What to Watch this Weekend: Katherine Langford is Cursed in Netflix's spin on Arthurian legend

EW Staff
·5 min read

We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).

FRIDAY

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Hulu

Before there was In the Heights and Hamilton, there was a hip-hop freestyle improv troupe named Freestyle Love Supreme who beatboxed and rapped on the streets of New York City, before making their way to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and eventually to the Broadway stage. Viewers now have the chance to see inside the creation and evolution of that very unique and wildly entertaining production, thanks to this documentary. The project chronicles the 15-year journey of the freestyle troupe that, over the years, has included founders Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, and Anthony Veneziale, as well as Christopher Jackson, Arthur Lewis, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chris Sullivan, Bill Sherman, and more. While avid fans of In the Heights and Hamilton will enjoy a glimpse into the coming together of those projects throughout the documentary, for director Andrew Fried, the relationship between the guys was always the film’s focus. "It's not trying to tell the absolute, complete history of Lin-Manuel Miranda and the making of In the Heights and Hamilton," says Fried. "Our movie is about friendship over time. Our movie is about creativity and the connection with each other and with an audience.” All that, and the insane amount of skill it takes to pluck a random word from an audience member and spout some Poet Laureate-worthy rhymes. —Ruth Kinane

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Cursed

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on Netflix

Series Debut

Netflix’s reimaging of the Arthurian legend switches things up and asks, what happens when that famous old sword chooses a queen? Well, we can tell you that being the chosen one isn’t all banquets and jousting for Nimue (Katherine Langford), who — after her village is destroyed and her mother killed — sets off on a quest to deliver said famous sword to Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård) per her mother’s dying wish. Naturally, her journey far from smoothly runs, but she does bump into a mercenary named Arthur (Devon Terrell) along the way, which adds some thirst and thrills. Adapted from a YA book by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, the retelling of the classic tale doesn’t require a wealth of Arthurian knowledge to enjoy, though some of the nuances and other characters may not mean as much without familiarity with the backstory. Even still, Langford swinging a sword and discovering her destiny is compelling enough to keep the less-acquainted captivated. —RK

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What Else to Watch

Streaming

Absentia (season premiere) — Amazon Prime Video

X-Men: Apocalypse (Summer Movie Nights feature) — Disney+

Into the Dark: The Current Occupant — Hulu

Father Soldier Son (documentary) — Netflix

Ghosts of War (movie) — Digital/VOD

The Sunlit Night (movie) — VOD

Easy Does It (movie) — VOD

Blessed Child (documentary) — iTunes, Amazon, Google

8 p.m.

RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars — VH1

9 p.m.

20/20: In the Cold Dark Night — ABC

Love After Lockup (season premiere) — WEtv

Reba Live (1994 Omaha concert) — YouTube

SATURDAY

3 p.m.

Born to Play (documentary) — ABC

8 p.m.

Murder in the Vineyard — Lifetime

Heartland Docs, DVM (season finale) — Nat Geo Wild

Dateline — NBC

SUNDAY

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness

HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: 9 p.m. on TNT

Season Premiere

After facing a serial killer targeting young boys and institutional corruption in the first season, The Alienist is back to take on more malfeasance and women’s inequality. Oh, and a baby killer. No big deal. Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) now has her own detective agency, though the cases that have come her way are quite petty and trivial … until this new murder mystery. Along with the titular psychiatrist, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) and John Moore (Luke Evans), who’s now a New York Times reporter, they’ll take on the system — and a menacing murderer. —Gerrad Hall

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What Else to Watch

Check local listings

Grantchester (season finale) — PBS

Beecham House (season finale) — PBS

8 p.m.

World's Biggest Tiger Shark? — Nat Geo

Black Monday (season finale) — Showtime

P-Valley — Starz

9 p.m.

Perry Mason — HBO

Yellowstone — Paramount Network

The Chi — Showtime

10 p.m.

NOS4A2 — AMC

United Shades of America With W. Kamau Bell (season premiere) — CNN

I'll Be Gone in the Dark — HBO

*times are ET and subject to change