TV Watchlist: Natalie Portman Gets Her Own Prestige Crime Drama, Simone Biles Doc Hits Netflix

Plus the finale of "The Acolyte" and the premiere of Roland Emmerich's gladiator epic "Those About to Die" Week of July 13 - 19 Ready to get classy? This week’s offerings are anchored by a pair of starry literary thrillers, with Natalie Portman in “Lady in the Lake” and Forest Whitaker in “Emperor of Ocean Park,” a ton of compelling documentaries (“Skywalkers: A Love Story,” “Simone Biles Rising” and “Wild Wild Space”), plus the finale of the latest “Star Wars” show (“The Acolyte”), a family action sequel (“My Spy: The Eternal City”) and a genuine Roman epic (“Those About to Die”). There’s also a naughty supervillain animated series (“Kite Man, Hell Yeah!”), you know, for funsies. On with the television! Lady in the Lake Friday, July 19, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ Prestige crime drama alert! Natalie Portman, in her first major television role, stars in “Lady in the Lake,” a thriller based on the novel of the same name by Laura Lippman, one of the great, most underrated American suspense writers. Portman plays an investigative journalist in Baltimore in the 1960s, who is looking into a pair of unsolved murders – an 11-year-old girl and a bartender named Cleo Sherwood (played by Moses Ingram, from “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” in a role originally earmarked for Lupita Nyong’o). The series was developed by Alma Har'el, a former documentarian who made her narrative feature debut with “Honey Boy” a few years back, and features episodes written by Boaz Yakin, an underrated American filmmaker (and Har’el’s ex-husband). The cast for “Lady in the Lake” also includes Y'lan Noel, Mikey Madison, Brett Gelman, Noah Jupe, Mike Epps, Pruitt Taylor Vince and future Superman David Corenswet. With episodes streaming until the end of August, “Lady in the Lake” should be the classy, edge-of-your-seat whodunnit that will keep us guessing through the dog days of summer. [[TRAILER](] The Acolyte Wednesday, July 17, Disney+ Source: Lucasfilm The latest “Star Wars” live-action series is coming to an end. “The Acolyte,” created by Leslye Headland and set in a hitherto unexplored corner of the galaxy far, far away’s history (the High Republic), was alternately exhilarating and exasperating. But even at its most patience-testing, there was always something alluring about “The Acolyte,” with its story of twin Jedis who have strayed from the path and end up in a murderous battle against the teachers that made them (quite literally). Among the questions still left unanswered: will this be a single season or will, like “The Mandalorian,” the show come back for multiple installments? (Headland has suggested that the initial plan was for a few seasons but no formal plans have been revealed.) Also: who will survive the final confrontation? It all comes down to this episode of “The Acolyte.” [[TRAILER](] My Spy: The Eternal City Thursday, July 18, Prime Video Source: Prime Video Streaming’s most unlikely franchise (hey, we’re still waiting on another “Gray Man”), “My Spy” debuted on Prime Video during the pandemic, where it delivered big numbers and inspired this week’s sequel, “My Spy: The Eternal City.” Dave Bautista stars as a CIA agent, once again teamed with a young child (Chloe Coleman). This time he’s accompanying her on a school trip to Italy, a location that has nothing to do with the country’s generous tax incentives (we’re sure), when all hell breaks loose. The movie is once again directed and co-written by Peter Segal, a comedy favorite thanks to hits like “Anger Management” and the second Eddie Murphy “Nutty Professor” movie, along with returning players Ken Jeong and Kristen Schaal. Anna Faris and Flula Borg are newcomers to the franchise, having the time of their life, we’re sure. Another thing we’re sure of: there will be a third “My Spy” before we get another “Gray Man.” [[TRAILER](] Skywalkers: A Love Story Friday, July 19, Netflix Source: Netflix Another breakout from this year’s Sundance Film Festival (the wide-eyed way viewers said the movie was “wild”), “Skywalkers: A Love Story” isn’t set in a galaxy far, far away, but is instead a romance between Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau. Beerkus and Nikolau are the titular “skywalkers” – daredevils who take part in a phenomenon known as “roof-topping,” where they climb rooftops, scaffolding, cranes and other tall structures, usually in pursuit of truly amazing photographs. It’s incredibly dangerous and has led to many deaths. In 2017 it became a popular craze in Russia and apparently it’s how Beerkus and Nikolau (both Russian) fell for one another. “Skywalkers” was directed by five-time Emmy winner Jeff Zimbalist and co-directed by co-directed by Maria Bukhonina. It’s the kind of documentary that will probably give you vertigo. [[TRAILER](] Spartacus Starz Source: Starz This week brings “Those About to Die,” an epic (and very expensive) sword-and-sandal extravaganza on Peacock (see below). But if you’re looking for more basic pleasures, you could do worse than revisit “Spartacus,” the series that brought “300”-like visual spectacle to the small screen. Created by Steven S. DeKnight, a veteran of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” and Sam Raimi, the visionary filmmaker behind “Evil Dead” and “A Simple Plan,” “Spartacus” was, for a while, the touchstone series for Starz. It starred Andy Whitfield as the title character, who ascends from slave to revolutionary, and featured some dazzling fight sequences that were genuinely stylized and shocking. (Whitfield, sadly, passed away at the age of 39.) The series lasted for three seasons, along with a prequel miniseries that was completed while Whitfield could recover from his illness. It’s a ton of low-rent fun and very much worth watching if you have never seen it before. Because it’s never too late to enjoy a guilty pleasure. [[WATCH](] Source: Peacock “Emperor of Ocean Park” Sunday, July 14, MGM+ If “Lady in the Lake” has you hungry for more literary thrillers, then “Emperor of Ocean Park” should do the trick. Based on the acclaimed 2002 bestseller, the series follows a law professor (Grantham Coleman) whose father, a powerful judge (Forest Whitaker) dies of an apparent heart attack. But his death raises concerns, and an investigation follows. (The judge was a shoo-in for the Supreme Court.) John Wells, veteran of “ER” and “Third Watch,” is among the series’ executive producers. This should be good. [[TRAILER](] “Simone Biles Rising” Wednesday, July 17, Netflix We love a good Olympics documentary and this one sounds terrific. This four-episode series follows Biles, who withdrew from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games even though she was a frontrunner for several gold medals, as she prepares to take on the world once again in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Per the official synopsis the documentary traces Biles “as she balances her personal life, mental health journey and training ahead of a highly anticipated return to the Olympics.” We are so in. [[TRAILER](] “Wild Wild Space” Wednesday, July 17, Max This new documentary, according to the official synopsis, “chronicles the modern-day, celestial land grab happening above our heads. It’s a fast paced, high-stakes race of epic proportions in which companies compete to blast satellite-carrying rockets into low earth orbit. From exhilarating triumphs to gut-wrenching setbacks, we witness the fierce competition to tackle humanity’s next great frontier. However, beneath the shiny veneer of progress is the dark side of capitalism’s insatiable appetite for profit and the far-reaching reverberations of a world controlled from the skies.” Beam us up. [[TRAILER](] “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” Thursday, July 18, Max Perhaps the unlikeliest superhero-adjacent animated series, “Kite Man: Hell Yeah!” is a spin-off of the wonderful adult animated “Harley Quinn” streaming series and developed by Dean Lorey, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, all veterans of that original animated series. In the new show Kite Man (Matt Oberg) and Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) open a bar for supervillains in the shadow of the Legion of Doom. With an all-star supporting cast that includes Jonathan Banks, Lance Reddick and Keith David, along with Kaley Cuoco and Lake Bell reprising their roles as Harley and Poison Ivy, this should be a ton of fun. Think “Cheers” meets “The Suicide Squad.” [[TRAILER](] “Those About to Die” Thursday, July 18, Peacock Everybody is talking about the “Gladiator II” trailer, which debuted this week ahead of the movie’s Thanksgiving release, but there’s plenty of gladiatorial fun to be had in “Those About to Die,” based on a nonfiction book that also partially inspired Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece. This new iteration was written by “Braveheart’s” Robert Rodat and directed, in part, by Roland Emmerich, the king of big screen mayhem (his credits include “Independence Day” and “2012”). Also Anthony Hopkins plays a Roman emperor, so it’s got that going on. Bring it on. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](