John Powers
New 'Staircase' series emphasizes the tragedy behind the sensational true crime story
The Staircase details the workings of a justice system filled with pricey lawyers, ambitious district attorneys, bickering experts and appeals to a jury's cultural biases that may have nothing to do with the evidence or even the case at hand.
'Navalny' documentary spotlights the Russian who dared to take on Putin
Made before the invasion of Ukraine, and titled simply Navalny, it offers intimate, sometimes amazing access to the bravery, and human cost, of opposing a despot.
'Tokyo Vice' offers a stylized tour of Japan's criminal underworld
The rules are gnarlier than usual in Tokyo Vice, a new HBO Max drama based on the memoir of the same title by Jake Adelstein.
'Slow Horses' offers a gleefully corrosive vision of British intelligence
British novelist Mick Herron's Slough House books are being adapted by Apple TV+ into a new six-part series. It starts with the first of the novels, Slow Horses.
Deeply felt and unpredictable, 'Pachinko' follows the epic rise of a Korean family
Chronicling a Korean family's difficult rise over 70 years, Pachinko offers a cornucopian narrative that's at once a multi-generational epic, an immigrant saga, a history lesson, a portrait of cultural bigotry, a high-class soap opera and a celebration of women's capacity to survive even the darkest circumstances.
Amy Schumer branches out (but retains her hell-raising spirit) in 'Life & Beth'
Schumer plays Beth Jones, a hard-drinking wine rep in New York who doesn't really like her job or boyfriend, and begins a voyage of self-discovery.
'The Tourist' doesn't know who he is — just that someone wants him dead
Justin Powers reviews The Tourist, a six-part series starring Jamie Dornan.
'Severance' puts a witty, unsettling spin on the office drama
This offbeat and amusing thriller from Apple TV+ conjures a world in which employees of a cult-like corporation voluntarily undergo a procedure that severs their work and non-work memories.
A reissue helps revive Joseph Hansen's series about a tough, gay detective
Back in 1970, Hansen began a series of 12 novels about an LA insurance investigator named Dave Brandstetter. The novels were something daring and new: featuring a tough guy detective who was also gay.
Psychopath or hero? 'Reacher' presents a vigilante who walks the line
John Powers reviews Reacher, a series on Amazon Prime Video.