As Tracy Brown writes in this week’s Catch Up, “The Marvels,” on VOD this week, may have been tagged with the word “flop,” but the narrative about its earnings overshadowed what a fun, female-driven superhero romp it was — and she’s here to convince you to give it a shot if you haven’t already.

Also this week, two streaming recommendations from across the pond, plus Zach Woods stops by to discuss his new show, “In the Know.”

ICYMI: The 75th Emmys

Must-read stories from the Emmys you might have missed

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

‘Jury Duty’ star Ronald Gladden took us to the Emmys. These were the best moments: The Times was ‘Jury Duty’ star Ronald Gladden’s exclusive companion at the Emmys. From slipping on his tux to greeting celebs on the red carpet, here are the highlights.

Emmy Awards: The complete list of winners: “Succession,” “Beef” and “The Bear” dominated this year’s prizes. See the list of everyone who took home a trophy.

The best fashion from the Emmys red carpet: Take a gander at all the best looks, including Selena Gomez, Suki Waterhouse, Hannah Waddingham and Quinta Brunson.

Soaked in nostalgia, the best Emmys in years showed how much TV has changed: Steeped in TV history, the delightful, touching 75th Emmy Awards were also a clear-eyed acknowledgment of all the medium has left behind.

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Rachel Shenton and Nicholas Ralph in “All Creatures Great and Small.”

(Helen Williams / Playground Entertainment / Masterpiece)

“All Creatures Great and Small” (PBS)

In tumultuous times, it’s often said, we tend to turn to creature comforts — think about the Depression-era heyday of the screwball comedy or the Cold War escapism of early James Bond films. “All Creatures Great and Small” makes the adage literal. Veterinarian James Herriot’s (Nicholas Ralph) professional exploits in rural Yorkshire, accompanied by his romance with now-wife Helen (Rachel Shenton) and familial affection for exacting boss Siegried Farnon (Samuel West) and compassionate housekeeper Audrey Hall (Anna Madeley) is the very definition of cozy (albeit no mystery). But whether it transports you to one of the most stunning regions of the English countryside or merely leaves you itching to reread Herriot’s beloved series of books about the experience, there’s no denying that “All Creatures” has stakes, both animal and human. Yes, the series can be rather gentle — a pumpkin falling on a dachshund practically counts as May sweeps — but it is, by its very nature, attuned to the rhythms of life and death, and probably more attuned to the way we love, worry over and grieve for our animals than any scripted TV series in recent memory. Add to that the outbreak of World War II, which by the current fourth season has forced some bombed-out Londoners into the safety of the dales, and “All Creatures Great and Small” is anything but blind to the tumult of our world, then as now. What makes it cozy is its belief that goodness wins in the long run, a comfort I, like many of its devoted fans, so desperately need. —Matt Brennan

Rob Brydon in “Would I Lie to You?”

(Brian J Ritchie / BritBox)

“Would I Lie to You?” (BritBox)

The funniest thing on television, to judge by the sound of my own laughter, is the British panel show “Would I Lie to You?” (BritBox). Contestants, in two teams of three, are called upon to relate a true story or improvise a false one, in either case unlikely, while the opposing team must decide whether or not they’re telling the truth; it’s a loose format that leaves a lot of room for chaos. Rotating players include professional comedians but all sorts of other personalities, including Paralympian Ellie Simmonds and Happy Mondays mascot Bez. Host Rob Brydon will likely be best known to American audiences from various editions of “The Trip,” with Steve Coogan (he’s also in “Barbie” for six seconds); of the two “team captains,” Britcom fans will recognize David Mitchell from “Peep Show” and “Upstart Crow,” while Lee Mack is mostly famous from this show. Part of what makes #WILTY work so well is that the three regulars have become characters over the years — Brydon self-deprecating, Mitchell fussy and Mack a comedy gunslinger who will launch a riposte before a speaker has got to the end of a sentence. The play-along factor is high and requires no special knowledge. —Robert Lloyd

Catch up

Everything you need to know about the film or TV series everyone’s talking about

Brie Larson and Iman Vellani in “The Marvels.”

(Laura Radford / Marvel Studios)

Even before “The Marvels” hit theaters in November, the conversations around it were not all about the film itself. A shame, because it’s one of the few movies I went to see in theaters multiple times last year. Yes, really.

A follow-up to 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” as well as the TV series “Ms. Marvel” (2022) and “WandaVision” (2021), “The Marvels” is a team-up that (re-)unites Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) with her estranged niece Monica Rambeau (Tayonah Parris) and her superfan Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) because of a glitch in their superpowers. Weaving together intergalactic stakes and interpersonal drama, the film is about family, friendship and what it means to be a hero.

The movie leans into the more whimsical side of superhero comic books, with adorable alien space kittens, a colorful royal dance sequence and some standout needle drops. And while it also brushes up against some weighty themes like trauma, displaced refugees and the environmental impact of war, “The Marvels” remains light and fun and unabashedly femme-centric. There’s even a post-credits scene that teases a highly anticipated superhero team’s eventual presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

2023 was a rough year Marvel Studios, though. After dominating the pop culture landscape for over 10 years, a few lackluster releases showed the mighty MCU is not invulnerable. An amalgam of so-called superhero fatigue, pandemic-altered audience habits, and an unsustainably rapid expansion into television have been among the factors cited as contributing to these rocky times. That Marvel was not the only Disney brand underperforming at the box office didn’t help. And with “The Marvels” being released at the tail end of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the actors couldn’t even distract us with their charm as they made the usual promotional rounds.

Instead, “The Marvels” is best known for having the worst opening weekend of all the MCU installments ($46 million domestic) and being one of the lowest-grossing MCU films ever ($206 million worldwide). But those same numbers make “The Marvels,” directed by Nia DaCosta — the first Black woman to helm an MCU movie — the highest-grossing film ever directed by a Black woman. And while I understand the impulse to focus on box office performance, that alone shouldn’t define whether a film is “a success.” I hope with “The Marvels” now available on digital platforms, more people will take the chance to see it. —Tracy Brown

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Zach Woods voices radio host Lauren Caspian in “In the Know.”

(Peacock)

Zach Woods made his name playing a well-meaning, strait-laced wonk amid the chaos of a tech startup on “Silicon Valley,” so playing a well-meaning, strait-laced wonk amid the chaos of the American news media should be right up his alley. As Lauren Caspian, NPR’s “third most popular host” — think Terry Gross with Jared Dunn’s deadpan — Woods leads the interview program “In the Know,” which is also the name of Peacock’s first ever adult animated series, premiering Thursday. Co-created by Woods, “Silicon Valley” boss Mike Judge and Brandon Gardner, the series mixes familiar newsroom figures like researcher, intern and culture critic (as stop-motion puppets) with real-world, live-action guests, including documentarian Ken Burns, author Roxane Gay and musicians Tegan and Sara. Woods stopped by Screen Gab recently to discuss his own news diet, reuniting with Judge and what he’s watching. —Matt Brennan

What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?

“Quo vadis, Aida?” [Hulu, Kanopy]. It’s unblinking, humane and extremely timely. Also — I recently went to a screening of “The Lives of Others” [VOD, multiple platforms] and it reminded me what a perfect movie that is. If you could kiss movies, I’d kiss that one.

What is your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?

There’s a short film called “Coda” about an Irish guy who gets hit by a car when he’s drunk. The story follows his bargaining with Death. It’s sweet, magic and comforting.

Given that you’re now playing a National Public Radio host (at least a stop-motion-puppet version thereof), tell me: What’s your news diet consist of? What do you read/watch/listen to to keep up with the news?

I listen to “The Daily” a lot. If you do too, I strongly recommend you Google Image Search the words “Michael Barbaro sexy pose.” I really encourage you to do that.

“In the Know” reteams you with “Silicon Valley” creator Mike Judge, who proved uncannily prescient about the absurdities of the tech industry. What’s one tech storyline or figure since “Silicon Valley” ended that you wish the show had the chance to tackle?

I wish they’d done a story where Grimes murders Jared and puts his body in a Tesla trunk. I’m told I play dead well. It’s a complexion thing maybe.