What to Watch, and More! Week of Aug. 14 – 20
Blake Lively swims with sharks! Gypsy Rose Lee takes it off! A real-life Lion King! A lot of Robert Redford! Superhero sexism! And more!
Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in ‘The Sting,’
one of several flicks included in TCM’s all-day salute.
FRIDAY, Aug. 14
Hellcat
A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound, warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid? (Shudder).
Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes
Standup comedy special from the comedian-musician-actor, best known for his voice role on the FXX comedy series Quackers (9 p.m., HBO Max).
SATURDAY, Aug. 15
Honest Renovations
Get the tool belt ready for another season of Jessia Alba and Lizzy Mathis, above, doing home makeovers and telling families about the realities of parenting (Roku Channel).
The Shallows
Blake Lively, below, stars in this 2016 Jaws-esque adventure as a young swimmer trapped alone on a rock by a great white shark. Fun fact: She was pregnant with her second child while filming! (Netflix).
SUNDAY, Aug. 16
Lanterns
New series follows intergalactic cops (Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre) drawn into a dark mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland (HBO).
Bergerac
Re-imaging of the late ‘80s TV series stars Damien Molony as a broken detective, battling his demons after the death of his wife (3 a.m., PBS).
MONDAY, Aug. 17
Donkey Hodie
New season of the animated kids’ show (with a title that grownups might recognized as a pun on Don Quixote) about animals working together to find solutions to everyday problems (PBS Kids).
Gypsy
1962 musical comedy-drama about famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, starring Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood (above) and Carl Malden (9:30 p.m., TCM)
TUESDAY, Aug. 18
Take a Hike!
Unscripted reality series features Korean singer Car the Garden (yes, that’s his name!) as he balances his weight-loss meds with the grueling demands of mountain hiking (Netflix).
Celebrating Robert Redford
Enjoy a full day and night of classic and fan-favorite films starring Redford, starting with 1966’s The Chase, followed by The Great Waldo Pepper, The Candidate, The Electric Horseman, The Sting, Out of Africa and more (begins 7:30 a.m., TCM).
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 19
Lion
Coming-of-age documentary of a young lion, filmed over four years, as he grows up to become leader of his pride—a real-life lion king! (National Geographic).
Swiss Army Man
If you missed it in theaters back in 2016, catch it now on TV. It’s a wild tale of a shipwreck survivor and a flatulent corpse (yes, you read that correctly), starring Paul Dano (who never met a crazy role he couldn’t sink his teeth into), Daniel Radcliff (eons away from Harry Potter) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Netflix).
THURSDAY, Aug. 19
Disney Worldbuilders
Meet directors and writers who reflect on the memories, moments and creative breakthroughs that shaped their movies and turned them into Disney franchises (Disney+).
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: The Wolf in Winter
Documentary about the tennis star who became the most accomplished champion player in the sport’s history (Prime Video).
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Football endures! In Strike Season (Simon & Schuster), author Michael Eck tells the true underdog tale of his high school football team, the Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) Blue Devils, that continued their playing schedule after their coaches left in a 1979 teacher’s strike.
How much is AI affecting our lives? A lot, says Pope Leo IX in his new book Magnifica Humanitas (Melville House), a word of warning about the destructive power of artificial intelligence—and his advice for maintaining our humanity in the rising tide of a tech shows no signs of abating.
History buffs will dig into The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry (Thames & Hudson), an examination of a piece of linen displaying pivotal episodes in English history, including the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Norman conquest of Britain, that scholars believe is a thousand years old. The book is being released in paperback to time with an exhibition of the Tapestry, for the first time since it was made.
Do superhero movies stereotype female characters? Author Jeannette H. Ronson answers with a resounding yes in Superhero Sexism (McFarland), an examination of how movies and television often present females through a misogynistic, racist lens, representing them as gender non-conforming, sexually threatening, deceptive, hysterical or inherently evil.
BRING IT HOME
Director Tim Burton’s campy classic Mars Attacks! (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) gets a 30th anniversary spiff-up with new bonus content and behind-the-scenes goodies. Plus, you’ll get to see the all-star cast of Jack Nicholson, Jack Black, Glenn Close, Annette Bening and Lisa Marie (yes, Elvis’ daughter!) fighting aliens in all their 1990s glory.