📺 What's New: Reviews of 'XO, Kitty', 'Primo', 'Platonic', and 'Prehistoric Planet 2'
plus 3 new shows and 1 movie to watch this week
It’s Thursday. Earlier this week, Netflix finally announced that its crackdown on shared accounts in the US has begun. It’ll be an extra $7.99 a month to add someone outside your household to your account. And in more sad news, the series finales of both Succession and Ted Lasso premiere in the next week. We’ll be reacting to & breaking down both series in the Double Take podcast, so keep an eye (ear) out: listen on Spotify / Apple.
In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Primo (Freevee/Prime)
XO, Kitty (Netflix)
Platonic (Apple TV+)
Prehistoric Planet - Season 2 (Apple TV+)
— 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.
FUBAR (Season 1) — Arnold Schwarzenegger is back (as promised) in this action-comedy about a father and daughter who discover they both secretly work for the CIA.
Watch on Netflix: May 25 (all 8 episodes)The Kardashians (Season 3) — The Kardashian family once again brings viewers into a glossily produced version of their lives.
Watch on Netflix: May 25 (1 of 10 episodes, then weekly)Reality (Movie) — Sydney Sweeney stars in this docudrama as the 25-year-old Air Force veteran who leaked an intelligence report about Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.
Watch on Max: May 29I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Season 3) — Actor and former SNL writer Tim Robinson stars in this sketch comedy series in which he does everything he can to get people to leave. Guest stars include Sam Richardson, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Ayo Edebiri, and more.
Watch on Netflix: May 30 (all 6 episodes)
Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.
Primo
Keywords: sitcom, feel-good, comfort watch
Watch if you like: Schitt’s Creek, Reservation Dogs, Parks & Recreation
Jenni’s Rating: A
If you’re looking for a new show to add to your comfort viewing rotation, look no further. Produced by Shea Serrano and comedy legend Mike Schur, Primo is a semi-autobiographical sitcom based loosely on Serrano’s own upbringing in San Antonio, Texas. Part coming-of-age, part family comedy, the series centers around 16-year-old Rafa (Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) who is balancing school, friendships, and a hectic family life anchored by his single mother, Drea (Christina Vidal) and his five zany uncles.
The premise may sound simple enough — even a little old-school — but Primo is impeccably fresh and understated. It knows exactly what it is, where it’s going, and how to get there in a way that will make you laugh out loud (blessedly without any trace of a laugh track). The casting is excellent, the pacing, perfect. The episodes strike exactly the right balance between heartwarming and silly, heightened and realistic, stupid and sweet. I haven’t felt this solid about the first season of a sitcom since Abbott Elementary premiered.
Primo has the feeling of a throwback, but with pleasantly current material and with none of the rigidity or eye-rolling one-liners of a classic multi-cam sitcom. I had so much fun watching this season, and can’t wait to spend more time with this loving, annoying family.
— Jenni
Length: 30-min runtime, 1 season / 8 episodes
Watch on: Freevee, Prime Video
XO, Kitty
Keywords: teen drama, coming-of-age, rom-com
Watch if you like: The Summer I Turned Pretty, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Never Have I Ever
Jess’s Rating: B
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was a massively successful movie trilogy for Netflix, so it makes sense that they would want to cash in on that again with a spin-off series. XO, Kitty is that show, following Lara-Jean’s little sister, Kitty, as she travels across the world to Korea to be with her boyfriend.
My expectations for this show were low: spin-offs are often a let down, Netflix hasn’t exactly been consistent with their content lately, and I haven’t seen the original movies (full disclosure: I did read the books that they’re based on). But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that I enjoyed it, given how much I liked Jenny Han’s other series, The Summer I Turned Pretty, last year. This is a coming-of-age story that isn’t just a light and sweet rom-com; the sub-plot is a touching story about Kitty finding connections to her late mother by attending the same international school in Korea that she had. There’s also family turmoil, cultural clashes, school struggles, and gay awakenings.
The series centers teens and is made (primarily) for teens, so expect a fair amount of cringiness and quite a few “what were they thinking” moments, but not so much that it ruins the experience. If you’re like me, sometimes exactly what you need is a saccharine coming-of-age story, and although it’s not perfect, XO, Kitty fits the bill.
— Jess
Length: 30-min runtime, 1 season / 10 episodes
Watch on: Netflix
Platonic
Keywords: buddy comedy, antics, mid-life crises
Watch if you like: Neighbors, I Love You Man, Bridesmaids
Jess’s Rating: B-
Platonic is the story of two former best friends (Rogen and Byrne) who reunite, much to the dismay of everyone else in their lives. This comes to us from the writer and director of the 2014 movie Neighbors, which also saw Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in co-starring roles.
The chemistry between Rogen and Byrne, even as non-romantic buddies, is undeniable. With each having incredible comedic timing, the scenes between the two of them are as captivating as always. Unfortunately, the show is not worthy of their talents. The cast of characters supporting the main duo are underdeveloped, leaving far too much time for uninteresting sub-plots, like Byrne’s character searching for a new house. There are glimpses of interesting personalities amidst the ensemble players, but they get minimal time in the spotlight, even with 5 hours of runtime.
More frustratingly, the series doesn’t seem to know how to best utilize its stars. Byrne is honest and hilarious as a middle-aged ex-lawyer chafing at motherhood and societal expectations, but instead of leaning into that, the majority of her arc is about her regressing into an immature adolescent. Rogen is bafflingly bland as a character that’s been given an outline but without any interesting details filled in. The increasingly outlandish antics, while sometimes worth a chuckle, become repetitive across the 10 episodes. All of the above considered, I have to wonder: why wasn’t this just a movie? If you’re in the mood to watch Rogen and Byrne be funny, I’d tell you to go watch Neighbors instead.
— Jess
Length: 30-min runtime, 1 season / 10 episodes (3 available now with a new one each Wednesday)
Watch on: Apple TV+
Where we highlight shows that were one-and-done, have ended, or been canceled — and are well-worth revisiting.
Prehistoric Planet (Season 2)
Keywords: dinosaurs, David Attenborough, nature documentary
Watch if you like: Planet Earth, Alien Worlds, Walking with Dinosaurs
Jenni’s Rating: B-
Live-action Land Before Time is back and ready to tell us more about what the Earth and its inhabitants were like 66 million years ago. For the uninitiated, Prehistoric Planet maintains the structure and key elements of programs like Planet Earth: i.e. Sir David Attenborough narrating as we follow the interactions of different species in vivid and gorgeous detail. Except, of course, instead of polar bears or wild cats, we’re watching friggin’ dinosaurs.
If you’re a nature documentary nerd, it’s hard not to appreciate this series. I get easily sucked into the dramatics and dynamics of these ancient critters — especially with Hans Zimmer’s compositions as a backtrack — and I’m just as impressed with the animation as I was when the first episodes aired. The team behind Prehistoric Planet has perfected the CGI dinosaur to such a degree that I frequently forget I’m not watching real documentary footage.
I will admit that I found this season slightly more boring than the first. I think I just don’t know enough about the Late Cretaceous period and a lot of the dinos of the same family/genus are starting to look the same to me. Unfortunately, that makes the episodes feel a bit less varied than I’d like. However, if you’re looking for something calming and informative, Prehistoric Planet has you covered.
— Jenni
Length: 40-min runtime, 4/5 episodes available now, final episode on Friday
Watch on: Apple TV+
Your shows, returned:
The Kardashians, Season 3: Premieres May 25 on Hulu
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Season 3: Premieres May 30 on Netflix
Upcoming new releases:
FUBAR: Premieres May 25 on Netflix
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love: Premieres May 27 on Max
The Ride: Premieres May 30 on Prime Video
Siren: Survive the Island: Premieres May 30 on Netflix
Drag Me to Dinner: Premieres May 31 on Hulu