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.

Alice in Down Underland 

It's a big weekend for appreciators of the cardiovascular arts. The second season of Netflix's Heartstopper is now up. After you've watched, you should read our interview with series creator Alice Oseman, who discusses letting her coming-of-age dramedy mature. For a different kind of heart, but not entirely, you can check out Amazon's The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart , an Australian drama (featuring the not-very-Australian Sigourney Weaver) about abuse, recovery, horticulture and sunsets. File away the name "Alyla Browne," the young star of the first three episodes. FYI, in the alien comedy Strange Planet, based on the webcomic by Nathan W. Pyle, they call hearts "blood pumps." The relatable human animated series premieres next Wednesday on Apple TV+ and it's quite charming.

The Kling[on] & I

Part of why Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been, generally speaking, the most instantly beloved of the Paramount+ franchise entries is the show's willingness to be downright silly. Body swap episode? Check! Crossover with animated sibling Star Trek: Lower Decks? Check! Musical episode with songs by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of Letters to Cleo, a band I saw in concert in Philadelphia 28 years ago? CHECK! "Subspace Rhapsody" wasn't my favorite of the show's big swings — too many middling songs, a rather bland justification for all the crooning — but as a showcase for talented castmembers including Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush and, especially, Christina Chong, it was worth the effort. 

Groot Expectations

The heroes on the half-shell have the weekend to themselves at the multiplex (along, obviously, with Barbenheimer), but some of the biggest movies of the late spring/early summer have just arrived on streaming. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hit Paramount+ last week, though I confess I've mostly found this franchise to be less than meets the eye. Where, damnit, is my GoBots movie?  I'm more likely to watch  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on Disney+, which is where I've been watching most of the more recent Marvel offerings. Over on Peacock, The Super Mario Bros. Movie just dropped, so naturally the Peacock algorithm is telling me to watch…  Renfield. Sadly, 1993's Super Mario Bros.  isn't streaming anywhere.

Rock Around 'The OC' 

On Aug. 5, 2003, Fox introduced viewers to brooding Ryan Atwood, lovably nerdy Seth Cohen, unobtainable Marissa Cooper and Chino-hating Summer Roberts. Yes, The OC turns 20 this weekend, making it older than Mischa Barton was when the show premiered. Sure, the second season of The OC was a mess, the third season was a bigger mess, and when the quality rebounded in the fourth season nobody was watching anymore. But that first season? What a delightful blend of snarky humor, delicious romantic pairings and one great cliffhanger after another. On a pure entertainment level, I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a broadcast drama more than The OC  season one, even if they dedicated a whole episode to singing the praises of a Rooney who wasn't THR chief film critic David. The series is streaming on Hulu, and I can't wait for Alan Sepinwall's oral history, Welcome to The OC, to hit shelves on Nov. 28.

Honoring Paul Reubens

Beloved to multiple generations as the irrepressibly immature Pee-wee Herman, Paul Reubens died this week at 70. I wrote a tribute to Reubens' ageless and timeless creation, though a lot of Pee-wee-related content isn't conveniently streaming at the moment, including Pee-wee's Playhouse and Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure (I don't recommend Big Top Pee-wee , though it's on Paramount+). You can, however, go back to the very beginning with the HBO special The Pee-wee Herman Show on Max. This might also be a good time to visit some of Reubens' finest character acting work, from Batman Returns (Max) to Blow (Tubi) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Max) to Mystery Men (Peacock). And definitely don't miss Reubens' guest turn in the season one 30 Rock episode "Black Tie," also on Peacock.

Honoring Mark Margolis

An Emmy nominee for his run as midlevel kingpin Hector Salamanca — "a man of few words and a bell," as our Mike Barnes put it — on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, veteran character actor Mark Margolis died this week at 83. Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul — I interviewed Margolis in 2016 for his first Saul  appearance — are streaming on Netflix, but beyond that indelible role, Margolis' list of credits is varied and wide. On Oz (steaming on Max), he played another calculating crime boss with a tragic arc. He flexed comic chops as a demanding landlord in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Amazon). And in Scarface (also Amazon), he was Alberto the Shadow. Plus, he appeared in six films from Darren Aronofsky, staring with the auteur's 1998 debut, Pi (on Pluto TV).