New series offer comfort of escapist fare

A new lineup of recommended viewing leans heavily toward escapism. Except for the latest from Baby Reindeer creator and star Richard Gadd, from which some further escapism might be welcome. Onward!

● Trevor Noah: Joy in the Trenches (comedy special premières today, Tuesday, April 14, on Netflix)

Everyone could use a laugh right now and Trevor Noah is the comic for the job. Kind comedy with great, smart, muscular pokes at the bear of dread. Such as pondering what would be Martin Luther King Jr.’s new dream. Also featured will be, according to the publicity bumph, an “unexpected social media beef” and “a therapist’s truth bomb.” Cue applause.

 

● Margo’s Got Money Troubles (series premières on Wednesday, April 15, Apple TV)

Creator/producer David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Perfect Strangers) has a new series based on a bestselling novel by Rufi Thorpe. It stars Elle Fanning (Sentimental Values) as the title character, whose career potential is paused by an unexpected pregnancy. Flanked by her ex-Hooter’s waitress mom (Michelle Pfeiffer, The Madison) and ex-pro-wrestler dad (Nick Offerman, The Last of Us), she opts to earn a living via some glittery “work on the internet.” Co-stars include Marcia Gay Harden (The Morning Show), Greg Kinnear (Black Bird), Michael Angarano (This Is Us) and Nicole Kidman (Scarpetta).

 

● This Is a Gardening Show (series premières all six episodes on Wednesday, April 22, on Netflix)

“If I were to offer a remedy to the human condition, it would be a garden. Or acid.” So says host and producer Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) being his best absurd Galifianakis self in this half-serious, half-loopy gardening show. Will “Zach Gaspa Fadasky,” as he refers to himself here, provide actual insight and good advice to the average aspiring gardener currently hovering over a cluster of seedlings parked under a probably too-small grow light? Possibly? It will help, here, to be a fan of this actor/comedian. It will also help to watch the kids he occasionally interviews in this how-to react so enthusiastically to his artful silliness.

 

● Half Man (series premières on Thursday, April 23, on Crave/HBO)

Richard Gadd’s international acclaim after the disturbing, gorgeous Baby Reindeer has created monumentally high expectations for this new series. At least he has good onscreen company. Once again billed as creator and writer, Gadd stars opposite Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) playing Ruben and Niall, not blood brothers but as good as family in the best and worst ways. With the narrative action set in motion by a burst of violence, Half Man aspires to be a ferociously uncomfortable examination of what it is, and what it could or should be, to be a man.

 

● Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (animated spinoff premières all 10 episodes on Thursday, April 23, on Netflix)

Stranger Things showrunner Eric Robles and creator/producers Duffer Brothers take viewers back to the town of Hawkins, Ind., in the winter of 1985 with new monsters and a paranormal mystery. Rendered now in animation, the original series’ main characters Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have reclaimed lives of D&D and snowball fights. But what’s that beneath the ice? Netflix is hoping to keep the popularity of the original five-season series alive. Close followers will notice that the familiar character names do not have the familiar voices of Millie Bobby Brown et al. Does that destroy the link to Stranger Things fandom for you?

 

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