Category Archives: Sports

Dec 06 2024
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Books, DVDs, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Dec. 6 – Dec. 12

Classic Christmas flicks, Simpsons football & Paris & Nicole go to the opera!

Reality TV stars Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie are back in a TV special.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Dec. 6
The Sticky
Inspired by real events, this six-part heist comedy series stars Margo Martindale as a maple syrup farmer who turns to crime when the going gets…well, gummy. With Chris Diamantopoulos and Jamie Lee Curtis (Prime Video).

Paris Has Fallen
When a terrorist group attacks a high-profile Paris event in this eight-episode series, investigators discover someone hellbent on widespread vengeance (Hulu).

SATURDAY, Dec. 7
Home Alone
Would Christmas be as Christmas-sy without this 1990 classic, which made little McCauley Caulkin into everyone’s favorite pint-sized holiday prankster? Methinks not. And stick around: It’s followed by its sequel, Home Alone 2 (3:25 p.m., Freeform).

Merry ‘80s Marathon
Time travel back to a decade of yore with this slate of classics, including National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (above), Ghostbusters and The Great Outdoors (AMC).

SUNDAY, Dec. 8
Miss Scarlet
Victorian England’s first female detective (Kate Phillips from Peaky Blinders) gets a new start for the show’s fifth season with a new “boss” in Scotland Yard (PBS Masterpiece Prime).

The Equalizer
In tonight’s holiday-themed episode, “Slay Ride” (above), McCall, Dante and Miles find themselves held hostage in a hospital that’s been taken over by a cartel (8:30 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Dec. 9
The Simpsons Funday Football
Monday Night Football transforms in this TV special—using state-of-the-art 3D animation—into the world of TV’s most successful primetime family as the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Dallas Cowboys (8 p.m., ESPN, Disney+ and ABC).

The Real Full Monty
Anthony Anderson rallies his male celebrity friends in this TV event to drop trou, “bare it all” and raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer (8 p.m., Fox).

TUESDAY, Dec. 10
Dr. Suess How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Another modern-day Christmas classic, this 2000 remake of the animated 1960s classic was directed by Ron Howard (yes, that Ron Howard) and featured Jim Carrey as the Grinch. Watch for Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, Molly Shannon…and Howard’s younger brother, Clint (8.30 p.m., Freeform).

Nature of the Crime
Get an inside look at the working of the criminal justice system in this documentary, which follows two men convicted of murder when they were teens, their attorneys and their family members as they prepare for upcoming parole interviews and reflect on their crimes and rehabilitation (HBO).

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11
A Motown Christmas
Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey (above) host this all-star musical event with Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Andra Day, Pentatonix, Jamie Foxx, the cast of MJ the Musical and more, singing holiday favorites. Dig it! (9 p.m., NBC).12.12

Too Many Christmases
How can a couple spend Christmas with both their families in an attempt to please everyone? You’ll find out in this merry holiday dramady starring Denzel Whitaker and Porscha Coleman (Bet+).

Paris & Nicole: The Encore
Two decades after making the scene with their reality-TV series, heiresses Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie return with a new TV special, this time trying to produce an operetta. Yes, you read that correctly (Peacock).

NOW HEAR THIS

Get in the happy holiday mood with Hartfelt Family Christmas, the new CD from the country trio Chapel Hart (and also available on vinyl). The Mississippi-based vocal group—sisters Danica and Devynn Hart, plus cousin Trea Swindle—certainly know about family, and their first Christmas CD stirs up sweet and soulful memories with Yule classics (including “Silver Bells,” “Blue Christmas,” “O Holy Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”), well-chosen covers (Alabama’s “Christmas in Dixie,” Ray Charles’ “Spirit of Christmas”) and all-star guests including Vince Gill, Darius Rucker, Gretchen Wilson and T. Graham Brown. It’s an all-star Christmas get-together with “hart” and harmony. https://www.chapelhart.com/shop

BRING IT HOME

If you grew up in the early ‘80s, you no doubt remember Rock ‘N’ Roll High School, a rip-roaring B-movie about a rockin’ revolt at a high school, starring P.J. Soles (the “bad girl” from Halloween) and Clint Howard (Ron’s little brother) and featuring the music of The Ramones, who sing the theme song. The 1979 flick has been newly remastered for is 45th anniversary with a locker full of special content, including commentary, interviews and making-of features (shoutfactory.com).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Paul McCartney has never rested on his Beatles laurels, as The McCartney Legacy Vol. 2 1974-1980 (Dey Street) shows how his post-Beatles adventures included the release of four solo albums, dabbling in music publishing, experimenting as a science fiction writer and filmmaker, recording in Nashville and smuggling cannabis past authority figures…with mixed success. This well-researched exploration of Mac’s exceptionally creative period is a snapshot of a rollicking life after being in the world’s most famous band—and some scars from the group’s breakup that would never be completely healed.

How did live music ever make it onto wax records, then magnetic tape and plastic, and finally into microscopic digital “codes”? It’s all spelled out in Into the Into the Groove: The Story of Sound From Tin Foil to Vinyl (Bloomsbury). Author and avid vinyl collector Jonathan Scott traces the history of recorded sound…including how, for many music lovers, it all came back around to vinyl! And believe it or not, it all started on paper!

Nov 22 2024
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Books, DVDs, Humor, Movies, Music, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 22 – Nov. 28

A Patsy Cline re-do, classic Beatles reissues, and a Jack Black Christmas flick!

The music of Patsy Cline gets funneled through a new generation of performers.

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Nov. 22
Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight
Wynonna, Kristin Chenoweth, Kellie Pickler, Mickey Guyton, Grace Potter, Pat Benatar, actress Beverly D’Angelo and more pay homage to the late country music trailblazer (above) and her songs, including “Sweet Dreams,” “She’s Got You” and “Crazy” (9 p.m., PBS).

Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny
The Grammy-nominated comedian gives “the skinny” on appetite suppressants, raising teens and more in his first comedy special for the streaming platform (Hulu).

The Witches
What did early American women accused of witchcraft have to do with postpartum mental health? This new documentary films explores the connection with interviews from medical professionals, historians and contemporary females (Mubi).

SATURDAY, Nov. 23
Three Wiser Men and a Boy
Christmastime tale of brotherhood, a high school musical and a mom with a new boyfriend (8 p.m, Hallmark)

Die Hard
Is this 1998 Bruce Willis action flick (above) a “Christmas movie” or not? You’ve got another chance to see for yourself tonight, yippie kia yi yay! With Alan Rickman as a deliciously bad bad guy (8 p.m., TNT).

SUNDAY, Nov. 24
Expedition Files
Host Josh Gates travels through history searching for new evidence and answers to unexplained mysteries (9 p.m., Discovery).

Dear Santa: The Series
Meet the real-life “Santas” in the five episodes of this new holiday series about the people who actually answer kids’ letters to Santa Claus (ABC).

A Very Merry MeTV
Get in the Thanksgiving mood with a day of Turkey Day-themed episodes of Happy Days, The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island (below), The Love Boat and more (starts 11 a.m., MeTV).

MONDAY, Nov. 25
Get Millie Black
A Jamaica-born Scotland Yard detective (Tamara Lawrence) digs into missing-person cases in this new series from the UK (9 p.m., HBO).

Tsunami: Race Against Time
Four-part series uses first-person testimony and never-seen-before footage to re-examine the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean event that took over a quarter-million lives (9 p.m., NatGeo).

Dear Santa
Jack Black stars in this new Christmas comedy (above) as “Satan,” a trickster who shows up to create holiday havoc when a young boy (Robert Timothy Smith) sends his wish list to the North Pole…but with a crucial spelling error. The movie’s from the Farrelly Brothers, of Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and Shallow Hal, so get ready for some major yuks (Paramount+).

TUESDAY, Nov. 26
It’s in the Game: Madden NFL
New series tells the story of one of the most popular and successful videogames of all time, its rise to greatness and its enduring pace in pop culture (Prime).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27
Countdown to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Wendi McLeodon-Covey hosts this sneak peek at the floats, balloons and bands that will be on display tomorrow in downtown New York City (8 p.m., NBC).

The Untold Story of Mary Poppins
This special edition of 20/20 comes at the 60th anniversary of the Disney classic starring Julie Andrews as England’s most famous magical nanny and Dick Van Dyke as a merry-chap chimneysweep (9 p.m., ABC).

THURSDAY, Nov. 28
Sweethearts
Two college freshmen (Nico Hiraga and Kiernan Shipka) make a pact to break up with their high school sweethearts over the Thanksgiving break…but things take more crazy turns that a wild turkey (Max).

The Day Before Christmas
When two parents accidentally swap their kids’ backpacks and their phones, it leads to a chaotic, heartwarming holiday mix-up…and some unexpected romance (BET+).

Blue Bloods: Celebrating a Family Legacy
ET’s Nischelle Turner hosts this hour-long special includes series highlights and interviews with the stars and guests on the popular series, including a rare look inside the show’s recurring dinner scene, above (9 p.m., CBS).

NOW HEAR THIS

Christmas comes early for Beatles fans with this gollywhopper of a boxed set—all seven of the band’s albums compiled for U.S. release during the early days of Beatlemania, remastered anew into new analog mono, just as the originals. (As fans know, the U.S. albums were slightly different from the original British releases, sometimes with different artwork and tracks not always on their U.K. predecessors.) With The Beatles: 1964 U.S. Albums in Mono (Capitol), you’ll get Meet the Beatles, The Beatles’ Second Album, A Hard Day’s Night, Something New, The Beatles’ Story, Beatles ’65 and The Early Beatles, plus new artwork inserts, sleeve graphics and essays by Beatles historian Brian Spizer.

And if your tastes are for something a little more Southern, check out the groovy gravy of the Allman Brothers’ Final Concert 10-28-14 (Peach Records), the iconic Southern Rock ensemble’s “end of the road” concert event, staged at New York City’s Beacon Theater in 2014. It’s 30 songs drawn from six Allman Brothers albums, orchestrated by the band’s most recent lineup led by Warren Haynes.

11.20

BRING IT HOME

If you missed it back in 2016 at the theatres, now can snag this collector’s re-release edition of Hush (Shout! Factory) starring scream queen Kate Siegel as a deaf-mute writer fighting a serial killer who invades her solitary life in the woods. It’s a fan-favorite slasher flick that was remade—twice—in India!

Movie fans will freak out with Alfred Hitchcock: The Iconic Film Collection (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), a superb remastered 4K collection of six of the acclaimed director’s groundbreaking classics, including Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo and The Birds. Plus, a cool collectible book!

DC Comics’ fan-favorite vigilante crime-fighting group returns in Watchmen Chapter II (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the latest movie installment of their animated adventures, featuring a cast of voices led by Matthew Rhys, Titus Weliver and Katee Sackhoff.

Once upon a time, back in the early ‘70s, John Lennon and Yoko Ono “took over” America’s most popular daytime talk show. Find out all about it Daytime Revolution (Kino Larber), the new documentary about the superstar Beatle and his wife “hosted” The Mike Douglas Show for a full week, filling the studio (and the airwaves) with controversial guests (Black Panther Bobby Seale, political activist Ralph Nader, edgy comedian George Carlin) and rockiin’ the house with some not-ready-for-daytime music.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Calling the Shots: A Queer History of Photography (Thames & Hudson) is an eye-opening look at nearly two centuries of LGBTQ+ imagery and subjects illustrating homosexual and pansexual representation in the arts, on the streets and in the world at large. Hey! There’s Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, David Bowie, activist Angela Davis, rocker Patti Smith, Judy Garland, singer Dusty Springfield, Queen’s Freddie Mercury, Billie Holiday and Truman Capote! 

Are you “addicted” to shopping? Author Emily Mester takes on consumerism in American Bulk (W.W. Norton), a series of thought-provoking essays about excess and how it shapes our character, our sense of self and our connections to others. It’s a first-person narrative about our endless cycle of wanting, buying, consuming—and often discarding—all sorts of things and how it can still somehow leave us feeling empty inside. 

Find out about the making of the fan-favorite sitcom Parks & Recreation by Jim O’Heir (who played Jerry Gergich), who gives a firsthand account of working alongside the top-notch cast in Welcome to Pawnee (William Morrow) and how it became a beloved pop-cultural fan favorite. Includes 60 color pics, plus interviews with Chris Pratt, Rob Lowe, Retta and the show’s co-creators.

It’s almost like being there in Midnight Moment (Phaedon), a unique photographic chronicle of watching artwork unfold in Times Square up on the gigantic electronic billboards. Learn how it’s done and see the work of more than a hundred artists who’ve been featured on one of New York City’s most iconic displays.

Magic, sleight of hand and carefully crafted and controlled illusions have been around since almost the beginning of time, so they’ve certainly made many appearances (and disappearances!) on film. In Magic and Illusion in the Movies (McFarland), author George Higham provides a thorough history of the technology, special effects, diversion and trickery (in projects as wide as early horror flicks, The Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo cartoons, The Sting and Spider-Man) that have been created to fool our eyes.

Nov 01 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 1 – Nov. 7

Classic Disney, movie remakes, box office flops, a Dunder Mifflin Christmas & oh, yeah…election night!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Nov. 1
Freedom
Lucas Bravo from Emily in Paris stars as a French bandit in the 1970s who stole hearts as well as riches, masterminding dangerous heists without ever firing a shot (Prime).

30 Days of Disney
Kick off a week of programming celebrating Disney animation, kicking off today with The Great Mouse Detective, The Aristocats, Pinocchio (above), Finding Nemo, Finding Dory and Coco (10:30 a.m., Freeform).

SATURDAY, Nov. 2
Wine, Women & Dementia
An intimate look in the personal side of dementia through the lives of caregivers (check local listings, PBS).

United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief
The stars—including the Backstreet Boys, Billy Bob Thornton, Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini and Stephen Colbert—come out for this hour-long TV special to raise fund for hurricane relief (8 p.m., CBS and CMT, plus Paramount+ with Showtime).

SUNDAY, Nov. 3
Like Water for Chocolate
New adaptation of the iconic novel—about a lovestruck woman who channels her deepest desires into recipes—stars Irene Azuela and Azul Guaita (above). It was previously made into an acclaimed film in 1992 (HBO).

Holiday Wars
Host Jeff Maura oversees the competition as chefs work to out-do each other with over-the-top holiday-themed confections (9 p.m., Food Network).

Motorcycle Mary
Find out about the woman who became a motorcycle racing legend, with a career spanning 30 years and shattering gender norms (2 p.m., ESPN).

MONDAY, Nov. 4
Holiday Baking Championship
‘Tis the season…for a new season of bakers showing their seasonal stuff to judges Carla Hall, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller, and hoping to bag the show’s $25,000 grand prize (8 p.m., Food Network).

Inspector Ellis
Sharon D. Clark stars in this new detective drama series (above) from Great Britain about a Black female cop on a new station assignment, trying to win over her coworkers and crack open the case she came there to solve (Acorn TV).

TUESDAY, Nov. 5
Presidential Election Coverage
Pick a network, pick a channel. Chances are you’ll get a ringside seat to who’s winning, who’s losing, and what it all might mean (6 p.m., multiple platforms).

Game Changers
If you grew up, well, a couple of decades ago, you love this new series about iconic e-games, including Nintendo, Pac-Man, EA Sports, Call of Duty, Sonic the Hedgehog, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, plus a couple of grand ol’ board games, Scrabble and Monopoly (9 p.m., Discovery).

Nature—San Diego: America’s Wildest City
Find out all about the most biologically diverse municipality in America, located at the geographic intersection of the Mojave Desert, the Pacific Ocean, the Sierra Mountains and the Mexican border—a place where all kinds of wildlife thrives (8 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 6
Feuds Turned Fatal
Retaliation and revenge unfold as friendships take furious turns. Both sides share their versions of what went south, from mouthy disagreements to murder (10 p.m., ID).

THURSDAY, Nov. 7
Rebus
Outlander’s Richard Rankin leads the cast of this BBC crime thriller series as a younger version of the iconic detective John Rebus from the detective novels of Scottish writer Sir Ian Rankin, as he’s drawn in to a violent conflict that becomes personal (Viaplay US).

The Day of the Jackal
Eddie Redmayne (above) stars as an elusive lone assassin tracked by a tenacious British Intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch) in a thrilling cat-and-mouse game across Europe (Sky, on Peacock Nov. 17).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Everyone remembers the big hits, the box-office gold, the award winners. But now let’s hear it for the fabulous flops! In Box Office Poison (Harper Collins), author Tim Robey runs down 100 years of cinematic tankers; they might have been clunkers as popcorn fare but (some, at least) are now considered cult classics—like Freaks, Rollerball, Doctor Dolittle, The Hudsucker Proxy and Cats. Three cheers for these loveable losers!

Fans of TV’s The Office will love The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin (Mariner Hardcover), which re-imagines the classic Christmas tale as a children’s story with characters from the iconic show, including Michael Scott as Santa and Rainn Wilson as a beet-loving elf!

BRING IT HOME

Auntie Em! Auntie Em! The Wizard of Oz turns 85 this month, and this new commemorative 4K Ultra HD collection from Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment includes memorabilia reproduced from the classic film’s original posters, tickets and lobby cards. Plus a making-of doc, deleted scenes and much more. Like the tornado that took Dorthy to Oz, it’ll blow you away!

Director M. Night Shayamalan’s Trap is a twisty tale that stars Josh Harnett as a dad who takes his daughter to a pop concert (shades of Taylor Swift), then finds out he’s at the center of a deadly chain of events involving a serial killer on the loose. Former Disney child star Hayley Mills plays the FBI profiler trying to catch the killer, and the director’s daughter, Saleka, makes her movie debut as the pop star. Full of surprises, it comes with a making-of documentary and deleted scenes.

Strange things start to happen in Blink Twice (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) when a cocktail waitress (Naomi Ackie) meets a guy (Channing Tatum) and agrees to visit him on his private island for a party. With Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Kyle MacLachlan, Geena Davis and Haley Joel Osment.

Hey, weren’t the ‘80s awesome? In 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever (MVD) a host of Hollywood insiders (actors, directors, movie critics and more) run down the year’s top movies, music and pop culture with clips and commentary. It’s a gnarly hop down memory lane for anyone who lived it—or wished they did!

NOW HEAR THIS

Groove to the sounds of the King of Cool with Dean Martin’s Great Hits (Columbia), newly compiled and released on vinyl—just like they were originally! You’ll hear Dean-o crooning 13 of his classics, including “That’s Amore,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” “Volare” and “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You.” Fire up the turntable, pour yourself a cocktail, and dig it!

And take another trip down memory lane with the new release of The Carpenters’ Christmas Once More (Universal), cherry-picked from the brother-sister duo’s original holiday album releases in 1978 and 1984. The 16 tracks include “Sleigh Ride,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Ava Maria.”

Sep 06 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

Sept. 6 – Sept. 12

Inside TV’s most famous mob family, Mormon wife hotties & the new “Money Game” of college athetics

All times Eastern.

Go inside ‘The Sopranos’ and its creator, David Chase, Saturday on HBO.

FRIDAY, Sept. 6
The Boy and the Heron
The Oscar-winning animated film begins streaming tonight, about a young man who loses his mother in a hospital fire then meets a mysterious bird (Max).

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Controversial reality show—about a swingin’ bunch of Mormon hottie wives (below) and social media “influencers”—was making waves long before it headed to the airwaves. See what all the fuss was about tonight! (Hulu)

SATURDAY, Sept. 7
Held Hostage in My House
Formerly known as Blunt, this psychological thriller—about a single mom entrapped in her vacation home—stars Amy Smart, Matt Davis, Billy Zane and Ne-Yo. Can she discover who’s holding her hostage, and why? (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos
How did David Chase come to create one of the most culturally impactful TV shows of all time? This two-part doc delves into the man behind the media-sensation mobsters and the real stories that inspired the show (8 p.m., HBO).

SUNDAY, Sept. 8
Universal Basic Guys
Mark and Hank try to reconnect with their primal roots by purchasing a heat-seeking crossbow to hunt deer, kicking off a new season of the adult animated comedy (on Fox following the NFL double-header).

The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood
Four-part docuseries delves into the twisted tale one of Hollywood’s most famous murder cases—a sordid story of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll from 1981 that inspired the movie Boogie Nights (MGM+).

MONDAY, Sept. 9
Name Me Lawand
A young man deaf since birth seeks a fresh start with his new family in the U.K. after a year in a refugee camp in this touching documentary about the power of friendship and community (10 p.m., PBS).

Flip Side
Jaleel (“Urkle”) White hosts this new game show with teams trying to guess how different groups of people have answered the same questions (syndicated, CBS).

TUESDAY, Sept. 10
The Chicken Sisters
Cluck cluck! New family drama (above) on Hallmark’s new streaming service is dipped in Southern charm with a saucy side of romance! With Lea Thompson, Wendie Malick and Schuyler Fisk (Hallmark+).

The Money Game
How is the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) ruling—which allows college athletes to be paid for endorsements and advertising—revolutionizing sports? This doc focuses on Louisiana State University and the big-bucks players there who’ve become young millionaires (Prime Video).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11
John Legend: Live from the Artists Den
The award-winning R&B singer and songwriter performs at Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church, with powerful renditions of “All of Me,” “Glory” and more (10 p.m., AXIS).

THURSDAY, Sept. 12
The Taylor of Sin City
True-crime docuseries follows the tale of a gifted tailor who built a drug and fashion empire in Las Vegas with the help of the Mob and a South American cocaine kingpin (10 p.m., Sundance TV). 

The Old Man
Jeff Bridges returns to season two of the series about a former FBI agent, tonight setting off on an adventure to recover a kidnapped girl with a mysterious past. With John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat (10 p.m., FX).

BRING IT HOME

Get ready for some outrageously funny stuff with this Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), a one-man show recorded live onstage at the Hollywood Palladium in the early 1980s, when he was hot stuff in Hollywood with movies including The Toy, Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.

What’s the highest-grossing animated film of all time? It’s Inside Out 2, and now you can own it on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD! This new home-entertainment release comes with multiple mini-features, including scenes that didn’t make the movie (which features voices by Amy Poelher, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri and Tony Hale), and a making-of doc about creating the movie’s “new” emotions of Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui (Disney Home Entertainment).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

In the handsome Man Ray: Liberating Photography (Thames & Hudson), you’ll see the remarkable photos by the camera artist—including his groundbreaking, experimental and avant-garde work in the 1920s and ‘30s for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair—who introduced new ways of thinking about the visual world.

It sounds like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but in Robin George Andrews’ How to Kill an Asteroid (W.W. Norton), you’ll find out how real-life scientists have been working on real-world solutions—like “deflection campaigns”—to defend against what could very possibly turn out to the Earth’s greatest threat from the cosmos. It’s engaging, eye-opening reading…and a reason to keep your eyes on the skies!

Louis Stettner (Thames & Hudson) chronicles the wide-ranging work of the New York-born master photographer, acclaimed for his portraits, streetscapes and hustle and bustle of life in the Big Apple and Paris. Learn how Stettner, who began roaming the streets as a preteen with a camera, became one of the most influential lensmen of the 20th century, finding the beauty and sensuality of everyday things and people. 

Aug 30 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

Aug. 30 – Sept. 5

Kevin Hart’s ‘Fight Night,’ Glenn Close’s portal to hell & all about K-Pop!

Kevin Hart goes back to the ’70s in a true tale of an armed robbery…and Muhammad Ali!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, Aug. 30
Crossing
Powerful and potent story of queer identity follows a retired European teacher and her young neighbor crossing the border into Turkey to search for her transgender niece. From Swedish director Levan Akin (Mubi).

K-Pop Idols
Looking to learn more about the musical phenomenon known as K-Pop? This New documentary series will take you inside the music and its top artists—like Jessi Ho (below). AppleTV+

The Deliverance
Based on a true story, a struggling single mother (Andra Day) is convinced her new home is a portal to hell in this spooky new horror-thriller from director Lee Daniels. Come for the exorcism, stay for Glenn Close and Monique (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Aug. 31
Head Over Heels
A shoe designer (Rebecca Dalton) gets a swell new job, but gets swept off her feet by the her company’s PR guru (Olivier Renaud) and warned she’ll need heels of steel to compete with her trailblazing icon (Alexandra Castillo) (8 p.m., Hallmark)

SUNDAY, Sept. 1
The Chosen
Tonight launches season four of the Biblical drama series, which presents the life of Jesus against the backdrop of Roman oppression (8 p.m.,The CW).

MONDAY, Sept. 2
The English Teacher
New comedy series stars Brian Jordan Alvarez as a high school teacher in Texas navigating friends, relationships, faculty snafus and wisecracking students (10 p.m, FX).

The Chicano Squad
Two-night documentary tells the first-hand story of the first all-Latino homicide unit (above) within the police department of Houston, Texas, dedicated to tackling the city’s soaring rate of unsolved homicides in the Latin community (9 p.m., A&E).

TUESDAY, Sept 3
Cody Gakpo
Soccer fans will get a kick (that’s a pun, get it?) from this doc about the Euro Cup superstar (Viaplay).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 4
Slow Horses
Gary Oldman returns to season four of the espionage drama as the misanthropic leader of a dysfunctional team of British spies (Apple TV+).

Tell Me Lies
In season two, Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White) return to college, finding themselves in a new version of their old addictive dynamic, below (Hulu).

THURSDAY, Sept. 5
Fight Night
Follow the infamous story (based on a real incident) about an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta. The all-star cast includes Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle (Peacock).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

What’s the future of photography look like? Class of 2024 showcases the work of 10 young students, offering engaging and adventurous looks at the world through the eyes of recent graduates of the esteemed Savannah College of Art & Design (W.W. Norton).

In America’s Deadliest Election (Hanover Square Press), CNN anchor Dana Bash recounts an extraordinary contested-election event—and it’s probably not one that comes readily to mind. It’s the 1872 Louisiana gubernatorial race that changed the course of America politics and tested the foundations of America democracy.

BRING IT HOME

The acclaimed TV series Call My Agent!, which you may have seen on Netflix, gets a dandy do-up in this roundup of the complete series. It’s all four seasons, with French actors playing themselves (plus some American guest stars for good measure) in a grande spoof of the entertainment biz. 

Jun 14 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

June 14 – June 20

Get to know Poison’s Bret Michaels, go house-hunting with Reese Witherspoon, & hold on to your car when you visit Las Vegas!

Find all about Bret Michaels of the band Poison in this week’s episode of ‘Biography.’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, June 14
The Boys
The “boys” are back for season four of the satirical superhero series, dishing out more wallops of vigilante justice to so-called do-gooders doing bad things (Prime Video).

Mama June: Family Crisis
Who would have thought Honey Boo Boo would have such a lasting cultural impact? New episodes of the spinoff, about Boo Boo’s mother, spin around issues of declining health, college and legal woes, below (9 p.m., WE tv).

SATURDAY, June 15
Find My Country House
Leave the city life behind in this new series from Reese Witherspoon’s production company, in which couples search for their dreams of rural paradise, from high-tech farmhouses to seclued ranches and cute hideaway cottages (12 p.m., A&E).

Yoga Teacher Killer: The Kaitlin Armstrong Story
A love triangle turns deadly and leads to a manhunt in this real-life drama starring Caity Lotz, Kyle Schmid and Larissa Dias (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, June 16
Biography
Get a backstage pass into the lives and music of some of rock’s biggest superstars in this new series of specials kicked off tonight by Bret Michaels, and followed in coming weeks by Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, Sammy Hagar and more (9 p.m., A&E).

House of the Dragon
Season two begins of the Game of Thrones spinoff series (below), a prequel taking place 200 years earlier, starring Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy and Rhys Ifans (9 p.m., HBO).

Sin City Tow
If you park your car while you party in Las Vegas but lose track of time, Sin City Tow may take it away. This new reality series looks at the often hot-tempered towing scene in a city where people go to win big, but usually end up losing their shirts…or their cars! (9 p.m., Discovery).

MONDAY, June 17
My Life is Murder
Lucy Lawless returns for season four as the fearless Aussie investigator Alexa Crowe as she digs into eight new mysteries and a fresh batch of diabolical killers (Acorn TV).

The Great American Recipe
Home cooks from across the country showcase their culinary talents as they compete in this taste-tempting celebration of multiculturism (9 p.m., PBS).

Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown
How did the idealistic religious organization led by the infamous Jim Jones go horribly wrong, leaving almost a thousand followers dead in Guyana? This new doc looks at the story behind some of the most horrendous headlines of the 1970s (Hulu).

TUESDAY, June 18
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
Three-part docuseries puts the spotlight on disco music, its groovy beginnings and its top artists and icons—like Donna Summer, below— and how it became a major musical liberation movement in the 1970s representing female empowerment and LGBTQ+ identity (9 p.m., PBS).

Here to Climb
Follow pro climber Sasha DiGiulian (below) on her rise from child prodigy to champion sport climber, scaling the biggest, scariest walls on the planet—charting her own vertical course where pathways don’t exist (9 p.m., HBO).

Hope in the Water
Travel the globe in this documentary featuring Shailene Woodley and Martha Stewart as they explore creative solutions and breakthroughs that might be our future of sustainable “blue food” from the oceans (9 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, June 19
Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics
Two-hour documentary showcases Owens’ historic triumph over Nazi Germany during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. LeBron James is one of the producers (8 p.m., History).

Dynamic Planet
Four-part series filmed over three years explores the effects of climate change on all seven continents and their inhabitants, and how science, nature, and Indigenous knowledge can prepare us for the future (8 p.m., PBS)

THURSDAY, June 20
Rear Window
Director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic—about an apartment resident with a broken leg who helplessly witnesses what he thinks is a murder out his window—stars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly…and Raymond Burr as a very bad guy (9 p.m., TCM).

Slave Play. Not a Movie
Provocative documentary takes viewers inside the buzzy Broadway play about race, sex and interracial relationships (9 p.m., HBO).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with volcanos—mountains that spewed rocks and fire. My interest was generated primarily by seeing them in the background of illustrations of dinosaurs. Adventures in Volcanoland (Hanover Square Press) is a deeper, far much more fascinating and fact-filled look at these monstrously magnificent mountains, with acclaimed geochemist Dr. Tasmin Mather as your guide to volcanos in history, the science of eruptions, and how volcanos drive our planet’s “constant cycles of ebb and flow, destruction and renewal.”

So you think you know Paris? Not the international Euro destination city, but the Hilton Hotel heiress who became a pop-culture marquee name? Find out all about the life and times of Paris Hilton in Paris: The Memoir (William Morrow), her autobio now in paperback. From rebellious teen to wilderness camps and sexual abuse, and becoming a queen of celebrity culture, I’m betting there’s a lot you didn’t know about Paris.

Sci-fi lovers will love The First Geeks (McFarland) and its spotlight on the lives and careers of writer Ray Bradbury, monster-mag man Forrest J. Ackerman and effects genius Ray Harryhausen, back from when they were comic-book nerds and buddies in the 1930s…and long before they were household names in filmdom. Ackerman became the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland; Bradbury was an author highly sought by Hollywood for his novels and screenplays; and Harryhausen went on to become a pioneer of stop-motion animation.

BRING IT HOME

Jeffrey Wright was nominated for multiple awards, including an Oscar, for his starring role in American Fiction as an erudite Black man who confronts racist stereotypes head-on, with a pen instead of a sword. With Tracee Ellis Ross, Leslie Uggams, Issa Rae and Sterling K. Brown. Highly recommended!

Up your nose with a rubber hose! Relive all the heartwarming humor and hijinks of the beloved 1970s sitcom series Welcome Back, Kotter, starring Gabe Kaplan as a grownup graduate of a tough Brooklyn high school now returning to teach there and tame an unruly class of troublemakers, including a young John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino. The handsome boxed set of DVDs includes all 95 episodes.

May 24 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

May 24 – May 30

Lainey Wilson’s ‘Bell Bottom Country,’ JoLo hunts a robot & cowboy stars saddle up

All times Eastern.

ABC’s Robin Roberts spotlights Lainey Wilson in a new documentary special.

FRIDAY, May 24
Atlas
Jennifer Lopez goes on the hunt for a renegade robot in this futuristic sci-fi thriller with a timely theme about artificial intelligence (Netflix). 

Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter
Series features ensembles of actors from TV shows and films (including Abbott Elementary, Fargo, Saturday Night Live, Frasier) delving into issues affecting the entertainment industry and their livelihoods, filmed on location in Hollywood’s Georgian Hotel (AMC+).

SATURDAY, May 25
Gaga Chromatica Ball
Concert special features the 13-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter and Oscar winner Lady Gaga performing at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium during her 2022 tour (8 p.m., HBO).

SUNDAY, May 26
The Dirty Dozen
Your afternoon matinee movie can be this 1967 all-star combat classic, with Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, former NFL great Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas as a motley crew of military misfits trained as commandos for a suicide mission ahead of the Allied landing at Normandy (2:15 p.m., TCM).

MONDAY, May 27
Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter
On the heels of Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV comes this new docuseries diving into the accusations of rape and sexual assault, and other controversies swirling around the ill-fated brothers after falling from the spotlight as pop stars (9 p.m., ID).

The Truth
Israeli courtroom drama opens the day after a controversial murder case is about to reach its final verdict…and an identical murder takes place (Acorn TV).

Memorial Day Western Marathon
Saddle up for a full day of Wild Western action with Hollywood honchos including John Wayne (Stagecoach), Burt Lancaster (The Rainmaker), Willie Nelson (Red Headed Stranger), Robert Mitchum (El Dorado), Kenny Rogers (The Gambler) and Gary Cooper (High Noon). Begins 8 a.m., HDNet). 

John Wayne and Robert Mitchum share the stage(coach) in ‘El Dorado.’

TUESDAY, May 28
Fiennes Return to the Wild
Dubbed the world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Randolph Fiennes and his cousin (actor Joseph Fiennes) embark on a colorful journey through Canada’s British Columbia, sharing adventure and strengthening their family bond (10 p.m. National Geographic).

WEDNESDAY, May 29
Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country
How did a young woman from a rural farming town become one of the hottest singers in country music, a three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and a Grammy winner? Find out in this primetime special produced by GMA’s Robin Roberts (Hulu).

THURSDAY, May 30
We Are Lady Parts
The season two adventures (above) of a Muslim female punk band in the UK, created, written and directed by Nida Manzoor and inspired by her own musical childhood (Peacock).

Die Hart II
Comedian Kevin Hart returns in this sequel, playing a fictional version of himself as he tries to firm up his legacy as the greatest action star of all time with a revolutionary new movie (Prime Video).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

In Life’s Too Short (Harper Collins), singer/songwriter Darius Rucker tells his life story through more than 20 songs (by artists as varied as Frank Sinatra and KISS) that made him and shaped his as he became the front man of Hootie the Blowfish and later, a hitmaking country music performer—and the first Black country artist to crack into the business in decades.

Get high with The Art of Climbing (WWNorton), a dazzling photographic collection of photographs by Simon Carter of the world’s greatest rock- and mountain-climbing spots, and the world-class climbers who risk life and limb to conquer them. You can see what’s it like to be a fearless daredevil from the comfort (and relative safety) of your armchair!

BRING IT HOME

Johnny Depp leads the cast of director John Waters’ Cry Baby (Kino Lorber), the 1990 cult classic now getting its first release as a newly restored 4K version. It’s a rockin’ tale about a rich beautiful “square (Amy Locane) who falls for an irresistible juvenile delinquent (Depp) in the 1950s. With new bonus features, like commentary and behind the scenes featurettes—including Traci Lords, who was then making her transition from porn to mainstream cinema.

May 10 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

May 10 – May 16

A ‘Partridge Family’ marathon, worlds collide for ‘Young Sheldon’ & Peyton Manning spotlights female hoopsters

Watch a marathon of ‘The Partridge Family’…and one of TV’s coolest moms!

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, May 10
The Chi
The sixth season’s second half of the hit series begins tonight unfolds tonight, with the continuing saga about life in a dangerous neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side (Paramount+ with Showtime).

The Iron Claw
Acclaimed feature film about pro wrestling’s famous (and famously ill-fated) Von Erich family stars a beefed-up Zach Efron (below), plus Jeremy Allen White (from The Bear), Maura Tierney and Lily James, who swaps her British accent for a Texas twang (Max).

SATURDAY, May 11
The Partridge Family Mother’s Day Marathon
C’mon, get happy! And celebrate TV’s greatest pop-star mom (Shirley Jones as Shirley Partridge) with 16 classic episodes of the iconic musical sitcom of yesteryear, with guest appearances by Johnny Cash, Farrah Fawcett, Dick Clark, Mark Hamill and Jacyln Smith! (1 p.m., AXS).

Full Court Press
College-bound basketball queen Caitlin Clark (below) is among the hot hoopsters featured in this series produced by Peyton Manning and profiling women’s b-ball superstars (1 p.m., ABC).

Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die
The comedian/actress fearlessly digs into a wide range of topics in this special recorded in Seattle, Wash., including why she doesn’t want kids, the realities of getting older and her plans for her death (10 p.m., HBO). 

SUNDAY, May 12
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire
It doesn’t have Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks (who starred in the 1994 movie version), but season two of the fan-favorite hit streaming series (about an ancient vampire recounting his life story to a journalist) begins tonight, with Jacob Anderson and Delainey Hayles (AMC+).

Time100: The World’s Most Interesting People
Coverage of last month’s live gala honoring Dua Lipa, Taraji P. Henson, NFL QB Patrick Mahomes, Kylie Minougue, Michael J. Fox and more industry-spanning individuals honored by the venerable weekly publication (10 p.m., ABC).

MONDAY, May 13
Summer Baking Championship
Jesse Palmer hosts as bakers from around the world heat up the kitchen to prove their talents in summer-travel themed challenges, from tropical fruit to beach vacations (8 p.m., Food).

After the Flood
British thriller series set in a small town hit by a devastating deluge, exposing secrets and putting fortunes and reputations at stake. Starring Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Russell (below, on BritBox).

TUESDAY, May 13
Pillowcase Murders
Three-night series sheds new light on the serial killer who preyed upon one of America’s most vulnerable populations—senior citizens in retirement communities (Paramount+).

WEDNESDAY, May 15
In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin
Joined by his trained-chef niece Renee Guilbault, the actor welcomes celebrity guests (Ted Danson! Mary Steenburgen! Bobby Miynihan! Ed Begley Jr.!) to share favorite recipes, offer kitchen tips and set the table for some elegant Hollywood-worthy dinners (11 p.m., AMC+ and IFC).

Secrets in Your Data
Are you worried about how much info about you—name, address, phone number, workplace, family—is available online? This eye-opening doc reveals how easily our privacy is compromised and how we can better maintain it (9 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, May 16
Bridgerton
Season three of the hit Shondaland period drama dresses up new plotlines for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and other characters with complicated lives in London’s high society (Netflix).

Young Sheldon
Worlds collide! Jim Parsons and Mayam Bialik reprise their roles from The Big Bang Theory on tonight’s finale about the young(er) life of brainiac Sheldon Cooper (above, 8 p.m., CBS).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Ol’ Scratch has been around for centuries, but now journalist Randall Sullivan takes a new look at the figure of the Devil, and how humankind has “used” the satanic figure to help embody crime, violence and otherwise inexplicable unpleasantries. Engrossing, fascinating and full of detail, The Devil’s Best Trick (Grove Atlantic) is an eye-opening descent in the historical, religious and cultural concepts that have been funneled into our dark fascination with the Big D.

Tom Selleck tells all in You Never Know (Dey Street), in which the iconic TV and movie star relates his entertaining, engaging story of growing up, coming to Hollywood, finding superstar success and making friends with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Carol Burnett. How did he put his career on the line for Magnum P.I.? Or walk away from a show that could have easily continued for years to come? It’s all here, and more!

The movie industry has often portrayed motherhood as scary, and sometimes crazy, from Mommy Dearest and Carrie to Rosemary’s Baby and Hereditary, and beyond. In Hollywood’s Monstrous Moms (McFarland), author Kassia Krone turns a keen academic eye to a wide range of real-world mental illness, their depiction in the movies across time, how serious psychological disorders and disabilities often became horrifying film stereotypes.

BRING IT HOME


The gigantic sandworms are back in Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), director Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular looking follow-up to his epic sci-fi 2021 film, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Rebecca Ferguson. And it’s loaded with bonus features, including how the cast learned to ride those massive sandworms!

Apr 05 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

April 5 – April 11

Kelsea gives trophies, Julianne Moore schemes & darkness creeps across America

All times Eastern.

Kelsea Ballerini hosts the CMT Music Awards.

FRIDAY, April 5
Scoop
Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell lead the cast of the dramatized inside story of the explosive BBC television interview with Britain’s Prince Andrew, in which he disastrously tried to defend and distance himself from the Jeffery Epstein sex-trafficking scandal (Netflix).

Mary & George
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine star in this new psychodrama limited series (below) based on the scandalous true story of a treacherous mother and son who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the 17th century Court of England…and the bed of King James I (9 p.m., Starz).

On the Case with Paula Zahn
New season, new cases, including murder mysteries two teen girls in Alabama, a popular DJ’s wife in Atlanta and a U.S. Navy recruit in Florida, plus a love triangle gone very bad (10 p.m., ID).

SATURDAY, April 6
Two For One
New series features 12 nights of double features curated by celebrated Hollywood filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Olivia Wilde and Paul Thomas Anderson, and hosted by TCM’s own Ben Mankiewicz (8 p.m., TCM).

CMT Music Awards
Kelsea Ballerini hosts the ceremony—and is among the top nominees—live from Austin, Texas, with accolades for the top-voted videos and artists in country music (8 p.m., CBS)

SUNDAY, April 7
Collector’s Call
Host Lisa Whelchel returns for season two, spotlighting collectors and their collections celebrating “Weird Al” Yankovic, Star Wars, Pearl Jam, Bozo the Clown, and more pop-culture icons (6:30 p.m., MeTV).

MONDAY, April 8
My Parkinsons
Three individuals navigate their lives with the neurodegenerative disease (10 p.m., PBS).

The First 1,000
Primetime special takes a look inside the TV-verse of NCIS, celebrating the milestone of 1,000 episodes of the wide-ranging worldwide hit franchise (9 p.m., CBS). 

Eclipse Across America
In ancient times, people thought the daytime darkening of a total solar eclipse meant the world was ending. But they didn’t have TV platforms to team up and tell them what was going on, like in this live telecast of the event hosted by David Muir with coverage spanning 10 cities across North America (2 p.m., ABC, National Graphic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Disney+ and Hulu).

26.2 to Life
Documentary about incarcerated men at San Quentin Prison training for a 26.2 marathon. Ready to run, indeed! (9 p.m., ESPN).

TUESDAY, April 9
Brandy Heville & The Cult of Fast Fashion
Documentary uncovers the toxic culture of the clothing brand popular with young girls, and the global ramifications of mass-produced, Instagram-fueled clothing known as “fast fashion” (9 p.m., HBO).

Mud Madness
Get down and dirty with this series (above) that follows the off-road subculture of extreme Big-Tire mud racing and its passionate fans (9 p.m., Discovery).

WEDNESDAY, April 10
The Challenge: All Stars
Former contestants and winners reunite in South Africa for the latest installment of the reality-show competition spinoff of The Real World and Road Rules (Paramount +).

Tryouts
Seven-episode series looks at intense competitions for spots as lifeguards, cheerleading, Monster Truck drivers, women’s fast-pitch softball and dancers (ESPN+).

THURSDAY, April 11
Patti Stanger: The Matchmaker
The relationship guru (the CEO of Millionaire’s Club International) helps looking-for-love people find romance, with the help of The Bachelor’s Nick Vaill (8 p.m., The CW).

Lovers & Liars
New dating competition is built around 24 women and three men on a tropical island and a chance to win $100,000—if the guys can tell the 12 “real” contestant lovers from the “liars” who’ve been “planted” there to deceive them and bring home the big bucks (9 p.m., The CW).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Meet some eye-popping “body artists” and marvel at photos of their masterpieces in Tattoo You (Phaedon), a highly visual collection of contemporary groundbreaking tattoo lovers and doers. With almost 700 photos, it’s an ink-tastitic journey into how an ancient artform continues to evolve at the intersection of art, culture, fashion and self-expression. 

Do you take pics of your cute kitties and adorable doggies? Well, why? In Why We Photograph Animals (Thames & Hudson), naturalist author Huw Lewis-Jones digs into the reasons that our “wildlife” friends are favorite camera fodder…and what our animal pics say about us. Highly recommended for pet lovers of all kinds.

BRING IT HOME

Kathryn Newston and Cole Sprouse star in the wickedly dark comedy Lisa Frankenstein (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment), about a misunderstood high school girl and her crush…who happens to be a handsome corpse. It’s a wink-wink tribute to the teen-slasher movies of the ‘80s with a Gothic movie-monster twist.

Mar 29 2024
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The Entertainment Forecast

March 29 – April 4

All about a “wild and crazy guy,” Ewan McGregor holes up in a hotel & how Julius Caesar became a legendary tyrant

Find out about the wide-ranging career of Steve Martin in the documentary two-parter ‘Steve!’

All times Eastern.

FRIDAY, March 29
Spermworld
Go into the unregulated realm of baby making with this investigative documentary about sperm donors and hopeful parents (10 p.m., FX).

The Beautiful Game
Inspiring tale of a homeless football team advances to compete at the global street soccer championship games in Rome (below). With Bill Nighy and Michael Ward (Netflix).

Steve!
Two-part documentary about comedian actor Steve Martin, chronicling his upbringing, his years of “wild and crazy guy” standup and the esteemed acting icon he’s become today (Apple TV+). 

SATURDAY, March 30
Beyond the Aggressives
New documentary series catches up with the subjects of the original late-90s, early 2000 series about “Aggressives” or “AGs,” a term for Black queer, sexually dominant women (Paramount+)

SUNDAY, March 31

A Gentleman in Moscow
Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (above) star in this eight-episode drama about a Russian count in the aftermath of his country’s revolution who finds himself exiled to a room in an opulent hotel and threatened with death if he ever steps foot outside again (9 p.m., Paramount+).

Parish
Crime thriller stars The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito as a New Orleans businessman drawn back into his former life in organized crime after the murder of his son. With Skeet Ulrich and Bradley Whitford (below left), who digs into his role as a covert crime lord (10 p.m., AMC).

MONDAY, April 1
Vanderpump Villa
Docudrama series follows Lisa Vanderpump and her staff as they live, work and play on an exclusive French estate (Hulu).

IHeart Radio Awards
Justin Timberlake, Green Day, TLC, Jelly Roll, Laney Wilson and many more will perform at this live event honoring the year’s top music-makers—plus a special tribute performance to this year’s Icon Award recipient, Cher (8 p.m., Fox).

TUESDAY, April 2
The Weakest Link
New season of the competition series hosted by Jane Lynch starts tonight, in which contestants must work together to build a “chain” by answering trivia questions (9 p.m., NBC).

Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator
Hail, Caesar! That’s the title of one of my favorite Coen Brothers films, but this new documentary series explores how the nearly-five-centuries old Roman democracy was destroyed and dismantled in less than two decades and turned into a dictatorship—and how Caesar became one of history’s most notorious tyrants (9 p.m., PBS).

Underdog
Documentary about Doug Butler, an aging Vermont dairy farmer with an offbeat passion: dog mushing (Amazon, Apple TV and other streaming platforms).

WEDNESDAY, April 3
A Brief History of the Future
What will tomorrow and beyond look like? This optimistic documentary hosted by “futurist” Ari Wallach offers a fresh, hopeful projection of what we might expect in the decades to come if we can overcome the existential threats we see today (9 p.m., PBS).

Loot
SNL veteran Maya Rudolph (below) stars in (and produces) this snappy workplace comedy about a recent divorcee recovering from her former marriage to a tech billionaire (Apple TV+).

Star Trek: Discovery
Blast off for the final season of the hit series iconic sci-fi spinoff starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp and Mary Wiseman, as the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery once again heads across the universe for one more intergalactic adventure (Paramount+).

THURSDAY, April 4
Ripley
Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley, based on the bestselling novel series by Patricia Highsmith, about a grifter who finds himself in an international swirl of deceit, fraud and murder (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Tired of staying in the same ol’ hotels? Secret Stays (Aussouline) by former Conde Nast Traveler editor Melinda Stevens, transports armchair adventurers to some of the most unique, mostly unknown hotels around the world, from secluded abbeys to ancient manors and larger-than-life mansions. Lavishly illustrated. 

What did people do before written history? Stefanos Geroulanos’ The Invention of Prehistory (WW Norton) shows how the endless quest to know our humanity was shaped—and often misshaped—by all sorts of theories and notions of barbarians, Neanderthals, Amazon women and utopian paradises…and often became the ideological foundations for repressive regimes that considered people as less than human.

 

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