New this week: Emergency, Prehistoric Planet, The Responder
Here’s a collection of what’s arriving on TV and streaming services this week.
Movies
• In the satirical comedy Emergency, college seniors Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and Sean (RJ Cyler) set out for an epic night of partying only to return home to a shocking scene: Their door is ajar and a woman is passed out on their floor. The men are Black and the woman is white and they know that calling the police is not a straightforward proposition. The film, directed by Carey Williams and written by KD Dávila, was one of the breakouts of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year for its penetrating look at racial dynamics in a heightened, comedic setting. It’s currently playing in theatres for a limited time before streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting Friday.
• While we sit and wait to see what the big breakouts will be at the Cannes Film Festival this year, the film streaming platform MUBI has one of the festival’s all-time favourites coming on Friday: David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, which won Lynch the directing prize at the festival in 2001 (shared with Joel Coen for The Man Who Wasn’t There). And when you’re done wandering around the fringes of Hollywood with Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harding, MUBI has an entire Cannes takeover section to explore with films like Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st, as well as Ruben Östlund’s The Square and Force Majeure.
— Lindsey Bahr
Television
• The good old days for dinosaurs concluded some 60 million years ago, when they owned the ancient Earth in all its glory. That’s where Prehistoric Planet is set, using a mix of wildlife filmmaking, paleontology findings and visual effects for a promised “one-of-a-kind immersive experience.” Among the stars: the Mongolian Titan and the frightfully clawed Therizinosaurus, who along with other dinos are introduced in their respective land, sea and air habitats. The five-part Apple TV+ series debuted Monday with a new episode every day through Friday, boasts narrator David Attenborough and music by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer.
• Martin Freeman keeps proving he can play anything. The Sherlock and Breeders actor stars as a troubled English police officer in The Responder, debuting today on the Britbox streaming service. Demoted from inspector, Chris Carson is patrolling the streets of his Liverpool, England, hometown, confronting crime and his own angst. He’s also reluctant partner to a rookie, played by Adelayo Adedayo, and his marriage is at risk. The series, inspired by the experiences of its creator and producer, Tony Schumacher, unfolds over a week of night shifts as Chris tries to rescue a young addict from deadly jeopardy.