Sunday Service

Home is where the hatred is [spoilers below]

Industry’s third season finale was a rush of revelation and transformation. Following his inspiring speech calling the trader desk home, I suspect Eric Tao felt the same zeal of anticipation Robert found in leaving the financial institution. He had paid his dues as a company man, sacrificing family and peers to save the storied pillar of capitalism, and believed his chair was rooted in the company’s new era. Little did he know his final act as a beloved family member was delivering verbal pink slips on the now-shuttered trader floor.

As Eric settled with being an artifact of what was, Yasmin and Harper embraced being beacons of their wildest ambitions, more than likely permanently severing their ties to the now foreign-state-owned company. Yasmin finding love in her privilege with Henry felt like a happy ending for the Nepobaby princess, even though her heart seems attached to Robert. And Harper finalizing this new alliance shows she isn’t built for the nice and easy: she only does things nice and rough.

What felt like a series finale ushered in unknown territory for season four. Will we be filming bicoastal as Robret and Harper seek solace in America? Will we follow a new set of characters along with our main trio? Only time - probably a year and a half - will tell.

All three seasons of Industry are available to stream on Max.

This Woman’s Work

HBO’s The Penguin is undoubtedly a vehicle for Colin Farrell. The former Hollywood bad boy turned character actor disappears as Oz Cobb, delivering one of the year’s best TV performances. (Until further notice, the Leading Actor in a Limited Series Emmy is his to lose.) He soars because of the wind beneath his wings: Cristin Milioti and Deidre O’Connell.

O’Connell is brilliant as his mother, the cause and cure of his need to win at all costs. With only two scenes thus far, she displays the fragile power over him. The epitome of someone’s heart walking outside of their chest.

Milioti’s Sofia is the second lead, as she has as much to prove as Penguin. Her acrobatic performance is incredible, able to portray a vulnerable ticking bomb, fighting not only her demons but the patriarchal BS that is the family business. (I also strongly believe something happened to Sofia as a child, a pain she probably hasn’t told anyone.) If she were a man, her alleged killing spree and erratic behavior would be feared and respected. Gotham has no grace for the femme fatale.

New episodes of The Penguin air at 9 p.m. on HBO and Max.

Sing A Song

Agatha and the gang experienced another trial in the fourth episode of Agatha All Along. Aubrey Plaza rejoined the crew, adding another layer of tension for Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha. While viewers learned more about their intertwined past, the group faced the music and dispelled a generational curse. While the show is funny, this episode soared in its dramatic tones, centering on Alice’s and Agatha’s familial distress. The writing is superb striking emotional chords with these characters I don’t think many expected.

Broadcast Blitz

With the return of Fall TV, I’m nestling up to linear TV that includes shows other than In the Heat of the Night, L&O: Criminal Intent, and Living Single. NEW MONICA is on the horizon, first with NBC’s second season of missing person thriller, Found. The series received a huge push landing the 10 p.m. spot following Mariska and the gang on SVU. Hoping the show gains new viewers and continues for another season.

The premiere episode picked up moments from the S1 finale, with Gabi Mosley’s secret getting out: literally and figuratively. Now her team - whose trust she betrayed - must work to find the deadly Sir who has kidnapped one of their own, Laci. The show is a bit on the nose, but its magic works wonders on the heartstrings. Especially when it dives into the emotions of this chosen family, attempting to support each other through their plights. I’m excited to see where things go the rest of the season and if a narrative is palpable for a third season.

Continuing this winning streak for linear TV, I dabbled into spooky season with USA’s reboot of the prank show, Scare Tactics. From the mind of Jordan Peele, the show pits unknowing victims in truly horrific situations, - think the iconic Carrie-esque outburst in a Starbucks that went viral a few years ago. The late Shannen Doherty hosted the original back in 2003. Today, a mysterious teen narrates the first episode, which sees two unsuspecting victims in very peculiar situations. The first paired two friends as witnesses to unholy matrimony. And the second felt like a scene from a demented episode of The Bear. It has a throwback appeal to the Candid Camera of yesteryear, which could be great scary fun for the entire family.

Trailers

Apple TV’s Before

Billy Crystal is a man who aids children through personal trauma until he experiences his own. But a meeting with one patient unlocks something harrowing beneath the grief and loss. We all know Crystal as a generation’s funny, but this dramatic/psychological turn is interesting.

Coming Attractions

Next week will see a flurry of new and returning shows dropping:

• HBO gets funny with the satire The Franchise on Sun., Oct. 6 which skewers the business of comic-book filmmaking. Reviews have not been super.

• School is back in session for ABC’s hit comedy Abbott Elementary on Wednesday.

• Netflix releases one of many new animated video game adaptations with Hayley Atwell as thee Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.