TV Watchlist: 'Doctor Who' and The Beatles Return to Disney+, Netflix Has a New Romcom

Plus Apple has another new twisty sci-fi drama Week of May 4 – 10 Now that we’re in May, it’s starting to feel like summer. And that means that the blockbusters aren’t just hitting the big screen, they’re arriving at home too. This week we’ve got the new season of “Doctor Who,” now a BBC/Disney co-production, a Brooke Shields/Benjamin Bratt romcom (“Mother of the Bride”) and starry new series on Netflix (“Bodkin”) and Apple TV+ (“Dark Matter”). Plus, celebrate Star Wars Day with a new series of animated shorts (“Tales of the Empire”). If that wasn’t enough, the Beatles’ “Let It Be” returns after decades of unavailability and “Dark Side of the Ring” ends its fifth season. On with the television! Doctor Who Friday, May 10, Disney+ Source: Disney+ Who’s on first! “Doctor Who” returns, after a series of delightful Christmas specials last year that culminated in “The Church on Ruby Road,” which aired on Christmas Day and technically serves as the first episode of this new season. Ncuti Gatwa stars as the new Doctor, an effervescent live-wire of a time lord, with Millie Gibson his new companion Ruby Sunday. If you are a longtime “Doctor Who” fan, you are undoubtedly already excited, but for those who have never stepped foot inside a TARDIS before, well, this is as good an on-ramp as any. Not only are the new Doctor and his companion so undeniably wonderful, but the new episodes have a lot of heart and an additional level of spectacle, thanks to the show now being a co-production between BBC One and Disney. (That’s right, they’re getting some extra love!) The third episode, “The Devil’s Chord,” sees them traveling back in time to interact with the Beatles, where they of course meet a sinister force. That episode has elaborate visual effects, sets and costumes, that would seem impossible in any previous incarnation of the series. This “Doctor Who” is bigger, better and more accessible for a global audience. What’s better than that? [[TRAILER](] Dark Side of the Ring Tuesday, May 7 at 10 p.m., Vice Source: Vice “Dark Side of the Ring” is one of the best shows on television. And it has been for the past five seasons. Each episode digs up some dark story from wrestling’s past, everything from the Von Erich Curse, which was later turned into “The Iron Claw” (see below), to broader topics like Fronter Martial-Arts Wrestling, a super violent, Japanese-based wrestling outfit. For the finale of the fifth season, its 50th episode (!), the series focuses on Black Saturday, when Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (now known as the WWE) took over the timeslot on TBS that had previously aired Georgia Championship Wrestling and its series “World Championship Wrestling,” for the previous 12 years. It was the first step in McMahon’s vile ascendancy and near total takeover of the wrestling market and would pit him against media mogul Ted Turner. Truly, the first step in that man’s dark destiny. [[TRAILER](] Mother of the Bride Thursday, May 9, Netflix Source: Netflix This looks adorable. “Mother of the Bride,” directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls,” “Freaky Friday”) stars Brooke Shields as the titular mom, who is attending her daughter’s destination wedding in Thailand. While there she meets the father of her soon-to-be son-in-law, played by Benjamin Bratt. As it turns out, Shields and Bratt were an item in college and haven’t seen each other since. Now that they’re both single, will sparks fly? (Yes, yes they will.) Combining the time-honored romantic comedy tradition of a destination wedding with long-simmering romance, “Mother of the Bride” will likely be a ton of fun. Miranda Cosgrove, Chad Michael Murray, Rachael Harris and Michael McDonald co-star. Ready to fall in love? [[TRAILER](] Let It Be Wednesday, May 8, Disney+ Source: Disney+ Following in the footsteps of Peter Jackson’s “The Beatles: Get Back,” which was comprised of footage from the “Let It Be” sessions that Jackson painstakingly restored, the original documentary finally returns. “Let It Be” has been out of print since the 1980s, with attempts in recent years to bring the documentary to home video failing spectacularly. Thankfully, following “Get Back,” Jackson has restored the original documentary to all of its glory, using the same practices that made “Get Back” such an eye-popping wonder. This marks the first time Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s “Let It Be” has been broadcast since its original theatrical exhibition. Jackson told Rolling Stone: “I now think of it all as one epic story, finally completed after five decades. The two projects support and enhance each other: ‘Let It Be’ is the climax of ‘Get Back,’ while ‘Get Back’ provides a vital missing context for ‘Let It Be.’ Michael Lindsay-Hogg was unfailingly helpful and gracious while I made ‘Get Back,’ and it’s only right that his original movie has the last word … looking and sounding far better than it did in 1970.” [[TRAILER](] The Iron Claw Max Source: A24 “The Iron Claw,” released over Christmas by A24, was a sleeper hit. But its somewhat baffling lack of Oscar nominations kept it from ever being a mainstream success. Now that it’s streaming on Max, part of a newly minted output deal with A24, you can make your own decision – did “The Iron Claw” deserve more awards love and bigger box office? Or did it land where it needed to be? Based on the story of the Von Erichs, a group of Texas professional wrestlers who suffered through a unique series of personal tragedies, each more crippling than the last. (It was brought to life, perhaps more successfully, in an episode of the aforementioned “Dark Side of the Ring.”) The brothers are played here by Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson, all bulked up and unrecognizable, with writer/director Sean Durkin struggling to find the light in a story filled with the kind of darkness that can blot out the sun. Holt McCallany’s performance as the boys’ mercurial father was perhaps the most curious snub; he’s a force of nature so strong that you can feel the center of gravity change every time he’s in a scene. “The Iron Claw” will leave you bruised. [[WATCH](] Source: Apple TV+ “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” Saturday, May 4, Disney+ Would you look at that? It’s May the Fourth aka Star Wars Day! And this year Disney+ is delivering a second season of its “Star Wars: Tales” series; last year gave us “Tales of the Jedi,” with short-ish episodes devoted to Jedi both pure of heart and those that had lost their way. This year, it’s “Tales of the Empire,” focusing on Imperial creeps like Thrawn the Inquisitors. (The trailer also teases an appearance from Darth Vader himself.) These new episodes are done in a slightly elevated version of the style seen in “The Clone Wars” and “The Bad Batch,” and should be a fun Star Wars Day treat. Long live the Empire. [[TRAILER](] “Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story” Monday, May 6 at 10 p.m., Nat Geo This documentary, which premiered earlier this year at South by Southwest, this heart-warming documentary will, without a doubt, make you cry your eyes out. (Don’t believe us, watch the trailer.) This is the official description: “In a place where land ends and the sea takes over – Scotland’s Shetland Islands – an orphaned otter washes up against Billy and Susan’s isolated jetty. At first utterly dependent on the couple for her survival, the “wee girl” they name Molly quickly captures their hearts, with Billy particularly besotted. This irresistible documentary spins a tale of love and longing in its depiction of the emotional bond between Billy and the playful creature. The melancholic man finds joy, a new connection to the natural world, and purpose in caring for Molly and preparing her for independent life.” Told you! Tears! [[TRAILER](] “Dark Matter” Wednesday, May 8, Apple TV+ Adapted from the critically acclaimed sci-fi novel of the same name, “Dark Matter” follows Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), who is abducted and thrust into an alternate version of his life. But how does he get back to his own reality? And who is living the life he left behind? Original author Blake Crouch is deeply involved in the new series, serving as showrunner and writing or co-writing almost every episode, and the cast also includes Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson and Oakes Fegley, which is fun. While the whole multiverse thing is wearing thin, this looks like a thrilling new series. [[TRAILE](R] “Bodkin” Thursday, May 9, Netflix The first scripted series from the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company, “Bodkin” is a mystery series set on an Irish coast town. It stars Will Forte, Siobhán Cullen and Robyn Cara, and seems to be going for a slightly darker “Only Murders in the Building” vibe with some folk horror embroidery. We’re so in. [[TRAILER](] “The Guardian of the Monarchs” Thursday, May 9, Netflix Like nature documentaries? What about true crime documentaries? How about a single documentary feature that deliciously combines both. “The forests of Michoacán are home to millions of monarch butterflies. Activist Homero Gómez was highly vocal about its preservation – and then he vanished,” reads the synopsis. How intriguing is that? [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](