Week of April 5 – 11
Nothing beats reconnecting with an old friend. And this week’s line-up will having you feeling the same way. This week features the return of “Black Mirror” on Netflix (first episodes since 2023), “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu (first episodes since 2022) and “Hacks” on Max (first episodes since last year). But that’s not all. There’s a new Jon Hamm series with him in full-on antihero mode (“Your Friends and Neighbors” on Apple TV+), a new Viola Davis movie where she plays a killer President (“G20” on Prime Video) and a documentary about “Pets” directed by Bryce Dallas Howard. All of that plus the finale of “White Lotus” season 3. Talk about jam-packed.
On with the television!
Your Friends and Neighbors
Friday, April 11, Apple TV+
Source: Apple TV+
We know what you’re thinking and we’re here to answer your biggest question – no, this is not a television adaptation of a little-seen Neil LaBute movie from 1998 that starred Nastassja Kinski and Jason Patric. Instead, this new series, created by Jonathan Tropper (who also created “Banshee” and “Warrior”), stars Jon Hamm as Andrew Cooper, a New York hedge fund manager who gets fired from his job and makes a desperate decision – steal from his affluent friends and neighbors. They’re not going to miss it, right? “Your Friends and Neighbors” also stars Amanda Peet as Cooper’s ex-wife, Olivia Munn as his new love interest, and Corbin Bernsen as Cooper’s former boss. And the first two episodes were directed by Craig Gillespie, the filmmaker behind “I, Tonya” and “Cruella,” if you need another reason to tune in. Based on the marketing materials, “Your Friends and Neighbors” looks like a return to the heyday of television antiheroes – Tony Soprano, Walter White and now Andrew Cooper. [TRAILER]
The White Lotus
Sunday, April 6 at 9 p.m., HBO
Source: HBO
It all comes down to this. In the first episode of the third season of Mike White’s “The White Lotus,” we heard automatic gunfire and saw at least body in the pool. And we are no closer to figure out the circumstances around that crime. Thankfully, the season finale is a whopping 90 minutes long, which should be time to at least answer some of the questions – did Scott Glenn really murder Walton Goggins’ father? What the hell is going on with Gary/Greg (Jon Gries) and Belinda (Natasha Rothwell)? Will Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) stick around in Thailand? And will her father (Jason Isaacs) finally kill himself? The only way to find out – watch “The White Lotus” tonight and start counting down until the next cycle. [TRAILER]
G20
Thursday, April 10, Prime Video
Source: Prime Video
In “G20” Viola Davis plays the President of the United States, who, while attending the G20 summit in South Africa, must battle terrorists led by “The Boys” star Anthony Starr. Do you really need another reason to watch “G20?” So be it! The cast also includes Anthony Anderson as Davis’ husband (the First Gentleman), Angela Sarafyan from “Westworld” and Marsai Martin from “Black-ish” as Davis’ daughter. Also the always-wonderful Clark Gregg stars as the Vice President. Director Patricia Riggen has directed multiple episodes of “Jack Ryan,” so she has the bona fides necessary to make a hard-charging action movie. And we have had decades of “Die Hard” on a … movies, so it’s about time that particular subgenre reached the point where it was taking place at the G20 summit, with Davis as president. It just makes sense, ya know? [TRAILER]
Pets
Friday, April 11, Disney+
Source: Disney+
Advertised as “a different breed of documentary” and premiering on National Pets Day, “Pets” hails from director Bryce Dallas Howard. The official synopsis describes the documentary as “explores the extraordinary relationship that exists between animals and their people, all around the world. The documentary invites viewers on an uplifting journey that showcases the universal love transcending species, filled with moments of laughter, tenderness, and genuine emotion.” The documentary follows Howard’s 2019 film “Dads” and was produced by Imagine Documentaries, the team behind her father Ron Howard’s “Jim Henson: Idea Man.” This feels like the rare documentary that is as adorable as it is informative. Watch it with your furry friend. [TRAILER]
The Abyss
Disney+
Source: 20th Century
James Cameron’s 1989 underwater adventure “The Abyss,” which for many years was extremely difficult to find, was finally remastered in 4K and released digitally and on 4K UHD disc. Now, that new restoration is finally making its streaming debut. If you’ve never seen “The Abyss,” this is the perfect time to give it a shot. After a nuclear submarine has an encounter with an unidentified object underwater, a team of Navy SEALs attempts to salvage the wreck before the Russians get there first. Ed Harris plays a roughneck overseeing an underwater oil rig and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is his ex-wife and designer of the rig who assists the SEALs on their mission. (Frequent Cameron collaborator Michael Biehn plays a member of the SEAL team that starts to lose it underwater.) “The Abyss” was one of the most tortured productions in Hollywood history, mostly because Cameron’s ambition predated what was technically possible at the time. (There’s a creature made out of water that was one of the first computer-generated characters created by Industrial Light & Magic.) It remains a true unsung Cameron gem. And we’re so happy it’s available to stream, looking and sounding better than ever. [WATCH]
Source: Netflix
“Lazarus”
Saturday, April 5 at midnight, [adult swim] on Cartoon Network
How’s this for an awesome-sounding anime – it is directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, whose credits include “Cowboy Bebop” and “Samurai Champloo,” with action sequences designed by Chad Stahelski, who directed all of the “John Wick” movies and has a background in stunt work. If that wasn̵