Here we are, on the very last day of June 2023, teetering on the edge of July. A busy week, one with its own stresses that will be following me into the new month. However, I have the the illusion of safety in the extended holiday weekend, and I'm anxious to get to it.
One, quick, streaming media development note: Subscribers to Paramount+ received word this week that the service has suddenly been expanded, and now also includes all of Showtimes' series, specials, and movies. The price has gone up, too, btw. Those with the ad-supported version will see it go from $4.99 to $5.99 with the new month. The monthly premium package (commercial-free) is going from $9.99 to $11.99. So, if you have it, do a little looking around for things you haven't seen.
Arrived just yesterday on Netflix is part one of The Witcher season three. This is a fantasy drama series set in a medieval-inspired world, where the main character is essentially a superhuman monster-hunter. Someone who tends to only be welcomed when he's needed, and otherwise eyed with fear and suspicion as a potential monster himself. It's based on a series of fantasy novels of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
This will be the first five episodes, with the final three arriving July 27th. This season will be the last one with Henry Cavill playing the lead, Geralt of Rivia. When the series returns for season four, the character will be played by Liam Hemsworth.
The fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan will begin on Amazon Prime today, with the first two episodes arriving. Season three had eight episodes and they dropped all at once, but the streaming services have been changing their game in 2023. Two episodes will drop for each of the following two Fridays, with this six-episode season finishing July 14th. John Krasinski's been doing a nice job of playing the lead, with the series detailing his rise from a desk-bound analyst for the CIA to that agency's Deputy Director. I've never been a big Tom Clancy fan, but I was surprised how well I took to this series.
This season will include Michael Peña as Domingo "Ding" Chavez, with a spin-off series planned for him. The ongoing writer's strike, at least officially, has any such plans on hold, though.
I'm continuing to try things out on Apple tv+ - happily with a backlog of material I've yet to get to. My impression at least for now is that this platform seems the most self-contained and sure of mission, with the idea that they're building something for the long-term that won't require them removing items continuing to be the plan. Time may prove me wrong on that, but for now...
I'll likely be getting around to watching the first season finale for the science fiction drama Silo there before Friday's out. I talked about this series during the Apple-heavy installment back at the start of the month.
Arriving on Apple tv+ this past Wednesday were the first two episodes of a a new drama series starring Idris Elba. Here he plays Sam, who we learn is an expert negotiator - that's his profession - who is on a flight from Dubai to England with the intent of reconnecting with his ex-wife and son. We don't know the specifics of why the couple split, but we do know that the wife has moved on and is in a new relationship. The scheduled flight is less than seven hours, but as the title tips the show's hand, there are complications. It's Hijack (2023) Aside from his other roles, the situation finds any fans of dreadnought detective Luther expecting a different set of actions, and a different agenda, and I suspect many will be struggling with that as they watch Sam at work. There's a very mission-focused, either amoral or suspended morality aspect to the character, which makes sense as we get the impression he's a highly-valued corporate gun for hire, and that it's likely his special temperament and point of view were at the heart of the breakup of his marriage. Not in anyone's employ at the moment, his current mission is a completely personal one: Make it back to London and his family alive. There's no hint of being interested in legalities or justice, he's solely intent on making it from A to B -- or D to L, as the case may be.
Whether this is intended to be an opening story arc for a new character franchise for Elba isn't at all clear. For now, I'm taking it that this was a case of deciding to do either a miniseries or a movie, and they went for the former as it provides substantially more room. Indications are this will be in seven parts. The first two episodes arrived this week, and there's at least one queued up for either Tuesday the 4th or Wednesday the 5th, depending on the source. Two episodes in, and I'm well-engaged.
For a travel-focused series of a very different temperament, also on Apple+, I've just started to watch the 8-episode first season of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy. The first two destinations were the climate extremes of Finland and Costa Rica, delivering half hour segments in which the 75 year-old comic travels great distances to be challenged by environments and experiences well outside his comfort zone, so far meeting people who seem to be living very happy lives.
A second season of this travelogue's already been announced.
This week saw the arrival of a dark-toned miniseries from Thailand over on Netflix. The core of it is a pair of people having an affair are introduced to a camera that can make people disappear. As most problems, professional and personal, have troublesome people at their center, this offers a ruthless solution. Aside from its length, the pitch sounds more like a Black Mirror episode than pretty much any of the episodes from the recent season six of that show... but that's a different discussion.
All eight episodes are in place as of this past Wednesday. As it's on Netflix, you can watch it with subtitles, dubbed into English, or several other options.
My Friday plans aren't finalized, but I may be back by this evening to add something to this week's piece while it's still Friday. Either way, I hope you've made it to your weekend intact, if you're here in the states, hopefully the upcoming July 4th holiday is helping to extend this weekend, and that in any event you have something in mind to help recharge your batteries. - Mike
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