Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest TV shows from around the world will air in the UK
After last week’s dismal showing, this week is chock full of exciting new dates, as well as acquisitions. New US comics-based service DC Universe’s first show, Titans (aka the adventures of Robin, without Batman, and his band of merry men and women), has already been picked up by Netflix (UK), although there’s no air date as of yet.
A gender-swapped, race-swapped Uncle Buck that sees It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s Kaitlin Olson playing the white trash grifter sister to a billionaire’s wife who gets lumbered with looking after the kids when the rich couple go on the run following fraud investigations. If she sticks around, she gets to enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But she’ll also have to deal with the bitchy neighbours, the bitchy daughter and the entitled son.
The show’s created by John Chernin and Dave Chernin, the creators of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, so you shouldn’t be too surprised to hear that it’s funnier than you might think, more accurate about being poor than you might think and also based around people being mean too one another verbally and physically in order to get one up on everyone else. Olson’s very good as the Mick(ey) of the title and everyone is marvellously bitchy, too.
But that wasn’t my cup of tea, so I gave up after an episode; everyone else gave up pretty quickly, too, so it was promptly cancelled.
Based on an event in the life of none other than Harry Styles (who is exec producer of the show), Happy Together sees happily married accountant Damon Wayans Jr and shop designer Amber Stevens West in something of an unexciting rut. They still love each other, but they’re getting older and settling into a routine. Dancing, nights out, romance et al have been replaced by the familiarity of Netflix boxsets. Then one of Wayans’ clients, hugely famous pop star Felix Mallard, shows up on their doorstep after a very public break-up, and he wants to lay low. Could they put him up for a while? Before you know it, the couple are being shaken out of their routine and doing all the things that (clean-living) young, A-list stars get up to. Can they keep up and will they change him or vice versa?
Surprisingly good and genial for a CBS multi-camera sitcom, I did actually quite enjoy this, but with only one episode having aired so far, I can’t tell you whether this is a keeper or not.
Remake of both the ‘classic’ Robert Redford movie Three Days of the Condor, as well as the book on which it was based, this sees lowly CIA analyst Max Irons go on the run when everyone in his office is killed, possibly due to something he discovered. Who behind it all, what’s their motivation and will anyone care if Irons finds out and reveals everything?
Co-starring William Hurt and Mira Sorvino, it’s actually a pretty decent show that has a lot in common with Rubiconand Homeland, and actually does a better job with its themes than the similar Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. It’s a bit less exciting and clever than it really needs to be, and it’s hobbled by its source material into having a weak ending, but a good watch, nevertheless. Plus Brendan Fraser is bonkersly off-kilter with the whole show, which is delightful to watch.
Beat (Amazon)
Premiere date: Friday, November 9 (via)
Amazon’s latest German-language original tells the story of Robert Schlag, called Beat, a 28 year old Berlin club promoter who is addicted to Berlin’s nightlife including drugs and sex (with men and women). Beat works for Berlin’s most known techno club Sonar, which is owned by his best friend Paul. Given Beat’s connections with the club scene he gets into the focus of the European Security Intelligence (ESI) as they need help while investigating the clubs. The main suspect is Philipp Vossberg, the new co-owner of the Sonar. He is a smart and handsome but ruthless guy who sells human organs and uses the club to cover his dirty deals. Emilia (working for the ESI) partners with Beat on his dangerous journey through organ trafficking and arms trades, all in front of the backdrop of Berlin’s party scene.
Baby (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, November 30 [via]
Inspired by a true story, this Italian Netflix original follows a group of Roman teenagers as they defy society in their search for identity and independence.
1983 (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, November 30 [via]
Polish Netflix Original: The deeply frozen Cold War is heating up. Twenty years after a devastating terrorist attack in 1983 that halted the course of Poland’s liberation and the subsequent downfall of the Soviet Union, an idealistic law student and a disgraced police investigator stumble upon a conspiracy that has kept the Iron Curtain standing and Poland living under a repressive police state.
Now, in 2003, after two decades of peace and prosperity, the leaders of the regime enact a secret plan made with an unlikely adversary in the 1980s that will radically transform Poland and affect the lives of every citizen in the nation — and the world. What these two men discover has the potential to ignite a revolution and those in power will stop at nothing to keep it a secret.
Diablero (Netflix)
Premiere date: Friday, December 21 [via]
Angels have left, evil has arrived to Mexico City and its citizens have become vulnerable to demons. Now, who will save them? Diablero, evil is coming to Netflix on December 21st.
Every week (or fortnight) At least once a month, Sometimes, Weekly Wonder Woman keeps you up to date on everything involving DC Comics’ premier superheroine
Yes, it’s back, the least correctly titled feature of TMINE, or perhaps of any blog anywhere – it’s Weekly Wonder Woman! Which was last seen here about two months ago. To be fair, I was on holiday for a month or so, but that doesn’t excuse the next month’s absence, does it?
To tell the simple truth, although there is a lot of fun in writing withering, scathing reviews, I don’t really want to. I’d much rather be telling people how great something is and telling them to read/watch it, not telling them something is terrible and they should avoid it. It seems a bit mean.
And the simple truth is, Wonder Woman and indeed comics featuring Wonder Woman haven’t been that great for quite some time. So, I wasn’t sure if Weekly Wonder Woman should come back at all. At least not until there were some good issues or at least issues written by people who actually seemed to like Diana and want to write awesome things about her.
And at last there are! Well, some pretty good issues, anyway, not the least of which is the new Justice League Dark series.
However, I’m also a bit strapped for time at the moment – another reason for WWW’s extended absence – so can’t really invest the couple of hours needed every Thursday to do proper reviews of every single DC comic that’s featured Wonder Woman each week. This week, we’ve got Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark #1 and Justice League #9; last week, we had Heroes in Crisis #1, Wonder Woman #55 and Justice League Dark #3.
So for now, I’m just going to follow Terry Crews’ advice about gyms:
Treat it like a spa. You can even go and not work out, if you don’t feel like it. But just go.
“It has to feel good. I tell people this a lot – go to the gym, and just sit there, and read a magazine, and then go home. And do this every day. Go to the gym, don’t even work out. Just GO. Because the habit of going to the gym is more important than the work out. Because it doesn’t matter what you do. You can have fun – but as long as you’re having fun, you continue to do it.”
If you hire a trainer and push yourself too hard out of the gate, you may not feel like coming back. Instead, he slowly worked his way up to two hours of daily workouts, and he did that by enjoying his time at the gym.
In other words, for a little bit at least, no reviews – or at least long ones – but I can at least fill you in on the news and slowly work my up to proper WWW over the next few weeks. Maybe when I’m down the gym.
Of course, in two months, there can be an awful lot of news, so you’ll have to join me after the jump for that, to avoid the front page being inundated.
