BLACK WATCH: (2.20.26) ‘Reality Check,' 'The 'Burbs' & More
BLACK WATCH: (2.20.26) ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model,’ ‘The ‘Burbs’ & More
Black History Month is moving along swiftly, and there is plenty of content on streamers to keep you locked in while celebrating the inherent excellence. There’s also stuff to call out, too.
Our newest Black Watch arrives early as we felt like waiting two weeks to drop more recommendations during BHM was far too long, considering it’s a short month anyway. On the list is Keke Palmer dealing with shady (and not so shady) neighbors, Tyra Banks ducking all the accountability, some psychological sci-fi and a hood classic.
Whether it’s documentaries, cult classic shows, or movies newly introduced to your favorite streaming platform, we’re making sure your watch list features some of the brightest talents the culture has to offer.
Beacon 23 – MGM+
Beacon 23 is a soaring and heady sci-fi romp starring Lena Headley (Game of Thrones) Stephan James, Natasha Mumba and Tenika Davis. The series is centered on the fated journey of Aster Calyx (Headley) and Halan Kai Nelson (James) as they find themselves lost at the most extreme edge of the known universe.
While the series only lasted two seasons, Headley and James deliver electric performances and much of the drama and tension plays out in psychological warfare instead of typical science fiction fantasy tropes. What viewers will discover is the secrets both Halan and Aster hold close to their vests, and the high stakes of obtaining an important artifact and the machinations of the major players. Eric Lange, Ellen Wong, and Jess Salgueiro also star.
Watch Beacon 23 via Amazon Prime Video, MGM+, Apple TV+, and other streaming outlets. —D.L. Chandler
Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model – Netflix
America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) used to be a TV juggernaut, but if we keep it a bean, it was always problematic. From basically assuring that aspiring models would develop eating disorders, to questionable photo shots involving blackface to blatant bullying, it should no suprised that ANTM face a day of reckoning. In the Netflix doc Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model the OG reality show’s past successes get highlighted, as does its straight-up toxicity.
It’s co-creator Tyra Banks participated, and she’s getting absolutely cooked for acting like she was merely a witness to the tomfoolery and not an enabler. Trust us when we say all the slander you’ve read about does not compare to watching it for yourself. Years later, the memes the show generated are still hilarious, though.
Watch Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model on Netflix. —Alvin aqua Blanco
The Burbs – Peacock
This week I was all in on The ‘Burbs on Peacock, starring Keke Palmer. She plays Samira, a newly married, first-time mom who moves back to her husband’s childhood home in what’s supposedly “the safest town in America.” She starts questioning that title when she begins hearing rumors about the abandoned, creepy Victorian house across the street.
When the home is suddenly purchased, she’s convinced her neighbor might be hiding something. She teams up with her new neighborhood clique to figure out whether he has anything to do with a missing teenage girl who lived there before. You’ll laugh and side-eye her shenanigans as her paranoia goes overboard. You know Keke brings the funny, even in serious situations.
Watch The ‘Burbs on Peacock. —Alexis Felder
Sunset Park — YouTube
There may be a slew of new releases clogging up your streaming queues, but sometimes you just want to watch an old classic. Enter Sunset Park. The nostalgia-fueled drama set in 1990s Brooklyn, New York follows a bunch of high school basketball players suddenly stuck with a new white coach, Cheers alum Rhea Perlman. In between the locker room ballbusting, there are enough jokes, camaraderie, and teenage life-comes-at-you-fast moments that you don’t mind seeing a mid-twenties Fredro Starr playing a teenager. Matched with a vintage NYC backdrop, you get to see others before their big break, like Terrence Howard and Antwon Tanner. And you know that the soundtrack was on point with 2Pac, Queen Latifah, Ghostface Killah, Junior M.A.F.I.A., and of course, Onyx.
Oh, and did we mention it’s on YouTube for free? Stream Sunset Park here. — Bruce Goodwin II
