Sunday Service

The Penguin is Woke AF

I expected to enjoy HBO’s The Penguin. I did not, however, expect to be so emotionally invested in these characters, fighting back tears during the latest episode. Focused on Victor’s backstory, the series finally solidifies the connection between him, Oz, and even Sofia. This show has centered on people living on the margins of society. A man seen as nothing more than a novelty act his entire life. A young Brown kid forced to grapple with the systemic perils of race and class. A woman manhandled by those responsible to protect her. This show is woke AF, just don’t let the nerds know.

Episode four of The Penguin releases tonight at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Punish Agatha

We got the fifth episode of Agatha All Along this week, a significant edition in the series. With a death and big reveal, the series shifts from the group camaraderie adventure to something else. Something a bit more sinister. I don’t think I particularly enjoyed the episode compared to what we’ve seen thus far. My favorite episodes were the first two, followed by episode four. This felt rushed. Hopefully, it rebounds with the remaining four. I’m interested in where we’re going on this trek down the Witches’ Road.

Episode six of Agatha All Along drops Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Disney+.

Give Jonathan Pryce his Emmy!

I don’t know what the veteran British actor brought to Netflix’s The Crown this final season, but he delivered an award-worthy performance in this current season of Apple TV+’s Slow Horses. The espionage thriller delved into the personal past of its star pupil, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), and his grandfather, Pryce’s David Cartwright. The former MI5 agent becomes a target of a ruthless assassination plot. But the darker challenge is his mind as David’s battle with Alzheimer’s becomes more severe. Paired with other emotionally taut storylines, this season delivers a more somber experience than usual, even for Gary Oldman’s begrudged Jackson Lamb.

Season four of Slow Horses is available on Apple TV+.

And while we’re on the subject of Apple TV+

If you aren’t experiencing the beautiful life drama that is Pachinko, you are doing yourself a severe disservice. Yes, it may be one of many shows you’ve never heard of on the platform you only know for Ted Lasso and Severance. But it's one of the best-written series on TV, with a terrific cast of mostly unknown foreign talent. If you enjoyed Squid Game, take a chance to explore what international shows have to offer.  

There’s also Alfonso Cuarón’s tense erotic thriller, Disclaimer*, starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. Based on a 2015 novel, Blanchett plays an award-winning documentarian, wife, and mother whose life unravels when a dark secret from her past is the subject of an upcoming best-selling novel. The first two episodes are available now and pack a punch. While a slow burn it doesn’t take long to piece what occurred together. The mystery is discovering what will happen next.

New episodes of Disclaimer drop on Friday.

Broadcast Blitz

Last week’s broadcast highlight was NBC’s missing persons drama, Found. This week, I finally tapped into the soapy medical drama Brilliant Minds. Zachary Quinto (Heroes) returns to the Peacock network as the patient-centric neurologist Dr. Oliver Wolf. After being fired for his unconventional treatment methods (whisking a dementia patient to his granddaughter’s wedding for a touching moment), Wolf lands a gig leading a crop of interns. As he breaks the rules to heal his patients and colleagues, he works to shift through a lifetime of trauma as the son of a prestigious physician and a father who suffered from mental illness.

It feels like a proper successor to the heartfelt, liberal New Amsterdam. While its messages are loud and clear, Wolf’s backstory enhances the mere patient-of-the-week format.

New episodes of Brilliant Minds air Monday on NBC.

Hopping from NBC to Disney’s ABC, Janine and the teachers at Abbott Elementary returned for a fourth season. At a new time on Wednesdays, viewers prepare for a new semester of hilarity as Ms. Teagues and Mr. Gregory Eddie explore life as a couple. While they handle this new dynamic, the school faces a new challenge: gentrification. The season premiere’s opening is a hilariously honest scene on the perils of progress Black neighborhoods experience when folks remember they want to go…downtown.

Catch new episodes of Abbott at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Celadon Lantern

HBO recently confirmed the two leads for its upcoming DC series, Lanterns, which follows comic characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart solving an intergalactic murder mystery in America’s heartland. After many rumors, Kyle Chandler was announced as the veteran ring bearer, while new British import Aaron Pierre is Stewart. Of course, the socials were split on this latter choice given the character has always been depicted as a dark-skinned Black male.

Colorism is nothing new in Hollywood and it popped its ugly head in this decision. There was added salt to this wound as it was made public that Pierre battled Stephan James - a dark-skinned Black actor - for the role. I would have been satisfied with either actor depicting the character as I’ve known about the project since it was announced. However, I can’t help but feel a little vexed at this decision. We don’t often speak on how colorism impacts African American men in the industry (simply because we hold different standards for women to begin with).

Dark-skin Black men have had to fight certain stereotypes throughout cinema history; often cast as villains, or more violent than their lighter-skinned counterparts. Just look at Tyler Perry’s early work, where a lighter-hued brother was always the Black woman’s hero, countering the sinful dark-skinned man who made her life a living hell. It’s something to discuss, especially in this current browning of America.

This is no fault to Pierre, who has done great work the past few years, hitting a recent peak with Netflix’s Rebel Ridge. And I will certainly root for him along the way. But it stings to see the establishment pivot and retreat in this tired exercise time and time again.

A&B Selection

This week we were blessed with the musical blessings of the revered rapvangelist GloRilla, hailing from the hills and valleys of Memphis. The proper debut, Glorious, is quintessential motivational music for every occasion of life. She and Latto join hands to boost women’s worth when being courted by men with “Procedure.” She and fellow rapper Sexyy Redd evoke the early 00s with an ode to a classic self-esteem booster on “Whathcu Know About Me.” She enlists vocalists Muni Long and T-Pain for harmonious hooks on “Don’t Deserve” and “I Luv Her.” And she knows where her help comes from with the Kirk Franklin-assisted “Rain Down On Me” and the personal testimony of “Glo’s Prayer.” The album is a riveting triumph of life — secular and spiritual — and what happens when you know who holds tomorrow.

Favorite tracks: “Let Her Cook” “Procedure” “Queen of Memphis”

Trailers

We are soldiers…

After an initial teaser, Netflix released another teaser of Tyler Perry’s war drama The Six Triple Eight. Starring Kerry Washington, the film is set to chronicle the all-Black and all-female WWII battalion. This is new territory for the director, writer, and producer, whose normal content rests in the religiously-centric drama of life, love, and pain ( S/O Club Nouveau). A nonfiction war drama depicting an untold story in American history is a risky feat. Hopefully, Perry will rise to the occasion.

Coming Soon

• 10/15 - Get into the spooky spirit with Ryan Murphy’s hit anthology series American Horror Stories

• 10/17 CBS preps the return of its mystery dramedy, Elsbeth, paired with Kathy Bates’ Matlock; Netflix continues its venture into anime with Gundamn: Requiem of Vengeance

• 10/18 Peacock and Hulu return to the era of shoulder pads and faces on the milk carton: the former delivers its cooky, satirical Satanic panic thriller, Hysteria! while Hulu releases Rivals, an ode to the soap dramas of the decade; Max drops semifictional comedy It’s Florida, Man