‘Adolescence,' ‘Wolf Hall' and more to watch this weekend

Los Angeles Times

28-03-2025

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone whose Anglophilia is flaring up again.
In this week's edition, we recommend two acclaimed British TV series to satiate your cravings: Netflix's breakout one-shot sensation, 'Adolescence,' and the long-awaited continuation of Emmy winner 'Wolf Hall,' 'The Mirror and the Light.'
Also in Screen Gab No. 174, David Blaine stops by to discuss the 'inherent fear' he confronted to film his new series, 'Do Not Attempt.'
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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
'Adolescence' (Netflix)
Its bravura one-shot episodes have received the lion's share of the attention, but the searing intensity of Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham's new Netflix miniseries isn't reducible to a single stylistic choice. What trumps all in 'Adolescence,' which follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller (the extraordinary Owen Cooper) after he's arrested in the stabbing death of a female classmate, is its 'Wire'-like completeness, unfurling a saga in which every broken system that contributes to the tragedy is looked square in the eye. Police struggle to follow the clues left behind on social media; a rolling boil of chaos at school overwhelms even the most well-meaning teachers; and Jamie's parents (Graham and Christine Tremarco) wonder how much their actions contributed to their son's retreat into isolation, toxic masculinity and rage. As the riveting exchange between Jamie and a court-appointed therapist (Erin Doherty) suggests, however, the series is not merely interested in enumerating all the ways adults fail kids. It's also determined to reflect society's collective bafflement at having been caught so flat-footed by the forces that lead Jamie astray. 'Adolescence' offers no pat solutions to the problems of 21st century boyhood, but it offers a terrifying vision of what happens when we 'blunder about' in ignorance of those problems for too long. — Matt Brennan
'Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light' (PBS)
After a decade, the third volume in Hilary Mantel's trilogy of historical novels has reached the TV screen, the wonderful 2015 'Wolf Hall' having combined 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies.' You won't necessarily notice the wear and tear on stars Mark Rylance, as protagonist Thomas Cromwell, poker-faced chief minister to Damian Lewis' world's-worst-husband (and mercurial boss) Henry VIII, and to the extent that you do, remember that people aged fast in those days. In any case, weariness is appropriate; things grow dark in this six-part installment, which begins with Anne Boleyn losing her head, and bumps along through wives No. 3 and No. 4 (Kate Phillips as Jane Seymour and Dana Herfurth as Anne of Cleves) as Cromwell faces the twilight of his career. Played out largely in dimly lighted close quarters, the pressure is palpable as Cromwell's enemies press in; but, as the best imperfect man in the room, played with heroic equanimity by Rylance, he remains their better, circumscribed but uncompromised. With Jonathan Pryce as the ghost of Cromwell's mentor, Cardinal Wolsey, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as his mentee, Ralph Sadler. — Robert Lloyd
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they're working on — and what they're watching
Given that he's been buried alive and suspended in a Plexiglas box high above the ground, you'd think nothing scares David Blaine. But as he tells Screen Gab, his latest project forced him to confront something that truly made his skin crawl. In the course of filming 'David Blaine: Do Not Attempt,' which airs Sundays on Nat Geo, the performer/daredevil traveled to India, the Arctic Circle and more to witness extraordinary real-life feats and meet the extraordinary people who accomplish them — including two handlers of venomous snakes. In this week's Guest Spot, he discussed those 'intense' experiences, what he's watching and more. — Matt Brennan
What have you watched recently that you're recommending to everyone you know?
The last two movies that I kept recommending to everyone were 'Poor Things' [Prime Video] and 'American Fiction' [Prime Video, Fubo, MGM+], but that was when we were filming 'Do Not Attempt'— which quickly became all-consuming. Now that I finally have a little downtime, my most trusted friends keep telling me to watch 'Severance' [Apple TV+].
What's your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?
My comfort movie, specifically when flying, is 'The Fugitive' [VOD, multiple platforms].
In 'Do Not Attempt' you meet people from around the world who perform seemingly impossible — i.e., magical — feats. Which encounter most directly reshaped your thinking or practice about your craft and how?
While making the series, there were two situations in which I had to face my inherent fear. Both involved some of the deadliest snakes in the world.
In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, I met Neville Wolmarans, a reptile rescuer. He meditates in a small enclosure with six black mambas. His goal is to show that the best way to keep both snakes and people safe during encounters in the wild or when they appear unexpectedly is to remain calm. I've always been fascinated by the concept of sitting with venomous snakes, but this was definitely one of the most intense experiences of my entire life. I was incredibly nervous, but Neville demonstrated how to remain still and nonresponsive, defying the urge to move away. If you don't respond to them as a threat, the snakes will (in most cases) eventually lose interest.
During my training with Fitz, a remarkable snake handler from Indonesia, I learned how to trust and connect with the king cobra, one of the deadliest snakes in the world.
I've always found great value from extreme situations like these because learning to handle them makes other challenges more manageable.
When it comes to your own material, what's the biggest difference between preparing for and taping a special and putting on a years-long residency?
I think they are both the same. It comes down to practice, training and listening carefully while pushing to always try to be better.