WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
These shows and films feel awfully familiar, revisiting worlds we thought we’d left forever
True Detective: Night Country
HBO
Even after the Mahershala Ali-led third season washed away much of the bad taste of True
Detective’s disastrous second installment, it was hard to muster much enthusiasm for the franchise to continue. But with the departure of original creator Nic Pizzolatto, replaced by writer-director
Issa López, the title seems poised for a fresh restart. And the new Arctic-set mystery stars Jodie Foster in her first continuing TV role in nearly 50 years — giving True
Detective its first primary female lead. (Rachel McAdams played second fiddle to Colin Farrell in Season Two.)
The Little Mermaid
May 26
Remember when racist right-winger shitheels lost their minds over the notion of a Black mermaid when Disney dropped the trailer for this liveaction adaptation of its animated classic? There’s something even more poignant now about seeing Halle Bailey singing “Part of Your World,” and we couldn’t think of a better casting coup than getting one half of Chloe x Halle to portray this generation’s Ariel. Director Rob Marshall is no slouch when it comes to movie musicals ( Chicago, Into the Woods) or
Disney joints ( Mary
Poppins Returns), and the supporting cast is solid gold: Javier Bardem as Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and
Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina voicing Sebastian and Scuttle, respectively.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
June 30
You just can’t keep a good intellectualproperty hero down. Yes, Harrison Ford is still cracking bullwhips, punching bad guys, and doing
his best to avoid snakes (why does it have to be snakes?) well into his eighties. He dons the dusty fedora one more time to go after what we assume is another ancient artifact (we’ll give a year’s salary to anyone who can tell us what a “dial of destiny” is). Though plot details are scarce, we know Phoebe Waller-Bridge is on hand as Indy’s goddaughter; Mads Mikkelsen plays a no-goodnik Nazi; and Antonio Banderas and Boyd Holbrook are along for the ride as well. Also: Steven Spielberg is handing the directorial reins over to James Mangold, who knows a thing or two about aging heroes (see: Logan).
History of the World, Part II
Hulu
Mel Brooks’ 1981 sketch-comedy film
History of the World, Part I is perhaps best known for the French Revolution-era gag where Brooks kisses the chest of a beautiful young woman, turns to the camera, and smugly declares, “It’s good to be the king.” (Well, it’s either that or the elaborate songand-dance number about the Spanish Inquisition: “Confess! Don’t be boring.”) But the end of the movie left viewers dangling, with Brooks promising a sequel that would feature skits like “Hitler on Ice,” “A Viking Funeral,” and “Jews in Space” (the latter teasing a glimpse of Orthodox Jewish men roaming the galaxy in Star of David-shaped spaceships). Forty-two years later, Brooks — in collaboration with Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, and other comic minds of later generations who will also appear on camera — finally lives up to his word. L’chaim!