Documentary: ‘Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model’
It’s wild how easily we forget some of the more awful relics of pop culture past. The fatphobia, racism and classism (along with a laissez-faire attitude toward sexual assault) of “America’s Next Top Model” faded into the collective amnesia about the less-enlightened aughts. But this new Netflix docuseries reminds us of some of the show’s truly shocking sequences and creative choices (including blackface). Tyra Banks emerges as one of the medium’s greatest villains here, but you will be inspired by the grit and grace of the model hopefuls who managed to survive one of reality TV’s cruelest crucibles. — Briony Smith
TV: ‘Unfamiliar’
It’s no “Slow Horses,” “Black Doves” or “Dept. Q,” but the German spy series “Unfamiliar” (Netflix) is a moody, satisfyingly complex tale of married agents turned restaurateurs who run a Berlin safe house and whose intrigue-laden adventures in Belarus come back to haunt them 16 years later. A couple of caveats: the English-dubbed option occasionally throws off the show’s rhythm, and overly aggressive foley makes every footstep sound like the start of a tap dance routine. — Doug Brod
TV: ‘Neighbors’
With America so deeply divided, it might seem like overkill for an HBO docuseries to wander even further into the country’s stark differences. And yet, Dylan Redford — grandson of Robert — finds a wicked delight in zeroing in on these eccentrics who’ve let property ownership turn them into entitled little demons. Each of the six weekly episodes, currently rolling out on Crave, focuses on squabbles between neighbours that spiral into all-out wars. One pits a cat lady against a family man demanding the strays get off his lawn; another follows two couples battling over a small patch of grass. “Marty Supreme” director Josh Safdie co-produced the series, and his taste for America’s colourful underbelly is stamped all over it. — David Friend
Music: ‘Ragtime: The Musical (2025 Broadway Cast Recording)’
This new cast recording of the current “Ragtime” revival on Broadway has been playing on my phone on repeat ever since it was released last month. I’m not the biggest fan of director Lear deBessonet’s awkwardly staged production, but this album more than does justice to Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens’ score, which blends classic Broadway with ragtime influences, breathing life into Terrence McNally’s epic story about three families chasing the American Dream at the turn of the 20th century. Winnipeg-born Joshua Henry, the perceived front-runner for this year’s Tony for best lead actor in a musical, delivers an absolutely heartbreaking performance as Coalhouse Walker Jr. His voice alone is the soul of this album. — Joshua Chong
