Did anyone else first read that as “The Pentaverse” and think it was a show about how the Pentagon is getting involved in the Metaverse? Just me? Okay. Anyway, The Pentaverate is an absurdist comedy miniseries about a journalist — played by Mike Myers — who works to uncover the truth about a secret society of five men — also all played by Myers — who have controlled the world for centuries. Frankly, I’ve struggled to understand what The Pentaverate is really about, and just by watching the trailer, I can conclude that the show is certainly ambitious, which must be appreciated. Both Myers and Netflix are under some pressure for this to be a hit: Myers hasn't played a singular lead role since the 2008 flop The Love Guru, and Netflix desperately needs a victory after its worst quarter in a decade. The Pentavers– sorry, The Pentaverate — just dropped today, so expect Netflix to follow my lead in recommending it right as you open the app.

Before Captain James T. Kirk there was Christopher Pike. The lead character in the original Star Trek pilot would be eliminated when it would go to series, but Pike's place in the show's lore was cemented. Now, amid a renaissance of Trek shows hosted by Paramount+, actor Anson Mount returns as Pike after an impactful performance in Star Trek: Discovery. Set just a few years before Kirk took the helm, Strange New Worlds is going back to its storytelling roots of episodic, humanist science fiction with the USS Enterprise exploring space and making first contact with alien species. The crew will be joined by familiar characters like Spock and Uhura, alongside fresh faces to round out the five-year mission. Some may argue there's too much Trek on streaming right now with Discovery, Picard, Lower Decks, and even Prodigy, but I'm not one of them.

For its 15th anniversary, the original cast of Broadway's Spring Awakening got together for a one-night-only concert, benefiting The Actors Fund. For my fellow Gleeks, this was the advent of the love affair between Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) on the hit Fox series, Glee. As someone who was 7 years old when this groundbreaking musical about angsty German teens hit the Eugene O’Neil Theater, I was curious to learn more about it — and this documentary delivered. Any musical theater lover or documentary buff would enjoy this story (and soundtrack) which reveals how an eight-time Tony award-winning rock musical came about.

Hulu dropped another horror flick this week, and it's arguably the weirdest entry in their lineup yet. Hatching is about a 12-year-old Finnish girl named Tinja who brings home a strange egg left behind by a wounded bird in the woods. She takes care of the egg under the nose of her overbearing mother, and what eventually hatches is like no bird you've ever seen. The creature becomes Tinja's best friend, but it also begins to upend her life in terrifying ways. If that basic description doesn't sound like your bag, I'd follow your instincts and sit this one out. Hatching gets pretty gross, but it balances out the ickiness with a convincing family drama. 

I just signed up for an Apple TV+ trial and quickly binged the first season of Ted Lasso. So then what? I started watching The Afterparty, a funny whodunnit with a star-studded cast. After a high school reunion, a superstar alum (Dave Franco) ends up dead and any number of his former classmates could be the culprit. Tiffany Haddish plays the lead investigator who spends each episode trying to unravel what happened by interviewing witnesses like the love-struck nerd (Sam Richardson), former bully (Ike Barinholtz), and burnout (Ilana Glazer). Slowly, the backstories unfold and tangle together. I'm still making my way through the series, so I can't confirm whether the finale will be satisfying, but it's a clever and light show that is also worth your weekday nights.

I had no idea there were so many Avatar Aang stans out there (hey tribe!). This animated series is a Nickelodeon classic and for those that are unfamiliar, it has nothing to do with the 2009 Avatar film. The three-season series tells the story of a world divided into four nations — Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads – that historically lived in harmony. That is until the Avatar went missing for over 100 years and the world spiraled into violent chaos and constant war with the Fire Nation at the helm. Twelve-year-old Avatar Aang emerges from a sphere of ice a century after his disappearance, learns about the state of the world, and makes it his sole life's purpose to restore the harmony once enjoyed by the four nations. There's a lot of action in this one and a storyline good enough to keep you glued.