What We're Watching Wednesdays: April
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Once a month, a quick write up of select television series that are presently on will be made, as to detail shows mid season and keep up with all of the current programs.
Welcome to our first edition of What We’re Watching Wednesdays, where each month (doesn’t matter which week, but just a Wednesday to get us through to the next half of the week) I will be detailing five of the current shows I’ve been keeping up with or that has been on my radar, with reception, current thoughts, and speculations included. I will conclude each article with a shoutout to upcoming shows and/or seasons I am looking forward to and why. There’s nothing more to it than that.
The April edition kicks off a month of promise, with the resolution of some series (mini and long), the return of a beloved show (finally), and other surprises. Which show has been the strongest? Which came from out of nowhere? Which needs to improve at all? Check it out!
Atlanta Season 3: It’s Back, Baby!
Not only is the beloved satire Atlanta finally back with its third season, but it has so far been fantastic. The first episode is the biggest deviation from the series entirely, with a Get Out-esque look at a young boy that has been swooped up from his home and forced to assimilate in a family of adopted children. This is actually heavily inspired by the tragic Hart family murder-suicide of 2018, and it feels like Stephen Glover’s way of informing the many viewers — itching for more Earn, Paper Boi, and company’s shenanigans — of the horrors that many of us never even knew happened. It’s a gutsy way to kick off an anticipated season, but Atlanta wouldn’t be Atlanta without some bold risks. The following two episodes are more in line with the show, as Earn and friends are now traversing Europe (we’ve seen Copenhagen and London so far), exactly as the second season resolved (the leads at the airport and ready to tour). Even then, season three has had some additionally shocking moments (the “Tupac” climax, for instance), proving that Donald Glover and the other beloved minds (including brother Stephen) knew that they needed to make this season count for something.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty: Regular Season Strong, But is it Playoff Ready?
I’d like to think that Don’t Look Up is as lopsided as it is because Adam McKay and his usual team were busy focusing on Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty instead. The first episode had me completely enthralled. As a basketball obsessive, seeing this explosive take on the Showtime era Lakers dynasty felt exactly like my kind of miniseries. It is shot in a variety of formats (film of varying styles, “aged” video) and pieced together to look like a Frankenstein’d documentary, and it’s quite convincing at times (believe me, I have an eye for fake-aged works). The cast is electrifying (John C. Reilly as business mogul Jerry Buss, for instance, is perfect). My first concern was how self-concerned the series may be, especially if it is willing to go by its own melody (has anyone else ever heard of Jerry West being a violent hothead?). A few episodes in and the frantic editing and embellishments are getting a little concerning as they distance me from what I’m watching; is this the same-old McKay falling to his same overuse of tropes? We still have a big chunk of Winning Time left, and I’m still interested, but I’m also hoping that this program tidies itself up a bit.
Pachinko: Apple TV+’s Latest Secret
When you get the attention of television royalty like Damon Lindelof, you’re doing something right. Apple TV+ continues to defy the odds when it comes to finally churning out hit after hit, and Pachinko is an overnight success that has only just begun. This gorgeous and moving miniseries — based on Min Jin Lee’s novel of the same name — already has been showcasing its massive scope (regarding the ripple effects of immigration, bigotry, and other societal shifts and turmoils), and we’re only four episodes into this mini epic. Pachinko concludes by the end of the month, and I’m sure it will retain its stature by the end of the year (when the tallying of the best shows of 2022 come out).
Peaky Blinders Season Six: Going Down Blazing
The rock and roll period piece series is finally done, and what an explosive final season that has been. All of the ghosts of Thomas Shelby and the titular gang have collided, exactly when the world became at odds with itself (war, recession, and other tribulations). Peaky Blinders’ swan song season makes up for the weaker (yet still great) fifth season and concludes a strong series exactly as it should have been. This many seasons worth of build up felt like they really mean something.
Tune in to my fuller review of this season tomorrow.
The Dropout: The Dysfunctional Home of Elizabeth Holmes
We’re one episode away from The Dropout finishing, and this sickening story has been pretty good so far. The rise-and-fall-and-fall-and-fall-and-fall-a… of Elizabeth Holmes (played quite well by Amanda Seyfried, quirks and all) feels like a Cliffnotes version of the full story, and yet it still has kept my interest for its entire duration. Those familiar with Theranos and the scams and deceptions of one of America’s most disgraced moguls won’t get anything new out of this take, but perhaps they may stick around for the magnetic coldness of Holmes and the series as a whole (with an against-type Stephen Fry as the late Ian Gibbons, and a frightening performance of Sunny Balwani by Naveen Andrews as additional highlights). The Dropout is short enough to warrant a try. Let’s see if it sticks its landing.
Stay Tuned:
Better Call Saul Season Six Part I: This Vince Gilligan/Peter Gould prequel/sequel is finally wrapping up, with both parts being released this year (we start on April 18th with two episodes of the first half). We know roughly what will happen (especially for Jimmy McGill, considering, well, Breaking Bad), but I’m excited to see what comes of this final season. I’m expecting bloodbaths, torment, and surprises nonetheless.
Undone Season Two: Raphael Bob-Waksberg seems to have hit another home run post Bojack Horseman with the rotoscoped Undone. We are finally getting the second season at the end of the month (April 29th). Who knows what is in store for us outside of — what I can only assume will be — some of the most spellbinding television of the year.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from X University (formerly known as Ryerson), as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.