NOW SEE THIS

OCTOBER 02, 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.

'Good Lord,' Show Me the Way

Trigger warning for '80s and '90s kids: Ethan Hawke spends a lot of The Good Lord Bird being called "old man." And a warning for all viewers of Showtime's seven-episode adaptation of James McBride's novel set around abolitionist John Brown's notorious raid at Harpers Ferry: It's OK to laugh. Heck, it's actually encouraged. This is rollicking historical storytelling and Hawke is fiery, larger-than-life and fairly remarkable. 

How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen 'Emily in Paris')?

Do you like fairly outdated stereotypes about the French and a depiction of the City of Light that reflects a Paris from 1985 or possibly 1950? Darren Star's new Netflix half-hour Emily in Paris has you covered, plus it features Lily Collins doing her best impression of an Audrey Hepburn impression. Still, THR's Robyn Bahr calls it "strikingly watchable" and an "escapist concoction" — and that may also be true.

Clowns to the Left of Me, Zombies to the Right

Lots of other options this weekend. Let's knock'em out fast. AMC is finally premiering the long-delayed Walking Dead spinoff World Beyond and if it had launched five years ago, I might have cared. Hulu is premiering eight episodes of the regional horror anthology Monsterland — eight inconsistent, never wholly successful episodes. And Showtime launches the documentary The Comedy Store, full of great star appearances and strange directing choices from Mike Binder. 

Brook No Dissent: Prepare to Cry a River When You Stream 'Creek'

Holding out to watch the entirety of Schitt's Creek at once? Caught up on five seasons but anxious to see the climactic run of episodes that dominated the Emmys two weekends ago? Desperate for new comfort food in these challenging times? The sixth season of Schitt's Creek hits Netflix — where most of you think the show lives anyway — on October 7. And if you're asking, "Was this sweet, beautifully acted show REALLY so good that no other comedy deserved an iota of acknowledgement from Emmy voters?" Nope! But also… enjoy!

Some Homework

Disney+'s miniseries adaptation of The Right Stuff premieres next Friday, and normally I don't like making newsletter recommendations that require additional payment, but if you haven't seen the Philip Kaufman feature, it's worth $3.99. Watching Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House ahead of the premiere of the anthology’s second season, The Haunting of Bly Manor, would be too easy. Unfortunately, Jack Clayton's The Innocents — like Bly, an adaptation of Henry James' novella The Turn of the Screw — isn't available for easy streaming. But oddly, Michael Winner's prequel feature The Nightcomers is on Shudder, if you have that. Don't accidentally watch Netflix’s The Innocents, though. It's got nothing to do with The Turn of the Screw and, as I said in my review, it was just starting to get interesting at the end and then Netflix canceled it.

Paying Tribute

Mac Davis and Helen Reddy both died this week at 78. Amazon Prime has Davis' terrific football film North Dallas Forty available to stream, while Disney+ has Reddy's starring role in the original Pete's Dragon. I'd also be remiss in not noting the passing of Yuko Takeuchi, star of the series Miss Sherlock, streaming on HBO Max.

This Week's THR Staff Pick

Assistant managing editor Darah Head explains, “It’s good to be an L.A. sports fan these days. With the Dodgers and Lakers in the playoffs at the same time for the first time ever, the majority of our time is spent bouncing between sports networks. (Take note of LeBron James’ postgame news conferences; they’re particularly thoughtful and resonant.) When we need a sports break (to be honest, I don’t need it as much as my San Francisco Giants-loving husband does), we head over to Reseda (aka Netflix), home to Cobra Kai. If you’re an ’80s kid, you don’t want to miss the tongue-in-cheek Karate Kid spinoff with Billy Zabka and Ralph Macchio. It’s hit-and-miss, but the hits more than make up for the misses. You think you know these guys, but you have no idea."

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OCTOBER 02, 2020

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