Between the Streams: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ wraps, ‘Flatliners’ remake, Netflix vs. cable

This week is another dismal one at the box office as we head into the weekend, with a number of duds — not the least of which is Scarlett Johansson’s attempt at yet another raunch-com about killing a stripper. But that doesn’t really matter because, let’s face it, TV is freaking awesome right now. And frankly, if you’re not watching The Handmaid’s Tale, you’re doing it wrong.

Hulu’s first real home run original, which just concluded its first season, is one of the most fascinating dystopian dramas to hit the airwaves in years. The storyline reaches at the heart of one of our greatest fears, the loss of a fair and functioning democracy, and the fact that it’s brilliantly shot and loaded with superb performances doesn’t hurt either. Given that this Elizabeth Moss-led powerhouse just finished its first run, we’ll spend some time at the top of the show talking about just how compelling it really is, as well as pondering some of the other great dystopian stories from the world of entertainment.

Of course, we can’t ignore the box office completely this week, so we’ll guide you through the muck, which includes an apparently mediocre shark thriller, a seemingly forgettable psychological thriller from Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, and the reportedly middling 2Pac biopic All Eyez On Me. See what they did there, with the “Z” in “eyes?”

Thankfully, there are plenty of other new developments in the world of entertainment to ponder this week, including the addition of ginger queen-bee Jessica Chastain to the latest installment in the ever-sprawling X-Men franchise, X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Chastain is reportedly playing the villain in the new film, which will serve as the sequel to X-Men: Apocalypse. A consummate actress who brings it to every role she takes on, Chastain should add some welcome clout to the franchise after Apocalypse’s relative stumble.

But that’s just a small part of what we’ll be discussing this week. We’ll also get into the Flatliners remake (which looks a lot like the Flatliners), a new Netflix series, a sneak peek at the latest Game of Thrones season, Hulu’s new interactive comedy, and much more.

So tune in at 2 p.m. PT, or take our podcast on the road via the links above!