23 Best TV Shows Similar to The Book of Boba Fett
Conan O'Brien Must Go
NetworkMax,
SimilarScully, The Wimbledon Poisoner, Troubles,
It's been four long years since Conan O'Brien has graced our television screens, ever since his late-night TBS show, Conan, ended in 2021. Since then, he's kept busy, of course, with podcasts like Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend and guest spots on shows like Murderville. But the late-night legend couldn't possibly keep away from the limelight for long; even at the ripe age of sixty, the guy is still the same spry, lanky chaos demon he always was, a tall column of Irish awkwardness more than willing to play the fool for a laugh. That's most acutely felt in his remote travel segments, like Conan Without Borders, where he travels everywhere from Finland to Ireland to suss out the sights, tastes, and people of Earth. Think of him like Anthony Bourdain, with absolutely zero shame or culinary knowledge.
For those who missed those segments, rest easy, as Max has gifted us with four episodes of full-length travelogue mayhem in the form of Conan O'Brien Must Go. Each installment, funny enough, spins off from an episode of his podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan: He speaks to an interesting new guy or gal from a foreign country, then flies out to meet them and take in the surrounding environs. Of course, he does this the only way he knows how: By making a complete spectacle of himself.
Conan O'Brien Must Go (Max)
In the show's opening minutes, a deceptively Werner Herzog-ian voice purrs to us that to appreciate the grandeur of our mother Earth, you must sometimes defile it. Cut to Conan: "Behold the defiler." That's the tack Must Go takes in its exploration of countries as exotic and beautiful as Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland: Let Conan loose in these nations, sometimes (but not always) with a game companion or fan along the way, and witness the devastation. One week, he'll make a Norwegian hip-hop song with an enthusiastic fan; the next, he'll try to help another fan get his podcast from four listeners to a whopping five -- all through the power of aggressive ad reads for yerba mate. Continue Reading →
Created byDave Filoni,
SimilarThunder in Paradise,
StarringDee Bradley Baker,
The final season of the Star Wars side adventure goes to some unexpectedly moving places.
Into a television landscape suddenly devoid of Star Wars content, The Bad Batch swoops in with its third and final season, a darker yet not grittier adventure that loops its way into the greater Universe’s timeline while still managing to surprise an audience who knows how much of this story ends.
Picking up some time after the end of Season 2 (though there are several short time skips throughout the initial eight episodes), Omega (Michelle Ang) remains imprisoned in the Imperial scientific testing facility in Mount Tantiss. Ostensibly there to assist cloning expert Nala Se and fellow female clone Emerie (Keisha Castle-Hughes), it’s clear to both Omega and the audience that she’s there for more nefarious purposes, including mysterious bloodwork that Emerie has been conducting on all of the clones and of which Nala Se is insistent that Omega not be a part. Omega is the shining star of this season from the first episode; determined, loyal, and brave (not to mention generally smarter than all of her brothers), Omega is the sort of female character on which Star Wars (and internet controversy) thrives. Decried from her very introduction, Omega has cemented her place as the heart of the Bad Batch, both the series and its namesake group. Continue Reading →
What If...?
Disney+'s animated exploration of what could've been continues to intrigue in Season 2, but not all episodes are created equal.
With What If…? Season 2, the time seems right to take a look at both seasons and rank them for your entertainment. Is it wrong to rank art? Possibly, but we’re of the mind that something that feels this good can’t possibly be bad.
On that note, let’s not waste a moment more and start counting down from worst to best. The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) hates to be kept waiting! Continue Reading →
빨간풍선
Albert Lamorisse's flights of fancy come to Criterion courtesy of a gorgeous new box set.
There are few things more wondrous than a child's imagination -- its capacity to uplift itself beyond the pain and doldrums of everyday life to see the world through new eyes. One of cinema's greatest chroniclers of that imagination is French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse, a contemporary of the French New Wave who literally went high where his peers went low. His domain was in short, charming, powerful films often linking child protagonists to wonders both terrestrial and supernatural: an animal that captures their heart, or the unyielding power of flight. Now, Criterion has captured that magic in a new two-disc Blu-ray set containing the bulk of Lamorisse's flashes of cinematic whimsy.
The crown jewel of the pack, of course, is 1956's The Red Balloon, the only short film to ever receive a major Academy Award (for Best Original Screenplay; no small feat, considering the film, like many of Lamorisse's, relies on very little dialogue). It's a simple, elemental tale of a boy (Lamorisse's son, Pascal, a frequent star of his works) walking the grey, rundown streets of postwar Paris -- the Ménilmontant neighborhood, to be specific -- only to find himself befriending a bright red balloon that follows him everywhere. The two seem to build some ineffable connection, a bond that plays out through the streets of Ménilmontant. The boy's parents and teachers don't understand their friendship. His peers envy it, chasing them through the streets to tragic ends. Continue Reading →
Reacher
Similar2Moons: The Series,
Agatha Christie's Poirot Alias Grace, Animated Classics of Japanese Literature, Anna Karenina, Återkomsten, Blackeyes, CSI: Miami, Des, Dexter, Fallen, Fate/Apocrypha, Fearless, Further Tales of the City, Game of Thrones, Golden Years, Gossip Girl, HAPPY!, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Intruders, Jack the Ripper, Jewels, KONOSUBA – An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, La Mante, Life on Mars,
Little Women Lupin, Luther, M*A*S*H, Millennium, Moeder, waarom leven wij?, Monarch of the Glen, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,
Planet of the Apes Power Rangers,
Pride and Prejudice Princess Principal,
Sherlock Holmes Soul Land 2: The Peerless Tang Clan, Super Pumped, Tales from the Neverending Story, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Alienist, The Beat, The Buccaneers, The Lost World, The Moon Embracing the Sun, The Shining, The Strain, The Sun Also Rises, The Wimbledon Poisoner, Tientsin Mystic, Troubles, Unorthodox, Unterleuten: The Torn Village, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Witchcraft, World's End Harem, Wycliffe,
The Prime series remains its big, fun, very violent self.
Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson), the “has toothbrush, will travel” man, has returned to television and not a moment too soon. Reacher Season 2 is exactly the kind of low-commitment viewing one craves as the year ends and the holidays overtake everyone’s lives. While a large, jolly man busies himself filling many of our stockings, who better to enjoy than a large, angry man knocking bad guys out of their socks? Especially when, like this time, it’s personal!
Reacher and Neagly (Maria Sten, back from Season 1 and fully second on the callsheet this time, thankfully) first met when they were members of the 110, an investigative military police unit. As seen in flashback, the group is the last time Reacher had anything approaching a stable group of friends. In the present day, several team members have gone missing, suggesting that perhaps someone is targeting them. Reacher connects with Neagly and the two join up with the only other two 110 members they can find. O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) is the unit clown and womanizer turned family man and inside the beltway fixer. Dixon (Serinda Swan) is a forensic accountant/warrior who shares an obvious but unconsummated crush with Reacher. Continue Reading →
Our Flag Means Death
NetworkHBO Max, Max,
Similar'Allo 'Allo!, A Fortunate Life,
Agatha Christie's Poirot Cigarette Girl, Dancing on the Edge, Flower Boy Next Door, Jack the Ripper, Oh, Doctor Beeching!,
Pride and Prejudice Seijuu Sentai Gingaman,
Sherlock Holmes The Alienist, The Gangster Chronicles,
It’s always the surprise hit quirky shows with the most to live up to in their second season. A bad sophomore outing, especially after quickly gaining a cult following, could make or break, say, the plucky little pirate romance known as Our Flag Means Death Season 2. Luckily, David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, et al. keep things fresh and fun without reinventing (or stealing) the wheel. Continue Reading →
The Wheel of Time
Similar2Moons: The Series,
Agatha Christie's Poirot Ah! My Goddess, Amazing Stories, Animated Classics of Japanese Literature, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Brimstone, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cybersix, Des, Fate/Apocrypha, Fearless, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,
Hilda Furacão House of Cards, I Dream of Jeannie, In the Land of Leadale, Jewels,
Little Women Loveless, Lupin, M*A*S*H, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Monarch of the Glen, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, Mr. Mercedes, Out of This World,
Planet of the Apes Pride and Prejudice Santa Evita,
Sherlock Holmes Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, Super Pumped, Tales from the Neverending Story, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills, The Alienist, The Dawn of the Witch, The Family Game, The Lost World, The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, The Strain, The Three-Body Problem, Tientsin Mystic, Unorthodox, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Wycliffe,
Big-budget fantasy lovers have reason to celebrate this week with Amazon Studio’s The Wheel of Time Season 2's debut. With some careful tweaking by Showrunner Rafe Judkins, Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy of feminine magic and quests of destiny came to life in an impressive if uneven first season. Now, the stakes are higher, the dangers subtler, and the ever-expanding cast of characters more compelling. Continue Reading →
Who Is Erin Carter?
SimilarA Little Princess, Alias Grace, Cleopatra, Elizabeth R, Fallen, More than Blue: The Series, Narco-Saints, Pope John Paul II,
Pride and Prejudice Queen Cleopatra, Scully, Son of the Morning Star, Star and Sky: Star in My Mind, The Buccaneers, The Gangster Chronicles, The Gold Robbers, The Shining, Unorthodox, World War II: When Lions Roared,
In Who is Erin Carter? ’s precipitating event, the titular character (Evin Ahmad)—a British ex-pat living in Spain and trying to make a living as a substitute teacher—must fight a masked gunman during a grocery store robbery. At stake is the life of nearly blind daughter Harper (Indica Watson), who cowers unseen under a display of oranges. Continue Reading →
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Created byDave Filoni,
SimilarThunder in Paradise,
StarringDee Bradley Baker,
Welcome to 2023, Star Wars fans, and welcome to another season of The Bad Batch. Our band of unruly brothers (and sister) is back again, still running less-than-legal missions for Cid (Rhea Perlman) and finding themselves in every possible scrape as they do so. The first season of The Bad Batch was an adventure-filled romp through the aftermath of the Clone Wars and Order 66 (though not without its issues, as we’ll discuss later) and Season 2 is off to a strong start with its two-episode premiere: “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War”. Continue Reading →
George Carlin's American Dream
SimilarPope John Paul II,
StudioHBO Documentary Films,
This review is also a story about my father. Please indulge me for a moment. Continue Reading →
Pam & Tommy
SimilarNarco-Saints,
StarringSebastian Stan,
Throughout Suspicion, Rob Williams’s English language adaptation of False Flag, teases of revelations and insights dangle in front of the audience. These remain teases. Even when the show’s final twist hits, it reveals new information without deepening our understanding of the characters. Continue Reading →
The Beatles: Get Back
Evil (Paramount+)
Frightening, funny, and ffffffffff…Mike Colter in those sweaters! Continue Reading →
Station Eleven
NetworkHBO Max,
SimilarAround the World in 80 Days, Helltown, In the Land of Leadale, M*A*S*H,
Planet of the Apes Santa Evita,
Sherlock Holmes The Buccaneers, The Lost World, The Summer I Turned Pretty,
StudioParamount Television Studios,
When Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel hit shelves in 2014, it was a standout in science-fiction. HBO’s adaptation can’t help but hit differently in 2021. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale about what’s left of the world after a deadly flu ravages the populace. The parallels to current events are glaringly obvious. Continue Reading →
Landscapers
There’s a sort of inflationary issue in the True Crime genre these days. This presents an immediate hurdle to HBO’s new “based on a true story” limited series Landscapers. Continue Reading →
Hawkeye
SimilarBaywatch Nights, Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes, Florida Man, GARO, HAPPY!,
Hilda Furacão HIStory Little Women Ressha Sentai ToQger, Ultraman Ginga,
What if they made an MCU show with almost no stakes? Would that be inviting or off-putting? Continue Reading →
Blade Runner: Black Lotus
SimilarBrimstone, My Holo Love, Stargate Atlantis,
Los Angeles. 2032. 13 years after Blade Runner Rick Deckard completed his last job for the LAPD. Ten years after the nuclear blackout that wiped the city's history clean. Four years before the brilliant but utterly vicious industrialist Niander Wallace will successfully lobby for the re-legalization of the artificial humanoids called Replicants. Seventeen years before Replicant Blade Runner KD6-3.7 will be assigned to retire rogue Replicant Sapper Morton. A young woman named Elle (voiced by Jessica Henwick of the upcoming The Matrix Resurrections) wakes up in the back of an automated shipping truck. Her memory is a shamble. The only clues she has to her identity are a mysterious device she cannot unlock, inexplicable and ferocious combat skills, and a beautiful tattoo of a black lotus on her back. Continue Reading →
Monsters at Work
SimilarHina Logic: From Luck & Logic, Raven's Home, Tabitha,
TV shows based on hit movies are nothing new. However, programs like The Real Ghostbusters and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command had only the barest connection to their source material and had no chance of scoring any of the performers from the original features. In the age of interconnected cinematic narratives, though, the new Disney+ cartoon Monsters at Work, a sequel to Monsters Inc., goes in the opposite direction. Continue Reading →
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A thirty-plus-year veteran of film and TV scoring, Kiner's a chameleon who can work with the themes and motifs set by other composers and spin them into broader, more dynamic cues demanded by the rigors of television storytelling. That's borne out in his work for Star Wars, especially, where at this point he's written more music for the universe than John Williams himself -- while he finds moments to work in familiar motifs and themes, Kiner also carves out room for experimentation, which you can hear in the more synth-heavy scoring for Clone Wars: The Final Season. Continue Reading →