I'm most excited this weekend to check out the Peter Jackson Beatles doco series Get Back. New episodes debut across three days (Nov 25-27) on Disney+. I'm not a hardcore Beatles fan, but the footage is all very crisp and compelling. It also feels like event-TV, which is getting increasingly rarer in the current landscape.
Earlier in the week we saw the launch of Hawkeye. The series delivers on the promise of what I think we all expected from these Marvel shows, which is to say it tells a more personal, less blockbuster-y story featuring characters we know from the movies. Frankly, in the films Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye kinda sucks - he lacks personality and any charisma. But the series makes the character very likeable and partnering him up with the very likeable Hailee Steinfeld works a treat. The show is a fun, fast-moving crowd-pleaser. I had a lot of fun with the first two episodes, streaming now at Disney+.
The first of the South Park specials debuts on Paramount+ in just a few hours. South Park: Post COVID flashes forward to the future where we follow adult versions of the characters. Anyone who has seen South Park before will know what they're in for.
returning:
Power Book II: Ghost (s02), Saved By The Bell (s02), F Is For Family (s05), The Great (s02), Hanna (s03), How To With John Wilson (s02)
new:
Hawkeye - Disney+
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh
Series based on the Marvel Comics superhero Hawkeye, centering on the adventures of Young Avenger, Kate M. Bishop, who took on the role after the original Avenger, Clint Barton.
The Beatles: Get Back - Disney+
Stars: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison
Documentary about the music group The Beatles featuring in-studio footage that was shot in early 1969 for the 1970 feature film 'Let It Be.'
True Story - Netflix
Stars: Kevin Hart, Wesley Snipes, William Catlett
A tour stop in Kid's hometown of Philadelphia becomes a matter of life and death for one of the world's most famous comedians.
Bruised - Netflix
Stars: Halle Berry, Adan Canto, Sheila Atim
A disgraced MMA fighter finds redemption in the cage and the courage to face her demons when the son she had given up as an infant unexpectedly reenters her life.
A Castle For Christmas - Netflix
Stars: Cary Elwes, Brooke Shields, Vanessa Grasse
To escape a scandal, a bestselling author journeys to Scotland, where she falls in love with a castle - and faces off with the grumpy duke who owns it.
South Park: Post COVID - Paramount+
Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone
What happened to the children who lived through the Pandemic? Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny survived but will never be the same Post Covid.
8-Bit Christmas - HBO Max
Stars: June Diane Raphael, Steve Zahn, Neil Patrick Harris
In 1980s Chicago, a ten-year-old sets out on a quest to get the Christmas gift of his generation - the latest and greatest video game system.
That's it for this week. As always...
