America: The Motion Picture (Netflix film) — Channing Tatum voices a very profane (and buff) George Washington in this series that’s directed by Archer‘s Matt Thompson and produced by The Mitchells vs. the Machines‘ Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Washington declares that he wants to “start a f*cking revolution,” and he’s accompanied by a beer-guzzling Sam Adams, an angry Geronimo, Paul Revere, and Thomas Edison as they decide to take on Benedict Arnold and King James. In the synopsis, Netflix promises, “[T]hese are not your father’s Founding… uh, Fathers.”
Martha Gets Down and Dirty: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — The frequent onscreen and business partner of Snoop Dogg goes solo while traveling home to her 150-acre farm where, as the title suggests, she gets her hands seriously dirty. Martha Stewart might be 79 years young and a total perfectionist, but she’s entirely engaged in prepping her farm for summertime, and that means some serious digging in the dirt alongside her gardener, Ryan McCallister. Stewart has duly promised, “I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes as I get my hands dirty around my property, as well as help my celebrity friends and surprise some unsuspecting callers.” So… Snoop? A girl can dream.
The Tomorrow War (Amazon Prime film) — A summer blockbuster movie lands in your living room at no extra cost to Amazon Prime subscribers, so how lucky are you feeling right about now? The film stars Chris Pratt (alongside J.K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, and more) in a world where time travelers from 2051 arrive to warn mankind that a global war against an alien species is coming. The only way possible for this to turn out well for humans is if soldiers and civilians join the future fight, and this film comes from the mind of director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie), so we’re in good hands all around. Get your microwave popcorn ready.
Roswell: The Final Verdict (Discovery+ limited series) — The recently declassified UFO reports from the Pentagon didn’t exactly satisfy curious minds, so there’s no time like the present for revisiting the 1937 Roswell, New Mexico incident, in which a rancher claims to have witnessed strange debris gathering, which led to decades of denials by the U.S. government and endless conspiracy theories. This series will revisit eyewitness accounts in an attempt to uncover the whole truth.
Back to scheduled programming, although it’s largely a streaming weekend:
Betty: (Friday, HBO 11:00pm) — The main players are all back: Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt. This week, Kirt’s on a mission and getting up into trouble while Honeybear and Camille waver, and Indigo’s new endeavor is a rough one.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (Sunday, NBC 8:00 p.m.) — Independence Day celebrations are coming back, and this year, there’s a lineup of all-star artists (including Black Pumas, Coldplay, OneRepublic, Reba McEntire) to welcome back gatherings and concerts as the world continues healing.
Kevin Can F**k Himself (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — It’s road-trip time for Allison and Patty, who is also dealing with pharmacy-bust questions. And Allison lets Patty know about her plan, so oh boy, get ready, Kevin.
Rick and Morty (Sunday, Adult Swim, 11:00pm) — This week, the Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland-led show (newly back for Season 5) teases a title about recycling before it’s too late.
Here are more streaming picks for the weekend:
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (Netflix film) — Author RL Stine’s works find new terrifying life in this first trilogy installment about a group of teenagers who inadvertently stumble upon a source of ancient evil. Before long, they’re wrapped up in a 300-year-old nightmare that’s messed with their Shadyside community, and expect more where this came from when Fear Street Part 2: 1978 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 eventually arrive.
We The People (Netflix series) — This show aims to educate young Americans about basic U.S. civics lessons, but the method is anything but basic and involves combining groundbreaking animation and original music. Expect tunes from H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Brandi Carlile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Lambert, Cordae, Bebe Rexha, KYLE, and Andra Day. Poet Amanda Gorman will also be on hand to inspire the masses like she did at the recent inauguration.
No Sudden Move (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — Right at home in the comfort of your own living room, you can enjoy the newest Steven Soderbergh-directed picture that’s set in 1954 Detroit. The cast includes half of Hollywood, it seems, including Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Kieran Culkin, Ray Liotta, and Brendan Fraser. The name of the game is a botched plan by a gathering of small-potatoes criminals, who must hunt down who hired them and find out what’s actually going on in the rapidly morphing city.
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu film) — Questlove’s stepping into the director’s seat for the first time for this cinematic historical record that celebrates Black history over the course of six weeks. The culmination, of course, turns out to be the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, and this film brings you never-before-seen footage of performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and many more.
The Boss Baby: Family Business (Peacock film) — Alec Baldwin’s back as the Boss Baby, who is now (apparently?) all grown up. He’s even a hedge fund CEO, but another boss baby, who’s even more of a whippersnapper, might bring the first boss baby back together with his older brother (James Marsden), and then they’ll all attempt a family business. The best news, perhaps, is that Amy Sedaris is voicing a new infant on the block, and there are dark secrets and mysterious ways afoot at BabyCorp. In the end, expect some lessons on the meaning of family because, yup, we’re in family territory.
Loki: Episode 4 (Disney+ series, leftover from Wednesday morning) — Tom Hiddleston has an absolute blast playing the mercurial trickster of the MCU, and we shall reap the benefits while he helps (or hinders) the Time Variance Authority during the process of cleaning up the timeline. This week, the show will follow up on Sophia Di Martino’s “Variant” character teaming up with Loki, after the series inserted a significant detail into canon while appearing to also confirm a theory about the TVA.
