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There's a new Marvel show out now. At first glance, Wonder Man might seem like a strange choice for the next step of the MCU. The character doesn't have the sort of name recognition that previous series have relied on. He's not an Avenger like Hawkeye or Wanda Maximoff. It doesn't include a fan-favorite lead like Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, or Daredevil. Hell, there's precious little in the way of actual superheroics in it. Instead, it's a low-key comedy about two failed actors trying to make it in Hollywood.
It's also my favorite Marvel project since at least Spider-Man: No Way Home, and possibly before that. I think it's absolutely fantastic, as you can tell from my full Wonder Man review.
The new show feels like the latest in what seems to be a growing trend for long-running franchises to experiment with telling smaller and more intimate stories that go against the grain of their sibling series. There's blessedly no homework required to enjoy these shows and they're all the better for it.
A lighter tone
Airing alongside Wonder Man currently is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the second spin-off from the era-defining Game of Thrones. Where Thrones (and, to a lesser extent, House of the Dragon) are about huge, nation-shaking events and aristocratic families, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is about a charmingly dim "hedge knight" and his kid squire trying not to get themselves killed in George R.R. Martin's infamously bloodthirsty world. It's a compelling low fantasy adventure that reminds you why Westeros was so interesting in the first place.
Both Wonder Man and Knight are based on double acts – Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery; Dunk and Egg – and it's notable that they lean further into the laughs than their parent franchises. Wonder Man has some emotionally heavier moments, but it's the closest the MCU has come to making a straight-up comedy. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms hews a little darker in its later episodes, but the first few installments are often laugh-out-loud funny. One of the first things we see Dunk do in the show is take a dump, just as the Game of Thrones theme has started to swell.
Both shows are also concerned with characters who have been beaten down by life, but retain an inherent nobility. Trevor in Wonder Man is carrying a heavy secret, but you never doubt that the friendship he forms with Simon – himself a flawed, but always empathetic figure – is sincere. Dunk and Egg, meanwhile, are a refreshingly uncynical rejoinder to the anti-heroes and villains that we usually meet in Westeros. All of these characters are struggling, but they have a goodness of spirit that shines through nevertheless.
No homework required
Then there's Andor… That's a show that goes in the opposite direction to the other series I've mentioned, turning the often-comic Star Wars galaxy into the backdrop for a deadly-serious drama about how and why resistance movements are formed. Still, our way into this story is not via chosen ones, princesses, or Jedi, but through a down-on-his-luck criminal who is grudgingly radicalized to join the fight against the Galactic Empire. In a universe defined by literal wizards, Cassian Andor is deeply ordinary, his fears relatable – and that makes him a fascinating contrast.
And while Andor certainly has an extra layer of context if you're already a Star Wars fan, it also works brilliantly for total newbies. I'm not sure you could say the same about a show like Ahsoka.
To this list of shows with a smaller focus, I would also add the recently-launched Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. It's arguably the series with the widest scope – episodes encompass tales set entirely at the titular school as well as more traditionally Trek-like space missions – and it does go all in with the Easter eggs. Even so, it feels somewhat of a piece with the others I've mentioned.
Once again, there's a stronger emphasis on comedy, and once again, it’s telling tales with dramatically lowered stakes. The most recently aired episode of its sibling show, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, told a grandiose and only somewhat coherent story about the battle between embodiments of cosmic good and evil. The most recent episode of Starfleet Academy is about the cadets getting into a prank war with students from the nearby asshole space cop school.
Let's hear it for the little guys
Now, I'm not suggesting that the slight commonalities between these shows is evidence of some intentional movement, but I do think it's interesting that they've all come along at the same time and when their larger franchises are arguably struggling a little.
The Marvel, Thrones, Star Trek and Wars shows all still make vast quantities of cash and are clearly not going anywhere, but fans have expressed various levels of fatigue with all four over the last few years. Each of these franchises typically tell stories that lean towards the epic… and have maybe gotten a little bit samey of late. It makes sense, then, that in an attempt to change things up a bit, they might go in the opposite direction for a while.
And given that Andor, Wonder Man, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms have each re-engaged me with worlds that I'd kind of lost interest in, then that's clearly no bad thing.
Wonder Man and Andor are streaming now on Disney Plus. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming on HBO Max. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is streaming now on Paramount Plus. For more great TV, check out our guides to the best shows on HBO Max, the best shows on Paramount Plus, and the best shows on Disney Plus.
