If, like me, you were lukewarm on the idea of Seth MacFarlane’s Ted prequel series on Peacock, think again—it’s hilarious, and you should watch all seven episodes ASAP. However, if you’re not a fan of the MacFarlane-verse (Family Guy, American Dad!, the Ted movies, etc.), steer clear.
This week’s What to Watch picks include a new season of The Bachelor, Sophia Vergara crime drama Griselda, the streaming premiere of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, WWII epic Masters of the Air, and WWE Royal Rumble pro-wrestling action. Get watching!
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What’s new this week
Season 28 premiere, Monday, January 22: Twenty-eight seasons of this, huh? Fine, if that’s what you want, ‘Merica. Bachelor Joey Graziadei, a runner-up from season 20, will have 32 women to choose from, including two Kelseys, two Samanthas, and two Canadians. Cynics should know that 27 couples who met on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are still together, a better success record than American Idol or The Voice, which are really just supply chains to the state-fair circuit.
WWE Royal Rumble | Peacock | Sports, wrestling
Coverage begins Saturday, January 27, 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET: Live from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, it’s the WWE Royal Rumble. On the 2024 card: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orten vs. LA Knight (Fatal Four-Way match), Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens (WWE United States Championship match), and the 30-wrestler-apiece Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches. Possible additions include Rhea Ripley vs. Piper Niven, Iyo Sky vs. Zelina Vega, and an inevitable monologue from CM Punk.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Masters of the Universe: Revolution | Netflix | Animation, fantasy
Miniseries premiere, Thursday, January 25: Did you know that Skeletor is now an all-powerful robot? Or that Teela is searching for the secret of Snake Magic in Darksmoke in order to fend off the return of Hordak? If not, you’d better watch 2021’s Masters of the Universe: Revelation before diving into Masters of the Universe: Revolution, lest ye be lost in all of this new Castle Greyskull drama. All five episodes stream on January 25.
Griselda | Netflix | Drama
Miniseries premiere, Thursday, January 25: After 11 seasons as wacky housewife Gloria on Modern Family, it’s going to take a heavy, disruptive role for Sophia Vergara to break away from her comedic roots—Griselda should do it. The miniseries from the Narcos team dramatizes the life and crimes of Columbian cocaine queenpin Griselda Blanco, who ruled over Miami with an iron manicure in the ‘70s and ’80s. Unless a new lawsuit from the Blanco estate stops it, all six episodes of Griselda will stream on January 25.
What to watch on Paramount+ this week
Sexy Beast | Paramount+ | Drama
Series premiere, Thursday, January 25: The latest IP reanimation from Paramount+ is a prequel to Jonathan Glazer’s hit 2000 film Sexy Beast, following the 1990s East London exploits of friends/criminals Gal and Don (James McArdle and Emun Elliott as younger versions of Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley). It’s arguable if a new take on Sexy Beast was necessary, but it can at least lean on the cred of writer/showrunner Michael Caleo (The Sopranos). It can’t be worse than the Fatal Attraction series, right?
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning | Paramount+ | Action, drama
Movie streaming premiere, Thursday, January 25: Love him or tolerate him, Tom Cruise knows how to make an action flick. That said, last year’s Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning comes up a little short in the adrenaline department, with a handful of jaw-dropping action sequences being outweighed by exposition and dialogue (who wants that?). Also, the nearly three-hour Dead Reckoning is only Part 1—there’s a potentially even longer sequel coming in 2025. Yes, I’m going to watch that, too.
What to watch on Prime Video this week
Expats | Prime Video | Drama
Miniseries premiere, Friday, January 26: Expats, a sprawling series based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s novel Expatriates, follows the intertwined lives of three American women living in 2014 Hong Kong: Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-Young Yoo). Mercy is fresh out of college and looking to reinvent herself, while Hilary is dealing with a failing marriage and Margaret’s posh life has been upended by a tragedy—this is not a linear story. Two of six Expats episodes stream on January 26.
The Underdoggs | Prime Video | Comedy, sports
Movie premiere, Friday, January 26: Originally scheduled for a theatrical release in October 2023, The Underdoggs is going straight to streaming because R-rated comedies don’t fare well in the brick-and-mortars anymore—sad! Anyway: Jaycen “Two Js” Jennings (Snoop Dogg), a down-and-out ex-NFL star, is sentenced to community service coaching the Underdoggs, a ragtag pee-wee football team in his Long Beach hometown. Maybe watch this Bad News Bears riff with some herbal enhancement.
W2W wildcards of the week
Masters of the Air | Apple TV+ | Drama
Miniseries premiere, Friday, January 26: From the producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific (including Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg), it’s Masters of the Air, a $250 million+ epic about bombers over WWII Nazi Germany—get ready for a call from Grandpa asking, “How does this Apple TV thing work?” Austen Butler has (mostly) shaken off his Elvis accent to play Air Force Major Gale Cleven, leader of the “Bloody Hundreth,” a B-17 bomber unit. Two of nine episodes stream on January 26.
Hightown | STARZ | Drama
Season 3 premiere, Friday, January 26: Unless it’s a 50 Cent production, it’s tough to sustain a crime drama on STARZ, but at least Hightown made it to a third (and final) season. The underrated series follows Jackie Quiñones (Monica Raymund), a troubled Provincetown Marine Fisheries Service agent who stumbles into a murder and then an opioid trafficking ring in Cape Cod. The gritty thriller is full of unexpected twists, and Raymund is fantastic as struggling addict Jackie. Catch up on Hightown before the season 3 premiere on January 26.
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