9 Marilyn Monroe movies you can stream instead of the exploitative âBlondeâ
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone wondering what âThe Daily Showâ will do without Trevor Noah.
Noah announced during Thursdayâs taping that he plans to step down as host after seven years on Comedy Centralâs influential late-night program, where he ably filled the shoes of predecessor Jon Stewart. According to a network spokesperson, a timeline for his departure is still to be determined â as, of course, is the name of the next person to sit behind âThe Daily Showâ desk.
As TV critic Lorraine Ali writes in her closer look at Noahâs tenure, his global news diet and unique-in-late-night background have not just been a boon to âThe Daily Show,â but also to the genre as a whole. Which means Noahâs shoes may turn out to be just as tough to fill as Stewartâs.
Other top stories from the week, plus a primer on Marilyn Monroe movies to watch instead of âBlonde,â our conversation with âQueen Sugarâsâ Rutina Wesley and more in Screen Gab No. 54. As always, send your TV or streaming movie recommendations to [email protected] with your name and location. Submissions should be no longer than 200 words and are subject to editing for length and clarity.
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyoneâs talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
DemiĂĄn Bichir isnât just lucky. Even Brad Pitt and George Clooney canât do what he can: The âBetter Lifeâ Oscar nominee and now Showtime star calls himself âblessed.â But he also knows good fortune isnât the only secret to his success.
True-crime TV often exploits its subjects. This game-changing duo wants to end that: Fatima Silva and Chris Anderson help families of convicted people find the truth in IDâs âReasonable Doubtâ: âWe feel we have a higher calling.â
âMake love, skinny-dip and drink expensive Champagneâ: Inside Niecy Nash-Bettsâ second act: Two years after Nash-Bettsâ surprise marriage to Jessica Betts, the honeymoon isnât over. Even on the set of their new TV series, âThe Rookie: Feds.â
Why âHouse of the Dragonâsâ flash-forward could be a major misstep: In a risky move, âThe Princess and the Queenâ sees the âGame of Thronesâ prequel leap ahead 10 years and replace several main cast members.
Turn on
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times.
âGhosts,â the very funny, very un-spooky CBS sitcom about a big house full of dead people and the young couple â Rose McIver as Sam and Utkarsh Ambudkar as Jay â who inherit it, returned for a second season this week; like âAbbott Elementary,â itâs a broadcast comedy that has been more than usually recognized by the often network-averse entertainment media. In the first season, Sam fell down a flight of stairs and, when she awoke from a brief coma, found she could see and speak with her dead new roommates. (Jay cannot, though he would like to, and Ambudkar is very good working with an ensemble that remains largely invisible to him.) The coupleâs plan is to turn the house into a B&B, which the ghosts initially resist â they have their own bedrooms, and beds, and are loath to share the space. But all parties soon come to an understanding, which grows to friendship. The season finale found the floor in the entryway giving out beneath Sam and Jay just as they welcomed their first guests; the new season finds the floor fixed and a pair of deceptively troublesome new guests checking in. (Itâs the living who cause the real problems here. The variety of perfectly cast phantoms â a Viking, a Native American, a Gilded Age doyenne, a Jazz Age chanteuse, a scout leader, a pantsless Wall Street trader, and a Revolutionary War officer who is slowly coming to terms with being gay â allows for a smorgasbord of satire. Heartwarming but never treacly, itâs a show about community, diversity and compromise, a guide for living, and non-living. âRobert Lloyd
Replete with warring interview subjects, low-fi graphics and unnecessary aspersions cast on the Valley, Netflixâs true crime docuseries âThe Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heistâ isnât exactly an episode of âFrontline.â But in his tale of the Los Angeles-area teenagers who turned intel gleaned from gossip sites into a string of celebrity home invasions, director Miles Blayden-Ryall conjures a playful, remarkably perceptive portrait of a time (the late â00s), place (Hollywood) and media environment (irredeemable trash) whose excesses presaged our own. With unapologetic fame-hounds Nick Prago and Alexis Neiers as his primary voices, Blayden-Ryall explores not only the burglaries perpetrated against Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom and more, but also the warped culture that created the criminals and the stars. All that said, absolutely nothing in âHollywood Heistâ lives up to the scene in Sofia Coppolaâs fictional 2013 film version in which Emma Watson, as Neiers, places her hand on her hip and whines, âI want to rob.â
Nothing could. âMatt Brennan
Catch up
Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyoneâs talking about
âDoes anyone watch Marilyn Monroe movies?â So asked the writer-director Andrew Dominik in a recent, widely circulated interview with Sight & Soundâs Christina Newland about his controversy-stirring new Monroe biopic, âBlonde.â That he would even ask such a question â and likely answer no â gets at why âBlondeâ (Netflix) evinces so little love or feeling for its ostensible subject, so little understanding of Monroeâs acting genius. Yes, people do in fact still watch and love Marilyn Monroe movies, and even the least of them is worth more of your time than the art-house exploitation-movie hash that Dominik has made of her life.
âBlondeâ itself reproduces memorable scenes from a handful of key Monroe movies, starting with Joseph L. Mankiewiczâs 1950 theater-world classic, âAll About Eveâ (multiple platforms), in which Monroe makes a brief, head-turning appearance as a hapless drama-school grad, and Roy Ward Bakerâs 1952 psychothriller, âDonât Bother to Knockâ (multiple platforms), featuring an early dramatic lead role for Monroe as a deranged babysitter. There are also re-creations of Henry Hathawayâs 1953 noir, âNiagaraâ (multiple platforms), in which she played an unforgettable femme fatale in sultry hot pink, and Howard Hawksâ âGentlemen Prefer Blondesâ (multiple platforms), a still-sparkling 1953 showcase for Monroeâs musical-comedy gifts that catapulted her to a new level of stardom.
Naturally, thereâs an extended reference to the famous subway-grate scene from Billy Wilderâs creaky 1955 sex comedy, âThe Seven Year Itchâ (multiple platforms), which is watchable today pretty much for Monroe and Monroe alone. She would give one of her finest, funniest performances â as the wonderfully named Sugar Kane Kowalczyk â in a vastly superior Wilder effort, 1959âs âSome Like It Hotâ (multiple platforms).
The list goes on and on: Thereâs her hilarious work opposite Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall in 1957âs âHow to Marry a Millionaireâ (multiple platforms), and her flintier performances in two John Huston works, 1950âs âThe Asphalt Jungleâ (multiple platforms) and 1961âs âThe Misfitsâ (multiple platforms). That western, written by Monroeâs soon-to-be-ex-husband Arthur Miller, is a piercingly emotional experience for any number of reasons; it features Monroeâs final screen performance and possibly her best. Dominik may not be able to see her greatness, but happily, you can. âJustin Chang
Guest spot
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what theyâre working on â and what theyâre watching
âSlow burnâ is mostly used to describe burgeoning romantic relationships, but it aptly describes the family drama on OWNâs âQueen Sugar,â now in its seventh and final season. (The series streams on Hulu.) The phrase isnât applicable to ebullient star Rutina Wesley, though, who has more in common with her spitfire character Nova Bordelon. âI got to play somebody whoâs close to my heart, who I fit,â Wesley said of her character, an outspoken journalist and âactivist slash herbalist.â
Nova is the eldest of the three Bordelon siblings at the center of âQueen Sugar,â including Charley (Dawn-Lyen Gardner) and Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe). They have spent seasons learning to co-exist after their father died, leaving behind a 300-acre sugarcane farm in Louisiana, a place that has become near and dear to Wesley. She came to âQueen Sugarâ by way of another Louisiana-set, seven-season show, âTrue Blood.â After more than hinting at being on Broadway, then hoping for a romantic comedy, Wesley throws ânextâ to the universe: âLetâs go,â she said. âIâm ready for the next seven.â Wesley talked with The Times about her attachment to Louisiana, why âP-Valleyâ makes her cry and her favorite TV journalist. âDawn M. Burkes
You went from one Louisiana-set show right into another. Have you formed an attachment to the area?
Iâm gonna miss it, because New Orleans is definitely a character and a show of its own. Iâm fortunate to have done a show like âTrue Bloodâ (HBO Max) and then blessed to do another seven. Seven is a very lucky number. Itâs also the number of completion. Keep âem coming.
What does it mean to you to have worked on a show thatâs been revolutionary in a sense? Itâs women-led, itâs POC-led, itâs Black-led.
Before âQueen Sugar,â I had only worked with two female directors in my life. So coming onto âQueen Sugarâ and having 42 female directors, and then the amazing crews that weâve had that look like every color of the rainbow, itâs meant everything. But also, now Iâm like, âThis is possible.â Now you cannot tell them no, for most of, if not all, these female directors are currently working in television. And they would have never gotten that chance if it wasnât for [executive producer] Ava [DuVernay] saying, âLetâs try this because I think we can do it.â So I feel kind of spoiled because I know Iâm gonna go to another set, and itâs not gonna be like that. When I was growing up, as I was acting, I never got to do an all-Black something. And so âQueen Sugarâ was like my August Wilson. Finally. I got to be with my people.
It feels like Rutina handing off to Nova. Is this the first time that youâve ever had a character thatâs so much of you?
Yeah, it is. I was the only Black female in my class in undergraduate. And then I went to Juilliard, but there were only like two Black females and one male in my class. So it was not like we could do âRaisin in the Sunâ or âSeven Guitars.â We just didnât have the people, the bodies werenât there.... When I saw our show, for the first time, I told Ava Iâve never seen myself look so beautiful. And when I say beautiful, like close to who I am. Iâve never looked at my skin on camera and been like, âOoh, girl.â And maybe thatâs because we have great DPs, which we do. And the cinematography is amazing. I needed to see myself in that way.
You play a journalist on TV. Do you have a favorite fictional journalist? A favorite television one?
Joy Reid. I love her because she gets the facts and the information out in a way where I can actually process it and grasp it. And Iâm like, âOK, Iâm engaged.â She makes it accessible.
What are you watching?
I just finished up âP-Valleyâ (Starz). Iâve been watching âIndustryâ (HBO, HBO Max)... Iâm getting my âRuPaulâs Drag Raceâ (VH1, Paramount+) on. I love âLegendaryâ (HBO Max), the [ballroom] competition. Iâm just like, all here for it. âQueensâ (Hulu). âHarlemâ (Prime Video). Iâve been trying to catch up with everybody. But I really am loving âP-Valley.â It reminds me a little bit of âTrue Bloodâ in the cinematography. And also my friend, my homie, my ace, my angel, [the late] Nelsan Ellis. What he did on âTrue Bloodâ with Lafayette was not being done by anybody. And so when I started watching âP-Valley,â I was pleasantly surprised with Nicco [Annan, who plays Uncle Clifford]... I was freaking out. I was like, âWho is this?â I just love him and Iâve kind of wanted to contact him and just be like, âYou donât know me from a can of paint but I think youâre amazing.â Then I caught up with âStranger Thingsâ (Netflix). âSquid Gameâ (Netflix), which is over but that got me hooked. I like stuff like that where I gotta rewind and watch it again because you might miss something. âLovecraft Countryâ (HBO Max).
Have you seen the meme that says âLafayette walked so Uncle Clifford could runâ?
Itâs probably gonna make me cry, but in the best way. Because man, nobody was doing that. He was a genius. And people couldnât touch him. He was that good. He was the only person on our show that our showrunner Alan Ball let improv his lines because Alan Ball said whatever comes out of his mouth is better than anything I can ever write. So thatâs what âP-Valleyâ has been like.
Whatâs next for you? I mean, youâve been at it consistently for about 20 years.
Oh my God, you just aged me. Lord! I donât know whatâs next. Weâll see what 2023 brings. Iâm just gonna say this: If Iâm on a show and Iâm touching the show, weâre going for a while. Because Iâm not here to play games.
Mail bag
Recommendations from Screen Gab readers
âMrs. Harris Goes to Parisâ (VOD, multiple platforms) is a delightful film without sex, violence, blood and Marvel superheroes. Not your usual bill of fare.
How about an older woman who has a dream to own a Dior dress and saves her money to afford this dream? She goes to Paris and the House of Dior with the simple idea to buy the dress, but she is taken up with the lifestyle of the rich and famous. In the end she is successful in realizing her dream, not with the simple dress she has admired for years but with an elegant ball gown. Who says being nice doesnât pay off.
Steve Cherry
Whatâs next
Listings coordinator Matt Cooper highlights the TV shows and streaming movies to keep an eye on.
Fri., Sept. 30
âEntergalacticâ (Netflix): This new animated fable about a young artist in New York City serves as a companion piece to the latest album from cult rapper Kid Cudi.
âThe Greatest Beer Run Everâ (Apple TV+): A former Marine (Zac Efron) brings brews to his brothers on the front lines in Vietnam in this fact-based 2022 action comedy. With Russell Crowe and Bill Murray.
âHocus Pocus 2â (Disney+): Which witch is which? Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker reunite in this 2022 sequel to the 1993 fantasy comedy.
âHuman Playgroundâ (Netflix): Itâs all fun and games in this new docuseries about the myriad ways in which we spend our leisure time. Idris Elba narrates.
âJena Friedman: Ladykillerâ (Peacock): The comic weighs in on issues facing women in America today in this new stand-up special.
âMy Best Friendâs Exorcismâ (Prime Video): Sheâs, like, totally possessed by a demon in this 2022 horror comedy.
âQueer for Fear: A History of Queer Horrorâ (Shudder): This new docuseries decodes LGBTQ themes buried in classic sci-fi, fantasy and horror flicks.
âRamyâ (Hulu): Muslim American comic Ramy Youssef is back in new episodes of his eponymous sitcom.
â35th Hispanic Heritage Awardsâ (KOCE, 9 p.m.): Hometown heroes Los Lobos, reggaeton star Daddy Yankee and âWest Side Storyâsâ Ariana DeBose are feted.
âMy Possessed Petâ (Travel, 10 p.m.): Never send a veterinarian to do an exorcistâs job in this new paranormal series.
Sat., Oct. 1
âHuluween Dragstravaganza Variety Showâ (Hulu): MonĂŠt X Change and Ginger Minj are your hostesses with the mostesses in this new special.
âGirlfriendshipâ (Hallmark, 8 p.m.): Three BFFs go on vacay to try to get their respective grooves back in this new TV movie.
âThe Gabby Petito Storyâ (Lifetime, 8 p.m.): This new TV movie dramatizes the tragic tale of the young woman whose disappearance in 2021 made national headlines.
âSaturday Night Liveâ (NBC, 8:29 and 11:29 p.m.): The sketch show kicks off its 48th season. Miles Teller hosts and Kendrick Lamar performs.
âThe First Attack Ads: Hollywood vs. Upton Sinclairâ (KCET, 9 p.m.): This new documentary recalls efforts to derail the activist authorâs 1934 gubernatorial campaign.
âYvonne Orji: A Whole Me.â (HBO, 10 p.m.): The comic and âInsecureâ co-star opens up in this new stand-up special.
Sun., Oct. 2
âThe Equalizerâ (CBS, 8 p.m.): The rebooted action drama is back for Season 3. Queen Latifah stars.
âFamily Lawâ (The CW, 8 p.m.): A troubled attorney (âFireflyâsâ Jewel Staite) goes to work at her fatherâs firm in this new comedy drama. With Victor Garber.
âLucy Worsley Investigatesâ (KOCE, 8 p.m.) The historian looks back on the witch hunts of centuries past in the series finale.
âEast New Yorkâ (CBS, 8 p.m.): A Brooklyn precinctâs new top cop (Amanda Warren) tries to shake up the system in this new drama. With Jimmy Smits.
âThe Walking Deadâ (AMC, 9 p.m.): The horror drama is back for the back half of its 11th and final season.
âBlumhouseâs Compendium of Horrorâ (Epix, 10 p.m.): Be afraid, be very afraid with this new five-part exploration of the horror genre.
âOutrageous Pumpkinsâ (Food Network, 10 p.m.): Theyâre still out of their gourds as the competition returns.
âNothing Comparesâ (Showtime, 10 p.m.): Iconoclastic singer-songwriter SinĂŠad OĘźConnor is profiled in this new rock doc.
âAnne Riceâs Interview With the Vampireâ (AMC, 10:06 p.m.): Sink your teeth into this new supernatural drama based on the authorâs 1976 horror novel.
Mon., Oct. 3
âMiss USA Liveâ (FYI, 5 p.m.): The 2022 edition of the annual pageant takes place in Reno.
âMeet Marry Murderâ (Lifetime, 9 p.m.): âTill death do us partâ comes sooner than expected in this new true crime series. Helen Hunt narrates.
âThe Good Doctorâ (ABC, 10 p.m.): The medical drama clocks in for Season 6. Freddie Highmore stars.
âPOVâ (KOCE, 10 p.m.): The 2020 doc âThe Last Outâ follows three Cuban baseball players hoping to make it to the major leagues.
Tue., Oct. 4
âHasan Minhaj: The Kingâs Jesterâ (Netflix): The award-winning comic and commentator returns in a new stand-up special.
âMaking Black America: Through the Grapevineâ (KOCE, 9 p.m.): Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts this new four-part historical series.
â2022 Hip Hop Awardsâ (BET, 9 p.m.): Drake leads the field with 14 nominations at this yearâs ceremony in Atlanta.
âCherish the Dayâ (OWN, 9 p.m.): This relationship drama starring Joy Bryant and Henry Simmons is back.
âHarriet Tubman: Visions of Freedomâ (KOCE, 10 p.m.): The legendary abolitionist is remembered in this new documentary.
âTales From the Territoriesâ (Vice, 10 p.m.): This new documentary series recalls the rough and tumble origins of the pro wrestling biz.
Wed., Oct. 5
âMr. Harriganâs Phoneâ (Netflix): Reach out and touch someone â from beyond the grave! â with this 2022 supernatural thriller based on a Stephen King novella. Donald Sutherland stars.
âThe Sound of 007â (Prime Video): This new documentary reveals the important role music has played in the James Bond franchise through the decades.
âRivers of Lifeâ (KOCE, 8 p.m.): The Danube is not just a river in Europe in this new episode of the nature series.
âThe Real Love Boatâ (CBS, 9 p.m.): Come aboard, theyâre expecting you in this new dating show inspired by the classic TV series. Rebecca Romijn and Jerry OâConnell host.
âKung Fuâ (The CW, 9 p.m.): The rebooted martial arts drama kicks off its third season. Olivia Liang stars.
âArtboundâ (KCET, 9 and 10 p.m.): The series returns with episodes about the groundbreaking comic âLove & Rocketsâ and conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp.
âNovaâ (KOCE, 9 p.m.): Medical researchers detail the decades-long effort to defeat the virus that causes AIDS in the new episode âEnding HIV in America.â
âChuckyâ (Syfy, 9 p.m.): Your friendly neighborhood childrenâs doll that is possessed by the spirit of a serial killer is back for Season 2.
âRicochet: An American Traumaâ (KOCE, 10 p.m.) This new special examines the effect of gun violence on individuals, communities and institutions.
âReginald the Vampireâ (Syfy, 10 p.m.): It sucks to be him in this new horror comedy. âSpider-Manâsâ Jacob Batalon stars.
Thu., Oct. 6
âAftershock: Everest and the Nepal Quakeâ (Netflix): This new docuseries recalls the devastating 2015 earthquake that rocked the Indian subcontinent.
âDeadstreamâ (Shudder): A hapless social media star spends a night in a haunted house in this 2022 horror comedy.
âA Friend of the Familyâ (Peacock): A sociopath (âThe White Lotusââ Jake Lacy) insinuates himself into the lives of his neighbors in this new fact-based drama. With Anna Paquin.
âMonster High: The Movieâ (Nickelodeon, 7 p.m.): The kid-friendly animated franchise begets a live-action tale.
âWalkerâ and âWalker Independenceâ (The CW, 8 and 9 p.m.): The Texas-set action drama returns followed by a new prequel set in the late 1800s.
âStation 19â and âGreyâs Anatomyâ (ABC, 8 and 9 p.m.): The dramas return for Seasons 6 and 19, respectively.
âAlaska Dailyâ (ABC, 10 p.m.): A disgraced reporter (Oscar winner Hilary Swank) from New York City finds herself anchored down in Anchorage in this new drama.
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyoneâs talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.