WHAT'S IN THE BOX
Competitive cooking shows are one of my biggest TV addictions, and Netflix's new show COOK AT ALL COSTS hits the sweet spot of food drama and celebrity chef know-how. In each episode, three home cooks start with $25,000 apiece, betting against each other for ingredients. They first blindly choose whether they want to "save" on a box of humble ingredients, "spend" for more luxury items, or find out if they'll get a "surprise" box with unusual ingredients. Each episode's celebrity chef judge also sends out "upgrades" for bidding on throughout the cooking time, and later blindly rates the dishes. The show offers creative inspiration for ways to combine odds and ends you have in the pantry, while emphasizing flavorful ingredients that provide the most bang for your buck. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
DB COOPER REVEALED?
After 50 years, did we finally find out that the elusive DB Cooper is actually a Washington state man named Rodney Bonnifield? The new documentary I AM DB COOPER (roughly 70 percent dramatizations, with interviews sprinkled in) follows Bonnifield from his Skagit County home as he travels with local bail bondsmen to search the Columbia River spot where he claims to have buried most of the infamous $200,000 haul. Actors portray Cooper's 1971 Portland-to-Seattle airplane hijacking as Bonnifield says it went down, and the skeptical bondsmen explain how Bonnifield's detailed description seemed credible enough for them to at least go searching for the buried loot. The bondsmen met Bonnifield while he was going through court for a stabbing for which he's currently serving time in Walla Walla. While it's certainly interesting to hear this drug-fueled take on the crime, the film (for purchase on Amazon Prime or Google TV) leaves the viewer wondering whether the title delivers on its promise in the end. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
GAZING AT MALES
There's a lot to unpack in Hulu's new WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES, and we're not talking about the spandex-wrapped packages wiggling their way to fame as the world's first all-male erotic dance troupe. The men are gorgeous, the dancing top-notch, and the '80s soundtrack is spot-on. But the deeper drama is more compelling, including the rags-to-riches-to-ruin story of Somen "Steve" Banerjee (played by Kumail Nanjiani), who founded Chippendales in 1979, and his business-partner-turned-rival, Nick de Noia (Murray Bartlett). Besides the eye and ear candy, Welcome to Chippendales also hints at significant cultural issues, including race, other-ism, and gender-based norms, plus the danger of growing too big for one's britches in the lust for fame and glory. (CARRIE SCOZZARO)
