There’s a queen (Joely Richardson), a king (Adrian Lester), and yes, some rooks. The Rook is about the Checquy, a British secret service that fends off unnatural threats with some unnatural powers of their own. Showrunners Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher fill their adaptation of Daniel O’Malley’s novel with style and a few gripping performances, which are more than enough to jog our memories about why we like these stories in the first place. However, it’s possible to thread the needle or, at least make it an enjoyable jumble. Too many warring genre vocabularies talking at the same time makes for an unintelligible conversation. Memory loss spy thrillers and the allegorical antics of mutants have gotten lots of play in pop culture, but combining them-like in Starz’s sci-fi series The Rook-sounds a bit messy on the surface. (It’s hard to hate a Merlin who literally rigs the Sword in the Stone for his protege, is what I’m saying.) - Lacy Baugher Eva Green is clearly having the time of her life as Morgan, a scheming, highly sexualized sorceress with deep abandonment issues, and Joseph Fiennes’ Merlin is over the top in all the best ways. Jamie Campbell Bower plays an Arthur that’s more abs and attractiveness than once and future king material, so it’s no surprise that it’s the series’ side characters who shine here. Ostensibly, the show is meant to focus on Arthur’s journey from commoner to king, but Camelot itself is often more overly interested in the politics, betrayal and scheming that are required claiming a throne than traditional worthiness. CamelotĬamelot is Starz’s attempt to reinvent the Arthurian legend for the Peak TV era, giving the famous story all the sex, violence and political intrigue we’ve come to expect from anything boasting a period, vaguely medieval setting. And of course, streaming libraries move around all of the time, so keep an eye out for availability on other platforms as time goes on.īelow are our picks for the 25 best TV original series (and internationally co-produced series) on Starz: 25. But, if series are available to stream through an existing subscription to Netflix, Amazon, etc without the Starz add-on, those will be linked directly. From fantasy and sci-fi to docu-series, off-beat comedies, and crime thrillers, Starz has an audaciously unique library well worth exploring (but it is definitely Rated for Adults).Ī note on streaming: Of the 25 shows listed below most are available in full via the Starz app (which is linked), the Starz add-on to Amazon and Hulu, or through a cable provider like DirecTV. Even its historical dramas like The Spanish Princess include accurate depictions of POC in a European period piece where other networks would dare not tread. To that end, Starz was also the first premium network to meaningfully produce and promote projects led by women and people of color. The premium network may be known for the amount of nudity in its series, but unlike HBO, it displays far more gender equality. Though HBO gets all of the fanfare, Starz has quietly been putting out quality TV for a long time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |