Even though it’s Labor Day weekend, know that there will be a new episode of House of the Dragon on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday, so relax. Also, there’s a dragon named Dreamfyre? Sounds like a ’90s R&B girl group, but I’ll still play along.
This week’s What to Watch picks include the premiere of mega-budget fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the 2022 US Open, the debuts of thrillers Devil In Ohio and The Patient, satiric mockumentary Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul., and the return of Rick & Morty. September’s coming in hot!
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What’s premiering this week
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Prime Video | Drama, fantasy
Series premiere, Thursday, September 1: The priciest TV series ever has finally arrived, but what’s the overlong title about? The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set many millennia before The Hobbit when Sauron first forged those rings everybody’s always after. Also, while we’re here, let’s quash this “rivalry” nonsense with House of the Dragon: fantasy fans are capable of watching more than one show, OK?
2022 US Open | ESPN | Sports, tennis
Coverage begins Monday, August 29, 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT: The major buzz around this year’s US Open is all about six-time winner Serena Williams and her impending retirement from tennis (sad, but at least it’s a distraction from Novak Djokovic’s anti-vax antics). On the men’s competition side, defending champion Daniil Medvedev is favored to take it all again this time, with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz facing slightly higher odds.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Love in the Villa | Netflix | Comedy, romance
Movie premiere, Thursday, September 1: The title kinda gives it away, but what happens when a fussy American (Kat Graham, The Vampire Diaries) inadvertently gets double-booked with a devil-may-care Brit (Tom Hopper, The Umbrella Academy) in an Italian Airbnb? We all know where Love in the Villa is going, but how are you not going to watch two really, really, really ridiculously good-looking actors in the gorgeous Verona countryside?
Devil In Ohio | Netflix | Drama, thriller
Series premiere, Friday, September 2: A psychiatrist (Emily Deschanel, Bones) takes in a runaway girl (Madeleine Arthur, To All the Boys), soon learning that she’s escaped from a depraved cult . . . and they’re coming after her. Devil In Ohio is a limited series based on Daria Polatin’s same-named YA novel, which itself was based on a true Ohio story—the state tourism board is going to love this. All eight episodes drop on September 2.
What to watch on Hulu this week
The Patient | Hulu | Drama, thriller
Series premiere, Tuesday, August 30: Speaking of mental-health practitioners in peril, a psychotherapist (Steve Carrell) is held captive by one of his patients (Domhnall Gleeson), a serial killer demanding to be cured of his murderous urges. How will The Patient stretch this story over 10 episodes? The series was created by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, who previously brought us The Americans—they know what they’re doing.
On the Count of Three | Hulu | Comedy, drama
Movie, now streaming: Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s directorial debut is a dark one: Two friends (Carmichael and Christopher Abbott) form a suicide pact that includes the revenge murders of the men who wronged them during childhood (Henry Winkler and J. B. Smoove). On the Count of Three was a 2021 Sundance Film Festival award winner that currently sits at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes—not bad for the first time out, Jerrod.
What to watch on AMC+ this week
Pantheon | AMC+ | Animation, sci-fi
Series premiere, Thursday, September 1: Troubled teen Maddie (voiced by Katie Chang) talks with her recently deceased father (Daniel Day Kim) whose consciousness was uploaded to the cloud before his death. High-concept animated series Pantheon has already been renewed for a second season and features the voices of Taylor Schilling, Rosemarie DeWitt, Aaron Eckhart, Scoot McNairy, Corey Stoll, Maude Apatow, Ron Livingston, and the late William Hurt.
Broadcast Signal Intrusion | AMC+ | Drama, thriller
Movie, now streaming: In 1999, a Chicago video archivist (Harry Shum Jr.) discovers a strange figure in a hijacked TV broadcast, which leads him to more bizarre signal intrusions. He soon pieces together that these pirate anomalies might be linked to the cases of several missing area women, including his own wife. Broadcast Signal Intrusion is a slow-burn thriller inspired by real signal-pirating events (including an infamous 1987 Max Headroom promotional stunt).
W2W wildcards of the week
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. | Peacock | Comedy
Movie premiere, Friday, September 2: Like a mockumentary twist on The Righteous Gemstones, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. follows Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall) and her pastor husband Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) as they struggle to reorganize their Southern Baptist megachurch after an embarrassing public scandal. Hall and Brown are the unexpected comedy duo of the year in this scathing satire that’s been reviewed as, yes, “divine.”
Rick & Morty | Adult Swim, HBO Max | Animation, comedy
Season 6 premiere, Sunday, September 4: How in the world (and other worlds) can Rick and Morty possibly top the interdimensional insanity of the previous five seasons? Showrunners Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon haven’t imparted many hints about Season 6, but we do know that something called “Wormageddon” is coming, and it’s probably bad. The Season 6 premiere of Rick & Morty will stream on HBO Max after it airs on Adult Swim.
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