This weekend I have … a few minutes, and I’m hungry.
‘Shape of Pasta’
When to watch: Now, on the Roku Channel.
If your spirit cries out for sumptuous images of simple doughs being pressed, stretched, snipped, rolled, stamped and pinched, try this short-form series (initially made for Quibi, R.I.P.). The Los Angeles chef Evan Funke travels through Italy to learn the traditional methods for creating esoteric and historical pastas under the guidance of various “masters,” done with the kind of reverence and commitment of a pilgrimage. There are only eight episodes, and each installment is under nine minutes long, so you get all the “rustic Italian Play-Doh Fun Factory for grown-ups” thrills and wistful food porn of shows like “Chef’s Table” in a more bite-size serving.
… a half-hour, and I want a political comedy.
‘Represent’
When to watch: Now, on Netflix.
Jean-Pascal Zadi cocreated, directed, co-wrote and stars in this French series (in French, with subtitles, or dubbed) about a charismatic youth counselor who becomes an unlikely but compelling presidential candidate after a clip of him dressing down a career politician goes viral. The show bounces between tones — sometimes savvy and cynical, sometimes more sitcomy, sometimes directly about genuine social conflict and sometimes a silly-character snapshot. “Represent” has a real kinetic zip, and its six episodes are funny and tricky in surprising and specific ways.
… an hour, and I want true crime.
‘Murf the Surf’
When to watch: Sunday at 10 p.m., on MGM+.
The documentarian R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue”) turns his attention to a horrific larger-than-life tale in this four-episode series that avoids the worst drooling habits of the true-crime genre. Jack Roland Murphy, known as Murf the Surf because of his early life as a surfer, gained notoriety as a convicted jewel thief and was later tried for murder and sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years. But Murphy was released early, and his claims of a jailhouse conversion to Christianity revised his public image. The show expertly teases out the ways myths of justice operate in American society, of who is served by and who is harmed by prioritizing story over substance. Episode 1 airs on Sunday, and the rest air weekly beginning on Feb. 19.
