Besides Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it’s been a pretty terrible year for superhero movies from both Marvel and DC. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and The Flash stole four hours of my life I’ll never get back.
But, at least they gave me the inspiration to look back at some comic-book movie fails from way back for my August syndicated TV column (remember Dick Tracy? Catwoman? Elektra?). Check it out at Salt Lake City Weekly, Inlander, or Coachella Valley Independent.
This week’s What to Watch recs include the final season of Billions, Gal Gadot action flick Heart of Stone, the return of Only Murders In the Building, gonzo docuseries Telemarketers, and the kickoff of 2023 Premier League soccer. Get watching!
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What’s premiering this week
Billions | SHOWTIME | Drama
Season 7 premiere, Sunday, August 13 (Friday, August 11 on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME): Your dad’s favorite money-porn drama is back for its seventh and final season, and so is O.G. hedge-fund king Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). After taking a couple of seasons off, Bobby returns to join in the battle between U.S. attorney Chuck Rhodes (Paul Giamatti) and billionaire presidential candidate Mike Prince (Corey Stoll)—but whose side is he on? Billions may be over, but look for spinoffs Millions and Trillions (yes, really) in the coming years.
Coverage begins Friday, August 11, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT: The 2023–2024 Premier League season kicks off with Manchester City vs. Burnley on USA Network and Universo on Friday, followed by Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Luton Town and Sheffield United vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday, and Chelsea vs. Liverpool on Sunday, all on Peacock. This season’s Premiere League matches will be available to watch on NBC, USA Network, Universo, Telemundo, and Peacock—read our How To Watch the Premier League on Peacock guide for more on that.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Painkiller | Netflix | Drama
Series premiere, Thursday, August 10: Hulu’s Dopesick previously dramatized America’s opioid crisis, but Netflix’s Painkiller diagnoses it from a different angle. “This is the origin story of the collision between medicine and money that allowed it to happen,” director Peter Berg told Netflix’s Tudum. “Whoever could market their drug better was going to make the most money.” One of those marketers was Arthur Sackler, played by Matthew Broderick in the six-part series. Painkiller also stars Taylor Kitsch, Uzo Aduba, and West Duchovny (daughter of David).
Heart of Stone | Netflix | Action, drama
Movie premiere, Friday, August 11: The title’s doing some heavy lifting here: Secret agent Rachel Stone (Gal Gadot), part of a covert international peacekeeper group, is out to protect the world’s most powerful AI, known as “The Heart,” by any means necessary. Those means include a dizzying array of Mission: Impossible-worthy action sequences that might even make Tom Cruise blink (coincidentally, Heart of Stone is meant to be the intro to an M:I-style franchise of movies). If we can’t have more Gadot as Wonder Woman, HoS is a decent substitution.
What to watch on Hulu this week
Only Murders In the Building | Hulu | Comedy, mystery
Season 3 premiere, Tuesday, August 8: Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) are investigating/podcasting about a murder outside the building in season 3: Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), the actor who mysteriously died onstage during Oliver’s play at the end of season 2. Even though Ben’s dead, Rudd will still be around this season, as will legendary actress Meryl Streep as legendary actress Loretta Durkin, one of many suspects in the case. Two of 10 new Only Murders In the Building episodes premiere on August 8.
Moving | Hulu | Action, drama
Series premiere, Wednesday, August 9: Based on the Korean webtoon of the same name, Moving is an action-packed series about the kids of a superpowered black-ops team that vanished decades ago without a trace. Do the teens themselves have superpowers? Of course, they do. But suddenly, they have to come out of the dark and work together when a maniac serial killer begins taking out the superpowered in Seoul. In an unusual move, Hulu will stream seven episodes of the K-drama on August 9, followed by 13 episodes dropped weekly.
What to watch on Max this week
Series premiere, Sunday, August 13: You’d expect a gonzo docuseries from producers Danny McBride and Jodi Hill (The Righteous Gemstones), but Telemarketers defies all expectations. In 2003, a pair of coworkers in a sketchy New Jersey call center realized that the “charity” they were soliciting donations for was actually a billion-dollar scam, so they began video documenting everything. Telemarketers is a 20-year takedown of the company, loaded with office shenanigans, amateur detective work, and searing indictments of good ole American capitalism.
Season 3, now streaming: Like Nathan for You and Joe Pera Talks With You, How To With John Wilson is a quietly weird docuseries with no shock agenda or ironic winks. Filmmaker John Wilson does most of his camera pointing in the streets of New York City, creating 25-minute “tutorials” on seemingly mundane topics (this third and final season’s episodes include “How To Clean Your Ears,” “How To Watch the Game,” and “How To Find a Public Restroom”). If you want to see the real New York, hang out with John.
W2W wildcards of the week
Strange Planet | Apple TV+ | Animation, comedy
Series premiere, Wednesday, August 9: Coffee is called “jitter juice,” cocktails are “mind poison,” everyone is blue, and dogs have three eyes—otherwise, this Strange Planet is just like ours. The Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty) and Nathan Pyle animated series is based on Pyle’s same-named webtoon and graphic novel, and features the voices of Demi Adejuyigbe (The Amber Ruffin Show), Danny Pudi (Mythic Quest), Hannah Einbinder (Hacks), Lori Tan Chinn (Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens), and Tunde Adebimpe (vocalist for TV on the Radio).
Red, White & Royal Blue | Prime Video | Drama, rom-com
Movie premiere, Friday, August 11: There’s more to Red, White & Royal Blue than Uma Thurman as the President of the United States, but it’s a great place to start. What begins as a long-distance feud between U.S. First Son Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Britain’s Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) turns into something more when the two are forced to meet for a photo-op “truce.” Red, White & Royal Blue is an R-rated gay rom-com that wouldn’t fly on Lifetime or Hallmark, but it is ready for Prime (Video) time.
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