Just how much did I hate new CBS-Paramount+ drama Watson?
Always be Streaming - Jan 31, 2025
Earlier in the week I gave ABW readers a brief heads-up to check out new show Paradise. It’s quite good and right now is in my top 10 of the year list, but I doubt it is going to stay in there. I’ve already seen two other titles that I know will be not be leaving the list. I don’t quite believe Paradise has the staying power, but it is very good.
But, a show that won’t be anywhere in the list is the profoundly dumb CBS procedural Watson. Yes, it’s a bit watchable in the same way that any show starring Morris Chestnut is very watchable. He’s just so handsome. And so charismatic.
But why do US networks keep shovelling this shit? This places Sherlock Holmes sidekick Dr John Watson at the centre of the story (Holmes is seen in the opening minutes going over the side of a cliff). Just as Conan Arthur Doyle had clearly intended with the character, we follow Dr Watson back to the US where he runs a very well-resourced team of medical researchers who have a huge amount of time and money to investigate mysterious illnesses of patients.
It’s basically House, only with reference to Moriarty every few minutes.
Why bother with any of the Sherlock Holmes IP business? It isn’t that interesting to general audiences and anyone who is interested in a Holmes-adjacent show will just be annoyed at how off-the-mark this feels.
Earlier today movie box-office reporter
made a really astute point when talking about the quiet box office hit Den of Thieves 2 (with news that a third film in the series has just been greenlit. He wrote:Because, when you merely rip-off 'Point Break' or 'Poltergeist' instead of remaking them, you get a multi-movie franchise like 'Fast and the the Furious' and an 'Insidious'.
Mendelson nails it. Audiences don’t want endless retreads of the same IP. Just rip it off and make it seem just different enough. You’ll get lots of snarky comments like “Oh, I liked it better when it was called [blank],” but audiences will still go for it.
Two other things to check out this weekend - the new Marvel Spider-Man cartoon is apparently good. I haven’t gotten to it yet.
But, I did get to the new Prime Video comedy You’re Cordially Invited. Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon play two people responsible for booking a wedding. Through a movie comedy mishap, they book for the same weekend which means this small island events space needs to juggle two weddings.
There’s a really interesting idea in the idea of two weddings taking place concurrently in that the film can explore the differences in relationships, alternate perspectives on what represents a great wedding/expression of a couples love, and even consider it from different generational or financial perspectives.
Of course, there’s almost none of that in the film from writer-director Nicholas Stoller. I’ve complained about Stoller before, but he’s so wildly inconsistent. A friend/disciple from the Judd Apatow school of comedy*, Stoller is the director of films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors, Neighbors 2, and Sex Tape. He worked on shows like Friends From College and Platonic.
[*Stoller was a staff writer on the underrated college comedy show Undeclared]
You’re Cordially Invited is kinda funny for the first thirty or so minutes, but as soon as they get to the wedding destination, the film lacks self-awareness and commits the cardinal sin of characters acting irrationally only to set up comedic moments. And, as is always the case, those jokes never land because it feels so contrived.
Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are good in it and remind us why they have been so enduringly popular for so long. But, the stand-out is supporting cast member Geraldine Viswanathan who you might remember from Blockers, which came out last year - even if the imdb, Wikipedia, and everything that isn’t just my memory insists it was actually 7 years ago (!!!). Anyway, she’s very funny and delightful and will hopefully now have the moment she deserved to have back in 2018 when Blockers actually came out.
Oh, and check out a small indie she did in 2019 called Hala, which I liked a lot. You’ll find it on Apple TV+ and it is about a Pakistani American Muslim girl struggling between the culture of her family and the culture she wants to take part in.
Returning TV
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (s04), School Spirits (s02), Mo (s02), The Recruit (s02), All American (s07), Death in Paradise (s14), Shoresy (s04), The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights Of The Apocalypse (s02)
New TV
Paradise - Hulu [US] | Disney+ [Everywhere else]
Stars: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, and James Marsden.
It's just another day in Paradise until Xavier Collins discovers one of the world's most powerful individuals has been viciously murdered.
Watson - CBS [US] | Paramount+
Stars: Morris Chestnut
A year after the death of his friend and partner Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson resumes his medical career at a clinic dedicated to the treatment of rare diseases. However, he soon finds that his old life is not done with him yet.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man - Disney+
Stars: Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Hugh Dancy
The animated series follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we've ever seen and a style that celebrates the character's early comic book roots.
Mermicorno: Starfall - Max
Stars: Bryn McAuley, Annick Obonsawin
A fun adventure that takes place in a magical underwater world, where a team of Mermicornos join together to save the ocean.
New Movies
You’re Cordially Invited - Prime Video
Stars: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon
A woman planning her sister's ideal wedding and the father of a bride-to-be discover their destination weddings at a remote resort are double-booked. When both parties decide to share the small venue, chaos ensues and disaster awaits.
Lucca’s World - Netflix
Stars: Bárbara Mori, Juan Pablo Medina
Determined to help her son, who has cerebral palsy, Bárbara takes her family to India for an experimental treatment.
That’s the TV listings newsletter for this week.
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