APPLE TV+ LIFTS OFF
On November 1st, Apple enters the streaming wars, launching with a handful of high-profile, talent-packed shows. Here are three to check out
SPACE FORCE For All Mankind #
Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore delves into alternate-history science fiction, traveling back to 1969 for a world where the Soviets beat America to the moon landing by a few weeks. In our reality, Neil Armstrong’s one small step effectively ended the space race; here, the existence of a “Red Moon” only escalates it. For All Mankind is the most consistent and satisfying of Apple’s new shows so far, but its alternate history doesn’t feel quite alternate enough in the early going. Leading men Joel Kinnaman and Michael Dorman play fairly generic fictional Apollo astronauts. It’s not until the third episode, when NASA recruits a group of female astronauts in a push to put an American woman in space, that this parallel reality, and the show, truly break orbit.
CHAPTER AND VERSE Dickinson 3
“My God! You will ruin the good name of Dickinson!” Emily’s father warns her. It’s hard to tell whether this comedy about the iconic poet (Hailee Steinfeld) is just as determined to ruin her good name, or if the goal is simply to place her in a more modern context. Whatever its mission, this show is a lot, y’all. Set in 19th-century Massachusetts, it features a contemporary soundtrack (Billie Eilish, Lizzo, A$AP Rocky) — plus Wiz Khalifa playing Emily’s one true love, Death himself — and has its heroine speak like a rebellious teenager of today: “This is such bullshit!” she exclaims when told she has to do chores because she’s a girl. If the idea was to show how Dickinson was a woman born in the wrong era, it doesn’t work, because all of the young characters talk this way (her brother boasts that his new house will be “so pimp”), and even the adults (Toby Huss and Jane Krakowski play her parents) slip in and out of period vernacular. But even if it’s a mess that doesn’t much capture the spirit of the poet’s life and work, at least it’s an energetic mess, with a charismatic lead performance from Steinfeld.
WAKE-UP CALL The Morning Show @
A morning-TV anchor (Jennifer Aniston) is stunned when her longtime co-anchor (Steve Carell) is fired for alleged sexual misconduct, then scrambles as a slick network exec (Billy Crudup) fixates on a regional news reporter (Reese Witherspoon) who’s the subject of a viral video. It’s a star-studded study in contradictions — a shiny new streaming drama about a creaky old broadcast-television format — and feels like something NBC could have aired 15 years ago: an Aaron Sorkin show without the snappy dialogue or soaring emotions. Aniston is terrific in her return to TV, Witherspoon is strong playing against type, and Crudup is fun as an agent of chaos. But even with the #MeToo talk, the whole thing feels stale, voiceless, and sluggishly paced. A lot of talent onscreen in service of sleepy material. A.S.