There are roughly 47,000—oh, wait, a new Netflix Original just dropped; make that 47,001—TV shows and movies coming out each week. At Obsessed, we consider it our social duty to help you see the best and skip the rest.
We’ve already got a variety of in-depth, exclusive coverage on all of your streaming favorites and new releases, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a simple Do or Don’t. That’s why we created See/Skip, to tell you exactly what our writers think you should See and what you can Skip from the past week’s crowded entertainment landscape.
Jerrod Carmichael in a still from 'Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show'
HBO/HBOSee: Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show brilliantly plays with its viewers’ notions about celebrity and the construction reality shows, kicking off with a must-see moment where the titular comedian confesses his crush to Tyler, The Creator in a cringey, captivating scene.
Here’s Allegra Frank’s take:
“In 2024, Jerrod Carmichael is perhaps as well known for his confessions as for his comedy. The writer, director, actor, and stand-up—or, more accurately, sit-down—comedian has reinvented his career in recent years from casually boundary-pushing comic and sitcom star to the award-winning star of one of the most talked-about comedy specials in recent years. 2022’s Rothaniel won widespread acclaim for Carmichael’s astounding vulnerability, as he wrestled with the nature of secrets before revealing one of his own: that he’s gay, much to his family’s dismay. (He also admitted that his first name is actually Rothaniel, the special’s namesake.) Since then, his star has exploded, taking his career into new, highly visible directions; he’s hosted the Golden Globes, guest-hosted Saturday Night Live, and even appeared in the Oscar-winning Poor Things, for good measure.
But with increased visibility and self-reckoning came an increased dependence on the camera for self-expression, as Carmichael himself explores in HBO’s Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show, premiering March 29. The half-hour series—which errs more toward documentary than pure reality show—captures the comedian’s effort to poke veins adjacent to the one he burst open in Rothaniel. But Carmichael’s intimacy here is more playful, building a narrative over the course of its eight episodes that requires both performativity and painful honesty. While Reality Show is not quite as revelatory as his career-defining special, it’s a fascinating, affecting, and valuable experiment in how honest one can really be when you’re writing, directing, and filming your own life.”
Kirby and Colin Farrell in a still from “Sugar”
Apple TV+/Apple TV+Skip: Sugar
Sugar continues the revival of the prestige noir series—complete with a riveting turn by Colin Farrel as an enigmatic private detective—until the show squanders all its promise with one egregious and unforgivable wrong move. This sugar will leave you salty.
Here’s Nick Schager’s take:
“Sugar is, initially, an ideal marriage of star and material, casting Colin Farrell as a private investigator wrapped up in a byzantine Los Angeles mystery involving a missing girl, corrupt Hollywood cretins, and shadowy operators on both sides of the good-bad divide. It’s Raymond Chandler in a post-Harvey Weinstein world of casting couch abuses and sexual blackmail, and Farrell cuts a perfect figure as a noble and sorrowful gumshoe who’s haunted by his past and boasts a deep, abiding love of the movies, such that his every expression, gesture, and interior thought proves a self-conscious homage.
Whether deliberately or instinctively echoing his cinematic ancestors, Farrell’s sleuth is a throwback with his own charismatic brand of cool, and he does much to keep showrunner Mark Protosevich’s eight-part Apple TV+ neo-noir humming—at least, that is, until a twist disastrously upends this serpentine saga, rendering it little more than a gimmicky pantomime.”
Giancarlo Esposito in a still from “Parish”
Alyssa Moran/AMCSee: Parish
Parish lets Giancarlo Esposito do what he does best: give a gripping, layered performance that elevates anything he’s in. In this case, it’s a paint-by-numbers crime drama that’s so much more watchable because of its lead actor. Without Esposito, Parish would perish.
Here’s Coleman Spilde’s take:
“There are countless upsides to never seeing a single episode of Breaking Bad. For one, I get to tune out of those ‘best television shows of all time’ conversations that people have at parties whenever they get to the Walter White of it all, and instead, ponder whether I’m responsible enough to invest in a large plant. Other times, I have the privilege of never having to care about what’s going on with Aaron Paul’s career. But the best part of not giving a single hoot about the meth show—or its spinoff, Better Call Saul—is that I have been able to avoid unconsciously pigeonholing Giancarlo Esposito. If I wasn’t able to see one of America’s finest character actors as anyone but Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul’s Gus Fring, I simply don’t know what I’d do.
That reality would be a frustrating one, given that Esposito has been popping up everywhere lately. After a stint on The Mandalorian, major parts in two recent Netflix series (of varying quality), and some excellent voice work on Max’s animated Harley Quinn, Esposito is returning to the network that made him a notable face. His latest drama, Parish—which begins airing Mar. 31 on AMC—is a moderately gripping thriller that works best when it keeps the focus on its star. Esposito’s charm and verve help the six-episode season move at a crackling pace, which comes to a noticeable halt whenever he’s not on-screen. While those looking for Breaking Bad-level excitement from Esposito won’t be disappointed, anyone seeking a wholly impressive crime story will be let down by Parish’s imbalanced action.”
A still from “In the Land of Saints and Sinners”
RagBag Features/RagBag FeaturesSee: In the Land of Saints and Sinners
If In the Land of Saints and Sinners sounds like the title of something you’d watch on an airplane to pass the time, you’ve hit the nail on the head. This Liam Neeson assassin drama is exactly what you’re expecting to watch on a long flight, right down to its dubious Irish politics.
Here’s Siddhant Adlakha’s take:
“In the Land of Saints and Sinners opens on a busy pub, but its introductory text spells trouble: ‘Northern Ireland, 1974.’ A bombing attempt goes awry, sending its IRA perpetrators—led by the ruthless liberationist Doireann McCann (Kerry Condon)—on the run from Belfast to a coastal town in Donegal, just south of the border. They decide to lay low, but this quaint village in the Republic of Ireland happens to be the home of hitman Finbar Murphy (Liam Neeson), whose path they eventually cross, resulting in a consistently watchable (if politically disengaged) drama about regret.
The film is an Irish production, but American filmmaker Robert Lorenz imbues it with a distinctly Western vibe. The opening notes of its score by siblings Diego, Nora, and Lionel Baldenweg sound distinctly inspired by Ennio Morricone, albeit with the occasional use of Irish folk instruments. These settings may not mix on the surface, but Lorenz’s Wild West approach to Troubles Ireland is less about flash and more about introspective mood.”
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