Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show advice for Kendrick Lamar

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who watches the Super Bowl for the music.

A little more than one week out from the big game, this week’s Screen Gab features a visit from legendary R&B artist — and Super Bowl LVIII headliner — Usher, out this week with a new Audible Original about his career.

Also in Screen Gab No. 166, we catch up with with Netflix’s “The Night Agent” and recommend two films that are still worth streaming despite being left out of the Oscar nominations.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

Sterling K. Brown, left, and James Marsden.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Sterling K. Brown and James Marsden say ‘Paradise’ brings twists and existential questions: The actors star in Hulu’s “Paradise,” which reunites Brown with “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman and meditates on climate change and technology.

Grant Ellis starts his search for love as the second Black lead of ‘The Bachelor’: The new Bachelor, whose season begins Monday on ABC, declined to comment on the dating franchise’s issues surrounding race, saying he was focused on his experience.

A new Sean Combs doc reveals fresh allegations: Biggest takeaways from ‘The Fall of Diddy’: ‘The Fall of Diddy,’ the latest documentary series about Sean Combs, features additional details and new allegations against the disgraced hip-hop mogul, who is awaiting trial on federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering.

Hollywood can ‘eat people and spit them out.’ Morris Chestnut refuses to be one of them: The actor is ready for his close-up in the new CBS medical drama “Watson,” which puts a modern twist on the Sherlock Holmes mythology.

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Tilda Swinton in “The End.”

(Felix Dickinson / NEON)

“The End” (VOD, multiple platforms)

Among the recent crop of movie musicals that have hit the big screen is Joshua Oppenheimer’s unique apocalyptic feature, starring Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, George MacKay and more as a rich family hiding in a bunker amid the end of the world. Watching the characters in this film choosing to cope, dissociate and self-soothe by tunefully expressing their thoughts and feelings — compositions that also marked the writer-director’s songwriting debut — brought me some comfort amid our ongoing dystopian news cycle. How absurd it was to hang out with them in their underground mansion, bigger than any house I’ve ever lived in above ground. — Ashley Lee

“Kneecap” (Netflix)

When the Oscar nominations were announced last week, I was sincerely hoping the Academy would show a little love to “Kneecap,” a raucous, drug-and-booze-filled Irish comedy about hip-hop, anti-colonial resistance and the political power of language. Even though the film made the short list for international feature, it ultimately failed to secure a nomination. Maybe it was too political, too Irish, or just too fun for Academy voters. Whatever the case, it’s their loss. Like a cross between “8 Mile” and “The Commitments,” “Kneecap” tells the lightly fictionalized origin story of the eponymous Belfast hip-hop trio. “Irish rappers?” you’re probably thinking right now. And yes, not only are the members of the group (who star as themselves) Irish, they also perform in the language. As we learn, the choice is not a marketing gimmick, but an act of political and cultural defiance. Directed with wit and verve by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap” follows Naoise Ó Caireallain and Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (stage names: Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara), best friends who grew up in republican West Belfast, part of a small community of Irish speakers. As Naoise’s dad, Arlo (Michael Fassbender), a former IRA bomber now in hiding, told him: “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet for Irish freedom.” The friends are generally more focused on partying, creating music and light criminal enterprise than activism. Thanks to a chance encounter, they soon team up with JJ Ó Dochartaigh, a music teacher and Irish translator who becomes their quasi-mentor — and rounds out the trio, performing as DJ Próvaí (while wearing an Irish flag balaclava.) The group quickly gains a following — but also invites scrutiny from local paramilitary groups and law enforcement. “Kneecap,” which won an audience award at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, tackles potentially lofty themes with humor and crackling energy, while strenuously avoiding the self-importance that infects so many music biopics. You’ll laugh, you’ll think a little bit, and you’ll wish these guys would get to be on stage at the Oscars. Sigh. — Meredith Blake

Catch up

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

Gabriel Basso in “The Night Agent.”

(Siviroon Srisuwan / Netflix)

As someone who often misses calls because my cell is perpetually on “Do Not Disturb” mode, the first season of Netflix’s “The Night Agent” helped me come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be tasked with the super important job of manning a mysterious emergency phone line for undercover spies who are in serious trouble.

Created by Shawn Ryan (“S.W.A.T,” “The Shield”), the action drama’s premise hinges on a clandestine U.S. counterintelligence program within the FBI known as Night Action. While most of the program’s agents are engrossed in secretive investigative work, even the most menial role is critical — like Peter Sutherland’s. The low-level FBI agent, played by Gabriel Basso, is on important, albeit boring, phone duty in the basement of the White House, waiting to answer any distress calls from the field even though, as one government official explains, the phone “rarely rings.” Season 1 quickly threw Peter into the deep end of a national security crisis once a call unexpectedly comes through. On the other end? Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan), a tech entrepreneur who calls the number at the instruction of her aunt and uncle, who are government operatives, just before they are murdered by two assassins. Rose connects with Peter and it sets them on a course to unravel a large-scale conspiracy involving the vice president. At the same time, Peter is on a personal quest for answers about his late father, a former FBI agent who was accused of betraying his country by selling classified documents to foreign buyers. In the end, Peter saves the day — with Rose’s help, of course — and is rewarded with a promotion into the field as an official night agent. (Peter is also eventually given access to his father’s undisclosed case files, which reveal he was guilty of treason. But there’s more to it.)

It’s been nearly two years since the explosive first season, and while watching a nation on the brink of doom may not sound like a stress reliever after a long day, there’s something cathartic about Peter and Rose giving it their best try to save us all. Now available to stream, Season 2 introduces new characters, including Peter’s new partner, Alice (Brittany Snow), and his new untrusting supervisor, Catherine (Amanda Warren). This time around, Peter (and Rose) must try to halt a chemical weapons threat to the U.S. while a presidential election looms in the background. But can Peter be a hero without doing some questionable things? And will the FBI finally give Rose a job? No spoilers here.

The series will return for a third season, which is currently in production. And Ryan is already promising the upcoming installment will feature one of the most spectacular car chases ever seen on a TV show. See how one phone call can change your life? — Yvonne Villarreal

READ MORE: ‘The Night Agent’ creator Shawn Ryan on writing political thrillers and revisiting ‘The Shield’

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Usher performs at So-Fi Stadium in 2022.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Using his 2004 studio album “Confessions” as its lens, Audible’s “The Last Showman,” out Feb. 6, gives Usher the chance to reflect on his career in his own “voice and sense of humor,” the artist tells Screen Gab. And as the title suggests, Usher’s success is not just about the quality of the music: The 46-year-old multi-hyphenate cites none other than Gene Kelly as an inspiration for his perspective on the complete entertainer. Ahead of “The Last Showman’s” release, Usher stopped by to discuss what he’s watching, his advice for this year’s Super Bowl performer Kendrick Lamar and more. — Matt Brennan

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

“Luther: Never Too Much” [CNN]. It’s a must-watch. It tells the story of a cultural icon so beautifully and if you really pay attention, you can hear and see his influence in modern art.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

“An American in Paris” [VOD, multiple platforms]. It’s no secret that Gene Kelly serves as a huge inspiration for who I am as an entertainer and an artist, both on and off stage. This film never gets old and I’m reinspired every time I watch it.

“The Last Showman” allowed you to look back over your 30-year career with fresh eyes. Are there any moments that feel like major turning points for you now that you maybe didn’t realize were at the time? Or things that felt seismic back then but seem less important in retrospect?

I’m telling my side of the story from that time in my life. I’m 46 years old now; whether they were turning points or seismic events as a 20-something-year-old man back then, I try to just cherish each moment and every experience that I’ve been through. It’s made me the person I am today. You’ll hear those stories through my personality on “The Last Showman,” which you might not necessarily get if we don’t talk frequently.

Last year, you headlined the Super Bowl halftime show. This year, it’ll be Kendrick Lamar. What advice do you have for him?

Enjoy the moment and take it all in. There’s a reason why you’re on that stage — you’ve earned it. Take that victory lap! I can’t wait to see you do your thing next week.