Screens full of familiar crises provide measure of closure

It’s not the end of the world as we know it, it just feels that way. But while waiting for the all-clear, here are a handful of viewing suggestions that offer mostly happy endings for some desperate scenarios.

● The Bear (Season 4 premières with all 10 episodes Wednesday, June 25, on Disney+)

Especially as end-times global conflicts explode and escalate, everyone needs a refuge. Some find it in a luxe restaurant meal, which is the driving philosophy espoused by Carmen (Carmy) Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) in the Season 4 trailer for this acclaimed dramatic comedy. He wants his restaurant, the Bear, to offer exquisite escape, indulgence, cuisine and, most important, care. Close viewers of the previous three seasons know Carmy is also trying to offer that care to himself, in hopes of not having to shut himself into the walk-in freezer, or worse. Questions abound after the Season 3 cliffhanger: Will Syd (Ayo Edibiri) leave the restaurant? Will the restaurant survive a dramatic review? What ridiculousness will Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and the lads get up to? What will the return of Mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) do to Carmy and Co.?

● The Countdown (series premières the first three of 13 episodes on Wednesday, June 25, on Prime Video)

Aspiring to be not just another cop show, this new series centres the reckless, charismatic cop Meacham (Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles, growling: “If I’m going out, I’m going out saving something!”) opposite the eye-rolling Oliveras (Jessica Camacho, All Rise). Another level of balance is attempted via the usual swaggering explosions, car chases and tense standoffs set within the sober framework of a secret task force trying to prevent another 9/11-level attack. The boss is Blythe (Eric Dane, Grey’s Anatomy). The challenge is whether the seesaw of drama and macho goofiness can level off into a good ride.

● Smoke (series premières the first two of 9 episodes Friday on Apple TV+)

The trailer and the series require a trigger warning. “Fire isn’t just an element. Fire is an organism. Fire watches. Fire waits.” Yikes. Considering how much of Western Canada has been aflame with wildfires — some believed to have been set by people later arrested — these lines hit pretty close to home. Taron Egerton (Rocketman) and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country) are on the trail of two serial arsonists. The rest of the cast is equally impressive, including Rafe Spall (Trying), Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine) and John Leguizamo (Bob Trevino Likes It).

● My Mom Jayne (documentary premières on Friday, June 27, on HBO/Crave)

Mariska Hargitay was three years old when her famous mother, Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield, died in a car crash at age 34. Mansfield had been trying, and speaks to that in unearthed interviews, to use her stature as a voluptuous sex symbol to kick open the door onto a larger career. Hargitay, best known as the long-suffering advocate of abused women in Law & Order: SVU’s Det. Olivia Benson, declares that she at first wanted “to do it differently, but I want to understand her now.” In addition to using a rich cache of archival footage, Hargitay interviews her reluctant siblings and plumbs her own fears in this directorial debut.

● Heads of State (movie premières Wednesday, July 2, on Prime Video)

If there were a citizenship test for Winnipeg, one of the requirements would be watching — and LOVING — the 2021 film Nobody, about an average shlub who is much more than he seems. It made Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) an action star and, under the direction of Ilya Naishuller, the Winnipeg-shot film made our city fadingly fabulous and furiously fun. So much so that Nobody 2, also shot here (though with a different director), is in theatres later this summer. In this new action romp, director Naishuller employs the same Nobody-level mashup of physical comedy and hyper violent action. Here, Idris Elba and John Cena play world leaders who must work together to save civilization from an assortment of nuclear villains. Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Citadel) and Jack Quaid (Novocaine) save the central characters from themselves.

Broadcast dates subject to change. Questions, comments to denise.duguay@winnipegfreepress.com.