Whether you’re in the mood for a supernatural crime drama, a harrowing path to truth starring Jason Momoa, or heart-wrenching documentation of a devout cult’s descent into infamy, HBO’s Max app has a new series for you. (See also: The Playboy Murders, Rap Sh!t and the Hidden Gem How to Do It with John Wilson. )
The fourth season of True Detective is set in a small arctic web at the beginning of the polar night, and since it’s True Detective, you might not be surprised to learn that things go crazy when the lights go out. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis investigate the bizarre disappearance of the entire population from an Arctic study facility and its imaginable connection to the gruesome murder of an indigenous woman. If the rest of the series lives up to the spooky and atmospheric atmosphere of the first two episodes, Night The Country is a must-see.
Megastar Jason Momoa is doing some smart things with his fame, adding the On the Roam Truth Show. In it, Momoa travels the country encountering paintings and the lives of artisans, artists, and others on unconventional private trips, from cyclists to photographers.
During his lifetime, Playboy entrepreneur Hugh Hefner held an exclusive cultural position. He was considered a complicated bon vivant and, in fact, not an ordinary coal merchant. But now that Hef is in the grave, we located a lot of skeletons in the company’s closet, the equivalent of at least two seasons. The Playboy Murders examines those tried-and-true techniques of television crime documentaries, such as interviews, footage, and reenactments. It’s not the most in-house series, but it concentrates on Murders Among the Rich and Sexy Never Go Out of Style.
Rap Sh!t has been dirty. The comedy series about women in hip-hop has been almost universally acclaimed by critics, but Max recently canceled it after two seasons. Fortunately, the existing episodes are still alive. Created through Issa Rae, who also spawned Insecure, Rap Sh!t tells the story of long-suffering Miami rappers Mia Knight (KaMillion) and Shawna Clark (Aida Osman), who balance their pursuit of art and fame with everyday survival. Rap Sh!t Instagram, Snapchat, FaceTime, Onlyfans videos, and other online media add to your storytelling to tell stories in a new way.
I watch every single cult TV show and documentary I can find, and Love Has Won is head and shoulders above it, most commonly for its sheer focus on the title’s bizarre cult of sex drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Love Has Won was reviewed by Amy Carlson, a former McDonald’s executive who one day learned she was Mother God (as is often done), and then used the web to track down others who worshipped her. He also invited a number of deceased parents into his life, and that’s when things started to go wrong. Evil mold-corpse-in-the-living room. The cult meticulously documented his activity, leaving behind a treasure trove of harrowing internal photographs highlighting his descent into madness.
New York filmmaker John Wilson begins one of the episodes of How to Do with an undeniable premise, like “How to Clean Your Ears” or “How to Observe Birds,” and presents the answer in a strange, unexpected, and charming way. Turn the camera at one or both moments in his life to capture the street photographs in How to, a series full of small urban moments that, for the most part, are too busy to notice. Wilson also interviews “experts” on his subjects, but never the ones one would expect. For example, in “How to Find a (Parking) Spot,” Wilson asks a guy who’s been struck by lightning twice if his “luck” is helping him locate parking spots, as well as a guy who builds coffins in the shape of cars. There are 3 short seasons of How to Have to Stream, but unfortunately, there are no plans to do more.
Stephen Johnson is a contributor to Lifehacker, where he covers pop culture and adds two weekly columns, “The Disconnected Adult’s Guide to Children’s Culture” and “What People Get Wrong This Week. “She graduated from Emerson College with a bachelor’s degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing.
Previously, Stephen was editor-in-chief at NBC/Universal’s G4TV. At G4, he won a Telly Award for writing and was nominated for a Webby Award. Stephen has also written for Blumhouse, FearNET, Performing Songwriter magazine, NewEgg, AVN, GameFly, Art Connoisseur International Magazine, Fender Musical Instruments, Hustler Magazine, and other outlets. His paintings have aired on Comedy Central and screened at the Sundance International Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Chicago Horror Film Festival. He lives in Los Angeles, California.