Hump day recs 4/26/2023

Watch: “Battle Royale.” “Squid Game” upended the streaming world when it dropped on Netflix in late 2021. But you might not know that the South Korean dystopian survival series borrows a lot from this 2000 Japanese flick based on the manga comics by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi, which also inspired the “Hunger Games” and “Fortnite.” The story: A totalitarian government forces high-school students to fight to the death. It's insane, often terrifying, and sometimes (very darkly) funny. Definitely worth a watch. — Carlos

Watch: “The Diplomat.” If you enjoyed Rufus Sewell’s swagger as Detective “Zen” (still bitter, BBC!), you’ll love him opposite Keri Russell in this geopolitical drama. They portray a married diplomatic duo, and while Russell plays her ambassador role with more than enough earnestness, Sewell is marvelously manipulative as the “behind-the-scenes” spouse. — Tracy

Listen: Harry Belafonte. This is Harry Belafonte’s voice. And this is Harry Belafonte’s voice. —Willis