What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T8 WHATS UP! May 21 - 27, 2023 BY RAYE SMITH TV Media WHAT'S NEW ON DISNEY+ "American Born Chinese" - Season 1 The highly anticipated action comedy "American Born Chi- nese," based on the ground- breaking graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, makes its debut on Disney+ Wednesday, May 24. An average teenager, Jin Wang (Ben Wang, "Chang Can Dunk," 2023) is just doing his best to balance his home life with the trials and tribulations of high school. When he meets and befriends a new foreign student (Jimmy Liu, "The Farewell," 2019), Jin's world changes forever when he learns that his new friend is the son of a mythological Chinese god. As he searches for his own identity, this family, comedy and action-packed story finds Jin embroiled in an otherworldly battle beyond his wildest dreams. From executive produc- er, showrunner and writer Kel- vin Yu ("Bob's Burgers"), "Amer- ican Born Chinese" is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton ("Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," 2021) and Lucy Liu ("Elementary"). Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and James Hong reunite to star in the series after their work in the Oscar-sweeping film "Ev- erything Everywhere All At Once" (2022), alongside Yeo Yann Yann ("Ilo Ilo," 2013), Chin Han ("The Dark Knight," 2008), Poppy Liu ("Hacks"), Sydney Taylor ("Just Add Magic: Mys- tery City"), Daniel Wu ("Into the Badlands") and "Crazy Rich Asians'" (2018) Ronny Chieng and Jimmy O. Yang. "Chip 'N Dale: Park Life" - Season 2 Tiny troublemakers Chip and Dale return with a new season of hilarious shenanigans when "Chip 'N' Dale: Park Life" pre- mieres the first six episodes of its second season Wednesday, May 24, on Disney+. This chil- dren's computer-animated se- ries — presented in a classic, non-verbal cartoon comedy style — follows the lovably mis- chievous chipmunks Chip (Mat- thew Géczy, "Les Légendaires") and Dale (Kaycie Chase, "The Smurfs") as they live the luxuri- ous park life and go on sky-high adventures. This time, the duo go on even bigger and wilder ad- ventures as they continue on their quest to increase their acorn stash to gargantuan pro- portions. All the while, Chip and Dale are joined in their mayhem by Disney favorite characters in- cluding Pluto (Bill Farmer, "A Goofy Movie," 1995), Donald Duck (Sylvain Caruso, "King- dom Hearts," 2002) and more. From creator and writer Kath- leen Shugrue ("Camp Camp") and director Jean Cayrol ("Pa- prika"), the series also voice stars David Gasman ("Mush Mush & the Mushables"), Lee Delong ("Invisible Network of Kids") and Barbara Scaff ("Vale- rian and the City of a Thousand Planets," 2017). WHAT'S NEW ON NETFLIX "Wanda Sykes: I'm An Enter- tainer" (2023) Comedian and actor Wanda Sykes ("The Upshaws") takes her comic chops to the stage once more with her new stand- up special, "Wanda Sykes: I'm An Entertainer," which pre- mieres on Netflix Tuesday, May 23. Her second hour-long Netflix comedy special (behind 2019's "Not Normal"), this catches up with Sykes, who is renowned for her political commentary, as she touches on everything from the challenges of raising Gen Z teens to the dilemmas of being a liberal in a hypercharged politi- cal climate, delivered with her trademark "insightful and fero- cious wit and candor audiences have come to know and love" (per Netflix). Filmed at Philadel- phia's Miller Theater, "I'm An Entertainer" is directed by Linda Mendoza ("Scrubs") and execu- tive produced by Sykes and Page Hurwitz ("Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready"), from their Push It Productions com- pany. WHAT'S NEW ON APPLE TV+ "Platonic" - Season 1 Relationships of all kinds are put to the test in the new 10-ep- isode Apple TV+ comedy, "Pla- tonic," premiering its first three episodes Wednesday, May 24. The remaining epi- sodes air weekly on Wednes- days thereafter. The series stars Seth Rogen ("Superbad," 2007) and Rose Byrne ("Physi- cal") as a pair of childhood best friends who had been insepara- ble growing up, until a rift tore their friendship apart. Now, as they approach midlife, the pair finally reconnect, but their re- newed friendship soon be- comes all-consuming. As they work to move past their de- cades-old issues, they quickly find their lives destabilizing in hilarious ways. Directed by Nicholas Stoller ("Neighbors," 2014), "Platonic" also stars Luke Macfarlane ("Brothers & Sisters"), Tre Hale ("Love and Monsters," 2020), Andrew Lo- pez ("Blockers," 2018) and Car- la Gallo ("Neighbors," 2014). Rogen, Byrne, Stoller, Frances- ca Delbanco ("Friends From College") and Conor Welch ("Panhandle") are executive producers. WHAT'S NEW ON PRIME VIDEO "The Gryphon" Prime Video Germany's six-epi- sode, big-budget fantasy epic, "The Gryphon," based on book series by Wolfgang Hohlbein, makes its international debut on the Amazon streamer Friday, May 26. The story follows mis- fits Mark (Jeremias Meyer, "Vampire Sisters," 2012), Memo (Zoran Pingel, "The Island") and Becky (Lea Drinda, "We Chil- dren from Bahnhof Zoo"), as they stumble upon a fantastical world called The Black Tower. It is here where a world-devouring monster called the Gryphon, who ruthlessly subjugates all liv- ing creatures he comes across, resides. Reluctant be drawn into a monster fight, despite being the only one who can take down the Gryphon, it isn't until his brother Thomas (Theo Trebs, "The White Ribbon," 2009) goes missing that Mark and his friends face their destiny and set out to confront the dangers of The Black Tower. Brought to the screen by creators Sebastian Marka and Erol Yesilkaya (both of "Tatort"), "The Gryphon" is directed by Marka and Max Zah- le ("Schrotten!," 2016) and exec- utive produced by Quirin Berg ("Pagan Peak"), Max Wiede- mann ("Who Am I," 2014) and André Zoch ("How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)"). Sabine Timoteo ("The Chronicles of Melanie," 2016), Flora Li Thiemann ("The Aftermath," 2019), Yuri Volsch ("Das Boot"), Samirah Breuer ("Almania"), Thorsten Merten ("Babylon Berlin"), Sebi Jaeger ("Fly," 2021), Golo Euler ("Kasi- mir und Karoline," 2011) and Se- bastian Jager ("Lenssen & Part- ner") also star. Ben Wang stars in "American Born Chinese" Worlds collide: High school meets mythology in 'American Born Chinese' STREAMING Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in "Platonic" Wanda Sykes stars in "Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer" 18 WHAT'S UP! MAY 21-27, 2023