MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
July Fourth is almost here and all the barbecues and parades and summer blockbusters that come with it. But NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans says the holiday weekend is also a great time to catch up on great TV that might have flown under the radar. And he's here to talk about his picks with us. Hi, Eric.
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Hey.
MARTIN: So the first show on your list is a spy thriller called "The Agency." It's on Paramount+. It's got a lot of big names on it. How did it get overlooked?
DEGGANS: This is a good example of a really great series that's on a smaller streaming service and has had a little trouble breaking through all that competition that's out there. Now, the cast includes Richard Gere as the CIA's station chief in London. Jeffrey Wright is the second in command. "The Wire" alum Dominic West is the head of the CIA and "Downton Abbey" alum Hugh Bonneville as an official in British intelligence. But Michael Fassbender really makes this story cook in its second season as a former CIA field agent manipulating his friends and coworkers to try and free his love, who's a Sudanese professor imprisoned by a paramilitary force overseas. Let's listen to a clip.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE AGENCY")
MICHAEL FASSBENDER: (As Martian) If they tell you I'm a traitor, it's the truth. I lied to my friends, my colleagues. I sacrificed people. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate.
DEGGANS: I love his American accent.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: OK. A little heavy for Independence Day Weekend, Eric.
DEGGANS: (Laughter).
MARTIN: Thankfully, your next pick is a British comedy called "Alice And Steve." It's on Disney+. Tell us about this one.
DEGGANS: So this show features British TV star Nicola Walker as a 50-something woman who's kept a close, 30-year friendship with a former boyfriend, played by "Flight Of The Conchords" alum Jemaine Clement. But things get weird when he takes her advice to start a family with a younger woman a little too literally and starts dating her 26-year-old daughter. Now, here's a clip where the daughter, played by Israeli actress Yali Topol Margalith, tells her mom what's going on.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ALICE AND STEVE")
YALI TOPOL MARGALITH: (As Izzy) I know this must hurt, Mom. I see that. But I want to keep seeing him.
NICOLA WALKER: (As Alice) I hope you fall out of your window and get pierced in the heart by your railing and that no one comes to your funeral.
DEGGANS: So, yeah, Mom, who was talking about Steve there...
MARTIN: Yeah. Ow.
DEGGANS: ...Didn't take the news so well (laughter). I know the concept may sound kind of icky at first. But it's really a very...
MARTIN: Kind of? Kind of?
DEGGANS: (Laughter) It's really a very funny, very complex comedy about parents, children, exes and spouses of all ages trying to find emotional fulfillment in an increasingly complicated world.
MARTIN: OK. I guess you have to watch. So...
DEGGANS: (Laughter) Trust me on this one. It's good.
MARTIN: I do trust you. Now, I know you're not really a fan of reality TV shows. I'm with you on that. But you've got one on your list here. It's "Couples Therapy." It's also on Paramount+. What's the story here?
DEGGANS: Well, for me, most reality TV shows are inauthentic. They're exploitive. They too often reward terrible behavior. But this show is really the opposite of all that. Now, Dr. Orna Guralnik talks through issues with each of four couples in really revelatory sessions, consulting with her own therapist and with a different group of professionals, who help her unpack how to help. Now, in this clip, we've got Marjorie and Jason, who are struggling to talk about taking care of their many pets. Dr. Guralnik is digging for a deeper issue.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "COUPLES THERAPY")
MARJORIE: He always wants things a certain way, but he never helps.
JASON: This is only the beginning.
ORNA GURALNIK: We're trying to build a process that you can apply to any of these conversations. It doesn't matter what we talk about, politics or cat litter.
DEGGANS: Now, for anybody who's actually been through couples therapy, you might feel a little PTSD hearing these arguments. But the program does a really good job of showing how couples working in good faith can really learn a lot about themselves and their relationship, even if it doesn't necessarily end with a reconciliation.
MARTIN: That is NPR critic-at-large Eric Deggans with his list of under-the-radar TV shows worth watching this July Fourth weekend. Eric, thank you.
DEGGANS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
