TV Watchlist: Marvel Kicks Into a New Gear With 'Echo' and 'Ted' Hits the Small Screen

Plus season finales for Apple's "For All Mankind" and "Monarch" and a new adult animated Fox series Plus season finales for Apple's "For All Mankind" and "Monarch" and a new adult animated Fox series Week of January 6 – 12 New Year, new you, new shows! This week we have a brand new Marvel Studios series (“Echo”), movies starring Kevin Hart (“Lift”), Jake Johnson (“Self Reliance”) and David Oyelowo and Kaley Cuoco (“Role Play”), plus a documentary about Nikki Giovanni (“Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project”) and the long-awaited “Ted” show (yes, about the foul-mouthed teddy bear). Also: a new adult animated series on Fox (“Grimsburg”) and a British cop show that looks very, very good (“Criminal Record”). But it's not all hellos, there are a couple of goodbyes, as the finales for “For All Mankind” and “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” drop. On with the television! Echo Tuesday, January 9, Disney+/Hulu Source: Marvel Studios Marvel Studios didn’t have the best 2023. The big screen superhero adventures like “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels” failed to rule the box office and television projects like “Secret Invasion” left audiences lukewarm. But if “Echo” is any indication, they’re starting off 2024 right. Bucking the traditional weekly episode release schedule, “Echo” is being released all at once on both Disney+ and Hulu and under a new banner too – Marvel Spotlight, meant to make sure you know that it exists somewhat outside the mainline MCU. This distinction is odd, considering “Echo” is very much a spin-off/follow-up to “Hawkeye,” the Marvel Studios series from Christmas 2021. (Don’t worry, if you didn’t watch that excellent limited series, the first episode does a great job recapping.) “Echo” follows the title character (once again played by the wonderful Alaqua Cox), the adopted daughter of Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), as she returns to her hometown in Oklahoma following the events of “Hawkeye.” She wants to establish her own life (while still disrupting the plans of her former partners). But, of course, her past comes looking for her – and maybe Daredevil (Charlie Cox) too. Darker and more psychological than most Marvel Studios fare (it carries a TV-MA rating so if you’re watching on Disney+, make sure to check your controls), it also feels like a breath of fresh air. [[TRAILER](] For All Mankind Friday, January 12, Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ Not sure how many times you need to hear this but here it goes again: you should be watching “For All Mankind.” The show, which recounts an alternate history version of the space race, is one of the greatest shows on television – maybe one of the greatest shows ever – and it just keeps getting better. This week’s season four finale, an edge-of-your-seat masterpiece of both suspense and social commentary, is a terrific example of what makes the show so special – deeply emotional, almost uncomfortably exciting and with some of the finest performances you’re likely to see (Joel Kinnaman, take a bow). And, true to form, the final moments of the episode feature a time jump, a needle drop, and a hint at what’s to come for the not-officially-announced fifth season. Please make sure that fifth season happens by watching “For All Mankind.” It’s your patriotic duty. [[TRAILER](] Lift Friday, January 12, Netflix Source: Netflix F. Gary Gray, who directed “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Fate of the Furious” and “Men in Black International,” returns with an original, high-concept action movie led by Kevin Hart. In “Lift,” Hart plays an international criminal who leads an “Ocean’s Eleven”-style band of merry thieves (among them: Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Vincent D’Onofrio and Kim Yoon-ji). When Hart’s old flame, a government agent (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), comes to him with a seemingly impossible mission, you know he has to give it a shot. Better than the similarly breezy Netflix movie “Red Notice,” “Lift” is an agreeable and occasionally quite exciting big budget thriller, with plenty of twists and turns. (Genre specialists Simon Kinberg and Matt Reeves are among the movie’s many producers.) If you’re in the mood for a fun heist movie, look no further than “Lift.” [[TRAILER](] Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project Monday, January 8, Max Source: Max Already an award-winning documentary, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” “travels through time and space to reveal the enduring influence of Nikki Giovanni, one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators” (according to the official synopsis). The American poet, activist, author and educator, who rose to prominence in the 1960s as part of the Black Arts Movement and has continued to impact countless lives since, is a gripping subject for a documentary, especially one that “reckons with the inevitable passing of time through a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings, and visually innovative treatments of Giovanni’s poetry.” Yes please. [[TRAILER](] Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Apple TV+ Source: Apple TV+ It’s unclear why Apple TV+ is ending two of its biggest sci-fi series on the same day, but hey, it is what it is. The same day the fourth season of “For All Mankind” sunsets, the first season of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” also comes to a close. And it’s a doozy. The show, set in the world of Godzilla and King Kong as established by 2014’s “Godzilla” and continuing with “Kong: Skull Island,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and “Godzilla vs. Kong” (another movie, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” hits theaters later this year), was surprisingly rich and rewarding, focusing not on the monster characters but on Monarch, the secretive organization that monitors their activity. Kurt and Wyatt Russell played the same characters on different timelines and the last few episodes, which dropped major bombshells, cannot compare to the jaw-dropping final moments of the finale. Get ready. And pray for season 2. [[WATCH](] Source: Prime Video “Grimsburg” Sunday, January 7 after football, Fox Jon Hamm can currently be seen menacing the entire Midwest on this season of “Fargo” (good grief is he evil) and, starting Jan. 7, he can be heard as a small down detective in this new adult animated series. He plays a hardened detective who returns to the fictional, murder-plagued town of Grimsburg. Erinn Hayes, Alan Tudyk, Rachel Dratch and Kevin Michael Richardson also star. Fox has already given the go-ahead to a second season, which is always a good sign. [[TRAILER](] “Criminal Record” Wednesday, January 10, Apple TV+ This new British crime series, starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo, could be your new favorite thriller. Let the official synopsis seal your excitement: “An anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives into a confrontation over an old murder case — one a young woman in the early stages of her career, the other a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy. The series touches on issues of race, institutional failure and the quest to find common ground in a polarized Britain.” Sounds great right? [[TRAILER](] “Ted” Thursday, January 11, Peacock Yes, this is a prequel series to the movie “Ted,” which starred Mark Wahlberg and a foul-mouthed teddy bear. Wahlberg isn’t back. But Seth McFarlane, who wrote and directed the two “Ted” movies and voices the title character, does return as creator, writer and star. The eight-episode series is set in the 1990’s and follows a younger version of Wahlberg’s character as he deals with his talking bear and the ups and downs of his family. The only real question is how did it take this long for them to do a “Ted” TV show? [[TRAILER](] “Role Play” Friday, January 12, Prime Video In this “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”-ish comedic thriller David Oyelowo and Kaley Cuoco play a couple raising their family in a sleepy New Jersey neighborhood. But one night, when they decide to engage in a little (seemingly harmless) role play, Oyelowo discovers that his wife is, in fact, a wanted killer. He travels to Europe to help her get out of a jam and ends up learning more about his wife’s secret life than he probably ever wanted to. Bill Nighy co-stars. Sounds like the perfect movie for your next at-home date night. [[TRAILER](] “Self Reliance” Friday, January 12, Hulu Jake Johnson makes his directorial debut in this high concept comedy, which he also stars in (alongside Natalie Morales, Biff Wiff, Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg and Emily Hampshire) and wrote. Johnson plays a man recruited to star in the biggest reality show on the dark web – he has to stay alive for 30 days to collect his prize. But the loophole is that he can’t be murdered if he’s with somebody, which leads to all sorts of hijinks and a romantic subplot with Kendrick (another participant in the game). The trailer makes this look very charming and funny and you can’t go wrong with a new Lonely Island production. We’re ready to play. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](