'Space Force'
Steve Carell and his old boss from "The Office," Greg Daniels, have reunited for an out-of-this world new sitcom. Playing a four-star general assigned to lead a new mission to the moon, Carell has adopted a gruff delivery and Teflon ego that can handle anything, including an imprisoned wife (Lisa Kudrow) and an eccentric sidekick (John Malkovich). Overlook the Tang-flavored sentiment and you'll have a blast. Netflix
'Central Park'
Broadway would be lucky to land the kind of smart, snappy songs that reside in this new animation series from Loren Bouchard, the mad genius behind "Bob's Burgers." There's something of a plot, involving a battle between an earnest ranger and an evil entrepreneur who'd like to turn NYC's parkland paradise into a strip mall. But the real pleasure is listening to folks like Josh Gad, Kristen Bell and Daveen Diggs make beautiful music together. Apple TV
'Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool'
This week's death of drummer Jimmy Cobb at 91 — last man standing from the legendary "Kind of Blue" album sessions — reiterated the important history covered in one of the best music docs of recent memory. Cobb and other players offer great insight into the iconic jazz innovator's unusual recording and performing techniques, while the savvy and unusually gorgeous women in Davis' life provide unvarnished insight into his equally complex personal life. Netflix
'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse'
A lot of people received Charlie Mackesy's illustrated book for Christmas last year but, if you didn't, its message of kindness and self-care is well suited to the present moment. It appears to be a children's book but the messages ("Asking for help isn't giving up. It's refusing to give up.") are apt to land with adults, too. The plot-free book sometimes lays it on too thick but Mackesy's paintings and hand-lettered text are stunning. Harper Collins Books
'Circus of Books'
The Masons were a typical, middle-class Jewish family living in West L.A. with their three children, except for one detail. For over 30 years, they owned and ran Circus of Books, one of the biggest distributors of gay male porn in America. Written and directed by artist Rachel Mason, the documentary revolves around her parents, Barry and Karen Mason, who got into the gay porn distribution business through a series of coincidences and a connection to Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler. What seems like a movie about an important community gathering space in LGBTQ history during the height of the AIDS crisis ends up being as much about the complexities of family. Executive directed by Ryan Murphy, the film stars the Mason family and former "Circus of Books" employees as themselves. Netflix.
Metallica Mondays
The band that famously took on Napster two decades ago has been unusually generous during the quarantine, posting an unreleased concert video on its YouTube channel at 6 p.m. every Monday for 10 weeks running. Sets have ranged from a 1983 Chicago club gig to last week's 2014 all-request mega-show in Peru, each refreshingly devoid of "Black Album" material. The only request from Metallica in return is a donation to its All Within My Hands hunger-fighting foundation. YouTube
'Unalienable'
As Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month concludes, check out the monologues that Twin Cities actor Eric "Pogi" Sumangil solicited in response to a rise in anti-Asian-American activity. Inspired by the Declaration of Independence's guarantee of "unalienable rights" and performed by local actors such as Eric Sharp and Katie Bradley as well as sitcom and movie star Amy Hill ("50 First Dates"), the brief plays range in tone but all address the pain of feeling unwelcome in your own home. New videos will be posted Friday and Saturday, including "Fries With That," about an essential worker at a drive-through, and "A is for American," a satirical piece about how to signal one's "Americanness." ericpogisumangil.com/unalienable
'The Last Movie Star'
It wasn't technically Burt Reynolds' last appearance on film, but this 2017 comedy serves as his swan song, much like "The Shootist" did for John Wayne. He plays a washed-up movie idol forced to face his past — and characters from "Deliverance" and "Smokey and the Bandit" — when he's hoodwinked into attending a third-rate retrospective. Regrets? He's had a few. And director Adam Rifkin somehow gets him to mention them all in tear-inducing monologues. Showtime on Demand
'The Pale Horse'
Purist alert: On the Amazon review page, every Agatha Christie fan in the world despises this show as a pretentious mess that bears no resemblance to Christie's classic. One rare positive review says, "Ignore the po-faced book-is-always-better crowd." Who's right? If you're a fan of British mysteries and enjoy the early-'60s period pieces, you can decide for yourself. The same team was behind the recent adaptation of Christie's "ABC Murders," if that helps. Amazon Prime
'Motive for Murder'
"Dateline NBC" is the long-running TV true-crime series that asks a serious question: Do you really think the spouse didn't do it? C'mon. NBC has been releasing the shows in podcast form at a furious rate, and they work well as audio-only stories, released in short weekly installments. You might think you have this one figured out from the start. But you'll still listen, because it's "Dateline," and perhaps the spouse didn't do it. Maybe it was Dad! podcasts.apple.com
