#SetTheVCR: September 15-21, 2025

Monday, September 15

Materialists (Anytime / Hoopla)

A young and ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between a seemingly perfect match and her imperfect ex-boyfriend. Ugh: Dakota Johnson is incapable of making a halfway decent movie. Just utterly inferior and devoid of any potential. She sucks. And this is her latest Crap Carnival. I didn’t even finish the trailer. At best this is a movie for a long flight. And even then I’d rather nap.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO-CANADA)

Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.
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We’re swimming in clown horror lately. There’s plenty of low-budget clown junk on Tubi if you’re brave—or bored?—enough to search. Terrifier 3 dropped in 2024, once again featuring Art the Clown. And of course, Pennywise returns this October in the ironically titled Welcome to Derry. Georgie: “I’m not supposed to take stuff from strangers. My dad said so.” Pennywise: “Very wise of your dad, Georgie. Very wise indeed. I, Georgie, am Pennywise the Dancing Clown! You are Georgie! So, now we know each other! Correct?” Enter Frendo the Clown—Pennywise for the TikTok kids. Frendo stalks the town’s wayward teens, picking them off one by one. Ah, yes that’s got a classic ’80s slasher style I can enjoy. Clown in a Cornfield is based on the 2020 YA horror novel by Adam Cesare. (Did you read it?) The film was shot in Winnipeg from September 18 to October 23, 2023, though it’s set in the town of Kettle Springs, Missouri. (Is that a real place?) Well now…send in the clown… Programming Note: This is still streaming on Shudder-US.

Tuesday, September 16

High Potential: Season 2 (10:00 p.m. / ABC)

Morgan, a single mom with three kids and an exceptional mind, helps solve an unsolvable crime when she rearranges some evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. When they discover she has a knack for putting things in order because of her high intellectual potential, she is brought on as a consultant to work with a by-the-book seasoned detective, Karadec. Together they form an unusual and unstoppable team.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: A STOP GAP MEASURE | CITIZEN MINUTES: SEASON 3 (ANYTIME / TVO)

A collection of short docs that spotlights ordinary Canadians doing extraordinary things. These empowered visionaries are stepping up, taking action, and transforming their communities for the better. Their stories will ignite your passion for civic engagement and remind us all that real change starts with everyday people.
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Local stories about local actions: Citizen Minutes: Season 3 is now streaming on TVO’s YouTube channel and on the TVO website. (I caught some of Season 3 via Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival). My CouchWorthy recommendation is: A Stop Gap Measure directed by Lulu Wei. (It focuses on the StopGap Foundation‘s work. I hadn’t heard their story before. The short focuses on disability activist Luke Anderson’s passion for accessibility and…oh, yes: there’s puppets! All of Season is online or can be streamed. Check out the previous seasons as well. In Season 2 I recommend Do You Hear What I Hear? a short on noise pollution in Toronto.

Wednesday, September 17

The Morning Show: Season 4 (Anytime / Apple TV+)

The Morning Show season four opens in spring 2024, almost two years after the events of season three. With the UBA-NBN merger complete, the newsroom must grapple with newfound responsibility, hidden motives, and the elusive nature of truth in a polarized America. The series returns on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, with the first episode, followed by one episode weekly until November 19, 2025.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: LILITH FAIR: BUILDING A MYSTERY (ANYTIME / CBC GEM)

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery tells the untold story of the groundbreaking music festival featuring only women artists, started by iconic Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan and her team in the late 1990s, in opposition to systemic industry barriers that limited women from playing together on a concert bill and getting back-to-back airplay on the radio.
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Yikes! “I was in disbelief that I’d never heard of it before.” An Olivia Rodrigo quote early on in the Lilith Fair trailer. Google is free. YouTube is free. The past is a path you should be walking regularly. I’ll never understand if you ain’t well read how you feel comfortable talking in public. Anyways, like Grunge…Lilith Fair was a whole you hadda be there era. The Fairs took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999. According to the press release: “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery is inspired by the 2019 article Building a Mystery: An Oral History of Lilith Fair from Vanity Fair and Epic Magazine, written by Jessica Hopper with Sasha Geffen and Jenn Pelly. It draws from more than 600 hours of never-before-seen archival footage, as well as new interviews and stories from fans, festival organizers and artists.” Programming Note: This’ll stream in America on September 21 on Hulu.

Thursday, September 18

Gen V: Season 2 (Anytime / Prime Video)

School is back in session. As the rest of America adjusts to Homelander’s iron fist, back at Godolkin University, the mysterious new Dean preaches a curriculum that promises to make students more powerful than ever. Cate and Sam are celebrated heroes, while Marie, Jordan, and Emma reluctantly return to college, burdened by months of trauma and loss. But parties and classes are hard to care about with war brewing between Humans and Supes, both on and off campus. The gang learns of a secret program that dates back to the founding of Godolkin University, with implications that may be larger than they realize. And, somehow, Marie is a part of it.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: BLACK RABBIT: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)

A rising-star restaurateur is forced into New York’s criminal underworld when his chaotic brother returns to town with loan sharks on his trail.
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Turns out Black Rabbit is a trendy bar. The series opens with Jude Law toasting diners and friends during the opening of his classy restaurant when suddenly…masked men burst through the back doors. I’ll yes chef! robbery and violence. What is happening? Why is the Black Rabbit being targeted? And we’re now we’re cooking. Did you see this at TIFF?

Friday, September 19

The Couple Next Door: Season 2 (Anytime / Starz)

In season two of the steamy drama, viewers pull back the curtain of the cul-de-sac and explore the consequences of turning your fantasies into reality. Brilliant heart surgeon Charlotte Roberts and her husband, consultant anesthetist Jacob, take center stage, alongside their mysterious new colleague, Mia and Charlotte’s old flame, Leo. Leo’s return sparks a change in Charlotte, and Mia seizes the opportunity to work her way into Jacob and Charlotte’s confidence, their street and, eventually, even their bed, befriending cul-de-sac outcast Alan (Dennis), along the way. But it’s not long before Mia’s past comes back to haunt her, leading Charlotte and Jacob to question who she really is, especially when patients at the hospital start mysteriously dying. One thing is clear — giving in to their desires could have deadly consequences.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SWIPED (ANYTIME / HULU)

Inspired by the real-life story of the visionary founder of online dating platform Bumble, “Swiped” introduces Whitney Wolfe as she uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry.
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“My name is Whitney Wolfe and I’m starting a revolution.” Eh, that’s a bit much. This ain’t The Social Network. Online dating is a collection of horny losers. That’s not exactly a revolution. Still, today you can hook up with this Lilly James biopic.

Saturday, September 20

Futurama: Season 13 (Anytime / Hulu)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Bender is rampaging out of control! A volcano is about to explode! Fry confronts a rival for Leela’s love! And Dr. Zoidberg is rising up to heaven?! The excitement might be too much!
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: 28 YEARS LATER (ANYTIME / NETFLIX-US)

Set 30 years after the breakout of the apocalypse through the Rage virus, 28 Years Later picks up the story on a secluded island off the coast of northern England, where a tight-knit group of survivors have forged out a stable community, cut off from the mainland but for a causeway that’s only walkable at certain hours. However, when one of the survivors decides to venture off to the mainland, discovering secrets and horrors, it threatens the security of the sanctuary that’s been built.
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“It’s been almost 3 decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory and now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine…” We’re a deeply stupid society, I thought that was gonna be us…endless quarantines. I guess we’re doing this…yet another 28 movie? Still gotta be better than Sandra Bullock’s 28 Days movie, right? Programming Note: This’ll stream in Canada on October 3 on Crave.

Sunday, September 21

Tulsa King: Season 3 (Anytime / Paramount+)

As Dwight’s empire expands, so do his enemies and the risks to his crew. Now, he faces his most dangerous adversaries in Tulsa yet: the Dunmires, a powerful old-money family that doesn’t play by old-world rules, forcing Dwight to fight for everything he’s built and protect his family.
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SAMMY SUGGESTION: SUPERMAN (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)

Superman, a cub reporter in Metropolis, embarks on a journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent.
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James Gunn’s Superman is now streaming. It’s flawed. The Smallville parents are morons, badly written and badly cast. Jimmy Olsen is still a worthless wanker. Lex Luthor is cool though. He’s easily the beat part of this fresh Superman movie. Anyways, it’s a Superman movie…it doesn’t matter what I think or if you Look Up to anyone online. Watch it for the first time or rewatch it. Superman is for All Seasons.

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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.