Television with no interest in teaching any lessons

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2025 (396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The best TV aspires to make viewers better people … nope, we want that to be true, and maybe it is occasionally, but it’s really all about entertainment, right? Which is a huge relief to these five recommended shows that if they were templates for how to live a life would be leading many astray, far far astray. But do enjoy!

● Alien: Earth

(series premières the first two of eight episodes Tuesday, Aug. 12 on FX/Disney+)

There are (hello, Murderbot!) many meditations on artificial intelligence and robots pining to become human. This TV prequel to the 1979 Alien movie, about drooling metal-toothed monsters on spaceships, ponders the reverse. On Earth in the year 2120, a creepy trying-too-hard young man tells Wendy (Sugar’s Sydney Chandler), “You are going to be the first person to transition from a human body to synthetic.” Because she’s “special.” Wendy, run! But that is only the subtext. The main action of the series starts when Wendy and company crash land on Earth. Co-stars include Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood). Created by Noah Hawley (Fargo). All systems go!

● Butterfly

(series premières all six episodes Wednesday, Aug. 13 on Prime Video)

This is a sweet father-daughter drama set inside a spy thriller. Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0) plays David Jung, a dad who really tried to do the right thing way back when. But his now grown daughter (Reina Hardesty, The Secret Art of Human Flight) has a couple of beefs with his (lack of) parenting. But nothing unites scrapping family members like a common foe. In this case, it’s the international spy network Caddis, headed by a steely boss played by Piper Perabo (Yellowstone). Lock and load for some ultraviolent fun.

● Fixed

(animated movie premières Wednesday, Aug. 13 on Netflix)

Summer is no time — especially not this summer — to stay serious for very long. Right on cue, here comes an animated movie about a dog named Bull (voiced by Adam Devine). He is hoping to live his best life for one more day. One more day until he goes to the vet for the title procedure. And if you have fooled yourself into thinking neutering is not a devastation for pooches, you better sit down for this very X-rated day with Bull and his very high canine libido. Co-star voices provided by Kathryn Hahn, Idris Elba, Michelle Buteau and a handful of ex-Saturday Night Live talent including Fred Armisen, Bobby Moynihan and Beck Bennett.

● Night Always Comes

(movie premières Friday on Netflix)

There are many ways to express family love, as therapists across the land will tell you. Screen fiends get two of those archetypes courtesy of actress Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman). As Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps on the big screen, she plays the mama bear, and her wrath knows no limits. In Night Always Comes, Lynette (Kirby) is so desperate to keep her big brother from ever again being forced into care, she hatches a plan to con some rich guy, steal a car and take on drug lords in Portland all played out on a 12-hour deadline. Lynette knows this is crazy, but family is family, right? And Kirby is pretty impressive, so press play. Based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Willy Vlautin.

● Long Story Short

(animated series premières Friday, Aug. 22 on Netflix)

Popular wisdom states that there are two kinds of smart people: those who’ve watched and loved BoJack Horseman (2014-20) and those who have not yet gotten around to the story of an oversexed, washed-up former TV star (voiced, despairingly, by Will Arnett). Netflix subscribers in both camps will want to mark the calendar for this latest from BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, which has already been confirmed for a second season ahead of its première. Confidence!

Long Story Short is an animated time-travel comedy about one family. Think This Is Us, but less crying. Voice stars include Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, Abbi Jacobson and Max Greenfield.

Broadcast dates subject to change. Questions, comments welcome at denise.duguay@winnipegfreepress.com.