Leverage: Redemption brings us a bunch of breezy heists

Also this weekend: Black Widow finally graces our screen, new seasons of Virgin River and Atypical hit Netflix

By Saloni Gajjar | July 9, 2021 | 5:00am

TV Lists Leverage

Leverage: Redemption brings us a bunch of breezy heists

Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge in Leverage: Redemption Photo: IMDb TV/Amazon Studios

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, July 9, and Saturday, July 10. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Leverage: Redemption (IMDb TV, Friday, 12:01 a.m.): This crime drama is a revival of TNT’s Leverage, which ran for five seasons from 2008 to 2012. Most of the cast members return for Redemption, including Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane, and Beth Riesgraf, with newcomer Noah Wyle headlining the show. The series focuses on reformed criminals who put their unique skills to use by helping ordinary people fight back against corporate and governmental injustices by organizing heists. Look for Danette Chavez’s review on the site later today.

Regular coverage

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
Lisey’s Story (Apple TV+, Friday, 12:01 a.m.)
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+)

Movie Night

Black Widow (Disney+, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “True to its title, Black Widow is the first installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to push the character front and center. Yet for all the work this spinoff puts into generating a traumatic origin story for its moonlighting superhero, it would be a stretch to say that either [Scarlett] Johansson or the filmmakers finally find the real Romanoff—or even that they much deepen the various versions of her we’ve met already.” Here’s the rest of A.A. Dowd’s review of the first MCU movie to hit theaters in two years.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “This is a grosser and meaner film than 1994, dumping buckets of both blood and squirming insects on its squeaky-clean ensemble. The sadistic streak actually goes a touch further than it did in some of the movies that inspired this one, given [Director Leigh] Janiak and her cowriters’ willingness to drop the blade onto not just the humping-and-blazing counselors but also their barely pubescent charges.” Read the entire review of the second installment of Netflix’s Fear Street films here.

How I Became A Superhero (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Directed by Douglas Attal and starring Swann Arlaud and Vimala Pons, this French film will remind you of Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys. It’s set in a work where people aren’t born with superpowers, but gain them by inducing drugs.

Wild cards

Atypical (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Netflix’s dramedy Atypical returns for a fourth and final season to wrap up the coming-of-age story of Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), an 18-year-old on the autism spectrum. In this season, Sam becomes roomies with Zahid (Nik Dodani), and the Gardners will continue to grow as a family.

Virgin River (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): One of TV’s soapiest dramas returns for season three. Virgin River picks up after the prior season cliffhanger, in which Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) found Jack (Martin Henderson) lying on the floor of his bar with a nasty gunshot wound. Along with Virgin River’s various relationship conundrums, expect season three to dive into the mystery of who shot Jack.

This Way Up (Hulu, Friday, 12:01 a.m., season-two premiere): Written by and starring Aisling Bea, this British comedy returns for season two. Bea plays an Irish woman named Áine who suffers a nervous breakdown. The cast includes Sharon Horgan as her sister, Shona, along with Tobias Menzies, Aasif Mandvi, Indira Verma, and Chris Geere.

How To Become A Tyrant (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Peter Dinklage narrates this historical series that uses dark humor to examine how the likes of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and other notorious dictators rose to power and why tyrannical patterns repeat across time. Should be a calm, relaxing binge.