I’m close to giving up on The Morning Show; the latest episode spends a lot of time building up to a twist that makes very little sense given the season so far. They only have three episodes left and a lot of plot to push forward. Luckily, Succession is getting good and juicy with the Roy siblings choosing sides, and I’m also getting caught up in Maid, mainly because of Margaret Qualley’s strong performance as Alex.
So much to watch, so little time.
We’re heavy into the sci-fi and fantasy realms in this week’s roundup, but there’s a little fashion and murder-mystery as well.
The Wheel of Time
We’ve seen a few glimpses of The Wheel of Time series based on the books by Robert Jordan, but this latest trailer shows us the beginning of the story, with Moiraine Damodred of the Aes Sedai trying to figure out how to stop the Dark One. She finds five magic using people she thinks could be the key (or keys) to saving the world (whether they’re up for it or not). Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, and Zoe Robins star in The Wheel of Time, which drops the first episode of its eight-episode season on Amazon Prime Video November 19th.
Note: You can watch this trailer as a “360 experience” (I didn’t think it really added a lot here, though)
The Witcher
We’ve seen a few teasers and sneak peeks and first-look clips from the second season of The Witcher and now we have a full-length trailer with some juicy details about what’s next for Geralt of Rivia and company. War with the Nilfgaardian Empire is looming, along with the possible “end of days” (which Geralt scoffs at), Geralt is hunting enormous monsters, and Ciri is tapping in to her powers while Jaskier is befriending some small rodents (rats? mice? something else entirely?). Henry Cavill, Freya Allen, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, Anna Shaffer, and Kim Bodnia star in season 2 of The Witcher, coming to Netflix December 17th.
Lightyear
At last, a Pixar movie that doesn’t immediately look like it will tear the hearts out of parents (honestly, I am still traumatized by Inside Out and Toy Story 3). Lightyear is the backstory of the “real” astronaut on whom the the Buzz Lightyear action figure from Toy Story is based. The teaser shows what looks like a familiar space exploration adventure, with the requisite aliens and spaceships, and Chris Evans provides the hero’s voice. Lightyear will be released June 17th, 2022.
House of Gucci
We have a second trailer for the movie about the Gucci family starring Lady Gaga, and of course everyone looks fabulous and beautiful, even though the “Italian” accents from the lead actors are… a little off? Based on the book by Sara Gay Forden, House of Gucci tells the story of Patrizia Reggiani’s marriage to Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), and her plot to hire an assassin to kill him. Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Salma Hayek also star in House of Gucci which arrives in theaters November 24th.
Servant
Look, you can only show me so many long, ominous, darkly-lit hallways before the trick gets old. In its first season this show had promise (and Lauren Ambrose gives a tremendous performance as Dorothy), but by season three it defies logic (and is beyond sadistic) that Dorothy’s family would continue to hide from her the truth about what happened to her baby. Maybe they’ll finally do the ethical thing. But now, apparently, the show is more interested in the cult that nanny Leanne (the servant of the show’s title) escaped from. If you’re still hoping for an M. Night Shyamalan plot twist, you can check out season three of Servant on Apple Plus TV starting January 21st.