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.
Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free (If You Have Amazon Prime)
Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham's Amazon take on A League of Their Own isn't really a remake or a reboot of Penny Marshall's beloved film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It's a fresh story about a fresh group of Rockford Peaches — Jacobson! D'Arcy Carden! Roberta Colindrez! Molly Ephraim! Nick Offerman as their manager! — that often feels a lot like the movie and sometimes feels a bit more mature than the movie. I agree with our Angie Han that it finds itself more and more as it goes along and maybe becomes less beholden to references to the film. Listen to this week's TV's Top 5 podcast for Graham and Jacobson's passionate explanation as to why this was a story that needed to be told again and why they needed to be the ones to tell it.
Last Call for 'Saul'
Better Call Saul began as a dumb idea. A comic prequel about Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman character from Breaking Bad? Who wanted or needed that? The mistake, it turns out, was failing to trust creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan, who slowly coaxed Better Call Saul into less of a funny origin story and more of a doomed (or is it?) romance between Odenkirk's man-who-became-Saul and Rhea Seehorn's Kim. It's sometimes hilarious, often sad, frequently breathlessly tense and always among the most beautifully shot shows on television. You've got the weekend to catch up on six seasons before Monday's series finale, or you can prepare by reading our interviews with Michael Morris, Michelle MacLaren, Thomas Schnauz and that same Vince Gilligan , the directors of the series' homestretch. Gould directed the finale and, while I haven't seen it yet, I know how much I'm going to miss this rare spinoff that entirely lived up to the pedigree of its acclaimed predecessor.
'Bluey' Is the Warmest Colour
Beloved by families with young children, families with older children and lonely people in states where marijuana is legal, Bluey is back on Disney+ for season three! It's the story of a family of almost pathologically adorable animated blue heeler dogs — parents Bandit and Chill, kids Bluey and Bingo. They have adventures and it's painfully sweet, even if you aren't the target demo. A little bit sweet and aimed at a slightly older audience, but also returning this week for its third season, is Netflix's Never Have I Ever, which isn't quite pathologically charming, but it's definitely likable, funny and always inclusive.
Basic vs. Passable: Whoever Wins, We're Placated
This weekend's highest-profile new streaming features find familiar stars in odd places. Paramount+'s Secret Headquartersis a YA sci-fi flick that hails from Catfish filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman and stars Owen Wilson as a father who has been saving the world with alien superpowers. Our David Rooney calls it "basic"! If, however, you're more in the mood for something "passable," that's what our Lovia Gyarkye deemed Jamie Foxx's vampire-fighting comedy Day Shift, which is new on Netflix. With choices like that, you might be better off checking out Freevee's Post Malone: Runaway. But probably not.
Honoring Olivia Newton-John
Beloved as a singer and actress, admired as an environmental and animal rights activist, Olivia Newton-John died this week at 73. If Grease is the one that you want, it's streaming on Paramount+. While Xanadu is only available for purchase, there are other Newton-John viewing options, including Sordid Lives (Hulu) and The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee (Tubi), which was her final screen role.
This Week's THR Staff Pick
Executive editor, television, Lacey Rose offers a double rave: "Since I'm fairly certain you've already watched The Bear (and if you haven't, clear your schedule and do that immediately), I'd highly recommend Heartstopper on Netflix. Yes, it's billed as a 'teen drama,' but don't let that deter you. It's also an adaptation of a graphic novel, though don't let that deter you either. At its core, it's a small, queer coming-of-age story, set at an all-boys grammar school in the U.K. The cast is appropriately aged and fantastic, and the pacing over eight episodes is as close to perfect as it gets. It also regards sexuality with maturity, which is welcome, and its young, earnest LGBTQ characters are defined more by joy than torment. It is, as THR's review said, a "low-key watching experience"; it is also one of the most enjoyable ones that I can recall."
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