Zachary Quinto stars in “NOS4A2”
By Breanna Henry
TV Media
“Marianne & Leonard:
Words Of Love”
Nick Broomfield may not be a
“household name,” but in the
world of documentaries, he is
nothing short of a legend. His 2019
Sundance Film Festival feature on
the relationship between Leonard
Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, “Mari-
anne & Leonard: Words of Love,”
is available to stream starting
Monday, April 20. Leonard Cohen,
the French Canadian folk artist
behind “Hallelujah” (later made
famous by Jeff Buckley), fell in love
with a Norwegian woman while
living the bohemian, artist’s life
in Greece in the 1960s. Her name
was Marianne, and while it said
that Cohen helped her find the joy
in living, it was his love for her that
inspired him to turn from poetry to
song. With a story like this, it seems
anyone could simply point the
camera and the inherent beauty of
love would shine through the lens,
but there is another story woven,
almost imperceptibly, throughout
this film. Marianne had many ad-
mirers, as beautiful as she was, and
one of them was this film’s director.
Broomfield’s personal attachment
has left critics and audiences alike
praising the film’s intensity, inti-
macy and warmth; a love story told
by one who deeply loved the story.
Grab tissues for your tears and a
notepad for your inspired ideas
when this unique and touching
trip to the past premieres on Prime,
April 20.
“NOS4A2”
If you missed the first season of
“NOS4A2” on AMC last year, you
will be able to catch up and get
hooked starting Tuesday, April 21,
before Season 2 begins later this
year. Confusing etymology behind
“Nosferatu” as a word aside, this
supernatural horror series, based
on the novel by Joe Hill, is certainly
vampir-ish despite not fitting neatly
anywhere on the vampiric line
between “Dracula” and “Twilight.”
The show’s antagonist, the im-
mortal eater of children’s souls
Charlie Manx, is played by Zachary
Quinto, whose expert portrayal of
the twisted is well documented
by his previous roles, like that
of Sylar, the superpowered se-
rial killer from “Heroes,” and Dr.
Oliver “I make lamps out of skin”
Thredson in “American Horror
Story: Asylum.” Attempting to put
a stop to Manx and his weirdly
Christmas-themed psychopathy is
Victoria McQueen, an aspiring art
school student with an unfortunate
ability to track Manx, somewhat
unconsciously, because she is what
the series calls a “Strong Creative.”
Vic is also played by someone
who is no stranger to roles of this
type, Ashleigh Cummings, who
experienced her fair share of the
unknown as Dot in “Miss Fisher’s
Murder Mysteries.” The cast is
rounded out by incredible perfor-
mances from newcomers Olafur
Darri Olafsson, who voiced The
Hunter in Netflix’s “The Dark Crys-
tal: Age of Resistance,” and Jahkara
Smith, whose career will certainly
kick off now that her first credit is
as a main character in a such a hit
series. You’ll be able to unravel the
twisted web of Season 1 beginning
April 21.
“Kim’s Convenience”
If “intensely-Canadian” isn’t
already a coined phrase, save the
date. Internationally enjoyed series
like “Trailer Park Boys,” “Workin’
Moms,” “Schitt’s Creek” and the
“Degrassi” series have a distinct
Canadian-ness that separates
Simu Liu, Jean Yoon, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Andrea Bang from “Kim’s Convenience”
Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke star in “The Dick
Van Dyke Show”
them from made-in-Canada (but
not quintessentially Canadian) hits
such as “Vikings,” “The X Files” and
“Criminal Minds.” Amazon starts
streaming a hilarious addition to
the former category when the first
three seasons of “Kim’s Conve-
nience” are released Thursday, April
23. The show’s title comes from
the store in Toronto owned and
operated by the eponymous Kim
family, a Korean immigrant couple
and their two first-generation kids.
While Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee,
who starred in the aforementioned
“Degrassi” series) sometimes
still struggles with the nuances
of language and culture (see his
attempt at a “Gay Discount” from
the laugh-out-loud pilot episode),
Eomma (Jean Yoon, the only hold-
over from the original stage play
the series is based on) manages to
fit right in anywhere as a meddling
mom holding the family together
and making sure her kids turn out
alright — even if it means refusing
to stock their fridge. The couple’s
kids, Janet (Andrea Bang, “Running
With Violet”) and Jung (Simu Liu,
“Taken”), add another layer to
the story, since they’ve never lived
in Korea like their parents. Janet’s
inability to speak Korean makes it
hard for her to reconcile people’s
assumptions of her and who she
actually is, while Jung’s rebellious
past landed him in a juvenile
detention center, estranged from
his father. “Kim’s Convenience” is
a series you can pick up from any
episode, it’s relatable for any family,
and its diverse cast will elicit non-
stop laughter. Catch the first three
seasons starting Thursday, April 23.
“The Dick Van Dyke Show”
Head back to simpler times by
binge-watching four seasons of
“The Dick Van Dyke Show” on
Prime now. This legendary series
ran from 1961 to 1966, has won
15 Emmy Awards, and still ranks
consistently on “Greatest of All
Time” lists. Rob Petrie (Dick Van
Dyke, “Mary Poppins,” 1964) is a
comedy writer for a fictional TV
series, and he and his coworkers
Buddy (Morey Amsterdam, “The
Young and the Restless”) and
Sally (Rose Marie, “Psycho” 1998)
provided audiences with one of the
first inside looks at what goes into
producing a television show just
like the one they were watching. If
you’re looking for somewhere to
start, I suggest hopping into Season
2, Episode 20, “It May Look Like
a Walnut,” for a taste of just how
wacky and lovable this iconic series
can get. Mary Tyler Moore (“The
Mary Tyler Moore Show”) also stars
in this classic comedy.
East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald | April 22, 2020
Screentime | 11