Animation fans are in for a treat as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse makes its VOD debut while Pixar’s Elemental hits Disney+ this week. Also on the cards is the long-awaited return of The Morning Show.
SERIES
Changeling S1
Apple TV+ – September 2023
According to the blurb from Apple, the eight-part drama series Changeling is a “fairytale for grown-ups”, but also a “horror story, a parenthood fable and a perilous odyssey through a New York City you didn’t know existed”. I have no idea, but it sure as hell looks interesting and I’ll watch pretty much anything with Lakeith Stanfield.
White House Plumbers S1
Showmax – 11 September 2023
All the President’s Men is an all-time classic movie, depicting the story of the journalists who unearthed the Watergate scandal that led to the fall of Richard Nixon. But what about the other guys? The ones that inadvertently caused the Watergate scandal that brought down the President of the USA despite working for the President of the USA? White House Plumbers is the star-studded five-part political comedy miniseries that tells their bumbling tale, with Woody Harrelson starring as CIA officer E Howard Hunt, alongside Justin Theroux as White House lawyer G Gordon Liddy, whose plan to protect their boss backfired spectacularly. The show also stars the likes of Lena Heady, Dohmnall Gleason, Judy Greer, Kim Coates, and Kiernan Shipka, and looks to be an absolute riot!
Perry Mason S2
Showmax – 11 September 2023
Before 2020, I don’t think anybody had “rebooting Perry Mason as an HBO noir adult drama” on their TV series bingo card. Seeing as the popular fictional criminal defense lawyer had made already the jump from original novels to radio plays and procedural shows that ran for decades, maybe a fresh new spin was not too surprising. What was, was just how good the new Matthew Rhys-starring series was, telling the origin story of how Mason went from 1930s low-rent gumshoe to a practicing lawyer. With lots of critical acclaim and the biggest HBO debut for years, the show got picked up for a second season quickly. This sophomore effort is reportedly even better and led to several awards nominations. However, the show seemingly got lost in the post-pandemic shuffle with viewership numbers dropping too low to justify the show’s big budget. It’s still a good season of television though and worth the watch!
The Morning Show S3
Apple TV+ – 13 September 2023
One of Apple TV+’s original flagship shows, The Morning Show’s third season has been massively anticipated. Especially since it’s been nearly two years since we last had the fantastic Jennifer Aniston/Reese Witherspoon newsroom drama series on our screens, thanks to the two lead actresses’ busy schedules. But now The Morning Show is back and even has an early season four renewal in place already!
Wrestlers S1
Netflix – 13 September 2023
Despite the chorus of “it’s all fake” detractors, professional wrestling is still big business. And while the likes of WWE and AEW dominate this particular brand of sports entertainment, it’s often the smaller indie circuits where the most exciting developments happen. Ohio Valley Wrestling is one such indie outfit, famous for once being the initial breeding ground for legendary performers like John Cena and Dave Bautista and run by another wrestling icon in Al Snow. However, things have changed at OVW, times are tough and new owners want the return of its erstwhile prestige. Wrestlers is the new seven-part docuseries that follows Snow after he is given one season to turn the struggling organization’s fortunes around, while managing all the drama, muscles, egos, and action along the way.
MOVIES
Elemental
Disney+ – 13 September 2023
Disney/Pixar’s latest animated feature film is set in a fantastical city where the elements – air, earth, water and fire – are just citizens living side by side, BUT NEVER MIXING! That’s the golden rule. One of these citizens is Ember, a young woman who has never ventured far from her comfort zone in Firetown, despite her fiery disposition. That’s all about to change though when she meets Wade, a water who turns her world upside down when he suggests she start living her life her way.
Significant Other
Showmax – 14 September 2023
Indie darling Maika Monroe stars with Jake Lacey in this tense nailbiter as a couple who take a remote backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest. However, what begins as a romantic break in nature soon turns dark when it starts to look like they may not be as alone as they thought, leaving behind a deadly mystery.
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Rental: Google Play Movies – R30 / Apple TV – R45
Purchase: Google Play Movies – R135 / Apple TV – R130
Arguably the best movie of 2023 (I would be the one doing the arguing) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the follow-up to the 2018 Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a masterpiece of animation and comic book storytelling. How do you live up to that? Make an even better masterpiece! Miles Morales is back and this time his multiversal adventures is taking him away from his home to far-out realities, as he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting all of existence. When Miles disagrees with them though on just how that protection should be done, it throws our young hero into the biggest challenge of his life. Our full review here.