We all have our "Peak TV" blind spots, as loath as we may be to admit it. But if the COVID-19 quarantine is good for one thing, other than preventing the rampant spread of a highly contagious and deadly virus, it's watching TV. We can't complain that much about our collective stay-at-home orders: We've got streaming TV! And HBO is making it much easier to get rid of those blind spots by making many of their brand-defining series available to watch for free for non-subscribers via their HBO NOW and HBO GO apps. Get on this opportunity and when we're released back into the world, you'll be ready to tackle cocktail party chatter with confidence: Yes, you have seen "The Wire," and it is brilliant.
Take in the quintessential American sagas "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and "Six Feet Under" for the first time, or a second. The bitingly funny political absurdism of "Veep" might help the daily news briefings go down (or not...). Escape to the monied Monterey of "Big Little Lies," or the steamy, magical swamps of Louisiana for some erotic vampire hunting with "True Blood." Reminisce about a booming economy with "Ballers," "Silicon Valley" and "Succession," or play pretend with the actors of the dark comedy "Barry."
There's also a selection of films to watch, including Alex Gibney's health-tech grifter documentary "The Inventor: Out For Blood in Silicon Valley," a fascinating look at Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, a blood testing company, which may shine a light on why medical testing can such a complex process.
But if you need something a bit more upbeat, check out "Blinded by the Light," a big old musical slice of pure heart, about a Pakistani teenager who connects deeply with the music of Bruce Springsteen while facing family pressure, racism and economic woes in small town England in 1987. Based on a memoir by journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, Gurinder Chadha's film illustrates the border-crossing power and cultural universality of Springsteen's lyrics. With a soaring soundtrack of classic tunes by The Boss, "Blinded by the Light" is sure to brighten your night.
If you do have an HBO subscription, there's obviously a wealth of content to explore, but here's a plug for the very fine new season of Issa Rae's excellent Los Angeles-set dating and friendship dramedy "Insecure," and a tip of the hat to the New York City love letter "High Maintenance," which just concluded its brilliant fourth season earlier this month. While the two shows are quite different, they both nail the essence of muted poignancy that acts as a balm right now. The episodic, loosely interconnected "High Maintenance" takes the idea of "setting as character" and distills it to its essence, wherein New York City itself dictates the rhythms and flows of our narrative constant, a traveling marijuana salesman (Ben Sinclair) who bicycles wherever he's bidden. Enjoy a little slice of city life from the before times with these two lovely series.
Also available this week on digital platforms is the new film "To the Stars," directed by Martha Stephens and written by Shannon Bradley-Colleary, a tale of teenage melodrama in 1960s Oklahoma. Kara Hayward stars as Iris a shy, bullied girl who becomes close with the exciting new girl in town (Liana Liberato). A star-studded cast including Malin Akerman, Tony Hale and Shea Whigham elevates this rather formulaic tale of two young girls searching for their identities within the strict confines of this conservative small town.
