How Much Watching Time Do You Have This Weekend?

There’s a chill show for preschoolers and a jewelry-making competition series. Or is it just time to watch “Hannibal”?

By Margaret Lyons

Every Monday and Friday, Margaret offers hyper-specific viewing recommendations in our Watching newsletter. Read her latest picks below, and sign up for the Watching newsletter here.

This weekend I have … 22 minutes and a preschooler.

‘The Gumboot Kids’
When to watch: Now, on Amazon.

If you’ve ever gazed longingly at some facets of homesteader Instagram, try this serene but engaging show for little kids. (It is technically three short-format shows — “Scout & The Gumboot Kids,” “Daisy & The Gumboot Kids,” “Jessie & The Gumboot Kids” — but it is packaged in 22-minute blocs.) Two stop-motion mice, Scout and Daisy, explain the natural world and suggest simple craft projects, followed by a dreamy acoustic pop-folk song that rounds out both the literal and figurative aspects of that episode’s lesson. It’s all very charming and calm and aspirational, a wholesome wooden toy made in Canada rather than a screaming plastic gun that plays “Baby Shark” on electric whistle.

… an hour, and I should tidy up in here.

‘All That Glitters’
When to watch: Now, on HBO Max.

Rejoice, fans of earnest British reality contest shows, for this is truly our era. “Glitters” is a jewelry-making competition, so get ready to absorb the exact specifications of what defines a bangle, etc., while a handful of designers battle over who can make the most securely-clasping locket. I wonder if perhaps the pendulum has swung a little too far toward decorousness; the contestants, the jewelry, the judging, the editing, even the eliminations are all tentative, bordering on withdrawn. It picks up as the season goes along, and I happily binged the whole thing, but this is more of a keep-you-company than a drop-everything show.

… several hours, and I need a summer TV project.

‘Hannibal’
When to watch: Now, on Hulu.

There was a surprising amount of hand-wringing when “Hannibal” left Netflix last month — surprising because the dazzling and grotesque show, starring Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter, was and still is available on Hulu. There are only 39 episodes, but it’s too gruesome to binge, which makes it ideal for the kind of night when you need the A.C. to blast directly into your heart for an hour before you can even consider limping to bed. It’s also perfect for summer 2021 in particular because the human body has never seemed more disgusting yet more alluring, which is among the central themes of “Hannibal.”

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