Q Wave’s Watchlist: June 2022
"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!
Hustle (Netflix)
According to Netflix, their users have spent more than 2 billion hours watching Adam Sandler movies, which explains their decision to back up the Brinks truck and give him a whopping $250 million deal last year. Hustle, the first of four films included in that deal, hits Netflix on June 3rd.
In his first dramatic role since 2019’s Uncut Gems, Sandler plays Stanley Sugarman, a basketball scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who is down on his luck. While on a trip abroad, he discovers a once-in-a-lifetime player, who he intends to bring to America to try and give him a shot to play in the NBA, despite not having his team management's approval.
A lifelong hoops fan, the film is a passion project of Sandler's, who also acts as producer. To inject the movie with authenticity, the team that is responsible for the making of the project comes from a variety of unique backgrounds. The script was written by Will Fetters, who wrote A Star Is Born, and Taylor Materne, who wrote basketball video games NBA2K19 and NBA2K20. Producing alongside Sandler is a 4-time NBA champion and 4-time MVP winner, Lebron James.
Additionally keep your eyes peeled for cameos from real-life NBA players in the film like Anthony Edwards, Trae Young, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Aaron Gordon, Seth Curry and more.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: High Flying Bird, Boogie
Runtime: 117 minutes
Genre: Drama
Night Sky (Amazon Prime)
Fresh on the heels of it’s previous supernatural hit, Outer Range, Amazon is rolling out the formula once again for the sci-fi drama, Night Sky.
What can be best described as a slow burn, Night Sky revolves around married couple, Irene and Frank, played by the talented pair Sissy Spacek (Bloodline) and JK Simmons (Being the Ricardos), who discover a portal in their backyard that leads to another planet. Despite the winding and twist-filled sci-fi plot, it’s the pair's performance as a devoted married couple of more than 50 years is that is drawing high praise from critics.
Originally titled Lightyears, the show was given the green light in October 2020 for a series order with Ed O’Neil (Modern Family) originally set to star opposite Spacek, but Simmons stepped in after O’Neil had to exit the project due to family reasons.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Outer Range, Dark
Runtime: 8 episodes, approx 60 mins each
Genre: Science Fiction, drama
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Crave)
It’s no secret that the Star Trek franchise is at its peak right now. J.J. Abram’s recent Star Trek trilogy re-ignited the Trekkie flame for a new generation, and CBS is capitalizing on this new wave of fans. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues the story of Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and the starship Enterprise, roughly a decade before the original series that starred William Shatner as Captain Kirk. This version of Captain Pike was first introduced in Star Trek: Discovery’s second season in a frantic search for Spock (Ethan Peck).
In this Star Trek series, episodes will mirror the episodic nature of the original series, with Anson Mount narrating the intro and outro sequences (a trend that defined later series by opening with, “Star date…”). The opening episode will not only re-introduce audiences to familiar characters, it will also revolve around what eventually become the “Prime Directive” (a guiding principle that forbids Starfleet from interfering in the natural development of other civilizations).
The current Star Trek craze has also included new shows like Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered on May 5th, 2022, with a second season already in production.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Star Trek: Discovery, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Trilogy
Runtime: 10 episodes
Genre: Science Fiction
Only Murders in the Building (Disney Plus)
After a wildly successful first season that had viewers on the edge of their seats trying to figure out who was responsible for the suspicious death in the Arconia, Only Murders in the Building is back just a year later with it’s second season.
To refresh your memory (without giving too much away for those that haven’t binged the first season yet), the show boasts a star studded trio in Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as residents of the Arconia, a ritzy apartment building in New York city. They all happen to be fans of the same true crime podcast, and when a fellow tenant mysteriously dies, they venture out to solve the case, documenting it with their very own podcast.
The show was a quick hit with critics and fans alike, with season one debuting in August of last year and a second season being given the green light the following month.
The plot of season two is being kept pretty tightly under wraps, but we do know that the series is set to explore the history of the Arconia. In addition to the leads, the show is rolling out a star studded cast, with Nathan Lane (The Gilded Age), Amy Ryan (Lost Girls), and Tina Fey (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) all set to return, as well as the introduction of new characters played by Cara Delevigne (Suicide Squad), Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) and Shirley MacLaine (Noelle).
Only Murders in the Building premieres June 28th, with a new episode coming out every Tuesday until the finale on August 23rd.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: The Flight Attendant, The Afterparty
Runtime: 10 episodes, approx 30 mins each
Genre: Comedy, mystery
Prehistoric Planet (Apple TV+)
If you’re a fan of nature documentaries, then you’re probably a big fan of David Attenborough. The 96 year old nature historian has narrated documentaries featuring places all over the globe, including the hit series Planet Earth, which spanned 64 countries. Now, Attenborough is going back in time to show us an entirely different world in Prehistoric Planet.
In Apple’s newest docuseries, we are afforded the opportunity to learn about species that no longer exist, dinosaurs. The series has been in the works for a decade and episodes range from the coasts to the deserts and everything in between. The series relies on up to date research from paleontologists to feature the animals with scientific accuracy. John Favreau, director of recent live-action Disney movies, The Jungle Book and The Lion King, is an executive producer on the series, and much of the CGI photorealistic technology used on Prehistoric Planet is the same that was used on those films.
The results are stunning. At times you forget that you are watching special effects, Prehistoric Planet looks and feels like a real nature documentary!
All 5 episodes of the impressively epic series are now on Apple TV+.
You'd like this if you enjoyed: Planet Earth, The Year Earth Changed
Runtime: 5 episodes, approx 45 mins each
Genre: Documentary