The NFL is back. Here are 3 docuseries to help get in the game

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone excited by the arrival of the NFL season (or anyone just pleased to have more Taylor Swift game day content).

The 2024 NFL season kicked off this week, with the Baltimore Ravens taking on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. (Spoiler alert: the Chiefs won.) To help get your mind in the game for the exciting matchups in the season ahead, football superfan Vanessa Franko suggests some docuseries to watch.

Also in Screen Gab No. 147, we chat with “Power Book II: Ghost” star Caroline Chikezie about the new season, plus recommend two series to stream this weekend.

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Must-read stories you might have missed

Kevin Hart as Chicken Man in “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.”

(Parrish Lewis / Peacock)

‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ is an ode to Atlanta and ’70s cinema: The Peacock limited series with an all-star ensemble focuses on an infamous crime that took place on the same night as Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta.

Seeing ‘Chimp Crazy’ led PETA to urge criminal charges against Tonia Haddix: The HBO docuseries depicts subject Tonia Haddix lying about the whereabouts of a chimpanzee, Tonka, in her care. After seeing it, a PETA lawyer asked an assistant U.S. attorney to press charges.

Viewers and Emmy voters are finally catching up: Everyone needs to see ‘Slow Horses’: For years, the Apple TV+ series about a ragtag team of reject spies has been my top recommendation to friends and colleagues. It’s nice to see the world paying it the same notice.

With ‘Hollywood Black,’ Justin Simien wants us to rethink cinema’s history and its future: The “Dear White People” writer and director discusses his MGM+ docuseries that explores the history of Black cinema and the obstacles it has faced from the silent era to present.

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

The Kelly family in “Coming from America.”

(Max)

“Coming from America” (Max)

The phenomenon of “Blaxit,” Black Americans moving to Africa, is the basis of this six-episode series following three families as they attempt to adjust to life in Ghana and Zambia. Single mother Julia Davis hopes to open a wellness center and find a romantic partner; comedian Gerald Kelly, patriarch to a family of comedians (as seen on Season 4 of “America’s Got Talent”), wants to start a comedy club, with no sense of what a Ghanaian audience might find funny. And biracial couple Elaine and Gabriel Smiley want their kids to have an “international life,” away from institutional racism. If this is more reality show than documentary, giving some events and adventures an air of prearrangement (whether true or not), you cannot “arrange” a country, or the opinions of disgruntled younger family members who had no part in these decisions, or of skeptical grandmothers who come to visit. (“Little Hunter Kelly,” as he introduces himself, is the series’ breakout personality.) If the dramatic elements are familiar, the details of daily life in places almost never seen on American television are fresh. — Robert Lloyd

A scene from “The Elusive Samurai.”

(Yusei Matsui)

“The Elusive Samurai” (Crunchyroll)

Most of what I think I know about feudal Japan is a mashup of historical fact and fiction I’ve accidentally retained from watching samurai shows and anime over the years — emphasis on the fiction. “The Elusive Samurai” piqued my interest because of the Japanese title, which can be translated to “The Young Lord Who is Good at Running Away.” What could a cute youngster possibly be running away from? A lot, it turns out. Set in 1333 during the Kamakura era, the series is loosely based on historical events and follows Hojo Tokiyuki, the young heir of the regent of the shogunate. The show picks up shortly before Tokiyuki’s family and the shogunate are overthrown and the young samurai prince goes on the run with a slightly suspect Shinto priest who believes Tokiyuki is destined to become a hero. Despite touching on deeper themes around power, duty, betrayal and revenge, the vibrant series is mostly comedic and features a young core group of characters. But don’t get too comfortable with the lighter tone — there are also sequences of violence and gore befitting the time period. — Tracy Brown

Catch up

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

Amon-Ra St. Brown, a wide receiver for the Detroit Lions, in Netflix’s “Receiver.”

(Netflix)

It’s the time of year when some of us let a pro football team dictate our moods for the next five months. (Guilty.)

No matter how much my team irritates me — say, in the AFC championship game when they forgot the success they had all season running the football — like Depeche Mode, I just can’t get enough NFL. Luckily, the pro football industrial complex has been feeding me a steady diet of docuseries in recent months. Here’s my ranking from the top of the division to the series that’s the equivalent of the mess in the Steelers’ quarterback room. — Vanessa Franko

1. “Receiver” (Netflix)
No series impacted my fantasy football drafts more than “Receiver.” Last year’s “Quarterback” series was excellent, but this year’s installment, featuring wide receivers Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end George Kittle, was even more entertaining.

The series features a mix of interviews and footage of the players in their lives on and off the field last season. You’ll get to see both Kittle’s mindfulness routine and his party bus; Jefferson’s love of candy and his transformation into blinged-out alter ego; St. Brown’s relationship with his father (who encourages his son to drink a Coke instead of Gatorade when he’s ill during a game in a particularly funny scene that reminded me of my own father’s less-than-traditional advice) and how he reacts to the inexplicable Pro Bowl snub.

Despite the moments of levity, the series also has more heart than you’d expect from an NFL Films-sanctioned production, particularly the scenes with Adams and Samuel off the field with their kids. Adams, Samuel and Jefferson each battled significant injuries throughout the season and there were poignant moments with each as they worked to get back on the field.

And we even got a cameo from singing “Quarterback” MVP Kirk Cousins.

2. “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears” (HBO, Max)

For the first time in decades, the Chicago Bears may have a real quarterback star in former USC standout Caleb Williams. Not surprisingly, he gets lots of screen time in the long-running training camp franchise, but while he can throw a football, his karaoke performance of John Legend’s “Ordinary People” leaves something to be desired.

Traditionally, what makes the training camp installments of “Hard Knocks” so much fun are the side quests, and this season has a fantastic one in which all of the quarterbacks who were not taken with the No. 1 overall pick — Tyson Bagent, Austin Reed and Brett Rypien — re-create the Willis (Sears) Tower scene from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Other highlights included following safety Jonathan Owens to Paris, where he watched wife Simone Biles win Olympic gold, and the wild story of how running back Velus Jones Jr. ended up with a pet ferret when he was at USC.

3. “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants” (HBO, Max)

In an era when the hype around the NFL draft grows ever louder, the idea for an offseason version of “Hard Knocks” isn’t a bad one. Unfortunately, the selection of the New York Giants as the focus made the debut of the format dreadfully boring. Watching the Giants in the offseason was nearly as painful as watching them in-season last year, as they whiffed on finding a quarterback to replace and/or back up the injured (and not particularly good) Daniel Jones and let star running back Saquon Barkley leave to join the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. However, for football nerds, watching Giants coach Brian Daboll test the memory of the rookies interviewed by the team’s staff ahead of the draft was at least moderately entertaining.

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Caroline Chikezie, with Kyle Vincent Terry, in “Power Book II: Ghost.”

(Paul Schiraldi / Starz)

Ten years after it launched, Starz’s (still-growing) “Power” franchise is bringing its second installment, “Power Book II: Ghost” to a close — but not before developing another villain to remember. Caroline Chikezie‘s Noma Asaju isn’t just the ferocious drug lord who emerged as the series’ big bad in Season 3; she’s also fierce, as in, about as stylish as killers get. That swagger suits the fictional universe, from Courtney A. Kemp and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, though Chikezie believes there’s still room to grow: “I’d love to see a deeper exploration of the origins and rise to power of some of the key characters,” she told Screen Gab recently, “especially the women.” Chikezie also discussed how she gets into Noma’s skin, what she’s watching and more. — Matt Brennan

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

I’ve almost finished watching Season 3 of “Bel-Air” [Peacock] and I’m loving it so much that I’ve been recommending it to everyone. It’s a fresh and compelling take on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” with powerful performances and a modern twist that really resonates.

What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the film or TV show you return to again and again?

“Black Panther” [Disney+]. When it first came out, I saw it in the cinema five times in one week! Now I never fail to watch it whenever it’s being played. The brilliant direction and performances, the powerful storytelling and the rich cultural representation makes it a film that always inspires and uplifts me, no matter how many times I see it.

Your character is a fearsome queenpin — which I imagine could require some gearing up to play. What specifically about the process of getting into character most helps you step into that startling power?

I’d say, the most crucial part of my process is understanding her motivations. I figure out what drives her, the fears and desires that fuel her actions. Once I connect with those underlying motivations, it becomes easier to channel her intensity and authority without judgment on my part. From there, the physical transformation — like wearing those impeccably tailored, powerful outfits — helps solidify that sense of control and presence. It’s a combination of getting inside her head and then embodying her through the way she carries herself in the world.

What’s a story in the “Power” universe that you’d like to see told (or told in more detail) and why?

I’d love to see a deeper exploration of the origins and rise to power of some of the key characters, especially the women in the “Power” universe.

There’s so much intrigue and complexity in how these women navigate a world dominated by men, and understanding the backstories that shaped their ambitions and survival instincts would be fascinating. Delving into their personal struggles, the choices they had to make, and how they built their empires, would be powerful to see.