Remember last week when I said fantasy fans are capable of watching more than one show? As usual, I was right: HBO’s House of the Dragon and Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power both drew in around 25 million viewers with their respective premieres. I’d say it’s because fans read about the shows here, but that would be presumptuous.
This week’s What to Watch recommendations include the return of NFL Sunday Night Football, the premieres of American Gigolo and Monarch, the streaming debut of Thor: Love and Thunder, another round of Cobra Kai, and comedy thriller Wedding Season. Get watching!
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What’s premiering this week
American Gigolo | SHOWTIME | Drama, thriller
Series premiere, Sunday, September 11: 1980 film American Gigolo made Richard Gere a star, now Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) takes over the role of male escort Julian Kaye in the most unlikely TV remake since The Man Who Fell to Earth (another SHOWTIME joint). In this version, Kaye is released from prison after 15 years for a murder he didn’t commit, and now he’s on the hunt for the real killer. Gretchen Mol, Wayne Brady, and Rosie O’Donnell also star.
Sunday Night Football | NBC, Peacock | Sports, football
Coverage begins Sunday, September 11, 8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT: Are you adequately prepared for some gridiron action? NFL Kickoff 2022—well—kicks off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Dallas is favored to win by 62%, but Tampa Bay has little-known upstart QB Tom Brady, so anything could happen.
What to watch on Netflix this week
Cobra Kai | Netflix | Comedy, drama
Season 5 premiere, Friday, September 9: I didn’t expect Cobra Kai to last more than one season, let alone five, but here we are and still lovin’ it. The addictive nostalgia romp picks up with ponytailed pain perpetrator Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) looking to expand the Cobra Kai dojo empire. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny (William Zabka) may be powerless to stop him (how do you halt a business franchise in SoCal, anyway?). All 10 episodes drop on September 9.
End of the Road | Netflix | Drama, thriller
Movie premiere, Friday, September 9: Brenda (Queen Latifah), her brother Reggie (Ludacris), and her two kids witness a murder while on a cross-country road trip. And now they’re being chased across the remote New Mexico desert by a mysterious killer—has this guy never seen The Equalizer? Queen Latifah will mess him up. The same goes for the various rednecks and a local lawman (Beau Bridges) harassing her . . . is that a spoiler? Nah.
What to watch on Disney+ this week
Thor: Love and Thunder | Disney+ | Action, superhero
Movie streaming premiere, Thursday, September 8: Yes, “superhero” is now a film descriptor alongside “comedy” and “drama”—live with it. The streaming arrival of MCU theatrical hit Thor: Love and Thunder helps kick off Disney+ Day and introduces new supervillain Gorr (Christian Bale) and even a new Thor in the 5′3″ form of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Between this and Ragnarok, it’s plainly obvious that Taika Waititi should direct every Marvel movie from now on.
Pinocchio | Disney+ | Adventure, fantasy
Movie premiere, Thursday, September 8: Pinocchio himself may be CGI, but most everything else about this remake of the animated 1940 Pinocchio is live-action, including Geppetto (Tom Hanks). Also on the CGI side are Jiminy Cricket (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), “Honest” John (Keegan-Michael Key), and new character Sophia the Seagull (Lorraine Bracco). Pinocchio is a Disney+ exclusive, thanks to the theatrical woes of 2019’s Dumbo remake (remember that?).
What to watch on Hulu this week
Wedding Season | Hulu | Comedy, thriller
Series premiere, Thursday, September 8: When her new husband and his entire family are murdered on her wedding day, Katie (Rosa Salazar) and her secret lover Stefan (Gavin Drea), the police’s main suspect, go on the run. Meanwhile, Stefan believes Katie might be the killer—are you following all this? Wedding Season is a twisty, globetrotting dark comedy that will keep you guessing over eight episodes, all of which will stream on Thursday, September 8.
Series premiere, Sunday, September 11: Like Nashville and Empire before it, Monarch is a family drama mashed up with a music-biz drama, and FOX is all about it. Susan Sarandon, Anna Friel, Trace Adkins, and Beth Ditto star as the Roman family, a country music dynasty whose legacy is threatened by a dark secret from their past—ooo, juicy! Monarch will deliver big songs, big drama, and bigger hair in its regular timeslot Tuesdays on FOX and the next day on Hulu.
W2W wildcards of the week
Last Light | Peacock | Drama, thriller
Series premiere, Thursday, September 8: Matthew Fox (Lost) is back after an eight-year acting break with Last Light, a five-episode series based on Alex Scarrow’s oil-apocalypse novel of the same name. Petro-chemist Andy Yeats (Fox) knows the world would grind to a halt if the oil supply chain was interrupted, and wouldn’t you know it? The Yeats family is scattered across different countries when it actually happens. All five episodes stream Thursday, September 8.
The Serpent Queen | STARZ | Drama
Series premiere, Sunday, September 11: The White Princess, The Spanish Princess, The White Queen, and now The Serpent Queen—STARZ is really leaning into period costume dramas. The Serpent Queen chronicles the rise of Catherine de’ Medici (Samantha Morton) from teen bride to the 16th-century Queen of France (not of actual serpents, which also would have been cool). Charles Dance, Liv Hill, Sennia Nanua, Colm Meaney, and Rupert Everett also star.
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