Time jumps, Gentlemen, 3 Body Problems, and more from this week in TV

TV’s 10 greatest time-jump sequences

The “time jump” sequence is one of those concepts that could only really ever flourish in television—where the passage of time is so frequently stuck in place, sometimes for years on end, that deciding to suddenly move a show’s timeline forward in the span of a single scene, cut, or montage can feel like a radical and monumental shift. The really great examples of the form, though, don’t just slap a chyron on the screen and call it a day/year/millennia, etc. Instead, they endeavor to say something meaningful about the time that’s passed, the ways the show’s characters have evolved and mutated—or, tellingly, haven’t—in the months and years that have vanished in the span of a single zoom shot or needle drop. Read More

The Gentlemen review: Well, damn, Guy Ritchie’s TV show is a really fun time

If there’s one thing Guy Ritchie has zeroed in on—besides churning out a new project almost every year, that is—it’s helming a fun British caper. From Snatch to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to Operation Fortune, his films aren’t qualitatively equal, but he’s weaved a signature style into them all. No matter what, there will be breezy dialogue, multiple heists, suave yet kooky gangsters, and amusing visuals. This well-established format is the driving force of his Netflix drama, The Gentlemen, which premieres March 7. Read More

3 Body Problem looks as grand as Game Of Thrones in final trailer

Say what you want about Game Of Thrones (we certainly have), but it’s hard to deny that the series was huge and literally epic in a way few television shows are today. Sure, we still have Television Events—the online response to Logan’s death on Succession was almost comparable to the Red Wedding, for example—but on GOT, at least in its early seasons, characters simply walking from one place to another felt weighty and important. While we don’t know if besmirched GOT creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be able to replicate that level of quality in 3 Body Problem, their first project since leaving Westeros, it’s abundantly clear that they’re trying. Read More

Curb Your Enthusiasm recap: The fish is a metaphor, you see

Well, this episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm begins just as it should, considering the circumstances: with a dedication to Richard Lewis, longtime actor on the show and real life friend to Larry David, who passed away earlier this week. It’s a sad thing, and oddly, a couple of weeks ago on Curb, the TV versions of David and Lewis were bickering about who was going to die first and leave the other behind to collect whatever sum was left to them in their departed friend’s will—Lewis was the one to introduce the subject. (They bring the will thing back in this latest episode, too.) Now that Lewis is really gone, it makes that bit hit differently and casts a sort of pall over things, one that will likely linger throughout the rest of season 12. Still, there were funnies to be had here; let’s give them their due as well. Read More

Shōgun recap: The epic turns up the action in “Tomorrow Is Tomorrow”

We know now that Shōgun has established itself as a Big Serious Show, but what if I told you there were some amusing little capers in store? That’s more the tenor of this episode, as Lord Yoshii Toranaga tries to save his own ass at all costs. Lady Ochiba is returning to Osaka from Toranaga’s castle at Edo now that her sister’s baby (Toranaga’s granchild) has arrived, and with her back in the fold, Toranaga’s time as a captive is ending; he’s moving a big step closer to execution o’clock. But you and I know that he’s too smart to just sit there and take a blade to the neck, so let’s talk about what he gets up to with Anjin/Blackthorne, Mariko-sama, and his frenemy Lord Yabushige by his side. Read More

Resident Alien is your next wacky, wholesome binge

A mild spoiler alert: Resident Alien’s March 6 episode ends with a kiss. After briefly resisting each other, two blue-colored otherworldly creatures levitate while making out. One of them is a tall, bald alien with intestines on the outside of his stomach who later goes by Harry (Alan Tudyk). The other is an intergalactic bird being named Heather (The Righteous Gemstones’ Edi Patterson). Perhaps this helps you picture the “Resident Alien is wacky” part. So let’s help explain why SYFY’s original drama, which is in the midst of its third season, is also very wholesome. Read More

The Cleaning Lady cast on pushing ahead after the loss of one of their own

The Cleaning Lady is back on call. Nearly 15 months after wrapping up its sophomore season, the hit Fox crime drama returned on March 5 for a tantalizing third round, in which protagonist Thony De La Rosa (Élodie Yung) must find a way to sweep up messes of her own making by venturing deeper into the criminal underworld. Read More

Andrew Scott gets his Saltburn on in new Ripley trailer

Andrew Scott is reinforcing one of cinema’s oldest truisms in his new Netflix series, Ripley: never trust anyone when they say they’re an accountant. The All Of Us Strangers star is returning to his Sherlock-era criminal mastermind roots as Tom Ripley, a grifter who descends into a life of fraud, deception, and murder after he’s hired by a wealthy man to return his debaucherous son home from Italy. Read More

Ewan McGregor and his mustache are hotel-bound in the A Gentleman In Moscow trailer

Following up on his incredible beard work in a galaxy far, far away, Ewan McGregor is taking his knack for stylish and full facial hair to Russia. Armed with nothing more than a thick pushbroom hanging over his upper lip and a positive mental attitude, Ewan McGregor stars in A Gentleman In Moscow, an eight-episode limited series coming to Paramount+ with Showtime. Read More

Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai on Shōgun, the TV epic of the moment

FX’s years-in-the-making epic Shōgun is finally here—and it’s just as awesome and grandiose as we could have hoped. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, the 10-episode series shines with arresting visuals and sublime performances. Plus, there’s a huge difference from the 1980 miniseries. While that one centered its Japan-set story mainly through the lens of a white character, the present iteration, created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, treats him as an outsider. Read More