Where do shows and movies go after they die? Sometimes they end up on Netflix and enjoy a success their creators (and initial broadcasters) never imagined.
The 2018 Lifetime thriller “You” earned scant attention on cable. Then Netflix not only opted to create a second season of “You” but re-streamed the first, and suddenly the series was not only a sensation, but considered a Netflix sensation. For four seasons.
This pattern has been repeated often, most notably with the popularity of the old USA series “Suits.” Once again, it was seen by many new viewers as a Netflix phenomenon.
This has extended to old(er) and largely ignored movies as well. Released in 2020, the slow-building psychological thriller “The Nest” did not generate much buzz or box office. To be fair, many movies fell through the cracks during COVID. Very much an indie film, “Nest” had a limited theatrical run and was honored for the most part at Canadian film festivals.
For this week at least, it ranks as one of the more popular offerings on Netflix. It’s worth watching, if only for its two stars. Jude Law stars as Rory O’Hara, the broker husband of Allison (Carrie Coons “The Gilded Age”), a horse trainer who appears to enjoy life in New York. Rory upends matters when he announces that he’s been recruited by old colleagues in London.
Against the backdrop of the mid-1980s, Rory believes that he’s perfectly suited to shake up the London financial sector with the razzle dazzle that has made Wall Street the center of the universe.
But as they settle in a palatial estate set far outside of the city, Allison and her two children begin to feel isolated and more than slightly disturbed by Rory’s “fake it till you make it” philosophy.
Look for veteran British actress Anne Reid as Rory’s estranged mother. A longtime resident of the U.K. soap “Coronation Street,” she had a memorable role as the bewildered grandmother in the brilliant HBO miniseries “Years and Years.”
“The Nest” helps evoke the Reagan-Thatcher era with a soundtrack of songs from the Psychedelic Furs, the Thompson Twins and others.
Its 1980s setting and pop culture references may also explain its place as a popular Netflix offering. Since the success of “Stranger Things,” the streamer has targeted subscribers who came of age during the era of Atari. Netflix’s new documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” about the 1985 recording of “We Are the World,” debuted just last night.
— A two-hour “Frontline” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) asks viewers to contemplate the constitutional crisis arising from the scheduled March trial of former president Donald Trump on federal charges that he conspired to defraud the United States, disenfranchise voters and obstruct an official proceeding in connection with efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
He’s expected to be tried at precisely the same time that he will be running in the GOP primaries, or perhaps having already emerged as the Republicans’ candidate.
This is only one of the trials the former president faces.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A senator’s offspring is kidnapped on “FBI” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Murder in the hospitality business on “FBI: International” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— A busy event coordinator inherits a chalet in the 2020 romance “Winter in Vail” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— A cleansing fire offers a change of scenery on “La Brea” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A serial killer may be linked to Will’s past on “Will Trent” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14).
— Vermont-made men on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Ben’s latest leap may have been a jump too far on “Quantum Leap” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Strange bedfellows on “The Rookie” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
During the Vietnam War, an American fighter pilot (Christian Bale) is shot down and taken prisoner before eventually escaping and walking through enemy lines in the 2006 drama “Rescue Dawn” (8 p.m., Cinemax). Based on Werner Herzog’s 1997 documentary “Little Dieter Needs to Fly.”
SERIES NOTES
Abby’s sunny disposition is put to the test on “Night Court” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “Name That Tune” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Trey may be setting the wrong example on “Extended Family” (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Rob Lowe hosts “The Floor” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Donald Glover, Maya Erskine, Bryce Dallas Howard and 21 Savage on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … James Corden, Devery Jacobs and Nico Carney visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
