Show Snob's Premiere Review: What to Watch, Wait and See, and Pass on for January 29, 2024

The return of Nicole Kidman and Sofia Vergara highlights this week's premiers. The current active Watch List is the following:

• Fargo (Hulu). All episodes streaming.
• A Murder at the End of the World (Hulu): All episodes streaming.
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV+): All episodes streaming.
• For All Mankind (Apple TV+): All episodes streaming.
• Jack Reacher (Amazon Prime Video). All episodes streaming.
• Yu Yu Hakusho (Netflix)
• Berlin (Netflix)
• The Brothers Sun (Netflix)
• Ted (Peacock)
• Boy Swallows Universe (Netflix). This show didn't finish as well as it started, but a decent show.
• A Shop for Killers (Hulu)
• Monsieur Spade(AMC+). Promoted to watch this week.
• True Detective (MAX)
• Zorro (Amazon Prime Video)

Griselda (Netflix)

Starring Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), Netflix released all six episodes of Griselda. This series is based on the “Godmother” of cocaine distribution in Miami during the 1980’s. As Pablo Escobar said, “There is only one man I am afraid of and that is a woman named Griselda Blanco.”

The show is based on Griselda’s story of moving from Columbia to Miami to escape her husband and her brother-in-law’s abusiveness and small-time smuggling operation. Once in Miami, she uses her old friends, hires an army, and, after a couple of attempts, she takes over the entire Miami operation.

Though this is not Modern Family, it is also not Scarface. There is some violence and some sex, but it could have been much more gruesome, and feels like the creators hedged their bets, which waters down the show a bit.

Verdict: Wait and See.

Sexy Beast (Paramount+)

Based on the Ben Kingsley movie, this series is a prequel located in Ireland.

Though the show is basically a series of heists, the real purpose is to show how Gal and Don (the Ben Kingsley character) became the men they did in the movie.

Like the movie, there is plenty of adult language and some brutal violence. In the background, there is some humor, though not as much as a Guy Ritchie movie, which you could guess is an inspiration for this show.

Verdict: Watch.

Expats (Amazon Prime Video)

Starring Nicole Kidman (Special Ops: Lioness), Expats converts the best-selling book into a series. Amazon released two episodes last week.

Expats is one of those shows where seemingly independent storylines converge behind a mystery or a secret. In this case, Kidman and her family have lost their youngest son in Hong Kong and are trying to move forward. In parallel, her best friend and neighbor’s marriage is breaking up and a young Korean woman (who was somewhat responsible for losing the boy) is trying to equally move on with her life.

The acting is fantastic and the vibe is dark and frantic. You won’t get any smiles from this show but the writing and cast is very good. We’ll have to see how the show progresses, but it premiered pretty well.

Verdict: Watch.

Masters of the Air (AppleTV+)

Starring Austin Butler (Elvis) and Callum Turner (Boys in the Boat), Masters of the Air is the latest WWII show from the Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg collaboration. This time, they are taking to the air to show the Air Force side of the war. Apple released two episodes for the premiere.

Butler and Turner are new to the Air Force and head to England to “bring the war to Hitler’s doorstep.” The show does a phenomenal job of showing the absolute chaos that these soldiers went through while flying missions – surviving freezing cold temperatures, dodging German surface to air missiles, dropping bombs on targets, evading German fighters, navigating in zero visibility, and more. 

When they are not flying the show tries to tackle the comradery of the soldiers, competition with other country’s military, and overall Air Force bureaucracy. That side of the story doesn't start as well as the action scenes, but we are still early in the season.

Verdict: Wait and See.