Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Thursday, February 10th. All times are Eastern.
Top Pick
The Girl Before (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Leila Latif provides a disclaimer in her review of this erotic thriller starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, and Jessica Plummer:
In modern liberal circles, few things are considered as uncouth as mixing up two Black people. Everything from Inside Amy Schumer to a recent episode of And Just Like That… have touched upon the utter mortification of unintentional “racial” blindness,’ as if such a misstep somehow has the power to expose the racist heart at the core of even the best intentioned progressive. So, it seems best to start this review with a disclaimer for those worried that they might not be able to discuss this show without risking cancellation. Yes, the two Black female characters look very similar. Yes, it is intentional. No, you aren’t (necessarily) a bigot if you regularly get confused as to which character you are looking at.
Regular coverage
Peacemaker (HBO Max, 3 a.m.)
Wild Card
KIMI (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Steven Soderbergh directs Zoë Kravitz in this technological thriller. In his review, Mike D’Angelo writes:
A former Facebook content moderator, Angela Childs (Kravitz) now works as a “voicestream interpreter” for fictional Amygdala (cutely named after the part of the brain responsible for threat assessment), responding to issues with commands given to an Alexa-style assistant called Kimi. “I’m here!” chirps Kimi (in the voice of Betsy Brantley, Soderbergh’s ex-wife) when summoned, and there’s a very relatable running joke in which it constantly responds, unwanted, to casual mentions of its name during FaceTime conversations. Things get considerably less amusing, however, when one of the streams sent to Angela for analysis turns out to be a snatch of loud music (Massive Attack’s “Inertia Creeps,” another nice touch) beneath which a woman’s scream can be faintly heard.
About Last Night (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m.): Who doesn’t love dating shows hosted by couples? Move over Love Is Blind, check out Ayesha and Steph Curry, by far a better couple in every way, host a relationship game night that reeks of The Newlywed Game, or maybe Parks And Rec’s Know Ya Boo:
Here’s the actual trailer: