Spring TV Watchlist: Max Launches With New 'Clone High', Schwarzenegger Makes His TV Debut

Plus the Kardashians return and Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne try to stay "Platonic" Week of May 20 - 26 Another week, another gazillion options for what to watch! This week we’ve got a flashy new Disney+ series (“American Born Chinese”), Arnold Schwarzenegger’s streaming debut, a Donna Summer documentary and a “Gremlins” animated prequel series. Plus Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne reuniting for “Platonic” and the return of the Kardashians! Also it’s worth noting that on May 23, HBO Max becomes Max. How will that work? Do we do anything special? Who knows! But there are a ton of great shows (including a new season of “Clone High”) to watch on the renamed service. What a week! On with the television! American Born Chinese Wednesday, May 24, Disney+ Source: Disney+ New Disney+ series ahoy! “American Born Chinese,” based on the award-winning 2006 graphic novel written and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang, follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), an average teenager who is tasked with giving the new kid in school Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu) the lay of the land. Well it turns out Wei-Chen is actually battling immortal Chinese mythological figures and Jin will be a part of his quest. Sounds really cool and charming right? Just wait until you learn that Destin Daniel Cretton is one of the directors and executive producers of the show. Or that the cast also includes Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu, Stephanie Hsu, Poppy Liu, Ronny Chieng, James Hong, Rosalie Chiang (from “Turning Red”), Jimmy O. Yang and Lisa Lu. That’s right – almost the entire cast of the Oscar-winning “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is present and account for. How great is that? Hopefully “American Born Chinese” is as good as it sounds – and as popular, too. It would be cool if a non-“Star Wars”-or-Marvel-Studios series could really take off on the platform. This could certainly be the one. [[TRAILER](] Citadel Friday, May 26, Prime Video Source: Prime Video The second most expensive show of all time reaches its first season finale! And if you’re already in love with the world that the Russo Brothers and various collaborators have brought to life, full of warring spies and flirty banter, fret not. The show will be back for a second season (at least) and the series’ global expansion will march on, with localized versions of the series, telling brand new stories in the “Citadel” universe, are on deck. So don’t think of this as a “goodbye,” think of it as a “see you real soon.” Because with “Citadel,” they’re just getting started. [[TRAILER](] Blood & Gold Friday, May 26, Netflix Source: Netflix This is the official Netflix description for “Blood & Gold:” “At the bitter end of WWII, a German deserter and a young woman are drawn into bloody battle with a group of Nazis hunting for hidden gold.” Seems straightforward enough (and a little bit like the recent Finnish film “Sisu”). But the trailer for the movie that Netflix released, with its scratchy, “Grindhouse”-y vibe, makes it seem much more fun than the logline. Also worth noting that “Blood & Gold” was directed by Peter Thorwarth, the genuinely bonkers filmmaker behind “Bang Boom Bang” and vampires-versus-terrorists-on-a-plane thriller “Blood Red Sky” (which was a sleeper hit on Netflix). We have a feeling this will be insane and very fun. [[TRAILER](] Love to Love You, Donna Summer Sunday, May 20 at 8 p.m., HBO Source: HBO The first lady of disco finally gets the documentary that she deserves. Directed by Roger Ross Williams (who made “Life, Animated”) and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano, the documentary charts Summer’s rise as a disco sensation (even though her staunchly religious upbringing made the more risqué aspects of the songs uncomfortable for her), her groundbreaking collaboration with the equally legendary Giorgio Moroder, her mental instability, her falling out with the gay community (when she commented that it’s “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” seemingly unaware of who had kept her music alive for decades) and her battle with lung cancer, which ultimately took her life in 2012. She was only 63. Considering how many reinventions Madonna has, it would have been amazing to imagine what she would have done later in life. Featuring archival footage and new interviews with key collaborators, friends and family members, “Love to Love You, Donna Summer” looks to be the ultimate portrayal of a true cultural trailblazer. Turn this one up. [[TRAILER](] Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Paramount+ Source: Paramount Paramount snuck this one onto the service last week, so that makes it our re-watch of the week. Because you really will want to re-watch this one. One of 2023’s biggest – and very best – surprises, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” takes the beloved role-playing game (first published back in 1974) and makes it a big, rich, hilarious fantasy adventure. Chris Pine plays a bard and former spy who teams up with a barbarian (Michelle Rodriguez), a sorcerer (Justice Smith), a shape-shifting druid (Sophia Lillis) and a knight (Regé-Jean Page) to take down a charlatan (Hugh Grant) who is in cahoots with some very dark wizards. Somehow, the movie was able to replicate the anything goes, improvisational spirit of actually playing “Dungeons & Dragons,” without ever getting bogged down in the lore and cumbersome mythology that derails so many of these types of movies. (If you’ve never rolled a six-sided dice in your life, you’ll still have a great time.) Smartly directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, whose last film was the unimpeachable classic “Game Night,” the filmmakers make sure to fill every frame with color, imagination and very good jokes. Put aside your preconceived notions of what the original role-playing game was (or the awful 2000 movie that saw Jeremy Irons acting opposite a jerkily animated dragon) and just go along for the ride. It’s just the best. [[WATCH](] Source: Netflix “Clone High” Tuesday, May 23, Max “Clone High,” the cult animated series that aired on MTV for a single season in the early 2000s, is back. Originally created by Bill Lawrence, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who all return in some capacity, this new iteration of the series (once again starring Will Forte, Nicole Sullivan along with Miller and Lord) has all the humor and heart of the original series, plus a winking acknowledgement of the first series’ more problematic aspects. If you are a fan of the original series, this will be a wonderful return to form, without a hiccup. And if you have never seen the show, you can jump right in – the animation is beautiful, the jokes are wonderful (the freedom of the streaming platform allows for some more ribald humor) and the concept (it’s set in a high school full of clones of famous historical figures) still resonates. It’s the best! [[TRAILER](] “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” Tuesday, May 23, Max You know the rules: don’t feed them after midnight, don’t expose them to bright and don’t get them wet. There must have been another rule too, which is: don’t make an unnecessary sequel or spin-off. (There hasn’t been a filmed “Gremlins” thing since “Gremlins 2” in 1990.) The new animated series “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” actually takes place in the 1920s, as we meet a young Gizmo and the character who would later be known as Mr. Wing, the shop owner who the Peltzer family encounters in the first movie, as they travel around Chinese encountering evil gremlins and other mythological creatures. The only question we have is how did it take this long to make a cute and scary "Gremlins" animated spin-off? [[TRAILER](] “Platonic” Wednesday, May 24, Apple TV+ Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen reunite with their “Neighbors” director Nick Stoller, who created this new series with Francesca Delbanco. Byrne and Rogen play two adult friends who reconnect, and the series follows the drama and confusion that surrounds this rekindled friendship. Can a man and a woman be BFFs without any kind of romantic sparks flying? This is the central question of “Platonic.” And based on the trailer it looks very funny and very sweet. Will it be weird watching two charming, attractive people and rooting for them to not get together? We’ll find out soon enough. [[TRAILER](] “FUBAR” Thursday, May 25, Netflix Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first series regular role is in “FUBAR,” an action comedy series from “Reacher” writer/producer Nick Santora. In the show, Schwarzenegger is a CIA agent posing as a family man who finds out that his daughter (Monica Barbaro from “Top Gun: Maverick”) is also in the agency. Much hilarity ensues. It’s fun to watch Schwarzenegger back in his “True Lies” mode and Barbaro is a perfect foil. If you’re looking for something funny and action-packed (especially with “Citadel” ending this week), look no further. [[TRAILER](] “The Kardashians” Thursday, May 25, Hulu Your favorite fun-loving billionaire family is back! Apparently this season addresses some of the more dramatic developments in the gang’s personal lives (including Khloe’s on-again/off-again relationship with professional basketball player Tristan Thompson). You can also watch this season to see if you can spot me, quizzically peering over a railing at the Century City mall while Kim unveils a new product line. Will I make the cut? Only one way to find out! [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](