On our streaming radar this week, there’s truly something for everyone: star-studded movies, addictive game shows, highly anticipated returning seasons and documentaries that dig beneath the surface of their subjects. We’re also seeing the return to television of the self-proclaimed King of All Media, proving that even after decades in the spotlight, he still knows how to command an audience.
Up first is native Texan Matthew McConaughey and The Rivals of Amziah King, a crime drama wrapped in a coming-of-age tale, with plenty of Southern flavor.
McConaughey plays Amziah King, a charismatic beekeeper who reunites with his former foster daughter, played by Angelina LookingGlass, and teaches her the honey business. Their makeshift family soon faces threats from rivals, including a particularly imposing Kurt Russell.
The film blends bluegrass music, offbeat humor, bursts of violence, twists, turns and everything in between. Really, it plays like a great novel, and much of that comes down to writer-director Andrew Patterson’s vision. He gives this world its own personality, allowing the characters and their relationships to pull you into a story that keeps changing shape.
The Rivals of Amziah King arrived on digital platforms, including Amazon Video, September 15.
Next, R.J. Decker returns for its second season. The series follows a disgraced newspaper photographer and ex-convict rebuilding his life as a private investigator in South Florida.
Scott Speedman did such a strong job in the first season, giving Decker the charisma needed to carry a show like this. There’s some DNA from detective favorites here: a little Chevy Chase in Fletch, a little Vince Vaughn in Bad Monkey, and even a touch of James Roday Rodriguez’s Shawn Spencer in Psych.
The appeal comes from the combination of bizarre cases and equally complicated personal relationships. Decker has a journalist ex-wife who is now married to a police detective, along with a mysterious benefactor whose involvement makes his life even more interesting.
Season 2 continues the fallout from the first season’s events, and if you enjoyed that initial run, this is one to return to. I think the show has room to keep getting better, particularly as Speedman settles further into the character.
The second season premiered September 15 on ABC, with episodes streaming the following day on Hulu, beginning September 16.
Then there’s The Traitors: New Blood — which just won Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the Emmy Awards.
Alan Cumming has helped turn The Traitors into an addictive television experience, cultivating a cryptic, theatrical atmosphere that has you questioning practically everyone. As the show’s mysterious maître d’ of mayhem, he makes every accusation and sideways glance feel like part of an elaborate performance.
This time, 22 everyday Americans enter a Scottish castle to compete for a prize of up to $250,000. Hidden among them are the Traitors, while the Faithful must work out whom they can trust and whom they need to send packing.
The civilian cast gives the familiar format a fresh dynamic. We get to discover these personalities as they discover one another, which should make the guessing game even more entertaining.
The Traitors: New Blood premieres September 17 on NBC and begins streaming September 18 on Peacock.
MobLand returns to Paramount+ for its second season after plenty of brouhaha surrounding its production. During the press run, Pierce Brosnan dismissed reports of a feud with Tom Hardy, while the cast spoke warmly about working together. On screen, however, there’s no shortage of conflict.
Hardy returns as Harry Da Souza, the fixer responsible for keeping the Harrigan family’s criminal empire functioning. Brosnan and Helen Mirren play Conrad and Maeve Harrigan, whose family faces growing threats from rival organizations and increasingly dangerous fractures within. As loyalties collapse and violence escalates, Harry has to keep the whole operation from tearing itself apart.
There’s something here for viewers who enjoy the family power struggles and combustible personalities of Taylor Sheridan’s dramas, even though MobLand operates in a very different setting. It has the action, intrigue and escalating stakes that have become familiar territory for Paramount+.
It’s also simply fun to watch Brosnan embrace a proper villain after spending so many years as James Bond. He brings a different kind of authority to this role, and pairing him with Mirren gives the Harrigans considerable firepower before anyone even reaches for a weapon.
The new ten-episode season begins September 18 on Paramount+.
Meanwhile, the King of All Media is returning to television.
Longtime Howard Stern fans will remember his E! show and, before that, his Channel 9 program in New York. But the Stern arriving on HBO Max is a more refined broadcaster than the shock jock many viewers first encountered decades ago.
Stern has become one of the most accomplished interviewers in broadcasting, deserving a place in the conversation alongside Tom Snyder and Larry King. His ability to get a guest comfortable, follow an unexpected thread and draw out something revealing has become one of his greatest strengths.
The Howard Stern Show will adapt his SiriusXM broadcasts into weekly streaming episodes, bringing viewers inside the studio for celebrity interviews, humor and commentary, alongside familiar voices including Robin Quivers, Fred Norris and Gary Dell’Abate. The series begins September 17 on HBO Max, with new episodes arriving Thursdays.
For someone whose career has repeatedly inspired speculation about what comes next, this is another interesting chapter. Stern continues to find new ways to put himself in the middle of the pop culture conversation.
And while we’re talking about HBO Max, there’s a documentary series that has particularly piqued my interest.
Hova. International Hov. S. Dot. The Jigga Man. Brooklyn’s finest. Mr. Carter. Lucky Lefty himself.
Jay-Z, the greatest rapper of all time, is putting his creative process under the microscope in JAŸ-Z in 8. The eight-part documentary is built around intimate conversations with Rick Rubin, the legendary producer whose work with Jay-Z includes “99 Problems.”
Together, they examine the music, personal history and experiences behind one of hip-hop’s most impressive catalogs. Rubin also directs the series, which explores how Jay-Z’s life and lyrics inform one another.
We’re talking about an artist with 13 solo studio albums, plus collaborative projects with Beyoncé, Linkin Park, Kanye West and others. His ability to compose and retain lyrics in his head has long been part of his mystique. Getting a closer look at how that mind works is a major part of the appeal.
For me, the prospect recalls the insight offered by his book Decoded, released in 2010. There’s something compelling about hearing him unpack the choices behind words that listeners have spent years memorizing. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, his debut album, and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint, which may be the most complete body of work he has ever released.
Getting inside the mind of Hov begins September 18, when the first two episodes premiere on HBO and HBO Max. Two new episodes follow each Friday through October 9.
