The only must-watch this weekend is the new Amazon Prime Video show Them. It’s a socially aware suburban horror in the new tradition of the Jordan Peele film Us and HBO’s Lovecraft Country*.
The show has a genuinely creepy opening scene, doubles down with an absolutely magnificent opening title sequence, and then continues to hold you until the closing credits. I’ve seen the first few episodes and it delivers on the promise of the show handsomely.
[*Lovecraft Country is a lot more bold, more artistically interesting. But Them proves to be more accessible and way more popcorn in its approach.]
podcast:
Consider this podcast your TV and movies north star - it’ll keep you up to date on the big news stories of the week, reviews of new shows and movies, plus interviews with interesting filmmakers.
This week’s reviews:
- Voyagers (in cinemas now)
- Them (Amazon Prime Video)
- Collective (in cinemas now)
- McDonald & Dodds (BritBox)
- Blow The Man Down (Amazon Prime Video)
Interviews:
- Ascendant director Antaine Furlong
- We Don't Deserve Dogs director Matthew Saleh and producer Rose Tucker
Listen on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, and all the usual places you listen to your pods.
returning:
Family Reunion (s02), Queen of The Sough (s05), No Activity (s04), Everything’s Going To Be Okay (s02), Midsomer Murders (s22)
new:
Them - Amazon Prime Video
Stars: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alison Pill
A Black family moves to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood where malevolent forces, next door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them.
Home Economics - ABC (US) | Stan (Australia)
Stars: Topher Grace, Jimmy Tatro, Shiloh Bearman, Jordyn Curet
Three grown-up siblings find themselves living at vastly different levels of financial security from one another.
Thunder Force - Netflix [Movie]
Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Jason Bateman
In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city.
Have You Ever Seen Fireflies? - Netflix [Movie]
Stars: Yilmaz Erdogan, Ecem Erkek, Engin Alkan
Rebellious, irreverent wunderkind Gülseren navigates loneliness, love and loss against the current backdrop of political turmoil and social change.
Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute - Netflix
In a star-studded evening of music and memories, a community of iconic performers honor Dolly Parton as the MusiCares Person of the Year.
Kung Fu - The CW
Stars: Olivia Liang, Shannon Dang, Gavin Stenhouse
A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman, Nicky Shen, to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to San Francisco, she finds her hometown is overrun with crime and corruption, and her own parents are at the mercy of a powerful triad.
Chad - TBS
Stars: Nasim Pedrad, Jake Ryan, Saba Homayoon
A 14-year-old Persian boy desperately tries to fit in, cope with his mother's dating life, and figure out his cultural identity.
Rebel - ABC (US)
Stars: Katey Segal, John Corbett, Lex Scott Davis, Daniella Garcia
Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich, Annie "Rebel" Bello is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She's a funny, messy, brilliant and fearless woman who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost.
That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend. Let’s be careful out there.
