#CouchWorthy: April 2024 TV Highlights

April Highlights

Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)

Series Premiere: Have you seen Netflix’s series The Sandman an adaption of the Neil Gaiman comics. (Sandman has been renewed for a second season.) Broadening The Sandman’s world this series features DC Comics super sleuths Dead Boy Detectives. The detective duo of the dead boys Edwin and Charles first appeared in The Sandman #25. Dead Boy Detectives is a fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland…and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace. It’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FUTURE (ANYTIME / PBS)

What do we imagine when we think about the future?
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AI, AI Art, Self-Driving Cars etc. are part of an impressive future: our future. We live in a truly amazing time. Possibilities are far more tantalizing than fear. (Yes, I’ve seen Chopping Mall with killer robots and Terminator 2 with Skynet is a personal favourite.) Thankfully, hope, excitement…all these rich and positive emotions show up is this six-part docuseries on PBS. (Oddly executive produced By Drake. He’s never been the future when it comes to hip hop.)

April Highlights

Beacon 23: Season 2 (Anytime / MGM+)

In Season 2, Beacon 23 is now little more than a prison with Aleph onboard, and The Artifact provides more questions than answers. Without a clear path forward, the inhabitants of Beacon 23 must rely on each other, but their conflicting agendas may get in the way.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK: MEMES TO MAYHEM (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

From Rickrolling to viral conspiracy theories, explore how an anonymous website evolved into a hub for real-world chaos in this documentary.
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“What drives user base numbers and revenue is anger. So Facebook or Twitter is making more money as users are getting angrier.” Your anger is a monetizable product. What does that say about you? What does that say about the internet we designed? I get it…sometimes you’ll look cool or you calculate the likes and loves you get for sharing. The dopamine hits are legitimate. But again…this is the internet we have…is this the internet you want? Do you understand how powerful that is? We can have an internet that isn’t a beauty contest. Or filled with fake followers and spambots. We don’t hafta be bonded servants to the algorithms. We can have the internet we want…if we know what we want. Do you know what you want? We can have a social network, not an antisocial network. But…is that what you really, truly want? Your clicks and shares say otherwise.

April Highlights

Argylle (Anytime / Apple TV+)

Disappointingly, this is not a Die Hard spin-off with the dopest limo driver Argyle. Rather this is a spy caper and you know everybody in this. “It follows an unlikely spy mission taken by unassuming writer Elly Conway. Elly works alongside the real spy Aidan on a globe-trotting mission full of assassins, deception, betrayal and a global crisis. As the movie unfolds, viewers learn who the real Agent Argylle is after a series of twists.”
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: NEAL BRENNAN: CRAZY GOOD (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Crazy Good follows Neal’s previous Netflix original comedy specials Blocks and 3 Mics, as well as his half hour featured in Comedians Of The World.
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In this stand-up special Neal Brennan reflects (and mocks?) on crypto, social media flexes, sex compliments and the link between greatness and mental health. Have you seen his Netflix special: 3 Mics? Neal Brennan continues to create compelling comedy. What he’s doing is literally so special. Make some tea and chill with this one.

April Highlights

The Magic Prank Show With Justin Willman: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)

The good news is Justin Willman is back…but not with more Magic for Humans. Rather…Pranks for Humans? Huh. There’s a Just for Laughs quality to this to Netflix TV show. (Well, better production values…) The show sees Justin Willman using his extraordinary skills to pull off ambitious and hilarious pranks like you’ve never seen before. Alongside his team of twisted professionals, he executes brain-bending experiences to help everyday folks blow people’s minds and settle old scores. I wonder why he/Netflix went in a different direction rather than continuing Magic for Humans?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CONAN O’BRIEN MUST GO (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Conan is visiting new friends he’s met through his podcast, where he dives deep with listeners from around the world.
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Martin Short remains a comedy grenade: just an outstanding red light comic: put him in front of a camera and let him go…off! However, Conan O’Brien is right behind him as a comedy dynamo. Since wrapping up his TV show the work Conan has been doing is impressive. This is a Binge Release: all four episodes drop today. “Making stops in Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland, O’Brien surprises some of his most memorable fans while also taking in local culture, cuisine, and sights.” Conan goes ethnic is always gold because culture is always weird.

April Highlights

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

I’ll “Always” follow Gotham Chopra; even when he doesn’t make sports docs. (Though, honestly “We Weren’t Born to Follow.”) Bon Jovi, a band perpetually “Livin’ on a Prayer” has scored a Last Dance. “I’ll Be There for You” soon as it’s on Hulu. Together we’ll go out in a “Blaze of Glory.” A list of American Superheroes who “Keep The Faith:” Houdini, Evel Knievel, Michael Jordan, Laird Hamilton, Tony Hawk. Oh and Bon Jovi…he’s wanted dead or alive! This is that story. Surprised it’s not called “It’s My Life.” But then life is rarely a “Bed of Roses.” I’ll “Runaway” now before these music puns get outta hand.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FALLOUT: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind – and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them.
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I was shocked the Oscars got it right and recognized Oppenheimer for Best Picture. The Academy Awards are often numb to popular culture. And strangely, the atomic bomb has created so much pop culture. From many of the Marvel characters co-created by Stan Lee or Las Vegas aka Atomic City and so much more including now…Fallout. This Prime Video TV show is a post-apocalyptic drama created by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (to go full circle back to Oppenheimer. It’s a strange coincidence two brothers are mining atomic culture at the same time. Jonathan directed the first three episodes if you wanna compare their work.). Yes, it’s based on the role-playing video game franchise created, which I’ve never played so I can’t speak on the faithful quality of this adaptation. This is a post-WWII retrofuturistic society: robots and old timey TVs, you know? Anyways as Episode 1 unfolds: “The survivors took refuge in fallout bunkers known as Vaults, built to preserve humanity in the event of nuclear annihilation. 219 years later, a young woman leaves behind her home in Vault 33 to venture out into the dangerously brutal, hostile, savage and unforgiving Wasteland of a devastated Los Angeles.” I’ve seen the entire first season and I really enjoyed it.

April Highlights

Sugar: Season 1 (Anytime / Apple TV+)

Series Premiere: The first of two Colin Farrell TV shows in 2024: The Penguin premiered on HBO Max on September 19, 2024. But first; Sugar is your classic detective prone to violence in the ironically named City of Angels. The rich and powerful have skeletons in their closets and some of em are literal. All 8 episodes are directed by Fernando Meirelles giving the show a cohesion. (I like that, not a fan of different directors for these shorter TV seasons.) Sugar’s Watson is Ruby and she warns him about taking on the missing heiress case. And of course, the Siegel family who hires Sugar is a hot Hollywood mess. All the classic neo-noir staples so far. A mystery about a terrible tragedy, a lost girl and a “lost” private investigator. Sugar is some sweetness for your TV week.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FLOAT (ANYTIME / CRAVE)

After she nearly drowns, a young woman unexpectedly falls for the small-town lifeguard who rescued her. Based on the novel by Kate Marchant.
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Float is Sherren Lee’s feature film debut, how dope is that? She also co-wrote this adaptation of the novel by Kate Marchant. (Originally A Wattpad teen-romance story.) As our My Summer Lair conversation unfolds Sherren reveals: “yes, it’s a love story, but it’s also a story about, you know, taking responsibility for your relationships and having the courage to be really honest about how you feel and sort of putting yourself out there in a way that people can really understand you and what you want and how you’re feeling.” The bathing suits are cute, the drama is delightful and the romance is romantic. What’s not to love? Do I get any points for not saying this movie will Float your boat?

April Highlights

The Sympathizer: Limited Series (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

Limited Series Premiere: Robert Downey Jr. in makeup. Remember how good Tropic Thunder was? (And is? And will always be?) That’s the whole entire hook. Robert Downey Jr. in makeup. Worked for Mike Myers in Austin Powers. Same fantastic hook. I’m sold. An espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RIPLEY: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.
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Limited Series Premiere: Remember The Talented Mr. Ripley movie from 1999? Matt Damon was Ripley, Jude Law was Dickie and Gwyneth Paltrow was Marge. Now in Ripley it’s…Andrew Scott as Ripley, Johnny Flynn as Dickie and Dakota Fanning as Marge. Kind of a step down…this new cast. Both “Ripleys” are adaptations of The Talented Mr. Ripley a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. (I went last week to a Netflix advanced screening, where I saw the first 3 episodes. At that screening I ran into Kris Langford co-host of How’d You Like That Movie? podcast he reminded me Patricia Highsmith’s novel has also been adapted in a 1960 movie: Purple Noon. I dunno that I’ve seen that version. I did see the Matt Damon adaptation, though I don’t remember much of it.) Watching the first 3 episodes what instantly stands out is the tones: it’s all black and white and incredibly moody. This is a stylish incarnation (where all 8 episodes are written and directed by Steven Zaillian) moves slowly. There’s lot of space which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. If you’ve seen Andrew Scott in Sherlock you know can do sinister. The limited series is called Ripley but he’s more like a Xenomorph.

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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.