NETFLIX this week
“Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer” (2024)
Take a walk on the edgy side when comedian Jimmy Carr presents his new stand-up special, “Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer,” Tuesday, April 16, on Netflix. His fourth special for the streamer — following “His Dark Material” (2021), “The Best of Ultimate Gold Greatest Hits” (2019) and “Funny Business” (2016) — Carr brings audiences a new slate of material from his latest tour, as he “refutes the idea that you can’t joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent” (per Netflix). As announced by Netflix in its news release, “1.2 [million] people in 45 countries around the world saw the tour. Now you can see the special. ‘Natural Born Killer’ is the first special Jimmy has directed — with lighting design changes to reflect different sections of the show and fancy tracking shots and editing that rhythmically match the material — it’s a game changer.” Brian Klein (“Top Gear”) also directs.
“The Upshaws” - Season 5
Make the most of what life has in store with the family saga sitcom “The Upshaws,” returning to Netflix with its fifth season Thursday, April 18. Set in Indianapolis, the series follows the Upshaws, a working-class blended family, through their daily lives as family patriarch Bennie (Mike Epps, “Dolemite Is My Name,” 2019) tries to find peace while raising his four kids — Bernard Jr. (Jermelle Simon, “Sojourn,” 2018), Kelvin (Diamond Lyons, “Colin in Black & White”), Aaliyah (Khali Spraggins, “Empire”) and Maya (Journey Christine, “Let it Snow,” 2019) — and balancing his relationships with his wife, Regina (Kim Fields, “The Facts of Life”), and ex Tasha (Gabrielle Dennis, “A Black Lady Sketch Show”). Meanwhile, Bennie’s perpetually unimpressed sisterin-law, Lucretia (Wanda Sykes, “Monster-inlaw,” 2005), keeps an eye on them all. This season, as the family continues to ride life’s ups and downs, they take on “new jobs, bigger dreams, health struggles and some major life surprises” (per Netflix). Created by Regina Y. Hicks (“Girlfriends”) and series star Wanda Sykes, “The Upshaws” also stars Page Kennedy (“S.W.A.T.,” 2003), Michel Estime (“Last Holiday,” 2006), Daria Johns (“Animator,” 2018) and Leonard Ear Howze (“Kevin Can Wait”).
“Our Living World”
Leap, run, slither and crawl on over to Netflix for the exciting new nature series “Our Living World,” premiering on the streamer Wednesday, April 17. Narrated by Cate Blanchett (“Carol,” 2015), this limited docuseries travels around the world to bring viewers an up-close and personal look at “the extraordinary creatures and ecosystems, great and small, that work together to help restore and sustain Our Living World” (per Netflix). Traveling from Angola to New Zealand and looking at everything from Arctic reindeer, to hippos in Africa, to frogs in the rain forests, the series explores the many unique connections that sustain and unite everything on Earth. As filmmakers, wildlife photographers and scientists come together to display all of nature’s extraordinary intricacies, they also touch on the way this beautiful and delicate balance is under serious threat due to human activity. From Wild Space and Freeborn Media, the Emmy-winning team behind “Our Great National Parks,” the series is produced by Ben Roy (“Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas”) and executive produced by James Honeyborne (“Our Great National Parks”).
“The Grimm Variations”
Based on the classic fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm, the brand-new, animated anthology series, “The Grimm Variations,” premieres Wednesday, April 17, on Netflix, with all six episodes releasing at once. Offering an animestyle reimagining of “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” “The Town Musicians of Bremen” and “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” the series allows six mangaka creators to tell their given story in a unique style, each allowed one “darkly twisted” episode to direct. Each installment will also feature the writers in question — the Grimm brothers, voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki (“Record of Ragnarok”) and Kenji Nojima (“Sailor Moon Crystal”) — along with their sister, Charlotte (voiced by Misato Fukuen, “Kamen Rider Gotchard”), the group who brought these nowbeloved fairy tales to life.