SCREEN TIME
KAEPERNICK DOCUMENTARY, ‘STAR TREK,’ ‘ARMY OF THIEVES’
Here’s a collection of the best of what’s arriving on TV and streaming services this week.
Colin Kaepernick doc
Colin Kaepernick and TV and moviemaker Ava DuVernay are the co-creators of Netflix’s “Colin in Black and White,” a six-episode, half-hour series inspired by the Black activist and former NFL quarterback’s teen years. Jaden Michael plays Kaepernick, adopted by white parents in a white community. Mary-Louise Parker and Nick Offerman co-star, with Kaepernick serving as the present-day narrator. In a statement, he said he hopes to inspire youth facing racism and other burdens to overcome them and see that they too could say, “‘I’ve worked through them, and I was able to be successful and come out the other end, keeping my dignity and my identity intact.’ ” The series debuts Friday.
‘Army of Thieves’
“Army of Thieves,” coming to Netflix on Friday, is set in a world where there are zombies but it’s (asterisk)not(asterisk) a zombie movie. This prequel to Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” invites viewers to join a new Europe-trotting heist. The safecracker Dieter (played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also directed) is just a small-time bank teller who is recruited by “Game of Thrones” alum Nathalie Emmanuel to pull off a series of robberies across the continent.
‘In the Heights’
If you missed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s joyous musical “In the Heights” in theaters earlier this summer (most people did) or during its limited time on HBO Max, worry not because the Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation is coming back to the streaming service on Thursday. AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review at the time that, “What shines are the inventive and joyous musical numbers — like ‘96,000,’ in that swimming pool, in which everyone imagines how they’d spend lottery winnings. Or ‘Carnaval del Barrio,’ in which Daniela
urges friends to celebrate amid a blackout.” And star Anthony Ramos, Noveck wrote, “eases into leading-man duties with warmth, humor and charm.”
‘From Hell to Hollywood’
A new documentary tells the story of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Nick Ut, the man who captured the horrors of the Vietnam War with a single black-and-white photo of a 9-year-old girl in 1972. Ut was only 21 at the time he took the “Napalm Girl” photo and after the fall of Saigon was transferred to the Los Angeles bureau of Associated Press, where he would take many
thousands of photographs — covering everything from the riots to celebrity trials — before his retirement in 2017 (after 51 years). Ut gets the chance to tell his own story in “From Hell to Hollywood,” available on VOD starting Oct. 26.
‘Star Trek: Prodigy’
It’s a wild ride for the young alien outcasts who swipe a starship in the Paramount+ animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy,” debuting Thursday with an hour-long episode on the streaming service. The novice adventurers are off to a rocky start with the vessel they’ve commandeered and their impromptu journey, but an introduction to Starfleet and its
ideals is in their future. There’s adult supervision in the form of a holographic Kathryn Janeway (voiced by — who else? — Kate Mulgrew), who tells the ragtag bunch: “I’ve seen my share of wayward crews and I can tell you this: You’ve got potential.” The cast includes Brett Gray, Ella Purnell and Rylee Alazraqui.
‘The Canterville Ghost’
How about classic chills with a modern vibe for Halloween? BYUtv is offering a contemporary version of “The Canterville Ghost,” Oscar Wilde’s short, comedy-laced tale. The fourpart series stars Anthony Head (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Ted Lasso”) as Sir Simon de Canterville — or, more accurately, as Sir Simon’s ghost, who’s long rattled around his former English country estate. But there’s an annoying new intruder: a U.S. tech billionaire who’s bought the place. James Lance (“Ted Lasso”) plays the tech baron, with Carolyn Catz (“Doc Martin”) as his wife. The series debuts 9 p.m. Sunday on the channel and on BYUtv’s free streaming service.