📺 Watching & Waiting: 2 Reviews and TV News
'Exploding Kittens' and 'Catastrophe', plus 2 new movies & 6 series to watch this week
Happy Thursday. We have a new section waiting at the bottom of this week’s newsletter — a quick roundup of all the recent TV news we thought you might want to know! Check to see if your favorite new shows have been renewed and when your favorite old shows might finally return.
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Exploding Kittens (Netflix)
Catastrophe (Prime Video)
TV News Roundup
— Jenni Cullen and Jess Spoll
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Below is a selection of new shows and movies premiering this week. Our full list of July releases, including theatrical releases and streaming debuts, is available here and published monthly for our premium subscribers.
My Spy: The Eternal City (Movie) — Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman reprise their roles in this sequel to the 2020 spy comedy film, My Spy, about a CIA operative who finds himself at the mercy of the 9-year-old girl who his team is surveilling.
Watch on Prime Video: July 18Master of the House (Limited Series) — The mysterious death of Asia’s largest diamond tycoon sets the stage for this Thai drama about the ensuing power struggles within the late tycoon’s family, particularly focused on the beautiful young housekeeper he’d married just before his demise.
Watch on Netflix: July 18Cobra Kai (Season 6, Part 1) — The final season of this comedy-drama sequel series to the Karate Kid films follows Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence over 30 years later. The following parts of this last season will air in November and then early 2025.
Watch on Netflix: July 18 (5 of 15 episodes)Those About to Die (Season 1) — This historical epic from producer Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and screenwriter Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) centers on the gladiator entertainment complex of ancient Rome. It is adapted from the 1958 nonfiction book by Daniel Mannix that also inspired the original Gladiator film.
Watch on Peacock: July 18 (all 10 episodes)Find Me Falling (Movie) — Harry Connick Jr. stars in this Netflix rom-com as an aging rock star who seeks relaxation and privacy on a Mediterranean island but is surprised when an old flame reignites.
Watch on Netflix: July 19Lady in the Lake (Limited Series) — Natalie Portman stars in this drama based on Laura Lippman’s best-selling novel of the same name. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the story follows a Jewish housewife turned journalist (Portman) who investigates the unsolved murder of a young Black woman.
Watch on Apple TV+: July 19 (2 of 7 episodes, then weekly)Snowpiercer (Season 4) — The fourth and final season of this post-apocalyptic dystopian thriller following the remnants of humanity on a perpetually moving luxury train promises “an end and a new beginning”.
Watch on AMC/AMC+: July 21 (1 of 10 episodes, then weekly)Time Bandits (Season 1) — From the dream team of What We Do in the Shadows, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, comes an adaptation of the 1981 cult classic fantasy/comedy film of the same name. An 11-year-old boy teams up with a ragtag group of thieves-turned-heroes to travel through space and time in an attempt to save the world. Lisa Kudrow stars.
Watch on Apple TV+: July 24 (2 of 10 episodes, then weekly)
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
Exploding Kittens
Keywords: adult, animated comedy, absurd
Watch if you like: Inside Job, Rick and Morty, Disenchantment
Jenni’s Rating: D+
The numbing rise of IP adaptations may have reached a distressing peak with this series. Based on the popular card game of the same name, Exploding Kittens is absurd, whimsical, and more fun than funny, but not much of either. Suffice it to say, the series doesn’t quite resonate with me.
If you’ve played the card game, you know there is neither a plot nor compelling characters to adapt, which makes this show more an adaptation of wacky chaotic “vibes” than anything else — and those vibes are a bit exhausting. The series-fabricated premise is this: God (voiced by Tom Ellis) has been making a lot of mistakes up in heaven, and is forced to spend time on Earth to learn how to help people, but for some reason, he’s sent down in the body of a house cat.
Overall, Exploding Kittens seems to rely too much on its quirky concept and not enough on delivering anything deeper than silly antics and slapstick humor. Though some extremely well-respected comedy creators are involved (including Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as executive producers), the series feels more like a series of gags strung together than a cohesive and engaging narrative. While a few episodes have moments that are entertaining, most of the jokes are basic and fall flat, lacking the wit and creativity that make other adult comedies more memorable and enjoyable. Exploding Kittens falls short of its creative team’s potential, leaving a show that’s a whole lot more fluff than substance.
— Jenni
Length: 25-min runtime, 1 season / 9 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
Where we highlight shows that have long-since ended or been canceled, that are well-worth digging back up.
Catastrophe
Keywords: sitcom, dry humor, romcom
Watch if you like: Casual, The Letdown, You’re the Worst
Jess’s Rating: A-
Created by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe is a brutally honest comedy about the messy realities of unexpected parenthood and marriage. The show opens with Rob, an American businessman, who has a fling on a business trip to London with an Irish teacher named Sharon (yes, they named the characters after themselves). After their week-long tryst results in an unplanned pregnancy, they have to navigate their tenuous and newly formed partnership.
Most rom-coms prioritize a happily-ever-after over showcasing the challenges of maintaining a long term relationship. Refreshingly, Catastrophe doesn’t shy away from the hard parts, taking us along for all the ups and downs of Rob and Sharon’s relationship. As is standard for a Sharon Horgan-created comedy, the characters are well-written and relatable, and she mines humor from life’s mundane moments rather than relying on over-the-top gags or setups.
Not just purely a comedy, the show also touches on topics like cultural differences, addiction, and the struggles of navigating adult life. The strength of the series lies in its raw, unfiltered look at imperfect but well-meaning people. The chemistry between Delaney and Horgan, combined with their perfect comedic delivery, makes it truly something special.
As is typical of British comedies, the seasons are short and the pacing is brisk. If you enjoy your comedy sometimes vulgar, always honest, and occasionally cringey, Catastrophe is the show that you’re looking for.
— Jess
Length: 30-min runtime, 4 seasons / 24 episodes total
Watch on: Prime Video
Euphoria: After a long hiatus, it was announced that the HBO drama will begin filming its third season in January 2025. HBO says all of the principal cast, inlcuding Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi and Hunter Schafer, is set to return.
Severance: The long-awaited season 2 premiere date has finally been announced, and you can finally find out what happens to the Lumen employees on January 17, 2025! We wish it were sooner too.
Presumed Innocent: This legal thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal that we originally assumed would be a miniseries has been renewed for a second season. According to Apple, the new season will dive into an entirely new case.
Loot: Fans can rejoice that this comedy starring Maya Rudolph has been renewed for a third season. This is a show that has been getting better as it goes along, so we are mildly enthused by the news.
Stranger Things: Does this first look at the upcoming and final season excite you? Or has it been too long for you to care about the last chapter of this beloved sci-fi series? This team is torn.
Shogun: Although this is old news, it’s worth noting that the limited series has been renewed for a second (and third!) season, much like Presumed Innocent.
Emily Henry Adaptations: Fans of the popular author can look forward to all 5 of her novels being adapted for the small and big screen in the coming year.
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