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      ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Review: Can You Fight City Hall?

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      The sort-of-rebooted series from Marvel and Disney+ pits the blind vigilante against a chaos-inducing, revenge-minded office holder.In the new Marvel series “Daredevil: Born Again,” the gangster Wilson Fisk — a felon preoccupied with status, profit and revenge — embarks on a dark-horse, fear-mongering election campaign. It is for mayor of New York, not president of the United States, but the real-life resonance is hard to miss.And as the season, which premieres Tuesday on Disney+, proceeds through its nine episodes, the sense of familiarity only grows. The spuriously-populist Mayor Fisk rules by executive fiat, sidelines anyone who tries to rein him in and cultivates an atmosphere of violent chaos.Yes, Fisk, also known as the Kingpin, first became mayor of New York in the “Daredevil” comic books on which the series is based, and nothing in “Born Again” is at odds with his previous portrayals. But this is not a coincidence of character or timing. Long before the blind crime-fighting vigilante Daredevil intones, “This is our city, not his, and we can take it back,” it is clear that “Born Again” is summoning the specter of Donald Trump — perhaps as a statement of resistance, perhaps as a dramatic convenience, probably both.The problem is that in this case, real life has become stranger than fiction. “Born Again” is a deluxe comic-book adaptation, meticulously produced and filmed, and on that level it will delight a lot of people. But while it tries to get at something meaningful about social tumult, it does not rise above conventional comic-book ideas or emotions. It doesn’t carry the shock of the real.Within the multiverse of Marvel TV series, “Born Again” has a complicated provenance. “Daredevil” was one of the six shows made for Netflix, beginning a decade ago; it ran for three seasons and ended in 2018. After Marvel began making series for Disney+, the stars of the old show — Charlie Cox as Daredevil (real name Matt Murdock), and Vincent D’Onofrio as Fisk — popped up as supporting players in “Hawkeye” and “Echo,” biding their time.Now their new show is here, sort of a reboot and sort of a new season, with story lines that more or less track. If you haven’t checked in since the original “Daredevil” and certain things puzzle you, such as why Fisk is not in jail, then you may want to watch “Hawkeye” and “Echo.”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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      5 Takeaways From Meghan Markle’s Netflix Show ‘With Love, Meghan’

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      The new streaming series from the Duchess of Sussex has arrived. It shows her cooking, creating and harvesting, and feels like a billboard for things to come.Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has returned to the small screen with a new cooking and lifestyle show that was released on Netflix on Tuesday.Filmed at a property near her home in sunny Montecito, Calif., the eight-episode series positions Meghan, 43, as a modern domestic goddess embracing the do-it-yourself delights of cooking, crafting and entertaining.“Love is in the details, gang,” she says on an episode of the show, while preparing her own lavender towels.The series, which Netflix has pitched as “inspiring,” saying it “reimagines the genre of lifestyle programming,” is directed by Michael Steed, who worked on “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” It is executive produced by Meghan and is loosely organized around a series of creative projects — teaching a friend to make bread, throwing a game night for friends and planning a brunch — and offering tips along the way.“We’re not in the pursuit of perfection,” Meghan explains in the show as she makes crepes. “We’re in the pursuit of joy.”It has been about five years since Meghan, and her husband, Prince Harry, officially stepped back from their royal duties in Britain. The family is now firmly planted in Southern California. Prince Archie is 5 and Princess Lilibet is 3.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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      ‘Dabba Cartel’ Is a Go-Go-Go Drama With Depth

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      This Indian Netflix series isn’t the most original thing ever, but it comes loaded with brains, humor and electric performances.The Indian drama “Dabba Cartel,” on Netflix (in Hindi, with subtitles, or dubbed), is a lively spin on the “regular people do crimes … and like it?” genre. It incorporates sudsy twists, vicious domestic subplots, corporate malfeasance and social critiques, and its foot stays on the gas. In the course of its seven episodes, characters go from being not totally sure how one consumes marijuana to synthesizing a new street drug and rubbing shoulders with big-time baddies.Raji (Shalini Pandey) runs a lunch delivery service, and she has been sneaking in “herbal Viagra” for some of her customers. Her colleague Mala (Nimisha Sajayan) has a dirtbag boyfriend who coerces her into expanding the drug distribution to include the far more lucrative MDMA. “These are real drugs!” Raji worries.“Madam, all drugs are real,” the dirtbag says.Raji is trying to save money so she and her husband, who works in big pharma, can move to Germany. Beyond the food service, Mala works as a domestic laborer to support herself and her daughter, so every little bit helps. The delivery business also includes Shahida (Anjali Anand), a real estate agent who dreams of more. The three know they’re in over their heads, but their fear and desperation turn to shock and later industriousness when Raji’s mother-in-law, Sheila (Shabana Azmi), turns out to be a retired queenpin.Luckily, she has a plan. Unluckily, that plan is that they all become mega drug dealers together.Alongside our budding Walter Whites, “Dabba” follows a government investigator (Gajraj Rao) who is trying to prevent opioids from flooding the Indian market. They’re illegal in India, but some pharmaceutical companies manufacture the drugs for American distribution, and he is convinced that Fentanyl and its ilk are making their way to the people. No one takes his concerns seriously, and he is paired with a quirky female police officer (Sai Tamhankar) who is herself often overlooked. But she thinks he’s onto something.A little “Dopesick,” a little “Good Girls,” “Dabba” has brains and humor if not total originality. It feels fresh, though, because of its electric performances, especially from Sajayan, whose brusque and perceptive Mala has some of the show’s best lines. “Dabba” also pays sharp attention to all the little moments of social friction, the mounting indignities each character faces, all the various ways to be insecure.The show is visually ambitious, unlike so many drab crime dramas: fun overhead shots, bright umbrellas, lots of high-stress traffic Jenga. And there are no departure episodes in which we leave the main plot to learn sage wisdom from a sad side character. Everything connects — and it cooks. More

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      Late Night Recaps Zelensky’s Casual Friday at the White House

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      “I don’t see you asking Elon Musk if he owns a suit,” Seth Meyers said of the reporter who questioned Ukraine’s president about his attire.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.Bad Fashion PoliceOn Friday, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during a tense televised meeting at the White House. Things went bad after a conservative reporter asked why Zelensky hadn’t worn a suit to the Oval Office and whether he owned one.On Monday’s “Late Night,” Seth Meyers noted that Zelensky hadn’t been the only casually dressed visitor to the White House lately: “I don’t see you asking Elon Musk if he owns a suit, even though he shows up to cabinet meetings.”“People care about the cost of groceries and health care, not whether the president of Ukraine has ever been to a Men’s Wearhouse.” — SETH MEYERS“The guy’s the leader of a country that was invaded by Russia, and you’re grilling him like a fop at a garden party: ‘I have a question — is your stylist legally blind or just farsighted?’” — SETH MEYERS“Oh, Zelensky, you’re so poor and war-torn, you’re down to one Brooks Brother.” — JON STEWART“You’re so war-torn, you’ve given up the meaningless protocols of business attire.” — JON STEWART“His nation was invaded, he’s — against all odds — held off a much bigger army for three years, and we’re like, ‘And would it kill you to smile more, dress a little nicer? You’re a beautiful country, nobody would know! Show off what you got, know what I’m talking about? Maybe some of those rare metals I’ve been hearing something about.’” — JON STEWART“This poor man. They’re bombing every hospital in his country, he’s sitting there with the half-wit fashion police talking about what he is wearing.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Everyone knows Donald Trump prefers his leaders shirtless and on a horse.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Ukrainian President Zelensky was criticized for what he wore to the White House meeting on Friday, but, in his defense, most suits his size come with a sailor hat and a giant lollipop.” — GREG GUTFELD“So Friday, Zelensky entered the White House in his military fatigues and left with a boot up his [expletive].” — GREG GUTFELDThe Punchiest Punchlines (Real Housewives Edition)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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      ‘Deli Boys,’ Plus 9 Things to Watch on TV this Week

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      A new Hulu comedy premieres, “The Righteous Gemstones” are back and “The Traitors” wraps up its third season.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 3-9. Details and times are subject to change.Things aren’t going as expected.On the Hulu thriller “Paradise,” things took an unexpected turn right from the beginning — and have only gotten more twisty from there. The show follows Xavier Collins, a secret service agent played by Sterling K. Brown who is in charge of protecting President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). Slight spoilers ahead: The end of the first episode showed that Xavier, Cal and a few lucky civilians have been living in an underground city after the world ended — and that the president is actually dead. In a series of flashbacks, the rest of the episodes have revealed how things got to where they are, and this week’s finale will reveal who killed the president. Streaming Tuesday on Hulu.Netflix’s lush historical drama “The Leopard” follows the Salina family, Sicilian aristocrats who are bracing for the Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Redshirt guerrillas to conquer the island in the 19th century. The 1958 book, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, became one of the highest selling novels in Italy. If not for a look at the history, tune in for the stunning location and enviable outfits. Streaming on Wednesday on Netflix.What happens when you have been raised in the cushy world of wealth but your father’s death has left nothing but his convenience store empire, which is actually a crime front? “Deli Boys,” a new comedy, answers that question. Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh star as brothers who are trying to maintain a deli counter while also dealing with a Peruvian cartel and the Italian mafia. Streaming Thursday on Hulu.An inside look at sports.It’s no secret that Boston takes their sports seriously. The new documentary series “Celtics City” transports viewers back to the founding of the Boston Celtics N.B.A. team in 1946 and forward to their championship win in 2024. The show features archival footage and interviews with past and present players, including Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Monday at 9 p.m. on HBO and streaming on Max.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 White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 3: The Snake Show

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      The guests are getting restless, and Mike White seems ready to start making messes.Season 3, Episode 3: ‘The Meaning of Dreams’In last week’s “The White Lotus,” the three gal-pals — who are supposed to be on a bonding trip in Thailand — took turns pairing off and, in insinuating whispers, tearing each other apart. Kate and Jaclyn muttered anxiously about Laurie’s draining divorce, stalled career and delinquent daughter. Kate and Laurie took shots at Jaclyn’s cosmetic procedures and sham marriage.So who does that leave? Ah yes, Kate. When will she leave the room and get snipped to bits by her oldest and dearest?It happens this week — and it partly happens to her face. And Kate is not the only one who feels a bit bummed out and betrayed in this episode. On Day 3 at the White Lotus, the guests are getting restless. After two hours spent creating a context for various situations to go awry, the show’s creator, Mike White, seems ready to start making those messes.Let’s start with the Kate scenes, which, in a way, represent this episode’s biggest moments of shocking violence — if emotional violence counts. The inciting incident for the Kate takedown is an “energy healing” session Laurie has with Valentin. The other ladies have been urging Laurie to have a fling with the Vladivostok-born Valentin. (It’s a fling kind of weekend, they say. Plus, Valentin insists he left Russia before the Ukraine invasion, so he is not politically problematic … probably.)White goes hard with the sound design and editing during the energy healing session. As Valentin holds his hands just above Laurie’s body, the soundtrack is filled with eruptive moans and sighs, woven through the percussive, chiming musical score. When the ladies reunite, Laurie jokes, “I haven’t been not-touched by a man like that in a long time.”That’s when Kate makes a surprising confession: She finds all this new age healing stuff “goofy,” “spooky” and “kind of witchy.” When Jaclyn suggests that eastern spiritual practices are superior to Christianity because they are more empowering to women, Kate defends the church she has been attending since moving to Texas. This leads to several probing questions. Is this, like, a “real Texan church, with bible-thumpers?” (Kate, noncommittal: “They’re nice people, really good families.”) Does talking politics ever get awkward? (“Why would it?”) Is Kate a conservative now? (“I’m an independent.”) Did Kate vote for Trump? (Long pause, and then, “Are we really gonna talk about Trump tonight?”)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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      ‘S.N.L.’ Reprises the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office Face-Off

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      Mike Myers, as Elon Musk, adds an extra measure of crazy to an already bizarre moment in MAGA-era foreign policy.A shockingly combative White House meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine may have precipitated a diplomatic crisis and signaled a fissure in the longstanding relationship between the United States and Europe. But the incident provided ample grist for the satirical mill on “Saturday Night Live” in the first new broadcast after its 50th anniversary celebration.This weekend’s show, hosted by Shane Gillis and featuring the musical guest Tate McRae, began with a voice-over that declared the meeting between Trump and Zelensky had gone “really, really well,” adding, “Everyone who watched felt at ease and thought, ‘the world is now a safer place.’”The “S.N.L.” replay of this meeting began with Mikey Day as Zelensky and James Austin Johnson in his recurring role as Trump, introducing himself as “President and CEO of Gaza Hotel and Casino” and saying that he welcomed Zelensky to “this incredible trap; it’s going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we’re going to attack him very soon for no reason.”Bowen Yang, playing Vice President JD Vance, chimed in, saying, “Watch out, ’cause this kitty’s got claws.”Turning to Marcello Hernández, who was playing Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Johnson asked, “Are you excited to attack our European ally?”Hernández gave a vacant stare into the camera and replied, “Um, no Inglés.”Johnson also said he thanked Zelensky for “dressing like casual ‘Star Trek,’” adding that he loved “Star Trek” because “there’s no D.E.I.”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 9 ‘White Lotus’ Characters We Keep Seeing Every Season

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      A luxury hotel marries the exotic and the familiar: The location may be new and the fruits at the breakfast buffet varied, but the thread count of the sheets, the indulgence of the staff, the sumptuousness of the spa — these remain the same.“The White Lotus,” Mike White’s HBO show about the guests and workers of a five-star resort collection, knows this well. Maybe too well? If the surroundings for the third season of this cringingly comic, lightly murderous anthology series are different — with Koh Samui, Thailand, replacing Maui (Season 1) and Sicily (Season 2) — the characters haven’t really changed. (And is there at least one uncomfortable scene aboard a boat? You bet your yachting whites.) So garnish your poolside cocktail, tie on your sarong and see if you can spot White’s favorite types.Handsome Jerk Due for a ReckoningPatrick Schwarzenegger is this season’s obnoxious handsome man.Fabio Lovino/HBOIn Season 1 it was the privileged mama’s boy, Shane (Jake Lacy). In Season 2, it was Cameron (Theo James), a moneyman who managed to be both smarmy and oblivious.Thailand’s entitled jackass, enrobed in family money, is Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), a finance bro who eschews local cuisine in favor of protein shakes and complains when his massage doesn’t include a “happy ending.” It is hard to imagine someone more in need of a comeuppance, but just deserts are rarely on White’s hotel menu.Uptight Workaholic Having a Bad TimeJason Isaacs plays a businessman stressing his way through his vacation.Fabio Lovino/HBOWe 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