Week of August 15 – 21

Summer might be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean the season of superheroes has to end. This week we’re getting “Lanterns,” from DC and HBO, centered on the Green Lantern Corps, and we would argue it’s one of the more emotional and entertaining superhero adventures in recent memory, full of mystery and intrigue. But if you want your drama less comic book-y, there’s tons of other stuff this week, including a glut of documentaries about everything from Disney Parks (“Disney Worldbuilders” on Disney+) to faulty airplanes (“Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing” on Netflix) to lions (“Lion” on National Geographic), plus a pair of sports documentaries (“Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter” on Prime Video and “The Dynasty: UConn Huskies” on Apple TV). And sure, we’ll count “Conan O’Brien Must Go” (on HBO Max) as a documentary. Why not?

On with the television! 

Lanterns

Sunday, August 16 at 9 p.m., HBO

Source: HBO

One of the year’s best new shows, “Lanterns” is set firmly within the larger DC Universe but takes a more grounded approach to your favorite fear-free space cops than you were probably imagining. Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, Earth’s go-to Green Lantern, in a story that skips around in time but begins in 1996. Jordan is training a new Green Lantern, John Stewart (played by “Rebel Ridge” breakout Aaron Pierre) and doesn’t think he has the chops to be a member of the intergalactic peacekeeping organization. But once they stumble upon a mystery in a sleepy Nebraska town, it’ll test both men – both Lanterns! – and reveal a dark and vast conspiracy.

“Lanterns” hails from comic book legend Tom King, “Leftovers” and “Lost” mastermind Damon Lindelof and “Ozark” creator Chris Mundy, who each bring their own unique sensibilities and strengths. It really is remarkable to behold. And even if you’ve never touched a comic book in your life (or haven’t watched any superhero media in the past several years), there is plenty to adore in “Lanterns,” from the sterling performances from everyone (Laura Linney shows up early in the show in a role we are forbidden from discussing but knocks it out of the park) to a labyrinthine mystery that unfolds and then folds back on itself, “Lanterns” definitely earns its place as the new Sunday night HBO drama that you’re going to be obsessed with.

In brightest day or in darkest night. [TRAILER]

Outer Banks

Thursday, August 20, Netflix

Source: Netflix

Teen-centered Netflix dramas are dropping like flies! First “Stranger Things” wrapped up its epic five-season run and now the rascally kids from “Outer Banks” are packing it in. The series, which was created by showrunners Josh Pate, Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke mixed usual teenage drama with treasure-hunting adventure and social commentary, making stars out of Madelyn Cline (who went on to star in “Glass Onion”) and Drew Starkey (so great alongside Daniel Craig in “Queer”) and generating much discussion online and on social media. There’s even a companion video podcast going up alongside the fifth – and final! – season of “Outer Banks.” Why not take a dip? [TRAILER]

Disney Worldbuilders

Thursday, August 20, Disney+

Source: Disney+

Earlier this year Leslie Iwerks, the wonderful documentarian behind “The Imagineering Story” (arguably her magnum opus) and “100 Years of Warner Bros.,” unleashed “Disneyland Handcrafted,” an absolutely beautiful ode to the creative and technical spirit required to get Disneyland out of the ground in less than a year. Using only archival footage (colorized by Industrial Light & Magic and given effects by Skywalker Sound), it is a wholly unique and utterly immersive masterpiece.

So it makes sense that she would follow up a look at the parks’ origins with a documentary about where it’s headed next. “Disney Worldbuilders,” which runs a breathless 58 minutes, follows key creative bigwigs at the Walt Disney Company (like Pixar chief Pete Docter, Lucasfilm principals Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige) and investigates their relationship with the Disney Parks and how they are pushing things forward with new, innovative attractions. While the documentary spends an inordinate amount of time with outgoing CEO Bob Iger, at times feeling like part of his prolonged victory lap, it is always engaging and frequently skirts ever giving off “promotional video” vibes.

There are also some nifty, exclusive looks at upcoming projects like Avengers: Infinity Defense, part of Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure, which will make you very, very excited. Was “Disney Worldbuilders” designed to make you book your next trip to a Disney Park while watching? Perhaps. But it doesn’t make the movie any less engaging or less fun. Nobody does it like Iwerks. [TRAILER]

Lion

Wednesday, August 19 at 8 p.m., National Geographic

Source: National Geographic

This four-part documentary series is being marketed as a real-life version of Disney’s “The Lion King,” and charts “a remarkable four-year journey of a tiny lion cub named Kio as he becomes a king,” according to the official synopsis. Photographed over four years, “Lion” was executive produced by Jon Favreau (who directed the 2019 version of “The Lion King”) and features music co-composed by Hans Zimmer (who did the score for both the original animated “Lion King” and the updated version) and narration by O.J. Lynch (who played Mufasa from “The Lion King” stage production). Filmed in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, this is the first natural history production to document a lion’s complete journey from vulnerable cub to king. The crew, including local Kenyan filmmakers, logged nearly 1,400 filming days across 52 shoots — “the most time ever spent in the field exclusively following a single pride,” according to the official release. Is there a story more epic than “The Lion King?” “Lion” seems to answer that question with a resounding yes. Or is that a resounding roar? [TRAILER]

Big City Greens

Disney+

Source: Disney Channel

Since debuting on the Disney Channel back in 2018, “Big City Greens” has become one of the most popular and dependably entertaining Disney animated series of all time. The show, created by Chris and Shane Houghton, is built around a deceptively simple premise (not too far off from “The Beverly Hillbillies”), following a country bumpkin family as they discover life in the big city.

From that straightforward plot, “Big City Greens” is able to mine some surprising emotional and intellectual depths. And the colorful animation, full of perfectly designed characters and agreeable environments, calls to mind something like a more streamlined “Simpsons.” (Even somewhat grumpy film critic David Ehrlich, on a recent episode of podcast “Blank Check,” admitted how brilliant the show was after his children became obsessed.)