NOW SEE THIS

FEBRUARY 19, 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.

Cold War Kids

When it premiered, I thought the first three episodes of Apple TV+'s alt history For All Mankind were interesting and beautifully produced, but not mandatory viewing. Checking back in a year later, I rushed through the first season and my season 2 screeners in a week. After seeing space flops like Disney+'s The Right Stuff, Netflix's Space Force and Showtime’s Moonbase 8, I found much more to appreciate in Ron Moore and company's ambitious, thoughtful and frequently thrilling drama. Shantal VanSanten, Wrenn Schmidt and Michael Dorman are among the standouts in the deep ensemble, which continues to benefit from the writers' willingness to take big swings. Check out this week's TV's Top 5 for an in-depth conversation with Ron Moore about his lengthy love affair with space TV. 

Angels in the UK

Already available on HBO Max and generating the best reviews of the new year is Russell T. Davies' five-part series It's a Sin, a chronicle of a group of friends set against the early years of the AIDS epidemic in London. Perhaps Davies' most personal series ever, or at least in years, it's equal parts sad and angry, but with just enough joyful, nostalgic energy to keep it from feeling like a dirge. THR's Inkoo Kang raves about those "exquisitely controlled tonal swerves" and praises the young cast, including standouts Olly Alexander and Lydia West. It's a terrific show and a surprisingly fast, emotional binge. 

Mahna Mahna. Do Do Do Do Do.

Ha ha. Now you have one of almost countless catchy moments from The Muppet Show stuck in your head. For years, the iconic variety show, featuring the most insane and eclectic assortment of '70s guest stars imaginable, has been in a nebulous streaming void, but now all episodes are coming to Disney+. Sure, you could waste energy wondering why Disney+ didn't secure rights to this one upon launch, but that time would be better served preparing to explain Ruth Buzzi, Mummenschanz and Charles Aznavour to your kids! Recent attempts to bring the Muppets to TV have been hit-and-miss, but this one is timeless.

No Punny Subhead for This One

It's hard to come away from HBO's four-hour docuseries Allen v. Farrow without thoughts and emotions. Many — most? — viewers will be horrified and outraged by Dylan Farrow's sexual molestation accusations against Woody Allen and the way legal and social institutions treated those accusations. Some viewers will be perplexed and frustrated by certain choices made by directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering either in making no room for alternative perspectives in this contentious situation or in trying, with limited success, to use Allen's filmography as a piece of evidence against him. Even if you have mixed feelings, you'll definitely have feelings. 

It's a Nomad, Nomad, Nomad, Nomad World

The most rapturously reviewed movie of 2020 arrives on Hulu this week, as audiences can finally see what Golden Globes voters and critics alike have been raving about in Chloé Zhao's Nomadland. THR chief film critic David Rooney praised star Frances McDormand's commitment to a film he calls "a unique portrait of outsider existence." And speaking of Golden Globes, Netflix is premiering I Care a Lot, which earned Rosamund Pike a slightly head-scratching nomination from the HFPA. Rooney calls the film "breathtakingly vicious" and admits he went back and forth between finding it "delectably wicked" and "dyspeptically sour." Between those options, I'm honestly not sure which one to be rooting for. 

Honoring John Hora and Gerald Feil

The industry lost a pair of tremendous cinematographers this past week with the deaths of Gerald Feil and John Hora. Anybody who knows me knows my love for Gremlins, available to stream on HBO Max, one of many collaborations between Hora and director Joe Dante. Also available on HBO Max is Peter Brook's tremendous adaptation of Lord of the Flies, on which Feil served as photographer, editor and associate producer.  

This Week's THR Staff Pick

Associate editor Kirsten Chuba writes, "I'm wrapping up a rewatch of a little-known indie project called Sex and the City. It's been lovely to escape to a world where dating, barhopping and (often questionable) fashion still exist, and to wonder how they're going to pull off a Samantha-less reboot when her antics and humor are a much-needed reprieve from Carrie's self-centeredness, Charlotte's obsessions and Miranda's... well, we all agree Miranda is the best one, right? I can only hope in 2021 the girls have made a new friend who is at least half as fun." 

Is this e-mail not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser. 

©2021 The Hollywood Reporter, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. 11175 Santa Monica Boulevard Los Angeles, CA, 90025 All rights reserved.

FEBRUARY 19, 2021

UNSUBSCRIBE 

MANAGE PREFERENCES

PRIVACY POLICY

TERMS OF USE