Foundation (Apple TV+ series) — Isaac Asimov’s classic novel gets a heady adaptation starring the always great Jared Harris and Lee Pace. The sci-fi story revolves around exiles who are working to rebuild civilization even as the galaxy falls apart (sounds familiar!). A great deal of attention has been paid to the epic scale of the show, which Apple TV+ appears to want to be its Game of Thrones. The good news here, though, is that the story won’t closely adhere to the books, which should (hopefully) prevent the same sort of finale-season conundrum that we saw with Thrones.
BMF (Sunday, Starz 9:00pm) — Executive producer 50 Cent launches this crime drama about two Detroit brothers, Demetrius and Terry Flenory, who become kingpins of the Black Mafia Family, which becomes the most significant drug-and-money-laundering network in U.S. history. This week, a potent drug batch is the name of the game while Meech maneuvers to avoid a street war.
Here’s some regularly scheduled programming:
Scenes From A Marriage (Sunday, HBO 9:00) — Here’s the project that Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain were firing up on the red carpet last weekend. This miniseries remakes Ingmar Bergman’s 1970s project original as directed by HBO regular Hagai Levi with a contemporary spin, including all of the love, hatred, desire, monogamy, marriage, and divorce that one would expect.
The Walking Dead (Sunday, AMC 9:00pm) — This zombie-apocalypse universe’s flagship series returns for one final rodeo with two spinoffs (Fear The Walking Dead, The World Beyond) still in motion, so it’s time to wrap this puppy up before the various shows’ timelines begin to intersect. This week, Connie and Virgil go into hiding while Daryl’s loyalty is test, and Kelly begins a search.
Billions (Sunday, Showtime 9:00pm) — There ain’t no drama quite like hedge-fund-king drama, and it remains to be seen whether Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades will ever decide to stop wasting so much time hating the hell out of each other. Probably not? Yeah, that’d be no fun at all, and Season 5 resumes with everyone getting yanked into beefs that may very well destroy them all. This week, Axe goes poaching to secure deposits and has a more difficult time than expected.
American Rust (Sunday, Showtime 10:00) — Jeff Daniels can swing between being comedic and dramatic, and in his new Showtime series, American Rust, he’s decidedly the latter and latest star to take on a complicated cop role after Kate Winslet’s turn in Mare of Easttown. And notably, Bridges’ new role is also set in Pennsylvania and unravels a murder, all while Grace is attempting to unionize seamstresses while the sheriff receives an anonymous call.
Nuclear Family (Sunday, HBO 10:00) — This three-part documentary series sees filmmaker Russo-Young get extremely personal to examine the true nature of family. The story launches in the late 1970s with Ry and Cade being brought up by two lesbian mothers, only to have an unexpected lawsuit rattle the family’s world.
Here’s some more streaming goodness for the weekend.
Doom Patrol: Season 3 (HBO Max series) — DC’s struggling misfit superheroes are back for another round of being portrayed by an incredible cast. Brendan Fraser has received plenty of raves for his fury-filled Cliff Steele/Robotman, but don’t count out the rest of the crew. There’s Matt Bomer as the bandage-wrapped Negative Man and repeat appearances from Danny the Street, but the real kudos should go to Diane Guerrero (Orange is the New Black) as Crazy Jane, which is actually a role that requires Diane to play dozens of incarnations, including a very timely take on a Karen. This season, these lost souls are all starting to come to grips with their place in the group (a support group of sorts) and their own identities, but then the sh*t hits the fan with a time machine. Cue a catastrophic crossroads. Man, I’m excited to hear and see Fraser freak out again.
Midnight Mass (Netflix series) — Get ready, The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor addicts, because creator Mike Flanagan’s back to cause us more horror fits. This happens to be his favorite project so far and revolves around an isolated community that lives on spooky Crockett Island, which gets even spookier due to a charismatic priest’s arrival. Naturally, a whole lot of supernatural shenanigans are afoot, but human nature (as we are currently experiencing in-real-life these days) can often be scarier than the ghosts that people can dream up. It’s dark, real dark.
Goliath: Season 4 (Amazon Prime series) — If it’s taken you this long to consider testing out this show, then get with the freaking program. It’s got Billy Bob Thornton smoldering through a hard-boiled character who was once a force to be feared in the courtroom, but nowadays, he’s not such a prestigious attorney. This season, Thornton’s Billy McBride is going up not only against Big Pharma but also J.K. Simmons. That seldom turns out well for characters who aren’t played by J.K. Simmons, and both men have just the right degree of “I’m over this sh*t” to make it feel believable. Be careful, because the show is an overall smooth binge that will make you wonder when that viewing time disappeared, it’ll go so fast.
What If…? (Disney+ series) — We’re in the multiverse, baby. The MCU’s officially launching headfirst into that realm after Loki‘s season finale, and this show’s Twitter account clarified official participation as well. Enjoy this show full of alternate realities that stand separate from the existing canon (thus far), including Agent Carter taking the super-soldier serum, T’Challa materializing as Star Lord, Doctor Strange feeling some real pain, and Black Widow and Nick Fury taking on a murder mystery while Tony Stark eats a donut. Will Tony Stark die again? Knowing this show, probably so.
Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends: Season 1 (Disney+ series) — Spidey completists will dig this collection of stories about Miles Morales and Ghost-Spider, who team up with Spidey to form the Spidey Team. So much Spidey! Also, enjoy Trace the Spider-Bot.
Ted Lasso: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — First thing’s first: Everyone who’s caught a glimpse of this Bill Lawrence co-created and developed series loves it. That’s a notable feat, considering that star Jason Sudeikis first portrayed the title character way back in 2013 for NBC Sports’ promos for Premier League coverage. Fast forward to the fresh hell that was 2020, and the show surfaced as one of the year’s lone bright spots. Ted Lasso is somehow both relentlessly and charmingly cheery, although there’s always the spectre of Led Tasso to consider. This week’s episode
The Starling: (Netflix film) — Melissa McCarthy stars as as a grieving woman who goes battle with a territorial bird, all in interest of dominating a singular garden. Somehow, this leads her to renew her ability to love while gaining the courage to really grieve.