House Of The Dragon’s premiere marks a strong, well-cast start to the Game Of Thrones spin-off. This feels very close to its predecessor in tone and content, but immediately establishes a struggle for power around an amiable, weak-willed king, and vivid new characters to fight those battles. We also have dragons, inbreeding, and resentment. It’s good to be back in backstabbing Westeros.
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She-Hulk premieres Aug. 18, 2022, on Disney+. Review by Amelia Emberwing.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law hits all the right notes as a sitcom while still nailing the beats you’d expect out of an entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though the first episode is all the necessary, run-of-the-mill origin story you’d expect, none of it is presented in a way that could be considered boring. And yes, the effects look better than the first trailer you saw.
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I Am Groot is now streaming on Disney+. Review by Matt Fowler.
I Am Groot is daft and devious, owning its non-essential existence and leaning into Baby Groot’s own impetuous, unruly behavior. It’s hard to separate I Am Groot from its „content” -ness sometimes, since these five shorts are so breezy and quick they barely warrant their assigned thumbnail in the Disney+ catalog, but there’s also a funky, spirited nature to the stories, which saddle up to the most monstrous Guardian during his most vulnerable, and vehement, state.
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The Sandman is now streaming on Netflix. Review by Amelia Emberwing.
The Sandman is everything longtime fans could have dreamed of in an adaptation. Tom Sturridge is utterly ethereal as Dream, and his co-stars seem to keep pace with him with ease. Meanwhile, stunning, sweeping images from The Dreaming to Hell itself keep us immersed in the fantasy. It’s as faithful of an adaptation as it could be, and, outside of the fact that it may go over a few new viewers’ heads, it’s just about perfect.
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Harley Quinn debuts on HBO Max July 28, 2022. Review by Alex Stedman. Love is in the air, but that doesn’t mean Harley Quinn isn’t as insane, blood-soaked, and hilarious as it’s always been. Season 3’s take on Harley and Ivy’s newly romantic relationship is still unsurprisingly the highlight, tackling all their highs and lows in ways that are incredibly true to each character. It also manages to pack in a few surprises regarding the Bat family, especially Batman himself, although other subplots, like Joker and James Gordon’s, don’t have the same staying power. Still, if you’re here Harlivy and all the raunch and violence you’ve come to expect from this delightfully biting little corner of superhero streaming, you won’t be disappointed.
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Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+. Review by Emma Fraser.
Over the first season, Ms. Marvel has greatly balanced a coming-of-age and superhero origin story. Kamala’s dynamic with her parents has shown significant organic growth, and Muneeba is far from a strict mother archetype. South Asian culture and history play an essential role in the story and atmosphere, further opening the MCU world. Kamala’s friendships and burgeoning romances (plural!) are other highlights. While the finale sticks the landing, the Clandestines are too underserved to have a significant impact. The heart of Ms. Marvel belongs to Iman Vellani, who has come across as a star since the first episode, and the finale assures her assent.
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Eric Kripke, the creator and executive producer of Prime Video’s The Boys sat down with IGN for a spoiler-filled conversation breaking down the season 3 finale. He also teases what’s next for The Boys, Vought, The Seven, and more in season 4.
With the fallout of Soldier Boy’s return starting to settle, it doesn’t mean it’s time to rest for anyone. If anything, it’s setting up the next set of battles for The Boys: from Butcher and Homelander’s scorched earth feud over Ryan’s soul to the state of Vought and The Seven, to Victoria Neuman’s next political move.
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All eight episodes of Resident Evil hits Netflix on July 14, 2022. Review by Taylor Lyles.
Although one of the two timelines felt more compelling and interesting to watch than another, Resident Evil’s first season offers a new, original, and compelling story that leaves plenty of room for a second season. Despite the quality imbalance, the acting, special effects, and overall storytelling keep me wanting more and leave plenty of worthy story threads to explore should it get renewed for a second season.
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Season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now streaming on Paramount+. Review by Scott Collura.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ first season manages to recapture the joy of classic Trek in a way that perhaps many of us didn’t know was missing until we experienced this show. Emotional, exciting, funny, and sometimes scary, this is a final frontier that is both old-school and brand-new, featuring great characters who all get their fair share of the action. In many ways, Star Trek has come full circle with Strange New Worlds after 55 years of storytelling. And it’s all the better for it.
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Stranger Things Season 4, Part 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Spoiler-free review by Alex Stedman.
The final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 are the series at its most emotional, action-packed, and tension-filled. There are as many thrills as you could hope for, but also quite a few lovely, tender moments between characters we’ve come to care so much about. There are so many series-best performances that it’s hard to single out any in particular, but it’s especially nice to see Noah Schnapp’s Will get a bit more attention than he did in Part 1. It still ends up feeling a tad bit unwieldy – a hard thing to avoid when juggling this many characters and storylines – but ultimately, these four hours pack in just about everything a Stranger Things fan could ask for.
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Ms. Marvel’s second episode continues to build on this story in exciting ways that blend real-world historical events with the superpowers, which Kamala is only learning to use. Humor and heart are also effectively dished out from the new crush to the conversation with best friend Nakia in the high school bathroom. Pacing-wise, it doesn’t let up, and the overall mystery is compelling. Some elements could turn sour, but so far, this is a thrilling ride.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 debuts on Netflix on June 22, 2022. Review by Alex Stedman.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3 may take a few episodes to find its footing, but give it time and it eventually ends up doing what it does best: building on the character development of the Hargreeves siblings and their relationships with one another. There’s not a weak performance in the bunch, but Tom Hopper gets a little more to work with as Luther, Elliot Page, and Emmy Raver-Lampman stand out, especially in Viktor and Allison’s complicated relationships. It may initially seem less inventive and action-packed than previous seasons, but what it loses in wackiness, it gains in heart and the clarity of its message – one that resonates whether your family is screwing up the timeline or not.
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The Boys Season 3 premieres with three episodes on Prime Video on June 3, 2022. Review by Matt Donato.
Season 3 strikes harder, gets angrier, and packs an even feistier „f#ck it all” punch. Butcher’s c-word hit squad tried draining the swamp as ordered when cameras weren’t rolling – Season 3 gets to the apocalyptic good stuff where all-out warfare will challenge Vought, The Boys, and anyone caught in Homelander’s heat-ray blasts. Character beats can be predictable when Butcher regresses as a father or a deadness in his eyes erases what little flickers of humanity grew, but it’s still those character beats that showrunner Eric Kripke does best with The Boys. It’s still spectacularly gore-heavy, filled with harsh lessons, and loaded like a powder keg ready to burst once Butcher or Homelander finally lays the gauntlet. Strap in, mothertruckers.
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Love, Death, and Robots Vol. 3 is now streaming on Netflix. Review by Tara Bennett.
Love, Death, and Robots Vol. 3 is the least accessible of the three seasons, especially if you aren’t interested in an overabundance of gory violence. While there are some impressive examples of CG animation, the craftsmanship is mostly stronger than the stories featured. If you want to watch the cream of the crop, jump to „Jibaro,” „Bad Traveling” and „The Very Pulse of the Machine.” For everything else, just make sure you’re not eating a hearty meal if you partake. You might lose your appetite.
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Stranger Things: Season 4 Part 1 debuts on Netflix on May 27, 2022. Review by Alex Stedman.
Part 1 of Stranger Things Season 4 sets up its most ambitious season yet, and despite a few moments where you can feel it struggling under the weight of that ambition, it largely works. The performances – particularly David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, and Sadie Sink’s – are all top-notch, the new baddie Vecna is appropriately terrifying, and there are some gorgeous special effects. Not every plotline in these extra-long episodes works as well, but none feels unworthy of the time spent. We’ll have to wait and see if Season 4 sticks the landing as a whole with the final two episodes in July, but for now, we can say that this batch of episodes was well worth the wait.
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Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+. Review by Scott Collura.
Season 2 started off in a good place, looking to amend some of the missteps of the show’s freshman year. But in attempting to embrace and celebrate the things that fans love about Star Trek, the show fell into the trap of regurgitating old concepts. Picard’s central arc focused on him unlocking the dark memories of his childhood and how those mysterious events of his past helped make him the emotionally guarded man he is today, and while this is an interesting development in the character’s story, it never quite gels. Meanwhile, the majority of the Picard Squad were seemingly doomed to run in place throughout the season, biding their time until they were written off the show entirely.
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What If introduces the murder mystery genre to the MCU with a solidly plotted, if rushed, third episode.
Marvel Studios’ What If…? is now available to stream on Disney Plus.
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After a disappointing premiere, Marvel’s What If course-corrects with a breathless second episode, buoyed by Chadwick Boseman’s electric performance and a greater sense of adventure.
Marvel Studios’ What If…? is now available to stream on Disney Plus.
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What If’s premiere is an entertaining remix of MCU canon, but uneven voice acting and animation threaten to dampen the series’ potential. Watch our video review for Season 1, Episode 1 of Marvel’s What If…?
Marvel Studios’ What If…? is now available to stream on Disney Plus.
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