This weekend I have … a half-hour, and I’m whimsical.
‘Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake’
When to watch: Now, on Max.
This new spinoff of “Adventure Time” is a reintroduction to the franchise’s magical realms and enchanting sense of humor. It’s also a gender-flipped version of the original: Finn is now Fionna, and Jake the Dog is now Cake the Cat. If diving into the ocean of “Adventure Time” feels like too big an undertaking — 10 seasons, another spinoff, video games, more lore than some religions — dip your toes in with “Fionna,” which is set in the same world and revisits some of its characters but is also a smooth on-ramp for new viewers. If you want something droll and dreamy, and absolutely packed with surprising one-liners, watch this. Six episodes are available now, and two new episodes arrive on the next two Thursdays.
… two hours, and I like cops-and-robbers sagas.
‘The Gold’
When to watch: Begins Sunday, on Paramount+.
This six-part mini-series is based on the true story of a London robbery gone sideways: In 1983, gunmen set out to steal a bunch of cash but wound up stealing £26 million of gold bullion. Then they had to figure out how to launder it — smelting fans to the front! — and eventually the cache injected an awful lot of money into both the legal and illegal economies. The chemistry and banter among characters is sharper and livelier than in your typical chase-the-bad-guys show. Sure, each character eventually delivers a grandiose monologue about the British class system, but “The Gold” has a real pep in its step.
If you like when a lower-class British woman animatedly holds a cigarette and explains to her doofus lowlife boyfriend how crimes work, while the sun streams into a dingy kitchen, this is for you. The first two episodes arrive Sunday and then weekly after that.
… several hours, and I like soapy thrillers.
‘Wilderness’
When to watch: Arrives Friday, on Amazon.
Jenna Coleman stars as Liv, the scorned wife, in this zippy, bingeable vengeance mini-series. Liv moved to America for her hunky husband, sacrificed her dreams for his, only to discover he had been cheating on her and was dumb enough to leave a corporate email trail. Now they’re setting out on a romantic road trip through some national parks to heal their relationship wounds, but Liv has different plans for all those cliffside vistas — and those plans get even wilder when the other woman shows up on a hiking trip of her own. If you want something like “You” or diet “Gone Girl,” but digestible enough for the recently concussed, try this.
