From a Red Eye to Area 51 this week’s TV Recommendations will make you put up your Twisted Metal. I dunno what that means, either, though I do know it’s #SetTheVCR time.
Monday, July 28
The Lazarus Project: Seasons 1-2 (Anytime / Netflix-US)
An affecting exploration of modernity and the desire and ability to take charge of one’s future. George thinks he is beginning to lose touch with reality when he finds himself living the same day, over and over again. A chance encounter with a man called Archie reveals that George is very much in touch with reality, but that reality can be stranger than fiction. With George’s newfound understanding of his power and perception of space-time, he is forced to choose between loyalty to an organisation trying to save the world and the ability to rewrite the past for a friend.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: RED EYE: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / HULU)
London police officer DC Hana Li is escorting Dr Matthew Nolan back to Beijing where he has been accused of a crime. However, on board flight 357, she finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy and a growing number of murders.
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Limited Series Premiere: Red Eye is a six-part British thriller that aired on ITV on April 21, 2024. Then it showed up on Paramount+ Canada on July 5, 2024. (At first I was deeply annoyed, thinking it was a TV remake of the Wes Craven movie but it’s not…just same dumb name.) Anyways, the Limited Series caught the Red Eye and crossed the pond to come to visit the United States. Most of the series takes place during an all-night flight between London and Beijing after a British man (Dr. Matthew Nolan) is extradited to China on suspicion of murder. Before getting on the flight Dr. Matthew Nolan launched into a theatrical scene in the departure lounge talking about injustice. Of course, he went viral. And now on the flight with DC Hana Li, a passenger dies after eating a vegan meal intended for Nolan. So, someone wants him dead. And they’re still on the flight? Is he being framed? What sinister shenanigans are happening? Lean back and buckle your seatbelt, we’re about to take off. This is a serviceable British thriller.
Tuesday, July 29
Supernatural: Seasons 1-15 (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
This haunting series follows the thrilling yet terrifying journeys of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who face an increasingly sinister landscape as they hunt monsters. After losing their mother to a supernatural force, the brothers were raised by their father as soldiers who track mysterious and demonic creatures. Violent memories and relationship-threatening secrets add additional burdens on Sam and Dean as they investigate all things that go bump in the night. As old tricks and tools are rendered useless and friends betray them, the brothers must rely on each other as they encounter new enemies. Bonus Fun? I spoke to Ruth Connell about this show, she was the Queen of Hell! You can listen to that episode here.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TRAINWRECK: STORM AREA 51 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
When 20-year-old Matty Roberts creates a Facebook event inviting people to storm the classified Air Force facility Area 51 in the Nevada desert, the post quickly goes viral, with hundreds and then thousands saying they’ll join the event that stated, “They can’t stop all of us.”
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On June 27, 2019, 21-year-old Matty Roberts created a satirical Facebook event titled Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us. Intended as a joke, the post invited users to band together and raid Area 51 — a highly classified United States Air Force facility in Nevada — to uncover extraterrestrial life, “rumored” to be hidden there. The truth is out there but the humour is not online. What resulted is Alienstock in in Rachel, Nevada. Like Woodstock but only dumber and with alien cosplay. In the end, there was no raid and no aliens, no grand reveal. Most of the X-Files remain unsolved. This’ll be sweet misdirection as we mock the stoners, however…what is the government hiding or not telling us?
Wednesday, July 30
Conversations with a Killer: The Son of Sam Tapes (Anytime / Netflix)
From director Joe Berlinger, this chilling new chapter of Conversations with a Killer delves into one of the most infamous cases in American history: the 44-caliber killer, David Berkowitz. This is thee fourth chapter in the Conversations with a Killer series: Ted Bundy (2019), Jeffrey Dahmer (2022) and John Wayne Gacy (2022).
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)
Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.
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It’s Wes Anderson. So you’re automatically in or you are automatically out. Wes is becoming the new Woody Allen. He’s a whole genre.
Thursday, July 31
The Sandman: Season 2: Special Episode (Anytime / Netflix)
In this standalone episode, a journalist whose work has left him feeling hopeless about the world has a life-altering 24 hours after crossing paths with Death on her day off. And that’s it for Sandman, he goes to sleep now. Smell Ya Later.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TWISTED METAL: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / PEACOCK)
The stakes couldn’t be higher as John Doe and Quiet risk their lives to compete in a dangerous demolition derby tournament hosted by a mysterious man known as Calypso. The prize? A single wish, their greatest heart’s desire, granted. The only problem is sixteen other drivers have wishes of their own.
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This is a half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series. I’ve never played Twisted Metal games so I didn’t know what to expect back then on July 27, 2023. The trailer for Season 1 had a Zombieland meets Mad Max feel to it. Anthony Mackie is your classic foul-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life. The Twist is…only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Cue savage marauders (is there any other kind?). Oh and cue a deranged clown who drives an ice cream truck So Zombieland meets Mad Max meets The Purge? For Season 2: “As they try to survive an onslaught of dangerous new foes and familiar faces alike, including the murderous clown Sweet Tooth, things get complicated for John when he reunites with his long-lost sister, the vigilante Dollface.” Programming Note: Premieres with three episodes on July 31. New episodes will debut every Thursday through August 28. Season 1 was a binge drop. Interesting, change.
Friday, August 01
Chief of War: Limited Series (Anytime / Apple TV+)
Set amid the scenic backdrop of the islands of Hawai’i, the nine-episode series, based on true events, follows warrior Ka’iana, portrayed by Momoa, as he tries to unify the islands before Western colonization in the late 18th century. “Chief of War” will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, August 1, 2025, followed by new episodes every Friday through September 19.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: LEANNE: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
When her husband leaves her for another woman, a resilient Southern mom starts over with the support of her loving, but unfiltered family.
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Woah, a sitcom in 2025? Westers are always dying. But there’s something I dunno antiquated about a sitcom in 2025. We got Bill, married to Leanne for 33 years, Bill built his RV business to provide a good life for his family. We got Leanne’s son, her pride and joy. We got Josie, Leanne’s daughter. She’s the complete opposite of Tyler: a partier, a rule-breaker, a seeker of fun. We got Mama Margaret, Leanne and Carol’s mother and the matriarch of the family. We got Daddy John, Leanne and Carol’s father. He’s a bit old-school when it comes to gender roles. This is so weird. I dunno I can watch this. Is there a laugh track?!
Saturday, August 02
Rock & Rule (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Ageing superstar Mok starts his quest for power and wants rock singer Angel for her voice, which he thinks is able to unleash a demon from another dimension. This is from Michael Hirsh who wrote Animation Nation, I spoke to him about crafting so much animation. Listen to it here.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MARC MARON: PANICKED (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
In his second HBO special, comedian and podcaster Marc Maron offers up his nuanced perspective on our increasingly uncertain world.
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Panicked is Marc Maron’s sixth stand-up special. And the HBO press release reads in part: “Maron has a peerless reputation in the podcasting world through his landmark podcast WTF with Marc Maron. Launched in 2009, and coming to an end this fall, this interview-style podcast has over 50 million listeners every year with over 1,600 episodes recorded to date.” Only now WTF is shutting it down sometime this fall. So, now what? More acting? More comedy? Is Maron Panicked yet? Should we be Panicked?
Sunday, August 03
My Oxford Year (Anytime / Netflix)
An ambitious American student travels to Oxford in England to fulfil her dreams, but encounters a charming local who changes both their lives. Adapted from Julia Whelan’s novel of the same name. It Is What It Is.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS (10:00 P.M. / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
In 1991, four teenage girls were brutally murdered at a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. What happened that night forever shook the Austin community and continues to mystify the police and haunt the families left in the wake of unthinkable loss.
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More true crime that asks you to invest in the lives of generic white people. I’ll never grasp how the machine for any of these products works. What makes any of these people special or unique…like the van chick who ate it, you know? How is value determined and assigned? How do you know who to exploit for profit? How come some crimes go unsolved? I wanna know how the True Crime sausage is dismembered.
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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.
