Some weeks Netflix drives me a little nuts trying to find something worth watching, and other weeks it releases something as stunningly smart as Russian Doll. You could write essays just on the superb visuals of show, let alone the actually journey it takes you on.
It’s also one of those rare shows that allows itself to come together oh-so-perfectly. Not that everything is answered in the end — but it manages to explore the Groundhog Day-like conceit inside and out and close off key emotional arcs in eight quick episodes. Things are still messy, as they ought to be, but you’re left without the need to see a second more.
It’s something that I have to wonder if Netflix will allow for more of. It’s not that contained miniseries never existed before, but they’re less common, since networks would much rather keep people coming back. But Netflix can keep contained series alive with recommendation after recommendation, and maybe that’ll lead to more smart shows that are able to blur the line between film and TV.
Check out nine trailers from this week below.
Sonic the Hedgehog
You know when something really socially awkward and embarrassing is happening, and you can’t look away? That’s literally every moment in this trailer that shows Sonic. I’m just bewildered by the creative approach to this character. It is just. so. weird. (And I guess the studio only just figured that out.) It comes out November 8th.
Veronica Mars
Hulu is bringing back Veronica Mars, and this teaser is the first to offer a real look at what the new season is all about — plus some of the guest stars it’s bringing in. The new season debuts July 26th.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Hulu’s hit series comes back next month with Elisabeth Moss’ Offred quietly searching for allies to help her fight against the totalitarian society she’s been enslaved by. The show looks about as dark and hauntingly shot as ever. The season premieres June 5th.
Ophelia
What do you do when you’re already in one of the biggest movie series in the world? You go and do Shakespeare for a little while. Ophelia has Daisy Ridley starring in a Hamlet adaptation that’s been re-centered around one of the play’s most critically complex characters. It comes out June 28th.
Late Night
Here’s the latest trailer for Mindy Kaling’s Sundance hit, which has her playing a new hire at a talk show desperately in need of fresh voices. It looks like a very funny way to explore the challenges faced by women of color in comedy (and overwhelmingly white and male workplaces in general). It comes out June 7th.
Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
I don’t know why Apocalypse Now needs another cut, or honestly who could handle viewing this film multiple times or in an even longer format, but the film is now getting a 4K re-release that’s supposed to be halfway between the original cut and the Redux cut that was released in 2001, with about 30 minutes of additional footage over the original. It’ll be in theaters on August 15th.
The Righteous Gemstones
John Goodman and Danny McBride star in a new HBO comedy series about a family of wealthy and wildly inappropriate televangelists. I was really ready to hate it, but the show looks like it could be very funny. It debuts this August.
Succession
I haven’t watched any of Succession yet, but several Verge staffers freaked when this trailer dropped, which seems like a good sign that I should include it here. The new season start in August.
Crawl
Okay, this movie looks ridiculous in 100 different ways, but also, it’s a genius premise for a thriller. Crawl is about a woman trying to escape a home in Florida that’s rapidly flooding from a hurricane but can’t leave until she frees her father who’s become trapped. Also, there are super evil alligators. It comes out July 12th.
