If you’ve been looking to commit to a new TV series, we offer our take on four candidates: Netflix’s steamy but smart “Vladimir,” the “Schitt’s Creek”-like “American Classic,” Prime Video’s lively and entertaining “Young Sherlock” and the tawdry but addictive “56 Days,” also on Prime Video.
If you’re looking for a fright, say hello to “Dolly,” opening on Friday. Gorehounds will howl over it.
Here’s our roundup.
“Vladimir”: Whenever the fourth wall gets broken, the stream-of-consciousness monologue that spills out throws viewers off, no matter how good it is. That’s what happens with Netflix’s saucy eight-part adaptation of Julia May Jonas’ spicy novel, a sly one that’s intent on elbowing academia in a humorous way. Since the actor talking directly to the camera is Rachel Weisz, all can be forgiven if not entirely forgotten. She’s a delight as a 50-something liberal arts college English professor who takes a lusty, fantasy-filled shine to a hot and much-younger professor (Leo Woodall) who is married to a complex person (Jessica Henwick) and has a kid. To series creator Jonas’ credit, it opens a hysterical window to the uncensored thoughts and reactions of Weisz’s obsessed character who’s hounded by whispers from others on campus about her hubby (John Slattery from “Mad Men”) who has sexually inappropriate behavior with college students — which has landed him in front of a broad review. The half-hour-ish runtime of each episode leaves you hankering for more. “Vladimir” works because it is indeed funny and sexy but also because it has fully developed, complicated characters — the too-smart-for-their-own-good sort that are having a hell of a time sorting out their lives. Details: 3 stars; drops March 5 on Netflix.
“American Classic”: Devotees of “Only Murders in the Building” and “Schitt’s Creek” will enthusiastically welcome to their feel-good comedy fold this pick-me-up eight part series. While it fails to approach the same comedy and writing heights of those aforementioned series, creators Michael Hoffman and Bob Bob Martin’s champagne-bubbly sendup of the stage world earns positive notices mostly due to its cast — Kevin Kline, Laura Linney and Jon Tenney. They prop it up whenever the writing lacks the consistent sassy snap that made “Schitt’s Creek” such a hit. As thespian Richard Bean, an actor far more impressed with his abilities than most critics are, Kline is about as annoying as he is endearing. Richard returns to his hometown of Millersburg once his mother dies. It’s a place where he got his “big” start and now it’s facing a big makeover. Not all is going well in the town, including his memory-failing father (Len Cariou) who doesn’t know his wife has died and constantly reminds everyone that he is GAY!!!. Richard’s brother Jon (an instantly loveable Tenney) is less self-absorbed and better-adjusted than his ego-driven sibling, but his mayor wife Kristen (Laura Linney), a former actress, is at wit’s end since a shifty developer (Billy Carter) with deep pockets and a Russian girlfriend (Elise Kibler) who is besotted with Richard is making moves to reshape the town that will bring on the demise of its struggling theater. “American Classic” grows on you as it goes. As do its characters, including Kristen and Jon’s more empathetic daughter Miranda (Nell Verlaque) and her jealous boyfriend (Ajay Friese). The final episode sets it up for a second season. You’ll be happy about that. Details: 2½ stars; two episodes available now with a new episode out every Sunday on MGM+.
“Young Sherlock”: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s durable and iconic British sleuth Sherlock Holmes simply can’t rest on his laurels and stay dead already. But his resurrection, even redefinition, works just dandy when the end results are anything like what developers Peter Harness and Guy Ritchie have come up with in their exciting eight-episode Prime Video series. Ritchie (2009’s “Sherlock Holmes” with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law) is also listed as a one of the executive producers. “Inspired” by a series of Holmes novels, showrunner Matthew Parker thickens the stew of Holmes’ shaky psyche by digging up the roots of his tortured family history. His impressively accessorized paean to Holmes (portrayed with dapperness and depth by the dashing Hero Fiennes Tiffin) focuses on his early adult years at Oxford – as a scout not a student – and his homoerotically tinged friendship with the sharp and cunning Moriarty (Dónal Finn). “Young Sherlock” isn’t afraid to tinker around with his legacy in major ways and gives us a crackling good mystery and story. It’s action-packed and smart, and tips its deerstalker cap to Doyle’s famed character even when it’s being so far-fetched your eyes might roll. No matter, this is a grand adventure and cracking good mystery awash with gaslighting, brawls, murders, red herrings and a secret society. Better yet, it provides a better understanding of how the past and Sherlock’s dysfunctional parents (played by Natasha McElhone and Joseph Fiennes – Hero’s actual uncle) and his ardently disappointed-in-him brother Mycroft (Max Irons) ushered in Sherlock’s anxiety and neuroses. And you thought your family was weird. Throw in a badass Chinese princess (Zine Tseng) and Colin Firth as an Oxford professor/scholar and the game’s more than just a foot and more than a mere footnote to the Holmes legacy. Details: 3½ stars; now available on on Prime Video.
“56 Days”: As far as guilty pleasures go, Prime Video’s cockamamie but sexy mystery series serves its purpose and function well. So good on that. But best be ready to titter away at its unbelievable twists and turns. They’re ridiculous but fun. Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel, it relocates the proceedings from Dublin (Ireland) to Boston where two investigators (Karla Souza and Dorrian Missick) rummage around in a swanky bathtub that’s a stew of gobs and globs from an acid-eaten corpse. Whose gross body parts do they belong to: the alluring but conniving Ciara (Dove Cameron) or that sexy brooder with the best wild locks ever – Oliver (Avan Jogia)? It goes back and forth in time. What never fluctuates is our incessant desire to find out how we could get such great hair such as Jogia’s – which looks great even as both he and Ciara’s horrible pasts bite back. “56 Days” could have chopped off a couple of episodes to make it tighter, but it’s still a popcorn fun watch, made all the better since Jogia – a star in the making – and Cameron realize what they need to do here and how they can toy with each other and the audience. Details: 2½ stars; available now on Prime Video.
“Dolly”: Speaking of getting the job done and knowing exactly what the slasher crowd really wants, this hybrid of “Annabelle” and “Friday the 13th” accomplishes that. It gets off to a wobbly first few minutes, but once director Rod Blackhurst sends his lovebirds (Seann William Scott and Fabianne Therese) into the deep backwoods lair of a bloodthirsty hulking giant (Max the Impaler) who wears a creepy porcelain doll mask, it gets into a gore-athon that will make you laugh and cringe and shut your eyes. Blackhurst gives it all a DIY feel and that further heightens the homespun, backwoods madness that ensues. It gets crazier and more depraved as it goes along, giving you the creeps and giggles, sometimes at once. This could very well turn into a new franchise. Details: 2½ stars; opens March 6 in theaters.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.
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