TV Watchlist: Netflix's Live-Action 'Avatar' Finally Arrives, Tyler Perry Gets R-Rated

Plus Apple has a new heady sci-fi series and Prime Video gets into adult animation Week of June 10 – 16 Given the atmospheric anomalies that have battered both coasts and much of the country over the past few weeks, it’s understandable if you want to stay in this week “just in case.” And if you choose this, just know that there is plenty to watch – from a new live-action take on “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” to documentaries on Black boarding schools (“Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story”), soldiers therapeutically traveling to the snow (“Operation Arctic Cure”) and James Brown (“James Brown: Say It Loud”). If made-up stuff is more your speed, fear not – we’ve got a Tyler Perry erotic thriller (“Mea Culpa”), a sci-fi series starring Noomi Rapace (“Constellation”) and a couple of crazy animated series, one for the whole family (“Star Wars: The Bad Batch”) and one strictly for adults (“The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy”). Boom! On with the television! Avatar: The Last Airbender Thursday, February 22, Netflix Source: Netflix The journey of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” from cult animated series to live-action event has taken many twists and turns. In 2018 (!) it was announced that Netflix would be embarking on a lavish adaptation of the original Nickelodeon series, with original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko onboard to produce, write and show-run the new version. Two years later, the duo had left the production (although they retain some screenwriting credits on two episodes) due to creative differences, openly discussing the Netflix atmosphere as “negative and unsupporting.” By the following year, Netflix had installed Albert Kim, whose previous credits include “Sleepy Hollow,” “Nikita” and “Leverage.” Now it was up to Kim to bring the story of characters who can “bend” the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and the quest of Aang, the titular “Avatar,” who can bend all four elements (played in the show by Gordon Cormier). Can “Avatar: The Last Airbender” become another crossover hit like their recent “One Piece” series? Or will it fall into the same traps that M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action feature did? Only one way to find out for sure – by watching the pricey new series. [[TRAILER](] Monsieur Spade Sunday, February 16, AMC+ Source: AMC+ “Monsieur Spade” is wrapping up his case. The series stars Clive Owen as Sam Spade, following the events of “The Maltese Falcon,” who is now retired in the South of France. While there he stumbles upon a mystery that might be too complicated and harrowing, even for him. The series was created and written by “The Queen’s Gambit” and “Godless” creator Scott Frank and “Oz” creator Tom Fontana, with Frank also directing every episode. And yet did you hear a peep about this show? Some series are best when binged all at once; that is undoubtedly the best way to watch “Monsieur Spade.” And now you can! [[TRAILER](] Mea Culpa Friday, February 23, Netflix Source: Netflix Tyler Perry returns. But “Mea Culpa,” which Perry wrote, produced and directed, is mercifully Madea-free. Instead, this is a hard-charging erotic thriller, free of Perry’s trademark broad comedy (its R-rating is for “strong sexual content” and “graphic nudity” among other things). Kelly Roland plays a criminal defense attorney who takes the case of a hunky artist (Trevante Rhodes) accused of murdering his girlfriend. But wouldn’t you know it, the lines between them start to blur and what is real and what is not becomes very confusing. Erotic thrillers used to be released fairly regularly, now they are harder to come by (pun very much intended). Hopefully “Mea Culpa” is as compelling as it is sexy. And if this isn’t your cup of tea, Perry has four movies in various states of completion (seriously). So if this one doesn’t stick, maybe one of the next ones will. [[TRAILER](] Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story Friday, February 23, Hulu Source: Hulu This documentary is set against the backdrop of one of America’s oldest Black boarding schools. According to the official synopsis, the film “provides a window into the ever-evolving, complex layers of the school and its students.” “Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story” “captures the emotional, physical, and mental tolls required to be young, Black, and educated in America by honoring the students’ perspectives of themselves and their school.” Sounds like a very powerful – and very necessary – watch. [[TRAILER](] Avatar: The Last Airbender Netflix Source: Nickelodeon If you’ve ever been curious about “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” the original animated series, now is the greatest time ever to indulge. It might be the same basic story that the live-action series (and the live-action movie before it) have adapted, but it’s hard to imagine anything in the physical world replicating the fantasy and exuberance of that original series. While questions of representation have plagued the series, it has done nothing to diminish the power or legacy of the show, which ran for three seasons and 61 episodes. If you want to continue with this world, you should also check out “The Legend of Korra,” also available to stream on Netflix, which pushed the central narrative into some new and unusual directions. There’s just nothing better. Time to cozy up and bend some stuff. [[WATCH](] Source: Apple TV+ “James Brown: Say It Loud” Monday, February 19 at 8 p.m., A&E This two-night event, continuing Tuesday, “traces the incredible trajectory of Brown’s life and career from a 7th grade drop-out arrested and jailed at the age of 16 for breaking into a car in the Jim Crow-era South, to an entertainment legend whose groundbreaking talent and unique perspective catapulted him to become a cultural force.” This sounds absolutely fascinating – Brown was a complicated, conflicted character and it sounds like this documentary will do justice to the unbelievable scope of his life and career. [[TRAILER](] “Operation Arctic Cure” Monday, February 19 at 10 p.m., Nat Geo This sounds like it is going to make everybody cry. This documentary follows “combat veterans grappling with the haunting effects of trauma embark on a transformative Arctic adventure in search of healing.” We’re already welling up. This sounds absolutely devastating but also deeply essential. [[MORE INFO](] “Constellation” Wednesday, February 21, Apple TV+ Apple TV+ has really cornered the market on heady sci-fi, huh? From “For All Mankind” to “Foundation” to “Invasion” and beyond. The latest in this line-up is “Constellation,” which stars the wonderful Noomi Rapace as an astronaut who returns to earth after a disastrous mission to find things are not what they appear to be. According to the official synopsis, the thrilling new series “is an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman's desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost.” Sounds like your latest Apple TV+ sci-fi obsession. [[TRAILER](] “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Wednesday, February 21, Disney+ This animated “Star Wars” series, created by Dave Filoni as a spin-off of his popular series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” is coming to an end with a final batch of fifteen episodes. The first three episodes of the final season will stream Wednesday, with episodes airing weekly until May 1. (Just shy of “May the Fourth.” What up with that?) The series follows a squadron of defective clones who each have a different ability, as they go up against the worst of the worst in a galaxy far, far away. It’s fun! [[TRAILER](] “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy” Friday, February 23, Prime Video This new adult animated series follows Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak “aliens, best friends, and intergalactically renowned surgeons—as they tackle anxiety-eating parasites, illegal time loops, and deep-space STIs. In Season One, doctors Sleech and Klak take on a highly dangerous and potentially groundbreaking case and, in doing so, put existence itself in jeopardy. Although considering their dismal personal lives, oblivion might be an improvement.” The series stars Stephanie Hsu, Keke Palmer, Kieran Culkin, Sam Smith, Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne and seems fun in a sort of daughter-of-“Rick and Morty” way. We’re ready to check in. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](