meal of the role of Fagin. Trailer here.
Apple TV+ / Slow Horses, S3. The stellar UK spy drama starring Gary Oldman (Sid and Nancy) returns, with the first 2 episodes (of 6) available today (or, more likely, yesterday sometime around dinnertime). Kristin Scott-Thomas (Fleabag) and Sophie Okenedo (Flack) also star as sparring spies (and sporting dueling lobs). Trailer here.
Also returning - Pretty Hard Cases, Amazon Freevee; Shetland, Britbox
Thursday - November 30
Netflix / Family Switch (movie). Jennifer Garner (Juno) and Ed Helms (The Hangover) star as parents who switch places with their two kids, suggesting very strongly that Jennifer Garner really loved 13 Going on 30. Also stars Rita Moreno (The Rockford Files) as the fairy godmother hada madrina. (PSA: Moreno is going to be 92 on December 11, people. 92!) Trailer here.
Netflix / Obliterated, S1. From the folks who brought you Cobra Kai comes this raucous comedy-thriller about a group of agents who fight to save Vegas from a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, the bomb the thought they deactivated was fake and they must now deactivate the real one. Trouble is, they went out to celebrate and are all either drunk, high, or very, very hungover. Stars Nick Zano (Happy Endings), C. Thomas Howell (Red Dawn), and Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf). Trailer here.
Max / Bookie, S1. Prolific showrunner Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Mom, The Kominsky Method) is behind this sitcom about an LA bookie played by comic Sebastian Maniscalco, but the real news is that Lorre's apparently mended fences with his Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen who he'd fired 12 years ago, casting him in the role Sheen was born to play: himself. Trailer here.
Returning - Max, Selena + Chef; Netflix, Virgin River and Paris in Love
Friday - December 1
Netflix / May December (movie). Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright) reunites with her Safe and Far From Heaven director Todd Haynes in this intriguing - and well-reviewed - drama about a woman who was sent to prison decades earlier for her relationship with a 13 year old boy and who is now living a quiet life as a wife and mother until an actress (Natalie Portman, Garden State) arrives, shadowing her to prepare to play her in an upcoming film. Trailer here.
Prime Video / Candy Cane Lane (movie). Eddie Murphy (Raw) stars in his first holiday film as a family man who makes a wish with a mysterious stranger (Jillian Bell, Brittany Runs a Marathon) to ensure that his house wins a Christmas decoration contest. Too bad that that stranger is an evil elf who transforms her victims into plastic dolls. Well, that's just naughty. Terrific cast includes Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish), Robin Thede (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Ken Marino (Party Down), Nick Offerman (The Last of Us), and Chris Redd (SNL). Trailer here.
Disney+ / Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford (documentary). A look at how Harrison Ford became Indiana Jones featuring extensive interviews with Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and various co-stars and producers. Based on the trailer, this feels less about Indiana Jones and more about how a struggling actor-turned-carpenter found his way into two major film franchises and became an icon. I'm okay with that. Trailer here.
Returning - Starz, Power Book III: Raising Kanan; Apple TV+, Spirited (last year's Ryan Reynolds/Will Ferrell holiday movie gets a special sing-along version)
Saturday - December 2
Disney+ / Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder (special). The second of three 60th anniversary specials (the first being The Star Beast, of course) stars David Tennant (Broadchurch) as the 10th/14th Doctor, along with Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show) reprising her role as Donna Noble. The third of the specials, The Giggle, will arrive on December 9.
Tuesday - December 5
Max / Great Photo, Lovely Life (documentary). Photojournalist Amanda Mustard investigates the dynamics that allowed her grandfather, a pedophile, to continue abusing his numerous victims, including members of his family as well as his chiropractic patients. Shot over 8 years, Mustard explores how unexpressed anger - and her grandfather's lack of contrition - devastated the family for years. Trailer here.
Paramount+ / Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too?, S1 (reality). In what might win for 'Most Niche Series,' Rush's legendary bass player meets with the bassists for Primus, Metallic, Nirvana, and Hole to find out whether there's life beyond the low end. Plus it's nice to know that Lee talks like an ordinary guy. (I'm your fact-checking cuz.)
And that's it for the week! Please enjoy this murmuration of starlings (and perhaps next week we'll see about a fever of rays).
Moira