These TV recommendations bring us to June! We’re halfway through 2024. What have you enjoyed so far? Let’s keep going with more #SetTheVCR fun!
Monday, May 27
Beautiful Wedding (Anytime / Prime Video & Hulu)
The follow up to Beautiful Disaster: Abby and Travis, who after a crazy night in Las Vegas, discover they are married. They head to Mexico for a honeymoon with friends and family. This movie is less beautiful and more of a disaster really. (Coming to Hulu on June 7th not that it matters.)
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ASCENSION (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO CANADA)
In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.
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Ascension a 2014 Syfy mini-series has randomly surfaced on Prime Video Canada. Back in the 1960s JFK launched an inter-generational space shuttle…it was going to take 100 years for it to reach its destination: Proxima Centauri. (The TV show was inspired by the real-life concept of Project Orion which Kennedy ultimately killed). Of course…things don’t go well and it’s all sparked by a murder. Some of the writing is a bit cheezy, typical TV writing…but there are some fresh moments too. Only lasted 6 episodes then it died (don’t ponder the ending too much as Syfy confirmed: “We were very happy with Ascension as an event series, but with so much high profile development in the works, we have decided not to pursue a full series.”). I bring this up because this is an issue as we move forward with streaming: do you bother watching a cancelled TV show like this? Or is it done forever because well, there’s no point? What’s the value of watching this? How do the actors feel about this incomplete work? Knowing streamers are gonna more often than not kill off these TV shows before they find an audience. The Society, Archive 81 are Netflix shows that offered a compelling premise yet perished after one season. Prime Video only made 1 episode of The After a Chris Carter post-apocalyptic drama. Streamers have become a digital graveyard of potential and wasted storytelling. Is that what you really want from streamers?
Tuesday, May 28
The Boys in the Boat (Anytime / Prime Video)
This comes to Prime Video-US today. (It’s been on Prime Video-Canada since March 29th). A 1930s-set story centered on the University of Washington’s rowing team, from their Depression-era beginnings to winning gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: UP FOR DEBATE: THE EVOLUTION OF SPORTS MEDIA (ANYTIME / ESPN+)
From the legends who paved the way to the current Kings and Queens of the mic, we’re bringing you a front-row seat to the passion and intensity that fuel debates in today’s generation of sports.
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The three-part series, produced by Religion of Sports (Gotham Chopra serves as an Executive Producer): “delves into the evolution of sports talk debate programming across seven decades–from Howard Cosell to Stephen A. Smith to Cam’Ron–and explores how sports discourse arrived at this moment, why it’s here now, and where it’s going next.” Sports personalities include: Troy Aikman, Mina Kimes, Molly Qerim, Shannon Sharpe, Michael Wilbon, Hannah Storm, Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo and Bomani Jones. (Yes, sorry Jemele Hill’s in this deploying her patented brand of narcissism (just hit the FF button, I usually do with her shrill obnoxiousness) and where is Dan Le Batard?!) The thing is…does sports journalism add anything? All I care about is the games. I consume sports journalism (especially solid writing) but most of it? Is…meh.
Wednesday, May 29
Power (Anytime / Netflix)
Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, it can be described by one word: power.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MOVIEPASS, MOVIECRASH (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
In eight years, MoviePass went from being the fastest-growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy, losing over $150 million in 2017 alone. Moviepass, Moviecrash chronicles the company’s beginnings as an innovative movie ticketing model, exploring the visionary mission of its co-founders, its jaw-dropping early successes, and its precipitous downfall caused by mismanagement and corporate greed.
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If I was white I’d say MoviePass, MovieCrash is a documentary about investors attempting to “disrupt the cinema-going paradigm.” (Equally obnoxious are the middle class dorks on Twitter who deploy the phrase tech bro as a snark shorthand. We get it; you resent their status and capitalism sucks. We get it.) Still like WeWork before it…it’s worth asking: how did MoviePass flame out? Was it an unsustainable business model? If so what made it unsustainable? Why did investors overlook that and invest anyways? Many questions; I start with my questions first before I watch a documentary. That way I know what the documentary addressed and just as importantly failed to address. Plus, everybody can’t help but slow down and watch a MovieCrash, right?
Thursday, May 30
The Blue Angels (Anytime / Prime Video)
Soar with The Blue Angels in a brand-new documentary featuring never-before-seen footage. It chronicles a year with the Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron—from selection through the challenging training and demanding show season—showcasing the extraordinary teamwork, passion, and pride that fuels America’s best, the Blue Angels.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: DIE HART 2: DIE HARTER (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
In this sequel, Kevin Hart, now the world’s biggest action star, finds himself the victim of an evil revenge plot and must enlist the help of his favorite co-star and his over-eager assistant if he wants to survive.
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It’s Kevin Hart so you’re already IN or you’re out. Still here ya go: “In Die Hart 2: Die Harter, Kevin now wants to cement his legacy as the greatest action star of all time, after achieving his dream of becoming a bona fide action hero in Die Hart. He’s developed a concept for a revolutionary movie where the action is so unscripted and unexpected that even Kevin won’t know what’s coming next. But Kevin’s myopic dream comes with a blind spot, and he soon finds himself the victim of an evil revenge plot, orchestrated by someone from his past.” Programming Note: On April 13, 2023: Roku has given the green light to Die Hart 3 following the success of the launch of Die Hart 2: Die Harter.
Friday, May 31
The Outlaws: Season 3 (Anytime / Prime Video)
With crime boss The Dean behind bars awaiting trial, The Outlaws are moving on with their lives—until one of their own returns with a deadly secret, hurling them back into mortal danger. As a murder manhunt closes in on the gang, can they prove their innocence before The Dean’s case collapses, and he comes looking for revenge?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JIM HENSON IDEA MAN (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)
Produced with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family, Jim Henson Idea Man is an unprecedented, intimate look at Henson’s illustrious, revolutionary career and complex personal life.
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Jim Henson > Walt Disney: every day every way. Jim Henson is among the rare pantheon of big-bang creators harnessing the sparks of his imagination to ignite a powerful universe…he’s on that short list with George Lucas and Stan Lee and J. K. Rowling and Stephen King. (Fine, Walt Disney is on that list but his work is trash. And in the end, he owns most of these universes now.) I appreciate this documentary is called Idea Man because that deftly sums up Henson’s life and work. He gave us so much and I am so thankful.
Saturday, June 01
The First Omen (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)
Sometimes motherhood is Hell: A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CAMDEN (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)
Set in London’s beating heart of music the series reveals the untold stories of how the lives and careers of some of the world’s most iconic artists were influenced by this corner of London.
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Hah, shout out to Camden, NJ which should get a docuseries. Any this is yet another music documentary: this four-part docuseries “focuses on the untold stories of how the lives and careers of some of the world’s most iconic artists were influenced by this corner of the city.” If you haven’t heard of Camden in London, then you for sure have heard of: Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, Questlove, Pete Doherty and Carl Barat of The Libertines, Mark Ronson, Nile Rodgers, Boy George, Black Eyed Peas, Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B, Chuck D and the standard issue lots more. “It’s got a heartbeat, it’s got a vibe, it’s got an energy to it,” so says Noel Gallagher. Documentaries are the cheapest way to travel all without pants and from the comfort of your home.
Sunday, June 02
Mayor of Kingstown: Season 3 (Anytime / Paramount+)
In season three, a series of explosions rock Kingstown and its citizens, as a new face of the Russian mob sets up shop in the city, and a drug war rages inside and outside prison walls.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BILLY THE KID: SEASON 2: PART 2 (ANYTIME / MGM+)
The epic romantic adventure inspired by the life of America’s most infamous outlaw continues in Season Two, as Billy and his allies square off against his oldest friend Jesse Evans and the corrupt powers of the Santa Fe Ring. When shots are fired, the conflict erupts into the bloody Lincoln County War. Amidst the fighting, Billy will struggle to hang onto his soul—and to the love of his life.
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More action and more gunfights: the show continues to build towards the Lincoln County War of 1878: “a murderous conflict driven by money, greed and corruption.” It’s always fun to ride with an outlaw even though the first episode of Season 2 is called The Road To Hell. William H. Bonney’s road to Billy The Kid is notoriously mysterious…especially his earliest years before becoming a prominent criminal. So this show continues to blend fictional and historical characters to fill in the blanks while telling its story. Cowboys and gun fights, ambushes, law-and-order…that’s enough to “draw” my attention. Programming Note: Part Two’s four episodes were delayed until today due to the recent Hollywood strikes.
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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.
