Reboots, series returns and Oscar-nominated movies are all the rage this week. HBO Max has Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, the third season of My Brilliant Friend, the Japanese hit film Drive My Car and The Larry David Story, a documentary about the comedy legend turned crypto pitchman. Over at Hulu, there the fifth-season premieres of Snowfall and Better Things. Netflix’s Vikings reboot, Vikings: Valhalla, will make History Channel fans happy, while nostalgic Comedy Central viewers might enjoy the Roku Channel’s Reno 911! Defunded.
Snowfall – Season 5 (Hulu, Feb. 24)
The FX drama series is set during the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles. The fifth season will follow drug dealers led by Franklin Saint (Damson Idris) in South Central Los Angeles who, after benefiting more and more financially through the first four seasons, will begin to realize the collateral damage their business is having across the country.
Wasteland (Paramount Plus, Feb. 24)
The four-part documentary series examines the impact waste is having on America’s waterways. CBS News correspondent and series’ executive producer Adam Yamaguchi explores how Americans living in Alabama, New York, Florida and Iowa are struggling to preserve their health and save their properties against untreated sewage, which is poisoning and polluting rivers and coastlines.
The French Dispatch (HBO Max, Feb. 25)
Wes Anderson wrote, directed and produced The French Dispatch, which is an ode to print journalists. Set in a fictional 20th-century French city, the story revolves around the staff of an American magazine as they get ready to print their final issue. The movie, which premiered at Cannes 2021, is packed with Hollywood heavyweights including Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, and Jason Schwartzman. The tepid box office release (just under $46 million worldwide) was accompanied by a lukewarm 75% aggregated critical response to Anderson's latest film.
Vikings: Valhalla (Netflix, Feb. 25)
A spinoff of the History Channel’s Vikings series, Vikings: Valhalla is set in the 11th Century, 100 years after the events of its predecessor. In the Netflix sequel, the bloody adventures of famous Vikings including Leif Eriksson, Freydis Eriksdotter, Harald Hardrada and the Norman King William the Conqueror will be explored. The original series ran on the History Channel for six seasons from 2013 - 2020, with the final season earning a 100% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reno 911! Defunded (Roku Channel, Feb. 25)
Reno 911! Defunded is Roku's latest offering culled from the Quibi catalog, which Roku acquired in January 2021. The highly lauded original series from which Defunded is spun off ran on Comedy Central for six seasons from 2003 - 2009. The reboot comes complete with original cast members including Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Niecy Nash and Cedric Yarbrough. Set in 2022, the series features Reno’s finest cops running on low, or no, resources, fighting self-made chaos. The series’ 11 episodes will feature guest stars including Jaimie Lee Curtis, “Weird Al” Yankovic and George Lopez.
Killing Eve – Season 4 (AMC Plus, Feb. 27)
The fourth and final season of the spy thriller puts Eve (Sandra Oh) and international assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) back in each other’s stratospheres. The series has been a hit with critics and audiences alike. The first three seasons of Killing Eve scored 19 Emmy nominations, including a win for Comer in Outstanding Lead Actress category in 2019.
My Brilliant Friend – Season 3 (HBO Max, Feb. 28)
The third season of HBO’s adaptation of Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend quadrilogy is based on the third book in acclaimed Neapolitan Novels called Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay. The eight-episode season set in 1970s Italy, follows Lila (Gaia Gerace) and Elena, aka Lenù, (Margherita Mazzucco) who have been friends since childhood. Although the women are living very separate lives -- socially and economically -- they both struggle balancing domestic responsibilities and find themselves still very much bound to each other. The first and second seasons were hits with audiences and critics alike. “My Brilliant Friend lives up to its adjective, creating such a rich, exquisitely rendered plunge into mid-20th-Century Naples that it’s difficult not to get totally sucked into the hardscrabble, small-village lives. Shot in Italian, after watching six of the eight episodes, there’s not much to say but 'fantastico,'" wrote CNN critic Brian Lowry of the first season,
Better Things – Season 5 (Hulu, Feb. 28)
The fifth and final season of the FX original comedy series stars Pamela Adlon as Sam, a Los Angeles-based working mother and actress raising three daughters. The latest season focuses on Sam struggling to create work-life balance so she can “have it all.” The premiere will feature the first two episodes of the season.
The Larry David Story (HBO Max, March 1)
This two-part documentary explores comedian Larry David’s bumpy road to success. Directed by Larry Charles (Borat), the film offers insights into the comic's personal life as well as his professional highs and lows on series including Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Drive My Car (HBO Max, March 2)
The Japanese drama -- based on a short story of the same name by Haruki Murakami -- follows a widowed actor/director (Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he grapples with the sudden death of his wife while working on a new film production in Hiroshima. The film debuted at Cannes 2021 and has since earned four Oscar nominations in the Best Picture, Best Director. Best Adapted Screenplay and Best International Feature categories.
