NOW SEE THIS

NOVEMBER 27, 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.

As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly

Fall 2020 offered a lot of TV turkeys and at least as much to be thankful for. You know what else you can be thankful for? That Inkoo Kang and I didn’t structure our conversation about Fall TV highlights and lowlights in terms of turkeys or things to be thankful for! You're welcome. And check out some of the shows we saluted! (WKRP in Cincinnati, source of this blurb's title, is sadly unavailable for convenient streaming.)

'Wayne' Course

Time for a game of "What's Dan Actually Watching For Fun?" During YouTube and YouTube Red's flirtation with original programming, the service made several decent shows they had no idea how to promote, much less get people to watch. That's why the ultra-violent, ultra-funny teen road-trip comedy Wayne is being described as "New" on Amazon and why viewers have suddenly been discovering the series since it launched on Amazon at the beginning of November. Think of it as an American version of Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World in that it won't be for everybody, but some people will love its uncouth messiness. 

Your Best Black Friday Deal

I raved about HBO's How To with John Wilson when the oddball documentary-comedy premiered in October and it has been a pleasure to watch people discovering this indescribable show. It's worth catching up on the first five episodes — "How To Improve Your Memory" has been earning particular praise — because Friday's season finale, which brings this perspective-shifting dose of weekly empathy and eccentricity up to the coronavirus spring in New York City, is a truly special 30 minutes of TV.

Smooth Move, 'Axe'-Lax

This week in the TV series that is the movie anthology that is Steve McQueen's Small Axe, Amazon is premiering Lovers Rock, which earned pretty universal raves when it debuted at the New York Film Festival in the fall. THR's David Rooney called it "a lovingly personal work for McQueen," celebrating the contributions of cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, as well as the editors and designers of the 1980-set drama starring Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward.

Mank-sgiving

David Fincher's latest, the black-and-white Hollywood drama Mank, premieres on Netflix next Friday. It's a look at screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) and his contributions to Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. If, however, you haven't seen Citizen Kane, or maybe you haven't seen it for a while, it's probably more fun than you remember and it's available to stream on HBO Max. Much of the praise for Mank has been directed at Amanda Seyfried, who plays actress Marion Davies. And if you don't know anything about Marion Davies, you may want to check out Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat's Meow on IMDbTV or PlutoTV, in which she’s well-played by Kirsten Dunst.

Some 'Leftovers'

After a big Thanksgiving dinner, why not enjoy some leftovers? Or Damon Lindelof’s spectacular adaptation of The Leftovers? The three-season drama, still one of the best of the past decade, is all on HBO Max, which is trying hard to be your holiday streaming destination ahead of the December 25 premiere of the new Wonder Woman sequel. For those who aren't in the mood for a meditation on grief and emotional recovery, the streaming service has new episodes of the Kaley Cuoco small-screen beach read equivalent The Flight Attendant and, for your bingeing pleasure, the tawdry financial sector hijinks of Industry, which jumps to Max from the HBO mothership.

This Week's THR Staff Pick

THR Business Editor Ashley Cullins writes: "You know the feeling when a hug lasts just a little too long but you really don’t mind because even though it’s kind of awkward it warms your soul? That’s Ted Lasso’s vibe — both the character and the show. This year I’m thankful for the comedic genius of Jason Sudeikis and whoever greenlit this project at Apple TV+. It’s a brilliantly cast, refreshing and clever fish-out-of-water story. I’m still not entirely sure it’s a comedy, but damn does it feel like a soul hug."

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NOVEMBER 27, 2020

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