This weekend Cheddar recommends the drama series "Snowfall" Season 5, the limited series "Inventing Anna," the sitcom "Ghosts," and the '90s satirical sci-fi action film "Starship Troopers."
Snowfall: Season 5 - FX/Hulu
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
Franklin Saint is back. Snowfall, created by John Singleton before his untimely death in 2019, chronicles the origins of the crack epidemic in Los Angeles and the CIA's role in flooding Black neighborhoods with drugs. I promise not to spoil the previous seasons too much, but if you're new to the craze that is Snowfall, I highly recommend starting from the beginning. At the end of Season 4, there were a lot of unanswered questions, like what happened to Franklin's father (played by Damson Idris)? And Alvin Saint, a Black Panther who exposed the CIA? Was he killed? With Franklin's CIA connection out of the picture, what would happen to the business? It's just three episodes in, and so far, the latest season is living up to the hype of the series. One thing to note: It's jarring to see the 180-degree transformation Franklin makes from Season 1, when he was an outgoing, successful kid on his way to college, into the savage kingpin he becomes.
Inventing Anna - Netflix
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
Salacious, unbelievable, and based on a true story. I started watching this Netflix miniseries last week and can't stop. The story of Anna Delvey, or Anna Sorokin, came to light in 2018, when New York Magazine published "Maybe She Had So Much Money She Just Lost Track of It," a feature on a socialite who was busted for fraud. The young woman swept through the highest echelons of New York society and convinced those in-the-know that she was one of them, an heiress to a foreign fortune born with style and grace. The miniseries depicts how she tricked everyone and what happened when it all came crashing down. While the story is based on reality, it's not a documentary, so there are elements that have been made up for the series — don't believe everything you see (just like with Anna).
Ghosts - Paramount+
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
At the risk of making an understatement, things are pretty heavy lately. Typically, I'm not a big fan of the single-camera sitcom format, but when I needed something lighthearted to decompress recently, I was pointed toward Ghosts on CBS/Paramount+. Based on the UK series of the same name, Ghosts follows a New York freelance writer Sam, played by Rose McIver, who inherits the Woodstone Mansion, and her husband Jay, played by Utkarsh Ambudkar, an unemployed chef, as they try to turn the decrepit estate into a bed and breakfast — to the chagrin of the many spirits trapped there for their afterlives. After a brush with death, Sam can see and communicate with the ghosts, who proceed to negotiate "living" arrangements with the couple. Hijinks ensue. It's schmaltzy, broad humor, but the silliness of the ghosts, who range from a sardonic, 500-year-old Native American to a '90s Wall Street bro, is balanced with heartfelt emotion. And McIver and Ambudkar really show some chemistry. It's a half-hour comedy that took my mind off of a darkening world for a time, and that's high praise indeed.
Starship Troopers - Netflix
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
Paul Verhoeven's sly science fiction satire Starship Troopers popped up on Netflix this week, and if you haven't seen it yet, now is as good a time as any to check it out. While this subtext sort of went over the heads of audiences in 1997, the film offers a sharp critique of nationalism, propaganda, and the pointlessness of war — all while delivering the goods in the big-budget action movie department. I found myself laughing quite a bit during a recent rewatch, even as I remained invested in the characters. Despite being the unfathomably gorgeous foot soldiers for a facist world government, in the end they are really just looking for love and connection.
Looking for more to watch? Check out our recommendations from last week and the week before.
