The Best In Streaming This Week: ‘Ted Lasso’ is Back, ‘For Ball and Country,’ and All Eyes Are On Tokyo
This week, the best in streaming is all over the map, literally, as all eyes are turning toward Tokyo. And while the Opening Ceremonies of the one-year-delayed Summer Olympic Games don’t happen until Friday morning, the first competitive action actually gets underway on Tuesday.
The other big event in streaming this week is the return of the Emmy-and-Peabody Award-nominated Ted Lasso for its second season.
Giving Everything You’ve Got For Ball and Country
For Ball and Country takes a look at some of the nation’s best basketball players as they set aside their on-court rivalries to form Team USA: America’s national team — just ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
Narrated by Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy award-winning artist, actor, author, and activist Common, fans will get an inside look as the USA Basketball Men’s National Team arrives for training camp, coaches meetings, and practices with players and coaches mic’ed up. Head coach Gregg Popovich, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Draymond Green, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and the rest of the USA Basketball team will appear in exclusive behind the scenes access and interviews.
Episodes 1 and 2 will stream on Monday, with episodes 3 and 4 on Tuesday, followed by episodes 5 and 6 on Wednesday — all just ahead of the Olympic Games on Peacock.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” and “The Office,” as well as original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports including NFL, MLB, WWE, Olympics, Premier League, NASCAR, French Open, College Football and Basketball, and PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.
Bringing An Epic Tyler Perry Nighttime Soap Opera To Its End
Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots was the first dramatic series to premiere on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) when it bowed in 2013. The primetime soap is based on the Tyler Perry stage play of the same name, and focused on the dysfunction of the relationships involving three families representing both the rich and poor sectors of society in Savannah, Ga.
The series has been one of the top-rated of all cable television shows among African American women, and the top-rated series on the OWN Network. John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville), Tika Sumpter (mixed-ish), and Crystal Fox (In the Heat of the Night, Big Little Lies) star in the series. Watch the Series Finale of The Haves and the Have Nots on Tuesday at 8 pm ET on OWN.
Milwaukee is Looking For The Sweep to Win The NBA Finals at Home
The NBA Finals started out looking like a rout by the Phoenix Suns as they initially took a two-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a different story now, after Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks took the next three games to come back to a 3-2 lead over the Suns. Game 6 is in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, with the championship on the line.
If necessary, Game 7 would land on Thursday night in Phoenix. Tip-off for both is 9 pm ET, on ABC.
Following This Week’s Olympic Action — Even Before The Opening Ceremonies
While the Opening Ceremonies for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games will get underway on Friday morning, competitive action actually gets underway on Tuesday night.
Sports fans can watch Olympic softball action first between Japan and Australia at 8 pm followed by Team USA against Italy at 11 pm, both on NBC Sports Network. On Wednesday, Soccer fans can catch the action as Team USA takes the pitch against Sweden at 4:30 am on USA Network, and on Thursday morning, Brazil takes on Germany at 7:30 am, also on USA Network.
2020 Summer Olympics
- Archery
- Badminton
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Basketball 3x3
- Beach Volleyball
- Boxing
- Canoe/Kayaking
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Fencing
- Field Hockey
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Handball
- Judo
- Karate
- Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Rowing
- Rugby
- Sailing
- Shooting
- Skateboarding
- Soccer
- Softball
- Sport Climbing
- Surfing
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tennis
- Track & Field
- Trampoline
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
It’s Finally Time! The Games of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games Get Underway
The big event gets underway on Friday morning as NBC broadcasts the Olympic Opening Ceremonies live from Tokyo, beginning at 6:55 am. For those of you who aren’t able to watch live, NBC will rebroadcast the Opening Ceremonies Friday evening in prime time, beginning at 7:30 pm ET/PT. Full Olympic Coverage will be found on the Networks of NBC Universal and on Peacock, starting Friday.
Time For The Return of Coach Ted Lasso
In the eyes of many, Ted Lasso is definitely the little comedy that could. The Apple TV+ series has already won a 2021 Peabody Award, and it has landed 13 nominations in the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards.
Ted Lasso premieres its second season on Friday and picks right up where things left off last season, with Coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudekis, SNL) working to bring AFC Richmond back into the Premier League. Ted Lasso streams on Fridays on Apple TV+.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is a subscription video streaming service for $9.99 a month that includes high-quality original shows and movies including Best Picture winner “CODA,” popular sitcom “Ted Lasso,” and dramas like “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Apple TV+ is also home to MLB baseball games on Friday nights and MLS Season Pass.
And Just How Did They Make Luke Skywalker Young Again?
In the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, a surprise appearance by a young Luke Skywalker was one of the best-kept secrets and biggest reveals of the highly-acclaimed series so far. The story of the technology used to reveal young Luke is revealed in a special edition of Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
The episode looks at the entire production process, including working with Mark Hamill, to create an authentic and fitting recreation, and explores the immense pressure and responsibility the filmmakers had in bringing back one of the most important characters in film history.
Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian is streaming on Sunday, August 25, exclusively on Disney+.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”