Ozark and Fraggle Rock serve up excellent new seasons this weekend
Plus: Season 3 of The Servant, Jason Katims' As We See It, and Asghar Farhadi's The Hero
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, January 21, and Saturday, January 22. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
Ozark (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Tonight, the crime drama starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney kicks off its fourth season, which will be split into two parts. “The first half of the final season is packaged such that it sets up the show’s obviously ill-fated end—it’s hard to see how Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) can have a happy ending. But the seven episodes also work well as a shorter season of the show. Ozark returns to prove its worth in the genre by remaining a riveting and satisfying crime drama to its bitter (almost) end.” Here’s the full review of the first half of season four. And if you need a refresher before starting your binge, here’s a helpful catch-up guide.
Fraggle Rock: Back To The Rock (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): “Debuting a year after Apple TV+ launched a series of pandemic-set shorts featuring the core Fraggles, Fraggle Rock: Back To The Rock suggests that the mistake was thinking Fraggle Rock needed to be “reimagined” at all. Yes, Back To The Rock reflects how the world has changed since the original series about the fun-loving creatures living behind the wall of Doc’s workshop debuted in 1983.” Read Myles McNutt’s complete review.
Regular coverage
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1, Friday, 8 p.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:29 p.m.)
Wild cards
The Hero (Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): “It’s with great efficiency that A Hero introduces its title character and communicates his dilemma. Glimpsed, early on, ascending an endless flight of stairs—a shrewd visual representation of the daunting uphill climb of his present circumstances—Rahim (Amir Jadidi) is an incarcerated calligrapher out of prison on leave for two days. It’s an unpaid debt that landed him behind bars; as we learn, his troubles began when a professional partner skipped town with the money the two borrowed to start a business.” Here’s A.A. Dowd’s review of the Asghar Farhadi-directed film.
As We See It (Prime Video, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): “Because the show doesn’t just focus on the difficulties autistic people face, the audience is able to witness their joys, too—the enormity of positive emotions and traits they possess. This flips the narrative about autism from one of burden and misery to one of nuance; a spectrum of experience instead of a condemnation.” Read Elly Belle’s review of Jason Katims’ heartwarming new drama.
The Servant (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m., season-three premiere): M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological horror drama returns for a 10-episode third season, with each outing premiering on a weekly basis. In his review, Alex McLevy writes, “Servant may have dialed back the inspired wackiness of its second season, but by stripping away the campy bells and bizarro whistles, it’s found a nice mix of silly and sinister—a show that gets in, gooses the audience repeatedly with an acidic smile, and gets out.”
Streaming gems
Definition Please and Donkeyhead (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Ava DuVernay’s production company, ARRAY, has acquired two award-winning indie movies helmed by South Asian artists, and will release them on the streaming platform.
Insecure’s Sujata Day directed, wrote, and stars in Definition Please as a former spelling-bee champion named Monica. Despite her early achievements, Monica is stuck in her hometown and lives with her ailing mother. The film follows her journey of unraveling past family trauma. Ritesh Rajan and Anna Khaja also star, and the film includes a LeVar Burton cameo as a bonus.
Donkeyhead, directed and written by Agam Darshi, follows failed writer Mona (Darshi) who carves out a life of isolation while caring for her Sikh father. When he suffers a debilitating stroke, her successful siblings show up, determined to take control of the situation.