Weekend Watch — 3/3/23
Rise & fall of a faux 70s rock band, Perry Mason returns, and the evolution of sex on-screen... from a woman's perspective...
TGIF, TueNighters! The weekend's here and you know what that means, right? Time to sit back, take a breath, and catch up with what’s on our watch list — LET’S GO!
Body Parts (iTunes, GooglePlay) — traces the evolution of "sex" on-screen from a woman’s perspective, uncovering the uncomfortable realities behind some of the most iconic scenes in cinema history and celebrating the bold creators leading the way for change.
Interesting fact: The documentary features interviews with actors and creators who are advocating for real change, including Jane Fonda, Angela Robinson, Karyn Kusama, Rose McGowan, and Rosanna Arquette.
Alaska Daily | Season 1 Finale (ABC, Hulu) — recently disgraced reporter Eileen Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) leaves her high-profile New York life behind to join a daily metro newspaper in Anchorage, Alaska, on a journey to find both personal and professional redemption.
Actually, it’s more like Part 2 of Season 1: The show was on a 3-month hiatus and originally planned to return on February 23rd. The back half of the series will now resume with the final 5 episodes of Season 1.
Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon Prime Video) — in 1977, Daisy Jones and The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by two heat-seeking missiles in Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), the band had risen from obscurity to fame. And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago's Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now, decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth. This is the story of how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers.
Fun fact: DJTS is a fictional band. HOWEVER, the Reese Witherspoon-produced show is based on the best-selling novel of the same name, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, based in part on the stormy history of Fleetwood Mac.
Perry Mason | Season 2 (HBO) — based on the work of Erle Stanley Gardner, this drama series traces the origins of famed criminal defense lawyer Perry Mason. The second season picks up with Perry (Matthew Rhys) in the throes of the Los Angeles legal system during the height of the Great Depression. Alongside crackerjack assistant Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and hardboiled ex-cop Paul Drake (Chris Chalk), the former PI garners a reputation for taking on clients that few would dare to defend. Months after the Dodson trial shook the city, Perry is readjusting to life as a civil attorney when a high-profile murder case brings him back into the fold.
Abbott Elementary continues to be one of my most-recommended shows. It’s utterly fantastic. Hilarious and big-hearted without shying away from hard truths (addressed through humor, natch), I can’t get enough of it.
Also watched See How They Run, a sharp-witted, funnier-than-expected satirical film about “locked room” mysteries, set in 1950s London with a rockstar cast (Saoirse Ronan! Sam Rockwell! Adrien Brody! Ruth Wilson! David Oyelowo!) packed full of puns, slapstick, meta commentary, all in a mere 90+ minutes. A blast.