Worth Watching: A Bushel from Apple, ‘Jack Ryan,’ ‘Atypical,’ Broadway on PBS
A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:
Apple TV+ Launch: The streaming wars heat up again with the arrival of Apple’s new subscription service, dominated by the starry The Morning Show, a slick and starry confection starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as TV-news personalities jousting for power against shady, and notably, male bosses. Steve Carell co-stars as Aniston’s disgraced on-air partner, fired (Matt Lauer-style) after allegations of sexual misconduct. (Read my full review.)
In descending order of how likely I am to keep watching, here are quick takes on other premieres from Apple’s initial bushel. (With one exception, the shows premiere with three episodes, and new episodes will roll out weekly on Fridays.)
For All Mankind (streaming on Apple TV+): Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander) delivers a peculiar alt-history space drama that could just as easily be titled The Wrong Stuff. Set in the late 1960s, Mankind imagines a world in which NASA’s Apollo program was upstaged by the Russians when they got to the Moon first. Jingoism is replaced by “we’re number two, we try harder” determinism as the once-cocky astronauts swallow their pride to welcome women into their ranks on an accelerated basis, which makes later episodes more intriguing. (Sonja Walger, introduced in the third episode, is especially good as tough-as-nails candidate Molly Cobb, based on real-life “Mercury 13” aviator Geraldyn M. Cobb.) Though beautifully produced, and generally well-acted, it’s a very slow build, and as is often the case with streaming series, the episodes can feel endless. Still, much like waiting at the Cape for a liftoff (I’ve been there).
Dickinson (all 10 episodes streaming on Apple TV+): You may never see the so-called “Belle of Amherst” in quite the same way, after this frisky folly depicting a young, sexually restless Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld), who responds to a “What up, sis?” from her brother with “Nothin’, bro, just chillin’.” Never mind that this is happening in the mid-19th century, Dickinson uses a hip-hop soundtrack and modern vernacular to remind us just how ahead of her times this reclusive poet was. The casting, including Jane Krakowski as her uptight mom, suggests a parody more than a tribute to the spirit of a woman who wouldn’t let the gender barriers of her time contain her imagination.
See (streaming on Apple TV+): Some things you just can’t unsee. And this preposterous, gory fantasy is literally a sight for sore eyes. Set in a future world devastated by a virus that left all survivors blind — except for a heretic who fathers twins with the forbidden gift of sight — See is hilariously solemn and predictably grim in its primitive battles and violent superstitious hokum. Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard lead a cast so wooden you begin to wish they’d been denied the ability to speak as well.
Also part of Apple’s opening salvo: Oprah’s Book Club, with Oprah Winfrey discussing her latest pick, The Water Dancer, with author Ta-Nehisi Coates; and The Elephant Queen, a nature documentary that intimately follows the journey of Athena, a pachyderm matriarch, leading her family on a search for life-sustaining waterholes.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (streaming on Amazon Prime Video): Unbowed by Apple’s arrival on the already overcrowded scene, Amazon has dropped a second season of its hit action series, based on Clancy’s iconic hero. John Krasinski once again stars as the CIA analyst, embroiled in a global conspiracy that takes him from violent instability in Venezuela to the U.K. and Russia.
Atypical (streaming on Netflix): And of course the streaming behemoth isn’t going dark. Its top offering is a third season of the delightful and moving family comedy, starring Keir Gilchrist as autistic Sam, who at 19 is starting his first year of college, which presents a whole new syllabus of coming-of-age challenges. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael Rapoport (doing career-high work) are his concerned and rarely in-sync parents, and Bridgette Lundy-Paine is terrific as Sam’s devoted yet independent sister, Casey. Joining the cast: The Conners‘ Sara Gilbert as Sam’s ethics professor and Will & Grace‘s Eric McCormack as his art teacher.
Also new on Netflix: Queer Eye: We’re in Japan!, a special four-episode season of the Emmy-winning reality show, taking the Fab Five to Tokyo for a high-spirited culture clash… The 40-minute documentary short Fire in Paradise relives the tragedy of a year ago when the deadly Camp Fire destroyed a California community, killing 85 people… Following a run in theaters, the costume drama The King stars Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) as young King Henry V… Sex and the City‘s Kristin Davis takes a Hallmark-like Holiday in the Wild in a rom-com about a Manhattanite who goes on African safari after being jilted by her husband, finding purpose nursing an orphaned baby elephant under the tutelage of a dashing pilot, played (naturally) by Rob Lowe… American Son reunites the Broadway cast of a play starring Kerry Washington, Steven Pasquale and Jeremy Jordan. It depicts the vigil of a distraught mother of a missing mixed-race boy in a South Florida police station.
42nd Street (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): Come and meet those dancing feet. Great Performances kicks off a monthlong series of “Broadway’s Best” specials with a revival from London’s West End of the blockbuster tap-crazy musical comedy that whisks the audience into an extravagant fantasy of song and choreography from the moment the curtain rises on a clattering cacophony of chorus boys and girls. It’s a merrily cornball world where a brash director (Tom Lister) can tell his perky ingenue (Clare Halse), “You’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!” And she does.
Inside Friday TV: Nickelodeon is looking for America’s Most Musical Family (7/6c) in a competition series presenting 30 family bands of all musical styles, competing for a recording contract and $250,000. Nick Lachey hosts, with judges including Ciara, Debbie Gibson and digital-media star David Dobrik… CMT’s Nashville Squares (8/7c) brings down-home fun to the Hollywood Squares format, with host Bob Saget firing off country music-inspired questions to clowns and crooners. Sara Evans and Marie Osmond are the “center squares” in the first two episodes… Social-media comics Tom Allen and John Parr guest on CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 (8/7c) as YouTubers on a ride-along with Tani (Meaghan Rath) and Quinn (Katrina Law)… An Instagram star tries on stand-up in Showtime’s Celeste Barber: Challenge Accepted (9/8c), sharing the stories behind her most celebrated Instagram parodies of celebrity photos.
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I don't know what year it will be, but at some point in the coming decade, the unsustainable TV bubble is going to burst and take several of the wannabe services down with it. This will be to our benefit, as, yes, there will be "less" to watch (though I would argue that having only, say, 300 series available instead of 500 isn't an issue), but overall quality will rise as projects that get a pass today will never see the light of day then.
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Meaningful post!
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WOW! Apple TV has lots of recommendations today! I refuse to pay another $1 for entertainment. As I mentioned time and time again my cable bill with internet and phone service is north of $200. Plus I have more than enough programs on broadcast and cable. I already have Netflix (now part of my cable package) but hardly watch it anyway. Had for years actually because I was using my nephew's pass code. Another close relative has Amazon Prime and gave me the password but haven't watched anything on it yet.....
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Looks like you aren’t a part of their target audience.
They will have millions out of the gate though with the free year sub for Apple customers, so I doubt they care.
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If I have an IPhone I can get it free?
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I feel the same way about not spending any more for more TV than I can possibly watch in this lifetime! Besides, I've had a personal grudge against Apple since the 1980s, and I still avoid anything with their name on it.
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My Highschool used Apple Macs in 80s
They got em free.
It worked Apole became huge in the 90s and into this century.
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Truth even for free I have no time for more programming
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"than I can possibly watch in this lifetime!"...tell me about it...
I just canceled the Season Passes (and 4 backed-up episodes) of two of my (previous) FAVORITE shows...The Walking Dead and A Million Little Things...
Apparently...I had (now) more interesting shows that I wanted to watch first...
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New iPhone (or other new or refurbed Apple devices) bought after sept 10th. I just signed up for my free year, was extremely easy.
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Well my IPhone is from 2012, so.....
Enjoy your new streaming service!
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I can't imagine dropping Walking Dead after all these years. Although...I do occasionally get bored with an old favorite and quit watching it.
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Banal/insipid humans...covering themselves with skins from The Dead...shuffling among the Walkers...whispering to themselves...are not NEARLY as interesting/"scary"...to me...as Negan and his gang in their heyday...
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So far, Apple TV+ doesn't have any series that is attractive to me, judging by the trailers and topics.
Why doesn't Matt rename this column as "Worth Watching?". Not every show he lists is worth watching, in his own opinion.
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The name has wavered between "Worth Watching" and "What's On" over the years. I think he lists what he thinks people would be interested in watching even if he's not a fan of it himself. Another site used to use "New Tonight" which just gave the facts with no opinions, but after all, Matt is the magazine's official critic.
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Looks like PBS all evening for me with 42nd Street and a repeat of the This Old House 40th Anniversary Special which I've never seen! Also, Graham Norton returns!
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Oh about last night's 13 Scariest Horror movies on The CW:
The best part of it were the honorable mentions which were older classics like PSYCHO and ROSEMARY BABY. Hopefully younger viewers will check these out now. PSYCHO II was an above par sequel worth watching too.These should have replaced the more contemporary "psychological" horror movies such as Silence of the Lambs , The Sixth Sense and Blair Witch Project which all earned a ranking in the top 13.
Exorcist was ranked #1 as the most frightening. I disagree, I would have placed The Shining as #1 Speaking of which, the sequel Doctor Sleep is hitting theatres this month!! If it even half as good as the original it's worth watching!!!
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I've been looking, but I can't find their list anywhere. Was Alien on it?
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Was "The Omen" in the list? I know the over the top soundtrack makes the movie a little schlocky, it's one of my favorites.
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No it unfortunately didn't even make the honorable mentions list.
I loved The Omen and think it deserved a spot .
Damien Omen II is a highly recommended sequel. And to a lesser extent The Final Conflict. The Omen sequels were superior to the Exorcist sequels.
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I don't recall seeing Alien bring ranked.
Yes I agree that was extremely FRIGHTENIG as was the sequel Aliens.
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Today is LEF-- Law Enforcement Friday. Better yet, Law Enforcement in Hawaii Friday. That means H5-O and Magnum, as well as Magnum OG Tom Selleck in Blue Bloods.
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