October 11– 17

You’ve got to love a week where there’s a new Tim Robinson series (“The Chair Company” on HBO), a documentary series dedicated to the life and career of Martin Scorsese (“Mr. Scorsese” on Apple TV+), an animated Roald Dahl adaptation (“The Twits” on Netflix) and two based-on-true-crime dramas (“Murdaugh: Death in the Family” on Hulu and “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” on Peacock). Plus, one of the year’s most critically acclaimed documentaries (“The Perfect Neighbor” on Netflix) and a new Tim Meadows sitcom (“DMV” on CBS). We love a diverse slate and it doesn’t get much better – or more diverse – than this week’s offerings!

On with the television! 

The Chair Company

Sunday, October 12 at 10 p.m., HBO

Source: HBO

We’ll give it to HBO – they hire great comedic minds and let them indulge, obsessively, in what they really care about. Coming on the heels of the genius second season of Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal,” which saw him exploring his own anxieties about air travel (and communication) until it climaxed with him piloting a plane full of actual people, is “The Chair Company,” starring and co-created by a similarly gonzo genius Tim Robinson. Co-created by Robinson and his frequent partner Zach Kanin, it focuses on a mild-mannered mall designer (Robinson) who suffers an embarrassing incident at work. This leads to his life unraveling in ways both expected and unexpected and a quest – perhaps a crusade – to get to the bottom of the titular chair company.

The show revels in the humor that Robinson has made a calling card – namely a person doing something stupid and instead of fessing up to it, just digging themselves deeper with a series of clumsy lies – but it’s also doing something more. Given the fact that it’s a lengthy narrative instead of a series of brief sketches, like his acclaimed Netflix series “I Think You Should Leave,” Robinson and his collaborators are able to dig deeper, creating a series that is not just side-splittingly funny but also surprisingly deep and sometimes downright moving. Robinson surrounds himself with weirdos, for sure, but there are also performers like Lake Bell, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sophia Lillis and legendary “Saturday Night Live” writer Jim Downey (who can also be seen in “One Battle After Another” in theaters now). It’s a singular, strange, utterly intoxicating combination and one of the best, most compulsively watchable shows of the year. [TRAILER]

Solar Opposites

Monday, October 13, Hulu

Source: Hulu

“Solar Opposites” debuted back in 2020, the brainchild of “Rick and Morty” vets Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan (who also created the wonderful “Star Trek” animated series “Lower Decks”). And here it is, finishing out its sixth and final season, with a fresh batch of 10 new episodes. In the time since the show began and now, it has weathered the effective cancellation of Roiland following domestic abuse and sexual assault allegations (he was replaced as a voice on the show by the very British Dan Stevens), the semi-cancellation of Thomas Middleditch following a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation (who was not replaced on the show) and other unsavory cast firings. All that said, if you’ve never seen the show, it’s a hoot – a bunch of aliens, posing as a family, attempt to take over Earth but keep getting distracted. And there was a Halloween special where John Kassir reprised his role as the Crypt Keeper from “Tales from the Crypt.” Seriously. [TRAILER]

The Twits

Friday, October 17, Netflix

Source: Netflix

Will the Netflix Animation hot streak continue? Following the outsized success of “KPop Demon Hunters,” Netflix will now deliver “The Twits,” a Roald Dahl adaptation directed by Phil Johnston, who co-wrote the original “Zootopia” and directed “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” both for Walt Disney Animation Studios. The titular Twits, Mr. Twit (Johnny Vegas) and Mrs. Twit (Margo Martindale), run an absolutely repulsive amusement park and house some magical animals that should definitely be set free. When they threaten an entire town, it takes some plucky kids to keep them in check and potentially stop their reign of terror. Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke, Timothy Simons, Alan Tudyk and Nicole Byer also provide voices, with new songs from David Byrne and Hayley Williams. At the very least it will pause “KPop Demon Hunters” for 98 minutes before you throw that back on again. [TRAILER]

Mr. Scorsese

Friday, October 17, Apple TV+

Source: Apple TV+

One of the biggest events of the year for the Letterboxd crowd is this five-part documentary about the life and career of Martin Scorsese, one of our greatest living filmmakers. Lovingly directed by Rebecca Miller, who had unprecedented access to the director, it traces Scorsese’s life from a neighborhood guy to one of our most exciting new filmmakers, to one of our most important film preservationists and advocates for the medium. And, yes, you get wonderful new interviews with Scorsese’s childhood chums, collaborators (like critic and screenwriter Jay Cocks and, of course, Robert De Niro) and tons of evocative footage from his movies. But true to its title, it is Scorsese himself who proves to be the most fascinating element of the documentary. Whether he’s talking about how he pulled off a particular shot, his insecurities going into a project or his tempestuous relationship with women and rampant drug and alcohol abuse, he does so in a plainspoken, therapeutic manner that really takes the viewer through his experiences and setbacks. It’s absolutely miraculous. Chances are you were expecting this documentary series to be great. But you aren’t ready for how great it really is. This is essential viewing and one of the best things we’ve watched this year. [TRAILER]

Freddy’s Nightmares

Tubi

Source: New Line Television

Halloween 1988. The “Nightmare on Elm Street” series is going strong. Renny Harlin’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” had premiered earlier that year. And a strange anthology series arrived in syndication, created by original “Nightmare on Elm Street” director Wes Craven, hosted by Freddy Kruger (a returning Robert Englund) and produced by Gilbert Adler right before he would go on to “Tales from the Crypt” on HBO. Since its initial release, “Freddy’s Nightmares” has been oddly difficult to get ahold of, despite it being a part of one of the most successful horror franchises of all time. It becomes even more baffling when you factor in that episodes were directed by genre favorites like Tobe Hooper, Tom McLoughlin (who directed the great “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”), Dwight Little and Englund himself. Now, the show has returned to Tubi, where it occasionally pops up, in time for Halloween. How great is that? [WATCH]

Source: Hulu