The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Our Great National Parks
Former President Barack Obama brings his soothing oratory skills as narrator of this fivepart series, a globe-spanning survey of breathtaking national parks. From the gushing geysers of Yellowstone in Wyoming to the orangutans and sun bears in the rain forests of Indonesia, the documentary—produced in association with the Obamas’ company, Higher Ground—takes an expansive, visually brilliant look at some of the planet’s richest wilderness regions and its most compelling animal species. Available Wednesday, April 13, Netflix
Not So Pretty
Is Big Cosmetics the next Big Tobacco? An industry with revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars, built on decades of relentless and highly successful marketing, is also shockingly unregulated in the U.S. In a sobering four-part series, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering do their investigative due diligence on the cosmetics trade, uncovering the widespread use of chemicals— some merely questionable, others proven to be carcinogenic—in everyday beauty products we use on our skin, hair, and nails. Available Thursday, April 14, HBO Max
Anatomy of a Scandal
David E. Kelley knows his way around a marital drama. The prolific TV writer’s latest series, an adaptation of a 2018 novel by Sarah Vaughan, is a twisty, London-set tale of infidelity and possible crime with an absolutely cracking cast. Sienna Miller leads as a British politician’s wife whose privileged world is turned upside-down when her husband reveals he’s been cheating and is then accused of rape. Rupert Friend and Michelle Dockery co-star. Available Friday, April 15, Netflix
Outer Range
Imagine the big-sky drama of Yellowstone mixed with the occult twists of True Detective and the supernatural thrills of Stranger Things. Outer Range offers all of that. The new series’ many plot threads don’t always hold together, but a compelling performance from Josh Brolin grounds the narrative. The veteran actor stars as a Wyoming ranching patriarch who is challenged by both a rival ranch family and a strange black void that opens on his land. Available Friday, April 15, Amazon Prime
Roar
Nicole Kidman furtively gobbles down photographs. Cynthia Erivo finds strange bite marks on her skin. Merritt Wever falls in love with a duck. Issa Rae is apparently invisible to men. All that and more strange things are afoot in this darkly witty collection of feminist fables. A formidable cast and GLOW creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch make roaring fun out of these surrealistic stories from author Cecelia Ahern. Available for streaming Friday, April 15, Apple TV+