Q Wave’s Watchlist: June 2021
"There's nothing to watch" is not a phrase that should exist in a world drowning in content. Join us every month to get curated content - from the latest and greatest to revisiting oldies - we'll help you avoid the dreaded “Netflix Block” and find something to watch!
Master of None Presents: Moments in Love (Netflix)
It’s been a long four years since we left the Master of None world. A lot has happened with the show’s creator and star, Aziz Ansari, which we won’t get into. Still, given the lengthy hiatus and several comments from Ansari about being on the fence about returning, it felt like a third season of his Emmy-winning series was a long shot. Well, somewhat unexpectedly, 2021 sees the return of Master of None...sort of.
Season 3 debuted on Netflix May 23rd, and although it takes place in the world that Ansari created (he is credited as a writer and director on all five episodes), he’s seldom seen in front of the camera. Instead, the series opts for a complete shakeup and shifts focus to Lena Waithe’s character from the previous two seasons, Denise. The show picks up with Denise having found success as a writer, having published her first novel and working on her second, as well as having gotten married to her partner Alicia, played by Naomi Ackie (The End Of the F****ing World) and living in a beautiful home in New York. The tone of season 3 is a substantial shift from that in the previous two seasons; whereas those seasons had a comedic charm and cast of eclectic characters, this season is very much a drama that opts to paint an intimate portrait of a black, same-sex couple attempting to navigate their way through a modern marriage that includes their journey of trying to start a family.
While this season does have an issue with pacing at times, it’s best to calibrate viewers’ expectations. This isn’t the half-hour, light, observational comedy that Ansari headlined for the first two rounds. It’s more of an extended art house film that gives the two stars chances to explore the relationship at the center of the story and allows for moments to breathe.
Waithe, who won an Emmy for her writing on the season two episode ‘Thanksgiving’, co-wrote every season 3 episode alongside Ansari. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when she undoubtedly picks up a nomination later this year for her work here as well.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Atlanta, Insecure
Runtime: 5 episodes, 20-55 minutes each
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Solos (Amazon Prime)
Throughout the last year and change, we’ve been forced to confront a number of uncomfortable realities in our own lives that have simultaneously been captured and examined within the lens of popular media, the latest being Prime’s Solos which weaves in a look at human isolation through its seven episodes.
Morgan Freeman (Angel Has Fallen) displays his elite narration chops by introducing the first six episodes of this sci-fi anthology series and then starring in the finale, setting each story up to revolve around a central question that provides the framework for the rest of the episode. Questions like “If you travelled to the future, could you escape your past?” and “Who decides who belongs in the world?” are the setup for the episodes that follow, all seemingly not connected to one in another plot-wise but sharing common themes.
What makes the show work are the performances given to us by a star-studded stable of talented actors. Anne Hathway (Ocean’s 8) as a scientist attempting time travel, Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as an angry businessman, and Helen Mirren (The Queen) as a senior citizen who joins a space program are just a few of the heavy hitters - with stars like Constance Wu (Hustlers), Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black), Dan Stevens (Legion), and Jack Quaid (The Boys) filling out the roster as well. It’s an embarrassment of riches as far as casts go, which, given the structure of each episode being essentially a one-off character study, allows the stars to put their talents on full display.
With an easily digestible time of roughly a half-hour per episode, there’s no danger for any of the stories to drag, and while some episodes are stronger than others, none overstay their welcome while tying themselves to one another through building an overall immersive world for the stars to explore.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone
Runtime: 7 episodes, 21-32 minutes each
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Hacks (Crave)
Fresh off her turn as the prickly mother of a detective on Mare of Easttown, Jean Smart brings that brash wit to another offering from Crave, this time in Hacks which is currently airing with two episodes being released weekly on Thursdays.
In this half-hour HBO comedy, Smart plays an ageing comedic legend named Deborah Vance, who can best be compared to a Joan Rivers type. With her best years well in the rearview, she has a resident show at a hotel in Vegas and hawks products on The Shopping Network, while living in a ridiculously ostentatious, albeit lonely, mansion. When the hotel she performs at informs her they intend to cut her dates back and she will no longer be headlining Fridays and Saturdays, her agent suggests she hire a younger comedy writer, played by newcomer Hannah Einbinder, to help her come up with some fresh material.
It’s the chemistry between Smart and Einbinder that elevates the show from a peek behind the curtain at show biz, which can be notoriously tricky to pull off, to something more; a look at two women in completely different points in their career trying to stay afloat in an industry dominated by men, while simultaneously delivering a modern commentary on the state of the comedy industry.
If nothing else, a glowing endorsement of the show should be that Michael Shur is on board as an executive producer giving his stamp of approval. Shur is basically the King Midas of modern television comedy, having been involved with shows like The Office, Parks & Recreation, The Good Place and more, with Hacks now being another worthy addition to his resume.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Crashing, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Runtime: 10 episodes, 29-33 minutes each
Genre: Comedy
Loki (Disney +)
It’s been about a month and a half since The Falcon and The Winter Soldier wrapped it’s run on Disney+, and in our current state of superhero content overload, that feels like an eternity. Luckily, the Marvel machine is ready to serve up its latest offering, this time in the form of the God of mischief and Thor’s half brother in ‘Loki’.
With a premiere date of June 9th and details regarding the shows plot fairly scarce, the best we can surmise is that after the events of Avengers: Endgame, an alternate version of Loki is brought before the Time Variance Authority (TVA), specifically Mobius M, \played by Owen Wilson (Zoolander 2) in his MCU debut, to help rectify the timeline and stop a bigger threat. Confused? With most things time travel-related, you can expect some of the show will require unpacking in terms of the setup but Marvel is 2/2 with WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier under their belt this year, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Tom Hiddleston returns to play the titular role of Loki, and believe-it-or-not is now in his 10th year of playing the character after making his debut in 2011’s Thor. Important to note though, this version of Loki is slightly different. In this series Hiddleston plays an alternate ‘time variant’ version of Loki who created a new timeline in Avengers: Endgame, and therefore hasn’t gone through the events depicted in Thor: The Dark World or Thor: Ragnarok, which developed the character with arcs that saw him soften a bit from his villainous ways. Again, we trust Marvel to lay this out for us in the show.
Marvel continues it’s stacked release calendar in 2021 as we find ourselves in the thick of Phase 4. After ‘Loki’ we can look forward to the release of several movies starting with Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals and Spider-Man No Way Home all due out this year. There’s also three more series in What If…?, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye, which are scheduled but don’t have dates attached yet.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Any Marvel movie from the MCU
Runtime: 6 episodes, 40-50 minutes each
Genre: Science Fiction, Superhero
The Me You Can’t See (Apple TV+)
In terms of relevant subject matter, you’d be hard pressed to find a documentary that has come out in the last year as timely as The Me You Can’t See (TMYCS). This five part Apple TV+ docuseries provides an honest discussion confronting mental health and emotional well being, featuring conversations with celebrities like Glenn Close, Lady Gaga and NBA star DeMar DeRozan. The doc is guided by two incredibly powerful voices on the topic, Oprah and Prince Harry, who also serve as executive producers, but the doc feels very safe in their hands especially given Harry’s personal journey with mental health.
Having a mother who was very open with her own struggles with suicidal thoughts and postpartum depression, and a wife who just recently told Oprah how she dealt with similar challenges, Harry uses all his wealth and privilege here to underscore the point that material wealth doesn’t quite matter when it comes to mental health. He is very forthright in his honesty about losing his mother at a young age, and extremely thoughtful in the way he draws parallels between his mother and his own life. It’s clear if nothing else, doing a series like this was something that was important to Harry and his heart is in the right place, and this series is better off for it.
TMYCS succeeds in its conversations - not all with celebrities - with people unpacking their problems concerning mental illness and therefore providing viewers with a sign that they too shouldn’t feel alone in their own journey. One of the most remarkable things about this show is how in 2021, there isn’t really anything to compare it to. In a time where we are just learning how to talk about mental health, TMYCS should be required viewing for anyone who has ever had to navigate their own struggles or that of someone they know - which is likely everybody.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: The Oprah Conversation, Becoming
Runtime: 5 episodes, 47-60 minutes each
Genre: Documentary
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