Netflix's 'Dark' Concludes With Brilliantly Satisfying Series Finale

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

[Ed note: Spoilers for the entirety of Netflix’s Dark follow. You’ve been warned.]

Dark, Netflix’s first German-language original series, was initially compared to Stranger Things. It seemed like an apt association between the two at the time: a kid mysteriously vanishes in the woods of a small town located near an ominous nuclear factory. Yet as Dark continued, those initial comparisons evaporated. The series has effectively charted its own course, opting for a tale far more cerebral—while becoming a treatise on human nature and generational trauma as told through decades’ worth of story via time travel. Obsessed with stopping the forthcoming apocalypse, the main character Jonas (Louis Hofmann) works tirelessly to prevent the end of days throughout Seasons 1 and 2. However, the mistakes of the past linger well into the present and future, and any attempt to right these wrongs did the opposite, reinforcing the status quo instead. The Season 1 ploy by Ulrich (Oliver Masucci) to kill a young Helge Doppler (Tom Philipp) was never bound to work considering Helge was alive in the present day. Actions like this, among others, have proven to be inherently futile; time is undefeated after all.

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Everything You Need to Know About Going to the Movies During the Coronavirus Lockdown

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

It’s difficult to believe movie theaters will be opening again soon. With so many delays and schedule adjustments—many of which we covered extensively—the idea of seeing a movie felt like a distant dream. Nevertheless, movie theaters will be opening far sooner than many of us anticipated. As we sit on the precipice on these openings, it’s easy to wonder: What will going to the movies during coronavirus look like? The answer, much like everything surrounding the 'rona, is decidedly complicated—with few clear answers in sight.

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The Best TV Shows of 2020 (So Far)

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, stories in Hollywood for 2020 is without a doubt how COVID-19 shifted the entire game. Most of the impact was felt by the film industry, for sure; while movies have been released, the potential box office destroyers (No Time to Die, Black Widow, Mulan, etc.) that should already be out got their release dates pushed back, sometimes more than once (we'll see what happens to Tenet). The TV industry felt it as well—with the rona touching down in early spring, a number of shows with active seasons had to truncate their series orders to accommodate for the missing episodes (Riverdale), while others split up their seasons or took different routes to fill in space (One Day at a Time, Black Monday). That said, there was more than enough heat hitting the plethora of streaming services and TV channels at our disposal.

The game's also shifted; 2020 saw the debut of HBO Max and Quibi debuting, with new streaming channels like Peacock set to further give you a grip of TV shows you have to then figure out how to fit into your schedule. That point might be moot, honestly, given that the cream of the crop seem to still be residing on HBO, FX, and other top-tier stations. Or they are just making more heat than your average network. Whatever the situation is, we've seen some of our favorite series make triumphant returns, slept-on shows continue to get slept-on (even with a loud minority in tow), and others series really finding ways to cut through the chatter of a system that can see the release of whole-ass TV seasons dropping damn near on a weekly basis, although some behemoths might average a new season of a show damn near every other day.

No matter what your viewing habits are, we know that, at the halfway mark for 2020, the Complex Pop Culture squad assembled the best TV shows that have aired this year.

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The Best New TV Shows & Movies This Week: Perry Mason

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

Screened: Five episodes for review

Of all the questions posed by HBO’s Perry Mason revival, the biggest one of all seems to be “Just who is this for?” In the show’s initial batch of episodes, I’m not sure if I can definitively answer that question. The courtroom drama that made the Raymond Burr-led 1950s and 1960s version so infamous is largely unseen. In its place instead is a gritty crime drama that more resembles a 1930s version of True Detective than it does anything remotely close to what people remember of the Burr series. (That’s no accident: TD creator Nic Pizzolatto was initially attached to the project, with Robert Downey Jr. set for the lead role) While that approach is (admittedly) a smart way to bait the hook for new viewers, the result causes this version to trend all too familiar waters, despite stunning visuals and superlative performances—and lands it in a bit of a narrative no man’s land, unsure of where exactly it wants to go.

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The Best New TV Shows & Movies This Week: Taste the Nation

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

About halfway through the premiere episode of Padma Lakshmi’s Taste the Nation, the multi-hyphenate chef, host, and food personality teams with San Antonio Chef Rico Torres to make some food. It’s pretty standard for these types of food travelogues—you’ll get a moment in which the host joins with a local chef to indulge in some of the area’s specific flavors. Yet what immediately struck me about the scene was the execution of it; each individual ingredient of the larger dish was broken out and specifically highlighted in order to provide a chance for it to shine. It’s a quick, yet extremely insightful, microcosm of what Taste the Nation does so well: A focused look at all the disparate elements that make up what we all know as “American food.”

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HBO Max's Original Launch Content, Reviewed

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

When a new streaming service launches, the library and back catalog is among the first concerns—rightfully so, in a world where nebulous copyrights now control which of even the most mainstream properties is available and where. But the name of the game is content, and so with each new service comes new originals to ostensibly secure loyal subscribers and set the tone for what kind of brand this service will be. 

Now to be fair to HBO Max, some of their originals plans—like, say, iconic auteur Michael Mann's Tokyo Vice, which he was filming on location—have been dashed by COVID-19. And they have long game aces up Bob Greenblatt's sleeves, like 2021's planned launch of Zack Snyder's original vision for Justice League. But, the service launched last week with several original series, so this is what we have to go on now and so far, it's not the biggest splash. A lot of family-friendly fare, Anna Kendrick, a couple of competition shows and a whole lot of BBC imports add up to a nascent service who's biggest draw is still TCM and Studio Ghibli titles. And, Harry Potter I guess, if you're into that sort of thing. Anyway, for curious and ravenous minds, Complex Pop sampled each of Max's originals to tell you what's worth your time. Hit the flip for our first dispatch on HBO Max.

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Everything You Need to Know About HBO Max

This article originally appeared on Complex.com

You might have seen or heard about HBO Max without fully understanding what it is. The new streaming service makes its long-awaited debut today, bringing with it a handful of exciting exclusives, making a noisy entrance into an already crowded space. With its arrival, however, comes a handful of questions about the service itself.

AT&T and WarnerMedia, the brains behind HBO Max, haven’t done the best job of communicating the goals, objectives, and even the overall ins-and-outs of how the service will work for existing HBO customers. So we’ve taken it upon ourselves to streamline everything for you. Here’s our guide to fully explain just what is happening with the shiny new service. From what’s included, to how you can sign up for the service, here are some of your most frequently asked questions, answered.

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Everything You Need to Know About 'The Mandalorian' Season 2

The galaxy far, far away is getting a bit bigger. On May 12, Slashfilm announced Battlestar Galactica actress Katee Sackhoff will join the expanding cast of The Mandalorian’s second season playing the live-action version of Bo-Katan Kryze, Mandalorian warrior. The casual watcher will be excited to see a beloved genre actress drop into another significant sci-fi franchise, but dedicated fans know that Sackhoff’s character is of key importance: Bo-Katan has played a critical part in the last two Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series.

On the surface, Sackhoff’s involvement—along with the casting of Rosario Dawson and Temuera Morrison—points to some heavy-hitting actors joining the smash-hit show. But by taking a deep dive into Star Wars history, one can get a better understanding of The Mandalorian’s possible future. That's why we wanted to make sure those of you who might not be up on this expansive universe—or for folks who are looking to just get reacquainted before The Mandalorian's Season 2 return. Here's a look at everything you need to know going into Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

[Ed note: Spoiler warning not just for The Mandalorian’s first season, but for the entirety of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and all of Star Wars Rebels.]

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