For the Culture: Why Watch That’s Recommendations for Black History Month, Part 1

FILM

The Oscar Win: Moonlight

The Art House Indie: If Beale Street Could Talk, Sorry to Bother You

The Horror Film: Get Out

The History Lesson: Selma, Hidden Figures, The Birth of a Nation, 12 Years a Slave

The Good Sport: Creed, Queen of Katwe

From Stage to Screen: Fences

The Commercial Hit: Girl’s Trip, Black Panther

TV Talk

SERIES PREMIERES
Russian Doll (Netflix)
A woman gets caught in a mysterious loop, repeatedly attending the same party and dying at the end of the night, only to awake the next day unharmed.

The ABC Murders (Amazon)
In 1933, retired detective Hercule Poirot is targeted by a taunting killer who sends letters signed “ABC”, which Poirot must decode in order to discover the identity of the murderer.

SEASON PREMIERES
The Magicians (Syfy)
Quentin Coldwater, a grad student at Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy, has been fascinated by the magical fantasy world since he was young. But as he has gotten older, Quentin and his 20-something friends have discovered that the magical world they read about as children is not only real, but it poses dangers to humanity. While studying at the secret upstate New York school, the friends struggle to cope with the aftermath of a catastrophe that befalls the institution. The fantasy series is based on a series of novels by Lev Grossman.

Suits (USA)
Big-time Manhattan corporate lawyer Harvey Specter and his team, which includes Donna Paulsen, Louis Litt, and Alex Williams, are launched into a play for power when a new partner joins the firm. With his two best associates gone and Jessica back in Chicago, Specter and the team try to adjust to a new normal without them. The team faces down betrayals, fiery relationships, and secrets that eventually come to light. Old and new rivalries surface among members of the team as they learn to deal with their new member.

SEASON FINALES
Outlander (Starz)
After serving as a British Army nurse in World War II, Claire Randall is enjoying a second honeymoon in Scotland with husband Frank, an MI6 officer looking forward to a new career as an Oxford historian. Suddenly, Claire is transported to 1743 and into a mysterious world where her freedom and life are threatened. To survive, she marries Jamie Fraser, a strapping Scots warrior with a complicated past and a disarming sense of humour. A passionate relationship ensues, and Claire is caught between two vastly different men in two inharmonious lives. `Outlander’ is adapted from the best-selling books by Diana Gabaldon.

Vikings (History)
Viking Ragnar Lothbrok is a young farmer and family man who is frustrated by the policies of Earl Haraldson, his local chieftain who sends his Viking raiders east to the Baltic states and Russia, whose residents are as poor as the Norsemen. Ragnar wants to head west, across the ocean, to discover new civilizations. With assistance from his friend Floki, Ragnar builds a faster, sleeker fleet of boats to help him make it to the Western world. Through the years Ragnar, who claims to be a direct descendant of the god Odin, continues to struggle with Earl until the two face each other in a final battle for supremacy. Following that, Ragnar goes on a search for new lands to conquer.

First Look: The Wife (Theaters & On Demand)
The Wife
Description
Joan and Joe remain complements after nearly 40 years of marriage. Where Joe is casual, Joan is elegant. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as the great American novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm and diplomacy into the private role of a great man’s wife. As Joe is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize for his acclaimed and prolific body of work, Joan starts to think about the shared compromises, secrets and betrayals.

Director: Björn Runge
Produced by: Meta Louise Foldager, Rosalie Swedlin, Claudia Bluemhuber, Piers Tempest, Piodor Gustafsson
Cast: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Max Irons, Annie Starke, Harry Lloyd, Elizabeth McGovern
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: August 17, 2018
Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
Genre: Drama, Sport
R