Well, you survived Halloween and here you are; a horror-free #SetTheVCR week just for you. Some TV enjoyment for you to pair with your discount Halloween candy.
Monday, November 07
Don’t Worry Darling (Anytime / HBO Max)
Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Victory is the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: MY LIFE AS A ROLLING STONE (ANYTIME / CBC GEM)
Each episode will feature an intimate portrait of one of the band’s charismatic members (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts), exploring different dimensions of their personalities, their musical brilliance and their cultural impact.
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Celebrate the band’s 60th anniversary with this 4-part BBC docuseries (now in Canada. It was broadcast in the US on EPIX on August 7.) Each episode is a portrait of one of the band’s iconic members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts. The Watts episode is basically a memorial. That alone means this docuseries will give fans…Satisfaction.
Tuesday, November 08
Say Hey, Willie Mays! (9 p.m. / HBO & Crave)
The documentary follows the legendary superstar’s iconic career and trailblazing influence in and out of the sport.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: NEAL BRENNAN: BLOCKS (ANYTIME/ NETFLIX)
From the weird relationship humans have with dogs to how dating a model is like owning a dune buggy, Neal Brennan muses on his life in this stand-up special.
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I’m often recommending stand up specials in this space as I adore stand up comedy. Yet what Neal Brennan does is closer to one man shows than comedy. I highly recommend his 3 Mics on Netflix; I saw that live and it was incredible. This time his special is called Blocks because: “Neal Brennan moves physical blocks around the stage in order to explain the emotional and cultural issues that make him feel like something’s wrong with him.” See? A comedy special with a psychological twist. You’d be a blockhead to miss this…
Wednesday, November 09
Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals (10 p.m. / HBO)
This in-season edition will join the Cardinals after the completion of their ninth regular season game (vs. Seattle) with new episodes airing each Wednesday; through the end of the regular season and hopeful playoff run all the way to the Super Bowl.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FIFA UNCOVERED (ANYTIME/ NETFLIX)
From power struggles to global politics, an exploration of FIFA reveals the organization’s checkered history — and what it takes to host a World Cup.
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I understand the basic narrative that FIFA is a corrupt organization. But I don’t know all the details. I see headlines like in 2015 when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 14 high-ranking soccer officials on a range of charges that involved bribery, racketeering, fraud and money laundering. I don’t fully understand the connections of this soccer mafia. So a “true crime” documentary is always helpful in sorting out facts from fictions while understanding sources of frictions. After all the “goal” of every good documentary is help viewers think on their foots.
Thursday, November 10
Lost Bullet 2 (Anytime / Netflix)
After the death of Charras, Lino and Julia took over and form the new narcotic unit. Determined to find the murderers of his brother and his mentor, Lino continues his hunt and won’t let anyone get in his way.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: THE CALLING: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME/ PEACOCK)
The series tells the story of NYPD Detective Avraham Avraham, whose belief in mankind is his superpower when it comes to uncovering the truth.
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The Calling is your classic NYPD TV show; an investigative drama unfolding over 8 episodes. The main character is a detective who operates outside of the…ah mental norm. It’s all in the trailer below. See that and you’ll probably recognize a number of the actors from previous TV (detective) shows. The strength of this recommendation is based on the names you’ll recognize behind the camera. Showrunner and Executive Producer is David E. Kelley. The Director is Barry Levinson. And Hans Zimmer is a co-Composer. Based on that talent alone…if this Peacock Original comes Calling will you answer the call?
Friday, November 11
The English: Limited Series (Anytime / Prime Video)
An aristocratic Englishwoman, Lady Cornelia Locke and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, Eli Whipp come together in 1890 middle America to cross a violent landscape built on dreams and blood.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?!? (ANYTIME/ NETFLIX)
From writer and film historian Elvis Mitchell, this is a documentary and a deeply personal essay.
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Did you watch Elvis Goes There a 2019 TV show on Epix where Elvis talked to filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro and Ryan Coogler about the impact of location and how that shapes their work and even their identity? He’s continuing to trace those threads of identity and location with this documentary which examines the history of Black cinema. While this marks Mitchell’s directorial debut.; it is also from producers Steven Soderbergh and David Fincher. (Fincher continues to shine on Netflix.) Once again, you’ll know everybody in this.
Saturday, November 12
Sorry for Your Loss: Season 2 (Anytime / CBC Gem)
Her husband’s sudden death upends and transforms relationships in Leigh Shaw’s life and also forces her to realize how much she didn’t know about him.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: FIRE OF LOVE (ANYTIME / DISNEY+)
Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.
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Pierre and Marie Curie were a husband and wife team who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. Valuable scientific work that ultimately cost them their lives. (Even to this day their research notebooks and materials remain radioactive and under special protection.) That disheartening saga is relived through the lives and careers of French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. They died in the 1991 Mount Unzen eruption. And this is their story.
Sunday, November 13
The Walking Dead: The Making of the Final Season (8 p.m. / AMC)
An hour-long retrospective revealing what went into making the show’s expanded eleventh and final season. (Also streaming on AMC+)
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: TULSA KING: SEASON 1 (ANYTIME / PARAMOUNT+)
Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a crew from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.
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It’s…a Sylvester Stallone TV show. Lately it feels like he’s Expendable but that’s an Over The Top emotion. The premise sounds Rocky and I’m curious if the season will end on a Cliffhanger. I could play Judge Dredd all day, but I may as well hit play and give this TV show some Daylight.
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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.
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