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Thursday 28
“Possessions” (HBO Max streaming) You don’t see a lot of French/Hebrew-language thrillers out there. This dark, psychological series from France’s StudioCanal spins the story of Natalie (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), a young French expatriate living in Israel, who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim (Reda Kateb), a French diplomat in charge of helping French citizens who have to deal with the Israeli authorities, slowly falls for Natalie. But is this lovely young lady deeply lost and vulnerable, or dangerously manipulative?
Friday 29
“Great Escapists” (Amazon streaming) Richard Hammond (“Top Gear”) and Tory Belleci (“Mythbusters”) headline in this Cast Away-esque reality survival series in which the brainy buds are stranded on a desert island and tasked with feeding, clothing and sheltering themselves—and, ultimately, escaping.
“Jann” (Hulu streaming) From the executive producer of “Schitt’s Creek” comes this sitcom starring ’90s-era Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden as a “fictionalized, self-deprecating” version of herself, trying to relaunch her career “at a certain age.”
The Little Things (HBO Max streaming) HBO Max starts streaming films “day and date” with movie theaters. (Whatever those are. I can’t quite remember.) The first one of 2021 is this crime thriller starring Rami Malek, Denzel Washington, Jared Leto and Natalie Morales about a deputy sheriff sent to Los Angeles on a quick evidence-gathering trip who suddenly finds himself embroiled in the search for a serial killer.
The Dig (Netflix streaming) Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List) star in this erudite historical biopic about Edith Pretty, a British landowner who hired an amateur local archeologist to excavate her estate at Sutton Hoo. As archeology geeks know, they found some pretty cool stuff.
When a Stranger Calls (TCM Midnight) Carol Kane stars in this classic of the telephone-based horror thriller genre. She plays a babysitter terrorized by a psychopathic killer. Wes Craven’s Scream borrows a lot from this one. It was remade in 2006, but the original is much better.
Saturday 30
Wendy Williams: The Movie (Lifetime 6pm) Ciera Payton (“Tyler Perry’s The Oval”) stars in this biopic about notably outspoken and kinda kooky TV talker Wendy Williams, host of “The Wendy Williams Show.”
Snowkissed (Hallmark 7pm) Nice to know that Hallmark doesn’t need Santa or candy canes to keep up the snow-filled seasonal romcoms. Here, an uptight New York writer (Jen Lilley) falls for a hunky Canadian tour guide (Chris McNalley).
Sunday 31
“The Lady and the Dale” (HBO 7pm) HBO digs into the bizarre story of Elizabeth Carmichael, who took the auto industry by storm, marketing a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled vehicle during the ’70s gas crisis. Although she won over major car makers and investors, a web of mystery began to unfold regarding the car’s technology and Carmichael’s surprising past. It culminated, as all good things must, with an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries.”
“The Long Song” (KNME-5 9pm) The latest British period drama to hit “Masterpiece” is this adaptation of Andrea Levy’s award-winning 2010 novel about an indomitable young black girl (Tamara Lawrence) working on a plantation in Jamaica in the final days of slavery as a maid for a particularly cruel mistress (Hayley Atwell).
Monday 1
“Nostradamus: End of Days” (Discovery+ streaming) It’s been a few years since somebody dusted off Nostradamus’ rickety old “prophecies” and updated them so they sound like they apply to Donald Trump rather than Ronald Reagan or the Vietnam War or whatever the hot topic of the day was.
“The Investigation” (HBO 8pm) HBO manages to combine Nordic Noir and true crime with this procedural miniseries dramatizing the efforts of the Copenhagen Police’s homicide unit, headed by Jens Møller (Søren Malling), to solve the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. In case you forgot, the murder took place aboard a homemade submarine.
Tuesday 2
“Kid Cosmic” (Netflix streaming) Creator Craig McCracken (“The Powerpuff Girls,” “Dexter’s Laboratory”) rockets back to animation with this space-age superhero.
Fake Famous (HBO 7pm) First-time director and veteran journalist Nick Bilto conducts a documentary experiment, taking three unknown Angelenos and turning them into “famous influencers” by purchasing fake followers and bots to engage with their social media accounts.
Wednesday 3
“Firefly Lane” (Netflix streaming) Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) star in this adaptation of Kristen Hannah’s 2008 novel about two best friends supporting one another through good and bad times, from their teens to their 40s.
“Super Bowl Greatest Commercials 2021” (KRQE-13 7pm) What’s Super Bowl Week without a look back at the best beer commercials of past years?
“Reset” (Vice 8pm) Fans of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, take note: Vice kicks off its new video game docu-series by looking back at the history of “fighting games.”