WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING? By Susan Granger
During this pandemic as Hollywood films have their release dates postponed and local theaters slumber, TV has developed a stranglehold on entertainment primacy. This is what I’ve been binge-watching:
Before he made the Oscar-winning “Parasite,” Korean director Bong Joon Ho devised the dystopian thriller “Snowpiercer” which recently debuted as a sci-fi action series on Sunday nights on TNT.
Like its 2014 predecessor (now on Netflix) and the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige” that inspired it, this drama, which stars Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, is set in a futuristic wasteland where climate change has caused the entire Earth to freeze over.
The only survivors are aboard a 1001-car train, owned by Mr. Wilford, a mysterious billionaire. They’re segregated according to class: the privileged elite are living in luxury at the front of the train, while the poor, along with a starving band of terrorists, are crowded into the rear, or what’s called “the tail.”
According to Daveed Diggs (“Hamilton”), the power of good science-fiction is a universality which extends beyond the moment in which it was created: “No matter what time we’re living in, it allows us to reflect on ourselves through a particular lens – and we certainly did not know that Covid-19 would be the lens through which we’d be viewing our own show.”
Another fascinating new series is “Belgravia” on Epix, created by Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”). Adapted from his novel set in 1840s London, there’s a compelling secret, potentially scandalous, connection between Anne Trenchard (Tamsin Grieg), the wife of an ambitious merchant, and the aristocratic Countess of Brockenhurst (Harriet Walter).
The titular London neighborhood of Belgravia is described as the “spangled city of the rich,” where class-conscious people are supposed to know their place. In this series, as opposed to “Downton Abbey,” the servants are schemers, not above a bit of bribery. There are six episodes in total.
On Starz, there’s the highly popular “Outlander,” based on the novel series by Diana Gabaldon. It begins in 1945 as a married, former W.W.II nurse, Claire Randall (Caitronia Balfe), is transported back to Scotland in 1743. She falls deeply in love with a dashing Highland warrior, James “Jamie” Fraser (Sam Heughan), becomes embroiled in the Jacobite rebellion and discovers she’s pregnant with Jamie’s child.
Traveling back-and-forth in time, her epic saga has just completed its fifth season, and the series has been renewed for a 12-episode sixth season.
Admittedly, we weren’t watching “Schitt$ Creek” during its first five seasons, perhaps because it was on POP TV, a hard-to-find cable channel, and its acerbic ‘pun’ title is a bit off-putting. But then we became hooked on its easy, oddball charm, catching up to its final sixth season, now on Netflix.
Created by Dan Levy and his father Eugene (“American Pie”), it revolves around an obscenely wealthy family, headed by video-store tycoon Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy), his former soap-opera star wife Moira (Catherine O’Hara), their ditsy socialite daughter Alexis (Annie Murphy) and snobbish, pansexual son David (Daniel Levy).
When Johnny’s busted for tax evasion, they lose everything except Schitt’s Creek, a small town in the middle of nowhere, bought by Johnny as a joke for his son’s birthday. Moving from their palatial mansion to a decrepit motel, Moira says: “Goodnight, children, let’s pray we don’t wake up.”
As the episodes evolve, the Roses are embraced by the townspeople they originally mocked. “On a very surface level, the show is about a wealthy family that loses their money,” Dan Levy explains. “But it goes deeper, exploring and revealing character. There’s heart in it – and love.”
Plus there’s the disdainful motel desk clerk Stevie (Emily Hampshire), the town’s beer-bellied Mayor Roland Schitt (Chris Elliott), his devoted wife Jocelyn (Jennifer Robinson), the sweet waitress Twyla (Sarah Levy), Alexis’ beau Ted (Dutin Milligan) and David’s business partner Patrick (Noah Reid).
On March 27, Emmy-winning “Ozark” launched its third season on Netflix. Although it began as a sort of poor man’s “Breaking Bad,” Jason Bateman and Laura Linney are masterminds of criminal manipulation.
Financial advisor Marty Byrde (Bateman) fled with his wife Wendy (Linney) and children (Sofia Hubliitz, Skylar Gaertner) from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where they must launder $500 million in five years to appease Omar Navarro (Felix Solis), a ruthless Mexican drug lord whose icy lawyer Helen (Janet McTeer) serves as his vicious enforcer.
At Marty’s side is colorful local, Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner), with malevolent Darlene (Lisa Emery) lurking on the periphery as a pregnant FBI agent, Maya (Jessica Francis Dukes), performs an audit on the casino they’ve acquired. What’s most remarkable about “Ozark” is how it focuses on strong women, fighting for whatever they deem is right.
Another concluding Netflix series is “Medici: The Magnificent,” a compelling, cloak-and-dagger story about Florence’s idealistic, influential Lorenzo de Medici (Daniel Sherman) and his beloved brother Giuliano (Bradley James) battling a rival family, the vengeful Pazzis, back in the 15th century – with or without support from the Signoria (Florence’s governing council).
What it lacks in historical accuracy, it makes up for in political intrigue. The Medicis were wealthy bankers, starting with Lorenzo’s grandfather Cosimo (Richard Madden) and great-grandfather Giovanni (Dustin Hoffman). Their connection with the Papacy was legendary since four Medici men would eventually become Pope.
The Tuscan scenery is exquisite with glimpses of towns like Pienza, Montepulciano and Volterra, as the culture-conscious Medici family supported up-and-coming artists like Botticelli, da Vinci and Michelangelo.
“The Good Fight” is CBS All-Access’s first original series, a spin-off/sequel to “The Good Wife.” Christine Baranski cleverly propels this legal thriller with Delroy Lindo, which premiered its fourth season on April 9. Only 8 of the 10 scheduled episodes were completed before production came to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But now new episodes are available on Thursday evenings.
After they lose their biggest client, Chumhum, the law firm of Reddick, Boseman & Lockhart is absorbed into a huge multi-national law firm, STR Laurie. While the Democratic National Committee calls on Adrian Boseman (Lindo) because the support African-American community is necessary for the pivotal upcoming election, Diane Lockhart (Baranski) is determined to discover the meaning of mysterious Memo 618, a get-out-of-jail-free card for the ultra-rich.
You can sign up for CBS All-Access free for a two-month trial, which should give you enough time to catch up on all the episodes.
So – what are you watching?