Did you hear the one about a Black Knight and an Ant-Man who were Missing? Why yes it’s #SetTheVCR where it’s all Love To Love You when it comes to TV.
Monday, May 15
Unfinished Business (Anytime / Amazon Prime Video-US & ESPN+)
A new definitive documentary about the formation and quarter-century history of the WNBA, culminating in the New York Liberty’s dramatic 2021 season.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BLACK KNIGHT: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
South Korean sci-fi action series from writer/director Cho Ui-seok. Set in a dystopian future where the world has been devasted by air pollution and people rely on the Black Knights for deliveries.
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Black Knight is an intense and thrilling Korean drama set in a dystopian future. I’m always “up” for a dystopian future. Air pollution has destroyed the world, makes sense. So we follow the story of elite delivery drivers known as Knights, who are tasked with providing essential supplies to the few surviving people. The TV series is based on the webtoon by Lee Yun-kyun which inspired the breathtaking visuals. It’s an interesting non-American exploration of what happens when the world we know is destroyed, and the lengths people will go to survive. Among the Knights is the legendary Knight “5-8” and his connection with a young boy Sa-Wol. Korean sci-fi is…offbeat (is that the best word to use?) so proceed cautiously into this TV series.
Tuesday, May 16
Justice League: Complete Series (Anytime / Netflix-Canada)
Forces of evil, chaos, and destruction await. Not even protectors like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkgirl or the Martian Manhunter may have a chance alone. But together as the Justice League, they are a metahuman force (and a hope) to be reckoned with. An animated TV series that ran from November 17, 2001 to May 29, 2004 on Cartoon Network. Not as strong as Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series but still solid. The Savage Time is so fun! And Hereafter is incredible writing.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MISSING: DEAD OR ALIVE? (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
Follow officers from a South Carolina sheriff’s department as they urgently search for individuals who’ve disappeared under troubling circumstances.
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“You don’t run because you’re right! You run because you’re wrong!” That’s a super weird police perspective to say in 2023; it’s not the 1950s anymore. Always run: you can’t trust em and the system isn’t designed for grace or empathy. Or can you? Missing Dead or Alive invites you to see these experiences through the lens of the investigators. Viewers watch the cases play out in real-time and become invested in the same way. Though its twists and turns provide an important reminder for armchair detectives watching from home. Anybody at home watching Jeopardy can make big money. It’s not real life. But this is which means lost people are sometimes found…dead.
Wednesday, May 17
SisterS: Season 1 (11 p.m. / IFC)
In Toronto, Canada, Sare’s mother dies. In the aftermath of her death, she discovers that her father was not her actual father, he was in fact, an Irish busker her mother met while backpacking some thirty years ago. She decides to travel to Ireland to track him down, only to discover she has a half-sister. Programming Note: it’s being released weekly on IFC:A full season binge drop is on Sundance Now, Crave (in Canada) and AMC+ as of today.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)
Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne are dragged into the Quantum Realm, along with Hope’s parents and Scott’s daughter Cassie. Together they must find a way to escape, but what secrets is Hope’s mother hiding? And who is the mysterious Kang?
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Today the 31st movie in the MCU comes to the small screen on Disney+! The movie is decent but there’s a small tonal departure from the first two movies that doesn’t quite work. I’ll skip the small talk though; since you’re all ants in your pants excited.
Thursday, May 18
XO, Kitty: Season 1 (Anytime /Netflix)
Spin-off series to the rom-com movie series To All The Boys about teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey having relationship troubles of her own when she travels to South Korea.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: 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.
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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.
Friday, May 19
The Secrets of Hillsong (10 p.m. / FX)
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+ broadcast 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: PRIMO: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / FREEVEE)
Follows a San Antonio teenager balancing college aspirations, societal expectations and a hectic home life anchored by his single mom and five uncles.
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“My dad left when I was little, so all my uncles are always around and they’re super-protective of my mom and me.” So says Rafa Gonzales the 16-year-old being raised by his mother and five overbearing uncles (Rollie, Mike, Ryan, Jay, and Mondo). This is a TV show created by Shea Serrano. You might know the name from reading his writing in The Ringer and Grantland (RIP!), or his books such as Basketball (and Other Things). In the mood for a new sitcom? Check out this Primo offering from Freevee. Programming Note: All eight episodes of the first season will be available to stream exclusively on Amazon Freevee. No update on when this will be shared on Prime Video for International markets.
Saturday, May 20
She Said (Anytime / Prime Video-US)
New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation – a story that helped ignite a movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: LOVE TO LOVE YOU, DONNA SUMMER (8 P.M. / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
Follows the life of iconic singer Donna Summer.
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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.
Sunday, May 21
The Whale (Anytime / Prime Video-Canada)
A reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: ROGUE AGENT (ANYTIME / CRAVE)
The extraordinary and chilling story of career conman Robert Freegard who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled people into going into hiding, and the woman who fell for him, and then brought him down.
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Lots of spy stuff lately, it’s an odd TV trend. Peacock offered Intelligence: A Special Agent Special and sure that’s comedy but it still counts. Showtime is offering Ghosts of Beirut (broadcast tonight, actually!) CIA and Israel’s Mossad track down and kill terrorists. MGM+ and Prime Video recently wrapped up A Spy Among Friends about an MI6 double agent: he was KGB. HBO Max joined the spy party with Spy/Master. A Romanian espionage thriller set during the Cold War (also a KGB agent!). With all that going on I decided to offer something spy related: Robert Hendy-Freegard is a British conman who masqueraded as an MI5 agent. Oh! He was never a spy in the first place. This fake spy fooled several people into going underground for fear of assassination by the IRA. Now this is fascinating spycraft because that requires intelligence. Shall we spy with our little eye this move about a conman? If that doesn’t work for you; I listed several other spy choices.
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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.
