While many were fraught over his absence in Daredevil: Born Again season two, Marvel delivered a dose of Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle with a second “Special Presentation.” On May 12, Punisher returned for a solo feature set between his escape from Kingpin’s secret prison, and his eventual big screen debut in July’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

At a mere 44 minutes, the mini-feature wastes little time establishing Castle’s familiar state: isolated in mental and emotional anguish. At wit’s end, he opts to end his grief and PTSD once and for all. But when his past attempts to target new victims, he surrenders to the call, eventually donning his signature bone-and-skull paraphernalia.

I thought the build-up, while a rehash of the character’s general motif, was done well. It even seemed to court a general theme of mental health, introducing characters society casts aside due to their condition. This focus is quickly replaced with a more recent societal collapse of random violence, which is vaguely explained. (Perhaps I should have watched season two of Netflix’s The Punisher). As Frank ignores this turbulence, rejecting his hero tendencies, he’s thrust in the middle when a vindictive survivor of his vengeful mission calls for his head.

The rest of the film shifts into overdrive as Castle does what he does best: kill. He shoots, kicks, catapults and thrashes endless NPC thugs in tremendous fashion. It’s long and brutal, earning its rare Marvel R-rating. By the end, Frank ultimately sees the light, saving a family from a bloody fate; a young girl clearly symbolizing what he’s lost and can still protect.

As fans of the gun-powered vigilante, it cements Disney’s ability to go adult, not afraid of carnage. But as a whole, the storytelling lacks in covering any new ground. Plus, there seems to be no hint at what shifts Frank from Little Italy to Brooklyn for Peter Parker’s reintroduction. As a post-Daredevil feature, it could have delivered more.

While not bad, it isn’t a must in the greater MCU scheme which feels like a misstep as Marvel seemed to be on a roll since Wonder Man.

Rating: 2.5/5

Aleshea Harris delivers an astonishing directorial debut with Is God Is, a screen adaptation of her play. The Greek tragedy set somewhere in the South follows twin sisters sent on a mission of vengeance. Throughout, we witness the struggle to escape the cyclical pattern of misogynoir embedded in sacred institutions.

Mallori Johnson and Kara Young excel as leads Anaia and Racine, sisters who traversed the foster system after losing their mother to vicious attack from their father, “The Monster” (Sterling K. Brown). When their assumed dead mother (a stirring Vivica A. Fox) contacts them to fulfill a dying wish, Racine and Anaia set on a perilous mission to make their daddy dead.

Award attention should be merited for Young and Brown. Kara has been stealing scenes for the past few years, hopping from Tony-winning performances to shining moments such as this. And Brown, TV’s Black hero, proves his range in the cruelly masterful turn.

Despite its critical acclaim, the film was not spared from controversy. Some Black men panned the film for yet another Black male father depicted as a villain. A few even harkening The Color Purple Mister argument — from nearly 40 years ago — as proof that there’s a lack of positive Black male characters in media. While they are entitled to their opinion, the argument that we lack positive Black roles is a reach — Brown’s IMDb alone disproves this perspective.

Brown won an Emmy for his This Is Us role as Randall Pearson; and may earn a second Emmy nomination for leading Hulu’s Paradise. We had Stephan James in the prison drama, Ricky, and Colman Domingo in Sing Sing (not to mention his underrated turn as Ali in HBO’s Euphoria).

Jeffery Wright in American Fiction, Denzel Washington in Highest 2 Lowest. Aaron Pierre’s Rebel Ridge definitely secured him his co-lead role in August’s DC series Lanterns; both Laz Alonso and Jessie T. Usher just finished Prime Video’s The Boys; and Matthew Law and Y’lan Noel are sparring as I type in Netflix’s Nemesis.

Like Anaia and Racine, life is both soft and tough. And Black creatives should be given range to encompass all of it through the medium of their choice.

Go see Is God Is for yourself.

Rating: 4/5

I have never been a fan of Clark Kent. Outside of Dean Cain’s 90s TV portrayal, Superman’s mythos seemed to skip my generation. I left the WB by the time Smallville debuted, and the plethora of animated shows never caught my attention. Fortunately, I hopped on the last vestige of the Greg Berlanti-led CW for Superman & Lois. And found the tainting of the boy scout character in the Injustice video game series enticing.

My journey continued when last year’s Superman blew me away and I’m looking forward to its sequel. That brings me to the latest foray into the character — My Adventures With Superman. The anime-influenced iteration of Clark, Lois and Jimmy is such a fresh take on the century-old character. I think the joy of this version is discovering what Superman means to humanity along with Clark, aka Kal-El, as he gains his powers and learns about his past. The addition of Jimmy and Lois on the journey with him is a great coming-of-age tale disguised as a superhero cartoon.

The crisp animation, cool action scenes and colorful characters are just icing on the cake; everything I appreciate in animated fare. I’m bingeing the first two seasons in preparation for season three’s June 13 premiere. Peep the trailer, which I’m choosing not to view just yet, below. New episodes premiere as part of adult swim’s Toonami, and stream the next day on HBO Max.

The kids don’t know nothing about this as many only know Missy Misdemeanor Elliott for her signature “New {insert name}!!!” tag on an R&B diva’s song. However, 25 years ago, the Virginia singer/rapper/songwriter/producer was readying the world for her third album. After shifting hip-hop with Supa Dupa Fly and Da Real World, Missy sought world domination with a crossover album that had everyone freaking out.

Laced with a video from the great Dave Meyers, Elliott and Timbaland bombarded radios with the pop anthem “Get Ur Freak On.” Atop a Indian-influenced sample, the haunting drums hypnotized bodies to the dance floor. Her most recognizable hit at the time, it proved Missy was not an anomaly, but the standard in the future of music.

After krumping in her camo, Elliott crooned to the bedroom for the sensually raucous “One Minute Man,” featuring legendary verses from Ludacris and Trina. I remember C-walking to this tune with my choir’s youth group.

While the album was a great success for Elliott and her SuperFriends crew (Timbaland & Magoo, Ginuwine, and Playa), it aligned with a devastating loss. The music world lost singer and blossoming pop diva, Aaliyah, in August 2001. Stricken with grief, Missy’s final single was the loving “Take Away” featuring Ginuwine. The song about an unbreakable love became a tribute to the late singer and friend, featuring Tweet on the chorus. The video also served as a celebration, with a snippet of the club banger “4 My People” which many attribute as a visual unifier in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Other album highlights include the humptastic “Dog in Heat” with Method and Redman; the frenzy fight starter “Watcha Gonna Do”; and the gospel tinged “Higher Ground” featuring Yolanda Adams, Kim Burrell and The Clark Sisters. Cause after getting ur freak on Saturday night, you go to church on Sunday morning.

This month’s Upfronts brought streamers and networks alike to present their 2026-27 slate. Amidst the consolidation of networks left and right, broadcast is looking ever more desirable. Below I review my anticipated titles for the Fall and beyond.

The trailblazing platform has become more like the cable of streaming platforms. Nine times there’s nothing worth watching, but you keep it around for that lucky tenth time something special airs. Not since the Stranger Things finale have I press played consistently to watch anything that wasn’t a show from the 1900s.

Other than its expanded deal with the NFL, the only thing I’m looking forward to is something the 1980s made — A Different World. The successful Cosby Show spinoff is returning for a sequel series that sees Dwayne and Whitley Gilbert-Wayne’s daughter trek Hillman’s campus. With many of the OG cast returning, along Debbie Allen and showrunner Felicia Pride, it has promise as a worthy revival in the era of regurgitated nostalgia.

As the company transitions to a new CEO, the Mouse to big too fail has a whopping 2027 on its hands. ABC proper canceled nan series for the upcoming fall season, and is prepared to enlarge its procedurals with a spinoff of The Rookie starring Insecure’s Jay Ellis. I won’t be watching as I try to limit my amount of TV copaganda. By winter, the network will boast three of the biggest live events of the year: the Super Bowl, Grammys and Oscars back-to-back-to-back.

On streaming, Disney+ continues the lore of two universes. Marvel will finally deliver VisionQuest this October, the somewhat sequel series to WandaVision (and Agatha All Along if you consider it a trilogy). And early 2027 finds Rosario Dawson in Ahsoka season two.

The star-studded Amazon presentation included a trifecta of projects from Oscar winner, Michael B. Jordan. The Sinners dual-lead is putting his executive power behind Fourth Wing, a fantasy series, and The Greatest, the long-awaited biopic series on Muhammad Ali. Remaining in the boxing world, Jordan will continue the Creed narrative in a spinoff series called Delphi. The show will focus on a Latin American youth training at the elite boxing gym and stars Wood Harris and Andre Holland.

For something old, the third season of LOTR: Rings of Power arrives in November. And Aaron Paul was announced to join the third season of Fallout.

Warner Bros. Discovery was in the house, but beyond DC and GOT, there wasn’t much else to talk about other than they’ll soon belong to the Ellisons over at Paramount.

As we already discussed Disney’s ABC, let’s focus on what the other three networks are offering.

I don’t dabble at Fox too much, as they seem to saturate the market with Bob’s Burgers copycats and biting reality shows. However, I did causally enjoy Patrick Dempsey in Memory of a Killer which was renewed for a second season. The only other new things are the Baywatch reboot with Arrow’s Stephen Amell, and a crime drama starring Stephen Fry. In The Interrogator, Fry is a former MI16 agent leading an elite team to solve the most complex crimes. Michael Beach costars, so that may be worth looking into.

Over at CBS, my only concern is Cupertino, a new series from Robert King and Michelle King. Reconnecting with Evil lead Mike Colter, the show follows a lawyer who takes on cases challenging the growing behemoth of tech bros in Silicon Valley. For fans of Criminal Minds, that one guy from the show will lead Einstein. As the great-great grandson of historical genius, he must partner with the police to evade prison time. Sounds Elsbeth-ish, which just finished its third season (I missed it).

Finally N..B..C..has the most new series on deck. Punching the nostalgia button is The Rockford Files, a reboot of the show made famous by the late James Garner. SEAL Team’s David Boreanaz takes on the iconic role as a wrongfully imprisoned PI who solves crimes while trying to find out who framed him. Private investigators continue to shine with Jake Johnson’s comedy Sunset P.I. which pairs him with Keith David and Langston Kerman. Téa Leoni and Tim Daly are Newlyweds in some romantic dramedy, and Peter Krause trades 911 for Line of Fire, a show about a family of federal agents threatened into witness protection.

I’ll dip my toes in some of those offerings, but will mainly await the return of Tracy Morgan’s Emmy-nom worthy The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.

It’s definitely the year of the Spider. Before Tom Holland swings in Brand New Day, and Marvel delivers season two of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, fans of the Spider-Verse can explore a completely new series. Nicholas Cage stars in the live-action Spider Noir that spins comic canon into a pre-Prohibition era detective yarn. View the final trailer below before. The series arrives on MGM+ on May 25, and Prime Video two days later.

Watch in its Authentic Black & White, or True-Hue Full Color.

HBO Max released a second teaser for its upcoming DC Studios series, Lanterns. The initial look lacked a lot of green. This second preview sees Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) in action, with the ring emitting a variety of powers at will.

The plot remains unclear, which is exciting. We do get to see that Laura Linney is playing a key role. A motivator for young Stewart to pursue the great power. We also catch a glimpse of J. Alphonse Stephenson who plays Stewart’s father.

Lanterns arrives on HBO Max August 16.