TV Watchlist: True Crime Galore, A Revamped 'Rick and Morty' and Ken Burns Tackles the Buffalo

Plus the season finale of "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" and a time-hopping murder mystery on Netflix Week of October 14 – 20 Some weeks are heavy with one genre or subject matter; this week we are overrun with quality documentaries. How great is that? We’ve got a new Errol Morris feature, this one centered around British spy novelist John le Carré; a documentary about the first time demonic possession was used as an alibi in a murder case (“The Devil on Trial”); and a new Ken Burns documentary chronicling the importance of “The American Buffalo.” But if you’re looking for narrative delights, this week has plenty of those too – there’s the time-hopping murder mystery “Bodies;” the return of “Rick and Morty” and “Wolf Like Me;” plus Bill Burr’s feature directorial debut (“Old Dads”). On with the television! Bodies Thursday, October 19, Netflix Source: Netflix Sometimes you hear about a new show’s premise and that premise is just so delicious that you have to watch, even if you don’t know anybody in the show or don’t recognize the people behind the scenes. That is certainly the case with “Bodies,” a new Netflix series based on the DC comic book series of the same name written by Si Spencer and illustrated by Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Meghan Hectrick and Phil Winslade. This is how Netflix describes the show: “Four detectives. Four timelines. One body. To save Britain's future, they'll need to solve the murder that altered the course of history first.” Sounds pretty cool right? The time periods are modern day London; “1890, during the Victorian era; 1941, some of Britain’s darkest days of World War II; and 30 years in the future” (according to Netflix). The show stars Amaka Okafor, Emmy nominee Shira Haas, Kyle Soller and Stephen Graham (you’ll probably recognize Graham). It was created by Paul Tomalin, a veteran of “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood” and “The Frankenstein Chronicles.” Ready to get lost in the mystery? We sure are. [[TRAILER](] The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Sunday, October 15 at 9 p.m., AMC Source: AMC Yes, it’s time to say goodbye to Daryl Dixon, the motorcycle-loving, zombie-hating survivor played, with aplomb, by real-life motorcycle enthusiast Norman Reedus. But fret not – the show has already been renewed for a second season and indeed has even been able to film thanks to an agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMC. And there’s more – after Melissa McBride initially dropped out of the show when she learned it would be filming in Europe, she will actually be back for year two, which will be subtitled “The Book of Carol.” (It’s unclear where Boba Fett is in all of this.) It’s a “Walking Dead” reunion. What more could you want? [[TRAILER](] The Pigeon Tunnel Friday, October 20, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ Errol Morris is one of the most exciting, important filmmakers working today. The documentarian, whose earliest films broke the documentary form and were genuinely groundbreaking, has steadily worked, still churning out excellent films with subjects that include former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (“The Fog of War”) to Joyce McKinney (“Tabloid”), a woman accused of kidnapping and raping a Mormon missionary (she also claimed to have cloned her dog). He also made “Wormwood” a few years ago, a genuinely mind-bending series that melded documentary and narrative techniques. Morris is back with another gripping subject – John le Carré (real name: David John Moore Cornwell), one of England’s greatest spy novelists. Le Carré, who wrote “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Tailor of Panama” (among many others), died in 2020, making “The Pigeon Tunnel” even more vital. When it premiered at Telluride, it got rave reviews. Our review said the movie creates “a wide-ranging dialogue that manages to be both philosophical and playful.” Sounds like a real page turner. [[TRAILER](] The Devil on Trial Tuesday, October 17, Netflix Source: Netflix This feature-length documentary recounts the famous 1981 “Devil Made Me Do It” trial in Connecticut, where a man (Arne Cheyenne Johnson) accused of killing his landlord used, for the first time in court, the explanation of demonic possession. This was uncharted territory for many and was widely covered by local and national media. Ed and Lorraine Warren, the famous ghost hunters, were also a part of the mystery, when they attempted to purge a demon years earlier that instead chose Johnson as its host. (These events were later dramatized in the third “Conjuring” film, subtitled, of course, “The Devil Made Me Do It.”) As strange and unsual as the case was, this documentary could be even stranger, considering you’re hearing from the people that were actually involved. This one should make your skin crawl. [[TRAILER](] Fair Play Netflix Source: Netflix Some movies simply slip through the cracks of our otherwise in-depth guides. This is one of them! But “Fair Play” is on Netflix now and it’s one of the most popular titles on the platform. Here’s a movie explicitly made for people who say “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.” Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play” follows two young financial analysts at the same firm who strike up a secret romance – played by “Bridgerton” star Phoebe Dynevor and Han Solo himself Alden Ehrenreich. But can a relationship flourish in the cutthroat world of finance? Complex sexual and gender politics are explored as Dynevor doesn’t shy away from the “erotic” aspect of the genre but also digs deeper than many of the 1990s entries did. The result is something compelling and sharp, with a true humdinger of an ending. [[WATCH](] Source: Lifetime “Murdaugh Murders: The Movie” Saturday, October 14 at 8 p.m., Lifetime Murdaugh mania continues! If you aren’t sick of hearing about Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son, then you are in luck! Because this is a two-part, two-night movie event, with Bill Pullman playing Murdaugh, which will undoubtedly rile up even more interest in the truly bizarre and unsettling case. (Netflix also released more episodes of their own documentary series about the case.) At the very least it will be fun to see Pullman play Murdaugh. He never disappoints, even when starring in a ripped-from-the-headlines made-for-Lifetime movie. That’s talent. [[TRAILER](] “Rick and Morty” Sunday, October 15 at 11 p.m., Adult Swim on Cartoon Network This season of “Rick and Morty” holds particular interest because of the behind-the-scenes drama that has recently engulfed the show. TL;DR version: co-creator Justin Roiland has become a magnet of controversy following a domestic abuse allegation and has been dropped from this and other series that he had a hand in. What made “Rick and Morty” a trickier situation was the fact that Roiland voiced both of the main characters. The solution? Just hire two people who sound a lot like Roiland’s original work. Maybe they’ll give their subtle change a sci-fi-y explanation. Only one way to find out! [[TRAILER](] “The American Buffalo” Monday, October 16 at 8 p.m., PBS Ken Burns’ documentaries usually cover grandiose subject matter like baseball, jazz or The Civil War. His latest, a two-part, four-hour series (the second part airs the next night) covers a single animal. But through that animal he “takes viewers on a journey through more than 10,000 years of North American history and across some of the continent’s most iconic landscapes, tracing the animal’s evolution, its significance to the Indigenous people and landscape of the Great Plains, its near extinction, and the efforts to bring the magnificent mammals back from the brink” (according to the official synopsis). Because of course he does. [[TRAILER](] “Wolf Like Me” Thursday, October 19, Peacock One of last year’s very best series – miraculously – is getting a second season. We should rejoice. “Wolf Like Me” stars Josh Gad as a single father living in Australia with his young daughter. He thinks love has passed him by, until he meets Isla Fisher’s character. There’s just one fairly big catch – she’s a werewolf. Season 2 deals with the fact that Fisher’s character is now pregnant and the aftermath of the first season’s climactic bloodbath (seriously you need to watch this show). All seven episodes (that’s one more than season 1) debut on Peacock today. Now that’s something to howl about! [[TRAILER](] “Old Dads” Friday, October 20, Netflix “Old Dads” marks the directorial debut of comedian Bill Burr, who also co-wrote the screenplay and stars in the film. (If you don’t know Burr from his comedy you might remember him from his guest starring appearance on “The Mandalorian.”) The movie also stars Bobby Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine and has been described as his stand-up routine turned into a narrative feature, which the trailer definitely suggests, with the outrage about woke culture and general indignation at the state of things. It also seems to harken back to the days when studios made big budget comedies based around older performers (“Wild Hogs” anyone?) This one could be a ton of fun. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](