📺 I'm not going to be ignored, Dan.
Reviews of 'The Great' and 'Fatal Attraction', 8 upcoming shows, and 1 new movie. Find out what to watch this week.
Welcome back to Thursday. And to your spot for all TV-related updates. Not Dead Yet was renewed for a 2nd season at ABC, The Righteous Gemstones comes back for a 3rd season on June 18, Minx comes back for a 2nd season on July 21 (thank god for Starz), and Reservation Dogs’ 3rd season premieres on August 2. Oh, and in case you missed it, ‘HBO Max’ officially sheds half of its title to become ‘Max’ next Tuesday. It’s slightly confusing, but also not — the app will update automatically for most people.
Looking for more Succession content? We just started doing recaps of the new episodes on the pod, don’t forget to check it out! Spotify / Apple
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Fatal Attraction (Paramount+)
The Great (Hulu)
— 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 watch this week.
XO, Kitty (Season 1) — Lara Jean’s little sister takes the spotlight in this To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before spin-off series.
Watch on Netflix: May 18 (all 10 episodes)Primo (Season 1) — A coming-of-age comedy from Mike Schur (Parks and Rec).
Watch on Freevee/Prime Video: May 19 (all 8 episodes)Selling Sunset (Season 6) — The Oppenheim Group returns, sans Christine and Maya.
Watch on Netflix: May 19 (all 10 episodes)White Men Can’t Jump (Movie) — Jack Harlow stars in this remake of the 1992 sports comedy.
Watch on Hulu: May 19Prehistoric Planet (Season 2) — Attenborough returns to narrate the sophomore season of this nature/dino documentary.
Watch on Apple TV+: May 22-26, one episode released each nightBama Rush (Documentary) — The TikTok-viral sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama gets the film treatment in this feature-length documentary.
Watch on Max: May 23Platonic (Season 1) — This comedy series follows a platonic pair of former best friends (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) who reconnect after a long rift.
Watch on Apple TV+: May 24 (3 of 10 episodes, then weekly)American Born Chinese (Season 1) — Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan reunite for an action-fantasy-comedy based on a popular graphic novel.
Watch on Disney+: May 24 (all 8 episodes)The Ultimatum: Queer Love (Season 2) — This absolutely bonkers reality dating show is back for a second season, this time featuring five LGBTQ+ couples.
Watch on Netflix: May 24 (4 of 10 episodes, then 3 per week)
In which we each choose a recent show we’ve been enjoying to review and feature.
The Great
Keywords: genre-bending, historical satire, dark comedy, content warning: sex, farcical violence, and nudity
Watch if you like: Dickinson, Our Flag Means Death, Miracle Workers
Jenni’s Rating: A-
The real Catherine the Great started as a German outsider and rose to overthrow her husband and become the longest-reigning female ruler in Russian history. The Great takes this historical premise, turns it upside down, and blows it up tenfold — focusing on young Catherine (Elle Fanning) and her tumultuous relationship with Emperor Peter III (Nicholas Hoult). It’s your classic “will they, won’t they” except the question is just as much “fall in love” as it is “kill each other”.
After almost two years, the series has returned for a third season, and it’s just as over-the-top, irreverent, and farcical as ever. Excess has always been the name of the game in The Great, and the new episodes only double down on the glut — filling the screen with Monty Python-esque violence and bawdy one-liners, even as Catherine and her coup crew try to organize their world with logic and clarity and Enlightenment ideals.
It’s a gaudy comedy with a wicked sense of humor; but that’s not to say The Great doesn’t have depth. In fact, the larger-than-life characters and situations in the series allow for a heightened, often profound exploration of the human experience. The show brilliantly demonstrates empathy for the members of this re-imagined upper crust, while simultaneously refusing to let us lose sight of how horrible they all can be. Fanning is simply glorious as Catherine, whose idealism is tested and twisted over and over again. And Hoult as Peter is a charismatic monster of a ruler, infantilized by privilege, but somehow able to repeatedly weasel (and threaten) his way into the court’s affections. My one tiny bit of criticism is that the episodes in Season 3 sometimes feel a bit long, but that may be more the fault of my attention span than the show’s pacing. Overall, I have loved this series since its first episode and can’t wait to see what it does next.
— Jenni
Length: 50-min runtime, 3 seasons / 30 episodes
Watch on: Hulu
Fatal Attraction
Keywords: mystery, murder, psychological thriller
Watch if you like: Anatomy of a Scandal, Obsession, Big Little Lies
Jess’s Rating: B
The ‘87 movie Fatal Attraction was a hit, but also very much a product of its time. The gender dynamics in that movie are dated and regressive, portraying an upstanding husband and father relentlessly pursued by a psychotic, violent woman. The message is clear: the career-focused woman is a danger to the happy, wholesome family unit, and a temptress to the innocent man.
In part, the purpose of this series is seemingly to right the wrongs of the source material. Although the main characters are the same on paper, and many of the story beats are co-opted, the characterization of the primary trio — Dan, his wife Beth, and his mistress Alex — has changed. Dan is presented as having more culpability in the ill-fated affair, Beth is given more depth, and Alex’s psychological issues are thoughtfully explored. And the excellent casting breathes life into characters that might otherwise feel one-dimensional. Lizzy Caplan brings vulnerability and volatility to her embodiment of the mentally unwell Alex Forrest, and Joshua Jackson is perfect as the relatable, but not entirely likable, adulterous husband. Amanda Peet as Beth portrays a mother who is congenial but not at the expense of her strength.
Not only is this new version a much more careful character study, but the biggest departure from the movie is revealed in the opening scene: after spending 15 years in prison for Alex’s murder, Dan is up for parole. This is a rewriting of the original ending, and it sets up a central mystery that makes for an addictive whodunnit. It has taken 5 episodes for me to decide to recommend the show, since the pacing is uneven. But it’s suspenseful and well-acted, and I’m looking forward to the rest.
— Jess
Length: 60-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes (5 available now)
Watch on: Paramount+
Your shows, returned:
Selling Sunset, Season 6: Premieres May 19 on Netflix
Prehistoric Planet, Season 2: Premieres May 22 on Apple TV+
Happy Valley, Season 3: Premieres AMC+/Acorn TV/ BBC America
Beat Shazam, Season 6: Premieres May 23 on Fox
Don’t Forget the Lyrics, Season 2: Premieres May 23 on Fox
MasterChef, Season 13: Premieres May 24 on Fox
The Kardashians, Season 3: Premieres May 25 on Hulu
Upcoming new releases:
Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss: Premieres May 18 on Peacock
XO, Kitty: Premieres May 18 on Netflix
Primo: Premieres May 19 on Freevee/Prime Video
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai: Premieres May 23 on Max
SmartLess: On The Road: Premieres May 23 on Max
Clone High: Premieres May 23 on Max
Platonic: Premieres May 24 on Apple TV+
American Born Chinese: Premieres May 24 on Disney+
The Clearing: Premieres May 24 on Hulu
The Ultimatum: Queer Love: Premieres May 24 on Netflix
FUBAR: Premieres May 25 on Netflix
Very interested in Fatal Attraction now 👀