📺 A Travel Show, a Dark Comedy, and Some Classic British Silliness
plus 5 upcoming shows and 2 new movies
Happy Pi Day! From two former women in STEM who are now also women in EM (entertainment and media?), we hope you enjoy 3.14 in style. Grab a slice of pizza or dessert pie of your choice and settle down with your favorite new show, you deserve it!
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
The Gentlemen (Netflix)
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Apple TV+)
The Reluctant Traveler (Apple TV+)
— Jenni Cullen and Jess Spoll
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We keep an eye on all of the new streaming content that is set to premiere. Here’s a list of new shows and movies to stream this week.
Apples Never Fall (Limited Series) — Annette Bening, Jake Lacy, and Alison Brie star in this family mystery-drama based on the bestselling book from the author of Big Little Lies.
Watch on Peacock: March 14 (all 7 episodes)Girls5Eva (Season 3) — This musical comedy starring Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, and Renée Elise Goldsberry about a resurrected girl-group returns for a 3rd season on Netflix after being dropped by Peacock.
Watch on Netflix: March 14 (all 6 episodes)The Girls on the Bus (Season 1) — Carla Gugino and Melissa Benoist star in this political drama following four female journalists who report on the campaigns for several presidential candidates.
Watch on Max: March 14 (2 of 10 episodes, then weekly)Irish Wish (Movie) — Lindsay Lohan graces our screens again in this fantasy rom-com about a woman who, days before the love of her life gets married to her best friend, wishes for true love and magically wakes up as a bride-to-be.
Watch on Netflix: March 15Dream Scenario (Movie) — Nicolas Cage stars in this dark comedy about a mild-mannered biology professor who begins appearing in the dreams of others.
Watch on Max: March 15Manhunt (Limited Series) — This conspiracy thriller follows the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Watch on Apple TV+: March 15 (2 of 7 episodes, then weekly)Palm Royale (Season 1) — This comedy follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she attempts to break into Palm Beach high society. Laura Dern and Allison Janney also star.
Watch on Apple TV+: March 20 (3 of 10 episodes, then weekly)
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
The Gentlemen
Keywords: spin-off, crime drama, violent
Watch if you like: The Gentlemen (2019), The Brothers Sun, Snatch
Jess’s Rating: B+
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Guy Ritchie’s 2019 movie The Gentlemen, but I chalked that up to my general aversion to violence-centered movies. Dig a little deeper, though, and I’d say that there were too many characters stuffed into the two-hour runtime, and not enough time or effort taken to make us care about any of them. So I was surprised, but not entirely shocked, to find that Ritchie’s formula works much better in the longer format of television.
Not a remake of the movie, this new series is more like a do-over, with a new cast and new characters at the center. We meet our protagonist Edward (Theo James) as he is pronounced the new Duke of Halstead, inheritor of a massive manor house and estate. But everything is not as dignified as it first seems. Beneath the grounds, he learns, is a marijuana farm overseen by Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) of the infamous Glass crime family. Edward becomes embroiled in the dealings of the multi-million-dollar drug empire as he tries, albeit unconvincingly, to get out from under the Glass family’s thumb.
Ritchie is often criticized for his lack of originality: every new Ritchie project feels like one you’ve seen from him before. That’s certainly true here, and not just because this is a movie spin-off. The dialogue is familiarly snappy and rife with British slang, violence is frequently underscored by dramatic choral music, and jump cuts are plentiful. Yet, what was frustratingly repetitive in a film becomes comfortably familiar over eight episodes. The Gentlemen doesn’t demand much of the viewer’s brainpower, and not a second of the runtime is wasted. What the series lacks in emotional depth it more than makes up for in action, humor, and a flirtatious power dynamic between its two captivating leads. It’s the beach-read of TV (for people who don’t mind casual, over-the-top bloodshed) — it doesn’t have a grand message to convey, it’s just an easy, fun time.
— Jess
Length: 45-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
Keywords: British, historical comedy, offbeat
Watch if you like: Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh, History of the World Part II
Jenni’s Rating: C+
This new and unabashedly silly historical comedy series is a fictional take on the life of Dick Turpin, famed highwayman and leader of the Essex Gang. Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh, The IT Crowd) stars as a bafflingly charismatic version of Turpin who is staunchly vegan and seems to stumble into good outcomes (for a highwayman). It’s a role that fits Fielding perfectly — his delivery of ridiculous lines is simultaneously dry and mischievous, and the show leans into his chaotic charm.
The structure of the series is fairly straightforward. Once Turpin falls in with — and accidentally becomes the leader of — his gang, whimsical adventures tied together with recurring gags ensue. Along with Fielding, a host of other contemporary British comedy legends feature in the cast, which lends a very Monty Python or, fittingly Mighty Boosh energy to the production.
There are truly funny bits, but The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin feels more like a group of comedy greats faffing about and trying to make each other laugh than anything else. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek and clever, but it’s a show that I can see being divisive. Either you love this kind of comedy romp and are delighted to have more content like it, or you find the whole concept nonsensical and stupid. It depends on your preferences and mood. If you’re looking for something light and absurd, Dick Turpin might be your guy.
— Jenni
Length: 33-min runtime, 1 season / 3 of 6 episodes out, new on Fridays
Watch on: Apple TV+
Where we give our takes on reality TV and give unscripted shows a time to shine.
The Reluctant Traveler
Keywords: travel, comedy, docuseries
Watch if you like: Travel Man, Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father
Reality Genre: travel
You may know Eugene Levy as Mr. Levenstein from American Pie or Johnny Rose from Schitt’s Creek, or from any number of his hilarious guest and supporting roles over the last 50-odd years he’s spent on screen. But now, as the host of The Reluctant Traveler, Levy gets to be his candidly nervous self. Throughout the 15 episodes, he visits remarkable hotels around the world, stepping out of his comfort zone to explore his new surroundings and connect with local people.
With its simple premise and light-hearted tone, The Reluctant Traveler is in many ways the pinnacle of a family-friendly show. It’s a mostly unobjectionable and pleasant watch, and the locations visited are gorgeous, if not totally attainable to the average traveler. However, the main schtick of Eugene Levy being curmudgeonly about once-in-a-lifetime experiences while he stays in incredible five-star lodgings does get a little old (and a little unrelatable) at times. He’s likable enough that it’s more funny than irksome, but I definitely wasn’t clamoring to watch more than one episode at a time.
Another complaint: the activities in each episode seem chosen specifically to highlight Levy’s squeamishness, and not necessarily to show the best or most interesting things to do on location, so you won’t be getting too many travel ideas from this series either. Honestly, for a similar energy with equal charm and higher-volume hilarity, I would suggest something more like Richard Ayoade’s Travel Man series. But if you’re not looking for an itinerary or raucous fun so much as wanting to revel in the charm of Eugene Levy, then The Reluctant Traveler will do the trick.
— Jenni
Length: 30-min runtime, 2 seasons / 10 of 15 episodes out, new on Fridays
Watch on: Apple TV+
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