‘Heartstopper’ Finale, Get Obsessed, a Good ‘Fight,’ Ranking the Rom-Coms

Heartstopper Forever

Hearts may break, and they most certainly will melt, in the poignant movie finale that brings the touching teen romance of Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke), based on Alice Oseman‘s graphic-novel series, to a conclusion after three acclaimed seasons. As the boys and their high-school chums face graduation, with Nick preparing for university and the challenges of a potentially long-distance relationship, Heartstopper Forever confronts the emotional stakes that inevitably accompany coming of age.

Obsession

Writer-director Curry Barker’s indie horror film, filmed on a $750,000 shoestring, turned the industry on its head when it became a viral, word-of-mouth sensation, grossing more than $400 million since its spring theatrical release. Michael Johnston stars as shy romantic Bear, whose crush on best friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) takes a frighteningly supernatural turn when he enlists a magical “One Wish Willow” to make her fall for him. Have love potions ever come without dangerous side effects?

They Fight

Rocky meets The Karate Kid in an uplifting drama from Andscape, based on a 2018 documentary, starring Moonlight‘s André Holland as ex-con Walt Manigan, a one-time boxing hopeful who finds redemption by coaching young amateur fighters from the Southeast D.C. streets alongside his own former mentor, Slim (Elsbeth and The Wire‘s Wendell Pierce). Writer-director Sheldon Candis cites Oscar-winning director John G. Avildsen (Rocky, The Karate Kid) as an inspiration for this fact-based feel-good movie.

Best Romcoms Ever!

Is Pretty Woman your idea of the perfect rom-com? Or would you rather have what they’re having in When Harry Met Sally? Or maybe the John Hughes oeuvre is your cup of cinematic hot chocolate. A prime-time special brings together entertainment experts, comedians, and some of the stars and makers of these indelible classics to rank their favorites. Grab your bonbons and enjoy. You’ll probably want to rewatch at least one of these movies afterward.

Cape Fear

The war between manipulative ex-con Max Cady (Javier Bardem) and married lawyers Anna and Tom Bowden (Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson) reaches a ludicrous fever pitch in the eighth of 10 episodes of the latest adaptation of the lurid melodrama. Max appears to hold the upper hand, thanks to the Bowdens’ increasingly clumsy attempts at payback, including the bad habit of making many of their moves in public. It may be up to their rebellious daughter Natalie (Lily Collias), appalled at having temporarily fallen under Max’s darkly charismatic spell, to take drastic measures to protect her family from the murderous menace across the street. But first, Anna must come clean about her own cloudy past, shedding new light on Max’s sinister motives.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Major League Soccer: With the World Cup finals dominating sports headlines this weekend, Fox presents matches pitting host team Nashville SC against Atlanta United FC (8 p.m. ET), followed by a rivalry match between the L.A. Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club in Carson, California (10:30 p.m. ET)
• Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness (9/8c, HBO): Sketches include Larry David spoofing the Watergate scandal, playing a Deep Throat who won’t shut up, and satirizing the antisemitism of auto magnate Henry Ford.
• Dateline NBC (10/9c, NBC): Andrea Canning reports on the shocking 2018 murders of a New Jersey family, including two young children, in a home that was subsequently set on fire.

ON THE STREAM

• RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (streaming on Paramount+): The remaining six queens battle it out in a Disco Smackdown for a $200,000 grand prize in the Season 11 grand finale.
• Silo (streaming on Apple TV): Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) causes chaos when she insists on touring the silo by herself in hopes of jogging her memory — and locating the fugitive insurgent Lukas (Avi Nash).
• Sugar (streaming on Apple TV): Alien private eye and movie buff John Sugar (Colin Farrell) gets his Vertigo moment when he takes more steps in faking Ji’s (Raymond Lee) death to throw dirty sheriff Ray Vega (Tony Dalton) off their trail.