Bill Matlock / Freeform
Don’t you just love it when Freeform comes through with a completely bonkers teen thriller? My current obsession is
Cruel Summer, a deliciously bingeable new series created by Bert V. Royal, best known for writing the 2010 teen comedy
Easy A. In today’s glut of trash TV,
Cruel
Summer’s premise feels genuinely fresh and compelling, even if I’m not quite sure how they’ll manage to pull it all off.
Every episode takes place on the same day over three years 1993, 1994, and 1995 allowing for some fun throwback costuming: the girls in slip dresses over white T-shirts, the boys rocking baby Leo DiCaprio’s floppy hair. The drama starts when beloved popular girl Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) suddenly goes missing. In the year she’s gone, awkward misfit Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia) somehow manages to take over Kate’s life: She starts dating Kate’s boyfriend, becomes friends with her friends. And then there’s the twist: Kate is found al
Tom Clancy s Without Remorse
Starring Michael B. Jordan. Oh, you needed more information than that? The Jack Ryan universe expands with this action flick starring Jordan as John Clark, an elite Navy SEAL out to avenge the murder of his pregnant wife. Jodie Turner-Smith and Lauren London co-star.
Tom Clancy s Without Remorse
Amazon Studios
STREAMING ON PRIME VIDEO
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Forget Netflix s new Play Something feature you ll want to specifically search out this hilarious animated comedy about a dysfunctional family who becomes humanity s last hope in the robot apocalypse. The movie boasts a winning voice cast including Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Olivia Colman.
Tom Clancy s Without Remorse
Starring Michael B. Jordan. Oh, you needed more information than that? The Jack Ryan universe expands with this action flick starring Jordan as John Clark, an elite Navy SEAL out to avenge the murder of his pregnant wife. Jodie Turner-Smith and Lauren London co-star.
Tom Clancy s Without Remorse
Amazon Studios
STREAMING ON PRIME VIDEO
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Forget Netflix s new Play Something feature you ll want to specifically search out this hilarious animated comedy about a dysfunctional family who becomes humanity s last hope in the robot apocalypse. The movie boasts a winning voice cast including Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Olivia Colman.
‘Girls5eva’ is a Comedic Showstopper from the Producers of ‘30 Rock’
The latest Peacock series is laugh-out-loud funny and full of catchy original music.
Welcome to
Up Next, a column that gives you the rundown on the latest TV. This week, Valerie Ettenhofer reviews Girls5eva, the new Peacock series from the team behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
The theme song to
Girls5eva is both incredibly corny and incredibly catchy. “We’re gonna be famous 5eva, ‘cause 4ever’s 2 short!” a group of women sing while striking poses in bedazzled camo pants and tube tops. The opening credits of the new Peacock series are fitting for a comedy that creatively skewers the absurdity of the music industry, and by the fourth episode of the binge-worthy eight, you’ll most likely find yourself singing along.
They were once a 5 member girl group in the 1990s but
Girls5Eva are now all grown up, in their 40s with kids, mortgages, in daily grind jobs and unable to slip into their skin tight outfits.
There’s also only 4 surviving members: Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Summer (Busy Philipps), Gloria (Paula Pell) and Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry).
But when young rapper Li’l Stinker (Jeremiah Craft) samples their song for his latest hit, suddenly showbiz beckons once more.
Dawn even hears the song while getting a mammogram prompting her to visit former manager Larry (Jonathan Hadary) to investigate royalties. But the ageing manager, who insists he has now had “mandatory sensitivity training,” has misplaces cheques which are about to expire in 2 days. Dawn heads off on a mission to hand over $372 each to her former vocalists.