If Disney+ wants to revive ‘Luke Cage,’ Misty Knight herself is game
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone curious about the future of Netflix’s Marvel properties.
Ever since “Hawkeye” forged the “Daredevil” connection — followed by reports that a “Daredevil” Disney+ series is in the works — speculation about the status of “Luke Cage,” “Jessica Jones” and “Iron Fist” (well, maybe not “Iron Fist”) has run rampant. Would Disney+ revive those characters as it expands its already ample Marvel TV slate? And would the actors we came to love during the series’ runs on Netflix return?
Well, it sounds like Simone Missick, who played “Luke Cage’s” insightful Harlem detective, Misty Knight, is open to getting back in the superhero gang. “I feel like there was so much more to be seen with that character,” Missick, who currently stars in OWN’s “All Rise,” tells Screen Gab’s Dawn M. Burkes. “You never know what’s going to happen. But I would not be against the possibility of putting back on that bionic arm.”
Read the full interview below, along with recommendations for what to watch after (or instead of) “Elvis,” a palate-cleaning reality show and a buzzy new drama set in a restaurant kitchen.
As always, we’re looking for reader picks too: Send your TV or streaming movie recommendations to screengab@latimes.com with your name and location. Submissions should be no longer than 200 words and are subject to editing for length and clarity.
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One of the virtues of Baz Luhrmann’s recently released “Elvis” is the nuanced attention it gives to Elvis Presley’s downward-spiraling final years in Las Vegas, where his career soars to new highs and then plummets to soul-crushing lows. This much-parodied period yields still more resonant layers in Eugene Jarecki’s brilliantly polemical 2018 documentary “The King” (multiple platforms), which sees in Presley’s rise and fall a profound and pessimistic metaphor for America itself. Jarecki gives you a lot to listen to, think about and argue with, especially his spiky thesis that the Trump era has officially ushered America into its own corrupt, decadent phase. Along the way, he both passionately celebrates Presley’s music and critically scrutinizes its origins in Black and white cultural traditions, another respect in which this film proves both a valuable companion piece and a smart corrective to Luhrmann’s movie. —Justin Chang
This British reality show is warm and fuzzy, literally: “The Dog House” centers on the caring staff at a rural animal rescue center, as they try to find forever homes for the dogs that have come into their care. The thrill of watching pets meet potential owners is similar to the encounters on “First Dates” — Will this millennial couple hit it off with that terrier? Why doesn’t that Labrador get along with that sweet family? — and sometimes these initial meetings are so heartwarming that I can’t help but tear up. A third season was recently added to HBO Max; I strongly recommend it if you’ve all caught up on “The Great Pottery Throw Down” and wish you had rationed those comforting episodes a bit more. —Ashley Lee
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Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about
In “The Bear” (Hulu), an award-winning young chef returns home to Chicago to take over the family business — a sandwich shop — in the wake of his brother’s suicide. But Carmen Berzatto (brooding hunk of original beef Jeremy Allen White) turns out to be neither the series’ most lovable character nor its most essential. Syncopating her subtler rhythms to its drumbeat of screaming chefs and clanging cookware, Ayo Edebiri, as Sydney Adamu, Carmen’s talented sous, draws the kitchen’s motley crew into brief, blissful harmony, where ambitions are chased, experiments welcomed, humanity respected. (Managers everywhere should take notes.) “The Bear” has plenty going for it, not least its fervid attention to culinary detail, but no one steers its workplace drama more ably — or plays off White more successfully — than Edebiri. Her turn is reason enough to tune in: It’s one of the best screen performances of the year. —Matt Brennan
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Rambunctious fans clamored for the return of the courtroom drama “All Rise” after it was canceled by CBS in May 2021. OWN answered the call, and the show is in the midst of its third season, the first in its new home.
Star Simone Missick, who plays Judge Lola Carmichael, is keeping that same energy.
“It feels like we’re premiering for the first time, which we are,” she said. “It feels like this is the first season of how it was for ‘All Rise’ with the level of anticipation and excitement.
“This has truly been a labor of love from all of us in the cast and the crew to come back to this show and to do what we love doing, and I hope that that love and that passion, our fans can feel it.”
Screen Gab caught up with Missick to discuss the fans that helped save the show, geek out about “Luke Cage” and more. —Dawn M. Burkes
‘All Rise’ is on a new network. Does that bring new energy?
One-thousand percent. I can’t even begin to describe how excited our new OWN family is about the show. They were very passionate about getting us as a new show on their network and they have been nothing but supportive from top to bottom. They want to honor the people who love the show, who wrote letters, tweeted, texted, started petitions. It’s insane what they are doing for our show and our fans. It feels really great to be celebrated and to have partners that really want to see the show win.
The network wanting to see it win was propelled by the fans — the Risers.
I knew that our producers wanted to see if we could bring the show back. I knew that Warner Bros. wanted to see if we could bring the show back. But the fans were the ones that were really driving it, tweeting every day for months. And we have some very, very loyal fans. I got so many messages from people who thought that this show was so impactful and so important during this time, especially in our country, and in our legal system. And you know, I was a part of another really famous show that got canceled and that got a lot of people upset. But I didn’t imagine that it would also be there for “All Rise.”
‘All Rise’ shows a Black woman in a space where we don’t often see them on scripted TV. Now we have a newly sworn-in Supreme Court justice who is a Black woman. Does that make the show less aspirational and more relevant? Does it affect the responsibility you feel playing Lola?
I’m so thankful that I am playing a character that expands what countless young men and women think is possible. They don’t just have to become a lawyer, they can become a judge, and Ketanji Brown Jackson has shown that they can also become a Supreme Court justice. The show will, however, continue to be aspirational. And we need many examples of this in real life and in our narratives on TV and film for it to become the norm. Ketanji is the first [Black woman] of I don’t know how many Supreme Court justices. She is the first in the year 2022. This country has been around for a very long time for her to be the first. Lola Carmichael is certainly not the first Black female judge on television. But I believe that she is the first that we have seen on a series that lasted more than one season where the story is centered around her life. And that is still unfortunately aspirational.
What are you watching on TV?
I swear the days, they blur. I certainly watched “Bel-Air” (Peacock) from start to finish. It was so wonderful. I went straight through “Euphoria” again, Season 2. That show was just so welcome. My brain is blank right now. ... I feel like I’m so lame. [Laughs] I get up, I go to work, I come home and go to sleep.
I hope this one isn’t as anxiety-ridden. Who’s your favorite TV judge?
It’s a tie between Judge Mathis and Judge Steve Harvey because they’re both hilarious. Those two make me laugh.
People speculated, but now everyone knows they’re actually working on a Daredevil show for Disney+. Would you come back for another round of ‘Luke Cage’?
I loved Misty Knight. That was one of the best roles for any actor, to be able to play a strong woman who kicks ass, who’s smart and funny, and sexy, complicated. And I feel like there was so much more to be seen with that character. You never know what’s going to happen. But I would not be against the possibility of putting back on that bionic arm.
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Recommendations from Screen Gab readers
“Chance” on Hulu is a great series, as is “Harrow” (multiple platforms). “Stay Close” and “Stranger” (both on Netflix) are also the type of series you don’t want to end. They are based on books, which make for great characters and stay-up-late plots.
—Helen Fauteux
What’s next
Listings coordinator Matt Cooper highlights the TV shows and streaming movies to keep an eye on
Fri., July 1
“Carl Weber’s The Black Hamptons” (BET+): It’s old money versus new money in this soapy new drama.
“The Princess” (Hulu): “The Kissing Booth’s” Joey King goes medieval in this rollicking 2022 action comedy/fairy tale mashup.
“Stranger Things” (Netflix): Our young heroes try to vanquish the villainous Vecna in the closing episodes of the fantasy drama’s fourth season.
“The Terminal List” (Prime Video): “Jurassic World’s” Chris Pratt plays a Navy SEAL caught up in a conspiracy in this new action drama. With Constance Wu.
Sat., July 2
“Jailbreak Lovers” (Lifetime): “The Good Witch’s” Catherine Bell falls for a felon in this new, fact-based TV movie.
“The Contractor” (Showtime, 9 p.m.): Chris Pine plays a former special forces soldier forced to find employment elsewhere in this 2022 action drama.
Sun., July 3
USFL Championship (Fox, 4:30 p.m.): The Philadelphia Stars battle the Birmingham Stallions in the Super ... er, um, the title game.
“A West Point Independence Day Celebration” (Fox News, 6 p.m.): Marching band music and fireworks, live from the U.S. Military Academy in New York.
“We Hunt Together” (Showtime, 7:30 p.m.): The imported crime drama returns for a second season.
Mon., July 4
“America the Beautiful” (Disney+): The country’s natural wonders are on display in this new series narrated by “Creed’s” Michael B. Jordan.
“Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Contest” (9 a.m. ESPN): Contestants chow down until a wiener is announced.
“An Independence Day Celebration” (Fox News, 5 p.m.): Scheduled performers include Lee “God Bless the U.S.A.” Greenwood.
“Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular” (NBC, 8 p.m.): Pitbull, Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce and Aussie pop rockers 5 Seconds of Summer perform.
“A Capitol Fourth” (KOCE, 8 and 9:30 p.m.): Mickey Guyton hosts and Cynthia Erivo and “Glee’s” Darren Criss perform.
“Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” (10 and 11 p.m., CMT): Old Dominion and “The Voice” winner Cassadee Pope take the stage in Nashville.
Tue., July 5
“America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston” (KOCE, 9 p.m.): The author and podcaster explores Americans’ relationship with nature in this new series.
“Unsellable Houses” (HGTV, 8 and 9 p.m.): More dumpy domiciles get the makeovers they so sorely need in the return of this renovation series.
“The Great Muslim American Road Trip” (KOCE, 10 p.m.): Don’t forget Winona! A Muslim American couple get their kicks on Route 66 in this new three-part series.
Wed., July 6
“Girl in the Picture” (Netflix): A shocking tale of marriage, abduction and murder is unraveled in this new true-crime series.
“Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between” (Netflix): High school sweethearts have one last hurrah before parting ways in this 2022 teen rom-com. With “To All the Boys’” Jordan Fisher.
“Maggie” (Hulu): A psychic (“The Mindy Project’s” Rebecca Rittenhouse) meets her match in this new comedy series.
“Big Brother” (CBS, 8 p.m.): It’s moving-in day as the reality competition returns. Julie Chen hosts.
“Mysteries Decoded” (The CW, 8 p.m.): The haunted house that inspired “The Conjuring” franchise is the first stop in the season premiere.
“The Green Planet” (KOCE, 8 p.m.): It’s more about the flora than the fauna in this new series hosted by the indefatigable David Attenborough.
“Married at First Sight” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.): Speak now or forever hold your peace as the reality series launches another season.
“The Challenge: USA” (CBS, 9:30 p.m.): A new reality competition featuring past contestants from “Survivor,” “Big Brother,” “The Amazing Race”, etc.
“Expedition With Steve Backshall” (KOCE, 11 p.m.): Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula is your intrepid host’s destination in the season premiere.
Thu., July 7
“Moonhaven” (AMC+): Life in a lunar colony has its dark side in this futuristic new drama. With “Lost’s” Dominic Monaghan.
“Top Gear” (AMC+): The British edition of this auto-centric series revs up for another season.
“Press Your Luck” (ABC, 8 p.m.): This game-show reboot is back with new episodes. Elizabeth Banks hosts.
“Generation Gap” (ABC, 9 p.m.): Kids — and adults and senior citizens — say the darndest things in this new quiz show hosted by Kelly Ripa.
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