TV Watchlist: The Olympics Are Here, 'Time Bandits' Gets an Update and 'Presumed Innocent' Reveals the Killer

Plus Disney's "Young Woman and the Seas" drops on streaming and Netflix unveils a raunchy period comedy Plus Disney's "Young Woman and the Seas" drops on streaming and Netflix unveils a raunchy period comedy Week of July 20 – 26 In the words of John Oliver: welcome, welcome, welcome! This week we have a fresh take on a beloved 1980s movie (“Time Bandits” on Apple TV+), a terrific based-on-a-true-story sports movie (“Young Woman and the Sea” on Disney+), plus documentaries on Pete Rose (“Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose” on HBO), Lou Pearlman (“Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam”) and Cirque du Soleil (“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net”). Plus: the opening night of the Olympics (on NBC/Peacock) and a bawdy period comedy (“The Decameron”). How about that? On with the television! Time Bandits Wednesday, July 24, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ “Time Bandits,” one of the best movies of the 1980s, has returned. And instead of Monty Python principals Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and John Cleese, this new streaming series version comes courtesy of Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi and Iain Morris. Once again, the story follows a nerdy little kid (the appropriately named Kal-El Tuck, who is so great) who joins a band of merry time traveling thieves (among them: Lisa Kudrow, Charlyne Yi and Roger Jean Nsengiyumva). Waititi, the Oscar-winning director behind “Jojo Rabbit” and “Thor Ragnarok,” shepherded the series and directed the first two episodes (both streaming Wednesday), which establishes a zippy visual style and a nice, witty rapport between the main actors. (In the first episode alone they drop into the building of Stonehenge and the Greeks using the Trojan horse during the Trojan War, among other things.) “Time Bandits” has the same fun, freewheeling style of Waititi’s other series like “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Our Flag Means Death” and “Reservation Dogs,” with some adventure and actual threat thrown in for good measure (Clement plays a character called Pure Evil that is like Tim Curry from “Legend” mixed with Michael Scott from “The Office”). Time traveling – it never gets old. Get it? [[TRAILER](] Presumed Innocent Wednesday, July 24, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ One of the year’s best new streaming series, “Presumed Innocent,” based on the novel by Scott Turow, has kept us in its grip since it first debuted. Part of the reason that we’re on the edge of our seat is because, while the rest of the season was made available to press weeks ago, the season finale has been kept from us. No one but the cast and producers knows who the killer is. That’s certainly a way to build suspense! And if you haven’t watched this new version of the story from Apple TV+ and producers J.J. Abrams and David E. Kelley, you can catch up now and be ready for the finale. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a charismatic prosecutor who becomes the prime suspect when his fellow attorney and lover (Renate Reinsve) is found murdered. Will the show follow the same arc from the original novel and the (amazing) movie by Alan J. Pakula? Or will it follow its own path? With the announcement of a second season, our only real hope is that it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. That would be the cruelest punishment. [[TRAILER](] Young Woman and the Sea Disney+ Source: Disney Disney snuck their latest based-on-a-true-story sports movie from Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney, in the tradition of “Remember the Titans” and “Glory Road,” onto the streaming service after we sent our last newsletter. But it’s worth mentioning anyway. “Young Woman and the Sea” recounts the journey of Gertrude "Trudy" Ederle (played, fabulously, by Daisy Ridley), who, in 1926, became the first woman to swim the grueling 21 miles across the English Channel. Based on a note-perfect script by Jeff Nathanson and energetically directed by Norwegian filmmaker (and Bruckheimer protégé) Joachim Rønning, “Young Woman and the Sea” is the kind of handsomely made, old-fashioned, feel-good movie that people say they don’t make anymore. (They do, but sometimes you have to look on streaming.) Just remember to have the tissues handy when you queue up “Young Woman and the Sea” – it’s almost guaranteed to make you sniffle a little. [[TRAILER](] Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose Wednesday, July 24 at 9 p.m., HBO Source: HBO This four-part documentary series follows Pete Rose, who in 1989 was handed a lifetime ban for betting on games. “Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose,” produced by J.J. Abrams, is (according to the official synopsis) “a retrospective journey of the life and career of baseball’s all-time hits leader and one of the most polarizing figures in sports. Drawing on interviews and colorful insights from Rose himself, the documentary series paints a portrait of a complex individual full of contradictions — one seeking redemption but not quite ready for full atonement.” Sounds like a sports documentary worth betting on. [[TRAILER](] Snowpiercer AMC+ Source: CJ Entertainment With the “Snowpiercer” television series about to leave the station for its final season, it might be fun to watch the movie that it was based upon. 2013’s “Snowpiercer,” adapted from the French comic book series by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, was adapted by future Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho. It stars Chris Evans, Song Kang-so, John Hurt and Tilda Swinton as inhabitants on a post-apocalyptic train. In the future, an attempt to combat global warming has led to another ice age; the survivors all exist on an endless train, where societal hierarchies have once again been established. The film follows a group from the most dispiriting section of the train (the tail), as they make their way to overtake it and get to the head of the train and find out who is pulling the strings (spoiler alert: it’s a ghoulish Ed Harris). Propulsive and fun, “Snowpiercer” was a sleeper hit when it came out but has established itself as something of a modern classic. Hey, it inspired a television series that has been running for four years and 40 episodes. [[WATCH](] Source: Netflix “Snowpiercer” Sunday, July 21 at 9 p.m., AMC For its fourth – and final – season, the high concept sci-fi series moves from TNT to AMC. These are the first batch of episodes since 2022, owing to the dual strikes last year, and we are sure that the series, based in part on the Bong Joon-ho movie of the same name (see above) and starring Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly, will go out with a bang. [[TRAILER](] “Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam” Wednesday, July 24, Netflix This three-part documentary series focuses on Lou Pearlman, a talent manager who developed some of the biggest boy bands in history (namely the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC). He also was the engineer of one of the biggest and longest-running Ponzi schemes ever. He went on the run and when he was apprehended, he was in debt for more than $300 million. Many of the artists he managed only saw a fraction of what they were owed. What a tale. [[TRAILER](] “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” Thursday, July 25, Prime Video Two years after “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” made its way through the festival circuit (including a screening at the Doc NYC film festival), it is finally getting its overdue streaming debut. The documentary, from filmmaker Dawn Porter (“John Lewis: Good Trouble”) follows the group as it looks to relaunch its flagship production “O,” more than a year after the pandemic led to an abrupt shutdown. The doc, according to a program blurb follows “both performers and crew members face uncertainty as they work to return to their world-class standards in time for the (re)opening night curtain in Las Vegas.” [[TRAILER](] “The Decameron” Thursday, July 25, Netflix “The Decameron,” which Netflix says is “loosely inspired by the iconic short story collection of the same name” and stars Tony Hale, Zosia Mamet, Saoirse Monica-Jackson and Tanya Reynolds. According to an official synopsis, the series “examines the all-too-timely theme of class struggles in the season of a pandemic, as a cast of misfits tries to outlast the bubonic plague pandemic in 1348 Florence.” Say less. [[TRAILER](] Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Opening Ceremony Friday, July 26 at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT (replay at 7:30 p.m.), NBC/Peacock According to the official Olympics website, the opening ceremony for this year’s games (being held in Paris) “is certain to join the most memorable moments in Olympic history.” We just hope that those sharks swimming in the canals, from the hit Netflix film “Under Paris,” don’t show up to ruin the fun. Also remember when James Bond was part of the Danny Boyle-directed opening ceremonies for London? That was neat. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](