Before we road trip into this week’s TV recommendations be sure to yell out Shōgun! From Code 8 to a Spaceman to Napoleon this week’s #SetTheVCR is brimming with stranger characters.
Monday, February 26
Life & Beth: Season 2 (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)
As Beth and John’s relationship grows more serious, Beth begins to examine the possibilities of marriage and having a family as she and John seek answers for their communication problems. Is Beth’s traumatic history with men, and people she trusted from her youth destined to repeat itself?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-US)
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts.
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Mutant Mayhem has been streaming on Paramount+ since Tuesday, September 19, in the U.S. and Canada. However, it has now been added to Prime Video-US as well. Based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, the latest Go Ninja Go movie was produced by Seth Rogen. Rogen’s involvement is pretty much exactly what you’d expect: Heroes in a “Half-Baked” Shell. I’m not saying this is “Superbad;” rather this is just animated “Good Boys” without all the cussing. The Turtles are endlessly ironic. It’s strange and I don’t understand why but you can do so much with em and create so much cool. 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. So why not celebrate with some sweet Turtle Power?
Tuesday, February 27
Warrior: Seasons 1-3 (Anytime / Netflix-US)
The former Cinemax/HBO Max martial arts (Bruce Lee, yo) drama will be dropping on Netflix following its recent cancelation at HBO Max. Set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SHŌGUN: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)
Set in Japan in the year 1600, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.
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Series Premiere: Shōgun is a 1975 novel by James Clavell. “Set in Japan in the year 1600 at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.” Then it became a 9-hour TV miniseries in 1980. Then it became a Broadway musical in 1990. And now it’ll be a 10-episode limited series. Are you gonna yell out “Shōgun!” for a front row seat to this incarnation? Programming Note: The limited series will premiere with its first two episodes on today on Hulu and FX, with new episodes then releasing weekly.
Wednesday, February 28
Poker Face: Season 1 (Anytime / CBC Gem)
Series Premiere: Created by Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Poker Face is a 10-episode mystery-of-the-week series following Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve. Programming Note: It has been renewed for a second season. And it originally premiered on Peacock on January 26, 2023,
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CODE 8: PART II (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
In a city where people with powers are policed and oppressed, a former criminal must turn to a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
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Welcome back to Lincoln City. Before you visit though know that around 4% of people living in fictional Lincoln City possess special abilities. Basically, they’re X-Men mutants. One of em is Connor Reed (played by Robbie Amell) and he is an Electric (electrokinetic). As you saw in the first Code 8 Robbie was approached by Stephen Amell who is Garrett Kelton a TK (telekinetic) criminal. And while those two cousins return to Lincoln City so does Alex Mallari Jr. who had a brief role in the first movie. This time for the sequel his character as Sergeant “King” Kingston has expanded and it turns out he is a corrupt police officer. And sloppy too, he committed a murder but left a witness which is where the Amell cousins show up. What makes Code 8 special is this is unique IP: it’s not based on a book or a comic book or even a video game. When you go to a Marvel movie many of them like Civil War have been loosely adapted for the big screen. Audiences can sorta know what’s going on. Here, Code 8 is all original and yet all super powers and sci-fi. That makes it way fun. Code it be anymore delightful? Programming Note: For more on Code 8: Part II, Alex Mallari Jr. was a recent My Summer Lair guest.
Thursday, February 29
The Tourist: Season 2 (Anytime / Netflix-US & Prime Video-Canada)
The Tourist has left HBO Max and is now touring Netflix: Elliot and Helen travel to Ireland to find answers about Elliot’s identity, but instead, they are forced to face the dangerous consequences of his past actions. Season 1 was an HBO Max Original; Season 2 is now a Netflix production.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CHAPPELLE’S HOME TEAM – DONNELL RAWLINGS: A NEW DAY (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
It’s a new day and Donnell Rawlings is feeling good. Dressed in a blue suit, red socks, and lotioned ankles, he’s here to discuss toxic relationships, traveling to New Zealand, aging, co-parenting and much more.
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Awww shucks! Ashy Larry got a stand up special. I’m 100% IN. The special was filmed at The Hard Rock Cafe in New York City during the New York Comedy Festival in November 2023.
Friday, March 01
The Holdovers (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
“Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunham, an adjunct professor of ancient history – universally disliked by students and faculty – who gets stuck holding over at Barton Academy with the kids who can’t go home for the holidays.” So Breakfast Club over a Christmas break? This is the story of a cook, a professor and a student.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SPACEMAN (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Jakub Procházka, orphaned as a boy and raised in the Czech countryside by his grandparents, overcomes his odds to become the country’s first astronaut.
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Another Uncut Gem…from Adam Sandler. His Netflix Hustle has impressively Blended Funny People with Grown Ups. So I’ll Click on this because That’s My Boy!
Saturday, March 02
Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional (Anytime / Prime Video)
Jenny proves that being brave for love is worth it. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is outstanding! After that though Jenny Slate’s stand up is a struggle. Even if she is a Seasoned Professional.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: NAPOLEON (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)
An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
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Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby (who you’d recognize from recent Mission Impossible movies) is Joséphine. As you’d expect Napoleon tells the story of ruthless rise to power and his relentless fall from grace coupled with his volatile relationship with Josephine. Where the Ridley Scott film shines is it features violent depictions of six epic battles. Though in the course of his research Scott points out, Napoleon took part in 66 battles over the course of his career. So cannon fire, horseback and infantry ruckus all showcasing Napoleon’s superb warfare strategies. And sigh…yes conquering Egypt. Let’s go: I’m in the mood for ruckus. (As always, shout out to Bill & Ted!)
Sunday, March 03
The Regime: Limited Series (9:00 p.m. / HBO Max & Crave)
Over 6 episodes The Regime tells the story of one year within the walls of the palace of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel. Palace intrigue with Kate Winslet.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father’s death. Wielding the Black Trident’s power, he becomes a formidable foe. To defend Atlantis, Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother. They must protect the kingdom.
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One last lap before the DCEU swims with the fishes. This is the DCEU’s 15th and final film so the tide has come in for all that. So, 15 movies later…how do you feel about the DCEU? Did you have a whale of a time? James Gunn will prove there are plenty more comic book fish in the sea when the DCU kicks off with Superman: Legacy on July 11, 2025.
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
