In February we said Smell Ya Later to This Fool on Hulu…cancelled after 2 seasons. Netflix one and dones included Ratched and Obliterated. Clearly we didn’t watch em.. Here are the hits and blockbusters we enjoyed in February 2024. Some TV highlights that are #CouchWorthy. Maybe you missed em or didn’t hear about em.
February Highlights
The Marvels (Anytime / Disney+)
Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe. The 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Marvels is now streaming on Disney+. Are you gonna check it out? The Marvels doesn’t live up to its name: I detested Captain Marvel and the MCU has done the Skrulls dirty.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CODE 8: PART II (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
In a city where people with powers are policed and oppressed, a former criminal must turn to a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
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Welcome back to Lincoln City. Before you visit though know that around 4% of people living in fictional Lincoln City possess special abilities. Basically, they’re X-Men mutants. One of em is Connor Reed (played by Robbie Amell) and he is an Electric (electrokinetic). As you saw in the first Code 8 Robbie was approached by Stephen Amell who is Garrett Kelton a TK (telekinetic) criminal. And while those two cousins return to Lincoln City so does Alex Mallari Jr. who had a brief role in the first movie. This time for the sequel his character as Sergeant “King” Kingston has expanded and it turns out he is a corrupt police officer. And sloppy too, he committed a murder but left a witness which is where the Amell cousins show up. What makes Code 8 special is this is unique IP: it’s not based on a book or a comic book or even a video game. When you go to a Marvel movie many of them like Civil War have been loosely adapted for the big screen. Audiences can sorta know what’s going on. Here, Code 8 is all original and yet all super powers and sci-fi. That makes it way fun. Code it be anymore delightful? Programming Note: For more on Code 8: Part II, Alex Mallari Jr. was a recent My Summer Lair guest.
February Highlights
Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Season 3 (Anytime / Disney+)
This is the third and final season of the animated series, which is a spinoff from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Premieres with the first three Episodes (out of 15): the Batch will have their limits tested in the fight to reunite with Omega as she faces challenges of her own inside a remote Imperial science lab. With the group fractured and facing threats from all directions, they will have to seek out unexpected allies, embark on dangerous missions, and muster everything they have learned to free themselves from the Empire.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE DYNASTY: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)
The 10-part documentary event brings together former quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, along with a wide range of contributors, as they give the definitive story of the team’s remarkable reign.
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Shift from the Chiefs’ dynasty to the dynasty they’re chasing. So making a strong tea for this. This is Apple’s real Lessons in Chemistry! I heart so much this docuseries is called The Dynasty. One Championship Is Not Good Enough. Don’t Be Soft. You transform a city when an NBA or an NFL team architects a dynasty. It’s imperative to build. It’s crucial to dominate. Patriots are a storied franchise; unfortunately their past is brighter than their future. Still for a time they were the template. This docuseries is an adaptation of Jeff Benedict’s Patriots biography, The Dynasty, a fantastic business breakdown on success: the actual financial cost as much as the emotional cost(s). I highly recommend you read the book for more in-depth knowledge. And also I’ve watch Tom Brady’s Man in the Arena 3 times now…it’s so good. That’s the standard for this new Patriots docuseries. Programming Note: For more on The Dynasty, the docuseries’ director Matthew Hamachek was a My Summer Lair guest.
February Highlights
James Brown: Say It Loud (Anytime / A&E On Demand)
The documentary examines James Brown’s incredible life that was as innovative as it was influential. The two part special examines Brown’s legacy through exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage and his beloved music catalog. This is an incredible Black History Month saga: James Brown ladies and gentlemen. As much as funk is the first thing you think of with James Brown that should be closely followed by Black.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: KINGS FROM QUEENS: THE RUN DMC STORY (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)
The never-been-told story of the influential rap group: Run DMC have earned a Last Dance.
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A pop culture two-fer: Kick off Black History Month and continue to celebrate #HipHop50. I’m reminded of the My Summer Lair conversation I had with DMC: MC lost his voice and had to rediscover who he is. It’s one of my favourite MSL conversations because it’s just two dudes sitting around talking about comic books and old school hip hop. And yet there’s so much vulnerability and openness and reflection. This is a story about comic books and about New York City and rap when it was derided as crap and how big things start real small. This is the story about Kings from Queens.
February Highlights
Chappelle’s Home Team – Donnell Rawlings: A New Day (Anytime / Netflix)
It’s a new day and Donnell Rawlings is feeling good. Dressed in a blue suit, red socks, and lotioned ankles, he’s here to discuss toxic relationships, traveling to New Zealand, aging, co-parenting and much more. Awww shucks! Ashy Larry got a stand up special. I’m 100% IN. The special was filmed at The Hard Rock Cafe in New York City during the New York Comedy Festival in November 2023.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE RE-EDUCATION OF MOLLY SINGER (ANYTIME / NETFLIX-US)
The story of three lonely, shipwrecked people at a New England boarding school over winter break in 1970.
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We’ve seen everyone go back to school from Rodney Dangerfield to Adam Sandler to Drew Barrymore to Jonah Hill. To that list you can now add Britt Robertson who is the Molly Singer getting Re-Educated. Desperate to save her job, hard-partying attorney Molly Singer reenrolls at her alma mater to befriend her boss’s socially awkward son. Basically his cool is buried deep in a Trapper Keeper. Can Molly Singer successfully take him from zero to campus hero? Thankfully she’s not alone in A+ mission she’s joined by stand up comic Nico Santos. Having a sarcastic BFF helps: nobody likes to eat lunch alone. (And Nico killed it in this movie.) So…shall we join Molly Singer for this campus comedy? Programming Note: For more on The Re-Education of Molly Singer, the movie’s director Andy Palmer was a My Summer Lair guest.
February Highlights
Wolf Like Me: Season 2 (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
In the second season of Wolf Like Me, Mary (Isla Fisher) and Gary (Josh Gad) leap into the next phase of their relationship, facing their biggest challenge yet: pregnancy. As much as the two try to have a “normal” pregnancy, it seems impossible with so many questions looming over them. Will their child be a human or a wolf? Programming Note: This originally streamed on Peacock on October 19, 2023.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RESIDENT ALIEN: SEASON 3 (ANYTIME / SYFY & PEACOCK)
An alien crash lands on Earth and must pass himself off as small-town human doctor Harry Vanderspeigle.
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The joyful 2022 Comic-Con news was this show was renewed: Season 3 will be 8 episodes. This is one of my favourite nerd shows since it’s 2021 debut. The comedy is fantastic and the sci-fi is witty. The show follows Harry, an alien who lands on Earth and passes himself off as a small-town human doctor. Arriving with a secret mission to kill all humans, Harry starts off living a simple life…but things get a bit rocky when he’s roped into solving a local murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new human world. And humans…are weirder than aliens. This show is out of this world fun. As season 3 unfolds the military is hunting Harry and The Greys are…doing alien stuff. that doesn’t make much sense know…the sheriff and his long-suffering deputy kill me every time.
February Highlights
Tracker: Season 1 (Anytime / Paramount+)
Series Premiere: Colter Shaw is a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a reward seeker, using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. Sounds a lot like Fall Guy…just without Heather Thomas. The series is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MR. & MRS. SMITH: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
A reimagining of the 2005 film: In this version, two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan.
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Series Premiere: In an open letter, the co-creator and showrunner Francesca Sloane wrote “While we asked questions, so did the internet trolls. Once we were announced, we saw the comment, “Who needs this show?” We didn’t blame them. In a culture heavily inundated with remakes, this was a reasonable reaction. No one would need a show that retold the same blockbuster movie. But what we set out to do was to make something wholly original.” Is it though? Her comments were clearly aimed at me. And I stand by em. Today we’ll all see what the Smiths are up to. (Excellent British pop band…)
February Highlights
Shōgun: Season 1 (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)
Series Premiere: Are you gonna yell out “Shōgun!” for a front row seat to this incarnation? Set in Japan in the year 1600, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: HALO: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)
Master Chief John-117 leads his team of elite Spartans against the alien threat known as the Covenant.
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The popular Xbox video game franchise has been adapted for TV. Season 1 was released on March 24, 2022. It’s been a while since I played the game so here’s the premise. Halo follows a 26th-century “Red vs. Blue” war between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant, a theocratic-military alliance of several advanced alien races. Got it. I’m not sure how the Master Chief fits into all this but he is a genetically engineered supersoldier so that’s always fun. We’ve see how Last of Us another video game TV adaptation exploded in popularity. Will Halo experience the same dopamine boost? Programming Note: Premieres today with its first two episodes, the remaining 6 episodes will be released weekly.
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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.
