It’s the weekend! Hooray! This means it’s time to kick back and kick it with some good shows and movies. There’s not a ton of new stuff this weekend, but I have some ideas on top of the new offerings so read on to find out everything new (and old) to stream this fine wintery January weekend.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
The Woman In The Wall (Showtime – Jan. 19th)
Mostly, The Woman In The Wall looks very creepy and troubling. It first aired on BBC One back in August of 2023 and now makes its way to Paramount and Showtime here in the US of A. Ruth Wilson stars as Lorna Brady who wakes up to find a body of a woman in her house. Daryl McCormack stars as Detective Colman Akande, who investigates what appears to be a murder. Things get weirder from there. The trailer is filled with plenty of dread but one moment had me laughing out loud (and reminded me just a tiny bit of Derry Girls—it’s perhaps no wonder that Philippa Dunne from that show co-stars here as well.
On The Roam (Max — Jan. 18th)
If you enjoy Jason Momoa being upbeat and kind of a rad human being, On The Roam might be right up your alley (or maybe you just think he’s hot and would watch him read a book for an hour a week). Either way, in this travel-mentary Momoa goes around the country looking for artists, artisans, craftspeople, blacksmiths and so forth to celebrate the things they do. There are also motorcycles, skateboards, electric guitars and fire. Sounds good to me!
Sixty Minutes (Netflix — Jan. 19th)
A German action thriller about an MMA fighter trying to get to his daughter’s birthday party. He has one hour to get there or he loses custody (so we’re already off to a silly start) but bad guys who want him at his fight—scheduled at the same time—try to stop him. Actually, this sounds really, really stupid but maybe the street-fighting will be fun enough to make up for the plot. Also, angry Germans yelling at each other. Can’t go wrong there.
Loudermilk (Netflix)
Loudermilk isn’t exactly new, but it’s new to Netflix. If you’re a fan of Ron Livingston (Band Of Brothers, Office Space) it’s definitely worth checking out. I binged the first season this past week and mostly enjoyed it, though it goes a bit off the rails toward the end of Season 1. Livingston plays Sam Loudermilk, a dry alcoholic and ex music-critic (basically he’s me, so I dig that!) who leads a recovery group and is rude to people. The show aired years ago on a now-defunct streaming service so nobody every heard about it until now. I’m on Season 2 now and so far enjoying it well enough. I’m working on a review.
True Detective: Night Country (HBO — Jan. 21st)
Well, I was very hyped and excited for a brand new season of True Detective last week but then the premiere aired and I was left more than a little confused and disappointed. Why were all these reviews proclaiming it the best season ever? The opening episode is a jumbled mess and all I can hope at this point is that it gets better this week and ends up being as great as we all hope. Jodie Foster is good but so far I don’t like any of the characters or the in-your-face supernatural stuff at all. Episode 2 comes out Sunday.
Here’s my review.
Monsieur Spade (AMC Jan. 21st)
I actually have a few of the same complaints about Night Country when it comes to the curious new mystery Monsieur Spade on AMC. The Clive Owen led mystery has some confusing pacing and chronology, but overall I did enjoy the bucolic French setting and Owen does a good job. I’d like to see Owen and Foster in a show together! The premiere ends on a helluva cliffhanger, too, and I have no clue where it’s going.
You can read my review here.
Bonus: Patriot (Amazon Prime Video)
Patriot is my new favorite thing on TV. It’s not new, either, but I never heard about it until recently when I was trying to fill the gap left by Slow Horses. It’s a spy show but very, very different from anything you’d ever expect from a spy show. It also has some of the best, funniest folk music ever. And the cast is just superb! Michael Dorman is wonderful in every way as John Tavner. Michael Chernus, Chris Conrad, Kurtwood Smith, Terry O’Quinn, and the list goes on and on. It’s fantastic. Very funny, very dark, and sometimes just unbelievably sad. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s a diamond in the rough.
Bonus: Fargo (1996 — Max)
I watched Fargo for the first time in ages last week and it’s every bit as good—if not better—than I remembered. It’s quite possibly a perfect film, with terrific writing, some of the greatest performances of the 90s from Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi and William H. Macy. It’s so dark and so funny and so . . . matter of fact, dontcha know? Oh yeah, sure. You betcha. Gosh darn it I love this movie!
Missing from this list are two shows that wrapped up this past week. Fargo Season 5 ended on a high note, with a season finale that redeemed the entire season for me. I’d been griping quite a bit about the show but I loved how it ended, and that goes a long ways.
Reacher Season 2 also aired its finale and unfortunately doubled down on everything that made this latest season so laughably awful. I was not kind in my review, though I took no pleasure in it. They really screwed the proverbial pooch this time around. I hope they get things right for Season 3!
What are you watching this weekend? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.
