By Jessica Gosse
TV Media
“Fighting with My
Family” (2019)
Sibling rivalry reaches a new level
in this film, which comes to Hulu
on Thursday, Jan. 30. For their
whole lives, Saraya (Florence
Pugh, “Little Women,” 2019) and
her brother, Zak (Jack Lowden,
“Dunkirk,” 2017), have been huge
fans of professional wrestling. So
when they get the opportunity to
audition for the world’s biggest
wrestling organization, they’re
thrilled. A rift quickly forms be-
tween her and her family when a
talent scout invites only her to join
the league and move from Britain
to America. Saraya struggles as
she learns the cost of achieving
her dream. Lena Headey (“Game
of Thrones”) and Nick Frost (“Sick
Note”) also star.
“Luce” (2019)
On Monday, Jan. 27, this dramatic
film joins the lineup. Luce (Kelvin
Harrison Jr., “StartUp”) has had a
peaceful life since getting out of
his war-torn home in Africa and
being adopted by Amy (Naomi
Watts, “Twin Peaks”) and Peter
Edgars (Tim Roth, “Tin Star”). He
has become an ideal student both
academically and athletically, but
he begins to act out by taking fire-
works to school and voicing con-
troversial opinions in his assign-
ments. Luce explains that his re-
bellion is due to the constant and
Lena Headey, Florence Pugh and Nick Frost in a scene
from “Fighting With my Family”
public praise heaped upon him by
his teacher, Ms. Wilson (Octavia
Spencer, “Truth Be Told”), praise
he believes to be tokenism. Given
their son’s traumatic history, the
Edgars struggle with whether to
discipline or defend him.
“Brian Banks” (2018)
Aldis Hodge (“City on a Hill”)
stars as high school football star
Brian Banks in this biographical
drama coming to the streamer on
Monday, Jan. 27. Banks had the
perfect life and was prepared to
go to the University of South Car-
olina to continue playing football
— the next step on the path to his
dream of playing in the NFL. But
when, despite minimal evidence,
he is convicted for a crime he
didn’t commit and sentenced to
10 years in prison, his dreams are
crushed. Now, years later, Banks
fights to clear his name and get
his life back with the help of crimi-
nal defense lawyer and founder of
the California Innocence Project
Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell star in “Fosse/Verdon”
Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear,
“Strange But True,” 2019).
BINGE THIS:
“Manifest” Season 1
Tim Roth and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in “Luce”
22 | Screentime
January 29, 2020 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Season 2 of this hit drama pre-
miered on NBC a few weeks ago,
and if you’re not up to speed, you
can binge the whole first season
now. When your binge is complete,
you can catch a new episode of
Season 2 every week on Hulu. Sib-
lings Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh,
“Valor”) and Ben Stone (Josh Dal-
las, “Once Upon a Time”), as well
as Ben’s son, Cal (Jack Messina,
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), are
aboard Montego Air Flight 828
when it hits some turbulence. When
they finally land safely, they and the
rest of the people aboard the flight
are shocked and confused to learn
that five years has passed, and that
their families and the rest of the
world think they’re dead. Re-joining
their lives and families after a five-
year absence is difficult enough,
but it soon becomes clear that the
passengers of Flight 828 have been
affected in even more life-changing
ways. They can hear things, see
visions, receive callings. It’s a seem-
ingly supernatural phenomenon,
and as Ben and Michaela try to
figure out what’s happened to
them, they realize they are part of a
tangled web of conspiracy and lies.
The Stone family must pull together
to find the truth and stay safe. The
series weaves family drama with
action and eerie mystery, and the
result is very effective. Once you’ve
started this series, you won’t want
to stop.
“Fosse/Verdon”
This miniseries from FX is stream-
ing now, and stars Michelle Wil-
liams (“Manchester by the Sea,”
2016) and Sam Rockwell (“Three
Billboards Outside of Ebbing,
Missouri,” 2017) as dancer Gwen
Verdon and director-choreog-
rapher Bob Fosse, respectively.
While Fosse is a well-known, even
revered name in the stage and
screen industries, Verdon has al-
ways lived in his shadow, despite
her enormous contributions. This
series focuses on the long and
complex relationship between the
two, and features some top-notch
dance sequences, as well as Emmy
and Golden Globe-nominated
performances by the lead actors
(Williams won one of each). In
the unlikely event that you’re not
a fan of Fosse’s work, this series
will still give you all the feels —
you’ll laugh and cry and marvel
as Fosse and Verdon dance their
way through their very trying and
complicated lives.