dramas - page 5

Poppy calls an audible this week on Truth Be Told [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Merle Dandridge, left, and Mekhi Phifer continue their search on Apple TV+ crime drama ★★★★☆
Zarina (played by Merle Dandridge, left) and Markus (Mekhi Phifer) continue the search for their missing daughter. this week. And Poppy has a crazy plan that might help.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewTrini is still lost, and Markus and Poppy are still sweating every minute she’s gone this week on Apple TV+ true crime podcast drama Truth Be Told. Trini’s location is right within everyone’s fingertips, but they still can’t be sure where she is.

Finney’s every move is now being watched, but he may have already pocketed the Oakland Police Department. Aames, Poppy, Markus, Eva and Leander are all mobilized, but without a solid clue that won’t do any good. Can they rescue Trini before she suffers the same fate as Eva?

The episode, entitled “Freedom Is Never Given; It Is Won,” is another rough but gripping outing.

Hello Tomorrow! will send you over the moon with its retro-futuristic vibe [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Billy Crudup stands in a retro-futuristic office in a scene from Apple TV+ show ★★★★☆
Jack (played by Billy Crudup) plays a pitchman with something to hide in retro-futuristic series Hello Tomorrow!
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ show Hello Tomorrow! blasts back to the future with a pumped-up Space Age pitchman fighting hard to keep his head above water. Actor Billy Crudup, who dazzled us on The Morning Show, puts in another magnificent turn as the Don Draper-style head of a sales team selling timeshares on the moon in a retro-futurist suburban community.

The new series, the first three episodes of which premiere today, has an awful lot on its mind — and only 30-minute episodes in which to say it all. While the delivery feels a little rushed, I’m calling it: Hello Tomorrow! is a special show.

Truth Be Told uncovers a conspiracy that goes straight to the top [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Octavia Spencer plays podcaster Poppy in Apple TV+ drama ★★★★☆
The search for a missing girl intensifies this week on Truth Be Told.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewWe’ve got a fugitive on our hands on this week’s Truth Be Told, the Apple TV+ series about a true crime podcaster and her little corner of Oakland, California.

Trini is missing and Poppy’s solutions all involve a lot of risk. Markus and Zarina are sweating and at each other’s throats while searching for their daughter. Eva learns something about her lover and runs into an old acquaintance. And Leander tries hard to stay on Poppy’s good side.

The episode, entitled “Never Take Your Eyes Off Her,” serves up another gripping 45 minutes of television from this crew.

Dear Edward’s grief bomb will leave you befuddled [Apple TV+ recap] ★☆☆☆☆

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Colin O’Brien in ★☆☆☆☆
After surviving a plane crash, getting called "Miracle Boy" by bullies just makes things worse.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ series Dear Edward takes our hero to school this week. The show — about a boy who survives a plane crash and the relatives of people who weren’t so lucky — doubles down on all of its intricate absurdities in the episode, entitled “Chrysalis.”

Dee Dee learns more about her dead husband than she ever wanted to know. Edward receives fan mail. Audrey and Kojo keep getting closer. And multiple funerals loom. It’s another impressively confused episode of the grief-based drama.

Deep secrets emerge in a taut Truth Be Told [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★

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Ron Cephas Jones plays Leander in a scene from Apple TV+ crime drama ★★★★
Everyone's got their secrets, even Poppy's dad Leander (played by Ron Cephas Jones).
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewSecrets come out left and right on this week’s episode of Truth Be Told, Apple TV+’s drama about a true crime podcaster and her community.

Leander and Poppy have to hash out some family history, and Markus and Zarina have to hash out some very present things or risk losing their future together. Plus, Eva must be honest about who she is and what she wants.

Even though none of them yet know it, the clock is ticking. The episode, entitled “Here She Shall See No Enemy,” stands as a superlative edition of the Oakland-set drama.

Dear Edward turns a plane crash into a dumpster fire [Apple TV+ recap] ★☆☆☆☆

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In a scene from Apple TV+ drama ★☆☆☆☆
Young Eddie is a piano prodigy, among other things. If only Dear Edward had a genius in the writers' room.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewNew Apple TV+ series Dear Edward is a sprawling ensemble piece about the aftermath of a plane crash. This baffling bit of overwrought drama cannot decide for longer than a few scenes what it’s actually about — or why it needs a season (or more) of TV to tell stories we’ve already heard in the most overwrought terms possible.

The series, which premieres today, misfires on just about every front. This show about grief seems to itself be in the throes of a panic attack.

Truth Be Told goes deeper into our crime-fighter’s crusade [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Haneefah Wood, Octavia Spencer and Tracie Thoms in ★★★★☆
This case isn't getting any easier.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThere’s a funeral this week on true-crime-inflected Apple TV+ show Truth Be Told. Drea is dead, and everyone’s guilty — whether they pulled the trigger or not.

The more Poppy, Eva and Markus pull up rocks looking for clues, the more insects they find running around in the darkness. “Her, Armed With Sorrow Sore” stands out as a strongly performed and nicely paced episode of the show about a podcaster’s crusade to help her city.

Wine-obsessed Japanese manga Drops of God spills onto Apple TV+

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Turns out wine keeps across comic novels and live-action TV series.
Turns out wine keeps across comic novels and live-action TV series.
Photo: Legendary Entertainment

Into Japanese comics (manga) or fine wine (boozy grape juice)? Then you may know Drops of God in its bestselling comic-novel form. Soon you can watch it as a live-action, multilingual dramatic series on Apple TV+, the streaming service said Wednesday.

In a somewhat unusual move, Apple TV+ licensed the French-Japanese dramatic series adapted from manga form rather than producing it. It did not set an air date, however. It said only that the series will premiere in 2023.

In Truth Be Told season 3, podcaster Poppy tackles sex trafficking [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Podcaster Poppy Scoville-Parnell (played by Olivia Spencer, left) jumps on a kidnapping case in season three of Truth Be Told on Apple TV+.★★★
Podcaster Poppy Scoville-Parnell (played by Olivia Spencer, left) jumps on a kidnapping case in season three of Truth Be Told.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewTruth Be Told, the Apple TV+ drama created by Nichelle D. Tramble about a true crime podcaster, returns for its third season this week. This season, Poppy Scoville-Parnell — the intrepid reporter played by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer — must blow the lid off a sex-trafficking ring that resulted in at least one kidnapping, maybe more.

Politics, tech money, school board in-fighting, and police reform are all tied up in this case — and our podcasting hero Poppy is at the center of the swirl, as usual.

The Mosquito Coast leaves a trail of bodies in explosive season two finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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Melissa George and Justin Theroux in ★★★★☆
Will we get another season of The Mosquito Coast?
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast kisses its second season — and a number of its characters — goodbye in this week’s show. The season two finale skids into a violent confrontation that leaves many dead, but answers a lot of important questions in the process.

The Fox family — Dina, Charlie, Margot and Allie — is still on the run. And they all know they want different things out of life. Can they work it out in time to escape the repercussions of the sundry terrorist events that have been escalating all season? This frankly shocking episode of The Mosquito Coast looks at all that and more.

Who can you trust on The Mosquito Coast? Basically nobody. [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap. Who's using who?★★★★☆
Who's using who? It's another week of blackmail and backstabbing on The Mosquito Coast.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewDina’s gone on this week’s episode of The Mosquito Coast, the Apple TV+ show about environmental terrorists on the run from Big Brother abroad. She decides to take a walk on the wild side in the company of rich and fatuous tourists and doesn’t exactly love what she sees.

Allie and Margot have to think on their feet if their schemes to buy the other freedom are going to work out. Charlie finally gets the kick out the door he needs — but at what cost? It’s a thought-provoking chapter of the saga of the Fox family.

There’s more trouble in paradise on The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: Just a normal girl, taking a normal boat trip. (Yeah, right.)★★★★☆
Just a normal girl, taking a normal boat trip. (Yeah, right.)
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThis week’s episode of Apple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast finds every member of the Fox family on some sort of clandestine outing. On the run in South America after blowing up a lab and stealing security software, they’re all looking for a way out of their little corner of paradise.

Allie and Charlie scope out a new place to flee after they betray their hosts. Margot makes a shocking discovery in Richard’s cabinet. And Dina enjoys a day in the life of an ordinary girl.

Betrayal is in the air on The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: Charlie (played by Gabriel Bateman) is warming up to his environs on The Mosquito Coast.★★★
Charlie (played by Gabriel Bateman) is warming up to his environs on The Mosquito Coast.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+’s Mosquito Coast, about a family uneasily fleeing terrorism charges by hiding in the jungle, is all about betrayal this week. Dina comes clean with Allie — and he almost ruins their relationship in return. Margot starts trying to get her family back to the states, but she’s going to need Richard to do it.

Meanwhile, Allie and William are back on a job. And every minute Charlie spends in the jungle makes him like the idea of returning to America a little less. It’s going to be a long Good Friday.

It’s showdown time in Shantaram finale [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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Shantaram finale recap Apple TV+: Everything comes to a boil in Shantaram's finale.★★★☆☆
Everything comes to a boil in Shantaram's finale.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review Apple TV+ limited series Shantaram comes to a thunderous close this week. The series, based on the novel by Gregory David Roberts about the travails of Aussie escaped convict Lindsay Ford, sees its hero making one last-ditch escape attempt while casting about for his last remaining friends in Bombay.

The Shantaram finale is riddled with questions. Will Abdullah, Prabhu, Lisa, Modena and Khan get out alive? Can Nightingale finally get his man? Will Shah win the war for the streets? And will Apple TV+ try to stretch Shantaram into a second season? We get answers to most of them.

Shantaram sets up its final shadowy showdowns [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Shantaram recap Apple TV+: Karla (played by Antonia Desplat) will seemingly stop at nothing to save Lin (Charlie Hunnam).★★★
Karla (played by Antonia Desplat, left) will seemingly stop at nothing to save Lin (Charlie Hunnam).
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewOur outlaw hero Lin is running out of road this week on Shantaram, and everyone wants him dead or simply out of the way. Karla is neck-deep in a desperate attempt to clear Lin’s name — and makes Bombay a war zone in the process.

Also in this week’s episode, entitled “Banquet of Consequences“: Lisa and Modena’s great escape turns into no such thing. Prabhu makes a promise he can’t keep. Wally Nightingale closes in on his prey. And Ravi decides he’d rather not change after all.

It’s a thrilling penultimate episode, as the Apple TV+ limited series finds all its bloody pieces falling into place.

Big trouble’s brewing on The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: The sudden appearance of old nemesis Richard (played by Ariyon Bakare) means trouble on The Mosquito Coast.★★★★☆
The sudden appearance of old nemesis Richard (played by Ariyon Bakare) means trouble on The Mosquito Coast.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewApple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast picks up its cliffhanger and heads into ever darker territory this week. Allie is caught between a rock and a harder place than usual. Dina takes her anger out on Margot, but Charlie would rather take it out on Richard.

Margot’s stuck between trying to win back her family’s approval and not caring enough to get it back. The Foxes may still be in hot water with the U.S. government after all, which means there’s a clock ticking faster than they imagined.

It all adds up to a white-knuckle episode of the drama about a family of terrorists on the lam in Central America.

Emancipation looks the horrors of slavery dead in the eye [Apple TV+ review] ★★★★☆

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Emancipation review: This action-packed look at the brutality of slavery should make you forget The Slap.★★★★☆
Emancipation is an action-packed look at the brutality of slavery that should make you forget The Slap.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewBased on a true story about a slave’s quest for freedom during the Civil War, Apple TV+’s oddly positioned Oscar contender Emancipation pairs action with an unflinching look at slavery’s brutality.

It stars Will Smith, whose bizarre post-Slap apology tour makes for strange bedfellows with Emancipation’s stark subject matter and the film’s action-oriented director, Antoine Fuqua. But this cautiously made movie is probably the best possible film this team could have produced. And indeed, it’s quite a bit better than an Oscar-ready slavery drama made in today’s Hollywood has any right to be.

First look at Truth Be Told season 3 introduces new cast member

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Octavia Spencer, left, and new cast member Gabrielle Union star in
Octavia Spencer, left, and new cast member Gabrielle Union star in Truth Be Told season 3.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ offered a first look at season 3 of its award-winning drama Truth Be Told Thursday, introducing a new cast member in the process.

Actress Gabrielle Union joins Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer on the NAACP Image Award-winning show. Season 3 kicks off on January 20.

A stunning revelation and an unexpected alliance shake up The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: Dina (played by Logan Polish, right) finally discovers the awful truth about her mom Margot (Melissa George).★★★★☆
Dina (played by Logan Polish, right) finally discovers the awful truth about her mom Margot (Melissa George).
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewAllie Fox finds himself in a tight corner this week on The Mosquito Coast, the absorbing Apple TV+ series about a family on the run from the U.S. government. His son Charlie’s been compromised, so Allie must do a local criminal kingpin a favor. And that puts him in a car with William Lee, the man who tried to kill him.

Also, daughter Dina learns something about her mom Margot that changes everything about their relationship. It’s a magnificently tense and very strong episode all around.

Shantaram seethes with double-crosses and lust for revenge [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Shantaram recap: Everything's coming to a boil, including our hero's temper, as Shantaram heads for its final curtain.★★★
Everything's coming to a boil, including our hero's temper, as Shantaram heads for its final curtain.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review This week on Shantaram, Lin is ready to flee except for one big thing: He wants revenge. The Apple TV+ limited series about a benevolent fugitive on the run from his past is coming to a bloody head as Lin tries to square accounts, Karla runs around town preparing the double-cross of a lifetime, the grim specter of death arrives in Bombay, and everyone else is caught in the middle.

Though this episode is well-played, it focuses on Shantaram’s least-interesting characters.

On Shantaram, our hero needs to escape from Bombay [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★☆☆

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Shantaram recap Apple TV+: Lindsay Ford (played by Charlie Hunnam) realizes it's go time.★★★☆☆
Lindsay Ford (played by Charlie Hunnam) realizes it's go time.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThis week on Shantaram, the Apple TV+ limited series about a fugitive trying and failing to lie low in ’80s Bombay, our hero sees that his days in his new home are numbered. The only question is, will he leave before a trap is sprung on him or meet his destiny head-on?

Lin and Karla aren’t sure they want to say goodbye, Modena makes a risky move (and Lisa’s caught up in his wake), and Pandey must put his money where his mouth is or risk everything.

Everybody’s escape plans are falling apart in a reasonably gripping outing of this reasonably gripping show.

Everyone’s looking for a way out on The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: The members of the Fox family face troubles old and new this week.★★★★☆
The members of the Fox family face troubles old and new this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThe Mosquito Coast hits a dead end this week, and the only one happy about it is Allie Fox. His wife Margot and daughter Dina get desperate looking for a way out of their situation, even as their hosts start to have major second thoughts about their new guests.

Charlie puts himself at risk, Dina goes on a fateful date, Margot throws a Hail Mary — and Allie’s one step ahead of everybody. As we’ve come to expect from Mosquito Coast, this is one tense hour of television.

Shantaram shines with a street fight in Bombay’s slums [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Shantaram recap Apple TV+: Just as in real life, everybody's flawed in Shantaram.★★★
Just as in real life, everybody's flawed in Shantaram.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review In this week’s edition of Apple TV+ limited series Shantaram, Lin recovers from cholera with Karla’s help, and she’s discovering she isn’t the moral person she’d been hoping she was deep down. Shah and Khan go to war over water, Prabhu gets a win, Ravi makes a chilling discovery, and Lisa and Modena have an ultimatum or two in front of them.

As the show enters its back half, Shantaram’s becoming a very agreeable place to hang — even with all the bad people hanging around.

Cholera and shady sex take a toll on Shantaram [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★

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Shantaram recap Apple TV+: During an outbreak of disease, Lin Ford (played by Charlie Hunnam) makes a sketchy deal.★★★
During an outbreak of disease, Lin Ford (played by Charlie Hunnam) makes a sketchy deal.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ Review There’s a cholera outbreak this week on Apple TV+ epic Shantaram, and impostor doctor Lin Ford finds himself in the thick of it. If he saves lives, he’ll become a hero. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a pariah.

Meanwhile, Lisa and Karla make business arrangements that threaten relationships with the people closest to them. Abdullah gives Maurizio an ultimatum, Khan gives the competition a scare, and Lin must make some very hard choices.

It’s another gripping episode of the Bombay-set thriller.

The Foxes need quick fixes on this week’s The Mosquito Coast [Apple TV+ recap] ★★★★☆

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The Mosquito Coast recap Apple TV+: Engine trouble leads to big trouble -- and big revelations -- for the Fox family.★★★★☆
Engine trouble leads to big problems -- and big revelations -- for the Fox family.
Photo: Apple TV+

TV+ ReviewThis week on Apple TV+ thriller The Mosquito Coast, the Fox family’s boat suffers some serious damage but the show itself refuses to run aground.

Allie suffers a bad bug bite that takes him out of the equation when they need him most. Plus, Charlie finally comes clean about his guilt, and Dina starts being honest with herself. It’s an excellent episode with all the tension and beauty you could hope for.