Always Be Streaming - 12 August 2022

While there's certainly a little bit for everybody this week, there are two standout titles that most viewers will gravitate to.

A League of Their Own brings with it the name recognition of the 1992 film. Like the movie, this follows the rise of the Rockford Peaches - a team of women playing baseball in the professional leagues while the men are at war. The characters in the show are similar to those in the film, but aren't the same. But, like the film, none of the characters are based on any of the real-life women who played in the real-life Rockford Peaches.

It is 2022, so yes, this is a more 'woke' approach to the story than the very heteronormative movie. Which is fair and certainly more reflective of the reality of a team of professional-level women baseball players. The only problem with it is that the show struggles a bit as the sexual attitudes and behaviors of the characters read as a little too modern for the show. I also just didn't find it especially charming. The entire 8-episode first season is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.

Something I found more interest in was Five Days at Memorial - a harrowing look at the five day aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Set in Memorial Hospital, the show follows hospital administrators and doctors left to make horrendous decisions about who will live and die as flood waters engulfed the hospital. This is based on the real life events that took place and the investigation that followed. Cherry Jones and Vera Farmiga are incredible in this, with most episodes in the 8-episode show written and/or directed by 12 Years a Slave's John Ridley and Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse. You won't be watching this for entertainment, but this isn't a TV show that's like eating your veggies either. It's highly compelling, jaw-dropping TV. The first three episodes are on Apple TV+ today with the rest of the show released weekly.

Speaking of Apple TV+, the 3rd season finale of For All Mankind is released today. If you're keeping up with the show: Watch this episode before getting online anywhere. You can thank me later.

returning shows:

Tales (s03), Shetland (s03), Locke & Key (s03), DOTA: Dragon's Blood (s03), Never Have I Ever (s03), Resident Alien (s02-B)

new shows:

A League of Their Own - Amazon Prime Video

Stars: Abbi Jacobson, D'Arcy Carden, Nick Offerman
Following the journey of the WWII All-American professional women's baseball league players as they travel across a rapidly changing U.S.

Five Days at Memorial - Apple TV+

Stars: Vera Farmiga, Cherry Jones, Robert Pine
Chronicling the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on a hospital. When the floodwaters rise, power fails and heat soars, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital are forced to make d

I Am Groot - Disney+

Stars: Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper
The mischievous toddler Baby Groot learns how to grow up amongst the trouble in the stars along with the help of his friends and family in the ragtag superhero team the Guardians of the Galaxy.

This Fool - Hulu (US) | Disney+ (International)

Stars: Chris Estrada, Michelle Ortiz, Anna Lamadrid
Julio Lopez has a heart of gold and goes out of his way to help everyone but himself. Julio attempts to better his community, overcome his codependency issues with his family, and navigate working-class life in South Central.

A Model Family - Netflix

Stars: Jung Woo, Park Hee-soon, Yoon Jin-seo
After unwittingly stealing money from a dangerous cartel, a cash-strapped professor finds the only way to save his family is by working as a drug courier, plunging him into Korea's seedy underbelly.

new: movies

Secret Headquarters - Paramount+

Stars: Owen Wilson, Walker Scobell, Abby James Witherspoon
A kid discovers the secret headquarters of a powerful superhero hidden beneath his home and must defend it with his group of friends when villains attack.

Heartsong - Netflix

Stars: Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, Bülent Emin Yarar
While serenading a wedding that quickly implodes, a nomadic musician falls for the bride, who runs afoul of her family. Now he has to save her life.

Rogue Agent - Netflix

Stars: Gemma Arteton, James Norton
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.