All about a “wild and crazy guy,” Ewan McGregor holes up in a hotel & how Julius Caesar became a legendary tyrant
Find out about the wide-ranging career of Steve Martin in the documentary two-parter ‘Steve!’
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, March 29 Spermworld Go into the unregulated realm of baby making with this investigative documentary about sperm donors and hopeful parents (10 p.m., FX).
The Beautiful Game Inspiring tale of a homeless football team advances to compete at the global street soccer championship games in Rome (below). With Bill Nighy and Michael Ward (Netflix).
Steve! Two-part documentary about comedian actor Steve Martin, chronicling his upbringing, his years of “wild and crazy guy” standup and the esteemed acting icon he’s become today (Apple TV+).
SATURDAY, March 30 Beyond the Aggressives New documentary series catches up with the subjects of the original late-90s, early 2000 series about “Aggressives” or “AGs,” a term for Black queer, sexually dominant women (Paramount+)
SUNDAY, March 31
A Gentleman in Moscow Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (above) star in this eight-episode drama about a Russian count in the aftermath of his country’s revolution who finds himself exiled to a room in an opulent hotel and threatened with death if he ever steps foot outside again (9 p.m., Paramount+).
Parish Crime thriller stars The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito as a New Orleans businessman drawn back into his former life in organized crime after the murder of his son. With Skeet Ulrich and Bradley Whitford (below left), who digs into his role as a covert crime lord (10 p.m., AMC).
MONDAY, April 1 Vanderpump Villa Docudrama series follows Lisa Vanderpump and her staff as they live, work and play on an exclusive French estate (Hulu).
IHeart Radio Awards Justin Timberlake, Green Day, TLC, Jelly Roll, Laney Wilson and many more will perform at this live event honoring the year’s top music-makers—plus a special tribute performance to this year’s Icon Award recipient, Cher (8 p.m., Fox).
TUESDAY, April 2 The Weakest Link New season of the competition series hosted by Jane Lynch starts tonight, in which contestants must work together to build a “chain” by answering trivia questions (9 p.m., NBC).
Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator Hail, Caesar! That’s the title of one of my favorite Coen Brothers films, but this new documentary series explores how the nearly-five-centuries old Roman democracy was destroyed and dismantled in less than two decades and turned into a dictatorship—and how Caesar became one of history’s most notorious tyrants (9 p.m., PBS).
Underdog Documentary about Doug Butler, an aging Vermont dairy farmer with an offbeat passion: dog mushing (Amazon, Apple TV and other streaming platforms).
WEDNESDAY, April 3 A Brief History of the Future What will tomorrow and beyond look like? This optimistic documentary hosted by “futurist” Ari Wallach offers a fresh, hopeful projection of what we might expect in the decades to come if we can overcome the existential threats we see today (9 p.m., PBS).
Loot SNL veteran Maya Rudolph (below) stars in (and produces) this snappy workplace comedy about a recent divorcee recovering from her former marriage to a tech billionaire (Apple TV+).
Star Trek: Discovery Blast off for the final season of the hit series iconic sci-fi spinoff starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp and Mary Wiseman, as the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery once again heads across the universe for one more intergalactic adventure (Paramount+).
THURSDAY, April 4 Ripley Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley, based on the bestselling novel series by Patricia Highsmith, about a grifter who finds himself in an international swirl of deceit, fraud and murder (Netflix).
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Tired of staying in the same ol’ hotels? Secret Stays (Aussouline) by former Conde Nast Traveler editor Melinda Stevens, transports armchair adventurers to some of the most unique, mostly unknown hotels around the world, from secluded abbeys to ancient manors and larger-than-life mansions. Lavishly illustrated.
What did people do before written history? Stefanos Geroulanos’The Invention of Prehistory (WW Norton) shows how the endless quest to know our humanity was shaped—and often misshaped—by all sorts of theories and notions of barbarians, Neanderthals, Amazon women and utopian paradises…and often became the ideological foundations for repressive regimes that considered people as less than human.
A day of Hobbits, all about TV “sluts” and & Holy Moses!
Hobbits, trolls, ogres and dragons—all in the Hobbit Trilogy!
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, March 22 The Fox A farm laborer in Austria finds an orphaned fox cub amidst the carnage of World War II and adopts it in this heartwarming tale based on a true story (Prime & Apple TV).
Shirley Regina King stars (below) as America’s first Black congresswoman and political icon Shirley Chislom in her trailblazing run for president in 1972 (Netflix).
SATURDAY, March 23 The Hobbit Trilogy Middle Earth-ers, unite—for all three Hobbit movies (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies), based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy novels (begins 7 a.m., TNT).
SUNDAY, March 24 In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon This docu-bio examines the life and music of the famed singer-songwriter (below) from his Simon & Garfunkel days to his massive concert in Central Park and the recording of his latest album (MGM+).
MONDAY, March 25 Greener Pastures Independent Lens documentary follows the lives of four Midwestern families over five years as they deal with climate change, the pandemic and the rise of megafarms that have led to economic uncertainty and isolation (10 p.m., PBS).
Lethally Blonde Using your physical beauty and sexuality to climb the ladder of success can lead to some dangerous—and deadly—outcomes, as shown in this true-crime series hosted by Holly Madison, who knows a thing or two about it as the former girlfriend of Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner (10 p.m., ID).
TUESDAY, March 26 The Invisible Shield Four-part documentary series examines the “hidden” public health infrastructure that makes modern life possible, protecting us from the constant threat of death and disease through a massive, inter-connected network of largely unsung heroes—physicians, nurses, scientists, engineers, reformers and government officials all working to make our lives more livable (10 p.m., PBS).
Godzilla Movie Marathon He’s the king of the monsters, for sure, and today you can watch two of his contemporary big-screen movies, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong. Didja know: Godzilla’s been a movie star since 1954? The original Godzilla rubber suit weighed well over 200 pounds? And his name is a mashup of words for “gorilla” and “whale”? Now you do!
The Truth vs. Alex Jones Grieving Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting parents face the blustery conspiracy theorist in four years of landmark defamation trials (9 p.m., HBO).
WEDNESDAY, March 27 AI Revolution Is artificial intelligence taking over the world? Meet some of the scientists at the forefront of this new frontier as they explore the promise, perils and possible future of the unprecedented technology taking the world by storm (9 p.m., PBS).
Testament: The Story of Moses From outcast and murderer to prophet and liberator of the Hebrew people, this three-part series (below) explores the life, redemption and legacy of one of most iconic VIPs of the Bible (Netflix).
THURSDAY, March 28 The Baxters New faith-based family drama series stars Roma Downey and Ted McGinley as a couple with five adult children, all working through the challenges of life (Prime Video).
We Were the Lucky Ones In this limited series based on the bestselling novel, a Jewish family separated at the start of WWII is determined to survive and reunite (Hulu).
BRING IT HOME
The newly restored Paint Your Wagon (Kino Larber) is a classic Western musical comedy from 1969, starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. It features the song “They Call the Wind Maria,” and a musical appearance by a very young group that would come to be known as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Fun fact: Marvin drank alcohol every day of the shoot and was often drunk on the set—and it showed. Co-star Jean Seaburg said Marvin’s singing voice was “like rain gurgling down a rusty pipe.”
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A supplement to the previous volume spanning TV’s earlier years, the new Encyclopedia of Television Shows (McFarland) by Vincent Terrace covers 2017-2022 and lists more than a thousand programs released on broadcast, cable TV and streaming services, along with cast, airdates, plots and other details. If you’ve ever wondered about all those dramas and sitcoms you never had time to check out—like America’s Most Musical Family, Living Biblically or Moonbase 8—this is your book!
Wanna go on a road trip back in time? A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages (wwnorton) by Anthony Bale is a road map to a nearly forgotten time—long before airplanes and automobiles—when explorers traipsed across forests and deserts and sailed the ocean in search of riches, lands to conquer, or adventure. What was that like? Now you can know!
In “Sluts” on the Small Screen (McFarland), author Libbie Searcy spotlights television’s fascination with “promiscuous women” in TV shows including Frazier, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Golden Girls, Grey’s Anatomy and more, showing the variety of ways sexually voracious characters are portrayed—and the roles they play in furthering our fascination with empowerment, entertainment and exploitation.
Joaquin Phoenix steps into history as France’s most famous despot
Napoleon Starring Joaquin Phoenix & Vanessa Kirby Directed by Ridley Scott Rated R
In theaters Wednesday, Nov. 22
One of history’s most famous love stories was written in blood. In this expansively, elaborately expensive epic historical biopic, Joaquin Phoenix stars as the French emperor whose military conquests were a brutal backdrop for the domestic battles he waged with his wife, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).
Director Ridley Scott creates a sumptuous, spectacular saga about Napoleon Bonaparte, the Corsican soldier in the French army who rose quickly within its ranks in the late 1700s to become one of the most wide-ranging military commanders in all of Europe. History remains somewhat divided on Napoleon, with assessments falling along a spectrum of opinion ranging from despotic megalomaniacal dwarf to brilliant military strategist. But this movie mostly splits the difference in favor of a sprawling period-piece portrait of a complicated, obsessive leader and his muddy, bloody times.
The movie establishes its battleground bona fides in the opening 15 minutes, during the close of the tumultuous French Revolution. Marie Antoinette meets her end at the guillotine, a horse gets its head blown off by a cannonball, and Bonaparte reaches into the hole to pull out the steed’s heart—as a souvenir for his mother. War is hell, and Napoleon, his face spattered with fresh blood, develops an early taste for it.
The battle scenes are dynamic, visceral, impressively boom-boomy and gruesomely gorgeous; in one, Napoleon’s army corners retreating Russians on a frozen lake, then fires cannonballs into the ice from a wooded hillside. Bloodied bodies flail helplessly as they sink slowly into the freezing, deathly depths in a winter ballet of red-smeared carnage.
But for Napoleon, all’s fair in love and war. When he isn’t opening his bag of tactical dirty tricks to fight the Austrians, the Russians or the British, he comes home to spar with Josephine. He throws food at her at the dinner table, bonks her in the bedroom like a rabid bunny, scolds her for her infidelity while he’s away doing war stuff (conquering Egypt), and ultimately leaves her for another woman when she’s unable to bear him an heir. But she, somehow, loves him after all that, remaining a central part of the story, an essential part of his story. And he remains obsessed with her. Napoleon is crushed to find out that all the gushy letters he’s been dutifully writing to Josephine have been stolen and sold. And this was centuries before Ebay!
Vanessa Kirby stars as Empress Josephine.
Phoenix, who also appeared in director Scott’s Gladiator, is center stage here as one of history’s most consequential and controversial characters, bratty, petulant, temperamental and dictatorial, maybe even batshit crazy; he’s The Joker in a pointy, bicorne hat. “You think you’re so great because you have boats!” he fumes at a British ambassador about England’s naval superiority. Kirby, a distinguished British actress, is elegantly stoic as Josephine, who sticks by her man even when his outbursts reduce her to tears.
The movie notes that Napoleon staged some 60 battles, only losing seven of them—one of which was at Waterloo, a defeat so infamously disastrous it became shorthand for almost any decisive, game-over setback. The historical Napoleon himself became a sort of pop-cultural, comical shorthand—an avatar for domineering behavior, overcompensation for a less-than-imposing stature. (Even though we don’t know how tall Napoleon actually was in real life, the movie suggests he could use a few inches, notably when he requires a boost to peer into an Egyptian sarcophagus and view a mummy’s ancient face.) He’s been the subject of countless movies, including one as early as 1913, and widely parodied, in Bugs Bunny cartoons and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Minions and Night at the Museum.
But this Napoleon is no cartoon, no joke and certainly no dry, dull history lesson. It brings to the big screen a bold new take on the enduring tale one of history’s most endlessly fascinating figures, the forever controversial Frenchman who dominated so much of the known world—and the woman who conquered his heart back home.
Annette Bening’s in deep, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ushers in new members, saddle up with an historic Black lawman & Tim Allen ho-ho-ho-ho’s once more!
FRIDAY, Nov. 3 NYAD Annette Bening (above) stars in the real-life story of athlete Diana Nyad, a world-class swimmer who gave up the water in exchange for a career as a sportscaster—but, at the age of 60, decides to compete again in a 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida. Spurring her on: her coach, played played by two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster. It’s a tale of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit (Netflix).
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2023 Sheryl Crowe, Willie Nelson, Bernie Taupin, Link Wray and The Spinners are among the musical elite coming into rock music’s hallowed space, tonight, ushed in with tribute performances by Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Dave Matthews, H.E.R. and others (Disney+).
SATURDAY, Nov. 4 Mulan Watch the 2020 live-action remake (below) of the 1998 animated Disney tale of an adventurous Chinese girl (Yifei Liu) who grows up to become a champion warrior in the Imperial Army. It was nominated for two Oscars (8:05 p.m., Freeform).
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here New thriller drama flick stars Chrishell Stause and Diora Baird as a same-sex couple who don’t exactly feel welcome when they arrive at their getaway cabin in a remote mountain town (8 p.m., Lifetime).
SUNDAY, Nov. 5 JFK: One Day in America Three-part documentary takes viewers through every moment of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 60 years ago, with first-person accounts from those who were there (8 p.m., Nat Geo).
Lawmen: Bass Reeves David Oyelowo (above) stars in this new streaming series about one of the most legendary lawmen of the Old West, who rose from enslavement to become the first Black U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi, arresting more than 3,000 outlaws. With Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid (Paramount+).
First Lady of BMF: Tonesa Welch Story Michelle Mitchenor stars in this new series about a middle-class Detroit woman in the 1980s who launched a notorious drug empire (BET+).
Lost Women of Highway 20 Producer Octavia Spencer (above) explores the trail of missing and murdered women along a ghostly stretch of Oregon roadway in this true-crime docuseries (9 p.m., ID).
MONDAY, Nov. 6 3-Day Weekend Take virtual tour—or learn what to see in person—in one the Southeast’s most lovely college towns, Chapel Hill, N.C. (9:30 p.m., ACC).
Three Chaplains Documentary about Muslim chaplains in the U.S. military, fighting to maintain a balanced devotion to Islam, the Constitution and the American military (10 p.m., PBS).
TUESDAY, Nov. 7 The Curse of Oak Island The buried treasure hunt deepens in season 11, as the team of excavators continues to dig on the Nova Scotia island for clues to a 200-year-old mystery, encountering some surprising new evidence that confirms earlier rumors about its source (9 p.m., History).
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8 The Buccaneers Set in 1870s London, this new series follows a group of American girls who burst onto the tightly corseted scene, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash and rattling stiff upper lips. Starring Kristine Frøseth, Alisha Boe and Josie Totah (Apple TV+).
The Santa Clauses Tim Allen continues (above) in the role he launched back in 1994 with season two of this TV-series spinoff, in which his character’s plans to “retire” from saving Christmas are complicated when he can’t find a suitable successor for the job (Disney+).
THURSDAY, Nov. 9 Colin From Accounts Hit Aussie comedy series starts streaming in the U.S., with stars Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall as two people brought together by a nipple flash, a car accident and an injured dog (Paramount+)
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How did streaming services gobble up eyeballs from “traditional” TV? Find out in Pandora’s Box (William Morrow), author Peter Biskind’s thoroughly engaging breakdown of the “revolution” by which TV supplanted movies as the leading format of entertainment, beginning with HBO’s The Sopranos.
What do “ancient” doodads have to do with the modern world’s colossal engineering feats? A lot! That’s what you’ll learn in Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (WW Norton), by Roma Agrawal, an award-winning structural engineer notes how seven teeny-tiny things have been instrumental in the way we now work and live.
Long live the Queen! The royal legacy certainly lives on in Cecil Beaton: The Royal Portraits (Thames & Hudson), an illustrated examination of how the British photographer’s work with the royal family shaped the public face of the House of Windsor across five decades.
NOW HEAR THIS
It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but you can get in the mood for the holiday season with Chicago Christmas Complete (Rhino), which pulls from all three of the iconic rock band’s Yuletime albums of yore for this 3-CD collection of classics, including “My Favorite Things,” “O Christmas Tree,” “Here Comes Santa Claus” and “Wonderful Christmas Time,” which features Dolly Parton.
Have a very Cher Christmas (Warner Records) with the iconic pop diva’s first-ever holiday album, featuring some all-star guests (Stevie Wonder, Darlene Love, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bublè) on a super slate of seasonal songs, including “Run Run Rudloph,” “Please Come Home for Christmas,” “Santa Baby” and four new originals.
BRING IT HOME
Now that the new season of Fargo is about to start (Nov. 11), you can revisit the movie that started it all. Fargo (Shout! Studios)—which was nominated for seven Oscars (and won two) after its release in 1996—is now available in a hi-def 4K edition, with loads of bonus features, including a rolled poster of original theatrical art, a limited edition glass snow globe, commentary by director of photography Roger Deakins, interviews with the Coen Brothers and their star, Frances McDormand, and more!
Get in the holiday mood with the Lifetime 12-Movie Collection, Vol. 5 (Lionsgate), a ho-ho-ho-romantic roundup of a dozen of the network’s Christmas-themed romances, featuring such all-stars as Jodie Sweetin, Maria Menouos and Patti Labelle.
Hop in the hot rod for the new American Graffiti 50th Anniversary edition (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), which marks the cinematic milestone with its first release in 4K Ultra HD. The 1973 classic marked beginnings and breakthroughs of the movie careers of Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Suzanne Somers and Richard Dreyfuss, plus director George Lucas, who would (of course!) go on to make Star Wars.
Break out the eggnog for The Office: Complete Christmas Collection (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), and ho-ho-ho along with Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) and the other Dunder Mifflin gang in seven holiday classics, including “A Benihaha Christmas,” in which an off-site lunch turns into seasonal shenanigans.
And you better watch out! In Violent Night (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s not taking any sh*t from anyone when he tumbles down the chimney and into a home that’s in the process of being invaded and robbed. David Harbour is terrific as a St. Nick with a few bones to pick—and break.
Bringing an anti-discrimination fighter on the sideline of history into the spotlight
Rustin Starring Colman Domingo Directed by George C. Wolfe PG-13
In theaters Nov. 3, available on Netflix Nov. 17
Half a century before he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013, Bayard Rustin made his mark as a ferociously dedicated anti-discrimination crusader. Though he’s been marginalized by history and somewhat shuffled into the sidelines of the bigger Civil Rights story, Rustin organized one of the largest peaceful protests ever, which in 1963 drew a crowd of some 250,000 to a massive demonstration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and provided the stage for Dr. Martin Luther King’s monumental “I have a dream…” speech. And it led, nine months later, to the passing of the landmark legislation of the Civil Rights Act, officially prohibiting discrimination based on sex, race, color or national origin.
Rustin’s planning for that historic day in D.C. is the framework of this stirring biopic (produced by Barack and Michelle Obama) starring Colman Domingo. The versatile Tony-winning stage actor—who’s also appeared on TV’s Fear the Walking Dead and Euphoria—gives a dynamic, Oscar-baiting star turn as the pacifist leader whose behind-the-scenes activism was often hampered by his open homosexuality, his former ties to the Communist Party and his non-mainstream (Quaker) religious background. As if being Black in America in that tumultuous era wasn’t perilous enough by itself, Rustin was sometimes slurred as a “pervert and a traitor.”
A large ensemble cast rounds out the story as various politicians, union heads and Black movers and shakers swirl—often contentiously—around Rustin. There’s Jeffery Wright as combative Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell; lauded stage and screen star Audra McDonald is NAACP leader Josephine Baker; British thespian Amil Ameen plays MLK, the young firebrand Baptist preacher who became a Civil Rights icon. But Chris Rock seems a bit misplaced; the well-known comedian never really feels comfortable (or believable) in the stern and serious groove as Black activist Roy Wilkins.
The movie itself is mostly standard fare as biopics go; it’s a bit wordy, dialogue-heavy and stagey, like a play that decided to become a movie instead. But it gives plenty of room for Domingo—in real life an openly gay actor—to shine as the Black idealist on the margins of the Civil Rights movement, who believed in freedom for all through Gandhi-esque nonviolence even in the face of violence. Rustin, who’s conspicuously missing a molar from a beating by a cop, later tells someone else to hit him on the other side of his mouth, for “symmetry.”
Rustin hails this little-known racism fighter who worked from the sidelines to harness the power of peace to make walls fall, move mountains and work toward a world-changing “symmetry” of equality for everyone.
The acclaimed director tackles a dark chapter of American history, and makes another movie masterpiece
Killers of the Flower Moon Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro & Lily Gladstone Directed by Martin Scorsese Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 20
“If you’re gonna make trouble, make it big.”
That’s what big-deal bigshot William Hale (Robert De Niro) tells his neophyte nephew (Leonardo DiCaprio) early in director Martin Scorsese’s sprawling, slow-burn neo-Western epic about a grim and horrific chapter of American history in the expanding frontier of the 1920s.
And indeed, there’s some very big trouble in this very big big-message movie, which clocks in at nearly three and a half hours.
DiCaprio’s character, Ernest Burkhart, is a young WWI veteran who returns from the battlefield to stake out a new life “out West” on the Great Plains of Oklahoma, where oil has been discovered on land settled and owned by the Native Americans of the Osage Nation. Ernest freely admits—a couple of times—that he “loves money,” and there’s certainly plenty of it here, bubbling and spewing in geysers from the ground…and making the Osage some of the most fabulously wealthy people on the planet.
And it’s also made a boomtown for carpetbaggers, non-indigenous “white” opportunists like Ernest’s uncle, thirsty for some of that black gold—or all of it. So, what will money-loving Ernest do to get filthy rich, far beyond what he can rake in playing poker or even pulling highway-robbery holdups?
Scorsese is probably best known for his crime sagas—Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Irishman, The Departed. This isn’t a “gangster” movie, as such, but it certainly has the feel of the director’s familiar wheelhouse, with a core group (yes, a gang) of bad men doing bad things. In the Osage Nation, they’re robbing the natives of their wealth by almost every means possible, including murder.
Ernest falls in love and marries an Osage woman, Molly (Lily Gladstone), and then, one by one, all Molly’s sisters and other family members start dying. Who’ll be next? Maybe even Molly? Who blew up that house? Or left that dead body out in the woods? And what’s Ernest got to do with it? As the death toll rises into double digits, J. Edgar Hoover sends a federal agent (Jesse Plemons) from the Bureau of Investigation—which would later become the FBI—to nose around.
Based on the bestselling 2017 novel by David Grann, it’s a complex, complicated tale of systemic racism, white nationalism, greedy imperialism, income disparity, ethnic genocide and a conspiracy of silence and coverup, all folded into a love story that takes a wrenching wrong turn. DiCaprio has rarely been better, playing a scowling, morally compromised yahoo in an oversized Stetson, and Gladstone (who grew up in the Blackfeet Nation) has an almost Mona Lisa-like serenity, anchoring the story with a radiance and grace that will doubtlessly be recognized by the Oscars and other year-end awards. Their chemistry is lusty and palpable.
It’s all massive, majestically moving and monumental, but also intimate, richly detailed and finely tooled, full of authentic “period” touches—and enough violence, including an ad hoc autopsy with a handsaw, to meet minimum requirements for a Martin Scorsese movie.
DeNiro—who, like DiCaprio, is one of Scorsese’s favorite go-to actors—is great, as usual, craftily playing “King” Bill Hale, a dapper Osage benefactor and community builder whose smile masks a much more sinister side. There are dozens of other characters too, many played by authentically indigenous Osage actors, and small-part cameos by musicians Jack White, Sturgill Simpson, Pete Yorn and Jason Isbell, plus Brendon Frasier and John Lithgow.
But appropriately enough, it’s Scorsese, the virtuoso filmmaker who’s crafted yet another cinematic masterpiece of movie storytelling, who gets the last word, quite literally, in a final wrap-up epilogue that show how true crime became entertainment for the masses—like this all-star opus about “big trouble” that the modern-day Osage still refer to as their nation’s Reign of Terror.
Brie Larson cooks up science, a new ‘Goosebumps,,’ Disney turns 100, Frasier returns and ‘Barbie’ on DVD!
FRIDAY, Oct. 13 Lessons in Chemistry Brie Larson stars in this new series (above) as a young woman in the 1950s who becomes the host of a cooking show, where she puts her dream of becoming a scientist to work in the kitchen (Apple TV+).
Raid the Cage Damon Wayans Jr. hosts this new game show in which players compete to correctly answer questions and grab prizes from “the Cage” before time runs out and the doors close. (9 p.m., CBS)
Goosebumps Inspired by R.L. Stein’s best-selling Scholastic books, this new series (above) follows a group of high schoolers investigating the death of a teenager and unearthing scary secrets along the way. With Justin Long, Zack Morris, Isa Briones and Will Price (Disney+).
SATURDAY, Oct. 14 The Murdaugh Murders Bill Pullman stars in this two-part network movie (below) based on the highly publicized real-life details of the prominent South Carolina family at the center of a sordid murder mystery (Netflix).
Pets & Pickers Catch up in season two with the workers at the Regional Animal Protection Society, motivated by their extraordinary compassion and their feeling that all animals deserve treatment (9 p.m., Animal Planet).
SUNDAY, Oct. 15 100 Years of Disney Kelly Ripa hosts this blowout two-and-a-half-hour event celebrating the House of Mouse milestone, with previews of upcoming projects, the world premiere of a new short film and a full screening of the award-winning animated feature film Encanto (8 p.m., ABC).
Hotel Portofino Season two of the glamorous period drama, about an English hotel in Italy in the 1920s—set against the rise of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime—stars Natascha McElone, Oliver Dench and Louise Binder (8 p.m., PBS).
Billy the Kid Season two (above) continues the tale of America’s most infamous outlaw as William “Billy” Bounty (Tom Blyth) and his allies square off against the corrupt oil barons of the Sante Fe Ring, which erupts into the bloody Lincoln County War (MGM+).
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Go inside the glitzy world of Hollywood in Vanity Fair: Oscar Night Sessions (Abrams), with exquisite portraits over the years by photographer Mark Seliger at one of the most exclusive events following the star-studded Academy awards.
What’s goin’ on down there? Stephen Ellcock’s marvelous Underworlds (Thames & Hudson) digs deep into the fact, folklore, legends and other flights of fancy about the many things beneath our feet—from graves to caves, subterranean worlds, animal lairs, secret bunkers, fallout shelters, gemstones and sinkholes…and places of our deepest dreams and id wanderings, like hell itself! Packed with artwork and illustrations, it’s a glorious guided tour of the many things underground, real and imagined.
Architectural and industrial photographer Chris Payne’s Made in America (Abrams) is a vibrant journey into the heart of things created and manufactured in in the good ol’ USA, with techniques ranging from hi-tech to handmade.
MONDAY, Oct. 16 The Chase This new dramatic series centers on a British veterinary practice where dogs bark, sparks fly and dark secrets come to light (Acorn TV).
The American Buffalo Master filmmaker Ken Burns presents his latest project, a four-hour, two-part series, taking viewers on a 10,000-year trek across North America and tracing the history and heritage of the iconic Great Plains (8 p.m., PBS).
TUESDAY, Oct. 17 Frasier Yes, Frasier. Kelsey Grammer reprises his role as psychiatrist Frasier Crane in this new—yes, new—comedy series (below) that picks up where the old one left off, some two decades ago. Watch the first two episodes back to back tonight (9:15 p.m., CBS).
The Devil on Trial With firsthand accounts and a shocking crime, this new doc explores the first (and only) time a defense of “demonic possession” has be used in a U.S. murder trial (Netflix)
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 18 Living for the Dead New series from the producers of Queer Eye and narrated by Kristen Stewart follows five fab queer ghost hunters helping the living by calming the dead in places of paranormal activity (Hulu).
Nature The iconic everything-outdoors series opens its 42nd season opens with the true story of a Tasmanian man who makes friends with a platypus, tapping experts to learn all he can about the unusual egg-laying mammal’s secret world and protect it from urban encroachment (8 p.m., PBS).
BRING IT HOME
Maybe you heard about this little movie called Barbie, which became the world’s highest grossing film of the summer. Now you can own it on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4k (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), starring Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and her guy friend Ken as two of the most iconic toys ever, who leave Barbieland and find a life-changing existential crisis in the “real world.” Includes five bonus featurettes!
THURSDAY, Oct. 19 Wolf Like Me Season two kicks off tonight as Mary (Isla Fisher) and Gary (Josh Gadd) contemplate her pregnancy—will their offspring be a human, or a wolf? And will what happened in the outback come back to haunt them? (Peacock).
The return of ‘The Morning Show,’ the ugly history of busing & a triple slab of Adam Sandler yuks
FRIDAY, Sept. 8 Bella! This Woman’s Place is in the House Saluting the life and work of firebrand lawyer, social activist, politician and leader of the ‘60s women’s movement Bella Abzug (9 p.m., PBS).
The Changeling LaKeith Stanfield produces and stars in this new drama series, a grown-up fairytale with a horror-story twist, about a man searching for the love of his life, who has mysteriously vanished somewhere into a New York City he didn’t even know existed… (Apple TV+)
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What was it like to go to a Fleetwood Mac concert back in the band’s 1970s heyday? Well, you can find out with Rumours Live (Rhino), a time-capsule recording of the band performing all their hits (“Say You Love Me,” “Dreams,” “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Over My Head” and many more) for a “hometown” crowd at the Forum in Los Angeles.
SATURDAY, Sept. 9
Adam Sandler Chill with some comedy gold from the movie funnyman with a triple-play slate of Little Nicky, Anger Management and The Longest Yard (below) (begins 8 p.m., Pluto).
Back to the Future Trilogy Hmmm….what to do on a Saturday? Well, how about time-traveling to your couch and watching all three BTTF films in a row? (12 p.m., TBS).
SUNDAY, Sept. 10 The Masked Singer The landmark 10th season of the popular “disguised vocalist” completion kicks off tonight with a bang, and “unmasked” performance pair-ups by Michelle Williams and Rumer Willis, Joey Fatone and Bow Wow, and Victor Oladipo and Barry Zito (8 p.m., Fox).
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Latest spinoff of the fan-favorite franchise centers around the character of Reedus (Dixon) as he washes ashore in France and starts to find—and fight—his way back home (9 p.m., AMC).
MONDAY, Sept. 11 The Busing Battleground Documentary (above) explores the turbulent legacy of efforts to integrate public schools—and the wave of “white flight” that followed—in the 1970s (9 p.m., PBS).
48 Hours The popular true-crime and justice series goes wide tonight in a new weekday best-of syndication on stations nationwide (CBS and other affiliate networks).
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Music lovers will love This is What It Sounds Like (RB Mecia), author Susan Rogers’ fascinating rundown of brain science, how our musical tastes and preferences are shaped, and the way music can set our mood, reawaken old memories and shape our social (tribal) identities.
TUESDAY, Sept. 12 The Swarm New dystopian drama series taking place several years of unrestrained pollution and relentless climate change, as a mysterious force of the deep starts using the creatures of the ocean as hostile hosts and declares war on humanity (9 p.m., The CW).
Welcome to Wrexham The reality series—about actors Ryan Gosling and Rob McElhenney’s soccer team in North Wales, the third oldest football team in the world—returns tonight (10 p.m, FX).
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 13 America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston The best-selling author and avid outdoor enthusiast continues his trek across the country to further discover how nature shapes the way we work, play and interact with each other (10 p.m., PBS).
The Morning Show Time to wake up and tune in for the third season with more juicy drama about the New York City TV show still roiling in the aftermath of a sex scandal. With Jennifer Aniston, Reece Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Juliana Marguiles and Jon Hamm (Apple TV+).
The Other Black Girl New original series about Nella (Sinclair Daniel), the only Black employee at a New York publishing firm, who comes to suspect that something sinister is going on—and it is! (Hulu)
THURSDAY, Sept. 14 Southern Charm Pack up and get ready to go south with a new season of this reality series (below) about good-lookin’ young’uns down in Charlotte, S.C., pursuing romance, friendship and careers (9 p.m., Bravo).
Remembering William Friedkin The iconic director, who died last month, is celebrated with a section of his classic 1970s and ’80s films—The French Connection, To Live and Die in L.A. and The Boys in the Band (8 p.m., TCM).
Come for the mountains, stay for the munchies, the music…and the mermaids! (And respect the bears!)
Blake Shelton performs at Ole Red Gatlinburg.
Some 14 million visitors trek each year to the Great Smoky Mountains—and most of them funnel through Gatlinburg, the bustling tourism hamlet in Tennessee’s southeast corner that’s become the primary gateway to the most-visited national park in America.
And many of those visitors spend time or even drop anchor in Gatlinburg, surrounded on three sides by the natural wonders of the park and filled to the brim with things to see, hear, do…and eat.
Some people just enjoy the scenery—or the distilleries offering moonshine tastings. Others shop for souvenirs and memorabilia, play minigolf, hike, bike or camp, or drive into the Smokies. But everybody eats something, sometime—or a lot of times, which is most of the time in Gatlinburg. In a place with so much to do and see, wouldn’t it be perfect to do and see and eat all in one place? Here are the top “eat-ertainment” experiences you should have on your to-do menu if you’re headed to this unique resort town just under 10 miles away from where superstar Dolly Parton was born and raised.
Ole Red
As country fans know, this restaurant and live-music venue is themed around the song “Ol’ Red,” the 2001 hit for Blake Shelton. Owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, it’s part of a growing Ole Red venture branded with Shelton, with other locations in Nashville, Orlando and Tishomingo, Okla., near the entertainer’s home. Gatlinburg’s Ole Red, a double-tiered honky-tonk, offers a “taste” of its superstar namesake with nearly continuous live entertainment, signature drinks, and a full menu of hearty (though perhaps not quite heart-healthy!) appetizers and main courses for lunch or dinner.
There’s a gift shop with all sorts of Blake Shelton merch and other Gatlinburg swag.
And Ole Red is the only place in town with an upside-down tractor hanging from the ceiling. What color? Red, of course.
It’s the top choice in Gatlinburg for hearing live music day or night on a full-scale stage tricked out with a truckload of high-tech AV, while diving into barnyard-sized food and hydrating with Mason Jars full of creative beverages, and perhaps even doing a little boot scootin’ on the dance floor. Sometimes Shelton himself even drops by or calls in to Facetime on the giant screen above the stage, much to the delight everyone who just happen to be there.
On my most recent visit, I noshed on Redneck Nachos (tortilla chips, taco meat, red onions, jalapenos and avocado cream) and a massive platter of Junk Yard Fries (garnished with onion straws, fried jalapenos, pulled pork and garlic parmesan topping), and washed it all down with a Hillbilly Breeze (coconut rum, orange liqueur, tequila and orange juice). There was no room after that for any of the signature main course items, like the Hell Right Burger (with a beef patty, a hot dog and an egg), the Grilled Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf or the Kiss My Grilled Chicken Sammich (with peach jam and barbecue sauce on a potato bun).
I’m a sucker for fruity desserts, so I was sorely tempted by—but resisted—the Mountain Berry Crisp, which incorporates strawberries, blueberries and blackberries into a honey cornbread crumble, topped with ice cream. But that would have hit the bullseye in my sweet spot.
On stage, Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Sara Collins sat with her guitar and performed a sweet selection of ‘70s mellow rock and country-classic covers, interwoven with originals from her new album Roots (to be released June 30). A regular at Ole Red’s, she’s a former contestant on The Voice (season 18) who relocated with her family to the Gatlinburg area four years ago, when she was still in high school. After her midday set, she told me she loves playing Ole Red, but it takes a bit of stage-banter recalibration from all the local gigs at bars and festivals she played back home in Baton Rouge.
“You never know where people are from,” she says, referencing how Gatlinburg draws visitors from across America, and even internationally. “You can’t make jokes about the ‘local’ sports teams.” (Earlier in the day, I’d met a family from Israel, saw a group of women wearing burkas crossing a busy street and shared some morning doughnuts with a vlogger, Sean Hussey, who relocated to Gatlinburg from Rhode Island more than a decade ago and now makes videos as “The Gatlinburg Hussey.”) At Ole Red, Collins avoided sports chitchat but instead cautioned diners to keep their vehicles locked during their visit, because bears that wander into town—with some frequency—have learned how to open unlocked car doors in search of food.
When it launched its Gatlinburg location in 2019, Ole Red was in a league of its own as the only entertainment spot in town with a bona fide superstar connection; the hitmaking, 10-million-selling Shelton was a double-digit CMA Awards winner, and he’d been a coach on TV’s The Voice since the show launched in 2011. (He recently announced he’ll be leaving after 23 seasons to spend more time with Stefani, whom he married in 2021, and her three young sons.)
But now there’s another country-star venue on the Gatlinburg horizon. Jason Aldean—also a country hitmaker, and also Shelton’s good buddy—is readying a new venue that will bear his name just up the street. With six bars on two levels, it will be the second in his expanding entertainment franchise, after the original operation in downtown Nashville. But Ole Red’s Chrisy Lambert, the food and hospitality manager, isn’t fazed by the competition. “It’s going to be a totally different kind of place, with a rooftop bar,” instead of a single larger enclosed showroom like Ole Red, where the music and the munching can go on year-round, rain or shine.
With a red tractor overhead.
Ripley’s Aquarium
It’s already a world-class aqua experience, with sea critters of every shape and size, a glass-bottom boat ride and the world’s longest underwater viewing tunnel. And Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is the only place in Gatlinburg where you can get something to eat…and then consume it just feet (or even inches!) away from creatures that would probably love to sink their teeth into whatever you’re chewing. You can watch sharks and stingrays swim overhead after you pick up your items from the Feeding Frenzy snack and concession area, with a refreshingly diverse menu that includes burgers (including a veggie option), hotdogs, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, a hummus snack cup, veggie sticks and salad, and more. And it’s the only place in Gatlinburg where—if you get there early enough in the day—you can have breakfast with a mermaid!
Anakeesta
One of Gatlinburg’s newest attractions, this sprawling mountaintop theme park (which opened in 2017) takes its name from a Cherokee Indian word meaning “high ground,” which is also the term given to a geological layer of rock that permeates the Smoky Mountains. It offers activities for all ages, including a zipline, mountain coaster, a catwalk through the hillside canopy of trees, an elaborate play area for kids (or grownups), a 60-foot-tall viewing tower, and a dazzling nighttime display called Astra Lumina. While you’re gaping at the breathtaking eagle’s-eye views of the surrounding scenery, you can snack on ice cream, pies, brownies and other treats, shop for souvenirs or sit down at the Cliff Top restaurant for a full-course meal of barbecue, catfish or burgers. And watch out for bears—they like visiting Anakeesta, too, especially overnight when the area is otherwise closed. (It was, after all, built into what was formerly their exclusive habitat.) When I was there, the Astra Lumina experience was temporarily inoperable; a mama bear and her cubs were blocking one of the walking paths, and park workers were respectfully giving them the right of way. On another visit, the chairlift (which transports visitors up and down the mountain) and the mountain coaster were paused because a black bear was spotted foraging in the area. It’s no surprise one of the areas of Anakeesta is called Black Bear Village.
Fannie Farkle’s
One of Gatlinburg’s oldest attractions on its main-drag “parkway” has been around for more than 40 years. It’s a bustling little amusement center, with loads of arcade games and a small-town “carnival” theme. But its main event is always what’s cookin’ through the front windows as you stroll past. It’s the home of the famous Ogle Dog (named for one of Gatlinburg’s first settler families), foot-long cornmeal weenie feasts that are cooked up street-level, right in front of your eyes. And it’s not an official walk through Gatlinburg unless you’re in range to smell the storefront grill sizzling with onions and peppers, the aromatic garnish for the cheesesteaks and sausage subs. Named for its founder, a former burlesque dancer, Fannie Farkle’s even has small mini-tables lining its outside wall, for standing and snacking on some of the town’s most distinctive dishes.
Ober Mountain
Until just recently, this longstanding alpine hub of activities (it opened in 1972, as transport up to winter skiing) was called Ober Gatlinburg. It’s been renamed in a wave of recent updates, but it’s still the only “tram ride” in town, lifting up to 120 passengers at a time high onto Mount Harrison, where there’s a mountain coaster, an alpine slide, downhill mountain biking, water tubing and snow tubing (in season), a year-round ice-skating rink, souvenir mall and a wildlife-habitat encounter offering up-close visits with bears, otters, foxes, falcons, wildcats and other rescued mountain critters. Then you can take a chairlift even further up the mountain, where the views are spectacular, the air is clean and crystal-clear, and the sounds of a live bluegrass band set the scene May through November. Ober’s restaurant and lounge were closed for renovation when I was there, but snacks elsewhere were plentiful—sandwiches from the Sidewalk Café (overlooking the ice-skating rink), sweets at the Fudge Shop and a selection of coffee and other beverages brewing at the Ski Mountain Grind House. And it’s the only place in town where you can eat, then watch North American river otters gulp down buckets of cut-up fish parts…otherwise unavailable at Ober, um, unless you’re an otter.
Nashville museum is a deep-dive time capsule of vintage country music
Nashvillians don’t have to go “On the Road Again” to visit a “Willie” terrific collection of memorabilia and artifacts from country music’s golden era.
The Willie Nelson & Friends Museum features exhibits on Nelson and more than 30 other country stars. It’s just off Briley Parkway, across McGavock Pike from the entrance to the Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry, in a strip mall book-ended by Cooter’s and the Nashville Palace.
“We’ve got a really small space for a whole lot of stuff,” says owner Mark Hughes, whose mother, Jeannie Oakley, and her husband, Frank—longtime friends of Nelson and other country stars—started their collection in their Madison, Tenn., picture-frame shop 1979. The museum grew and moved several times over the years (off Music Row, then to Branson, Mo.) before settling into its current Music Valley Drive location in 1992.
Its 4,500-square feet of exhibit space details the world of Willie Nelson and many other entertainers who’ve intersected with his wide-ranging musical orbit over the years, including Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Porter Wagoner, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Faron Young and Dottie West. There’s a pair of Nelson’s running shoes, and the guitar he played on his first Grand Ole Opry appearance—and his paltry $15 paystub from the gig. Over here’s a mockup of the front of his tour bus; over there’s a custom-made billiard table that once sat in his parlor; walls and display cases hold dozens of photos; and yep, that’s a booth and seats from Tootsie’s Orchard lounge, where Nelson and other singer-songwriters used to hang, just feet away from the backstage entrance to the Ryman. The laminated top of the booth is covered in autographs and scribbled notes, like hillbilly-music hieroglyphics.
There’s a blowup of Willie’s high school yearbook pic, movie memorabilia and items from the first Farm Aid concert, in Champaign, Ill., in 1985, including a bandana signed by all the artists who came to perform—including Willie’s fund-raising partners Neil Young and John Mellencamp, plus Loretta Lynn, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Billy Joel and Tom Petty. Look, that’s Willie’s 1979 Entertainer of the Year trophy from the Country Music Association, his only win in that category. And yes, that’s a handwritten note from Patsy Cline, thanking him for writing “Crazy” and letting her record it.
You can sit in a little theater alcove and watch a couple of documentaries featuring Nelson and other country performers reminiscing about bygone Nashville days. Or browse displays of stage attire from a country music who’s who of stars.
Another display, of framed photos, shows Willie’s wives, all four of them.
Hughes notes that Nelson’s granddaughter, Raelyn, was coming by the museum the next day to tape an episode of her Music is Funny podcast from the museum. Nelson used to drop by himself from time to time when he was in Nashville, but that doesn’t happen much anymore, now that he’s a bona fide global superstar who doesn’t spend a lot of time in Tennessee anymore. And even though he remains very active at 90, he’s not quite as wide-ranging as he used to be.
Many of the display items came from the Internal Revenue Service, which auctioned off Nelson’s property to chisel away at the $16.7 million they said he owed them, in the early 1990s, for unpaid taxes. “My mother was able to work out something with the IRS,” says Hughes, “and get first crack at some things.” Some things by the truck load, as it turned out.
Hughes says he often hears from museum visitors how surprised they are to see photos of Nelson well-groomed and clean-cut, without his long hair and signature braids, no beard, and wearing dapper, double-breasted suits—1960s Willie, as he was trying to crack into the Nashville music biz. “They say, ‘I’ve never seen Willie with short hair!’ They had no idea he existed before ‘Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain’,” he says, noting Nelson’s No. 1, written by Fred Rose, from his 1975 Red Headed Stranger album, which signaled the beginning of his “outlaw” phase—and the end of regular trips to the barbershop.
Visitors enter (and exit) the museum through a well-stocked gift and souvenir shop, full of t-shirts and country music collectibles. You can buy a Willie Nelson bandana (complete with braids) or cannabis-themed koozies. And get your future foretold by a mechanized Willie-bot in a coin-operated fortune-telling booth.
The museum displays are mostly vintage, truly from another era, a snapshot of country music before the current millennium and its ever-rising tide of newer, younger acts. “We don’t have anything against so-called newer stars,” says Hughes. “That’s just not what we’re about.”
“There are very few artists who can span the number of years that [Nelson] has contributed, and still be the level [Nelson] is today,” he says, citing Wille’s recent pair of 2023 Grammy Awards. “There aren’t many places people can walk into and see such a diverse collection of specific country music memorabilia, and you can run a thread through all of it and see how everything’s connected”—connected to Willie, as a songwriter, a singer, a hit-making megastar…and good friend to just about everyone whose paths he crossed along the way.
And that includes Hughes, the former businessman who years later took over, and expanded, his mother’s Willie-centric collection.
People think, “Long hair, smokes pot,” says Hughes of how many fans perceive Nelson. “Yeah, that’s true. But to me, he’s a very nice guy. I’ve never, ever seen him upset.”
The Media Tourist 