(Photo from Netflix)
From Ellen DeGeneres’ last comedy special, Zachary Quinto as a doctor and a pair of Ryan Murphy shows to the highly anticipated documentary “Will & Harper” and the biggest film this year, there’s a lot to check out on your favorite streaming services this week.
— Some Pixar fans have quibbled in the past when the digital animation studio has leaned too hard into sequels. But the box office for “Inside Out 2” is hard to refute. With nearly $1.7 billion in ticket sales, it’s the year’s biggest box-office hit. On Sept. 25, “Inside Out 2” arrives on Disney+ to make one of the most anticipated streaming debuts of the year. In it, Riley has grown up a couple years but entered a new chapter in life: puberty, bringing with it a number of new emotions. In its review, The Associated Press wrote that “the filmmakers of ‘Inside Out 2’ have managed again to filter complex psychological developments into a bright, entertaining head trip that in its finest moments packs an emotional wallop.”
— Will Ferrell and Harper Steele became friends and collaborators at “Saturday Night Live,” where Steele was head writer from 2004 to 2008. When Steele came out as transgender a few years ago, Ferrell, interested in reconnecting, proposed a road trip. In “Will & Harper,” streaming Friday, Sept. 27, on Netflix, the two embark on a cross-country expedition full of revelations about what this changes and doesn’t change in their relationship.
— Ellen DeGeneres says her next comedy special coming to Netflix will be her last. “For Your Approval” drops Sept. 24 and the comedian is “going there,” by addressing reports that she was difficult to deal with behind the scenes of her daytime talk show, which ended its run in 2022 after 19 seasons. “I got kicked out of show business,” she says in the trailer.
— Ryan Murphy has a new series on FX called “Grotesquerie” premiering Sept. 25. Niecy Nash stars as a detective who agrees to help a nun and reporter (Micaela Diamond) with a Catholic newspaper to investigate a series of gruesome murders. Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (otherwise known as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), has a secret role in the show.
— If “Grotesquerie” isn’t your bag, there’s another Ryan Murphy series making its debut this week. A medical drama called “Doctor Odyssey” premieres Sept. 26 on ABC. Joshua Jackson plays a doctor on board a luxury cruise ship called the Odyssey. Don Johnson, Philippa Soo and Sean Teale also star. The show also boasts a number of guest stars including John Stamos, Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain and Chord Overstreet. A trailer for the show had nearly 78 million views within 48 hours, making it the most-watched trailer for a new broadcast TV show. Episodes also stream on Hulu.
— Zachry Quinto is back on TV on Mondays in a medical drama. But he’s not portraying any dour, by-the-rules doctor — he’s playing Dr. Oliver Sacks, the famed neurologist, path-breaking researcher and author once called the “poet laureate of medicine.” NBC’s “Brilliant Minds” takes Sack’s personality — a motorcycle-riding, fern-loving doctor who died in 2015 at 82 — and puts his career in the present day, where the creators theorize he would have no idea who Taylor Swift is or own a cell phone. Episodes stream on Peacock the following day.
