How is TV treating you these days? It’s been a warm April, so make sure if you’re gonna watch TV to do it outside. Friday April 21 was a classic #CouchWorthy Battle. (Well not for me; I wasn’t gonna watch Dead Ringers.) The TV fighting was fresh; the month has not been. April hasn’t been…
April Highlights
Beef: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)
Yoda Jr. and his helmeted sidekick return. Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa and co-star Carl Weathers direct new episodes and guest stars scheduled to appear in this Star Wars season include Tim Meadows and oh…interesting: Christopher Lloyd. Great Scott!
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CITADEL: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency – tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people – was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows.
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We got a global spy series executive produced by the Russo Brothers. Prime Video continues to open their wallets for these super expensive TV shows.
Richard Madden had his memories wiped eight years ago when Citadel fell. He has no idea he’s an elite agent (is there any other kind?) tasked with the safety of the world. The CIA if it was a global organization. Only now Stanley Tucci randomly shows up and tell him he is an elite agent (is there any other kind?). And that with Citadel gone it’s up to them to prevent the evil org Manticore from establishing a new world order (is there any other kind?).
This is the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show I longed for but never got. We got spies and memory wipes and gadgets and secrets & lies and high-stakes espionage ruckus…this is my TV love language. Oh, yo. Does this TV show come with seatbelts? Only 6 episodes but Prime has already ordered Season 2; thank you Jeff Bezos! Let’s Citadel on the couch and enjoy spies saving the world.
April Highlights
The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla (Anytime / Hulu)
Based on the best-selling novel and Reese’s Book Club Pick by Taylor Jenkins; this is the never-before-told story of the rise and dramatic fall of the renowned 1970s rock band. The original music will be released by Atlantic Records during the rollout of the series, which premieres March 3, with new episodes released every Friday through March 24.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: DEAR MAMA (ANYTIME / HULU)
Dear Mama is five-part docuseries exploring the lives and legacies of mother and son, Afeni and Tupac Shakur.
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Tupac Amaru Shakur died on September 13, 1996. As a rapper his work was notable for focusing on the persistent troubles that plague inner cities. Tupac remains a wonderfully flawed; rough around the edges symbol of activism. Where did his distinct worldview come from? By being raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur who was a member of the Black Panther Party. It helps she raised Tupac in Baltimore and later they moved to San Francisco. Both cities have unique cultures and oddly enough moving to San Fran made Tupac officially West Coast before that was a real thing.
Still…if you’ve ever listened to Tupac’s 1995 song Dear Mama you can hear she struggled as a mother due to her drug abuse. Her crack cocaine addiction cost her jobs, strained her relationships including those with her children and placed her on welfare. Yet that activist fire never dimmed. More than just a five-part docuseries about a famous rapper and his infamous mother this is an American story.
From the revolutionary ruckus of the Black Panthers to the world changing impact of hip hop. America is a country brimming with contradictions; Tupac’s music often highlighted those strange discrepancies. It’s not a surprise America birthed hip hop and yet struggled with a crack cocaine epidemic. I hope this is the first of Last Dance type docs for Tupac; to keep his work and his memory alive. (Though this is terrible marketing; why isn’t this being released on Mother’s Day?? Dear Mama? More like Dear Lord!)
April Highlights
Cocaine Bear (Anytime / Peacock)
Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SWEET TOOTH: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
In season 2, Gus and his fellow hybrids are held captive by the Last Men in order to find a cure for the Sick.
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Sweet Tooth is a wonderful comic book series written and drawn by Jeff Lemire. (I said is present tense as the original series ran for 40 issues on the defunct Vertigo imprint (RIP!) from 2009-2013. A six issue mini-series-sequel, subtitled The Return was published in 2021. The Return was decent however I highly recommend the original 40 issue run: outstanding comics.)
Sweet Tooth has now been adapted for Netflix which’ll fully allow us to explore what’s left of America following The Great Crumble. That’s the mysterious emergence of hybrid babies born part human, part animal. You don’t hafta read X-Men comics to know these mutants would be feared and hunted. And so Gus, a “sweet” young latchkey kid with deer-like features, meets drifter Jepperd after the boy’s father passes away. Jepperd promises Gus he will bring him to The Preserve a safe haven for hybrid children such as himself. And the road-trip adventures begin.
If you’ve ah…got a “Sweet Tooth” for a dystopian thriller tale about Bambi fighting to exist in a Mad Max style world then here ya go: this should satisfy your craving. For Season 2 Gus and his fellow hybrids continue to fight to exist in a world where determined evil forces seek to wipe them out once and for all. Gus you know how that story is gonna be; its human nature vs the hybrids. Evolve or Adapt or Die.
April Highlights
New Girl: Complete Series (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)
Time for another classic Cece and Winston mess-around.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: JUDY BLUME FOREVER (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
Documents the life and legacy of trailblazing author Judy Blume.
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Judy Blume was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in…2023. Really? How she is not consistently appearing on that list is odd; like Michael Jordan not winning an MVP every season he played.
You know her books: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (published in 1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972) and Blubber (1974). Yes those were all published in the 70s yet the books remain timeless because their themes are timeless. Divorce, sexuality, puberty, bullying, masturbation, menstruation, teen sex and birth control are the exact same issues in the 70s as they are now. We might have more information; clumsy up conversations with convoluted definitions of simple words but it’s all the same strange experiences. There’s always somebody who oddly thinks they are a unicorn; they’re weird and Blume says nope. You’re not that special you’re just as normal as everyone else.
Hopefully we get more docs on writers; in this space I’ve recommended lots of music and sports docs. Remarkable writers like Judy Blume who have had and have a significant impact on her readers should be celebrated with a fantastic doc. April is that season where things Blume so this should be a fresh treat.
April Highlights
Die Hart 2: Die Harter (Anytime / The Roku Channel)
In the 12-episode third season of Ted Lasso, the newly-promoted AFC Richmond faces ridicule as media predictions widely peg them as last in the Premier League and Nate, now hailed as the “wonder kid,” has gone to work for Rupert at West Ham United.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FROM: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / MGM+ & PARAMOUNT+ CANADA)
A new season unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
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A new season unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.
On Valentine’s Day 2022 I wrote hopefully From is strong enough to find the right audience so it gets to Season 2. I mean what’s not to love? “The series unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down.” Fresh!
I’m a sucker for these types of trapped sci-fi horror mysteries. If all the books in the library are blank my brown heart blooms. As for Season 2…oh: “hidden truths about the nature and terrifying origins of the town begin to emerge, even as life for its residents is plunged into chaos by the arrival of mysterious newcomers.” Oh as in oh yes. From me to you; this is Must See TV. Can we get From to Season 3?
April Highlights
American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing (Anytime / Netflix)
In the basement of the White House, there’s a phone that never rings. This is the story of the night it rings. The TV series follows the crooked journey of Peter Sutherland a young FBI agent who finds himself caught up in a conspiracy (of course he does!) that threatens to upend the entire nation (of course it does!). As he navigates a web of lies and deception (oh yes!), Peter must use all of his skills and training to uncover (wait for it!) the truth before it’s too late! (There it is.) A spy thriller meets political drama should be enough to…keep you up at Night. U Up for The Night Agent?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BARRY: SEASON 4 (10 P.M. / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
Cousineau (Henry Winkler) is hailed as a hero as Barry’s (Bill Hader) arrest has shocking consequences. It’s all been leading up to this – the explosive and hilarious final chapter of Barry.
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Barry follows a mentally unstable Afghanistan veteran (Bill Hader) who has become a contract killer in the criminal underbelly of Cleveland, Ohio. While in Los Angeles for a hired kill Barry stumbles into an acting class led by the egocentric but weirdly charming Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). (Winkler is so good in this show!) The acting class is the bug: he falls in love with acting (being somebody else is a welcome relief) and an aspiring actress/classmate.
Only…as you know: it’s nearly impossible for him to leave this life of crime behind. He continued to kill and the dark situations continued to escalate and now: with Season 4 it’s time for Barry Berkman to atone for his (many) sins. Can he leave the criminal world—even though that world has him trapped—for his new home of acting and recapturing his emotions? Can Barry make it out alive? Or will he be Barry-ed in this final season?
April Highlights
The Diplomat: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)
The saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MOONAGE DAYDREAM (ANYTIME / HBO MAX)
Full-time detectives Nick and Audrey are struggling to get their private eye agency off the ground. They find themselves at the center of international abduction when their friend Maharaja, is kidnapped at his own lavish wedding.
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Last September when this David Bowie documentary opened in cinemas near me; I just didn’t have the heart to go. Dude died in 2016 but it still feels fresh; unresolved. The documentary chronicles the three major eras of Bowie’s life: early experimentation in London, the androgynous years in Berlin, and the prestige of a later-life gonzo art elder statesman.
It comes with the standard never-before-seen footage and performances with unusual remixes of classic Bowie hits. It has a 48-song soundtrack: wow. Apparently director Brett Morgen was given access to five million different artifacts, including artwork, photos, audio, journals and more. That seems like a high number…do creatives really create that many artifacts? Morgen wrote, directed, produced, and edited Moonage Daydream.
This is it; this is what I mean. This is how you say goodbye and thank you to David Bowie. Heavy Sigh: okay let’s do this: Let’s Dance. Programming Note: For Canadians we score this Bowie doc on May 10 on Canadian Prime Video.
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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.
