The Good Place wrapped up last week — I won’t get into much detail here (I feel like a ton of people are waiting to watch it when the whole season’s available on Netflix) — but I did want to write briefly about just what a great series it’s been.
One of the things that made The Good Place so great was just how much of a plot it infused into the traditional sitcom formula. Yes, a typical episode involved a core cast of characters dealing with a somewhat predictable set of hijinks, but there was almost always constant forward movement. That pressure made every episode feel fresh and important, and the added tension made the comedy play that much stronger.
One thing I found fascinating about the final episode (again, no spoilers) was how the show almost stepped outside of that structure. It felt more like a coda than a true conclusion (which, arguably, came earlier). That made for a lovely, if also surprisingly relaxed, sendoff and some really sweet moments with its core cast. More than anything else, I really appreciated the show’s dedication to giving Ted Danson truly perfect human lines right until the end.
Check out nine trailers from this week below.
Mulan
Disney put out a final trailer for Mulan this week, showing off more of its colorful, cleanly shot, and epic battle sequences. I haven’t come away with a particularly strong understanding of what the movie will be like from all these trailers — in fairness, most people probably have a good understanding of the story already. Mostly, it seems like Disney just wants to get across how beautiful and inspiring it’s intended to be. The film comes out March 27th.
Spiral
The new Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson movie is, somehow, a Saw spinoff and, somehow, also more of an action movie than a horror movie. At the same time, this will probably be one of the best Saw movies. It comes out May 15th.
The Jesus Rolls
With the Coen Brothers’ permission, John Turturro is bringing back his brief but colorful character from The Big Lebowski. The Jesus Rolls has a great cast and, whether this character can sustain a full film or not, looks like plenty of fun from this first trailer. It comes out March 6th.
They’ve Gotta Have Us
A new documentary series that debuted on Netflix this week takes a look at the history of black actors in Hollywood. It speaks to some huge names — Whoopi Goldberg, Barry Jenkins, and John Boyega among them — and seems to look ahead at what the future holds for black artists in film.
Disney+ Marvel shows teaser
I hate to include a teaser this brief, but Disney’s 30-second Super Bowl spot included the very first footage from three highly anticipated series — series that’ll be key to whether Disney+’s momentum can continue: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier arrives in August; WandaVision premieres in December; and Loki is expected next year.
The Staggering Girl
The director of Call Me By Your Name and — more aptly, in this case — the 2018 Suspiria remake returns with a new short film that looks and sounds more like something shot 60 years ago. I’m not really clear on what’s going on, but it looks wonderfully moody and creepy. The short premieres February 15th on Mubi.
Blow The Man Down
Two sisters work together to cover up a murder after one of them kills a man in Blow the Man Down. For something with such a dark premise, the movie looks surprisingly charming and funny. It comes out March 20th.
ZeroZeroZero
The director of Sicario: Day of the Soldado has a new series coming up that appears to be a globe-spanning epic about the cocaine trade. It comes to Amazon on March 6th.
Punk’d with Chance the Rapper
So for one, Punk’d is coming back with Chance the Rapper as its star. But on a broader note, this is one of the first trailers for the series set to arrive after Quibi launches on April 6th. Quibi put out a bunch of trailers this week, and you can watch a bunch of them here — others include Idris Elba driving cars around and a reboot of The Fugitive. They look better than I expected, but I’m still not sure quite how many people want to pay for this odd new mobile-centric service. (Quibi, full disclosure, is working on a series with Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.)
