The season is wrapping up…

Bocce season is coming to a close, as is golf season and final dinners have been scheduled. I will host my last movie club in a new weeks, and today we are looking forward to the Treviso Bay Choir final performance. It’s kind of sad, but it has been a great season. Meanwhile, here are a few viewing suggestions for you:

Live on Stage

Six the Musical (at Artis Naples) The British mnemonic device for remembering the 6 wives of Henry VIII is as follows:

Divorced (Catherine of Aragon)

Beheaded (Anne Boleyn)

Died (Jane Seymour)

Divorced (Anne of Cleves)

Beheaded (Katherine Howard)

Survived (Catherine Parr)

The musical brings all 6 to life as they tell their stories to very contemporary music. Lively, but I found it a little long at only 80 minutes. Not in the same league as many other contemporary musicals we’ve seen lately including &Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Tina, etc. Always nice to celebrate musical theatre at Artis Naples.

ABC

Will Trent (Season 2, 8 episodes) Special Agent Will Trent was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Determined to make sure no one feels as he did, he now has the highest clearance rate. So eccentric!

Abbott Elementary (Mockumentary, 50 episodes) If you’re not watching this workplace comedy, you are missing something truly delightful. Great cast, great scripts.

The Good Doctor (126 episodes) The autistic surgeon is now married with a baby!!

Apple

Masters of the Air (9 episodes) During WWII, five miles above the ground and behind enemy lines ten men inside a bomber known as a “Flying Fortress” battle unrelenting flocks of German fighters. Stars Austin Butler and Callum Turner (and newcomer Barry Keoghan, from Saltburn) lead a terrific ensemble cast. I was really transported by this period piece which features incredible scenes of the B-17’s in action. An Apple Original Series from Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman – the producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific. During WWII, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.

Constellation (8 episodes) Jo returns to earth after a disaster in space and discovers that there are missing pieces in her life, so she sets out to expose the truth about the hidden secrets of space travel and recover what she has lost. Stars Noomi Rapace Jonathan Banks, James D’Arcy. Haunting and mesmerizing.

The New Look  (10 episodes) Explores the rise of fashion designer Christian Dior as he dethrones Coco Chanel and helps return spirit and life to the world with his iconic imprint of beauty and influence. Stars Ben Mendelsohn and Juliette Binoche and Maisie Williams. I love this series!!!

Manhunt (7 episodes) The aftermath of the first American presidential assassination and the fight to preserve and protect the ideals that were the foundation of Lincoln’s Reconstruction plans. Tobias Menzies and Anthony Boyle (Masters of the Air) star. Intriguing first two episodes!

CBS

FBI, FBI International, FBI Most Wanted (Ok, this is all rather formulaic stuff, but I get a hoot out of the incredibly flat acting of all three series, which I think of as Original, Crispy and Extra Crispy). So amazing that the FBI can solve every case within a 1 hr time period. It is the formula that viewers respond so warmly to on the Mother Ship series Law & Order and all its spin-offs.

Elsbeth (10 episodes) Elsbeth Tascioni,, an unconventional attorney, gives her singular point of view to make observations to catch criminals alongside the NYPD. If you loved Carrie Preston on The Good Wife, The Good Fight, etc., you will love her ditzy persona in this. I love her!!!

CBS News Sunday Morning (since 1979, 827 episodes) This is my Sunday morning mainstay as I find its magazine format extremely soothing featuring interviews with actors, political figures, athletes, musicians costume designers, fashion designers, etc. My moment of Zen.

60 Minutes (since 1968, 2198 episodes) Classic prime time TV Investigative news magazine. The hard version of CBS Sunday Morning.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (since 2015). Broadcasts from the Ed Sullivan theatre in New York. I love his monologues!

Comedy Central 

The Daily Show (since 1996 with several changes of host and hiatuses) It’s now back with Jon Stewart taking the host duties on Mondays and his regular anchors taking the other nights of the week. Political satire!!

FX

Feud: Capote vs The Swans (8 episodes) I watched or snoozed through all 8 episodes of this series which does feature an amazing cast of actresses playing Capote’s coterie of society women. I have stayed with the show which is almost unbearably melancholy as it follows Capote’s self-destructive path.

Shogun (10 episodes) When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales and devastate his enemies. Stars Cosmo Jarvis. So far, so good as I have watched the first two episodes. Absorbing!

HBO/MAX

The Girls on the Bus (10 episodes) Four female journalists who follow the every move of a parade of flawed presidential candidates, finding friendship, love, and a scandal that could take down not just the presidency but our entire democracy along the way. Stars Melissa Benoist and Carla Gugino. I watched the first two episodes and found it flawed and cliched, but still watchable.

Tokyo Vice (Returns for a second season of 10 episodes) Hired as Meicho Shibun’s first American crime reporter, Jake Edelstein is quickly tasked with covering two cases the initially appear unrelated, but soon stakes his career – and life – on connecting the dots. Ansel Elgort’s Japanese seems pretty good to me!

The Regime (6 episodes) Kate Winslet stars in this limited series as the Chancellor of an unnamed Central European nation that is unraveling being the palace walls.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (10 episodes) Larry David stars as an over-the-top version of himself in this comedy series that shows how seemingly trivial details of day-to-day life can precipitate a catastrophic chain of events. Cringe comedy!

Last Week Tonight with Jon Oliver and Real Time with Bill Maher both continue their runs on HBO satirizing politics and current events.

NBC

Law & Order (892 episodes since 1990) Still solving crimes and bringing criminals to justice!!! Now starring Hugh Dancy and Reid Scott! I never watched this show in its heyday, but now I can’t resist its torn from the headlines plots. Spoiler alert: Sam Waterston has left the show after 30 years in the same role and was replaced by Tony Goldwyn who seems like kind of a snake in his first appearance!!!

Jeopardy (Nightly, 8892 episodes) I just realized that in Naples, this syndicated show appears on NBC! Ken Jennings is back hosting! The Invitational Tournament is now in full swing. Enjoy!!

PBS 

Call the Midwife (returning for their fourteenth season) Chronicles the lives of a group of midwives living in East London from the 1950’s to 1960. Tear jerking!!!

Nolly on Masterpiece (3 episodes) Exploring the rise and fall from grace of the inimitable British soap star, Noele Gordon (played by Helena Bonham Carter). 

Alice and Jack on Masterpiece (6 episodes) Follows the story of a 16-year relationship between two imperfect lovers and its highs and lows (stars Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough) Enjoy!!!

Netflix

The Guv’nor (1 h 25 m) A feature documentary about the life of Lenny McLean, as seen through the eyes of his only son, Jamie. If you like Guy Ritchie films, this doc is for you as it’s about a typical street criminals rise in the East End of London.

Irish Wish (1 h 33 m) I watched this very silly romantic comedy on St. Patrick’s Day. When the love of Maddie’s life gets engaged to her best friend, she puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Lindsay Lohan is actually pretty good in this and there is beautiful footage of Ireland.

3 Body Problem (8 episodes) A fateful decision made in 1960’s China reverberates in the present where a group of scientists partner with a detective to confront an existential planetary threat. Stars Liam Cunningham. For Science fiction lovers!

Sex Education (32 episodes) A teenage boy with a sex therapist mother teams up with a high school classmate to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school. I resisted watching this teen comedy when it first came out, but have actually enjoyed watching it this past week. Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson star. Watch for Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless) as moms and a surprisingly effective Jemima Kirke as an evil Head Teacher.

Closing Words

We just received word that our son David and his family will not be joining us in Naples because of recurring ear infections with our grandson. I am sad and was really looking forward to a visit with them, but we can now proceed to empty our fridge and pantry in preparation for closing the place down as we get ready to head home around April 24. For my last movie club, I am hoping to find All of us Strangers starring Andrew Scott, which has had rave reviews recently. Here is a trailer: