The Girlfriend is a slippery, dual-perspective psychological thriller on Prime Video, adapted from Michelle Frances's 2017 bestselling novel. Robin Wright, who also directs several episodes and executive produces, stars as Laura, a successful gallery owner and fiercely protective mother whose comfortable life tilts off its axis when her adored son Daniel brings home a new girlfriend. Olivia Cooke plays Cherry, the ambitious young woman who may be a devoted partner or a calculating opportunist, depending entirely on whose version of events you believe.
The series' central formal trick is to refuse to take a side. As the relationship between the two women curdles from wary politeness into open psychological warfare, the show replays key events from each woman's point of view, subtly altering a glance, a line of dialogue, or a gesture so that the same scene reads as either menacing or perfectly innocent. The effect keeps the audience permanently off balance, unsure whether Laura is a mother rightly sensing danger or a snob poisoning her son's happiness, and whether Cherry is a victim or a predator.
Wright and Cooke are both excellent, circling each other with icy precision, and critics praised the series as a tense, morally ambiguous adult thriller elevated by its two committed leads. Stylish and coolly unnerving, The Girlfriend is streaming on Prime Video.
And so does the original title which was Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. The shows protagonist character, Chelsea Newman is based on Chelsea Handler and her friends who are a group of working class folks from New Jersey. The real Chelsea is Chelsea Joy Handler, a comedienne as well as TV talk show host who wrote the book. In this sitcom we find Laura Prepon (That 70's Show, October Road) playing the main role and even the real Chelsea Handler has a minor role as Sloane. Others include Jake McDorman (CSI: Miami, Greek) as Rick, Dee Dee is played by Lauren Lapkus (a stand up comedian and improvisationist), Melvin is portrayed by Lenny Clarke (Rescue Me, The John Larroquette Show), and as Olivia is Ali Wong from Breaking In, Chelsea Lately. Many of the characters are based on the book by Chelsea Handler and take place in the sports bar the character works. Expect to see plenty of outrageous behavior from this twenty something social group.
John Grisham knows law and lawyers well because he is one himself. When he writes it usually centers around attorneys and courtrooms. The Firm was a hit movie starring Tom Cruise back in 1993 and was based on Grisham's second novel which became a best seller of the same title in 1991. When a young straight arrow Memphis attorney is hired by an organized crime related enterprise he has no idea what he's getting into until the Chicago mob ties become all too apparent. He then becomes a "whistleblower" for the FBI and helps bring down the Memphis law firm Chicago based mob ties. As the TV series begins Mitchell Y. McDeere (Josh Lucas from A Beautiful Mind, Glory Road) and his family emerge from the witness protection program only to encounter challenges, both new and old, that still threaten him and his family. Also starring in The Firm are Molly Parker (Dexter, Shattered) as Abby McDeere wife of Mitch, Callum Keith Rennie (Rookie Blue, The Killing) as Ray McDeere, Natasha Calis (Gone, Alice) as Claire McDeere, and Juliette Lewis from Natural Born Killers, From Dusk till Dawn as Tammy. Perhaps they should have remained in the security of Witness Protection.
Detective Rebecca Madsen has a family history with the prison island Alcatraz and when fingerprints discovered at a grisly homicide case are found to be those of a diseased prisoner from years ago, Jack Sylvane, she becomes very interested in solving the case. The San Francisco Police Department detective teams up with an expert on Alcatraz history as well as a fan of comic book, Dr. Diego Soto, they attempt to piece the clues together and find out how an inmate in such a secure prison could still be alive and prowling the streets after all these years. It is soon discovered that Sylvane is involved in more murders and he may not be the only one to reappear from the inescapable prison known as The Rock, Alcatraz. Det. Madsen's grandfather and her surrogate uncle were both guards at Alcatraz while it was in operation and they know the dark past of that prison. Soon Madsen and Doc are joined by government agent Emerson Hauser and Lucy Banerjee, his technician. Hauser has been aware of Alcatraz' history and seems to have been waiting for something to happen. This series revolves around evidence that comes up and delves into the history of that infamous prison. Det Rebecca Madsen is played by Sarah Jones (Ugly Betty), the murderous Jack Sylvane is played by Jeffrey Pierce (Private Practice, Knight Rider), Sam Neill (Day Breakers, Jurassic Park) plays government agent Hauser, and Hauser's technician Lucy Banerjee is played by Parminder Nagra (ER, The Whole Truth).
Jane by Design keeps busy balancing fashion job and school. But Jane is just a teenager! Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher from The Lake, Vicariously) is a high school student yet managed to accidently get herself a job with responsibilities as an assistant to a fashion designer, Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell of At Risk, The Front). Now it's up to Jane to keep up at school and hold down her job. Her parents are gone and her big brother, Ben can't seem to keep a job for long so Jane tries her best to help out with the finances. Ben Quimby (David Clayton Rogers from Sublime, Dark Ride) finally lands a job as athletic assistant in Jane's school. He is Jane's guardian since their father died and mother left. Jane also has a longtime crush on Nick Fadden but her main goal is keep her grades up and maintain her busy job. That's a lot of responsibility on a young girls shoulders! Original show title was What Would Jane Do.
A comedy based a book with the lengthy title like House of Lies: How Managements Consultants Will Steal Your Watch And Then Tell The Time exemplifies how well some management consultants can "pull the wool" over the eyes of businesses who hire them. Created by Matthew Carnahan (writer producer of Dirt, The Fugitive) House of Lies is a biting satire with devilishly good characters that are fun to watch each week if only to see who they will "screw" next! With a stellar cast including Don Cheadle (Ocean's Eleven, Traffic) as Marty Kaan a cutthroat and highly successful consultant that goes to any lengths to help his clients, Dawn Olivieri (Takedown, Drop Dead Gorgeous) as Marty's pill popping nutty ex-wife Monica, Ben Schwartz (Everybody's Fine, The Other Guys) is Clyde Oberholt a member of Marty's team of consultants. Also starring are Kristen Bell as Jeannie Van Der Hooven, another consultant and Richard Shiff as Marty's boss. Plenty of crazy antics as the "team" go about getting information for their clients by any means possible.
With much humor derived from some cast members of Saturday Night Live and with approval from Lorne Michaels himself, Portlandia was born. The name Portlandia refers to a sculpture with that title found over the entrance doors of the Portland Building which is situated in downtown Portland on Fifth Avenue. The show has the fast paced comedy touch that SNL is well noted for and cast members Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein help keep it moving along. With Lorne Michaels as executive producer and creative writing from Fred Armisen, Jonathan Krisel, and Carrie Brownstein the show appears to have a bright future. We see how popular restaurants along the famous Hawthorne District in Portland handle irate dinner guests when they leave rather nasty reviews on a website titled Yelp! Another episode finds how badly a one man performance can actually be at the Hollywood Theatre, a local historic building in northeast Portland. If it happens in or around Portland it might end up on the show in some fashion, most likely comedic in tone. Portlandia currently runs on the IFC (Independent Film Channel).
After a hiatus of several years Fear Factor is back bigger and more daring than ever before. Reality shows are so popular today, mainly because they give viewers a glimpse into lives of real people who are living real events most of us seldom encounter (or would ever choose to). With a theme similar to the enormously popular Survivor, Fear Factor makes reality stars out of everyday people who can stand the test of some pretty dangerous stunts and dares when they compete against one another for a monetary reward. The prize of $50,000 is a big incentive and one that makes otherwise sensible folks take risks most of us are barely able to watch! Now there are four teams, each consisting of two people to a team who have been involved in some previous relationship with each other. Not being able to complete a stunt spells elimination and as host Joe Rogan says in a disclaimer "The stunts were supervised and designed by professionals! They're extremely dangerous & shouldn't be attempted by anyone at any time or anywhere!"
Back in the 1960's there was such a thing as "swapping" with couples trading spouses for a "swingers" affair. This was not common practice but had an ancient history with the first known affairs with consent happening back in the 16th century! Today it's all part of reality television and aimed at an audience with curiosity in poor taste. For two weeks (in virtual time) we view how well celebrity guests cope with each other's spouse. The first episode illustrates how different we all are. Carnie Wilson and Tracy Gold exchange hubbies and households. Carnie is part of the musical group Wilson Phillips and daughter of Beach Boy Brian Wilson and a self proclaimed "slob". She lives a truly casual life with her musician husband Rob Bonfiglio. Tracy Gold, who was a child star on Growing Pains back in the 80's, is a control freak who is madly in love with her hubby Roby Marshall and their four kids. The first week of the "swap" we'll see the celebrities live by rules dictated in the host's home but the next week they turn the tables and rule the roost of their new temporary spouse. Interesting concept that may grow thin after a few celebs self implode! Watch for Gary Busey exchange wives with Ted Haggard next time!
Celebrity chefs make for popular culinary reality television programming. The star of Chef Roble & Co is Roble Ali originally from Poughkeepsie, New York. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he always wanted to follow in his grandfather's (Jesse Harris) footsteps and become a professional chef. On this new reality based show we see him attempt to start a high end catering business in New York with able assistance from his older sister Jasmine. Chef Roble & Co launches their very selective catering business for celebrity clients that include a wedding for a dog, the unveiling of a naked statue, Indian food served up at a dance party for the rich, and carnival antics and food themed to the wild party of very rich and discriminating. As many of these extravagant parties are conducted outside, the weather often plays a part in how well the party plays out as in a graduation party planned for Vanessa Williams and her young children. The bigger and more outlandish the party idea, the better our fearless chef copes, proving he can handle most any situation as long as food is involved. Roble, known as the "Hip Hop Chef" has cooked for musical notables such as Michael Jackson, Russell Simmons, Rachel Dratch, and Faith Evans.
Who would have thought that the same man who used to put surgical gloves over his head to gain laughs could become so enormously popular, not to mention talented as Howie Mandel. His most recent endeavor includes taking the concept of an increasingly popular concept of flash mobs and turning it into a successful Fox television program called Mobbed. The program combines the "candid camera" concept with surprise occurrences leading up to some pretty interesting programming. Among the plans are a marriage proposal, a pregnancy disclosure, and a job applicant finding she got the job. This is all done with the aid of thousands of guests so the surprise ending is saved for show's end. Viewers watch as guests prep for the main event and rehearse their lines and routines. Mandel is there to guide them through detailed plans until the grand finale. Starting with a few dancers the show moves into a grand scale type performance to conclude some pretty life changing events we can all watch on the show. Highly addictive new show!
