Rather than watch middling movies, consider catching up with cool TV series you might have missed this spring
While there’s still some time left this holiday season, instead of trekking out to the new, nonsensical Mission: Impossible movie or a film based on a video game, why not spend some time checking out some cool stuff on TV that you might not have had the time to watch when it first debuted?
Here’s a quick list of cool stuff to check out, based on reviews I’ve been cranking out for NPR.org over the past few weeks.
Consider it a cheat sheet for shows worth watching before summer really kicks in.
Pee-wee as Himself, on HBO and Max: On the surface, this two-part documentary outlines a struggle for control over storytelling, as director Matt Wolf jousts with Paul Reubens, the man who created and played Pee-wee Herman. But beneath that obvious struggle, is Reubens’ fight with himself between the desire to be understood and a fierce determination to tell his story on his own terms. Read my review here, which notes: “To Wolf’s credit, he kept control to create a documentary which does so much more – revealing as much as anyone could about a brilliant performer who rarely let the world see who he really was.”
Murderbot, on Apple TV+: The premise – an aging “security unit” cyborg secretly gains autonomy and tries to figure how to live in a world which sees him as defective property – is intriguing enough. But with Alexander Skarsgard’s deadpan comedy chops, this show becomes the biggest-budget, dark sci fi comedy yet to appear on TV. I just hope people beyond the nerds dedicated to Apple TV+’s underseen sci fi shows get to see it. READ MORE
The Four Seasons, Netflix: Tina Fey’s update to Alan Alda’s 80s-era film gives a modern and knowing take on long term marriages, romances and friendships. More here. REVIEW HERE.
Andor, Disney+: Creator Tony Gilroy swears this story — which documents the rise of the rebellion in the Star Wars universe mostly through the eyes of Diego Luna’s thief-turned-rebel agent Cassian Andor – is not specifically about today Trumpian times. But look at the ways in which this story’s republic slides into authoritarianism, and how the rebels rise to fight it, and you’ll see some telling parallels. READ HERE.
We Want the Funk!, PBS: P-Funk mastermind George Clinton told me that this film, featuring documentary master Stanley Nelson charting the rise and evolution of funk music from the 1960s to now, shows “Funk is anything it needs to be, in the moment it needs to be that.” read more of his words about the documentary here.
The Residence, Netflix: A whodunit which explores the life of staff and caretakers inside the White house, giving Uzo Aduba room to play the coolest detective now on TV leveraging the sharpest, driest humor on the small screen? Sign me up.
Hacks, Max: There are moments which this season’s episodes feel like a showbiz fantasy – especially when Jean Smart’s classic comic Deborah Vance takes over hosting a late night talk show and somehow becomes the top-rated show in a matter of weeks. But it never loses sight of its core goal: Depicting the bizarre friendship/enemyship/working relationship between Vance and her talented head writer, Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels.
The Studio, Apple TV+: Every episode in this hilarious comedy featuring Seth Rogen as a newly-installed film studio head feels like something which actually happened, from Rogen’s character begging Zoe Kravitz to thank him at the Golden Globes to attempting a big budget film centered on The Kool Aid man. READ MORE.
Adolescence, Netflix: So much is outstanding about this show, from its decision to film every episode in one long, unbroken “take,” to standout performances by novice actor Owen Cooper as a teen accused of killing a female classmate and veteran Stephen Graham (who also co-created and helped write the series) as his father. But it’s the exploration of toxic incel culture about young men that makes the series a relevant, spellbinding exploration of a pressing moment in modern society.