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Winnipeg Free Press
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Good luck out there and other TV cures
It's hard to be a grownup, as high school, college and university graduates are about to discover. For your viewing pleasure, here is a roundup of new broadcast and streaming options with some interesting takes on adulting, success, failure and how to get back up again. ● Adults (series premières Wednesday, May 28 at 8 p.m. on FX and the Citytv+ channel on Prime Video) Whereas that 1990s juggernaut series Friends was about roommates consoling and cheering each on as they launch themselves into adulthood, Adults is about young people with marginal life skills and the dawning awareness that they have few prospects. And instead of a fancy Manhattan apartment, five friends are crashing in one character's childhood suburban home. Darkly funny. 'I always thought the world was going to be waiting for me. Instead, everyone seems to be annoyed that I'm here,' is one of the gang's realizations. Another is that he doesn't know his own social security number (though his mom does). Will young people feel seen? Will parents feel pangs? Will childless adults feel vindicated? Yes to all that. Netflix Matthew Goode is a tortured detective in Dept. Q on Netflix. Netflix Matthew Goode is a tortured detective in Dept. Q on Netflix. ● Dept. Q (series premières on Thursdayon Netflix) If you know Matthew Goode from his vampire role in A Discovery of Witches, his lawyerly charmer in A Good Wife or the race-car-driving second-husband of Downton Abbey's Lady Mary, here's a bit of a change-up. He plays DCI Carl Morck, who feels responsible 'for everything,' as one underling puts it, after an incident goes horribly, horribly wrong. His boss makes him the poster boy for all that is wrong with policing by relegating him to basement obscurity with only cold cases to focus on. But the boss hasn't properly measured the man, because Morck will find justice despite departmental stonewalling, even while saddled with low expectations, his own worst instincts and a lacking assistant. If that doesn't intrigue, the writer/director of Dept. Q is Frank Scott, whose work includes The Queen's Gambit and Godless, both of which are highly recommended. ● Mountainhead (movie premières Saturday, May 31 on Crave) Press kits for new TV are not usually so concise, but this one is a blisteringly accurate snapshot of the mindset of the four tech titans at the centre of this apocalyptic fiction: 'Four friends. $371 billion net worth. Zero culpability.' From writer/director Jesse Armstrong, who made us cringe with revulsion and delight at the antics of the richy-rich Roy family in Succession, this movie puts the four most powerful and rich tech billionaires in the world in a mountaintop mansion at the moment that the world begins devolving into actual flames. A perfect-looking cast of Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef and Cory Michael Smith play the men who grapple with their responsibility, their potential and whether they any have enough courage to reach beyond patting themselves on the back. Apple TV+ Owen Wilson (left) plays a onetime golf golden boy who rediscovers his game in coaching a young prodigy (Peter Dager). Apple TV+ Owen Wilson (left) plays a onetime golf golden boy who rediscovers his game in coaching a young prodigy (Peter Dager). ● Stick (series premières on Wednesday, June 4, on Apple TV+) Who doesn't love an Owen Wilson redemption story? Add to that the subject of golf and I'm betting this is a pre-summer winner. Although … the trailer is leaning a little suspiciously hard into Stick being from 'the home of Ted Lasso' — which is to say, they will both be streaming on Apple TV+. But is that really a guarantee to bank on? Sounds kinda desperate. But I am faithful to Wilson (Royal Tenenbaums, Marry Me, Grand Budapest Hotel, etc.). And I don't mind a bit of Marc Maron (GLOW) or Judy Greer (Best Christmas Pageant Ever). But never mind all that: In this series, Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, a onetime pro-golf golden boy who now sees a young prospect as his chance at redemption not so much on the circuit as to his own conscience. Awwwww. Emilio Madrid / CNN Writer, director and star George Clooney (centre) with the Broadway cast of Good Night, and Good Luck to be broadcast live on CNN on June 7. Emilio Madrid / CNN Writer, director and star George Clooney (centre) with the Broadway cast of Good Night, and Good Luck to be broadcast live on CNN on June 7. ● Good Night, and Good Luck (live theatre performance at 6 p.m., Saturday, June 7, on CNN) CNN is congratulating itself for being the first network to broadcast a play live, promising the five-time Tony Award nominee 'will stream live, without requiring a cable log-in, via CNN connected TV and mobile apps.' The moment will reveal whether that pledge will also cover logins on the Canadian side of the border but fingers crossed. The fact-based play, like the 2005 movie, is co-written by and stars George Clooney. While the Oscar winner played a supporting role in his film, in the play Clooney takes the lead role of Edward R. Murrow as the newsman executes his historic on-air showdown with Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Prepare to be thrilled. This live performance will be the play's penultimate. The Tony Awards will be broadcast live on CBS the next day, Sunday, June 8. Broadcast dates subject to change. Questions, comments to
Toronto Star
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘Star Wars' goes symphonic and the return of a cosy mystery: what the Star's Culture team is loving right now
TV: 'Poker Face' Maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember watching 'Columbo' with my parents, but I welcome the return of 'Poker Face,' Rian Johnson's delightful — dare I say cosy? — comedy-mystery series (Citytv+, CBC Gem). With her weathered-cherub voice and ginger Troll mane, Natasha Lyonne remains a hoot as Charlie Cale, the human lie detector, and the twisty episodes so far satisfy. Season 2's opener features an Emmy-worthy turn by Cynthia Erivo as multiple siblings who think they're entitled to an inheritance from their horrible mother. The show promises even more high-profile guest stars. I can't wait. —Doug Brod Comedy: Katherine Ryan As Canadians are wont to do, comedian Katherine Ryan made her name by leaving her home country. The 41-year-old Sarnia native honed her standup act in England and appeared in TV series there, both as a host and an actor, before creating her London-set, semi-autobiographical Netflix comedy 'The Duchess.' Now Ryan, who expertly taps her life with her Canadian husband and three British-born kids for laughs, is back in Toronto for two shows at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (190 Princes' Blvd.) on Saturday. Limited tickets were still available at press time. —Debra Yeo Concert: 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert' Hearing John Williams's iconic score for 'Star Wars' performed live by a full symphony orchestra is an otherworldly experience — and a must for any fan of the film saga. From next Thursday to Sunday, Toronto audiences will have that opportunity when the Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents four screenings of 'The Empire Strikes Back' (the series' fifth — and best — episode) in concert at Roy Thomson Hall (60 Simcoe St.). Australian composer and conductor Nicholas Buc will lead the TSO in his debut with the orchestra. —Joshua Chong ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Album: billy woods, 'Golliwog' In 2023, billy woods established himself as one of underground hip hop's most compelling storytellers with 'Maps,' a remarkably original (and occasionally hilarious) concept album that offered a glimpse into the chaotic misadventures of a middle-aged rapper on tour. On his new album, 'Golliwog,' woods takes a left turn into horrorcore, weaving dense lyricism into a sinister tapestry of sound — woozy string samples, staggering beats, occasional screams of terror — assembled by an all-star roster of producers. ' The English language is violence, I hotwired it / I got a hold of the master's tools and got dialed in,' woods raps on opener 'Jumpscare,' setting the stage for a brilliant and bleak journey into the heart of darkness, and an exploration of the revolutionary, post-colonial school of thought that might offer an escape route. —Richie Assaly On 'Golliwog,' rapper billy woods dips into horrorcore. Alexander Richter
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
BS detector in fine fettle as Poker Face deals new hand
Opinion American movie and television director Rian Johnson has always been upfront about his murder-mystery influences. His feature film debut, 2005's Brick, was basically a Dashiell Hammett detective story transplanted to a modern high school. The Knives Out movies (with a new instalment due later this year) owe a debt to Agatha Christie, not so much the Queen of Mystery's books but those star-packed cinematic extravaganzas like 1974's Murder on the Orient Express and 1978's Death on the Nile. And then there's Poker Face, the Natasha Lyonne-led TV series that has just returned for a very welcome second season. (Season 2 is streaming on Citytv+, a Prime Video add-on channel, with new episodes dropping on Thursdays. Season 1 is available through Citytv+, as well as showing free on CBC Gem.) Johnson's most obvious pop-culture touchstone here is Columbo. (That show's vintage 1970s seasons are available to rent through Prime Video.) But like the best of Johnson's work, Poker Face is a shrewd, stylish mash-up of the old and the new, taking retro sources and refreshing them in meaningful ways. The show, which follows Charlie Cale (Lyonne), a former casino worker on the run from the mob, manages to be affectionately nostalgic but also urgently up to date. In each episode, Charlie ends up in some oddball corner of America, solving a crime (that's the old-school part) while also working some precarious, underpaid, temporary job in the gig economy (that's the 2025 part!). Poker Face's nods to Columbo start with the '70s-style network-TV title credits, which are in a blocky yellow typeface. Then we meet our underestimated, underdog detective. While Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) had a chewed-on cigar and a clapped-out Peugeot, Charlie has a cigarillo — though this season she's trying to quit — and a beat-up 1969 Plymouth Barracuda. Charlie changes her outfits more often than the good lieutenant, but she does kind of channel Falk's hunched posture and raspy voice. She also shares Columbo's pesky, tenacious, 'just one more thing' approach to cracking cases. While Columbo seemed to immediately, intuitively home in on the guilty person and then spend the rest of the episode wearing them down with friendliness, Charlie cracks cases with her built-in 'bulls**t detector.' She can tell when people are lying, an ability she views not as a supernatural power but as an inconvenient personal tic, and then she's driven to figure out why. Like Columbo, Poker Face is not a standard whodunnit but a so-called 'howcatchem.' Using the inverted-mystery structure, it shows the crime being committed, with the audience following along. The suspense comes through wondering how the detective will trap the murderer. This format was one of the reasons Columbo was able to book guest stars like John Cassavetes, Leonard Nimoy, Laurence Harvey, Johnny Cash and Ruth Gordon. Playing a murderer on Columbo meant a lot of screentime and almost always a role as an extravagant, showy, hubristic charmer. Likewise, Poker Face is anchored by Lyonne's fabulously eccentric lead performance, but we get loads of great supporting talent playing murderers, victims (and occasionally both). This season kicks off with Wicked's Cynthia Erivo times five — she plays quintuplets! — and follows up with folks like Kumail Nanjiani, Giancarlo Esposito, Melanie Lynskey, John Mulaney, Awkwafina, Method Man, John Cho and 'character actress Margo Martindale.' The list goes on. (Really — check out the Season 2 trailer.) Using Columbo's 'case-of-the-week' format, Poker Face combines the easygoing, even predictable pleasures of episodic television with a constant rotation of new settings and new characters. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. One of the most charming personality traits Columbo and Charlie share is a genuine curiosity about other people and their lives and work. In the course of solving crimes, Columbo would learn about photography or architecture or magic or orchestra conducting or winemaking. Charlie also takes in a new subculture every episode, but there are key differences. Columbo really specialized in the 'rich weirdos' subgenre of crime, with pampered, privileged people playing for high stakes. Charlie has occasional run-ins with the rich and powerful, but most of her crime-solving takes place on the social and economic margins, often in overlooked small towns and struggling, stressed-out businesses. In Season 1, Charlie worked at a dinner theatre, a kart-racing track and a highway truck stop. This season has her hanging out with fruit pickers, hired Halloween zombies and a minor-league baseball team that plays at Velvety Canned Cheese Park. In many ways, Poker Face leans into the fun but formulaic entertainment of 1970s network television, offering self-contained crime-solving that wraps up nicely within 60 minutes. It's in Charlie's ongoing road trip — and the surprisingly realistic sense of people just getting by — that the series finds an empathetic, emotional and very contemporary resonance. Poker Face isn't just a throwback. As Charlie explores the edges of Americana, the show actually has a lot to say about here and now. Alison GillmorWriter Studying at the University of Winnipeg and later Toronto's York University, Alison Gillmor planned to become an art historian. She ended up catching the journalism bug when she started as visual arts reviewer at the Winnipeg Free Press in 1992. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
