TV Watchlist: Bob Odenkirk Returns, 'Puss in Boots' Hits Streaming

Week of March 18 - 24 We’re back with a jazzy new look (how about that?) but the same great TV shows and movies. While it might seem slower than normal, it’s not – we’ve got a new Bob Odenkirk series just months after “Better Call Saul” wrapped up (and yes he’s back on AMC), a documentary on the Waco tragedy and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” finally streaming. Plus new shows from “The Shield” creator Shawn Ryan, “SNL” vet Andy Samberg and “Frozen” songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez. So, still very busy. On with the television! Lucky Hank Sunday, March 19 at 9 p.m., AMC Source: AMC Bob Odenkirk is back. After finishing up “Better Call Saul” in deeply satisfying fashion earlier this year, the actor has reunited with many of his key collaborators on “Breaking Bad” and its equally impressive spinoff – namely Sony Pictures Television and AMC. But this time, Odenkirk is playing a much milder character – William Henry Devereaux, Jr., a disaffected and depressed English professor at a mediocre (and fictional) university. Based on the novel “Straight Man” by Richard Russo, the marketing materials so far have showcased the series’ mixture of drama and comedy and the innate power of Odenkirk to bring even the most unlikable character grace, dimension and a strange level of likability. And the cast that has assembled around Odenkirk is truly impressive, with Mireille Enos, Olivia Scott Welch (“Fear Street” hive activate), Diedrich Bader, Kyle MacLachlan, Oscar Nunez, Chris Diamantopoulos and Chris Gethard also starring. This show looks like it’ll likely get an A+ from us (and everybody else). [[TRAILER](] Shrinking Friday, March 24, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ As “Ted Lasso” begins to ramp up, the other aw-shucks, Bill Lawrence-and-Brett Goldstein comedy/drama on Apple TV+ winds down. (There is a season turn, turn, turn.) But don’t worry, if you’ve loved this show (starring Jason Segal as a therapist who tries a radical new approach to dealing with his patients and himself), more is on the way! It’s already been renewed for Season 2. That means more time with all your pals (Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford, Christa Miller and the rest) and more moments that will have you laughing one minute and tearing up in the next. If you’ve already watched “Shrinking,” you know that more sessions are in order. [[TRAILER](] Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Peacock Source: DreamWorks Animation First, to answer your question, yes it has been a long time since the last “Puss in Boots” movie. (The first “Puss in Boots” was released in 2011; the last “Shrek” movie opened a year earlier.) But the character (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is still super entertaining, and for the sequel they’ve saddled him with some actual pathos. After running through his first seven lives, Puss is now on his last, leading him on a desperate mission to wish on a wishing star for more time. As far as set-ups for animated films go, that one is pretty good. But what makes “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” so special is both its expressive, painterly art style (which the filmmakers refer to as a “fairy tale look”) and its willingness to plumb the deeper, darker aspects of the character and his situation (as exemplified by an early meeting with a shadowy wolf character who is literally death). The movie, since its release in December, has taken on a life of its own, racking up an impressive box office tally and becoming widely talked about online, including because of its frank depiction of a panic attack and, of course, those eye-popping visuals. [[WATCH](] Waco: American Apocalypse Wednesday, March 22, Netflix Source: Netflix This incredibly visceral, three-part documentary series follows the government’s ill-advised siege on the Branch Davidians, an ultra-right Christian group outside of Waco, Texas, that ultimately ended in tragedy and death. All three episodes are almost exclusively about the siege; there isn’t much in the way of a psychological profile of the cult’s leader David Koresh or in the ways that the American government turned the siege into a giant psy-ops free-for-all. (One incredible detail, left out of the documentary but included in Jon Ronson’s excellent book “The Men Who Stare At Goats” – the FBI had actually contacted Charlton Heston about talking to the Davidians as “God,” using technology that would have beamed his voice directly into their heads. You can’t make this stuff up.) What sticks out most in the documentary is the testimony by the adult Davidians who made it out alive – and who are still angry about the situation. Heartbreaking, aggravating and deeply upsetting, the documentary drills down how the sentiment stirred up at Waco had long ranging implications (the Oklahoma City bombing was on the year anniversary of the siege and Timothy McVeigh was at the compound selling Nazi propaganda), which we still feel today. [[TRAILER](] "Who Killed Robert Wone?" Peacock Source: Peacock Listen, some things slip through the cracks. One of them is “Who Killed Robert Wone?,” a two-part true crime documentary on Peacock that will keep you up at night - truly, it is so bizarre and unnerving. The documentary concerns the case of Robert Wone, a likable young attorney in Washington, D.C., who went to hang out with some friends (all three gay men) and wound up getting stabbed to death. The circumstances are incredibly strange – the men in the house contend that there was an intruder, but that scenario seems borderline impossible, he was stabbed multiple times but there was virtually no blood on the scene. And then there’s the fact that when the cops arrive, all three men (who were involved in some kind of polyamorous relationship) were showered and wearing matching white robes. Nothing suspicious about that! The amount of twists and turns in these two episodes is almost unbelievable. Until you remember that it’s all true. Just remember to lock the door when you’re done watching. [[WATCH](] Source: Netflix “We Lost Our Human” Tuesday, March 21, Netflix One of the first (and now one of the last) of the slate of ambitious, all-audience animation that Netflix gave the okay to several years ago that have systematically been [canceled or abandoned]( (things like “Centaurworld,” “City of Ghosts,” “Kid Cosmic,” and several others). Somehow “We Lost Our Human” survived. An interactive, long-form animation that follows two pets (a cat named Pud and a dog named Ham) who wake up one day to find that all humans have disappeared to Earth. This leads them on an intergalactic odyssey to find their human (and maybe uncover the mysterious global plot). This should be a hoot. [[TRAILER](] “Digman!” Wednesday, March 22 at 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central This new adult animated series hails from Andy Samberg and his “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” collaborator Neil Campbell. It’s set in a world where archeologists are celebrities and Samberg plays one of the biggest and the best – Rip Digman. Sounds fun! It also sounds like Samberg is doing his Nic Cage voice from Weekend Update, which you can never get mad at. The voice cast also includes Tim Robinson, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Melissa Fumero, Kyle Mooney, Edgar Wright and Jane Lynch. We can dig it. [[TRAILER](] “The Night Agent” Thursday, March 23, Netflix New Shawn Ryan show alert! Ryan, who created “The Shield” and cult favorites like “Terriers” and “Timeless,” is back with a brand new series, this one an enigmatic government thriller based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk. Gabriel Basso plays an FBI agent who is thrown into a vast conspiracy involving Russian moles and corporate interests. Luciane Buchanan, recent Oscar nominee Hong Chau, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum D.B. Woodside, Fola Evans-Akingbola and Eve Harlow also star. This could be the kind of highly addictive, popcorn-munching binge that you’ve been wishing for. And you know Ryan will bring the thrills. [[TRAILER](] “Reggie” Friday, March 24, Prime Video This documentary feature focuses on Reggie Jackson, “Mr. October,” who played 21 seasons (!) of Major League Baseball and wound up in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. If it’s half as entertaining and insightful as recent, nostalgia-tinged sports documentaries (“The Last Dance,” we’re looking at you), then “Reggie” will be appointment viewing. [[TRAILER](] “Up Here” Friday, March 24, Hulu Ready to sing? This musical romantic comedy/drama comes from “Dear Evan Hansen” creator Steve Levenson, “My Name is Earl” vet Danielle Sanchez-Witzel and “Frozen” songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and follows a young couple in pre-9/11 New York City (Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes) falling in and out of love. If that wasn’t enough, it features direction by “Hamilton’s” Thomas Kali. Pretty impressive! All eight episodes debut March 24, so once you’ve got that tune in your head you don’t have to quit. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](