Every now and then the internet's hype for someone or something proves extremely warranted. The explosive love for Conan O'Brien upon the release of his new show and the intense interest in a Netflix show about stalking and abuse are justifiably hyped — much to my surprise with regards to the latter.
And then there are the hidden gems that no one seems to be talking about that are truly worthy the click. From Canadian true crime stories to documentaries about famed musicians and comedy acts, there's no shortage of films and shows to bring to the proverbial water cooler.
For more streaming recommendations, be sure to read our past editions of Tune In or Turn Off for more hits and misses.
Tune In: Baby Reindeer
(Netflix)
Baby Reindeer caught the internet by storm, delivering a visceral limited series around male sexual assault in a manner not typically seen. In the weeks since its release, the show has gained a lot of traction, with the internet (and Piers Morgan) playing the guessing game of who Martha is, threatening to distract from the show's devastating portrait of sexual violence and its effects. An uncomfortable watch that's hard to turn away from.
Tune In: Conan O'Brien Must Go
(Crave)
I've been watching Conan O'Brien on TV since I was a preteen, and I believe two things to be true: his skills lie in long-form interviews, and he's at his comedic best when producing remotes. Through his podcast, he's found his groove with the former — and with Conan O'Brien Must Go, he makes his return to the latter. Four episodes packed with tomfoolery and Werner Herzog simply aren't enough; here's hoping the series marks only the beginning of Conan travel shows for years to come.
Tune In: Let It Be
(Disney+)
I'm a moderate Beatles fan at best and haven't really engaged with their feature film career much, but the newly restored Let It Be intrigued me as a piece of music history. Marking the beginning of the end for one of our great musical acts, Michael Lindsay-Hogg's Let It Be grants audiences insight into the moments before the Fab Four called time on the Beatles; and more importantly, it shows the joy and connection that existed between them that can sometimes be forgotten.
Tune In: Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces
(Apple TV+)
Steve! (Martin) succeeds as a biography of a comedic voice who helped shape comedy into its present form, but also as a piece of documentary filmmaking. As the title implies, Steve Martin's story is told across two instalments/films/chapters. The first, entitled "Then," retraces Martin's early years and rise in the business with an almost sombre tone. The second part, "Now," feels more personal and loose; friends such as Jerry Seinfeld and Martin Short join the conversation with unfiltered discussions to hilarious effect. It's an elegant solution to the problem most celebrity profiles encounter: how to distill an entire career into two hours.
Tune In: The Sympathizer
(Crave)
I have absolutely no idea why this show hasn't received the same level of buzz as other streaming series (maybe the Shōgun/Fallout love was just too great) — but, truly, The Sympathizer is one of the best offerings on steaming this year. Based on the novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer follows a North Vietnamese soldier living in a South Vietnamese community while exiled in the United States and still relaying information back to the Viet Cong. Plenty of espionage, comedy and thrills await in this series, so it's a shame this one hasn't picked up steam (yet).
Tune In: Under the Bridge
(Disney+)
Based on one of Canada's most horrifying murders, Under the Bridge depicts the life and death of Reena Virk with compassion and humanity. Starring Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough, the eight-episode series flips between before and after of Virk's murder, unravelling the social and mental makeups of the perpetrators and their motives. It's not a fun watch in the slightest, but an important one.
Turn Off: Unfrosted
(Netflix)
The bad-movies-about-brands-and-the-products-they-create train continues, and any hopes of the Jerry Seinfeld movie about Pop-Tarts being clever and tongue-in-cheek about this newfound genre are quickly left behind. Unfrosted contains an onslaught of jokes and gags and some interesting points of fact, but ultimately, it's all empty calories.
