#SetTheVCR: March 24-30, 2025

Monday, March 24

Mafia: Most Wanted (Anytime / Crave)

A three-part Crave Original docuseries that reveals the inner workings of a Toronto crime family (‘Ndrangheta, a criminal organization that began in Calabria, Italy) and the global empire of a terrifying criminal organization. Exclusive interviews with mob enforcers, never-before-seen archival footage, wiretaps, and gritty cinematic recreations take viewers deep into the underworld of organized crime, told by the people who betrayed them, and the cops they didn’t see coming. True Crime, eh?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: LAID: SEASON 1 (9 P.M. / W NETWORK)

A woman finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward.
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Canadian Series Premiere: Peacock says Laid is a “fucked up rom-com where the answer to ‘Why can’t I find love, is there something wrong with me?’ is a resounding ‘Yes. There is. The problem is definitely you.” Works for me! What doesn’t work for me is that Laid is based on the Australian series of the same name. Oh, come on! That’s less Laid and more…lazy. Anyways: “it starts with Brandon from college, but when it goes from three ex boyfriends to six, Ruby decides that she has to start warning the ones who are still alive.” All episodes of the dark comedy are streaming on Peacock for Americans. However for Canadians this is a weekly release so hopefully each week you’ll get some clues as to why all of Ruby’s exes are dying in mysterious ways. Not sure if that’s Joy or more like Joy Luck Club. Either way you can “Peacock and chill” with Laid. Programming Note: The series premiered on Peacock on December 19, 2024.

Tuesday, March 25

Chelsea Handler: The Feeling (Anytime / Netflix)

From ruining Thanksgiving to a wild summer fling, Chelsea Handler recounts coming of age, unexpected encounters and that time she met Bill Cosby. Some jokes to prepare you for April Fools’ Day.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BOGART: LIFE COMES IN FLASHES (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-CANADA)

Narrated in his own words, the first official documentary to explore the remarkable life and legacy of Hollywood legend and cultural icon Humphrey Bogart. Framed around the five key women in his life, the film intricately weaves together his most important relationships against a backdrop of world events giving a fresh and captivating perspective on one of Hollywood’s most revered stars.
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I don’t know anything about Bogart. Happy to learn Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes a 2024 documentary is now streaming. Here’s Looking at You…Doc. (Wonder if this’ll explain what it means to Bogart something…is that related at all?)

Wednesday, March 26

The Righteous Gemstones: Season 4 (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

Tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. Despite constant bickering, Gemstone family ties run deep, and this season, the family’s codependence is tested as they attempt to move forward without letting go of their storied past.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE STUDIO: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

In The Studio, Seth Rogen stars as the newly appointed head of a movie studio, Continental Studios. Desperate for the approval of celebrities, he and his team of executives at Continental Studios must juggle corporate demands with creative ambitions as they try to keep movies alive and relevant.
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Series Premiere: I highlight this line from The Studio’s synopsis: “As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films.” That’s it right there…you can be popular or you can be relevant: it’s so hard to be both. And popularity is easy. Fools sitting in the front of their car get views on TikTok. (However, views doesn’t mean they’re good, thankfully so.) Speaking to Esquire about his role as Matty Remick, Seth explained: “It’s a very funny role to me. Seeing the panic and the joy and the pride that comes with success, and the risk mitigation. How much they love visiting the set, and the tragedy of the fact that nobody wants them around—that’s inherently very funny.” The funny thing is (not in a haha sorta way, though) is Rogen’s 2014 movie The Interview resulted in The Sony Hack. And like it or not all those contracts and shadowy business practices were revealed in the light. The Sony Hack was illuminating and confirmed its show business. And with The Studio Rogen is back not with a Sony Hack but with the same hard fought lesson: it is show and business. And this is how The Studio does business.

Thursday, March 27

Bosch: Legacy: Season 3 (Anytime / Prime Video)

Season three of Bosch: Legacy is based on Michael Connelly’s novels Desert Star (2022) and The Black Ice (1993). The murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler brings dangerous secrets to light and threatens to ruin the lives of our three principal characters. The disappearance of a family haunts Harry Bosch and forces him to confront the limits of justice. In a hotly contested race, Honey “Money” Chandler is poised to become the next District Attorney of Los Angeles. And Maddie Bosch gets entangled in a series of violent follow-home robberies.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: HOLLAND (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

In this wildly unpredictable thriller, Nicole Kidman is the meticulous Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher and homemaker whose picture-perfect life with her community pillar husband and son in tulip-filled Holland, Michigan tumbles into a twisted tale. Nancy and her friendly colleague become suspicious of a secret, only to discover nothing in their lives is what it seems.
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Oh! Major Cliché Alert: Kidman says “Actions Have Consequences.” Soon as you sound like white people on Twitter, that’s a major red flag: bad writing. Also? Exposing the underbelly of a “picture-perfect life” is another cliché. Nancy Drew rejects her Stepford Wife programming. zzzz. Also? I did not enjoy Don’t Worry Darling. How is this any different? Also? This is a streaming movie…so no pants. I don’t think it can successfully overcome the valid issues presented in the trailer but I can give it 10 or 15 minutes via a streamer? Also? This isn’t the only streamer I subscribe to. I can leave Holland anytime.

Friday, March 28

The Life List (Anytime / Netflix)

When her mother sends her on a quest to complete a teenage bucket list, a young woman uncovers family secrets, finds romance — and rediscovers herself. Based on the trailer? Eh: The Life List offers more cheese than Wisconsin. For my life it’s for sure on the list of movies to avoid at all costs. Impressively? It was shot entirely in the New York and New Jersey area. So that isn’t King Street West in Toronto: lol.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+)

New York, early 1960s. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.
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While Trojan horsing Timothée Chalamet is a better way for deeply ignorant youths to discover Bob Dylan rather than by watching an out of context TikTok of a loser sitting in the front of his car…for the rest of us? What’s the ROI? Eh: “I’m Not There.” I’d rather a documentary over a biopic every. single. time. And yet we just got Alex Wolff as Leonard Cohen in So Long, Marianne (Crave); we’re waiting to see Jeremy Allen White suck as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere all while Pharrell is Lego-ed (Peacock) and Robbie Williams is up to Monkey Business (Paramount+). Plus Google is free. There’s zero reason to be ignorant. Discovery like curiosity is a habit. It requires dedication so that some things isn’t a Complete Unknown.

Saturday, March 29

Plankton: The Movie (Anytime / Netflix)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Plankton’s tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand and decides to destroy the world without him. Indeed: this is a musical comedy movie based on the television series SpongeBob SquarePants.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MID-CENTURY MODERN: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / HULU & DISNEY+ CANADA)

Mid-Century Modern follows three best friends – gay gentlemen of a certain age – who, after an unexpected death, decide to spend their golden years living together in Palm Springs where the wealthiest one lives with his mother.
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Series Premiere: So…gay Golden Girls? There’s such an outdated ’80s sitcom vibe to this trailer. Like this line from the show’s description: “As a chosen family, they prove that no matter how hard things get, there’s always someone around to remind you it would be better if you got your neck done.” Guess it’s now just a countdown until we get the episode where one of them is seen naked and it disrupts the entire balance of the “family.” Cue the laugh track; there’s nothing Modern about this show.

Sunday, March 30

The Simpsons: Season 36 (8:30 p.m. / Fox)

The Mid-Season Premiere: The Flandshees of Innersimpson is the fifteenth episode of season 36 of The Simpsons and the seven-hundred and eighty-third episode overall. Bart enters the world of celebrity DJ-ing; Homer pushes Flanders too far. It’s The Simpsons: you’re either in or you’re out.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MOBLAND: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)

Power is up for grabs as the Harrigans and Stevensons, two warring London crime families, clash in a kill-or-be-killed battle that threatens to topple empires and ruin lives. Caught in the crossfire is Harry Da Souza (Tom Hardy), the street-smart ‘fixer’ as dangerous as he is handsome, who knows too well where loyalties lie when opposing forces collide. As kingdom goes up against kingdom, lines will be crossed — and the only saving grace is a bet-your-life guarantee: family above everything.
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Series Premiere: Guy Ritchie doing a London-set organized crime series with Pierce Brosnan as the head of a crime family who is battling with a rival for control of a global syndicate. And it all stars Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy. Works for me. I hear MobLand is lovely this time of year.

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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.