This weekend I have … an hour, I love holiday boredom.
‘The Resort’
When to watch: Now, on Peacock.
Cristin Milioti and William Jackson Harper star in this whirlwind drama as an unhappy couple who stumbles upon solving a long-dormant missing person case while vacationing in Mexico. “The Resort” is more of an evocative collage than a tightly plotted mystery; while the story mechanics feel thin at times, there’s a robust sense of mood and energy, of the electricity of romance, the panic of loneliness, the paralysis of grief. But funny! The first three episodes are available now, and the next five come weekly on Thursdays. If you miss “Search Party” and also mystical, try this.
… five hours and a tween.
‘amber brown’
When to watch: Arrives Friday, on Apple TV+.
Amber Brown (Carsyn Rose) is almost in sixth grade, which is hard enough in itself, but her best friend just moved, her parents just got divorced and she can’t even get pierced ears. She expresses some of her frustrations in a video diary, often with real depth, and some through drawings that become sweet daydream fragments. The show is soft yet powerful, thanks in large part to Rose’s fantastic and natural performances and Amber’s episodic musings – How many people am I supposed to love? Whose happiness has priority in a family? — capture both the literal child brain and the bigger, more difficult questions of growing up.
… several hours, and I’m in fashion.
‘Paper Girls’
When to watch: Arrives Friday, on Amazon.
“Paper Girls” embodies many of the TV fads of the moment: it’s a comic book adaptation (by Brian K. Vaughan, who also wrote “Y: The Last Man”); it takes place in part in the 1980s; it includes children’s and adult versions of the characters; it combines intense violence with youthful mischief; it plays a comedian (Ali Wong) in a dramatic role; it has strong spooky vibes; and there is some kind of time bending going on. If you wish “Stranger Things” and “Yellowjackets” could join forces, or at least combine ominous sound effects, or if you just like stories where suburban cycling turns into a battle for the world as we know it , then look here.