Netflix just debuted the most earthy, funniest comedy of the year (probably)
There's a lot of TV to be across this weekend
There’s a lot to be across this weekend, but not all of it is especially high profile. Here’s what you need to know…
My big advisory this week is to press play on the terrific Netflix comedy How To Get To Heaven From Belfast. The show is from Lisa McGee who wrote one of TV’s best comedies of the past decade, Derry Girls.
Like with Derry Girls, McGee is back writing what she knows, so we have this TV series about a TV writer who gets involved in a murder mystery with two friends she has had since she was a teenager. It’s a proper laugh out-loud comedy that is strengthened by a genuinely good mystery driving the plot. Don’t let the name of the show put you off.
How To Get To Heaven From Belfast is almost certain to be the best craic you’ll have on TV this year.
Meanwhile Peacock series The Burbs is a perfectly good mystery comedy, but suffers being released the same week as Netflix’s very good mystery comedy show. Both explore similar terrain as female-fronted off-beat comedies with a mystery stemming from decades-old teenage misdeeds, but The Burbs suffers from simply not being as funny with a mystery that is nowhere near as compelling. McGee also has a knack for making her characters feel a lot more real and lived-in, while The Burbs just feels like a confected TV show.
I know that I saw the 1989 movie The Burbs when I was a kid, but I have never seen it since, so my memory is so distant that I couldn’t tell you if this is a good adaptation of the Joe Dante movie. The show does have some very clear nods to it with a very familiar face in the first episode.
Also:
State of Fear is a movie spin-off from Netflix’s Brazillian crime series Brotherhood.
Love Story is an anthology series from Ryan Murphy’s production company. Knowing it’s from Murphy is enough to get my remote control finger moving past this one.
The idea of yet another take on Lord of The Flies is mind-numbing. I managed to get almost five minutes into this one before moving on. It might be a good watch for teens who have just been introduced to the book, but I’m not convinced we needed this one.
I haven’t seen Small Prophets yet, but this is the new comedy from The Detectorists creator (and one-time star of the UK The Office) Mackenzie Crook. I’m led to understand that this is very good and I’m keen to give it a look.
There are two great-looking documentary series - HBO’s Neighbors about badly-behaved neighbors has been described as a wild Reddit thread brought to life; while Soul Power is a look at the American Basketball Association, which was an effort to launch a league in competition with the dominant NBA.
The Singers is an 18 minute short film that is nominated for an Academy Award. It is streaming now on Netflix.
There’s a really compelling-looking film that just debuted on horror streamer Shudder. Reviews of Honey Bunch are pretty good and it has a creepy as heck trailer that evokes some of the great 70s horrors. I need to get around to renewing my Shudder subscription.
Returning TV
Cross (s02), The Artful Dodger (s02), Kohrra (s02), In The Mud (s02)
New TV
How To Get To Heaven From Belfast — Netflix
Who’s in it: Roisin Gallagher, Sinead Keenan, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Bronagh Gallagher, Emmet J Scanlan, Michelle Fairley
Who’s in it: Three lifelong friends reunite after the death of an old classmate turns a wake into a dark mystery. They embark on a thrilling adventure across Ireland, piecing together enigmatic truths amid complicated lives.
The Burbs — Peacock [US] | Binge [AUS]
Who’s in it: Keke Palmer, Jack Whitehall, Julia Duffy, Paula Pell, Kapil Talwalkar, Justin Kirk, Mark Proksch
Who’s in it: A young couple moves back to the husband's childhood home, only to face threats from new neighbors and uncover dark secrets of their cul-de-sac.
Love Story — Hulu
Who’s in it: Sarah Pidgeon, Paul Anthony Kelly, Naomi Watts, Grace Gummer
Who’s in it: Explores the undeniable chemistry, whirlwind courtship and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century, John F. Kennedy Jr.
Motorvalley — Netflix
Who’s in it: Giulia Michelini, Luca Argentero, Caterina Forza, Daniele Balconi
Who’s in it: Desperate to gain control of her family's racing empire, an heiress hires a reckless driver and a troubled coach to compete in the Italian Gran Turismo.
Lord of The Flies — BBC [UK] | Stan [AUS]
Who’s in it: Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt, David McKenna, Ike Talbut
Who’s in it: Stranded on an island, a gang of schoolboys create their own community - but when the rules vanish, the beast within awakens.
Lead Children — Netflix
Who’s in it: Joanna Kulig, Agata Kulesza, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Michal Zurawski
Who’s in it: A young doctor uncovers lead poisoning in children near a steelworks. Despite state opposition, she strives to treat the sick kids.
The Art of Sarah — Netflix
Who’s in it: Shin Hae-Sun
Who’s in it: A Korean-American woman’s ambition leads her to create a fake luxury brand, targeting the wealthy elite. As she navigates the world of high-end fashion and deception, her scheme unfolds in this gripping crime mystery drama.
Million Follower Detective — Netflix
Who’s in it: Ekin Cheng, Shou Lo, Patty Lee, Wang Po-chieh, Lee Lee-zen, and Buffy Chen
Who’s in it: Detective Chen Chia-jen races to unmask Baba the Witch, the viral tarot reader who accurately predicts the deaths of influencers.
Museum of Innocence — Netflix
Who’s in it: Emirhan Parlak, Selahattin Pasali
Who’s in it: Kemal, from a wealthy Istanbul family, starts an obsessive relationship with his distant relation Füsun after meeting by chance in the 1970s, collecting her personal items as tokens of his love.
Small Prophets — BBC [UK]
Who’s in it: Mackenzie Crook, Pearce Quigley, Lauren Patel, Michael Palin
Who’s in it: The magical and the mundane unfolds in a suburban shed as a lonely man stumbles into the supernatural. A mystical recipe in an old journal promises Michael Sleep the answers he longs for.
Betrayal — ITV [UK]
Who’s in it: Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt, David McKenna, Ike Talbut
Who’s in it: When an assassination links a veteran MI5 agent to a conspiracy, he races to find the truth and protect his career, his marriage, and his country.
Neighbors — Netflix
Who’s in it: Exploring the chaotic and complicated disputes of neighbors and the extreme lengths they’ll go to defend what’s theirs.
Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association — Prime Video
Who’s in it: Experience the rise and fall of the American Basketball Association, whose nine-year rivalry with the NBA changed basketball forever.
New Movies
This Is I — Netflix
Who’s in it: Haruki Mochizuki, Tae Kimura
What it’s about: Bullied for wanting to be an idol, Kenji finds belonging in a cabaret and help from a trailblazing doctor, emerging onstage as her true self, Ai Haruna.
The Singers — Netflix
Who’s in it: Michael Young, Chris Smither, Will Harrington
What it’s about: An impromptu sing-off will decide the best singer in the bar tonight.
State of Fear — Netflix
Who’s in it: Naruna Costa, David Santos, Seu Jorge
What it’s about: Brotherhood members face a crisis as key leaders transfer to maximum security prisons. Elisa, 18, daughter of founder Edson, is kidnapped by corrupt police.
A Father’s Miracle — Netflix
Who’s in it: Omar Chaparro, Mariana Calderón, Natalia Reyes, Biassini Segura, Sofía Álvarez
What it’s about: A devoted father is wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, leaving his daughter to fend for herself as he fights to prove his innocence.
Honey Bunch — Shudder
Who’s in it: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Jason Isaacs, Kate Dickie
What it’s about: Diana's husband is taking her to an experimental trauma facility deep in the wilderness, but she can't remember why.... As her memories begin to creep back in so do some unwelcome sinister truths about her marriage.
Joe’s College Road Trip — Netflix
Who’s in it: Tyler Perry, Jermaine Harris, Amber Reign Smith, Bethany Anne Lind
What it’s about: To teach his sheltered grandson about the real world, Madea’s foul-mouthed brother Joe takes the college-bound teen on a raucous cross-country road trip.
Love Me Love Me — Prime Video
Who’s in it: Mia Jenkins, Pepe Barroso Silva
What it’s about: After her brother’s death, June starts fresh at an Italian elite school. Caught between James, a troubled fighter, and his friend Will, a model student, she learns everyone has secrets as hidden truths emerge.
That’s the newsletter for this week.
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