📺 What to Watch: Shōgun, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Not Dead Yet...
plus 1 new movie, 4 new and returning series
Happy Leap Day! How will you be spending your extra time? It’s a perfect day to revisit the Amy Adams rom-com Leap Year, orrr to check out one of the new shows or movies mentioned below. If you want to be ahead of everything that’s coming out in March (all the TV shows, streaming movies, and theatrical releases) then look out for our “March Preview” premium newsletter tomorrow.
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Shōgun (Hulu)
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix)
Not Dead Yet (ABC/Hulu)
— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen
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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.
The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Season 1) — Noel Fielding stars in this historical comedy series as the title character, an English highwayman who became the subject of legend after his execution in 1739.
Watch on Apple TV+: March 1 (2 of 6 episodes, then weekly)Spaceman (Movie) — In a serious turn from Adam Sandler, this sci-fi drama sees him playing a lonely astronaut adrift in the cosmos.
Watch on Netflix: March 1The Regime (Limited Series) — From Will Tracy (The Menu) comes this political satire starring Kate Winslet as the leader of a crumbling authoritarian regime.
Watch on HBO/Max: March 3 (1 of 6 episodes, then weekly)Animal Control (Season 2) — The workplace comedy starring Joel McHale as a Senior Animal Control Officer returns.
Watch on FOX/Hulu: March 6/7Extraordinary (Season 2) — One of Double Take’s favorite hidden gems of last year returns for a 2nd season. In an alternate London, every adult has developed a super (or not-so-super) power, except Jen.
Watch on Hulu: March 6 (all 8 episodes)
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
Shōgun
Keywords: drama, historical, limited series
Watch if you like: Game of Thrones, Pachinko, The Last Kingdom
Jenni’s Rating: A-
Based on the bestselling novel by James Clavell, Shōgun presents a fictionalized version of historical events in 1600s feudal Japan. When an English navigator is shipwrecked in a fishing village near Osaka, he becomes embroiled in the politics of a country on the verge of civil war.
With only two episodes out, I don’t want to pass judgement with too much confidence, but this show certainly feels like it’s set up for success. It reminds me of Game of Thrones with its political intrigue, gritty action sequences, and engaging characters — but without nearly as much gratuitous sex or violence. This is FX, not HBO after all.
Hiroyuki Sanada is particularly compelling as Lord Yoshii Toranaga – a man fighting for his life as his power wanes and his enemies unite against him. And Anna Sawai already shines as the clever, dutiful, and deadly Lady Mariko. The production is also incredibly strong, with rich scenery and design contributing to some truly captivating period- and world-building.
Having not read the source material (or seen the widely criticized 1980s miniseries adaptation), I am excited to see where this epic — with all its twists and turns and samurai battles — will take us. And if the first two installments are any indication, I imagine even fans of the previous iterations will enjoy this new telling of Shōgun.
— Jenni
Length: 60-min runtime, 1 season / 2 of 10 episodes available, new on Tuesdays
Watch on: FX/Hulu
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
Keywords: fantasy, drama, action-adventure
Watch if you like: Percy Jackson, Blue Eye Samurai, Legend of Korra
Jenni’s Rating: C-
Many will already be familiar with the premise of Avatar: The Last Airbender, a story in which a young boy and his friends set out to master the elements and save the world from the oppressive Fire Nation. Since its premiere on Nickelodeon nearly two decades ago, the show has been a fan favorite, thanks to its exceptional character arcs, epic worldbuilding, and life lessons that don’t feel heavy-handed — even for what is, ostensibly, a kids show. The new live-action adaptation of this beloved series does a lot of things right, but it unfortunately falls flat in important ways.
Although these episodes feel ever-so-slightly more mature than their source material, the series doesn’t seem to trust its viewers as much as the original. There is a criminal amount of exposition dumping throughout, but especially in the first episode. I felt like I was being spoon fed information that could’ve been much more elegantly shown or even held back to create dramatic tension. In the rare moments when the main trio are allowed to be kids and have fun, the writing shines, but most of the dialogue serves to heavy-handedly further the plot, instead of helping to develop these characters into the complex beings that OG fans know and love.
One impressive part of the new version is its visual production quality. A mix of digitally rendered and carefully crafted set pieces pretty convincingly make the sweeping Earth Kingdom cities and beautiful Air temples of the original anime come to life in a gorgeous way. Unfortunately, other aspects of production felt phoned in. Many of the actors had to make-due with ill-fitting wigs and costumes that felt just a touch too cartoonish for the tone of the episodes.
Ultimately, Netflix’s take on Avatar: The Last Airbender seems like a stylish shell of the original series. It’s riding the coattails of what is inherently a fun and gripping story, but not doing nearly enough to breathe new life into it. The actors are all doing well with the material they’ve been given, but I sure hope they’re given something better if the series is renewed for a second season.
— Jenni
Length: 60-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
These popular shows came back with new episodes. Here’s what we thought and where you can watch them.
Not Dead Yet - Season 2
Keywords: comedy, heartwarming, paranormal
Watch if you like: The Good Place, Ghosts, Younger
Jess’s Rating: C+
Not Dead Yet, an ensemble comedy starring Gina Rodriguez as a broke and newly single journalist who can see ghosts, returned for its second season this month. Although the first season struggled to find its footing, I had been cautiously optimistic about its follow-up. After a few episodes, it’s safe to say that they didn’t learn from their mistakes.
“But Jess, you always say that ensemble comedies often need a few seasons before they get good!” I hear you shouting. Yes, and that’s why I gave it another chance. (Well, that and Gina Rodriguez, Hannah Simone, and Lauren Ash). But the show seems to misunderstand the fundamentals of the genre. Rather than developing its central characters and then putting them into comical situations, Not Dead Yet is more interested in having its stars rattle off as many one-liners as possible. Rodriguez’s Nell vacillates between cynicism and tenderness with no middle ground, and there’s nothing driving her character forward. For a moment in the first season, it looked like her character was headed for a “quest for love”, but so far, the second season hasn’t picked that back up. And most bizarrely, while the logline promises advice from an unlikely source (the ghosts), Nell’s interactions with the spirits boil down to a few minutes per episode of forgettable platitudes.
For all that is underwhelming about the series, there are a few redeeming qualities that keep me coming back for more. Ash’s Lexi, Nell’s demanding and self-absorbed boss, has a bit of depth to her, and the introduction of Brad Garrett in this season as her equally narcissistic father has been a positive. Nell’s roommate is a surprisingly thoughtful representation of a man on the autism spectrum. And the heartwarming moments — although they are few and far between — remind me of what I love dearly about these sorts of shows when they are done well.
— Jess
Length: 30-min runtime, 2 seasons / 13 episodes in S1, 4 of S2 available now with a new episode each week
Watch on: ABC / Hulu
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