5 Best Releases Similar to Mr Robot on Max

Confession time. I’m a New York Giants fan. And a third-generation one at that. So when I heard that they’d be the team featured in Hard Knocks: Offseason, I did not find myself especially enthusiastic. Even casual fans of the now 23-year-old series can tell you that many, if not most, teams don’t exactly cover themselves in glory. And for an organization like the Giants, traditionally one of the most buttoned-up of the NFL franchises, it seemed an especially odd fit. However, I’m a lifelong Giants fan, so as they go, so do I. What’s immediately apparent in the two episodes screened for critics is the addendum of Offseason at the end of the series title is not merely cosmetic. While the show has traditionally focused its lens on the sidelines and field during preseason, Hard Knocks: Offseason posts itself in the hallways and at the desks of the front office. Yes, viewers glimpse the occasional player or prospect. Indeed, the coach, in this case Brian Daboll, remains an important part of the story. However, the “star” of the proceedings is General Manager Joe Schoen as he and his team attempt to build a squad that will erase the sting of going 6 and 11 in the 2023-24 season. As a central figure, Schoen is a fairly laid-back focal point. His stories do reveal an intense dedication to work and frugality. A tale of driving for hours after accepting the Giants job with nothing but two peanut butter sandwiches for sustenance is particularly informative. However, at least so far, all external signs of excess seem sublimated beneath a loose, laconic management style. There’s no mutiny visible or afoot, so he seems to command respect. He just doesn’t do it by bloviating about the building or thundering in the face of his staff. Continue Reading →

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis shine as a pair of detectives investigating an increasingly surreal crime. In Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt mysteries, the title character is a brilliant, eccentric detective haunted by the unsolved disappearance of one of her closest friends. Her cases are vitally recognizable and beautifully surreal. When The Infinite Blacktop, the most recent entry in the series, was released in paperback, Gran held a giveaway, including a copy of the book and some fun feelies. On one of those, a pen, the following was printed: “Open your eyes and learn to see that truth lives in the ether.” In the course of thinking about Issa López (Tigers Are Not Afraid)’s excellent True Detective: Night Country, it’s a line that’s been on my mind. It's the end of 2023. In Ennis, Alaska, the eccentric scientists of the Tsalal research station vanish just as the long polar night sets in. Ennis police chief Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and detective-turned-trooper Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) know that something is not right. Though bitterly estranged, the former partners share a drive to discover what happened at Tsalal and why. Their need to get to the truth only intensifies after the scientists are discovered in a ghastly, bizarre state—a collective corpsicle, all of them nude and visibly terrified. Continue Reading →

Bringing back favorite characters and connecting some surprising threads throughout sketches in previous seasons, season 3 of the Emmy Award winning A Black Lady Sketch Show is back and funnier than ever, throwing comedic punches with an all-star cast of hilarious heavy-hitters. Continue Reading →

The first thing you need to know about Painting With John is that you won’t come away from it learning how to paint. Host John Lurie admits in the second episode that, because most of his art is intuitive, he doesn’t know how to teach it, nor does he think just anyone can paint. You won’t learn anything about the history of painting, or the process, or even what supplies one needs to pick up painting as a hobby. This show is strictly about vibing, and somehow, it works. Continue Reading →