What to stream: Steve Martin documentary, Bill Nighy
A documentary on comedian Steve Martin and Bill Nighy’s feel-good soccer movie are some of the new television shows and movies headed to a device near you.
Movies
Nighy leads a charming crowdpleaser on Netflix, The Beautiful Game, in which he plays an English soccer (sorry, football) manager taking a team to the Homeless World Cup in Rome. Michael Ward co-stars as an especially talented player, Vinny, who reluctantly joins the team. New to housing insecurity, he feels above his teammates and the circus of the games at first. The story, written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and directed by Thea Sharrock, is loosely inspired by the real thing (Cottrell-Boyce worked with the
Homeless World Cup Foundation to develop the characters) but at heart is very much a movie, tidy and feel-good in the vein of Ted Lasso — perhaps what Next Goal Wins wanted to be.
• Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville dives into the life of a personal idol, Steve Martin, in STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces, now out on Apple TV+ . Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor) essentially created two different movies, one about Martin’s beginnings and one about the present. Martin has told his story many times, but the Neville movies offer unprecedented access to him reflecting on successes, failures and finding happiness. He assures viewers that they can be watched in any order. And yes, there will be banjos.
• This week is all about affirmation and inspiration in streaming movies, apparently, and Disney+ has its own submission with Madu. It’s about a 12-year-old Nigerian boy who leaves home to study ballet at a prestigious school in England for seven years. If this sounds vaguely familiar it’s likely because at age 11, Anthony Madu went viral online with a 44-second video of him dancing shoeless in the mud and rain in Lagos. It got the attention of the national media and the likes of Cynthia Erivo and Viola Davis and put him on the path you see in the film. Madu begins streaming on Friday.
— Lindsey Bahr
Series
This one’s for the comedy nerds. Peacock debuted Good One: A Show About Jokes, based on a popular Vulture podcast, on Tuesday. The documentary follows Mike Birbiglia, known for his personal comedy, as he mines his life for new material. Good One also features Seth Meyers, Hasan Minhaj and Atsuko Okatsuka.
• BritBox offers the second season of the British prison drama Time. If you missed season one, it’s OK, because Time is an anthology series. Season two stars Jodie Whittaker of Doctor Who and Broadchurch along with Bella Ramsey from The Last of Us. Whittaker, Ramsey and Tamara Lawrence play three women who meet on their first day in prison. Time premiered Wednesday.
• Beloved for playing Gus Fring on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Giancarlo Esposito executive produces and stars in his own series called Parish for AMC. Esposito plays Gracian “Gray” Parish, who is drawn back into the crime world after a family tragedy. Parish is a passion project for Esposito, who worked to get it developed for eight years. Skeet Ulrich costars and Bradley Whitford has a recurring role. Parish is based on a BBC One show called The Driver and debuts Sunday on AMC and AMC+.