This weekend I have … a half-hour, and I want something dreamy.
‘Nona and Her Daughters’
When to watch: Now, on MHz Choice.
Nona (Miou-Miou) is a 70-year-old Parisian sex educator and mother of adult triplet daughters who is understandably shocked to find herself pregnant. Even more surprising, her boyfriend is somehow not the baby’s father. Over nine half-hour episodes, “Nona” (in French, with subtitles) weaves together whimsy and sorrow, quirk and thoughtfulness. And my god, the wallpaper. Magical realism is unusual on television, and it is deployed here gently and judiciously, though the mesmerizing effect is sometimes dashed by the characters’ apparent inability ever to put their phones on silent.
… three hours, and I hate sitting still.
‘Telemarketers’
When to watch: The first two episodes are available on Max; Episode 3 airs Sunday at 10 p.m., on HBO.
This three-part documentary about the depravity of the telemarketing industry has a compelling journalistic through line, but the real draw is the intimacy and vitality of its portraiture. “Telemarketers” began when one of its directors, Sam Lipman-Stern, started filming his co-workers at a New Jersey call center, including Patrick J. Pespas, a star salesman, serious drug user and among the most charismatic people you will see on television. The piece evolved when Lipman-Stern moved to Los Angeles (where he says he “shot a few weddings, bar mitzvahs, some foot stuff”), but it retains an admirable shagginess, especially in contrast to the sterile Mad Libs of a lot of nonfiction shows of the moment.
… four hours, and I like white-collar scandals.
‘Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn’
When to watch: Arrives Friday, on Apple TV+.
For those who prefer their documentaries much glossier, there is this juicy and fascinating story of the automotive industry executive Carlos Ghosn. The tale is a wild one: Ghosn was the head of Nissan and Renault and was arrested in Japan for financial misdeeds. After being held there in what he called unjust conditions, he escaped — in a trunk on a private plane, in a caper orchestrated by a former Green Beret. “Wanted” is elegantly straightforward, letting the outrageousness of the saga unfold with lucid talking-head explanations. If you enjoy high-end moral ambiguity, dig in.