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      ‘Ludwig’ Is Like a Fun British Version of ‘Monk’

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      The twisty, serialized mystery stars David Mitchell of “Peep Show,” who plays identical twins, one of whom goes missing.David Mitchell stars as identical twins in “Ludwig,” the latest charming quirky British detective show, coming to BritBox on Thursday. The show is a big hit in England and has already been renewed for a second season.Mitchell is mostly playing John, the extra-fastidious twin, the one who lives a solitary life. But he has his puzzles: He makes a living as a puzzle creator known as “Ludwig” and publishes books that thrill the cryptology crowd.He is yanked from his hermitage by a phone call from his sister-in-law, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), with whom he has been close since early childhood. His twin brother, James, a detective, is missing, and she has a kooky scheme to get to the bottom of it. John needs to pretend to be James, go to the police station and gather the intel they need. What could go wrong?John is not a smooth operator, and he struggles with office chitchat and idiomatic language. But dang if our guy isn’t a genius observer and brilliant logician who gets to play Sherlock Holmes on cases by seeing all the ways they remind him of his games. This one is an elaborate deductive reasoning puzzle; this one is like a game of chess. You, ma’am, are under arrest.The procedural aspects here are clever and twisty, and the serialized mystery of James’s disappearance is an ample engine. In addition to being like a fun British version of “Monk,” “Ludwig” is a stationery aficionado’s utter dream. The pens, the pencils, and oh, the notebooks. You can tell by just the sound of their snips that those scissors have the heft and excellence of God’s own shears. Appropriate for its title, the show also has a fantastic score.SIDE QUESTSMitchell is one of the team anchors in my favorite British panel show, “Would I Lie to You?” Several seasons are on Amazon Prime Video and BritBox, but you can have just as much fun looking up clips on YouTube.Mitchell is perhaps best known as the star of “Peep Show,” all nine seasons of which are on Amazon, Hulu, the Roku Channel and Pluto.In addition to “Monk” (Amazon, Peacock) and “Psych” (Amazon, Peacock), “Ludwig” reminds me a lot of “Death in Paradise,” which also centers on a fussy fish-out-of-water detective who solves nutty cases and maybe learns to soften up along the way. That’s on BritBox, as are dozens of similar shows.If you want to watch Maxwell Martin do more of the solving, she is one of the stars of “Bletchley Circle,” a period drama about female code crackers who solve crimes after World War II. That’s on Amazon, Peacock and the Roku Channel. More

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      Jon Stewart Isn’t Falling for Trump’s Golf Tournament ‘Win’

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      After the president claimed victory at his own club, Stewart compared him to “the Make-a-Wish Batman kid: ‘Hey, look at that, Donald. You caught all the criminals.’” Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Hole in NonePresident Trump declared on Sunday that he’d won a championship at Trump International Golf Club in Florida — not the first time he’d claimed victory at one of his own clubs.Jon Stewart mocked Trump’s announcement with some well-placed air quotes on Monday’s “Daily Show.”“Oh, he ‘won the tournament’ at ‘Trump International’? How did that happen?” Stewart said.“This dude’s whole life, he’s like the Make-a-Wish Batman kid: ‘Hey, look at that, Donald. You caught all the criminals.’” — JON STEWART“Look, I’m opposed to anyone rolling back American democracy, but I do tip the cap to any 78-year-old winning a golf tournament.” — JON STEWART“And, by the way, still having enough energy left to stroll into the command center in his golf attire to bomb the [expletive] out of Yemen! Yeah. Now, look, anyone can bomb the [expletive] out of Yemen after nine holes, but 18?” — JON STEWART“Who are the other players in this tournament? I mean, seriously, are there other golfers, or is it just Eric with his Fisher-Price clubs?” — JIMMY KIMMEL“I want to see a full 580-page investigation of this tournament. I want to know everything. I want scorecards, I want video, I want affidavits from the caddies, I want a forensic investigation of every divot he didn’t bother to replace. How is it possible that this guy beats every other golfer every year?” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (St. Patrick’s Day Edition)“Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Once again, it is cabbage’s night to shine tonight.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“You know what? The way things have been going lately, it’s nice to have an excuse to drink on a Monday.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“That’s right, people getting lit on a Monday morning. For one day, everyone gets to feel what it’s like to be a pilot for Southwest.” — JIMMY FALLONWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: A Poetic Act

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      It was a big week for cutting loose and confessions, for sex as a metaphor but also just for sex.Season 3, Episode 5: ‘Full-Moon Party’The HBO publicity department is pretty good at keeping secrets, huh? Last week, the season premiere of “The Righteous Gemstones” featured an unexpected guest star: the 12-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper. This week, “The White Lotus” brings in the Oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell, whose participation in this season had been kept pretty tightly under wraps, right up to the moment he appeared onscreen as Frank, Rick’s old friend in Bangkok.Rockwell is not this episode’s main character. But he does deliver a knockout monologue that is one of the season’s standout scenes. And his speech would likely be the most talked about “White Lotus” moment this week, were it not for the rather shocking kiss at the end of the episode.I will get to the smooching, I promise. But I want to start with Frank, who meets Rick at a nice hotel, bringing with him something Rick needs for when he confronts his father: a heavy bag containing a big gun. We are not told how these two men know each other or why one of them is holding on to an arsenal. But clearly they have a close friendship, which has apparently involved some violent exploits.This episode is a direct continuation of last week’s, which had several characters heading out to various decadent parties, joining the locals in celebrating the full moon. The “White Lotus” creator and director Mike White does a lot more intercutting between the story lines than usual, creating a feeling that night itself has its own dark, strange momentum as people across Thailand get increasingly intoxicated.But the episode breaks from that delirium for one long speech from Frank, who has to explain to his old friend why he has embraced Buddhism and given up booze, drugs and sex.Frank’s story is too raunchy to repeat in fine detail. It involves him interrogating the nature of desire and the role gender identity plays in lust — all of which led to him experimenting with cross-dressing and gay orgies before coming to the conclusion that “sex is a poetic act; it’s a metaphor.” But for what? That remained frustratingly unclear to Frank, which is why he become a Buddhist, detaching himself from the wheel of lust and suffering.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      On ‘The White Lotus,’ Patrick Schwarzenegger Gets Rich Quick

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      On the set of the third season of “The White Lotus,” which shot for seven sticky months in luxury hotels in Bangkok and Koh Samui, Thailand, the writer and director Mike White had a repeated note for the actor Patrick Schwarzenegger.“You’re not walking rich enough,” White would yell across the pool deck. “Patrick, be richer.”Schwarzenegger, 31, recounted this — incorporating an impeccable White impression — on a bright morning at a coffee shop in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan. (Schwarzenegger described himself as a coffee “addict.” His on-set nickname: Cold Brew.) In person, he was polite, earnest.“I’m thankful each and every day for the life that I’ve been given,” he said as he spooned up yogurt and berries.In the current season of “The White Lotus,” Patrick Schwarzenegger plays the oldest child in a privileged North Carolina family. Sam Nivola and Sarah Catherine Hook portray his siblings.Fabio Lovino/HBO, via Associated PressWhite saw this guilelessness as genuine. “Patrick is just somebody who likes people, and people like him,” White said on a call earlier that week. “He’s a sincere actor, but he’s uncomplicated in his presentation of self.”Schwarzenegger had come into the city to do a few days of press for “The White Lotus,” his most high-profile project to date. He plays Saxon, the eldest son of a wealthy North Carolina couple (Parker Posey and Jason Isaacs). A cocky finance bro, Saxon’s preferred pastimes include smoothies, pornography and observations about his siblings’ sex lives.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘The Residence,’ Plus 7 Things to Watch on TV this Week

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      A new murder-mystery series, starring Uzo Aduba, comes to Netflix, and Oscar-winning films come to streaming platforms.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that air or stream this week, March 17-23. Details and times are subject to change.Something isn’t right?Natalia Grace Mans was adopted from Ukraine in 2010 by an American family. By 2011, they had argued to a court that they didn’t believe Mans was a child, as they had been told, and instead was an adult woman with dwarfism. Perhaps because of its similarity to plot of the 2009 horror movie “The Orphan,” the story went viral and became the topic of podcasts, news stories and a documentary series entitled “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.” Now, a fictionalized version, “Good American Family,” is coming out this week. The show stars Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass as the adoptive parents and Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia. Streaming on Hulu on Wednesday.The new mystery drama “The Residence” asks the question: What would happen if there was a murder at a White House state dinner? The series stars Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department who is brought in to question the personnel who were around when the crime occurred. And of course, throughout all of this, interpersonal conflicts arise, people start acting shady and secrets are revealed. Streaming on Netflix on Thursday.In the 1990s, there were a string of murders around the U.S. When the cases started getting media attention, the killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, would write letters to newspapers and police departments detailing the specifics of his crimes and signing with a smiley face, giving him the moniker “the happy face killer.” He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences. In the new series, “Happy Face,” Dennis Quaid is taking on the role of Jesperson in this fictional retelling of the terrifying and true story. Streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday.Celebrating music.This week, music will be celebrated at the iHeart Radio Music Awards. And though Taylor Swift finished with her Eras Tour, she continues to be top of mind — the show takes place on the two year anniversary of the start of the tour, so the show will feature a filmed performance from that first night. Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey will be honored, and LL Cool J is set to host. Monday at 8 p.m. on Fox.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How ‘Severance’ Is Shifting the Work-Life Balance Narrative With Innies and Outies

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      As “Severance” nears the end of its second season, the show has created a “cultural moment” that is changing the way people discuss work-life balance.At his job at an apparel store in SoHo, Thomas Lanese uses phrases that he would never utter outside of a work setting, like, “I’ll shoot this email to you by end of day.” Sometimes, he said, it feels like he is living two separate lives.It is something fans of “Severance” might relate to. In the buzzy show that concludes its second season on Apple TV+ next week, the characters literally live two distinct lives.Their “innies” (no relation to belly buttons) are their work selves. Their “outies” exist anywhere outside of work. They have chosen to work for Lumon Industries, a biotech company where they are “severed” from their personal lives, and their innies and outies have no idea what’s going on in each other’s worlds.The terms have now found a life outside the show, with innie used as a shorthand for being at work. Your innie can’t stop eating free candy in the office even though your outie is trying to cut back on sugar. Your innie wears unsexy clothes like knee-length pencil skirts even though your outie wears crop tops and miniskirts. And your outie parties late at night because your innie has to deal with the hangovers.“When you’re at work, you kind of put on this different facade than you do at home or you do with your friends,” said Mr. Lanese, a 26-year-old sales associate and game designer. In January, he posted a satirical video on TikTok remaking a scene from the first season of “Severance” that has received almost three million views. In it, his innie is visibly disgusted as he discovers cringe traits about his outie. For example, his outie has run three Disney 5Ks as Mickey Mouse. He captioned it “realizing that your innie would not be friends with your outie.”“It’s almost a form of disassociating,” Mr. Lanese said.

      @thomaslanese I cant wait for season 2 #severance #appletv ♬ original sound – Thomas Lanese

      @masonide #severance ♬ original sound – grapo We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Ted Lasso’ Will Return for Season 4 on Apple TV+

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      Apple TV+ announced on Friday that the Emmy-winning comedy will return for a fourth season. Jason Sudeikis will be back to reprise the title role.“Ted Lasso” fans who continued to believe will have their faith rewarded: The heartwarming soccer comedy is returning to the pitch.Apple TV+ announced on Friday morning that the series, about a folksy American coach hired to lead the fictional AFC Richmond in England’s Premier League, will come back for another season, its fourth. Jason Sudeikis, who created the series with Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, will return to reprise the title role and serve as an executive producer.“We all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to ‘look before we leap,” Sudeikis said in a statement. “In Season 4, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to leap before they look, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”“Ted Lasso” debuted in August 2020 and ran for three seasons. Sudeikis and the other creators maintained all along that there were no plans for more episodes, though they didn’t rule it out. The Season 3 finale in May 2023 ended with Ted returning home to Kansas.In an interview on Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” on Friday morning, Sudeikis said Ted will be coaching a women’s team in the new season.“It’s daunting, because we told the story we wanted to tell,” he said. “But there’s more there.”Apple TV+ did not give a premiere date for the new season or respond to a request for more details.It is also unclear who else from the main cast will be back. Brett Goldstein, who starred as the surly but softhearted coach Roy Kent, will be back as writer and executive producer, Apple TV+ said in a news release. In August, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. Television, which produces the show, had signed deals with three stars to come back if the show returned to production: Goldstein; Hannah Waddingham, who plays the AFC Richmond owner, Rebecca Welton; and Jeremy Swift, who plays the team executive Leslie Higgins.The show’s other cast members have consistently said they would be eager to return. Most of the original creative team, including most of the show’s writers, will return for the new season. Jack Burditt, a veteran TV producer, most recently of last year’s Netflix hit “Nobody Wants This,” joins as an executive producer.Based on an NBC Sports ad, “Ted Lasso” debuted in the thick of the Covid 19 pandemic with few expectations. It went on to become the biggest hit Apple TV+ has ever had, winning 13 Emmys and millions of fans who praised its humor and themes of friendship and empathy. Those awards all came for the first two seasons; the third was much more divisive.“Ted Lasso” was widely celebrated as a source of emotional sustenance during the pandemic. News of its return arrives in a similarly acrimonious moment, so perhaps its timing is apt again. More

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      ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3, Episode 6 Recap: Goin’ Hungry

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      Coach Ben goes on a hunger strike. Young Natalie goes rogue.Season 3, Episode 6: ‘Thanksgiving (Canada)’Let’s just start with this week’s big shocker: The girls and Travis are not alone in the woods. I’m not talking about there being spirits out there with them, though there very well may be spooky stuff hiding in the trees. I’m talking about real human people, wearing outdoorsy gear.The man (Nelson Franklin) holds up his hand and says, “Hello.” The Yellowjackets’ faces are a mixture of joy and horror. Finally, there is some sign of civilization. But also, oh God, civilization arrived at the worst possible moment.After all, the gang has just carved up Ben and eaten him while doing some ritualistic yelling. They can’t really hide that because their new friend sees the head and jumps back, terrified and cursing.It’s an exciting conclusion to a jam-packed episode. Midway through, I feared it might hang on another frustrating tease involving the mysterious tape that was left on Adult Shauna’s doorstep and found by her daughter, Callie.For the Adult Yellowjackets, the main story line follows Shauna, who has (finally!) determined that her family is at risk. The cherry that tops her suspicions is Callie’s revelation that she was keeping this retro-looking audio file a secret. So the Sadeckis move out of their house into a motel, and Shauna recruits Van, with her love of old-fashioned technology, to help her listen to the tape.Although we see Shauna, Tai and Van all pressing play, we don’t hear the full extent of what is contained on that audio file. Instead, there’s just a lot of screaming and more unanswered questions. At least Callie is as annoyed as I am at how withholding her mom is, planting her iPhone in Shauna’s bag to record whatever was on the tape.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More