Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Flipping the script: Penn Badgley and Ed Speleers star in ‘You’ Season 4
WHAT’S NEW ON NETFLIX “You” - Season 4, Part 1
The skin-crawling story that took the digital world by storm returns to Netflix with its fourth season Thursday, Feb. 9, when the first five episodes of “You” drop with a bloody bang. Keep an eye out for Part 2, set to drop in March. Based on “What would you do for love?” Caroline Kepnes’ bestselling novel, the series so far has followed dangerously obsessive and brilliant book store manager Joe (Penn Badgley, “Gossip Girl”) as he becomes transfixed by women, doing everything in his power to become central to their lives before the story comes to a bloody conclusion. This season, however, is set to turn the story on its head, as Joe may have finally met his match. While adjusting to his new life as a professor, Joe tries to make amends with a woman he stalked from halfway around the world and avoids becoming the target of another killer. Meanwhile, he appears to have found a kindred spirit in Rhys (Ed Speleers, “Outlander”), one of his students, whom he calls a “good man in a cruel world” (per the show’s official Instagram). But fans will have to wait to see how exactly their relationship unfolds. Created for Netflix by Greg Berlanti (“The Flash”) and Sera Gamble (“Supernatural”), the new season also stars Tati Gabrielle (“The 100”), Charlotte Ritchie (“Ghosts”), Lukas Gage (“The White Lotus”), Adam James (“Vigil”), Sean Pertwee (“Gotham”), Tilly Keeper
(“EastEnders”), Stephen Hagan (“Lucky Man”) and Amy-Leigh Hickman (“The Dumping Ground”).
“Your Place or Mine” (2023)
Netflix’s newest rom-com, “Your Place or Mine,” premieres on the streamer Friday, Feb. 10, and proves that it’s never too late to change your life. The film follows Debbie (Reese Witherspoon, “Legally Blonde,” 2001) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher, “The Ranch”), two long-distance best friends who are total opposites. While Debbie craves routine in her life in Los Angeles with her son, Jack (Wesley Kimmel, “WandaVision”), Peter lives for the ever-changing hustle and bustle of New York City. When the pair swap houses for a week, with Peter agreeing to take care of Jack so that Debbie can pursue a lifelong dream in New York, they quickly discover that what they thought they wanted
might not really be what they need. Written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), “Your Place or Mine” is produced by Witherspoon, McKenna, Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”), Lauren Neustadter (“The Morning Show”) and Michael Costigan (“Under the Banner of Heaven”). The film also stars Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Steve Zahn (“The White Lotus”), Zoe Chao (“The Afterparty”), Jesse Williams (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Shiri Appleby (“UnREAL”), Tig Notaro (“Star Trek: Discovery”) and Vella Lovell (“Mr. Mayor”).
WHAT’S NEW ON PARAMOUNT+ “At Midnight” (2023)
Fate works to bring two starcrossed lovers together in the new rom-com “At Midnight,” premiering on Paramount+ Friday, Feb. 10. Sophie (Monica Barbaro, “Top Gun: Maverick,” 2022) is a movie star navigating the complicated politics of Hollywood while working on her newest blockbuster superhero film. Alejandro (Diego Boneta, “Luis Miguel: The Series”) is an ambitious hotel manager who is focused on opening his own boutique hotel. When Sophie finds out her co-star and boyfriend, Adam (Anders Holm, “Workaholics”), is cheating on her, it sets off a series of events that bring Sophie and Alejandro together. But with their radically different lives complicating their burgeoning romance, they make the “safe” choice not to fall in love. But when they begin secretly meeting at midnight, it seems like the universe has other plans for them. Directed by Jonah Feingold (“Dating & New York,” 2021), the film features a screenplay by Feingold, Maria Hinojos (“El Torito”) and Giovanni M. Porta (“3,” 2017). Casey Thomas Brown (“The Kominsky Method”), Catherine Cohen (“Catherine Cohen: The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous”), Fernando Carsa (“Acapulco”), Whitney Cummings (“Good Mourning,” 2022) Sara Sampaio (“Shadow,” 2021) and Maya Zapata (“El Cesar”) also star.
WHAT’S NEW ON PRIME “Clarkson’s Farm” - Season 2
British journalist and TV personality Jeremy Clarkson (famous for “Top Gear” and Amazon’s “The Grand Tour”) pulls his boots back on and gets down and dirty in the second season of the Amazon reality series “Clarkson’s Farm,” premiering Friday, Feb. 10, on Prime Video. The first season saw Clarkson, who is definitely not a farmer, take on a new venture when he buys and learns how to tend to a British farm, following him through his first year in an informative, intense, back-breaking and sometimes heartbreaking journey, as he grappled with the worst farming weather in decades, disobedient animals, unresponsive crops and an unexpected pandemic. Heading into its second season, “Clarkson’s Farm” catches up with the hapless new farmer as he introduces some new crops and animals, tries to diversify his operation with a restaurant, and relies heavily on his farmhand, Kaleb, and a host of local experts to get them through the year. Directed by Will Yapp (“The Circus,” 2012), the series is executive produced by Clarkson, Peter Fincham (“The Chelsea Detective”) and Andy Wilman (“The Grand Tour”).
WHAT’S NEW ON HULU “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence”
The new three-part documentary miniseries “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence” gets to the bottom of it all when it premieres Thursday, Feb. 9, on Hulu. In 2010, at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York, con man and former CIA agent Larry Ray used overt mind control, abuse and psychological torture to exercise and maintain his control and influence over the group of young people who became entangled in his sex cult. This new series provides unprecedented access to the case, featuring first-hand interviews with Larry Ray’s survivors, as well as personal audio tapes and video recordings that weave together the grim story of his cult, from its origins to its recent demise. With Ray convicted of sex trafficking, extortion, conspiracy and other charges in 2019, the last members and survivors find their own ways forward. Directed by Zach Heinzerling (“McCartney 3, 2, 1”), “Stolen Youth” is executive produced by Heinzerling, Jon Bardin (“Fauci,” 2021), Dan Cogan (“The Invitation,” 2015) and Liz Garbus (“What Happened, Miss Simone?” 2015).