| | | | 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. |
Something Old, Something Newish, Something Borrowed, Something Jewish Kristen Bell and Adam Brody deliver both vintage '00s teen drama nostalgia and ample chemistry in Nobody Wants This, created by Erin Foster. The Netflix rom-com, about an agnostic podcaster and a rabbi who fall in love, additionally boasts very funny supporting performances from the likes of Justine Lupe and Timothy Simons. If you're not the kind of person who gets preoccupied by Jewish representation, the series is generally enjoyable. If you have such concerns, my own review spends a lot of time thinking about it. |
'Colin' In and Out of Love It's rarely a big week for rom-coms on TV, but this is a big week for rom-coms on TV! The first season of Paramount+'s Colin from Accounts was one of last year's surprise delights and the second is, in some ways, better. It's in all ways darker, which is saying something for a show in which the "meet cute" involved the couple nearly killing a small dog. This season also starts with a comic hit-and-run, and it contains as much death and discomfort as it does lovey-dovey romance. Real-life partners Harriet Dyer (I'm still angry at the cancellation of American Auto ) and Patrick Brammall (I'm still angry at Andy from Evil) are so good at playing the wholly dysfunctional couple at the show's heart, while I liked getting more of Michael Logo's Brett, Emma Harvie's Megan and Genevieve Hegney's Chiara. Special notice to the After Hours-esque fifth episode, a beautifully constructed one-night urban nightmare. |
| | | Niecy's Pieces After last week's American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story double-bill, Ryan Murphy had two MORE new dramas this week. Truly, don't ask me how he does it. ABC's Doctor Odyssey is the only new broadcast show this year not to send screeners to critics, so I don't have a clue how it is. FX's Grotesquerie also went critic-free, but two episodes premiered, so I felt equipped to review. It's a bit of an American Horror Story everything bagel, with gory ritual killings and apocalyptic intimations. But it's mostly notable as an exceptional delivery system for Niecy Nash-Betts, who gets to drink hard, swear aggressively and banter deliciously with the perfectly arch Lesley Manville. It’s a fine television introduction as well for Broadway star Micaela Diamond, as an energetic nun/clickbait journalist with a love for Greek serial killers. Travis Kelce will eventually show up, too, but not thus far. |
Sui DeGeneres Ellen DeGeneres' new Netflix comedy special, For Your Approval is … odd. DeGeneres is probably one of my top 10 favorite standup comics, and despite her relative rustiness in the format, her unique cadences and joke construction remain occasional things of beauty. It's just uncomfortable to see such clear skill put to such bizarre use, as she builds her entire set out of the contention that she was "kicked out of show business," which runs counter to all the stories about the ending of her talk show and runs WAY counter to the amount that Netflix has presumably paid her for this hour. Approval is all about Ellen reassuring herself that some people still love her and don't think she's mean — a newfound perception she attributes to the societal sanctioning of strong women and … a lot of alleged misinterpretations. Based on the number of applause breaks and standing ovations, she’s found that audience. The special is funny in places, but it's also amusing for the disconnect between Vintage Ultra-Relatable Ellen and Current Ellen. Like how an anecdote about how she enjoys lounging in sweatpants becomes a story about skipping Mick Jagger's birthday party. Or a confession about her OCD becomes a story about getting to Usher's Grammys party TOO EARLY. It's odd. |
Don't Trust the B in 'Apartment 7A' I wasn't sure if I needed a prequel to Roman Polanski's suspense classic Rosemary's Baby, and our Lovia Gyarkye's review of Paramount+'s Apartment 7A praises star Julia Garner, but finds the rest of the movie lackluster. The original film is streaming on Paramount+. Our Jordan Mintzer had more enthusiasm for Apple TV+'s Wolfs , which thrives on the star power of Brad Pitt and George Clooney, even if doesn't amount to much in the end. Lovia found Netflix's Will & Harper, a road trip documentary with Will Ferrell and bestie Harper Steele, to be an endearing portrait of an evolving friendship. Plus, Netflix has the new basketball drama Rez Ball, which features so many contributions from Reservation Dogs veterans, including writer-director Sydney Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo, that I surely won't be able to resist. |
Honouring Dame Maggie Smith I know the United States isn't part of the British Empire, but it's almost unimaginable to refer to Dame Maggie Smith without her honorific. The towering stage (my parents both recall seeing her as Desdemona in Othello) and screen veteran, who became best known for shredding onscreen rivals with precision, but was far more versatile than simply that, died this week at 89. Smith won Academy Awards for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, an absolutely wonderful movie that isn't currently streaming anywhere, and California Suite , which isn't as good, but is on Tubi. She earned a slew of additional Oscar noms, including recognition for A Room with a View (on Max, Britbox, Criterion and more) and Gosford Park (somehow not streaming); won younger hearts as the Mother Superior in the two Sister Act films; and then redefined herself for a new generation as the Dowager Countess on Downton Abbey, currently on Peacock. That scene-stealing performance won Dame Maggie Smith a trio of Emmys. |
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