Happy Monday!
This might be the best list I have put out to date. This list has everything you want and more. I am certain you will be transfixed watching all of these selections.
This week on the podcast I have Margaret Josephs from Real Housewives of New Jersey, the author behind the bestselling book about WeWork (the Hulu documentary is a must-watch), and a review of The Circle.
I am most excited about this five-part documentary series Pray, Obey, Kill on HBO, which revisits a complex Swedish murder case from 2004 that gained global attention. Here’s the background: on a cold night in January 2004, gunshots rang out across the remote Swedish village of Knutby, home to a small, tight-knit Pentecostal congregation, leaving a young woman murdered in her bed and her neighbor suffering from multiple bullet wounds. Attention soon turned towards the community: the victim’s husband (also the sect’s pastor), the victim’s 26-year-old nanny, and the sect’s leader known as “The Bride of Christ.”
The case gained instant international notoriety when the nanny confessed within days, claiming she was told to commit the acts of violence through a series of text messages from God. What soon emerged, however, was a tale of a scandalous love triangle and details of another suspicious death that had occurred years before. Behind it all were the mysterious actions of the sect’s leader who exerted an increasingly powerful pull over her congregation.
Tracing the chilling events of January 10, 2004, and the resulting police investigation, criminal trial, and its aftermath, Pray, Obey, Kill highlights investigative journalists Anton Berg and Martin Johnson’s meticulous re-examination of the case. Their investigation includes in-depth interviews with journalists and police investigators who covered the crimes, as well as former members of the Pentecostal sect, some of whom are speaking for the first time about the psychological and physical abuse they suffered.
My Love (Netflix) is about six longtime couples in different parts of the world who share their decades-long love into tender portraits filmed over the course of one year.
The Circle (Netflix) is back. This crazy show is when status and strategy collide. In this social experiment and competition show online players flirt, befriend, and catfish their way toward $100,000.
Wahl Street (HBO Max) is a six-episode documentary series offering fans a glimpse into Mark Wahlberg’s life as he juggles the demands of a rigorous film schedule coupled with an ever-growing network of diverse businesses including his clothing line, Municipal; his gym studio, F45; restaurant chain Wahlburgers; and his production company, Unrealistic Ideas.
I was watching the TV at the nail salon and came across Farmhouse Fixer (HGTV) starring Jonathan Knight. I immediately texted Donnie Wahlberg (brother of Mark from above) and asked how the international sensation known as Jon Knight became an HGTV star. Next thing I know I am on a text chain with Donnie and Jonathan. Yes, I almost shit my running pants. As you know, Jonathan Knight may be best known as a member of the Grammy®-nominated band New Kids on the Block, but in the new HGTV series Farmhouse Fixer, he shares his renovation know-how by meticulously restoring centuries-old New England farmhouses that deserve a second chance.
I can not overstate just how much I am fascinated by Couples Therapy on Showtime, which unlocks a hidden world: other people's relationships. Far from reality-show caricatures, this is true documentary filmmaking that brings viewers into the authentic and visceral experience of weekly therapy with four couples. You feel like you are peeking behind the bush of a plant in a therapy office, and then you get to watch the therapist (who is superb) unravel in her own therapy sessions.
Confronting a Serial Killer on Starz has author and journalist Jillian Lauren uncovering Sam Little's darkest secrets and aids law enforcement in solving several cold cases. This is another gem for true crime lovers.
Call Your Mother on Comedy Central (and YouTube) is a hilarious ode to moms and the way they have shaped the work of some of comedy's biggest stars. You get to hear and see the moms behind Rachel Dratch, Bridgett Everett, and more.
Exterminate All the Brutes (HBO Max) is a four-part documentary that takes on the unwieldy, bitterly contentious subject of white supremacy since the so-called Age of Discovery. Time Magazine has said it may well be the most politically radical and intellectually challenging work of nonfiction ever made for television.
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Have a great week,
Kate