#SetTheVCR: June 16-22, 2025

TV Recommendations for a Magic Lover you can watch week down by The Waterfront just watch out for Sharks. I’m not a Liar…look it’s #SetTheVCR.

Monday, June 16

Love Me (Anytime / Paramount+)

Long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy named Me and a satellite named Iam meet online and fall in love.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA (ANYTIME / HOOPLA)

The 1984, Michael Larson, an unemployed ice-cream truck driver from Ohio, steps onto the game show Press Your Luck harboring a secret: the key to endless amounts of money. But his winning streak gets threatened when the executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.
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“I’ve been the luckiest man in the world because I’ve had friends. And to have the right friends is everything. People you can depend on. People who tell you the truth if you ask for something. I’ve been lucky in that area.” Hah, that was Stan Lee but that’s what comes to mind when I hear The Luckiest Man. The Luckiest Man in this movie is based on a true story it focuses entirely on dude’s run on Press Your Luck. Set in 1984 an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio, becomes a contestant on Press Your Luck. However, he’s harboring a big fat secret. He understands a fatal flaw in the show’s central game, he stands to make an unbelievable amount of money. As he goes on an unprecedented winning streak, bewildered executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations. The movie ends with no paragraph epilogue. (Least when I saw it at TIFF 2024.) So what happened to Michael Larson? At a Q & Eh following a TIFF screening director Samir Oliveros said oh was he killed in Florida by the FBI. What?!

Tuesday, June 17

Love Hurts (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)

Marvin Gable, a realtor working in the Milwaukee suburbs, receives a crimson envelope from Rose, a former partner-in-crime he had left for dead. Thrust back into a world of ruthless hitmen and with his brother Knuckles, a volatile crime lord, hunting him, Marvin must confront the choices haunting him and the history he never truly buried. Programming Note: For Americans this was added to Peacock on May 9. It’s now streaming here in Canada.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JUSTIN WILLMAN: MAGIC LOVER (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Sleight-of-hand sorcery. Mischievous mind games. Mind-blowing illusions. Justin Willman conjures up laughs in a special where comedy and magic collide.
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Towards the end of Magic for Humans the show’s charming host and magician Justin Willman performed…naked. Indeed he performed at a nudist ranch. As someone who detests pants and enjoys magic this was spectacular. (I suspect for his current Illusionati tour he is clothed. Boo!) Magic for Humans was silly and satisfying. Willman’s Netflix follow up The Magic Prank Show lacked the delight of Humans. He’s back with a new…I guess half comedy stand-up special slash magic special: Magic Lover. And this is magic. Welcome back to Netflix Justin Willman. So making a tea for this special because it truly is. Programming Note: Back in 2020 I interviewed Justin for Season 3 of Magic for Humans. You can check that out; via this link. I was thrilled I got to talk to him. It’s wonderful interviewing magicians. I learn so much about trust and deception.

Wednesday, June 18

Disney’s Snow White (Anytime / Disney+)

A live-action musical reimagining of the classic 1937 film. The magical music adventure journeys back to the timeless story with beloved characters Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. I’d include one more dwarf: Lazy. It Is What It Is.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: WE WERE LIARS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

The eight episode series follows Cadence Sinclair Eastman and her tight-knit inner circle, nicknamed the Liars, during their summer escapades on her grandfather’s New England private island. The Sinclairs are American royalty – known for their good looks, old money, and enviable bond – but after a mysterious accident changes Cadence’s life forever, everyone, including her beloved Liars, seems to have something to hide.
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Series Premiere: I’ve never even heard of the novel by E. Lockhart. The scene where the generic white chick jumps off the boat…is this real? Is she dead? Time jumping: set in the past AND the future? We Were Liars is like the Kissing Booth movies. Remember on Netflix how much fun To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is? And in between those movies we’d get stuck with subpar Kissing Booth movies. (3 of them! They started off badly and got worse with each installment.) Prime’s big hit The Summer I Turned Pretty concludes next month so the hunt for a replace is on. But We Were Liars seems like their Kissing Booth movies. Programming Note: This is a Binge Release: today all 8 episodes are available to stream.

Thursday, June 19

The Kollective: Season 1 (Anytime / Hulu)

Taking audiences around the world from Budapest to St. Petersburg to London, The Kollective is a gripping thriller about a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a globe-spanning web of government lies and corruption. Through a dangerous international investigation, the group exposes nefarious activities of rogue governments and discovers the human price of keeping truth alive.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE WATERFRONT: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

A prominent North Carolina fishing family wades into treacherous waters to keep their crumbling business empire afloat.
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Series Premiere: Creator Kevin Williamson offers a crime family…only…it’s a real family. Though you know most of the actors from Mindhunter to Super Girl. Accustomed to a certain lifestyle a prominent North Carolina fishing family begin making unsavory connections…to keep their empire afloat they connect with a crime family. What’s the worst that can happen right? As Brando says On The Waterfront: “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am let’s face it.” So is this desperate family gonna take a one-way ticket to Palookaville? Programming Note: This is a Binge Release: today all 8 episodes are available to stream.

Friday, June 20

Cleaner (Anytime / Paramount+ Canada & HBO Max)

When a group of radical activists take over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages, an ex-soldier turned window cleaner suspended 50 storeys up on the outside of the building must save those trapped inside, including her younger brother. Wanna see Daisy Ridley clean someone’s clock? I’ll come clean and admit this clearly looks like a Die Hard rip off.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE ALTO KNIGHTS (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Italian-American crime bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello run their respective families during the 20th century. In 1957, Genovese moves to assassinate Costello.
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Oh! Robert De Niro goes full Eddie Murphy. (Technically the more accurate reference is Legend with Tom Hardy who played gangster twins. Eddie often played different characters.) I hope with The Alto Knights De Niro is back: dude has issued so much crap lately (War with Grandpa? About My Father? Yo, son. Why?). By going back to the mob is he going back to his roots? (To our roots, as well.) “The film follows two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello (De Niro) and Vito Genovese (De Niro), as they vie for control of the city’s streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.” That description is a bit much but I’ll allow it. Welcome back to the mob Robert De Niro: Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In.

Saturday, June 21

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy: Season 2 (Anytime / Prime Video)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy follows daring surgeons (and inseparable best friends) Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak, who frequently risk everything to take on the most dangerous cases in the universe. In season two of The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, doctors Sleech and Klak relish the fame of their recent success until a cyborg journalist starts digging a little too deep into Sleech’s past.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JAWS (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

When a massive killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Long Island, it’s up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
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Jaws was released on June 20, 1975. It’s been 50 years since people were afraid to go into the water. 50 years of Dun Dun Dun Dun…that incredible John Williams soundtrack. 50 years of You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat. 50 years of Bruce…The Shark. The shark was originally called “Bruce” by film crew members in reference to Steven Spielberg’s lawyer, Bruce Ramer. 50 years of Mayor Vaughn of Amity Island refusing to close the beaches. It’s been 50 years of Jaws. As the shark can attest…this time it’s personal. What does 50 years of Jaws mean to you?

Sunday, June 22

The Gilded Age: Season 3 (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic and social change, when empires were built, but no victory came without sacrifice. Following the Opera War, the old guard is weakened, and the Russells stand poised to take their place at the head of society.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TRAINWRECK: MAYOR OF MAYHEM (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Rob Ford scandalized Canadian politics as the brash yet beloved mayor of Toronto — until an infamous video of him smoking crack sparked his downfall.
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I dunno why Netflix produced a Rob Ford documentary. (CanCon, maybe? Approved in 2023 The Online Streaming Act aims to ensure that Canadians see more of their own stories and culture on streaming platforms. Which sounds nice but then you end up with an unnessary Rob Ford smoking crack documentary.) Ford passed away on March 22, 2016. His obit includes being the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. As mayor his term was tumultuous though complicated when a video was released where was smoking crack cocaine from a glass pipe. Now hold up…I refuse to gloss this part over. The infamous Rob Ford smoking crack video was recorded without his consent. Full Stop. It doesn’t matter what Ford is doing on the video. It was recorded without his knowledge and permission. Full Stop. There must be ruthless putative damages for the staggering arrogance of recording somebody without their knowledge and permission. Full Stop. No exceptions. No excuses. When Mohamed Siad who recorded the video was sentenced in 2015 the CBC confirmed: “Siad secretly filmed and tried to sell video of the former mayor smoking crack in a Windsor Road home in 2013.” Flat out that is unacceptable. That’s the real Trainwreck.. An elected Mayor smoking crack is immediately secondary to the gross arrogance we willingly perpetuate by believing any and every experience can be recorded. Fools record strangers on an airplane. Is putting up your stinky sockless feet up wrong? Sure. And yet the moron who recorded it is far more wrong. Full Stop. Disabuse yourself of the premise that this is a debate. Phone goes up, intelligence goes down…this isn’t a debate. There’s no what about. That nasty narcissism is the trainwreck and we eagerly gloss that over. No. That’s no right. It wasn’t right back then, it’s even more wrong today.