Weekend Whats

What to Doc: The Pharmacist is about a pharmacist in New Orleans who, while grieving his son lost to a drug deal, tries to solve the case himself. But his search uncovers a much larger crime. The opioid crisis. Dan Schneider’s OCD-ish habit of recording almost everything he does makes this already interesting four-part documentary even more unique. The Pharmacist on Netflix.

+ What to Book: When I first started hanging out with Arthur Phillips, he was an accomplished, attractive Sax player attending the Berklee College of Music (think Rob Lowe in St Elmo’s Fire, but nicer). Arthur later decided to switch art forms and became one of the more admired American novelists of the past couple decades, in between his stints writing for hit TV shows. WaPo calls Arthur “one of the best writers in America.” He also has nice kids, two beagles, is a five time Jeopardy champion, and remains stubbornly handsome. So yeah, there’s plenty of reasons for me to despise Arthur. But that shouldn’t stop you from ordering his latest novel, The King at the Edge of the World. (Help me to at least be viewed as the husky Jewish friend who had a lot of potential, and if nothing else, helped move some books…)

+ What to Oscar: I don’t like too many of the best picture noms, but this year’s line up of documentaries is excellent. “In a time of conflict and darkness in her home in Aleppo, Syria, one young woman kept her camera rolling — while falling in love, getting married, having a baby and saying goodbye as her city crumbled.” For Sama is streaming on PBS. It’s a documentary that humanizes our inhumanity. And if you haven’t seen American Factory on Netflix, do so.