NOW SEE THIS

JANUARY 29, 2021

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.

Look See a 'Lady' Tonight

Part gleeful depiction of an elaborate fraud, part sensitive breakdown of trans representation over the last 45 years — McMillion$ meets Tucker: The Man and His Dream meets Disclosure? — this four-part HBO docuseries tells the outlandish and very real story of aspiring automobile maverick Elizabeth Carmichael. One twist after another unfolds and the Duplass Brothers-produced project maintains the delicate balance of gawking at its main character and empathizing with her. THR TV critic Inkoo Kang praised the series, directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, for capturing Carmichael in her "full messy humanity."

Scratch Away-way-way-way, It's the 'Little Things' That Kill

Depending on how you count Wonder Woman 1984 (or if you've forgotten/repressed it entirely), John Lee Hancock's serial killer drama The Little Things launches Warner Brothers' ambitious and contentious plan to release its entire theatrical slate day-and-date on HBO Max for 2021. It's a somewhat forgettable title, but the cast led by Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto is pretty impressive. THR chief film critic David Rooney commended the performances and the use of Los Angeles settings.

Nothing But the Most Illustrious Premieres

Actually, nah. This is a lackluster week for new stuff on the small screen, but at least Desus & Mero is finally returning to Showtime to start its third season. For a taste of the energy behind this spirited bi-weekly look at politics, pop culture and more, check out Desus Nice and The Kid Mero on this week's TV's Top 5 podcast. As for other new stuff, I thought Netflix's We Are: The Brooklyn Saints was another decent, but less football-savvy, entry in the post-Last Chance U pigskin documentary genre. And Inkoo Kang found HBO's international acquisition The Investigation, which premieres Monday, to be "a dirge." 

Can. You. 'Dig.' It

It may not be a particularly big weekend for TV premieres — get used to that in February, kids — but there are lots of relatively big movies coming to streaming. In addition to the aforementioned Little Things, you can head over to Netflix to watch The Dig, a period drama featuring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan. Rooney called it "satisfying" and praises the performances. Performances are also at the heart of Apple TV+'s Palmer, which THR’s John DeFore deemed "mostly formulaic," though he enjoyed star Justin Timberlake’s turn. If you're like me, you're probably better off using the time to catch up on the Hulu magic documentary/stage show In and of Itself, which has been generating some of the young year's best buzz.

Honoring Cloris Leachman and Cicely Tyson

Cloris Leachman won an Oscar, eight Primetime Emmy Awards and once, at the TCA press tour, she snuck up behind me in a buffet line and poured a large quantity of salt on a pair of my deviled eggs. She was a legend and she died this week at 94. Much of Leachman's wonderful television work is available for easy streaming, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Fox's more recent Raising Hope, both on Hulu. Cicely Tyson won three Emmys and a Tony, was nominated for an Oscar and was still doing spectacular work on shows like Cherish the Day and How to Get Away With Murder until the end. You can check out myriad highlights from Tyson, who died this week at 96, all over the streaming dial, including HBO Max (The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Roots), Netflix (How to Get Away With Murder) and Amazon (Sounder).

This Week's THR Staff Pick

THR.com copy chief Pete Keeley raves, "My new favorite show is Salvage Hunters on Hulu. It's basically American Pickers but in England, so they go to visit these old manor homes owned by eccentric aristocrats whose bank accounts are empty but there's an ashtray in an unused bedroom carved from a solid ruby that belonged to one of Henry VIII's concubines and he'll let it go for £500. It's pretty good fare for the late-stage pandemic where my brain can barely track a moving image onscreen let alone follow a plot."

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JANUARY 29, 2021

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