Where to Watch ‘The Envoys’: Paramount+ The short black-on-white credits sequence, the collars, the fact that they’re probably next to each other on plenty of subscribers’ Paramount+ homepages: There are plenty of surface-level parallels between “The Envoys” and fellow Catholicism-centered thriller “Evil.” (Additional thoughts on the latter here and here.) Aside from the obvious, though, the new eight-episode drama from Mexico (originally released last year under the title “Los Enviados”) also takes what could be an obvious skeptic/believer story and gives it room to breathe....

Drawing comparisons to the Barbara Stanwyck feature “Baby Face,” young Beth is considered an anomaly for being successful at chess, considering she’s a woman. Beth wants to be the best and beat the current Russian champ. Unfortunately, she also suffers from an intense addiction to pills and alcohol that, coupled with unresolved issues from her past, threaten to turn her genius into madness. “The Queen’s Gambit” also includes Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Moses Ingram, Harry Melling, and Bill Camp....

The new HBO Max comedy from Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble follows four suitemates from their first day at leafy Essex College, an elite New England liberal arts school with spires enough to recall the alma maters of the show’s creators (Dartmouth and Yale, respectively). Leighton, played by Broadway’s Regina George, Reneé Rapp, is a closeted uptown snob. Pauline Chalamet (sister to Timothée) is Kimberly, a scholarship student with insecurities as oppressive as her FAFSA loan....

So this season, spanning four episodes from different directors, presents a handful of children with the opportunity to share their experiences as they understand them. They have a varying level of comfort on camera, but each brings a sense of poise to their story. Collectively, they are aware of the challenges faced by their parents and guardians, and they’re conscious of how their family situations shape how they’re perceived by classmates and neighbors (and, one gets the feeling, those watching the series in which they’re appearing)....

Since its inception in 2018, Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Outreach and Grant Program has helped over 600 emerging entertainment critics pursue their academic and professional goals. “According to a recent survey we conducted with 350 Tomatometer-approved critics, 92 percent contend that the cost of travel and lodging still prohibits them from attending key festivals and conventions,” Jenny Jediny, Rotten Tomatoes director of critic engagement, said. “Supporting festival inclusion programs remains an important part of Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Outreach and Grant Program and we’re thrilled to be expanding our mentorship initiatives and scholarships for aspiring critics from underrepresented groups....

It’s not as if NBC and its various broadcasting partners haven’t been trying to prime their viewers for Tokyo 2020, but up to and through this version of the Summer Games, there’s been a vagueness to what the Olympics actually stand for. Is it a branding bonanza — a Trojan Horse for the bevy of Official Partners to talk up their cars, cleaning wipes, and exercise bikes? Is it a celebration of the virtuous pursuit of athletics?...

At the studio, Pollock worked with many of the top directors in Hollywood: Steven Spielberg (“Jurassic Park”), Robert Zemeckis (the “Back to the Future” trilogy), Ron Howard (“Backdraft,” “Parenthood”), Ivan Reitman (“Twins,” “Kindergarten Cop”), Martin Scorsese (“Cape Fear,” “Casino”), and George Miller (“Lorenzo’s Oil”). During Pollock’s Universal tenure, the studio garnered seven Academy Award Best Picture nominations, including winner Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” Miller’s “Babe,” Howard’s “Apollo 13,” Phil Alden Robinson’s “Field of Dreams,” Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” Martin Brest’s “Scent of a Woman,” and Jim Sheridan’s “In the Name of the Father....