Bad streaming content makes me angry — and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. As well as the latest blockbuster Marvel series, this month's roundup of the best and worst streaming content includes a realistically stressful kitchen drama, the return of one of TV's best teen comedies and a couple of new music docs.
Read the picks below, and read past editions of Tune In or Turn Off here.
Tune In: The Bear
(Disney+)
A high-end chef returns home to Chicago to take over the family sandwich shop. Arguments, references to the Chicago Bears and shouts of "yes chef!" ensue, amidst fever-dream depictions of the stress of trying to fix a failing business.
Tune In: House of the Dragon
(Crave)
After the final season of Game of Thrones ended the show on a low point, HBO has gotten the franchise back on the right track with this prequel series. The first episode is a particularly grim and intense reintroduction to this world of brutal power struggles.
Turn Off: Keep Breathing
(Netflix)
A gritty survival story about a woman stranded in the Canadian wilderness following a plane crash somehow becomes an office romance and family melodrama thanks to corny flashbacks and unnecessary subplots. Stick with Lost or Yellowjackets.
Turn Off: Lightyear
(Disney+)
Now streaming after a short theatrical run, this Toy Story spinoff is by-the-numbers Pixar. It's perfectly fine, but it's hard to shake the sheer pointlessness of an origin story for a fictional toy — especially when the result dutifully hits all the usual Pixar beats.
Tune In: Never Have I Ever, Season 3
(Netflix)
Mindy Kaling's high school sitcom remains one of the best comedies around, as Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) begins to come into her own while having just as many embarrassing blunders as ever. With a supporting cast that's as strong as usual, it's as big-hearted as it is funny.
Turn Off: Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl
(Netflix)
The new Shania doc satisfyingly highlights her charm and hits, but it's a little too enamoured with the success of its own subject, giving her a victory lap rather than digging up more new info or exclusive footage.
Tune In: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
(Disney+)
The "attorney at law" part nicely undercuts the silliness of the "She-Hulk" part, as Marvel blatantly scrapes the bottom of the barrel for new characters to highlight. The world already has too many comedies where a character ironically talks to the camera (High Fidelity, Fleabag, et al.), but lead actor Tatiana Maslany is likeable enough to mostly pull it off.
Tune In: Trainwreck: Woodstock '99
(Netflix)
The new three-episode docuseries covers the exact same ground as last year's Peace, Love, and Rage, but goes a little deeper, offering a more satisfying explanation for how and why the infamously disastrous festival was such a mess.
Read the picks below, and read past editions of Tune In or Turn Off here.
Tune In: The Bear
(Disney+)
A high-end chef returns home to Chicago to take over the family sandwich shop. Arguments, references to the Chicago Bears and shouts of "yes chef!" ensue, amidst fever-dream depictions of the stress of trying to fix a failing business.
Tune In: House of the Dragon
(Crave)
After the final season of Game of Thrones ended the show on a low point, HBO has gotten the franchise back on the right track with this prequel series. The first episode is a particularly grim and intense reintroduction to this world of brutal power struggles.
Turn Off: Keep Breathing
(Netflix)
A gritty survival story about a woman stranded in the Canadian wilderness following a plane crash somehow becomes an office romance and family melodrama thanks to corny flashbacks and unnecessary subplots. Stick with Lost or Yellowjackets.
Turn Off: Lightyear
(Disney+)
Now streaming after a short theatrical run, this Toy Story spinoff is by-the-numbers Pixar. It's perfectly fine, but it's hard to shake the sheer pointlessness of an origin story for a fictional toy — especially when the result dutifully hits all the usual Pixar beats.
Tune In: Never Have I Ever, Season 3
(Netflix)
Mindy Kaling's high school sitcom remains one of the best comedies around, as Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) begins to come into her own while having just as many embarrassing blunders as ever. With a supporting cast that's as strong as usual, it's as big-hearted as it is funny.
Turn Off: Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl
(Netflix)
The new Shania doc satisfyingly highlights her charm and hits, but it's a little too enamoured with the success of its own subject, giving her a victory lap rather than digging up more new info or exclusive footage.
Tune In: She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
(Disney+)
The "attorney at law" part nicely undercuts the silliness of the "She-Hulk" part, as Marvel blatantly scrapes the bottom of the barrel for new characters to highlight. The world already has too many comedies where a character ironically talks to the camera (High Fidelity, Fleabag, et al.), but lead actor Tatiana Maslany is likeable enough to mostly pull it off.
Tune In: Trainwreck: Woodstock '99
(Netflix)
The new three-episode docuseries covers the exact same ground as last year's Peace, Love, and Rage, but goes a little deeper, offering a more satisfying explanation for how and why the infamously disastrous festival was such a mess.
