In May we said Smell Ya Later to The Girls on the Bus on HBO Max, Walker on The CW; Not Dead Yet on ABC (that title wasn’t accurate). Clearly we didn’t watch em. Here are the hits and blockbusters we enjoyed in May 2024. Some TV highlights that are #CouchWorthy. Maybe you missed em…
May Highlights
Bodkin: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)
Series Premiere: In this darkly comedic thriller, a crew of podcasters sets out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish town. Will Forte plays Gilbert Power, an American podcaster looking to discover his Irish roots. And what he discovers in an West Cork, an Irish coastal town is an opportunity to investigate mysterious disappearance of three strangers. Of course: once Gilbert and his podcast pals “start pulling at threads, they discover a story much bigger and weirder than they could have ever imagined.”
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RATHER (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
For decades, Dan Rather delivered the news with authenticity, integrity and courage. Rather chronicles his rise to prominence, sudden and dramatic public downfall, and redemption and re-emergence as a voice of reason to a new generation.
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Dan Rather is baseball in 2024: America’s pastime. The Rather doc is what you expect and hope for (I saw it last June at Tribeca.). It’s a tribute, recap and visual obit of an Anchorman “in a glass case of emotion!” It’s a memorial for a time when journalists informed never affirmed; like the clowns today who don’t believe in objectivity.
May Highlights
Stax: Soulsville, U.A.A. (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)
Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, and many more. That’s not Motown but that’s still something special. (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay, Soul Man, Green Onions, and the Theme from Shaft. This is that story; we’re talking about Stax Records. STAX: Soulsville, U.S.A. tells the story of an underdog record label comprised of Black and white collaborators who ushered in the groundbreaking, industry-altering soul music of Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Staple Singers, Sam & Dave and many others that defined a generation.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: KISS THE FUTURE (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)
Kiss the Future explores the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo. Explore how art and music sustained hope, thanks in part to humanitarians and the band U2.
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Kiss The Future is a potent documentary: Witness the resilience of the people of Sarajevo through art and music and the tale of a post-war concert by U2. Directed by Nenad Cicin-Sain, produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, featuring Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton of U2, and Bill Clinton this is an uplifting documentary about undaunted creativity. During the Siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996 Bosnians refused to surrender to the war. Instead they hooked up generators and put on plays, a beauty contest and played loud punk rock. While highlighting the intelligent power of creativity to repel the darkness. Creation in the midst of destruction is the dark soil where hope grows. For a documentary it has a killer soundtrack: Foo Fighters All My Life, The Clash, U2 songs including (duh) Miss Sarajevo and Public Enemy’s anthem Harder Than You Think perfectly cued to when NATO bombed the hell outta Milosevic’s forces. For more here’s my interview with the director Nenad Cicin-Sain.
May Highlights
Katt Williams: Woke Foke (Anytime / Netflix)
Comedian Katt Williams lets loose in real time as he hits the stage in Los Angeles. Directed by Troy Miller this will be Katt Williams’s third comedy special with Netflix. His previous specials include World War III and Great America.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ANYTHING FOR FAME (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+ US)
Crazy A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything for Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious-and reckless-new breed of content creator.
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The keyword in the description of this provocative NFB doc is reckless: “A startling and timely study of contemporary celebrity, Anything for Fame ventures into the virtual Wild West to profile an ambitious-and reckless-new breed of content creator.” What would you do for fame? In the doc you’ll meet Ava who went viral for licking an airplane bathroom toilet set. She called it a Coronavirus Challenge. And you’ll meet Jake an Ontario skateboarder who performs Jackass type stunts with nail guns and getting shot at with sharp needle tipped darts. There will be blood. So…what would you do for fame? Remember Hoop Dreams from the mid-90s? It was a doc following two inner city kids and their struggles to make it into professional basketball (NBA). Anything for Fame is Hoop Dreams for influencers. It’s a nuanced looked at going viral and the struggles of influencers to become wealthy and (internet) famous. I spoke to the director Tyler Funk about these online “Hoop Dreams” during his MSL visit. Programming Note: Currently streaming on Paramount+ Canada; the NFB will steam Anything for Fame for free across Canada via NFB.ca.
May Highlights
Dark Matter: Season 1 (Anytime / Apple TV+)
Series Premiere: Did you enjoy Wayward Pines? TV show or the novels. I’ve never read Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter: “Sent out to buy ice cream one evening, Jason is abducted and drugged, & wakes up to find himself in a version of Chicago that isn’t his own.” Oh, yes! Blake Crouch is one of those sci-fi writers I keep meaning to find time for but never do. I enjoyed his 2022 book Upgrade…solid sci-fi. That’d be an excellent adaptation; you can do lots with it. As for this adaptation here’s the other tantalizing hook: having developed a technology to travel to alternate universes, he wants to see the road not taken. That’s not gonna end well. Do you check out this TV show in this universe?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: OUTER RANGE SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
Season 2 of Outer Range propels its characters deeper into the void at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.
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Josh Brolin plays Royal Abbott “a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable supernatural mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.” How does a cattle rancher process that? This is the TV Guide description of Outer Range: “Royal Abbott is a Wyoming rancher, fighting for his land and family, who discovers a mysterious black void in the pasture, following the arrival of Autumn, a drifter with a connection to Abbott’s ranch. While the Abbott family copes with the disappearance of their daughter-in-law Rebecca, they are pushed further to the brink when a rival family, the Tillersons, try to take over their land.” Welcome back to the wild, wild west…gather the herd, it’s time for the second season of Outer Range. And welcome back to MSL: actor Tamara Podemski who plays a time travelling sheriff.
May Highlights
Idea Of You (Anytime / Prime Video)
Centers on Solène a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. The boy is Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway is a single mother…at Coachella. That’s way harder to buy than a 40 year old shagging a 20 something singer.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: WILLIAM SHATNER: YOU CAN CALL ME BILL (ANYTIME / HOOPLA)
Directed by the visionary filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe (78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, Memory: The Origins of Alien), William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is an intimate exploration of the life and career of William Shatner. From his unforgettable portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek to his diverse accomplishments of a 70+ year career across film, television, and the arts, the documentary captures the essence of Shatner’s journey and his extraordinary contributions to the entertainment industry.
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Star Trek is closing in on 60 years and we’ve never truly recovered from meeting Captain Kirk and his weird crew in 1966. A five year mission has turned into decades of mapping the stars and seeking delight in this strange and vast universe. “In the 58 years since, the Star Trek galaxy has logged 900 television episodes and 13 feature films, amounting to 668 hours — nearly 28 days — of content to date.” This Legion M documentary William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill isn’t a documentary it’s a memorial. It gives you the opportunity to say thank you for all the adventures. To toast the fun. And remember the laughs. Airplane II: The Sequel is magic. For more fun, you can enjoy a MSL interview with the documentary’s director Alexandre O. Philippe.
May Highlights
Unfrosted (Anytime / Netflix)
In his 2020 special on Netflix 23 Hours To Kill; Jerry Seinfeld had jokes about pop tarts: and now those jokes are this movie. In a time when milk and cereal ruled breakfast, a fierce corporate battle began over a revolutionary new pastry.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BUTTERFLY IN THE SKY: THE STORY OF READING RAINBOW (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Tells the story of the beloved PBS Children’s series Reading Rainbow which used television to inspire reading.
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Launched in 1983, Reading Rainbow used television to inspire children’s love of reading, especially during the summer reading slump when kids are out of school. 155 30-minute episodes were produced over 23 seasons. Butterfly in the Sky tells the story of the PBS children’s series Reading Rainbow from its iconic host, the people behind the scenes, and the challenges its creators faced in cultivating a love of reading through television. Like all of us the documentary’s co-director and editor, Bradford Thomason grew up watching the program along with co-director Brett Whitcomb. When they visited My Summer Lair I asked them if they’re ’80s nerds. Big Hint: they are! As filmmakers they were surprised to discover no one had yet to make a documentary about Reading Rainbow. A special children’s TV show like this doesn’t just affect the small sitting cross legged viewers, it touches the creators and producers and all the staff…you understand you’re fashioning something special. The filmmakers wanted to hear those stories and understand those experiences. And here they are.
May Highlights
Lolla: The Story Of Lollapalooza (Anytime / Paramount+)
It’s time we start to properly acknowledge the ’90s; culturally it’s been a powerful decade. Now, is all this true? “Launched by founder Perry Farrell in 1991 as a touring festival, Lollapalooza remains an innovator in festival culture over 30 years later. Lollapalooza was the first festival to bring together artists from a wide range of musical genres on one bill, it was also the first to travel, the first to expand to multiple days, the first to introduce a second stage, the first to blend art and activism, the first to offset its carbon emissions, the first to put electronic music artists on the main stage, the first to create family friendly programming, the first to make its home in an urban city center and the first to expand internationally.”
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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.
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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.
