NOW SEE THIS

JANUARY 01, 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.

Dojo Mojo

Moving from YouTube to Netflix gave Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg’s The Karate Kid sequel a big boost of visibility this summer, and expect even more buzz to build over a long weekend in which Cobra Kai is the biggest TV show in town. The third season is more effectively sincere, if less outright funny, than previous seasons, and it sets the show up for what should be pivotal future episodes exploring the ongoing martial arts tensions between Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence and John Kreese (plus some teenagers, too). Check out this week's TV's Top 5 podcast as the creators discuss the show's journey to Netflix and its evolving tone.

That Darn 'Kat'!

Cobra Kai is definitely the week's primary option, but there are several other amusingly eclectic offerings premiering on 2021's first weekend. You won't see many performances better than Glenda Jackson's turn in Masterpiece's Elizabeth Is Missing, which premieres on Sunday night. The story of an aging woman battling dementia while trying to solve a pair of mysteries separated by decades is weighty stuff; if you're looking for something lighter, Fox is previewing the new animated comedy The Great North. It's from a team of Bob's Burgers veterans and it will have its real premiere in February. Nick Offerman! Will Forte! Jenny Slate! Plus, Alanis Morissette as herself! It's a great cast and the Alaskan setting leads to some unfamiliar storytelling. That beats Fox's Call Me Kat, which boasts the generally appealing Mayim Bialik but is never, at any point, unfamiliar.

Double-Dog 'Dare' You

USA Network has done many things right over the years, but nothing related to Dare Me, a dark, steamy and twisted drama about high school cheerleading and obsession, was handled correctly from the bizarre end-of-December premiere to the almost complete lack of promotion. This was clear even before it launched, when my initial review compared it to You, a show that tanked on Lifetime and became a hit on Netflix. Guess what? Dare Me is now on Netflix and I'm willing to bet that this adaptation of the Megan Abbott novel is going to find an audience that never knew it existed before. Pay close attention to the nuanced direction, and enjoy the cast of potential breakouts, especially Marlo Kelly.

Shootin' at the Walls of Heartache

Speaking of poorly timed, poorly situated shows that may be on the verge of a breakout in a new streaming home, Warrior was a prime example of the sort of above-average, pulpy genre programming Cinemax was solid at producing, but less solid at getting anybody to watch. Based on an original treatment by Bruce Lee, Warrior was a unique look at 1870s San Francisco and the Tong Wars, driven by elaborate martial arts sequences and occasionally rich period details. Both seasons are now available on HBO Max and if you watch them, maybe other Cinemax favorites like Banshee, Jett and Quarry will finally make it to the service.

Saw Things Clearer Once You Were in My Rearviewmirror

By the time this newsletter goes out, we will have successfully extricated ourselves from 2020 (or else reading this will be the least of your problems). While some people are avoiding looking back at all costs, streamers think comic reflection is a good idea. Feel free to skip Charlie Brooker's astonishingly hacky Netflix special Death to 2020. Amazon’s Yearly Beloved is both shorter — 43 minutes instead of 70 — and has a much clearer perspective. With a roster of big-name female comics — Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Silverman and more — plus Amazon's own Rachel Brosnahan, Yearly Beloved garners consistent chuckles.

Honoring William Link

Creating one indelible character or show is impressive enough. William Link, who died this week at 87, co-created both Columbo and Murder She Wrote with Richard Levinson. Those are a couple of the most iconic shows in TV history, plus the duo also co-created Mannix, which only run for 194 episodes in the '60s and '70s. And, like this newsletter's author and Cobra Kai co-creator Josh Heald, they formerly wrote movie reviews for the student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania. Both Columbo and Murder, She Wrote are available for free on Peacock and they are truly timeless. 

This Week's THR Staff Pick

THR.com managing editor Kimberly Nordyke guesses, "My family and I are really into HGTV's Home Town. It features this adorable couple, Erin and Ben Napier, who renovate houses in their charming little town of Laurel, Mississippi, which is as much a part of the show as anyone. Erin's the designer with the colorful sense of style that incorporates vintage finds, while craftsman Ben makes beautiful custom pieces of furniture from reclaimed wood. What I love is that it doesn't have all the manufactured drama of similar shows (looking at you, Flipping Vegas). The most tense moment might involve finding bats in an attic, but they are quickly disposed of and we don't have to sit through a long drawn-out tease over multiple commercial breaks that doesn't really pay off. Erin and Ben are so fun and creative and have a great sense of humor, and you just want to be a part of their world. They even inspired us to paint the front door of our house yellow after one episode! Next up, they're making over a whole town in Alabama for a show called Home Town Takeover that's debuting in 2021."

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JANUARY 01, 2021

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