The Black Church: This Is Our Story,
This Is Our Song
There is no arguing the primacy of the church in
black American culture. In this two-night special,
scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. brings in a variety
of prominent voices to tell the 400-year story of
how enslaved Americans and their descendants
found balm in Christianity’s message and built
an institution that became the spiritual, political,
economic, and cultural center of black American
life. Gates examines the church’s shortcom-
ings too, but basks in its wondrous music and
delights in soliciting his guests’ personal top-5 list
of the all-time greatest preachers. Begins Tuesday,
Feb. 16, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Young Roc k
Pro wrestling doesn’t cultivate many performers
jocular and thoughtful enough to be talked about
as potential presidential contenders. In this new
comedy series, ex-grappler and current movie
star Dwayne Johnson shares his unlikely life
story in flashbacks to three different phases of his
upbringing as the son of a Hawaiian pro wres-
tler and part of a big family. The show plays a
bit like Everybody Hates Chris or Fresh Off the
Boat, except with more scenes in weight rooms.
Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m., NBC
For All Mankind
It’s 1983 as Season 2 begins for the drama series
that offers an alternative history of the space
race waged by the U.S. and U.S.S.R. The ambi-
tious show, which finished its uneven first season
strongly, could reach liftoff now that a brigade of
its NASA heroes and heroines are toting firearms
on the moon’s surface and trying to head off a
major escalation of the Cold War. Available for
streaming Friday, Feb. 19, Apple TV+
I Care a Lot
Golden Globe contender Rosamund Pike lights
up this wicked new thriller as a ruthless con art-
ist who cheats old folks by gaining guardianship,
locking them away in rest homes, and draining
their assets. But when she picks the wrong old
lady, she draws the attention of a brutal mob
boss ready to crush her. Dianne Wiest and aTelevision^ ARTS 25
The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
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tflix
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A gamer’s TV guide...Alice in Borderland
Anyone who’s gotten lost in
a role-playing video game
and dreamed of staying
should connect with this
gem of a Japanese series
in which a slacker and his
friends are transported to
an alt-Tokyo that runs on
gaming principles. NetflixMythic Quest:
Raven’s Banquet
Credit Rob McElhenny of It’s
Always Sunny in Philadel-
phia for recognizing that the
gaming industry is ripe for
satire. Leading a talented
cast, McElhenny plays the
narcissistic chief developer
of a World of Warcraft–type
game. Apple TV+High Score
This docuseries offers a
nostalgia trip for older gam-
ers and will fill in knowledge
gaps for many younger
ones. Its history of gaming
moves from the days of
Atari and Space Invaders to
the rise of Wolfenstein and
Doom. NetflixCastlevania
A quality TV series based
on a video game is rare.
This adaptation of a clas-
sic vampire-hunter game
may be the best of them.
It features superb anima-
tion, deep storytelling, and
plenty of bloody medieval
fight sequences. NetflixThe Witcher
Henry Cavill is magnetic as
the titular monster hunter
in a series inspired by the
bloody, kind of racy, and
very popular Witcher role-
playing games. The show’s
first season makes a decent
binge for Game of Thrones
fans. NetflixConsole Wars
A colorful, fast-paced docu-
mentary revisits 1990, when
Nintendo’s dominance of
the home-gaming market
was shattered by the up-
starts at Sega, who bet big
on a spiky-headed blue
hedgehog named Sonic.
CBS All AccessStreaming tips
Four decades before Covid, a pandemic struck
homosexual populations around the world. In
this five-part drama from Queer as Folk creator
Russell T. Davies, three young men arrive from
different points to 1981 London, each exhilarated
by the chance to live an openly gay life. The joys
of youth never vanish as the trio and their fourth
flatmate push on through the decade, but AIDS
changes everything, ushering in fear, suffering,
and grief and inspiring the survivors to fight for an
effective government response. With Neil Patrick
Harris and a cast of vivid newcomers. Available
for streaming Thursday, Feb. 18, HBO MaxShow of the week
Olly Alexander and friends: A fleeting freedomIt’s a Sinmenacing Peter Dinklage co-star. Available for
streaming Friday, Feb. 19, Netflix
Nomadland
The movie favored to win this year’s Best Picture
Oscar finally finds a platform where it can
reach a wide audience as it arrives in Hulu on
the same day it’s re-released in theaters. Frances
McDormand stars as an ex-teacher who joins
a loose community of gray-haired wanderers
who camp out wherever gig work can be found.
Available for streaming Friday, Feb. 19, Hulu
Other highlights
Kenan
Longtime Saturday Night Live cast member
Kenan Thompson gets his own sitcom, playing a
widowed single dad who hosts an Atlanta morn-
ing show. With Chris Redd and Don Johnson.
Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 8:30 p.m., NBC
Behind Her Eyes
A young single mother begins an affair with her
boss and a friendship with his wife in a twisty
six-part thriller. Simona Brown, Eve Hewson,
and Tom Bateman co-star. Available for stream-
ing Wednesday, Feb. 17, Netflix
Flora & Ulysses
A 10-year-old girl befriends a squirrel with
emerging superpowers in this feature-length
adaptation of Kate DiCamillo’s Newberry
Award–winning children’s novel. Available for
streaming Friday, Feb. 19, Disney+Pike’s latest predator, in I Care a Lot- All listings are Eastern Time. THE WEEK February 19, 2021