NOW SEE THIS

AUGUST 21, 2020

Welcome to Now See This, THR chief TV critic Daniel Fienberg's weekly viewer guide newsletter dedicated to cutting through the daunting clutter of the broadcast, cable and streaming TV landscape! Comments and suggestions welcome at daniel.fienberg@thr.com.

'Hoops' Upside Your Head

Last weekend was full of strong original programming, so maybe you want to catch up on Ted Lasso, Lovecraft Country and Teenage Bounty Hunters — because this week is not-so-good. Netflix's Hoops struggles with unfunny coarseness, and even if it improves in the last few episodes, I still called the animated comedy "a disappointment given the pedigree." THR's Inkoo Kang wasn't more enthusiastic about Freeform's Love in the Time of Corona, though she praised Leslie Odom, Jr. and L. Scott Caldwell. I found this exercise in early pandemic nostalgia to be nearly unwatchable. (Oh, and for better sports-related programming than Hoops, check out our quarantine viewing list of 10 great sports-themed shows.)

Maybe the Problem Is Scripts

So if this weekend's TV disappointments are scripted offerings, perhaps you want to try something documentary-related. HBO's The Vow, focusing on survivors of the NXIVM cult, premieres Sunday, and Inkoo deemed it "sympathetic, curious and unsettling." Personally, I found its nine-episode runtime absurdly bloated, but there's still a lot to be fascinated by. Much briefer and, for logical reasons, less unsettling is Netflix's video game docuseries High Score, which is a shallow but fun exercise in gaming nostalgia. 

Don't Be Obtuse! Watch This A-Cute Angel

While I was doing a radio show the other night, I made the mistake of saying that this was a bad weekend for new TV releases. We quickly got a call from a listener emphasizing that Lucifans are very excited about Lucifer returning to Netflix and that Tom Ellis, who plays the eponymous fallen angel, is hella hunky. Lesson learned. I will not be neglecting Lucifer again. New episodes premiere Friday!

[Br]Aping Bad

I love Bryan Cranston and I love apes, but I never considered the possibility that Disney+’s The One and Only Ivan, featuring Bryan Cranston and an ape (a gorilla, to be specific) might actually be good! THR's Michael Rechtshaffen, however, praises the film's "palpable melancholy," as well as its cinematography and performances. I only see now that Mike White wrote the movie, so I'm going to pretend it's Enlightened with a gorilla. 

240+ Hours of Homework

CBS is returning to Love Island on Monday night, only in Las Vegas, which isn't technically an island, which is OK because the show isn't technically about love. If you missed last summer's CBS installment, don't worry. Head over to Hulu, which has six seasons of the British Love Island and two seasons of the Australian version. At 30-ish episodes per season, that's a weekend binge that will definitely leave you feeling bad about your beach bod, but good about your IQ.

This Week's THR Staff Pick

Associate Editor Trilby Beresford has a Netflix recommendation. She raves, "Ever since the end of the fantastically underrated show Episodes, I’ve been waiting for something to grip my funny bones and tug at my heart in the same way. Finally, my next favorite show arrived: French series Call My Agent! Set in a Paris talent firm, the story gets into the grit of everyone’s lives and beds and features incredibly nuanced performances from its two leads, Thibault de Montalembert and Camille Cottin."

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AUGUST 21, 2020

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