New doc makes case that James Brown belongs on Mount Rushmore of music
James Brown: Say It Loud
It’s important to shine a light on the Godfather of Soul’s darker side, as did the 2014 movie
Get On Up. While the four-part docuseries Say It Loud doesn’t ignore the the late James Brown’s violence against women and jail sentences, it dedicates more time to Brown’s support of Black businesses and the civil rights movement. And then there’s the music. Director Deborah Riley Draper recruits big stars like Mick Jagger and Bootsy Collins to help her make the case that Brown contributed just as much to popular culture as Elvis Presley or the Beatles did. But her biggest selling point is the concert footage. Those dynamic moments onstage will make you feel good. (Monday and Tuesday, A&E)
Crime Nation
The CW enters the true-crime business with this fairly standard series that favours big cases in small towns. If there’s anything that distinguishes Nation from its competitors, it’s the look at armchair detectives weighing in through social media and podcasts. In the first episodes, which involves the murder of two girls in Indiana, their participation is less than helpful. Tuesday, CW
Fly With Me
The Replacements famously dissed flight attendants by labelling them as nothing but waitresses in the sky. Turns out they were being gentle. This stellar instalment of American Experience shows that the profession has had to deal with daunting challenge. There are lots of unsung heroes, most notably the aptly named “Dusty” Roads, who comes across like the Billie Jean King of the skies. Tuesday, PBS
The Vince Staples Show
Fans of Atlanta are advised to skip Donald Glover’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith and get hooked on Staples’ wonderfully weird new sitcom, which owes as much to The Twilight Zone as it does to Black-ish. The rapper finds himself negotiating with bank robbers, getting assaulted by amusement park mascots and shooting it out with a high school nemesis, all the while making sly points about race in America. Netflix
The New Look
The main characters in this ambitious new drama are designers Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche). But the first few episodes are less about fashion and more about how the two competitors manoeuvred their way through the Second World War in occupied Paris. Those primarily interested in their contributions to clothes will have to stick around. Apple TV+