Unlike the quiet of last week, this coming week boasts several huge streaming titles, including sci-fi epic 3 Body Problem, the VOD debut of Poor Things, X-Men ’97, a Taylor Swift concert movie, the return of Invincible, a new Lindsay Lohan romcom, and more!
SERIES
Beacon 23 S1
15 March 2024 – Prime Video
I have no idea how I had never heard of Beacon 23 before yesterday. Adapted by Zak Penn (X-Men 2, Alphas) from a series of short stories by Wool (aka Silo) author Hugh Howey, this British sci-fi drama stars Lena Headey (the real Queen of England, if you ask me) as Aster, a mysterious woman who finds herself marooned on Beacon 23, one of the “remote lighthouses” used by space travelers in the 23rd century. This beacon’s lone keeper Halan (Stephen James) doesn’t quite believe Aster’s story of how she got there though, and she doesn’t trust him either, leading to a tense battle of wills that could have much larger ramifications. The eight-episode miniseries debuted in the US in December last year, but now we finally get it locally on Prime Video.
Tracking Thabo Bester
15 March 2024 – Showmax
In 2023, Thabo Bester was the most searched person in South Africa on Google. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a criminal who fakes their death in a prison fire, escapes a maximum-security cell block, and then goes shop at Woolworths with their celebrity doctor girlfriend as if everything is normal! Tracking Thabo Bester is the new four-part true-crime documentary series that unpacks all the sordid and twisted events surrounding the convicted rapist/murderer’s daring breakout and disregard for recapture as he lived the life in a rented Hyde Park mansion from which he and his girlfriend/co-accused Dr. Nandipha Magudumana ran a flagrant property scam. You can’t make this stuff up!
Chicken Nugget S1
15 March 2024 – Netflix
Speaking of things I couldn’t make up! I’m not going to beat around the bush here and just go straight to the elevator pitch: Chicken Nugget is a Korean comedy series in which a woman enters a strange machine and is transformed into a chicken nugget. Nothing I can say can sell it more than that.
Manhunt S1
15 March 2024 – Apple TV+
On 15 April 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a well-known stage actor and Confederate sympathizer, entered the Presidential Box of the Ford’s Theatre – in which US President Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and two others were watching a play – barred the door behind him, and shot the president in the back of head. After, a daring leap to the stage and several struggles that left another man stabbed, Booth escaped on horseback. Twelve days later, Booth himself would be shot and killed by a soldier while trying to escape capture. Manhunt is the gripping new adaptation of James L. Swanson’s book, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer, which details the events of the largest criminal hunt in US history at the time, led by Lincoln’s friend and US Secretary of War Edward Stanton. Tobias Menzies brings Stanton to life in this seven-episode miniseries while Anthony Boyle portrays Booth.
Invincible S2
15 March 2024 – Prime Video
My watchlist backlog is absolutely embarrassing at this point in time, but if there’s one entry on there that I rapidly need to tick off, it’s the second season of the incredible Invincible. Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley’s original series is one of my favourite comics of all time, and the first season of Prime’s animated adaptation definitely lived up to its source. All of which is to say that I have absolutely no idea why I haven’t yet checked back in again with Mark Grayson, Omni-Man, Atom Eve and the rest of the cast. And now the pressure is really mounting as the second half of Invincible’s second season kicks off today in explosive fashion, by all accounts.
Palm Royale S1
20 March 2024 – Apple TV+
I have to admit that I hadn’t really heard anything about Palm Royale, which is rather surprising given the new Apple TV drama series’ absolutely stellar cast. Kristen Wiig leads the ensemble, which includes Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin (yes, that Ricky Martin), Leslie Bibb, Josh Lucas, Kaia Gerber (aka daughter of Cindy Crawford) and more. Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie, Palm Royale is set in 1969 and follows Wiig’s Maxine Simmons as “attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots” while asking “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?”.
X-Men ’97
20 March 2024 – Disney+
TO ME MY X-MEN! And by X-Men, I actually mean all my fellow ol’ millennials who still nostalgically remember getting introduced to a world of misunderstood super-powered characters in X-Men: The Animated Series in the 1990s. That beloved show ended with the death of Prof. Charles Xavier as he charged his team with pursuing his dream of mutant and human peace, but we never actually got to see how that played out. But that all changes this week with the release of X-Men ’97, the hotly anticipated revival that picks up exactly where the old show left off. All your favourites are back, with the majority of the original voice cast even returning again. I have to point out though that while X-Men ’97 is looking fantastic and getting glowing reviews, there’s been some behind the scenes ruckus as showrunner/creator Beau DeMayo was fired from the production yesterday, barely a week out from X-Men ’97’s debut. Thus far we’ve had no cause given for his abrupt dismissal, but the reason had to have been pretty big for Disney to risk tarnishing the launch like this.
3 Body Problem
21 March 2024 – Netflix
Having read Liu Cixin’s 2008 epic sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem, I would confidently have said that it’s unfilmable. David Benioff and DB Weiss, the duo that previously brought us the incredible (and then abruptly rather crap) adaptation of Game of Thrones that pretty much rewrote the rules of TV series productions, would like to prove me wrong. To recap the story of Liu’s book, the first in a trilogy, into a snappy little two or three lines here would be an exercise in futility as it moves from 1970s communist China to weird virtual reality worlds to alien signals from outer space. All I can say is that there is a lot going on with some rather large and trippy ideas. Reviews thus far have been mixed on whether Benioff and Weiss have managed to convey these ideas to screen successfully, but those that like it, REALLY like it, even proclaiming it as a masterful adaptation. We’ll find out next week if that holds true.
MOVIES
The Bloody Hundredth
15 March 2024 – Apple TV+
I mentioned earlier that Manhunt sees Anthony Boyle playing John Wilkes Booth. If you’re wondering where you may have seen Boyle before, it’s probably as WWII navigator Lt. Harry Crosby in Apple’s Masters of the Air. Today sees the release of the final episode of Apple’s aforementioned WWII drama series (check out that segue!), however, if you want to know even more about the brave men and devastating missions depicted on-screen, then The Bloody Hundredth is just for you! Narrated by Tom Hanks – who co-produces Masters of the Air with Steven Spielberg – this feature documentary honours the heroes of the 100th Bomb Group, the real-life unit that became the subject for Masters of the Air.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)
15 March 2024 – Disney+
I will never be accused of being a Taylor Swift fan, but I will always respect the young musician for her incredible achievements. And one of the many, many accolades to her name, is that the filmed version of Swift’s The Eras Tour was released in cinemas last year and promptly broke the record for highest-grossing concert film of all time as it earned $261.6 million worldwide. Based on that number, there’s a very good chance that if you do consider yourself one of the Swifties, you’ve probably seen this movie. If you somehow missed it in cinema though, or just want to watch it again, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) is hitting Disney+ today, including for the first time the song “Cardigan” as well as four additional acoustic songs.
Irish Wish
15 March 2024 – Netflix
Back in 2022, Lindsay Lohan starred in Falling for Christmas, marking her first role in a major production in over a decade. And now the erstwhile child-actor-turned-troubled-starlet is back with another cutesy Netflix romcom. Irish Wish sees Lohan as Maddie, a young lady who has to put aside her personal feelings as the secret love of her life gets engaged to her best friend. Travelling to Ireland to be bridesmaid at their wedding, Maddie, enchanted by the Emerald Isle, makes a spontaneous wish… and gets it. Waking up in an alternate reality where the one that got away never did, Maddie learns that sometimes you need to be careful who you wish for, and that her one true love may be somebody else entirely.
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Poor Things
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R159 / Apple TV – R130
Rental: Google Play Movies – R45 / Apple TV – R45
Just a few days ago, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things scored big at the Oscars with four wins, including a Best Actress statue for star Emma Stone. If you’ve been wanting to see what all the fuss was about, you can now do it at home. The star-studded, visually stunning, absurdist fairy tale about a young woman brought back to life by an eccentric scientist through a brain transplant, is now available for rent on Google Play Movies and Apple TV. Sam absolutely loved Poor Things when he reviewed the film earlier this year, calling it a “feel-good triumph in both style and substance”.