The big movies of the week are no doubt Backrooms, an A24 release that they purchased from Mr. Johnson’s 8th grade film class for a reported eight figures, and Pressure, a story about history’s most important, non-Willard Scott weatherman. I’ll have some thoughts about one or both of those next week, but in the meantime may I direct your attention to the small screen, where I have one (1) television series and one (1) made-for-TV movie to recommend.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (AppleTV+) 

This series has already aired three episodes, but given that it’s Apple and they barely promote their shows beyond a select few—of course I’m referring to famous series like Lady in the Lake, Dark Matter, and Franklin (all of which star Oscar-winning actors, by the way)—there’s a good chance you don’t know about this one. And you should! 

Created by David J. Rosen, MPG belongs to a familiar, some might say oversaturated genre: a regular person gets swept up in a seedy crime plot that unmoors them from their prosaic life, troubled as that prosaic life might be. Rather than cancer and New Mexican drug cartels, this series involves divorce and online sex work. Tatiana Maslany plays Paula, a recently single mother and professional fact-checker living in Queens who regularly enjoys the company of a handsome cam boy, Trevor, played by Brandon Flynn. She tells him all of her relationship woes and some deep dark secrets, and then they get off together. During one session, though, Trevor appears to be beaten and kidnapped and soon Paula is receiving ransom calls. 

Is it all a hoax? Is it horribly real? Is it some combination of the two? MPG has grim fun exploring that mystery, sending Paula down a dark path while she tries to raise her daughter and fight for custody with her ex.