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Review: Widow's Bay is a boldly original take on comedic horror

Widow's Bay, the delightfully eccentric new comedic horror series from Apple TV, is easily one of the best new series of the year. There's a reason everyone from Guillermo del Toro and Ben Stiller to Damon Lindelof (Lost) is raving about the show. It's an eminently binge-able, addictive series that pays tribute to all the classic horror tropes while reinventing them in surprising ways. Think Stephen King meets Parks and Recreation, with a dash of Twin Peaksβ€”except Widow's Bay is very much its own refreshingly original beast.

(Some spoilers below but no major reveals.)

Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is a widower and mayor of Widow's Bay, a quirky little seaside town that has a colorfully bizarre history marked by periodic tragedies. Tom is eager to elevate the town into a trendy summer tourist destination. But the arrival of New York Times travel writer Arthur Lloyd (Bashir Salahuddin), who has the clout to make Tom's aspirations for Widow's Bay come true, coincides with the onset of a mysterious fog. Local resident Wyck (Stephen Root) warns Tom that the fog is an omen that the island is "waking up," meaning more supernatural occurrences are bound to happen.

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Β© Apple TV

RIP Anthony Head: Our 10 favorite moments of Buffy’s Giles

On Friday, news broke of the passing of actor Anthony Head at 72, best known for his portrayal of Watcher/father figure Rupert Giles on the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fans and former costars alike flooded social media with outpourings of appreciation for his talent and grief at his death.

Head certainly had a thriving career after Buffy: he played Uther Pendragon in the series Merlin; the Prime Minister in Little Britain; a sinister headmaster in the Doctor Who episode "School Reunion"; and of course, the wealthy, entitled Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso. But Giles remains his definitive role; there was even talk of a spinoff series, Ripper, although it was never made.

There are actually very few Giles-centric episodes, which belies the central importance of the character in the series. He definitely had some of the best, most cleverly cutting lines. But Head's true geniusβ€”and that of his characterβ€”lay in quietly filling in the gaps in every scene, working with his fellow castmates to weave a complete tapestry. Remove him, and it diminishes everything.

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Β© 20th Television/The WB

Review: Spider-Noir recaptures the magic of a bygone era

My hopes were high for the new Prime Video superhero series Spider-Noir, based on all those amazing trailers. But I also had some trepidation. Could the actual series live up to the hype?

As it turns out, yes, it could. Spider-Noir is a triumph, fusing fast-paced storytelling, compelling characters, gorgeous cinematography and production design, and whip-smart dialogue into a hugely entertaining, loving homage to a magical bygone era.

(Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)

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Β© Prime Video

The truth lies in the past in Silo S3 trailer

In April, we got a short teaser for the third season of Silo, the critically acclaimed Apple TV series based on the trilogy by novelist Hugh Howey, which hinted at a mysterious origin story dating back centuries. Apple TV just released the full trailer, and it looks like our heroine is again facing conflict and danger because she just keeps asking so many inconvenient questions.

As previously reported, Silo is set in a self-sustaining underground city inhabited by a community whose recorded history dates back only 140 years. The outside is a toxic hellscape that is only visible on big screens in the silo’s topmost level. The second season expanded Siloβ€˜s world to incorporate the survivors in the second Silo 17; everyone else died in a revolt to escape to the surface. We discovered that there are 50 silos in all. Meanwhile, another revolution was brewing in Juliette’s (Rebecca Ferguson) original Silo 18 against Holland (Tim Robbins). And even more secrets were revealed.

In the season finale, Juliette returned to her silo and warned the residents not to leave, but she and Holland ended up locked in the incinerator just as it was being fired up. The final scene was a flashback, showing a woman questioning a congressman in Washington, DC, about possible retaliation after the US dropped a dirty bomb on Iran. And that brings us to S3. Per the official premise:

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Β© Apple TV

House of the Dragon S3 trailer revels in dragons, fire, and blood

Some viewers were disappointed that the second season of House of the Dragon ended not with a bang, but a whimper. But the big battle sequence that season 2 set up will open season 3 with a bang, judging by the latest trailer, which has all the dragons, fire, and blood Westeros is known for.

(Spoilers for first two seasons below.)

As previously reported, the series is setΒ nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when dragons were still a fixture of Westeros, and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen’s reign. The primary source material is Fire and Blood, a fictional history of the Targaryen kings written by George R.R. Martin. As book readers know, those events culminated in a civil war and the extinction of the dragonsβ€”at least until Daenerys Targaryen came along.

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Β© HBO

Review: Good Omens finale (mostly) sticks the landing

It's been a three-year wait, but Prime Video finally released the series finale for Good Omens: a 90-minute single episode that sought to wrap everything up in a neat little bow. Verdict: Truncating the final season so drastically definitely hurts the first half of the series finale, which feels chaotic and rushed. But once that stupendous on-screen chemistry between co-stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen kicks back in, the old magic shines through, strong as ever, giving us a fitting end to this beloved comic saga.

(Spoilers below for all seasons.)

Here's a brief recap, since it's been a minute since the S2 finale. The series is based on the original 1990 novel by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett. Good Omens isΒ the story of an angel, Aziraphale (Sheen), and a demon, Crowley (Tennant), who gradually become friends over the millennia and team up to avert Armageddon. Season 2 found Aziraphale and Crowley getting back to normal, when the archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) turned up unexpectedly at the door of Aziraphale’s bookshop with no memory of who he was or how he got there. The duo had to evade the combined forces of Heaven and Hell to solve the mystery of what happened to Gabriel and why.

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Β© Prime VIdeo

Daredevil: Born Again S2 gives us a darker, grittier canvas

We loved the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel's hotly anticipated revival of the popular series in the Netflix Defenders universe, and its sophomore outing did not disappoint. The show just wrapped its critically acclaimed second season, with a third already well underwayβ€”all part of MCU's Phase Six master plan.

(Some spoilers below, but we'll give you a heads up before any major S2 reveals.)

From its inception, Daredevil: Born Again was built around the conflict between Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), with Fisk attempting to leave his criminal past behind as the newly elected mayor of New York, and Murdock determined to abandon his vigilante activities as Daredevil to focus full time on his law practice.

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Β© Marvel Studios/Disney+

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