#CouchWorthy: May 2023 TV Highlights

May Highlights

Fubar: Season 1 (Anytime / Netflix)

Bruce Willis has retired. Sylvester Stallone is doing TV shows (plural) so is Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. Man and now…to that sad list add Arnold doing TV. We all got old. Fubar is Arnold…whatever. I guess there comes a time when the knees hurt too much running to the choppa. Still glad all these 80s action stars are all “sticking around” though.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: AIR (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)

Follows the history of shoe salesman Sonny Vaccaro, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball, Michael Jordan.
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You know how Moneyball wasn’t about baseball even though it was about baseball? Air is about Jordan signing with Nike but it’s also not about Jordan signing with Nike. Forget about the shoes. Forget about the money; you’re gonna make enough money. It’s not going to matter. Money can buy you almost anything. It can’t buy you immortality that you have to earn. I’m gonna look you in the eyes and I’m going to tell you the future. You were cut from your high school basketball team. You willed your way to the NBA. You’re gonna win championships. It’s an American story and that’s why Americans are going to love it. People are going to build you up. God, are they going to. Because when you’re great and new we love you. And we’ll build you into something that doesn’t even exist. You’re going to change the fucking world. But you know what? Once they’ve built you as high as they possibly can they’re going to tear you back down. It’s the most predictable pattern, we build you into something that doesn’t exist and that means you have to try to be that thing. All day. Every day. That’s how it works. And we do it again and again and again. I’ll tell you the truth. You’re going to be attacked, betrayed exposed and humiliated. And you survive that. A lot of people can climb that mountain. It’s the way down that breaks men. Who are you, Michael? That will be the defining question of your life. And I think you already know the answer, And that’s why we’re all here. A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it. Then it has meaning. The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness. We need you in these shoes.”

May Highlights

Class Of `09: Limited Series (Anytime / Hulu & Disney+ Canada)

The 8 episode limited series follows a class of FBI agents set in three distinct points in time who grapple with immense changes as the U.S. criminal justice system is altered by artificial intelligence.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: STILL: A MICHAEL J FOX MOVIE (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

Michael J. Fox gets a Last Dance. Fox’s story in his own words – the improbable tale of an undersized kid from a Canadian army base who rose to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood.
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Two Canadians named Fox have broken our hearts after so many thrilling moments: Michael J. and Terry. Did you see this at Hot Docs? Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. He subsequently retired from acting in 2021. Since then he has become the face of the gruesome disease. But to a certain generation he remains Michael J. Fox. He remains Marty McFly in that iconic puffy orange vest, messing up timelines and dealing with Biff…s. He remains Alex P. Keaton a classic 80s conservative and proud member of the Young Republicans. He remains Michael J. Fox. We’ve had some great times with Michael J. Fox. I hesitate to call this documentary his Last Dance but it is what it is. This is the long goodbye.

May Highlights

City On Fire: Season 1 (Anytime / Apple TV+)

As the Samantha’s murder is investigated, she’s revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SAMMY SUGGESTION: BEING MARY TYLER MOORE (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Mary Tyler Moore gets a Last Dance: the film chronicles the screen icon whose storied career spanned sixty years.
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I know the art but not the artist. Mary Tyler Moore was fantastic in the Mary Tyler Moore show. And of course before than the The Dick Van Dyke Show. (I’m not that old…I just never realized how much reruns I consumed in the 80s in between A-Team episodes.) So saying she’s good is an ordinary and bland position to hold. But who was Mary Tyler Moore? Well: Rob Reiner, Jim Burrows, Ed Asner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phylicia Rashad, James L. Brooks, Norman Lear and Moore’s husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine are here to tell me who Mary was. I’m excited for this documentary. I hope it introduces me to a talented creator and leaves me wanting Moore.

May Highlights

White House Plumbers: Limited Series (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

The real scandal of the Watergate scandal is how badly these political crimes were executed. Programming Note: The 5-part limited series will also have an official podcast where, over five episodes, political journalist Olivia Nuzzi will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the series while investigating its balance of fact versus fiction. Hint: It’s mostly fact.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SAMMY SUGGESTION: SMARTLESS: ON THE ROAD (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Follows the North American tour Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnet did for their Podcast project SmartLess.
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On July 20, 2020 SmartLess a podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett released its first episode. The premise is sarcastic and fun. One of the hosts reveals a mystery guest to the other two hosts and then a conversation unfolds. This six-part docuseries provides intimate access of the three famous friends as they travel through Boston, Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles talking to famous people like Conan O’Brien, Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart and others. You know everybody in this; if you don’t then you are SmartLess.

May Highlights

The Secrets of Hillsong (Anytime / FX on Hulu)

The Secrets of Hillsong is a four-part documentary series based on the original reporting on the megachurch’s scandals by Vanity Fair journalists Alex French and Dan Adler. (Not to be confused with the Discovery+ docuseries Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed from 2022. 4 episodes that was mostly a nothing burger. Still here’s another 4 more episodes.)
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ED SHEERAN: THE SUM OF IT ALL (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)

Ed Sheeran has scored a Last Dance.
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Don’t sleep on this Ed Sheeran 4-part docuseries. I dunno if it’ll give you Shivers but it should reveal his Bad Habits via never-before-seen personal archive with his friends and family. Ed will also be Thinking Out Loud as he explores the universal themes that inspire his music and why he likes to Sing. I assume there will be a Photograph or two which will frame Ed’s world. Each episode, Ed faces themes and emotions that most people experience giving colour to the Shape of You. Like an MTV Cribs episode viewers will explore Ed’s Lego House only the house is his heart. I Don’t Care if you didn’t enjoy that clumsy analogy; there is live concert footage as well. So gather Beautiful People around Disney+ this is Ed Sheeran.

May Highlights

Love to Love You, Donna Summer (Anytime / HBO Max & Crave)

Love to Love You, Donna Summer is a beautifully crafted tribute to the legendary singer whose talent and charisma helped define a glorious disco ball era. I know her remarkable music; I’ve heard it On The Radio but I don’t know the Hot Stuff songwriter. I corrected that ignorance with this HBO documentary when I saw it at Hot Docs in April. This intimate portrait, directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, (Summer’s daughter) offers a never-before-seen glimpse into the incomparable artist’s life, from her classic humble beginnings in Boston to her ascent to worldwide fame to a satisfying peace when she rediscovers her faith. Turns out She Works Hard For The Money. (My favourite line in the doc is when Donna’s mother first hears Love to Love You Baby she’s so embarrassed and confesses: “I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to church.”) Wonderfully this is: Donna Summer’s Last Dance. So let’s all go to the disco.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BUPKIS: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)

A sitcom that follows Pete Davidson as he attempts to work through unique family dynamics and the complexities of fame to form meaningful relationships.
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Just like Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm only replace Larry with Pete Davidson and Curb with Bupkis. Over 8 half-hour episodes Davidson explores this simple premise noted in the trailer: “I googled myself yesterday. People think I’m, like, a joke for some reason.” (Joe Pesci responds with: “They think you’re a joke because you are a joke.”) You’ll recognize most if not all of the guest stars. Bupkis looks like it can be fun, capeesh? Programming Note: Bupkis premiered in Canada on Thursday, May 25 on Showcase. It can be watched on Showcase on Demand via Crave.

May Highlights

Faithfully Yours (Anytime / Netflix)

Using each other as alibis, two friends sneak off to indulge in secret affairs — but their elaborate web of lies unravels when one of them goes missing. Are you in the mood for a Dutch Netflix Original thriller? Seems Bodil and Isabel who are married can’t deal with Dutch ovens and begin having an affair French kissing other men who are not their husbands. They use each other as an alibi only the luck of the Irish has run out. Isabel is killed leaving Bodil in a Mexican standoff with the truth. Who killed her? It’s all Greek to me. Though I know murder and affairs are as American as apple pie. With the WGA on strike it’s wise to begin enjoying many of the cultural exports Netflix and other streamers offer.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SILO: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)

In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover the shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.
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How about a dystopian mystery based on the Silo series of novels by Hugh Howey? Silo is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, their massive 144-story underground bunker protects them from an unnamed fatal and toxic environment. Sounds good; one slight problem: you must also live in an information silo as a well. No one knows when or why the silo was built and any who try to find out face fatal consequences. Fun! Rebecca Ferguson stars as Juliette, an engineer, who doggedly seeks answers following a loved one’s murder. She tumbles onto a underground mystery that goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined. Like the best sci-fi this…will not end well.

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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.